Correspondence
Correspondence An attitude of charity Mission Viejo, Calif. To the Editors: Like most other sane, responsible people I am opposed to abortion on principle; like most people I am also opposed to...
...It occurs to me that we parents should strengthen our efforts to demonstrate to the public that although our children may be "sub-normal" in their ability to reason abstractly, they are most normal in their ability to enjoy life and give joy to others...
...p. 552, Harpur, Punch;p...
...The only certainty is that we will never have unanimity on this issue...
...Religious and nonreligious women alike will have abortions whether they are legal or not...
...48106...
...Despite our tendency to objectify, simplify, and compartmentalize, the facts belie the tendency...
...Would the editor or editors care to volunteer to take such a child (if it had not been aborted) and raise it as theirs...
...After much soul searching, the parents decided that they could not go through with the agony of giving birth to a child who might never achieve self sufficiency-who might never read, write, dress, or feed him/ herself...
...p. 560, Bas., Tachyd-romos...
...Copyright 1981 Commonweal Publishing Co...
...I would like to see such an attitude of charity on the part of those who have made charity (I think) their public profession...
...What may be "cold blooded murder" to Commonweal is a compassionate and sensitive action to others...
...ELEANOR J.BADER Coordinator, NY Metropolitan Area Religious Coalition for Abortion Rights Arms control lesson Washington, D.C...
...Thank you for commenting so sensitively on this awful event...
...p. 555, Alexander, Rothco...
...Rather, they were allowed to follow their consciences and make a choice about how to live their lives...
...No one forced this family to terminate the unwanted pregnancy...
...While favoring continued arms limitation efforts, he then examines the idea of abolishing nuclear weapons altogether...
...MARGARET M. DELUHERY An absolutist politic New York, N.Y...
...Have they spent any time at all caring for and supporting any child...
...So they terminated the pregnancy...
...Second-class postage paid at New York, N.Y...
...Here, however, we meet our need for certainty head on, for the quest for absolutes, for certainty, for a right and wrong, permeates the politics of abortion...
...To the Editors: In his "Principles of Abolition: Eight Reasons for Getting Rid of the Bomb" [July 31], Thomas Powers describes cogently thelrrationality of the nuclear arms race and the complete irrationality of nuclear war...
...554, Engteman, Rothco...
...It is a terrible fear of the unknown that compels a mother to take the life of a child in her own womb...
...Serials Data program No.: ISSN 0010-3330...
...p. 550, Taylor, Albuquerque Tribune...
...In the situation described in the article, tests revealed that a woman pregnant with twins was carrying one fetus with Down's Syndrome...
...An old Indian saying: "Do not criticize, rebuke, or condemn your brother until you have walked a mile in his moccasins," sums up Christ's message of dealing with our neighbors' problems...
...I read previously of the bishops' condemnation of the woman in this same case-and I pictured them, having made such a pompous pronouncement, going comfortably back to their before-dinner martinis and forgetting about the grief, despair, anguish, and tears that must be a daily partner of those who live with such children...
...Much as I would like to believe this possible, I cannot really envision the abolition of these weapons in the world as we know it...
...I have a daughter with Down's Syndrome...
...Public opinion will, regardless, condone the practice...
...1, 1924, to current issues available through University Microfilm, 300 N. Zeeb Road, Ann Arbor, Mi...
...Has the editor who wrote so cavalierly on "Triage in the Womb" [July 31 ] ever spent a lifetime caring for a severely handicapped child...
...My four children, thank God, were all born normal, healthy, and reasonably intelligent, and I am beyond the child-bearing age so the problem with me is wholly academic...
...p. 561, Chumy Chumez...
...While other couples might have chosen childbirth-and be applauded for their courage-this couple's right to make a choice without the absolutism of church or state intervention is at stake if the heavy-handed mariner of Commonweal is made into law...
...Microfilm from Vol...
...Nevertheless, it seems to me that Mr...
...Contrary to your comment in the article, it seems to me that this' 'exsanguination" was not a front page event but was buried in the back pages - at least in the newspapers that I read...
...like most people I am also opposed to pointing the finger at other people who are faced with difficult decisions I have not been asked to make...
...To the Editors: "Triage in the Womb," an editorial published on July 31, exemplifies the pomposity of an absolutist politic...
...Few issues -and certainly not abortion-are black and white...
...Still I can feel for those who have the problem and feel nothing but compassion and sympathy...
...p. 561, Chumy Chumez.d-romos...
...FRANCES HASTINGS A parent's view Davenport, Iowa To the Editors:' 'Triage in the Womb'' in your July 31, 1981 issue brought tears to my eyes...
...Illustrations: p. 548, Margulies, The Journal, Maryland...
...What distinguishes the case is the fact that the other twin was not touched during the procedure and was subsequently born-a healthy, male baby...
...It's high time we recognize that and work, instead, on mutual tolerance...
...To give us some degree of security for the future, these negotiations must simultaneously pursue two objectives: a safer (Continued on page 574) Commonweal is indexed in Reader's Guide to Periodical Literature, Catholic Periodical Index, Index of American Periodical Verse, Book Review Digest and Review Index...
...Powers's eight points argue equally well for a more limited goal, one which is definitely attainable: the resumption of American leadership in nuclear arms control negotiations...
Vol. 108 • October 1981 • No. 18
