Mailbag: Planned Parenthood is missing the point

After reading a few recent editorials regarding Planned Parenthood, I looked at the group’s website and its 2013-14 annual report. Out of about $1.3 billion in 2013-14 annual revenue, $528 million (40%) was subsidized by the U.S. government.

The federal government is not supposed to fund abortions, but it seems that it is. Planned Parenthood’s 2013-14 annual report showed 327,653 abortions were provided to women.

How many fetuses (babies) were destroyed by our American taxpayer money?

According to news publications, in response to the recent videos in Planned Parenthood offices, an Aug. 4 Planned Parenthood statement states “extremists who oppose Planned Parenthood’s mission and services are making outrageous and completely false claims,” and it goes on to state ... they “show a total lack of compassion and dignity for women’s most personal medical decisions.”

Many people, myself included, oppose abortion but don’t lack compassion for women. I believe that a fetus is a person, not just “fetal tissue.” An embryo has human DNA from the time of conception.

It seems like, as a society, we have become very callous toward the unborn.

Planned Parenthood says they are providing a much-needed service to avert unwanted pregnancies. But there isn’t much conversation about the fetus and its personhood.

Consider these Planned Parenthood website quotes: “In later second-trimester procedures, you may also need a shot through your abdomen to make sure that the fetus’s heart stops before the procedure begins”… and “Medical instruments and a suction machine gently empty your uterus.”

It may be gentle for the woman, but not too gentle for the fetus. After the procedure, the fetal parts are put in a Petri dish. Then these parts are collected and sold or given out later to conduct research?

The core issue is whether one considers the miraculous act of human conception a blob of disposable-at-will “fetal tissue” or a living, as-yet-unborn human being.

Abortion is against my convictions and beliefs. I will stand up for the unborn.

Rick Rainey

Costa Mesa

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Fetal tissue is important part of medical care

There has been a lot of controversy about Planned Parenthood recently and the use of fetal tissue for research. As a neurologist, I strongly support the use of fetal tissue for research, as I treat patients whose lives have been turned upside down by diseases such as Parkinson’s disease and multiple sclerosis.

I believe that the key to unlocking these diseases is through this type of research. As such, it is completely logical to use the fetal tissue from abortions — which remain legal in this country — assuming that appropriate permission is obtained. It is also logical that the costs of preserving and transporting fetal tissue should be borne by the research institution.

This is very different than the “sale” of fetal tissue.

Opponents to abortion will use every tactic they have to shape public opinion their way, but in this case, I think they are barking up the wrong tree.

Susan Skinner

Newport Beach

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Standing up to Peotter is in city’s best interest

Bravo, Barbara Venezia, for another insightful column Aug. 14 on the ongoing debate about Scott Peotter’s use of the Newport Beach city seal to vent his hate-fomenting, homophobic opinions about LGBT rights and the recent Supreme Court decision legalizing gay marriage.

Venezia has been the public voice for those of us in Newport Beach who believe that our city should not allow council members to air their personal beliefs under the guise of freedom of speech.

I, along with members of a new coastal wildlife protection group, have been working closely with our city manager for the last three months to try and prevent another wildlife tragedy like the one that occurred on May 28 in Balboa.

Dave Kiff has been an invaluable ally in our efforts to protect nesting birds, and I worry that the City Council’s refusal to censure Peotter could be, as Venezia astutely points out, creating a hostile work environment for him and other gay city employees.

There are many reasons why I’m proud of my city, but the council’s unwillingness to do the morally and legally right thing and censure Peotter makes me feel deeply ashamed. I can only hope there is some way to remedy this going forward and reverse this mistake.

Shelley Ervin

Newport Beach