To the Editor:

Brendan O’Reilly’s column about abortion in last weeks Chronicle is irresponsible journalism and this newspaper ought to be ashamed for printing such misinformation. First of all it is blatantly false to say that overturning Roe v. Wade would make having an abortion a federal crime. The fact is such a ruling would return the right to restrict abortion to the states. To suggest otherwise is misleading and compromises the journalistic integrity of this paper.

My second argument with O’Reilly is where he suggests that “females have ended their pregnancies by sticking metal coat hanger up through their cervix and removing the developing fetus.” I don’t challenge that women would still abort babies regardless of the law. But to justify the legality of something based on whether or not people will do it is remarkably flawed logic. Murder is illegal, but if people still do kill others does that mean it should be legalized? Maybe I’m crazy, but I submit that it should not.

Finally, O’Reilly hopes the new Supreme Court justices would “have the wisdom to respect a 32-year-old precedent.” Previously ‘disrespected’ Court precedents include Plessy v. Ferguson (1896), which was a 58-year-old precedent before it was overturned in Brown v. Board of Education (1954). The ability of government to right its prior wrongs is vital to the continuity of its relevance.

The bottom line is that in a democracy elections have consequences. In 2004, Americans reelected President Bush knowing not only that several Supreme Court seats would likely come open during this term, but that these nominations would be “in the mold of Thomas and Scalia.” Reasonable minds may disagree on the ethical implications of abortion. But when a position of a government is unpopular in the hearts and minds of the majority of citizens, we the people have the right and responsibility to fix said government accordingly. Again, dissent is encouraged by our system of democracy. If you take issue with judges nominated by our President, vote for a pro-abortion candidates and senators next time around and encourage others to do the same. That’s how denocracy works.

Dave BrownsteinJunior Marketing Major