LETTER: It takes two to tango

Editor,

Recently, a number of letters to the editor have been written concerning differing positions on the abortion issue. I am disturbed over remarks made by a couple of individuals defending the pro-life side of this debate published in the Feb. 7, 2005 edition of the Utah Statesman. Whether or not it was intentional, two authors made some frightening statements concerning parental responsibility of an embryo’s conception. In one letter the author remarked, “But it is a far worse evil to kill those children simply because of poor judgment on the mother’s part.” This sentiment was repeated in a second letter in the same edition of the Statesman, “So don’t call me closed minded just because I think that women need to take responsibility for their sexual actions. Ladies, you can shag whom or what you want to shag…”.

Both of these letters were written by men and both authors claimed to be open-minded conservatives however, both letters apparently put all blame of unwanted pregnancies on the women’s shoulders. There is either obvious misunderstanding of who is responsible for a pregnancy oor these authors are blatantly sexist.

As the saying goes, it takes two to tango; sex requires the involvement of both a man and a woman for the conception of an embryo. It is wrong and hurtful to blame an unwanted pregnancy solely on a woman’s action. Further, it is irresponsible for men to think that only a woman should take responsibility for protecting against pregnancy. Gentlemen, you too are responsible for your sexual prowess and choices and if you have strong feelings concerning the outcome of unwanted pregnancies than your first step is to take responsibility for your contribution to the creation of the fetus. It is true, our mothers fought for our (women’s) right to vote, our equality in the workplace and in society. Yet it is apparent that we are still not given the respect we deserve when it comes to reproductive issues.

Amanda V. Bakian