Letter: A Democracy requires an open mind, even about abortion

Posted 1/26/22

To the editor:

I have to wonder if Jack and Rita Parquette, authors of the Jan. 13 letter “Only those who support abortions should pay for them” have ever spent a year in poverty. …

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Letter: A Democracy requires an open mind, even about abortion

Posted

To the editor:

I have to wonder if Jack and Rita Parquette, authors of the Jan. 13 letter “Only those who support abortions should pay for them” have ever spent a year in poverty.  If a young woman can’t afford an abortion, she obviously can’t afford to raise a child.  Are Jack and Rita ready to offer to pay the mother-to-be all of the wages she will not collect while raising the child?  Or pay for the 44 hours a week of child care?  And how about health and dental care, food, clothing, heat and a roof?  What if she doesn’t have a home or relatives to support her?  Maybe she’s in college and has a promising career ahead of her but can’t afford to continue if she has a child.  I doubt they would be willing to open their wallet that far. I doubt any of the 74 percent they speak of would.  The state helps, but not nearly enough.  The Parquettes stated that Rhode Island Right to Life served 2,000 clients a month last year by distributing donated children’s items. This demonstrates the dire straits of these young desperate parents despite state or federal assistance.

When I was young, I had friends who had these problems and who had to wrestle with this difficult decision.  I know the struggle.  Do the Parquettes?  I understand the opposition they have to abortion. But I know that they don’t understand what they are asking of the young women they are judging.  It’s easy to pontificate when you are older and financially secure.   I’m afraid they have a limited worldview and cannot relate to the problems the top one percent have created for the struggling workers whose efforts make the rich richer.  It’s impossible for a single mother to raise a child on minimum wage without deprivation of the simplest things, even with help from the government. 

In a democracy an individual doesn’t choose what he contributes to.  Saying “I don’t have a car so I’m not paying taxes to build roads” or “I don’t want my tax money to help the democrat candidate’s election campaign” doesn’t excuse one from his duty to pay taxes.  Nor do personal beliefs and ethics.  We are all supposed to be in this together. 

I wonder too if the Parquettes are aware of the irony of using the opening quote “a modest proposal”.  Jonathan Swift wrote the satirical essay with that title in which he proposed that the problems of overpopulation and hunger could be easily solved if we just “eat the children”.

Celeste Canfield

Tiverton

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A lifelong Portsmouth resident, Jim graduated from Portsmouth High School in 1982 and earned a journalism degree from the University of Rhode Island in 1986. He's worked two different stints at East Bay Newspapers, for a total of 18 years with the company so far. When not running all over town bringing you the news from Portsmouth, Jim listens to lots and lots and lots of music, watches obscure silent films from the '20s and usually has three books going at once. He also loves to cook crazy New Orleans dishes for his wife of 25 years, Michelle, and their two sons, Jake and Max.