Letters

RU 486, the Abortion Pill

"I agree that a woman has a right to choose, but it saddens me to see what so many are deciding." CASSANDRA MEYER Loyal, Wis.

Thank God for the privacy afforded by RU 486 [NATION, Oct. 9]. The so-called right-to-lifers have no business interfering in other people's lives [by opposing abortion]. They can't seem to understand that their position contributes to overpopulation, global warming, the destruction of the environment and the deterioration of the quality of life for all mankind. CYNTHIA DELAFIELD New York City

The story of Amy, who took the abortion pill because she believes her family is not settled enough to have another baby, was terrifying. She has a four-year-old son and a good marriage. Financially they are well off, considering they are renovating their home. But the gift of a baby, a new life, is unsettling to them. It is even more unsettling to think that now anyone who feels like Amy, that a baby may make things less simple, can take the RU 486 abortion pill and end a life. What has happened to our society? BETH BOWMAN Manhattan Beach, Calif.

I would like to amplify my comments on the RU 486 method of abortion. Research compiled by the American Psychological Association shows that for most women the major psychological aftereffect of abortion is relief and that very few women experience any serious psychological difficulties with abortion. It is possible that of the minority of women who have serious emotional reactions after their abortions, some portion of mifepristone [RU 486] patients may have difficulty confronting the products of conception. However, the experience of mifepristone patients in both Europe and the U.S. clinical trials suggests a high degree of satisfaction with this method, with strong majorities telling researchers they would use this method again if they needed another abortion, and would recommend it to friends. CAROLE JOFFE Bryn Mawr, Pa.

Does the pro-life camp think the decision to have an abortion is made with the concern and brevity of choosing an outfit for work? What woman would not feel the effects for the rest of her life? But what child benefits from being brought into a world where he or she might not be taken care of properly or might be shuffled in and out of the unloving social-service system? RU 486 allows women to make a very hard, very controversial decision in a private and personal manner, the way it should be. LAUREN E. PETREE Blacksburg, Va.

No woman wants to have an abortion. It is a physically and emotionally painful procedure, but sometimes it is the only means to retain control of one's life and future. Certainly, it is not a decision taken lightly. When birth-control methods fail, it's the woman who pays, the woman who carries the child, delivers it and rears it--sometimes without financial support from the father and on a lower salary than a man would earn. You would have to be blind not to see that an unwanted pregnancy can be devastating to a woman's future. LEYLAND RYAN Honolulu

It seems contradictory to label RU 486 "safe and effective" considering that its effectiveness is dependent on its being 100% lethal to embryos. TIM O'BRIEN Des Plaines, Ill.

Whether a woman terminates her pregnancy at a clinic or by pill form in the privacy of her home, she will be forever changed, forever bonded with a silent group of women who in their own heart made the best decision for themselves. No one really chooses abortion as an alternative to birth control. I was 32 years old and more surprised than my partner that I was pregnant. How much more private it would have been to take a pill than to have had to confront a mob of angry strangers who tried to block my way without ever knowing me or the reasons for my decision. Each year as October approaches, I reflect on a choice that has ultimately ruled my life, both positively and negatively. However, I never waver from the conviction that it was my decision and only mine. NAME WITHHELD BY REQUEST Highland, Calif.

Are people actually so stupid as to think they can have unprotected sex without the chance of producing offspring? Maybe they should start taking responsibility for their actions or keep their pants on. JOE P. SMITH Boston

PAX OLYMPICA

The Olympic Games in Sydney were the best ever [THE SUMMER OLYMPICS, Oct. 9]. The Games have always pioneered race relations and social progress. Indeed, women were allowed to participate often long before they were given the right to vote in their home countries. The Summer Games will be held in Athens in 2004. I call on the International Olympic Committee, all countries participating in the Games and all media to join in making the next Summer Olympics a period of truce--free of war, as the Greek founders intended. PHILIPPE ALLEMAN Kontich, Belgium

Next Stop, Athens

I find any talk that perhaps the Olympics should return to Sydney in 2004 instead of Athens [Oct. 9] quite unbelievable! I agree that the Sydney Olympics were spectacular, but the Athens 2004 Olympics will be the most memorable and moving the world has experienced in more than 100 years. Greek people worldwide are very proud of our country as the birthplace of the ancient and modern Olympics. We know that Greece will thrive and match the challenge set by Sydney 2000. MARIANA JOANNOU Durban, South Africa

A Man of Vision

Prime Minister Pierre Elliott Trudeau showed leaders like Gorbachev and Castro that they could have relationships with the West [MILESTONES, Oct. 9]. When one thinks of whom Trudeau talked to and when, one realizes that Trudeau probably saved the world from itself. KEN SOMMERFELD Kamloops, B.C.

Where would Canada be today if there had been no Trudeau and the government had more closely aligned its economic policies with those of the U.S.? What if our Prime Minister had had the vision to lead the nation to its appropriate place within the international community? We would not be in the troubled situation we now find ourselves in. CHRIS LEGEYT Calgary, Alta.

Trudeau was a controversial politician, but he was also a great man. He may be the only reason why we can be proud to be Canadians. LINDA KO Port Coquitlam, B.C.

When Trudeau took office, the time was ripe for a new breed of leader with bold ideas. Trudeau dreamed of a Canada that was not a country of two solitudes but rather a nation of pluralism. The vastness of the land was surpassed only by the vastness of his dream. His detractors just strengthened his resolve to forge ahead. Following one's dreams means risking failure. But where would the world be without its dreamers? STEPHEN ST. DENIS Ottawa

Farewell to a Friend

With Trudeau's death, immigrants from Asian and African countries have lost a great mentor and savior [EULOGY, Oct. 9]. Many downtrodden people from these countries found a refuge in Canada, owing to Trudeau's patronage. He opened the door to immigrants and paved the way for changing the demographic landscape of Canada. His vision of a just society of equality for all human beings, irrespective of color and creed, is praiseworthy. He advocated bilingualism and saved Canada from bifurcation. He was a great teacher, an intellectual, adventurer, journalist, idealist and leader of international stature. Many of us immigrants feel orphaned by his sad demise. MOHAMMAD RAFIQULLAH Mississauga, Ont.

Free Music on the Net

I read about all the fuss that Napster, the music-file-sharing program, was causing [TECHNOLOGY, Oct. 2], so I decided to download it and try it out myself. A lot of people probably hadn't heard of Napster before the filing of the lawsuit charging that the software facilitates the theft of intellectual property. I believe that many musical artists get paid way too much for what they do. "Pretty boy" band members get rich for just looking good, while teachers and other valued professionals earn peanuts. Maybe it's time the popular "artists" got paid what they truly deserve! DAVID SCOTT Singapore

Taking somebody else's intellectual property is illegal, but that is what Shawn Fanning, the founder of Napster, is doing. Yet he gets the cover of TIME. Are you setting up Fanning and Napster for the inevitable fall? OSAGIE IMA-ANDREWS Lagos

I love Napster. I may never have to buy another CD. The record companies need to find a new business model. In the past consumers were stuck with buying CDs, and now the record companies are stuck with Napster. JULIAN TOL Amsterdam

Showdown in Yugoslavia

All of a sudden the people of Serbia are presented as wanting democracy [WORLD, Oct. 9], but don't forget that they supported Milosevic for 13 years. ELVIS TALIC Scottsdale, Ariz.

The Voucher Debate

Your report on school vouchers that use tax dollars to help parents send their kids to private schools [EDUCATION, Oct. 9] quoted a school-privatization expert who said the differences in test scores between students who used vouchers and others are so small that people are "arguing based on personal beliefs, not evidence." Far from being inconclusive, the evidence from four different randomized field trials of school vouchers shows that African-American voucher students outperform their peers on standardized tests by an average of 6 to 7 percentile points after one to two years--a larger benefit than reducing class size. Vouchers work. GEORGE A. CLOWES, MANAGING EDITOR School Reform News Chicago

A Simple Plan

The solution to the Social Security, Medicare and prescription-drug problems is so incredibly obvious, I am amazed that no one has thought of it before [NATION, Oct. 9]: put everyone in the country on the same plan that federal employees have. Does anyone believe retired Senators or members of Congress are reduced to facing the same painful choices most of us will? I want the same plan Al Gore has. Give me Bill Clinton's plan. If I cannot have their plan, then they should have the same plan as the rest of us. MICHAEL STEINBERG Clarks Summit, Pa.

Species at Risk

Your report on the IUCN red list of species headed for extinction released by the World Conservation Union [ENVIRONMENT, Oct. 9] stressed that the crisis may be even more acute than everybody has feared. But very few experts today are surprised by what is happening. No one should be surprised that in the light of so little action, the crisis is more serious today than it was a decade ago. Those of us who have spent our lives watching international negotiations on environmental problems become bogged down in politics and grandstanding saw this coming at least two decades ago. It was serious then; it is more serious now. ROBERT N. MOWBRAY Reston, Va.

Ballistic Billboards?

There's a solution to NASA's quest for boosting public awareness of its activities [SPACE, Oct. 9]. You asked if the public really wanted "the space agency's imprimatur on burgers or beverages." Perhaps people don't want this approach, but the best way to boost the space agency's popularity and generate a huge financial windfall at the same time would be to emblazon "Drink Coca-Cola" on the side of the space shuttle. COLLEEN FITZPATRICK Fountain Valley, Calif.