The Sacramento Bee
Monday, August 28, 2006

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Abortion and Premature Births

Re "More infant deaths tied to early births," Oct. 2: The Center for Disease Control's revelation that premature birth causes many infant deaths isn't surprising. I hope the information really will "lead to greater efforts to counsel pregnant women about .... avoiding actions that can lead to pre-term births -- such as smoking and drug use." However, we should go even further – prevention.

Each day thousands of women in the U.S. have abortions without being told that abortion significantly increases risks of premature births for later pregnancies. Planned Parenthood opposes efforts to inform women about abortion risks. Now it opposes Proposition 85 -- the Parents' Right to Know and Child Protection initiative. This big business doesn't want parents to know when they profit from vulnerable, frightened girls having abortions.

In other states abortion businesses assist "hard cases" through the judicial bypass process, generally delaying abortions only days. That can happen here, too; so false claims of extreme delays and risks to girls are just scare tactics to coerce society into abdicating parents' roles in children's lives.

Parental notification laws in other states reduced teens' risky sexual behaviors and pregnancy rates. Responsible medical professionals support parental involvement in children's health care.

Jennifer M. Le, RN, MHA, Sacramento
Executive director, California Nurses for Ethical Standards

Relighting the Lamp