On Florida abortion law, viability should remain the standard | Letters - Tampa Bay Times
Why 24 weeks, not 15, should be the law on abortion
The guest columnist wrote a passionate essay describing why she supports prohibiting nearly all abortions after 15 weeks instead of the current 24. She described the many support organizations and services available to pregnant women who give birth and then struggle with the reality of a child they can’t afford, was fathered by a relative or unrelated rapist or is born with an expensive, painful and debilitating genetic disorder, etc.
She seems to imply that the supports services will allow the mother and baby will thrive. That may be true in some cases. But that is not the point. The writer seeks to force her values and beliefs onto others by getting laws passed. She has the right to advocate for her beliefs. Helping to develop support services is laudable. But she and other advocates should not have a right to force their beliefs on other women through restrictive laws.
We say we believe in freedom in this country, but arbitrarily restrictive laws contradict that value. The majority of Americans believe that abortion should be legal, safe and rare. Twenty-four weeks is when a fetus’ brain and body typically develops enough to survive outside the womb — and when the complex neurology that will become consciousness is falling into place. The medical establishment says that a person is dead when the brain ceases functioning. I suggest that a fetus becomes a person when its brain begins to function. Do not change the current Florida law.
Robert H. More, Riverview
They think they know best
Why this Tampa mother supports banning abortion at 15 weeks | Column, Feb. 19
The columnist can dress it up any way she wants but the bottom line remains the same. She and others like her want to force women to have sick, deformed, severely disabled children because their moral compass has determined they know best. Never mind the wants and needs of the pregnant woman.
Georgianna Woernle, Floral City
Where does the ‘science’ say that?
This recent guest columnist quotes Dr. Christina Francis of the American Association of Pro-Life OBGYNs as stating, “The science is explicitly clear that a living human being comes into existence at the moment of fertilization.”
I consider myself to be a well-read and well-educated individual who keeps up with the latest science. I have never seen or heard of science being “explicitly clear” regarding human life starting at the moment of fertilization. Perhaps the author or Dr. Francis could provide their evidence of this “science,” maybe from a peer-reviewed article in a reputable and recognized medical or science journal. Otherwise, they are simply giving their opinion just like everyone else.
Ron Scoggins, St. Petersburg
I’m more than a ‘gun rights advocate’
Thinking of buying a gun for self-defense? Don’t do it | Column, Feb. 4
In his recent column, Dr. Steven Sainsbury, who has spent 25 years as an emergency medicine physician, pushes the absurd claim there are only 2,000 defensive gun uses per year. The claim overwhelmingly relies on counting defensive gun uses reported in news articles, but that is a dramatic undercount because virtually all successful self-defense cases don’t make the news. I believe that 95 percent of defensive gun uses involve merely brandishing a gun, and less than 1 percent involve the attacker being killed or wounded. But most news stories only report on cases where attackers are killed — and brandishings are ignored.
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Seventeen national surveys find an average of 2 million defensive gun uses per year. The U.S. Justice Department’s National Crime Victimization Survey puts it at around 100,000. Both show the 2,000 claim is ridiculous. The piece emphasizes how few justifiable homicides are reported by the FBI, but the author seems completely unaware that fewer than 10 percent of police departments report justifiable homicides to the FBI, and even the departments that do are missing most cases.
Finally, the article labels me a “gun rights advocate,” not as a researcher who has held academic positions at Wharton, the University of Chicago, Stanford and Yale. I been a senior adviser for research at the U.S. Justice Department.
John R. Lott Jr., Missoula, Montana
The writer is president of the Crime Prevention Research Center.
What might happen next
The Florida Legislature apparently wants to turn Florida into a blue state. I believe that passing HB 5 — which would ban most abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy with little regard to valid exceptions — will push Florida women to the Democratic Party. That’s the last thing this state needs.
Marsha Witkowski, Tarpon Springs
source: http://www.tampabay.com/opinion/2022/02/22/on-florida-abortion-law-viability-should-remain-the-standard-letters/
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