By Lois Patton

First, I want to say that I am pro-life and pro- choice. I, personally, would never have an abortion except under extreme circumstances. It is deplorable to me that some use it as a routine form of birth control. However, most women and girls who have abortions see it as the only option they have left.

Yes, I do know women who have had abortions. None of them is an evil person. All of them saw their situation as extreme. Some of them are your neighbors. Now, perhaps because ultraconservatives cannot seem to find real political issues, they have created a huge issue out of abortion.

There is now a law in Virginia (and proposed in other states, including Pennsylvania) to force women who have decided to have an abortion to have an ultrasound. The doctor is supposed to describe what is on the screen. When I first heard this, I was dumbfounded. Do they think the woman is too dim-witted to know what she is going through?

I can promise you, she could describe to her doctor in detail what is happening to her body. She can describe what it feels like to spend the entire day on the verge of vomiting. She can describe in detail the fatigue and every other bodily change she is going through. She also can describe in detail the emotional and mental torture she has been going through to get to her decision. Depending on her reason for getting the abortion, she also could describe in detail what is going on in her life and mind.

If she was raped, she can describe in detail the physical and mental trauma she has been through. If she is a teenager, she can describe in detail the overwhelming panic she is feeling. Will her parents be angry? How can she, at the age of 16, possibly take care of a baby? If her financial situation is such that there is no way she can work and take care of a baby, she can describe in detail her stress. If she is a drug addict, she might recognize that her baby is already suffering.

The reasons to choose abortion vary. How dare politicians treat women in such a patronizing and sexist way. Why have the women been singled out? What about creating laws for the men who helped make these babies? Why are they not required to watch the ultrasound? Why are they not being held accountable? Often, a woman chooses an abortion because her husband or boyfriend demands it. Whether it is an immature boyfriend or a politician whose mistress inconveniently got pregnant during an election year, the fathers should be held equally responsible.

If the woman is convinced to not have an abortion, the father should, by law, be responsible for the care of the baby as well. Also, if the state is going to push the woman to not have an abortion, logically the state should help her financially. It’s only fair. Obviously, this is not an easy issue.

No matter what decision a woman makes — whether to abort, keep her baby or put it up for adoption, she will pay a huge price for the rest of her life. No law is justified in treating women with such indignity and disrespect. I find these laws disgusting and an invasion of privacy and, therefore, illegal. Abortion is a private medical matter and has no place in politics.

Lois Patton writes from Millersburg.