Mailbag: Letter on Roe vs. Wade discounts millions of lives lost

I grew up on the East Coast at about the same time that letter writer Eleanor Egan did — in the 1950s and ‘60s (“Mailbag: Recall the dangerous time before Roe vs. Wade,” Aug. 26).

It seems funny to me that no one I grew up with had more than a few brothers and sisters. How did they do that without birth control provided by Planned Parenthood?

As a kid from the projects of Paterson. N.J., I never knew anyone who had had an abortion, though I’m not saying no one did. Egan said that at a point in her life, all of her close friends had had one. Really?

Were some abortions botched during that time? Without a doubt. Did some pregnancies cause conflict? Absolutely.

However, since Roe vs. Wade, tens of millions of babies have been killed through abortion. Can you even wrap your mind around that number?

Egan seems to be saying that the ability of women to not have the inconvenience of an unwanted pregnancy outweighs the deaths of millions and millions of people who were given no choice at all.

Brian Hoerning

Irvine

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Retain legal abortions — they are safer

The letter regarding the danger of reversing Roe vs. Wade is right to the point.

There is nothing nice about an abortion. Regardless of what the government does about this issue, there will be abortions. The only question is whether they will be legal and safe, or illegal and very dangerous. Outlawing abortions will be as successful as the prohibition of alcohol was.

Dr. Paul R. Kuhn

Newport Beach

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Sign proposal could cause blight

Clear Channel Outdoor wants approval to install a mammoth, brightly lit advertising board at the 405 Freeway and Euclid Street offramp next to the Fountain Valley water tank.

What a tragedy this would be.

The notice of the recent Planning Commission public hearing was sent only to Fountain Valley property owners who live within, get this, 500 feet of the physical location of the proposed reader boards. The reality of the situation is that these boards would be seen from a mile away or farther. Not only would this drastically change the quality of life for the nearby Costa Mesa residents, it probably would increase traffic accidents since these back-to-back billboards of brightly lit LED advertising would bathe drivers in intrusive light to catch their attention.

The Planning Commission voted to not recommend the proposal, which goes before the Fountain Valley City Council on Sept. 15. Let’s hope the council members do the right thing.

Leston Trueblood

Fountain Valley