I'm so proud of the work that you have done in defense of Roe v. Wade and applaud your work over the years and your honesty in writing this article. Like others who support Planned Parenthood, I will be devastated if this right is taken away from women. My friend was at a rally in Lansing for Planned Parenthood when the perimeter was occupied by men with rifles and guns. It was terrorizing to everyone, but the rally continued in spite of feeling threatened by these thugs and bullies. I think of the heroes of the fight for abortion rights, Dr. Tiller and so many others not as prominent, and I know the fight will go on. Having been to protests, fundraisers for Planned Parenthood, etc. I am uplifted so see so many young people involved. Thanks for this moving essay.

 

That you, a Christian minister, should have been involved in such a thing as encouraging women to murder their fetuses is beyond belief. Did the authorities of your church know what you did back then? Did the law? Your belated confession is pointless and dishonest.

 

I very much appreciated reading about this part of your past and the circumstances that faced pregnant women back when I was very young. The freedom Roe v. Wade brought to so many was important to all women, especially the poor who couldn't afford to fly to France for an abortion. It's difficult for me to accept that this freedom could be stripped from the rights of women to control what happens to their bodies. Choice must prevail.

 

You must have been fairly young during the time you wrote about. I supposed you protested the Vietnam war, marched with King and all those other 1960s PC things. But would you do it now? As for your paean of praise to the mothers of your children and grandchildren, that was phony beyond belief. Roe v. Wade was a sin against God, and if you as a priest don't know that, then you don't know anything.

 

The one great pronouncement the Episcopal Church got right, in my judgment, was when General Convention voted to call abortion a "tragic necessity." Although I thought Roe v. Wade perilously perched on the right to privacy, I ignorantly assumed, once handed down, would end the debate. I didn't anticipate the resurgence of differing opinion about the impossible mystery of when a division of two cells becomes a person with full protection under law. Who ever went for an abortion frivolously? By what arrogance do we pretend to understand and govern the agonizing choice a woman makes? I have tried to persuade my wife that the matter of a fetus that may be viable could be considered to have rights, but she remains fiercely in support of the sole right of the mother to make that awful judgment. I defer to her, as I think we all should.

 

Back in the day, I, too, met with women, and with their male partner (less frequently) to talk about the possibility of ending a pregnancy. The only word that seems to fit all of these encounters is anguish. The conversations were never easy, no matter what side of the desk one was on. Many of the women wanted a yes or no response from me. The first challenge therefore, was getting them to understand that termination or not was entirely their choice. I hope I was supportive, whichever way the woman elected to go.

 

Thank you for an excellent, clear, and committed commentary on women's choice. Freedom is a precious and deserved right constantly in danger of being lost at any moment. It bears constant, 24-hour protection.

Thank you. Excellent as always.

 

We are living through a time of transition. It was within my lifetime that test-tube babies were created and cloning became a reality. Some day in the not-too-distant future, abortion will be a moot point as making and growing strong babies will move from the woman's body to the laboratory. Birth defects will be handled like we currently prune bushes to make them grow as we want.

 

I so enjoy these essays. As to this one, I notice that many who oppose abortion seem unwilling to support programs that help care for the children once they are born. It seems to me that "right to life" ought to include "right to high quality of life."

 

I share your concern that Roe v. Wade is in danger of being overturned. Some states are already limiting access to abortion. The election of a Republican president in November would almost surely result in the next appointment to the Supreme Court of a justice who would side with those wishing to overturn that historic decision.  My mother was a pioneer doctor who graduated from medical school in 1921. She spent many years trying to save the lives of poor women who tried to abort themselves. Mother was thankful and relieved when abortion became a legal procedure. A rock-ribbed Republican, she would be horrified by her party's efforts to end Planned Parenthood (and limit voting rights) today.