Letter to the Editor: Abortions were widely accepted during Colonial era

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The overturn of Roe v. Wade could, and should, be denounced for many reasons. The one I want to talk about here is to counter one of the things Samuel Alito wrote in his opinion, that being, “The inescapable conclusion is that a right to abortion is not deeply rooted in the Nation’s history and traditions.”

If you perceive Benjamin Franklin as part of our nation’s history and 1748 being deeply rooted in our traditions, there is a lot of documentation of the legality and acceptance of abortion.

In 1748, Franklin adapted George Fisher’s “The Instructor,” a British textbook, and published it after removing some sections not usable outside of Britain and adding others more relevant to life in the American Colonies.

One of the sections he added was an instruction guide to at-home abortions. There was no backlash from the Colonists about its inclusion in the textbook, and the book was widely used throughout the Colonies. Abortion was simply a part of life.

Is this not history and tradition? How much more is needed?

Kate Doyle

Georgetown

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