Letters to the editor, Sept. 21 Published 5:03 pm, Friday, September 19, 2014 http://www.sfgate.com/opinion/
Women are entirely capable of deciding whether and when to have children. Criminalizing abortion for any reason directly undermines the status, value and autonomy of women. “San Francisco feminism: Go ahead and abort girls” (Insight, Sept. 14) mistakenly suggests that bans on abortions based on the sex of the fetus are both acceptable and necessary to avoid wholesale femicide.
While choosing abortion based on sex is virtually unknown in the U.S., the best way to eliminate any vestige of the practice here and internationally is to demonstrate that our societies value women, from paying us equally to trusting our personal reasons for seeking an abortion.
The San Francisco Board of Supervisors, led by board President David Chiu, deserves support for its leadership in prohibiting abortion bans that promote racial stereotypes about Asian Americans and restrict women’s access to health care.
Ellen R. Shaffer, PhD, Director, Trust Women/Silver Ribbon Campaign, San Francisco