To the Editor:

Forty years have passed since the Supreme Court ruled 7-2 in favor of the national right to abortion.

That meant and means to me that, if and when women need or want an abortion for any reason, it was and is still legal, although barely, to have one.

That meant and means to me that if a woman and/or her family can’t take care of the unplanned baby for any reason, abortion is available, safe and legal.

It probably is never an easy decision to make. It wasn’t when I had to have an abortion.

What legal abortion does not mean to me is that everyone has to have an abortion who has an unwanted pregnancy. Legal abortion is available only for those who need it. It is not mandatory.

So I don’t understand why, for the past 40 years, demonstrators, legislators and states keep demanding that, since they don’t believe in abortion, then nobody should be able to have one, for any reason. The law gives the right to choose, which is what democracy is about, too, by the way.

The often cruel demonstrations just tip the scales heavily on the side of selfishness, especially when right-to-lifers don’t seem to care a twit about insured contraception, prenatal care, postnatal care, nursery and day care availability and the actual care of the baby and the family after birth.

Need I say more about upholding Roe v. Wade?

Hannah Fox Trowbridge
Harpswell