Prosecuting Mothers

Ellen Goodman observes that “It has become trendy to arrest pregnant women for endangering their fetuses” (Op-Ed Page, Feb. 9). This is a chilling statement. All women should feel threatened and violated by this “trend.” A woman does not cease to be an individual, independent human being when she becomes pregnant. Legislating prenatal care is an insidious tactic by self-righteous legislators and others to reach inside our bodies and into our privacy in new attempts to persecute women. These seem to be the same people who refuse to support funds for family planning and prenatal care for women. If the goal in these prosecutions is truly to advocate the health of the fetus, then prosecutions must stop and prenatal care and education must become truly accessible and affordable. As Goodman points out, these women are not only endangering the health of the fetus, they are endangering their own health. Where is the concern for the woman in these Gestapo-like prosecutions?

KATHRYN S. TARBELL

Huntington Beach