LETTER: Social Atrocity

To the Editor: Besides the obvious -- yet consistently forgotten fact -- that abortions concern the lives of a child, a man and society in general, in addition to a woman, have we not forgotten the serious nature of abortion? I don't care if you are a feminist or not, no one goes to an abortion clinic with a proud smile on her face, confident that she is serving the cause of women by ending the life inside her. An abortion is not like getting your ears pierced or smoking Virginia Slims. It is not like making fun of Dan Quayle. It is not even like fighting for equal pay in the job market or opposing censorship in the library. An abortion is, and will always be, a social atrocity, no matter how noble or humane the women's movement may want to make it appear. Talk to someone who has had one and ask her what it was like and what it feels like now. Her answer may surprise you. I would also ask you to ask a man what it was like for him to be involved in a decision to abort his child, but the women's movement would have you believe it is not his concern, so why ask what he thinks anyway? Finally, why not ask a child, capable of feeling pain, what it was like to suffer through an abortion? Oh yeah, you can't. BOB CARDIE Assistant Director Newman Center