I am writing in response to Lindsay Brown’s March 10 guest column “Abortion simply wicked.” Brown is so concerned with wielding an ideological sword and showing us how powerful it is that she ends up displaying a complete ignorance of the issue as a whole.

Brown implies that abortions are simply a product of the unhealthy lifestyles of poor and sexually promiscuous women. In reality, women from all facets of society get abortions. Mothers of four get abortions. Teachers and doctors and lawyers get abortions. Homemakers get abortions. Rape and incest victims get abortions. And yes, poor and sexually promiscuous women get abortions. Perhaps a woman in Brown’s family has had one, but would not dare tell.

I suspect that as long as women have been women, they have found ways to end pregnancies they don’t want – or could not keep. But there is always a reason: maybe it is famine, poor health or too many children already. There are millions of people in this country who believe abortion is not equivalent to murder. This does not make them “wicked,” it makes them reasonable.

Let’s pursue Brown’s line of thinking. If I have a miscarriage that could have been prevented had I gone to the doctor – is there an investigation? Am I guilty of manslaughter? What if I have had several abortions because of illness? Am I a serial killer?

Brown’s vision of society truly is frightening. It is a society in which a 13-year-old incest victim would have to bring her uncle’s baby to term. It is a society in which a very ill or dying woman would have to remain pregnant. It is a society in which a woman’s body belongs to a fetus, not vice versa.

People who are pro-choice are not “pro-abortion.” They believe in keeping abortion at a minimum, because it will never be totally absent from a society. They believe in an open dialogue about sex and in providing women and girls with the resources they need to not get pregnant. Above all, they believe in privacy. Because, when it comes right down to it, it is my body and it is my choice to make for my future and the future of my family.

It appears Brown is advocating for a world in which some women would have the choice of either being treated as murderers or forming new human beings against their will. Brown and the South Dakota Legislature certainly don’t argue on the side of reason.

Michelle Budinger is a University student. Please send comments to [email protected].