I am glad that Elie Dvorin recognizes that “a society that doesn’t protect its children is no society at all.” I wholeheartedly agree, and I thank him for indirectly pulling this country’s card. While Elie is concerned with unborn fetuses, there are millions of children in the United States living in poverty and they are not alone. Children do not become poor on their own. They are poor because they’re born to parents who – for whatever reason – are unable to provide the basic care necessary for their growth. Things like adequate food, shelter, education and health care that many people take for granted because they’ve always been accessible. The poor do not exist within the bubbles of privilege. Well, not until they start encroaching on personal space (though I prefer to call it “tax dollars.”). Only then do they become visible.

Abortion is not the removal of a “temporary inconvenience” for all women. For some it is the removal of a lifetime of pain – for both mother and child. What good is a baby born if that baby’s fate is to continue the cycle of poverty from which it came? Elie, are you prepared to help the mother of the baby whose life you “saved” ensure that he really does have a fair and equal opportunity at life? That the baby gets proper health care so that small problems do not become bigger, more expensive ones? That his education will measure up to or exceed your own so that his chances at becoming an asset to society are ten times greater than his chances at delinquency? If your answer is “no” and you feel that these issues are neither your concern nor responsibility, please exit stage right (no pun intended). You have no business impeding on the rights of his mother. Your values are not universally shared.

It’s nice of Elie to think of the children, and his gesture might warrant applause if it was actually sincere and not self-serving. What we need to do is focus our attention toward the disadvantaged youth who have already made the trip from the womb. They are the country’s future, and their loss is our failure.

Rosalyn Yates

Junior in communications