Being as I have the Newsweek issue that ran the letters-to-the-editor, generated by Newsweek's cover story on the abortion debate, I thought I'd post them here. So far as I've been able to determine, Newsweek has not yet made it's digital archives available online. As a result, I cannot link to the content that I am writing about. However, since I do have copies of the issues themselves, I can scan and post. The last letter in the column was written by Bob Packwood, a Republican senator from Oregon. His letter is cut-off because it continues on another page. Here is how it concludes: "...Neither should any woman be denied the right have a voluntary abortion. Again, congratulations for a fine effort."Senator Packwood was consistently pro-choice and, as he points out in his letter, he introduced the senate's first abortion legalization bill. Sadly, if Bob Packwood is remembered for anything today, it is for the allegations of sexual misconduct leveled against him by 10 woman. The charges led to Packwood resigning from the senate in 1995. A distinguished career in public service reduced to tabloid fodder. Senator Packwood represented a species that was dying-off when he left office, and is now officially extinct. He was open-minded and independent to the point of defying his own party, and president, when he felt strongly enough about something. Try finding someone who fits that description in either party today.
I think that the letters give us a fascinating window into what people were thinking about an issue that remains as polarizing today, as it was 40 years ago. Curious that the suggestion made by Ms. Diane Keane of Pittsburgh, Pa never gained any traction...
No comments:
Post a Comment