This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2013, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
The "personhood" measures under discussion in North Dakota, which would ban abortions by defining human life as beginning with conception, are especially frustrating considering that they would be applied even in the case of rape ("North Dakota looks at more abortion restrictions," Tribune, March 23).
Post traumatic stress disorder is a psychological condition resulting from extreme stress. One study of rape victims showed that within a month of their assault, 94 percent experienced PTSD.
One in six women will endure either rape or attempted rape in their lifetimes. Hence, the number of women potentially dealing with severe stress conditions as a result of rape is staggering.
It is inhumane to force a woman to carry to term a baby who consistently reminds her that someone decided that her consent was not necessary.
I do not understand how a fertilized egg garners more respect than a living, breathing woman who should be able to choose what happens to her body, a choice that (in the case of rape victims) was already denied her once.
Emily Donaldson
Salt Lake City