Seymour’s Decision to Turn Pro-Choice
Re state Sen. John Seymour’s (R-Anaheim) pro-choice position:
The senator’s new position on abortion is particularly laudable because it helps to clarify what it really means to be pro-choice.
Every individual’s right to judge abortion as right or wrong and to act personally according to his own convictions is to be respected. That is the cornerstone of pro-choice philosophy. But as the senator points out, to impose one’s personal belief on others would not be “appropriate,” especially through the “privileged power” he has as a state legislator. Using the power of the government to impose personally held beliefs is just as unacceptable as using tactics of intimidation and coercion.
Especially profound is the senator’s realization that the government should not discriminate against the poor in funding medical services. Politically it certainly wasn’t necessary or even expedient to reach that conclusion. But it is decent and fair-minded.
BARBARA JACKSON
North Orange County Chapter
National Organization for Women
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