To the editor:

Opinion is just that, opinion. Facts are facts. The two must not be confused. When table tents appeared in the dining hall expressing a pro-life message, they were opinions. Free speech entitles each person to his or her own opinion.

However, when unsuspecting readers are given inaccuracies disguised as facts, confusion begins.

The table tents depicting “2 Heathers” contained several inaccuracies. “Abortion” is a medical term, as well as a slang term, to describe the termination of pregnancy before the fetus is sufficiently developed to survive. The end may be spontaneous or voluntary.

The first Heather actually suffered a spontaneous abortion at 22 weeks of pregnancy. The tents said that “the baby needs care at first, but is healthy.”

Herein lies the first inaccuracy. A pregnancy at 22 weeks is considered a nonviable fetus, weighing less than one pound. Viability is defined as being able to survive outside the uterus. In nearly all cases, the most sophisticated medical centers would not be able to treat this fetus and result in a healthy outcome. The figures for the long-term survival of a 24-week fetus are virtually zero. In fact, in most centers, it is extremely unlikely that intensive care measures would be instituted on a fetus at 22 weeks gestation.

If it were to survive, it would suffer serious long-term health problems. More importantly, if it were still living at 30 weeks — literally a million dollar miracle — it would spend several months of intensive care in the hospital before it had a possibility of leaving.

In “2 Heathers” we are given completely implausible reasoning that shows Heather killing her daughter at 31 weeks. This baby would still weigh less than three pounds and would be in the hospital, giving Heather no chance to kill her.

But the inaccuracies do not end there. The writers of “2 Heathers” feel it necessary to trivialize what is probably the most traumatic decision of someone’s life. Their monumental insensitivity felt it necessary to create something as ridiculous as an “award” for an abortion. Any person who has had an experience with abortion would be horrified by the inaccuracies contained in this message.

Here’s some real information: 99 percent of all abortions occur during the first half of pregnancy — before the 18th week. Furthermore, most states have laws pertaining to late-term abortions. In the rare occasion one would be performed after the 26th week of pregnancy, it would be to preserve the life of the woman. If Heather had an abortion at the 31st week, it would have been because it was life-threatening to carry the pregnancy to term.

It is fairly telling that the table tent included no references for any of its made-up “information.” This letter will not repeat this offense. Should you wish to check any of this information, you can find it in “Williams Obstetrics, 20th edition,” by Cumningham, MacDonald et al., 1997. You can also find more facts at The Alan Guttmacher Institute: www.agi-usa.org.

Patricia Swanson

Special student

Liberal arts and sciences

Member

Feminist Majority Leadership Alliance

Brian Metcalf

Senior

Political science

Treasurer

Feminist Majority Leadership Alliance

Deb Sunquist

Senior

Communication studies

President

Feminist Majority Leadership Alliance