Regarding the recent letter about abortion (and to paraphrase Patrick Moynihan), everyone is entitled to her own opinion but not to her own facts. Citing a biased pro-life website’s cherry-picked and manipulated data does not constitute facts.

While banning abortion might not be primarily about “forced birth” to some people, it is nonetheless the reality for women and girls, especially poor ones. If a female is pregnant and does not want to be but is denied a legal abortion, what are her choices? Either give birth against her will, seek an illegal abortion, or commit suicide. All of those things happen, but abortions have always been easily available in America for the wealthy, even before 1972. And they always will be.

If banning abortion is not about forced birth, why have at least 12 states so far banned abortions without an exception for rape, incest, or if the mother’s life is endangered? And why are several of those same states trying to ban birth control completely or make it available only to married women? Why are Republican lawmakers trying to make it a crime to travel to get an abortion?

Anybody who supports forcing a girl as young as 7 who is a victim of rape or incest to give birth is not pro-life, and neither is anybody who thinks living females of any age should not have full control of their own bodies and choices. Jane Pait and those like her can truthfully call themselves “pro-birth,” but they are not pro-life. Especially as they excuse the slaughter of living, breathing children in gun violence.

For those who say the US Constitution does not give females the right to an abortion, the Constitution also does not give anyone the right to force us into pregnancy and childbirth, even though abortions have been common since the time of ancient Egypt (and the Constitution was written by men who owned slaves and considered women as property).

Claiming that life begins at conception is just an opinion. But for those who claim their opinions are based on their Christian beliefs, God says in Genesis 2:7 that we become a living soul only with the first breath of life, which is why Jewish law not only allows abortion (and it is part of free health care in Israel) but REQUIRES abortion in some cases. They believe God’s word about when life begins, and so do I.

Patsy Sheppard

Tar Heel