I wish to respond to Alicia Ebaugh’s Nov. 17 column, “Anti-Woman backlash frightening sign of times.” Alicia said, “It seems scary and threatening to me that some day I may be forced to bear a child I have no desire to create.” There must have been some sort of desire. There was an act that created the child and maybe the thought of pregnancy should cross the mind during the creating instead of after the creating was already done.

It is a scary thing to me how Americans are not responsible for our own actions anymore. I am overweight and have high cholesterol — it must be the fast food restaurant’s fault for not telling me what would happen if I ate that food. If I have consensual sex and get pregnant, it is the baby’s fault for being created.

We do what feels good, and eat what tastes good; yet when people see the results, they don’t like it.

In closing, she says, “We are human beings who were born with the ability to reason and take control of our own destinies. This effectively gives us the facilities to decide for ourselves when we’ll be pregnant and whose children we will bear.” She is absolutely right — we as women have a choice of when we will be pregnant and whose children we will bear, but unfortunately, the choice starts sooner than Alicia thinks.

The choice starts when a woman and a man have sex. Every woman knows only abstinence will prevent an unwanted pregnancy 100 percent of the time.

The choice does not start after the baby is conceived.

Kristy Steffen

Alumna