Carol Leonard, Hopkinton
Concord Monitor, October 18, 2011

Protecting the Lives of Women

This is in response to the woman who was confused by the banner that the Concord Feminist Health Center displays that says "Legal Abortion IS Pro-Life" ("Childish reaction," Sunday Monitor letter, Oct. 16):

The message on the banner refers to the historical fact that before legal abortions, many hundreds of thousands of women were maimed or lost their lives to unsafe, illegal, "back-alley" abortion procedures. If abortion rights are rescinded, the fear is that women will again resort to either aborting themselves or will seek out untrained, unsanitary, illegal practitioners. What the message means is that legal abortion protects the lives of women who need compassionate, skilled care - and this means the lives of our sisters, mothers, wives, girlfriends, daughters, best friends.