Pubdate: Wed, 30 Mar 2016
Source: Press Democrat, The (Santa Rosa, CA)
Copyright: 2016 The Press Democrat
Contact:  http://www.pressdemocrat.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/348
Author: Ellen Skagerberg

ADDICTION AND BABIES

EDITOR: A woman accidentally develops the chronic disease of 
addiction and then she accidentally gets pregnant. Dr. Erin Lund of 
Vista Family Health Center ("A message of hope for opioid-addicted 
pregnant women," Close to Home, Saturday) asks the community to 
"remove our value judgments and encourage those who are suffering to 
seek help. Pregnancy can be a unique opportunity for women to turn 
their lives around."

Perhaps having a baby does give some women their best shot at 
overcoming addiction, but why should a baby have to save its parents, 
at the expense of its own quality of life? Many more women can't 
kick, or don't even try.

What unborn soul has such bad karma that it would choose to be born 
under those dreadful conditions?

Instead of giving these women a moral pass, let's expect them to 
control their addictions first, before they intentionally bear 
health-compromised children, expecting the social safety net to catch them all.

I notice that Vista Family Health Center is not an abortion provider. 
We can better improve the quality of children's lives by voting - 
assuring women's right to the option of safe and legal abortion - so 
that children are wanted and planned and not born with the addictions 
of their mothers.

ELLEN SKAGERBERG

Santa Rosa
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom