Dear Editor:I simply must respond to Mr. Guido's pro-abortion alarmist nonsense. ("Stop the Blame," Letters to the Editor, 1/26/12) He may be tired of hearing attacks against Planned Parenthood, but I'm tired of hearing that abortion equals "women's healthcare." Having an abortion significantly increases a woman's risk of getting breast and cervical cancer, not to mention the nasty little secret that some abortions do end in death for the mother - yes, even those highly regulated ones performed by men in white coats! And while mental health issues may or may not affect women after an abortion (the pro-choice camp says absolutely not, the pro-life camp says absolutely yes), I happen to know a few who have serious regrets. Even the infamous Jane Roe, a pseudonym for Norma McCorvey, laments her participation in the landmark Supreme Court case striking down most legal restrictions on abortion, dedicating her life to overturning it. Mr. Rivero claims that these now 50 million aborted children were unwanted, but when American couples have to go outside of the country to adopt babies that aren't available here in the states (like all those unwanted girls in China), his statement rings completely false. And then there's the population alarmism. Do we really have a problem with too many people in the United States? Hello, unfunded Social Security mandate for the Baby Boomers! I sure hope he isn't suggesting that we follow China's lead and force women to have abortions because that would be, well, unconstitutional not to mention morally reprehensible. Wasn't Planned Parenthood founder, Margaret Sanger, a follower of eugenics? You know, that movement designed to wipe out all "human flaws" like, oh, dark skin, low IQ, physical handicaps? Unfortunately for Mr. Rivero, this debate will never end. Both sides are stuck with the cold, hard facts that abortion is an ugly but legal industry. I'd be willing to stop harping on the issue of when life begins (it's conception, by the way, and I'm pretty sure scientists would agree) if we could just agree that the federal government should not be in the business of funding abortions - especially since Planned Parenthood is a billion dollar a year industry that is doing just fine on its own - that young girls seeking abortions must get parental permission, and that killing babies that are viable outside the womb is indeed murder. And considering that more people have lost their lives to abortion than in fighting wars for this country, by about 49 million, I would think these compromises would be acceptable for those in the pro-abortion camp. -- Alaina Neimann, Downey

********** Published: February 2, 2012 - Volume 10 - Issue 42