Ms. Marcus tried to present the abortion debate as a thing of the past with a few old dissenters making waves with thoughtless arguments. The position of her Friday article was that “desperate girls will get abortions no matter what legislation is enacted.” She contended that if abortion were illegal, abortion would still happen, so why outlaw it. She also condemns those against abortion for calling it murder yet recognizing support for abortion in the instances of rape, incest and mother endangerment. I find it interesting that in one article Ms. Marcus can put down those against abortion for allowing it in some cases and then in the end support abortion. Those against abortion support an unborn child’s right to life. It is unjust that a couple can engage in consensual sex, produce a child and then decide that wasn’t what they wanted. It is almost as if abortion is another standard method of birth control. “Don’t worry. If the condom breaks, we can always get an abortion.” You can argue that people don’t think like that, but what do they think when the condom does fail and the female is pregnant? There are a startling number of abortions due to situations like this one. If you stepped out of the shoes of an abortion supporter for a moment, you would see a group of people who are desperate to defend those in the world that it seems no one else cares about. Society is so concerned with convenience and their own freedom that we neglect even the most basic of freedoms to our very own children. I am continually amazed at how distraught people are with atrocities taking place in other countries, yet contend that abortion is a completely different issue. It is a common occurrence in movies when an elder will be faced with a decision to save one life, either theirs or the child’s. It ends the same way every time. The older person decides that the child also deserves the wonderful life they have had the opportunity to live. Our hearts sink at the level of chivalry involved, and we tell ourselves that we would do the same. With that in mind, I have a hard time standing behind the argument that a child who has yet to take even the first breath of life is expendable because it isn’t convenient.I reluctantly recognize there are circumstances in which abortion may be the right thing to do. When rape, incest and mother endangerment are involved, there are more complex issues at stake. As Ms. Marcus mentioned, abortions would still take place. In my mind, any legal action that can be done to decrease the number of abortions is a good thing. Paul Seberger

Graduate student

Electrical engineering