THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT 
              Copyright (c) 1997, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: Monday, February 10, 1997             TAG: 9702080007
SECTION: FRONT                   PAGE: A8   EDITION: FINAL 
TYPE: Letter 
                                            LENGTH:   24 lines

DON'T JUDGE

I read ``A Child Unborn'' (Daily Break, Jan. 30) while holding my 3-month-old daughter Shira. Every day I think about how fortunate my husband and I are to have had a normal, healthy child. I often wonder what I would do were I put in the same position as the Griffins, and I hope that I never have to cross that bridge.

I get so angry when I hear criticism of the painful decisions made by people like Dana and Shawn. Their torment is obvious, as is the love they felt and still feel for Shawn Jr. How dare anyone presume to judge them for having made the most difficult decision of their lives?

It is easy for some to condemn late-term abortions as barbaric, but the individuals who undergo these procedures do not do so lightly, and their pain is very real. I wish all the best to the Griffins, and a hearty congratulations (slightly belated) on the birth of their daughter Alexandra.

SUSAN HOROWITZ

Chesapeake, Jan. 30, 1997