This letter was printed in the Richmond Times-Disaptch on May 23, 2001.

May 17, 2001

Richmond Times-Dispatch P.O. Box 85333 Richmond, VA 23293 Attn: Editorial Page

Dear Sirs,

I trust you are well. Once again I find myself compelled to write to your editorial page to ask a question about our cultural decline.

In today’s edition of the Times-Dispatch (May 17) on page A6 is a brief note datelined, Conway, S.C. It is an Associated Press story titled, Woman guilty of killing unborn child.

I couldn’t help but think how this sort of story can lead to confusion among, not just our young people, but our older citizens as well. In today’s cultural climate, where we seem to have little regard for innocent human life how do we square this woman’s plight with our desire to make sure that women have a right to do what they want with their own bodies?

Now bear with me. This woman is being sent to prison for 12 years for killing her baby, while still in the womb, by ingesting cocaine. Now I can’t help but wonder if she would face the same penalty if she had gone to a clinic and paid a man in a white jacket to kill the baby for her? If she would not face such a penalty under that circumstance then I would ask, why not?

Now we have to be intellectually honest here and ask, If a woman has a right to do with her body and it’s contents as she pleases, why is this woman facing 12 years in prison? How do we explain the difference to young people who are searching for the answers to life’s questions about right and wrong? Is it any wonder we find ourselves in the cultural morass we currently experience?

Beam me up, Scotty!

Sincerely,

Floyd C. Bayne