Letter: Abortion request, not demand
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Your support makes all the difference.In "Abortion: as the shouting grows louder, is anyone listening to pregnant women?" (16 March) Ros Wynne-Jones says: "The heavy door to Life is protected by a wire grille, grim testimony to the potential violence of the abortion war". I would like to point out that the only violence used is by anti-abortionists, who are responsible for the killing and injuring of doctors, workers and clients of abortion clinics.
On the pro-choice side, we do not believe in violent means, but we do believe each woman should have the right to determine what happens to her. We don't believe in enforced motherhood, or enforced abortion.
Unlike Life and the Society for the Protection of Unborn Children, etc, we do not demand anything, we ask for abortion on request, because this would leave women with the space to think about whether or not they want to carry on with their pregnancy, rather than having to rush around getting two doctors to give their permission.
Abortion clinics are not resourced to find out what women want to do; they presume those who go to them have largely made up their minds. It is up to a woman's doctor to offer access to counselling if she is in doubt.
Soo Brookstone
London E7
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