ABORTION: Support for women in article

I want to express my support for Jennifer Adkins, Kayla Smith, Jilliane St. Michel, and the other women named in the article “Idaho women say anti-abortion website’s articles are 'false and defamatory.'” Regardless of where someone stands on abortion, no family should have to endure the trauma of a fatal fetal diagnosis and then be publicly accused of lying about their medical experience.

These women shared some of the most painful moments of their lives in an effort to explain how Idaho’s abortion laws affected them and their families. To have those experiences dismissed, mocked, or characterized as “killing their babies” is not constructive public debate. It is deeply dehumanizing.

Medical decisions involving severe fetal abnormalities are extraordinarily complex and are made between patients, their families, and their physicians. None of us were in those exam rooms. None of us carried those pregnancies. We should approach these stories with humility and compassion, not with assumptions about people’s motives or character.

I am grateful these women had the courage to speak publicly, even knowing the criticism they would face. Idaho can be a place where people hold different beliefs and still treat one another with dignity and respect. Whatever our views, we should be able to agree that no one deserves harassment, death threats, or defamatory attacks for sharing their personal medical story.

My heart goes out to these women and their families. They have already endured an unimaginable loss. They shouldn’t have to fight misinformation and harassment on top of their grief.

REBECCA MERRIGAN

Coeur d’Alene