Dear Editor:

I am writing in response to the letter from Joel Morley. I want to thank Holly Stover and Janet Mills for supporting the new legislation that allows a a woman in consultation with her doctor to decide when a pregnancy past viability is  necessary. The bill was introduced because of a Maine woman' s horrific experience of a severely damaged fetus. Because she could not receive an abortion in her own state, she had to leave the state to obtain an abortion her doctor agreed was the right option for the family.

The verbal trope of "abortion until birth" is just that, a party line used to excite the base of those opposed to abortion under any circumstances.

This kind of reasoning discounts the autonomy of a woman and her right to make medical decisions in concert with her doctor. Women are not children and the state has no right to make such incredibly hard and painful decisions like this woman encountered and hamstring doctors in carrying out their job in caring for a patient.

And yes, this vote did represent my thought on this bill and I am sure many other women would agree with me. I also am a parent and a grandparent, who worked in reproductive health and women's rights and knows personally the individual stories and difficult decisions women often must make.

Bonnie Ginger

Boothbay