Letters Feb. 23

Rejects premise

To the person who submitted this statement in last week’s Pet Peeves, “Unplanned parenthood makes unloved babies”:

The premise here is that if you have an “unplanned” pregnancy then that baby will be unloved. I reject that premise.

No one is unloved. God loves everyone.

What is your solution to “unplanned parenthood”? Don’t tell me you only meant birth control (which is against God’s teaching, but that is another discussion) because it fails and then you are left with abortion.

Most parents don’t consider their children as planned or unplanned. They see them as gifts from God.

Is it adopted children that you are talking about? There are parents all over the world who have adopted children and love them more than you will ever know. My husband and I are among them. Ask any of us, they are not our adopted children - they are our children, gifts from God.

Are you talking about children who are kept by birth parents and not adopted? Because we are flawed human beings there will always be parents who could be better parents. The biggest cause of dysfunctional families in our society is the idea that there is no right or wrong, only “what I want”. Facing this truth and returning to a society where morality and right and wrong are valued is the only way to return to having stable, loving families.

Murdering helpless babies will not save our society. Acknowledging the truth that God gives us everything, that we have no right to destroy it and that there is right and wrong is the only thing that will save us.

Gerianne Buckley,

Colfax

Loved

Last week in the February 16 edition of the Gazette an anonymous individual saw fit to voice their opinion in a pet peeve that “Unplanned pregnancies make unloved babies.” According to a 2006 study published by the National Institute of Health, 49 percent of pregnancies were unintended (defined as either “undesired” or “mistimed”).

This includes pregnancies from both married and unmarried women and women among all age groups.

My twin brothers (born in 1988) were conceived merely six months after I was born.

While my parents did not plan to have even one baby that close in age to me, they nevertheless love my brothers as much as they love me.

My oldest son was another “mistimed” pregnancy, born the day before my 23rd birthday.

He may have come at what can be considered an inconvenient time in my life, but my son has no less brought me joy and has enriched me in more ways than I care to count.

If nearly half of all pregnancies are unplanned, by the statement of the aforementioned pet peeve half of all babies born in the United States are unloved. I do not need to have an advanced degree to observe the love and affection shown to the children of Whitman County. I do not need to visit with every child in this region to know that, yes, some children are neglected. I do not need to look further than the face of my sweet, kind, loved boy to know just how false this statement is and how hurtful it can be to the families made from these beautiful surprise children.

Liz Nelson,

Endicott