The Impact of the Abortion Issue on the Presidential Election

Regarding the front-page article "Republicans Face Hot Battle On Abortion at Convention," July 29: Does a woman have the right to make decisions regarding her body, her health, and her mental and physical well-being, or doesn't she? No matter the point at which life begins, the question is, who dictates the terms by which life is lived?

The desire for individual freedom from the capricious, external dictates of self-appointed governors drove America's independence movement to full-fledged war - hard-fought and hard-won. Freedom of choice used to be an American tradition. Have we forgotten this hard-won liberty bequeathed us by our Founding Fathers? Or are women still left out of the equation? Surely, such an intimate concern as one's own body must be left to one's own conscience. Marie Shih, Seattle

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