Human Rights for All

In a wide-ranging Letter to the Editor fraught with factual errors and misleading statements, Fayette County GOP Chairwoman Deborah Frank wrote a sentence that aptly expresses why the current Republican Party is wrong for Texas and the rest of the United States. In expressing her opposition to abortion, Mrs. Frank laments that an abortion is performed “…because the mother failed to plan ahead and take control of or responsibility for her reproductive system[?]”.

Today’s Republicans seem unable to understand that there are vast numbers of Americans who live lives different from their own. Sure, some people seek abortions as a sort of last-minute birth control. But that is far from the only reason. Instead of considering the many reasons for abortions, Mrs. Frank casts the pregnant person as irresponsible. Is a person who experiences rape irresponsible? Is the child who experiences assault irresponsible? Is the person whose muchdesired pregnancy is endangering her life irresponsible? Is the person whose cherished fetus has abnormalities incompatible with life irresponsible? The list goes on and on. Texans and Americans deserve leaders who recognize that there is a marvelous tapestry of experiences among our 330 million people. Human rights must apply to everyone, not just those who pass some arbitrary test of “responsibility.”

David M. DeLuca La Grange