Letter to the Editor

Students may have noticed “What the FOCA?” fliers and T-shirts springing up this past week. 

I am going to sum up what is known as the Freedom Of Choice Act, a bill President Obama has vowed to sign if Congress passes it to him.

In 1973, Roe v. Wade was made historic by legalizing abortion.  Here we are in 2009, after more than 50 million babies have been aborted – yes, 50 million, according to abortionfacts.com – and FOCA ensures the exponential growth of that number.  Why?  For starters, it will allow “partial birth” abortions.  What are partial birth abortions?  This means a child can still be aborted when he or she can survive outside the womb.  To be clear, as the name would indicate, a child can be aborted while actually being born.  Even Roe v. Wade still allowed for states to prohibit such an abortion, but FOCA will remove any such law.

Another change from the Roe v. Wade decision lies in the physicians performing the abortion.  If FOCA is passed, one will no longer need a license of any kind to perform the procedure.  If regular Joe Schmo can’t take someone’s appendix out, why should he be allowed to perform an abortion? 

Believe me, I wish I was making this stuff up, but this is very real.  To make it even more real, FOCA requires that taxpayers – you and me – pay for all of these abortions.

Personally, what astounded me most about the act was its abolishment of parental consent laws concerning abortion. 

Simply put, if a 13-year-old wants some Tylenol for a headache at school she needs parental consent.  If the same girl walks into Planned Parenthood asking for an abortion, wish granted.

In the most down-to-earth language I can use, the FOCA is awful. 

Doctors and nurses currently have the right to decline a procedure if they are morally opposed.  This won’t be the case anymore, and many hospitals will close because of it.

It should be noted that this is not a black and white, pro-life vs. pro-choice issue.  Many pro-choice people are still against FOCA and what it proposes. 

No matter your views, this is a very scary step in a very wrong direction for our country.