LETTERS: CONSEQUENCES OF ABORTION CHOICE

To the editor:

On Jan. 23 we will observe the 27th anniversary of the infamous Roe vs. Wade decision which has upheld a woman's alleged constitutional right to enjoy abortion on demand through all nine months of pregnancy. For many, this period would be best remembered as 27 years of tears.

Let's suppose this "right" had been in existence over the last 2,000 years of human history. Would you consider abortion in the following situations?

1. A preacher and his wife are very poor. They already have 14 children. Now they find she's pregnant with No. 15. Would you consider recommending abortion? If you answered yes, you would have recommended the death of John Wesley, founder of the Methodist denomination.

2. The father is ill with syphilis. The mother has tuberculosis. They have four children. One child has died. One is blind. One is deaf. One has tuberculosis. The mother is pregnant. Would you recommend an abortion? If so, you would have recommended the death of the great musician and composer Ludwig von Beethoven.

3. A baby is born crippled and a dwarf. If that outcome had been predicted, would you have recommended an abortion? If so, you would have recommended the death of Alexander Pope, the great poet and author.

4. A man raped a 13-year-old girl and impregnated her. Would you recommend an abortion? If so you would have recommended the death of the great gospel singer and actress, Ethel Waters.

5. A poor teen-age girl is pregnant and unmarried. Her soldier father disowns her and the child. She named the child after the father and raise the child while bearing the disgrace of illegitimacy. Would you recommend abortion? If so, you would have recommended the death of Father Joseph Mohr, lyricist and composer of the Christmas carol, "Silent Night."

6. A teenage girl is pregnant and not married. Her finance is not the father of the baby. Would you recommend an abortion? If so, you would have recommended the death of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

How did you do on our quiz? Life is such a wonderful adventure that we can never know in advance what the outcome will be of our choices. Since we have been created by God as free moral agents, we make our choices and then must live with the consequences. If we could somehow know the outcome in advance, we would know which decision to make. But in our moral universe, we don't get such a luxury. We make our decisions, and future generations will judge our actions as a blessing or a curse.

GERALD W. BEAM

Dexter