Wednesday, September 18, 2002

I respect differences of opinion in regard to my monthly column and I value the "Letters to the Editor" forum that allows those differences to be aired. I do, however, contest two assertions presented in Mr. Trey Hoffman's comments about my Aug. 28 article entitled, "The Decision to Conceive."

Mr. Hoffman suggested that my article presented an "odor of eugenics of early 20th-century Europe." I fail to see how calling people to responsible decision-making in their own families before they conceive can in any way be compared to governments or religious bodies dictating those decisions to the masses, abortion, or to "forced sterilization of undesirables."

A significant problem in our culture is that people are unwilling to take responsibility for the decisions they make. My argument was that people should carefully evaluate the huge responsibility involved in being a parent and decide if they are ready for it before they choose to conceive. The final decision rests with them not with governments, a dictator, or a social or religious group.

Secondly, the logical extremes that Mr. Hoffman applied to my article could equally be applied to his own comments. If my suggestion that one should take responsibility in making the decision to conceive leads to the "logical extreme" of eugenics, then Mr. Hoffman's argument must lead to the logical extreme of encouraging anyone who has reached puberty to conceive including children 11, 12, and 13 years of age simply because they can.

I cannot believe that Mr. Hoffman would suggest encouraging pregnancy in the early teen years, yet if he would agree that we should encourage children to wait until they are physically, emotionally, cognitively and spiritually capable of and prepared for raising children would he also be presenting an "odor of eugenics"? Either way, his argument is seriously flawed.

I understand that some religions prohibit some forms of contraception, yet even then there are ways to prevent pregnancy that do not violate one's faith (abstinence, rhythm, etc.). Mr. Hoffman suggests that childbearing is conceived by God, implying that we should not interrupt God's divinely created biological system even if it means preventing an unwanted pregnancy. I also aver that one's ability to make rational decisions is also "conceived of by God."

I appreciate the fact that Mr. Hoffman twice in his letter conceded that I was not suggesting aborting unwanted pregnancies, yet his comparison of my argument for personal responsibility with Hitler's attempt to create a master race through governmental force is a stretch at the very least.

Gregory K. Moffatt, Ph.D.

Fayette

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