Why guaranteeing access to abortion is important for men and women

To the editor: Kristen Day and Charles Camosy attempt to mock the Democratic Party platform’s abortion plank, which they say includes “provisions that make access to abortion crucial to the well-being of every single person on the planet.� (“How the Democratic platform betrays millions of the party faithful,� Opinion, July 25)

In fact, the ability to access an abortion is crucial to the well-being of all of us.

The antiabortion Hyde Amendment withholds coverage for abortion from a woman who qualifies for Medicaid — making it difficult, if not impossible, for her to get an abortion if she needs one. As a result, poor women do not have the same constitutional rights as other American women. The Hyde Amendment only works to further entrench social disparity and inequality by making a woman’s ability to exercise her rights conditional upon her insurance, her income or her ZIP Code.

For far too long, the millions of American women who obtain healthcare through the Medicaid system have been treated as second-class citizens. Indeed, a repeal of the Hyde Amendment would make great strides toward making ours a more equitable society.

Whether or not we agree on abortion, we can all agree that a society that is more equitable is crucial to the well-being of every person on the planet.

Jennifer Dalven, New York

The writer, a lawyer, directs the American Civil Liberties Union Reproductive Freedom Project.

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To the editor: I don’t understand why even antiabortionists like op-ed article writers Day and Camosy say they “believe� that abortion is killing. This is not a matter of opinion, but a matter of fact.

That life begins at conception is as much established fact as that the Earth is spherical. If there were doubt, scientific research would be ongoing into the issue. But there is none. There is no second opinion in science as to when human life begins.

Every accredited textbook on biology or physiology that has a chapter on human reproduction reads the same. When the sperm fertilizes the egg, two new sets of 23 chromosomes join together, forming a new, unique sequence of DNA. Then a new human life is in existence and the cells commence to divide and multiply, without ceasing, until death.

Abortion causes the death of a human. Support abortion if you must, but conscientious intellects reconcile their opinions to the facts.

Kevin Davis, Beverly Hills

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To the editor: Day and Camosy take a one-dimensional view on efforts to lift the Hyde Amendment, leaving out the real women impacted by these bans.

I see every day how withholding health coverage for abortion creates profound hardship for people, particularly for those who already face significant barriers to receiving quality care such as low-income women, young women and women of color. For many, coverage for abortion is the difference between getting care and being denied.

Studies show that when policymakers place severe restrictions on Medicaid coverage of abortion, it forces 1 in 4 poor women seeking an abortion to carry an unwanted pregnancy to term.

However we feel about abortion, we can agree that it’s not our place to make that personal decision for someone else, and it’s certainly not the place of politicians.

Janette Robinson Flint, Los Angeles

The writer is executive director of Black Women for Wellness.

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