Age Appropriate Issues

To the Editor:

This is in response to the letter “Why Worry About Animals When Babies Are At Risk?” from Friday, January 28, written by Cristian Montanez.

I was appalled, to say the least, when I read this letter. I feel it was inappropriate to respond this way to the letter by 12-year-old, Katharine Bloxsom, who was writing about animal rights. Animal rights are a legitimate issue, and I applaud Katharine for taking a stand at her young age and trying to make a difference.

More importantly, I was saddened by the need this person felt in writing about abortion and trying to make a young girl see the harsh realities of life. Don’t our children grow up faster than they should these days as it is? We all know that kids have to grow up sooner, rather than later, and I feel that people should not try to darken their childhoods with a lot of numbers and statistics of issues they don’t yet need to understand.

I am not going to go on about abortion and a women’s right to choose because the issue of pro-life vs pro-choice has been debated for years, and it comes down to each person’s own beliefs. But I was particularly disturbed by the last paragraph of the letter when Cristian talks about Planned Parenthood not being found in towns like Newtown. That does not mean that people who live in suburban areas, like Newtown, do not have abortions. We would probably all be surprised by the number of abortions performed on middle-upper-class, white women not just on “poor people and African Americans.”

Planned Parenthood is not just a place to get an abortion, they also counsel women of any age and race about birth control and other options if they do become pregnant. Lastly, I feel animal rights is an appropriate issue for a 12-year-old to worry about, not abortion. Maybe if we all tried to protect our kids from these realities for a little while longer, then abortion might not become a reality for them.

Sincerely,

Danielle Fredericks

Pole Bridge Road, Sandy Hook                             February 1, 2005