Gloucester Daily Times Debate on Abortion (61), October 27, 1986

Preserve Individual Choice

On Nov. 4, the voters of Massachusetts will be face with a summary of a proposed amendment to the state Constitution. This is referendum question No. 1. It is intentionally ambiguous in content, designed to confuse the pro-choice majority of our state into casting an anti-abortion vote.

Because 80 percent of Massachusetts citizens agree women have the right to choose, the anti-abortion minority has deceptively packaged question No. 1 as a tax funding measure only. It isn’t.

This amendment will do more than eliminate state funding for poor women. It will give the state Legislature the power to decide when and if you should have a child. Also, it will eliminate freedom of personal choice for women with physical or emotional problems, even victims of rape and incest.

Choosing to have an abortion is never easy or pleasant, but we all have the right to make private reproductive decisions. To allow a zealous minority to stand as our moral judges, outlawing alternatives to which they object, is a profound breach of religious freedom. Let’s not empower the Massachusetts Legislature to regulate our private lives, forcing women to continue unplanned or possibly dangerous pregnancies.

Protect your reproductive freedom by voting “No” on question No. 1. No one should lose the right to choose.

Bonnie Brindle, 186 Main Street