Seeking an end to the ‘flame war’ on abortion
To the editor:
In my 30-plus years in the information technology field and personal experience in numerous social networks — starting with dial-up modems and advancing through wireless networks — I found there were two subjects that could not be rationally discussed in any online forum: (1) cat declawing and (2) abortion. It didn’t matter what the relationship was among those holding the discussion or what professional credentials or personal experiences people brought to the debate, those two topics would quickly degrade into flame wars with people reading what was said only to look for ammunition for their rebuttals.
On most bulletin boards (the “social media” of that era) moderators simply moved the discussion to the “Flame War” topic where it died from lack of attention. Unfortunately, modern social media doesn’t give us this option, and in-person discussions often turn into shouting matches that leave both sides convinced that the other is evil, unknowing, and uncaring.
How did we get to this place where we cannot see that we both want the same primary objectives but disagree about the methods needed to achieve those goals? And why are we doing the same things over and over again that have failed in every time and place they have been implemented?
In countries where abortion is illegal, the abortion rate is 37 per 1,000 women. In countries where it is legal, the abortion rate is 34 per 1,000. The only difference is that abortion is unsafe in countries where it’s illegal and women whose pregnancies fail for whatever reason are subject to criminal investigation and sometimes convicted and imprisoned. If the real goal is for every viable pregnancy to yield a healthy result, we are falling far short of other countries. The U.S. has the highest rate of maternal mortality in the industrialized world, and our infant mortality rate is also higher than other comparable countries.
We could fix this if we stopped being “all or nothing at all” in our approaches and sat down together to work on real solutions. Pro-choicers are not “pro-abortion.” Rational women don’t choose an abortion; they choose not to be pregnant and, in some tragic cases, they and their loved ones are faced with a devastating medical diagnosis. The majority of those who oppose abortion for any reason are not “forced birthers.” They are often volunteering, fostering and financially aiding those they know who are struggling with an unplanned pregnancy. Let’s throw out these divisive accusations about “the other side,” stop wasting time demonizing those who believe differently, and work together for real solutions.
The Netherlands’ abortion rate is less than half of ours, and in their country, abortion is both legal and undesired. They also have a very low teenage pregnancy rate. They’ve achieved this by identifying and addressing the root of the problem rather than the symptom. They looked at WHY women had abortions and they focused on reducing/eliminating the situations that led to abortions.
We could do the same and yet, over the course of my lifetime, it’s been a constant flame war between one side and the other, fueled by the political parties that benefit from their division. It’s almost like politicians care more about being re-elected than about fixing problems.
As for cat-declawing, New York is considering legislation to ban it. Thus far, there have been no protests.
Linda Dunn
Greenfield
Pendleton clean-up efforts were inspiring
To the editor:
In the aftermath of the tornado that hit Pendleton, everyone observed residents, businesses and town employees digging in for the major clean-up. Pendleton’s town employees were joined by different police operatives, military assistants, tree cutting groups and numerous gas and electrical companies. As a Hancock County resident myself, I was pleased to see Greenfield workers jumping in to help as first-responders but was genuinely appreciative of their continued help since the very first day!
While in Pendleton on June 11, Greenfield trucks and crews were still actively involved in restoring services and sanity to the chaos that had been left by the freak event. I so wanted to thank the Greenfield workers and to let them know that someone noticed their efforts and wanted to thank them for their kindness and diligent help. Kudos to you all!
Shelley Chandler
Wilkinson
