THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, February 14, 1995 TAG: 9502140491
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A14 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Letter
LENGTH: Short : 50 lines
In reply to ``Are abortion foes practicing adoption?'' (letter, Jan. 20): Our families are, and certainly it should be encouraged.
Between our two families we've adopted six biracial or minority children. We are truly blessed!
However, adoption doesn't begin to solve the larger problem of immorality, coupled with irresponsibility, that produces most abortions. Abortion is only the symptom of choices being made and lifestyles being lived before the pregnancy occurs. No matter how we've tried to convince ourselves otherwise, sexuality and reproduction are inextricably linked. Taking the responsibility on ourselves for the birth parents' lifestyles will not solve the larger problem.
Like the national debt, immorality has a way of mushrooming and producing an ever-increasing host of societal problems; i.e., abortion, single-mom welfare families, etc.
However, two excellent organizations, staffed by pro-life volunteers as well as paid staff, for a woman seeking the support, counsel and aid necessary to parent her child or investigate the life-affirming option of making an adoption plan for her baby are Crisis Pregnancy Center and Bethany Christian Services, both in the phone book. These services are free, and a woman with any hesitancy at all about going through an abortion owes it to herself and the unborn child to examine the alternatives.
We have a counterproposal, not original with us, that could stop the protests around the local clinic. Our local abortuary could permit a booth to be manned by two or three pro-life advocates in the lobby of Hillcrest Clinic with information vital to this ``choice,'' including stages of fetal development, possible consequences of abortion and a host of support programs for women changing their minds about having an abortion. No more trying to shout their message across proscribed boundaries around the clinic, but equal access to information by all Hillcrest clients. It would cost the clinic nothing but a loss of revenue when women began to turn away from their lucrative business.
We say, if choice is really what ``pro-choicers'' want, let freedom of choice begin!
MIKE and CONNIE ROCCA
CARL and LAURA BRAGG
Virginia Beach, Jan. 25, 1995 by CNB