LETTERS: ABORTIONISTS HAVE MOST PROTECTION

To the editor:

Last week, a congressional committee considered the Child Custody Protection Act, a measure that would prohibit someone other than a parent from taking a minor girl across state lines for an abortion in violation of a state's parental notification or consent law.

With all of this debate about this proposed legislation, let's imagine a shopping center containing a doctor's office, a liquor store, an X-rated movie house, a tattoo parlor, a body-piercing salon, a gun store, a blood-donation center, a tobacco shop, a tanning salon and an abortion clinic. Now guess which is the only one of these establishments legally allowed to sell its product or service to a 13-year-old girl without parental consent or notification.

Furthermore, we will not allow this same 13-year-old girl to play the lottery, drive a car, vote, consent to have sex or work in a topless bar. The list goes on and on. To show just how incredible this situation is, consider the following: A 13-year-old girl can have an abortion without telling anyone -- including her parents -- but if the abortionist injures her, she can't get medical treatment without permission from her parents. Incredibly, her parents are legally responsible for the medical bills related to this botched abortion, despite the fact they had no knowledge of it and could not have legally prevented it even if they had known.

How on earth did abortionists get elevated to such a lofty position in our society, and how long are we going to allow this disgraceful situation to continue.

CHRISTINE E. STEPHENS

Cape Girardeau