Today’s Tuesday December 7, 2021 Post Dispatch, had a Letter to the Editor that captured, I think, the very best argument against overturning Row. Of course the short form is “ If a woman’s heart is beating, leave her the @#$&$ alone! Aside from this, is a serious rational appeal submitted by Sandra Greenberg of Bridgeton. I will quote a few lines. She begins with “Whose life and rights are more important? They cannot be equal. Does the woman, who is a fully sentient and self-aware being, stay in control of her body, or does the state control her body on behalf of a non-sentient embryo that may, or may not, fully develop? I think this point is important because the state takes possession of the unborn by controlling the woman. And we all know this  interest in possession fades as soon a feeding and diapering begin, times a minimum of 21 years, at the cost ,of say, a million dollars over 21 years. Just the hospital birth can cost $20,000, up from there with medical complications but only in the United States of America. Over the Canadian border hospital birth is nearly free.

   She says, “Anti-choice is really about control”. She continues, “There would be a sharp decline in abortions if we supported Universal Healthcare, paid maternity leave, free day care and comprehensive sex education. Teach boys that preventing pregnancy is equally their responsibility.” The cost of these life sustaining measures is absorbed by every other western or wealthy country in the world. 

  To get edgy and morbid the letter writer continues, “make reversible vasectomy mandatory at age 18.” That sounds fair. Why not control the reproductive organs of the male body, which is easier and safer medically and less costly yet equally responsible for causing abortion?

  The letter writer quotes a Virginia state senator saying, “Tell women that, once pregnant, their rights end and they are nothing but a host.” Author adds, “A complete loss of body autonomy is, basically, slavery.” 

  I like the sign I saw at the Women’s March/ Planned Parenthood Rally this fall. It read, My uterus, my business! That would bring us closer to the global norm of gender equality. With that, world peace may likely follow.