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Regarding the May 18 front-page article “Long-idle 1873 law finds traction in abortion case”:
One might easily observe parallels between Nathaniel Hawthorne’s seminal work, “The Scarlet Letter,” and the attempt by today’s conservative Christian movement to ban abortion. Though we don’t require unmarried childbearing women to wear a scarlet letter like the one Hester Prynne wore for her adultery, the consequences the proposed laws dictate are not much improved; today’s brand is often a stroller and a single-parent family.
We could debate the ethics of abortion, but that is not the point. What I find completely immoral is the transparent misogyny and sexism behind these laws. Why is childbearing the sole responsibility of the woman in this day of DNA-tracing, when paternity can easily be determined? The lawmakers’ only concern seems to be to limit or punish the woman. The other progenitor has no responsibility whatsoever.
The result is clear to anyone who wants to look: potential financial struggle and poverty with an increased demand for social services, housing vouchers, welfare, food stamps and such. I’m not suggesting the law require men to marry the women they impregnate; however, if they were required to provide financial support through age 18, that could make a difference. Until the time at which our puritanical legislators are prepared to fully consider the abject absence of morality and single-point responsibility of their legislation, the sins of the fathers will continue to be borne upon the shoulders of our women.
Louis Krupnick, Silver Spring
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