I was very happy to have received your 1989 Calendar of Individual Freedom. I enjoy learning a little history each day. I do, however, have one complaint.

On the date of January 22, you have written as a good event [written in green], the following: "U.S. Supreme Court rules states cannot prevent woman from seeking abortion, overturning restrictive laws in 44 states [1973]."

I do not view this to be a high point in the history of human freedom. Perhaps the ruling allows greater freedom to those women who would have abortions, but it has overwhelmingly restricted the freedom of over 15 million human beings. Certainly nine months of restriction have no comparison to a lifetime of worth.

When I order my 1990 Calendar of Individual Freedom, hope to see this deficiency corrected.

December, 1988
Mark Willer
BROOKFIELD, Wisconsin

EDITOR: Sorry to disappoint you. We fully realize that abortion is a difficult and unpleasant matter for many; if the truth be known, we tend to sympathize with those who object to the practice. But sympathy is no sound basis for solving the abortion dilemma. Knowledge, education, and self-responsibility are the ultimate keys in reducing abortions, a worthy objective to be sure. But in the presence of government controls and restrictions, these preconditions are simply unattainable. The significance of the U.S. Supreme court decision has little to do with abortion itself; it has to do with the legal acknowledgement that a woman has the primary right to her own body.

Originally published: Freedom Flyer 13