If abortion had been legal in 1944, I might not be here today. But it wasn’t and I am.

My birth was a financial hardship for my family. My parents were in their 40s, with a 16-month-old, my sister. In 1945, at the end of World War II, my father was laid off by the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard and was unemployed periodically while I was growing up. As a result, I grew up in poverty. By the time I was 12 we had lived in 12 different places. At the age of 78 I still can’t speak or write about those early years without crying.

With the overturning of Roe v. Wade, researchers predict 75,000 more new births in the following year, most from mothers already living in financial hardship.

Now is the time for our federal and state governments and elected officials to focus on ensuring that America’s children don’t grow up in poverty. The pro-life movement needs to be really pro-life, not just pro-birth.

Paula N. Singer
Lyman