The lives of the unborn deserve protection, too | READER COMMENTARY

Under the recent headline, “Panel mulls abortion proposal” (Feb. 22), was a further explanation, in large type, that “House lawmakers hear bill to protect the right under Maryland constitution.”

I hope similar sympathetic language will be used in the future when The Baltimore Sun covers the efforts of those who seek to protect the lives of the unborn. There are always two lives involved in an abortion decision, and in every case of the unborn child, their lives are at stake, not just their health — mental or physical — as in the case of the mother.

Your article featured no stories of mothers who are able to deliver healthy babies, but for economic or other reasons, chose to end their pregnancy. Instead, it prominently featured only the stories of pregnancies where the baby would not make it to term (as Planned Parenthood “urged” lawmakers who disagreed with the bill being proposed “to listen to”).

Also, your article stated that “just 1%” of abortions are performed at 21 weeks or more. In Maryland, that would mean more than 300 late term abortions were performed in 2020. I think it is appropriate that the number, not just the 1% statistic, be included when writing any article where that statistic is cited. The support for restrictions on the right to abortion, as opposed to “protecting” it, is much higher among women for later term pregnancies.

— Mary Jo Hofmann, Parkville

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