Letters to the Editor

To the Daily:

I am writing in response to the Daily’s article entitled
Abortion may be key issue for female voters (03/25/04). The
Daily’s handling of such important and complex issues has
consistently been one-faceted and sensationalistic. As three of the
four women quoted all stated, the discussion of women’s
rights in the upcoming election will focus on much more than just
abortion. Reproductive justice encompasses not only the right to
end a pregnancy, but also the right to affordable contraception,
sexual autonomy, freedom from sexualized violence, as well as
freedom from coerced usage of birth control and the ability to
choose to have and raise a child. By consistently using the
word “abortion” in all headlines for any story having
even remote connections to reproductive rights, the Daily is
disgracefully capitalizing on the intense emotions surrounding
sexual health and sensationalizing the issue in an attempt to
garner readership, to the point that the primary message of the
story is often lost.

How can American people ever hope to achieve reproductive
justice when the news sources largely responsible for disseminating
information continue to propagate single-issue, narrow-voiced
rhetoric in a way that focuses solely on abortion?  As many of
the women quoted in the article clearly stated, choice is about far
more than terminating a pregnancy. The legacy of Roe v. Wade
is key to ensuring legal availability of comprehensive reproductive
options. However, it is time to expand the language of choice to
support all of a woman’s rights and decisions, whether to
have and raise a child, end a pregnancy, leave a violent
relationship or enjoy sexual autonomy. While many of the women
quoted mentioned abortion, they also discussed a number of other
critical issues that will be salient in the upcoming election. If
the Daily is truly committed to objective reporting, journalistic
integrity and fully informing the community on a wide number of
issues, it must cease shamelessly capitalizing on the strong
emotions evoked by the word “abortion” and work to
provide a complete picture of the reproductive and sexual
complexities facing women today.

Lisa Bakale-Wise

LSA sophomore

MSA representative

Executive Board, Students for Choice

 

Reader: Granholm is the governor, not a celebrity from the
East Coast

To the Daily:

Was John Laich’s letter (Davis a good choice over
Ivy-League pompous East-Coast types, 03/25/04) a joke?
Doesn’t he know Jennifer Granholm is from Michigan (well,
from Canada originally) and also the governor? Personally,
I’ve never seen her in a movie or in People magazine sporting
the latest styles on Fifth Avenue, so I don’t know why Laich
thinks she’s an East Coast, “pompous”
celebrity.

Justin Sears

LSA senior