by Teresa Larsen, Victor
Firstly, if you made it through Cindi Schwartz letter on the Opinion page of the January 31, 2024, edition of the Star—congratulations.
Secondly, her numbers just don’t add up. If there have actually been 64,565 impregnated rape victims in 14 states since the Dobbs decision, and pregnancy occurs with 2.4% of rapes (not the 12% proposed by the Dickman report), that would mean that there were 1,345,083 rapes in 14 states in 18 months. I just don’t buy that number.
Thirdly, the Dickman report cited has been called into question for huge disparities and numbers that are virtually impossible. Inasmuch as Samuel Dickman is the medical director for Planned Parenthood Montana, it’s a given that any “study” he did would be self-serving for that organization.
We don’t need to “codify body autonomy issues”, we need to protect the lives of the most vulnerable human beings—those in the womb. Every woman deserves the joy of holding her newborn in her arms. “I have set before you life and death… Choose life (cf. Dt. 30:19)