Crime and punishment

THE EDITOR: When has increasing the severity of the punishment for any crime in our society resulted in a lasting reduction of its incidence? Yet, that is precisely the proposal Ms Joan Moore suggests for abortion, safe and unsafe alike (Newsday, April 16). The fact that this law has never been and can never be effectively enforced has escaped her. The fact that globally, every effort at enforcement has resulted not in fewer abortions but in great harm to women’s lives, is something she ignores.

Unwanted pregnancies are a reality of reproductive life. For whatever reason, couples sometimes decide to terminate an unwanted pregnancy. As couples commit to smaller families, this practice will persist. Only a transition to more reliable contraceptives can help reduce the incidence of abortion. And only provision for legal, medical abortion will eliminate the horror of unsafe abortions that stalks us today. More severe punishment is not the answer to the problem of abortion, safe or unsafe.

GLORIA TAITT
San Fernando