A recent letter said it was up to women to not get pregnant, and that once pregnant they should have to continue with the pregnancy.
Nowhere in the letter does Mr. Hartley say men should step up and take control of their own birth control, so they don’t get women pregnant accidentally. Nowhere does he say men shouldn’t rape women or sexually molest children or otherwise cause women to get pregnant against their will. Nowhere does he seem to understand that birth control is not 100 percent effective.
He does not call for free medical care for pregnant women or other services that could help them carry a pregnancy to term. He doesn’t indicate that he realizes that pregnancy can be very risky or that some fetuses will not survive birth no matter what. I hope he supports universal access to all forms of birth control at no charge, but he doesn’t say that either.
It is obvious he has no understanding of the issue. I’m glad he is not in charge. Women need to control their own bodies and decide for themselves if they should continue their pregnancy or have an abortion. Women need to have all their options available to them, and not be forced to have a child because Mr. Hartley thinks they should.
