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On Sunday I attended the abortion rights rally at the State Capitol, along with 5,000 other supporters. Having four daughters, I have always supported the pro-choice position, even though I am a conservative white man. To my dismay, many used the rally as an opportunity to attack conservative white men, most notably Rep. Ilhan Omar, who issued the following warning to the women in the crowd: "If you don't want to go back to a time when ultraconservative white men decide what you do with your body, you have to fight back with us" ("Thousands rally for abortion rights," July 18).
Apparently Omar is unaware of the makeup of the Supreme Court that rendered the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision that granted women the right to an abortion during the first trimester. The justice who wrote the Roe opinion was Minnesotan Harry Blackmun, a conservative white male nominated to the court by President Richard Nixon. The chief justice and leader of the court was Minnesota's own Warren Burger, another conservative white male nominated by Nixon. In fact, Roe was criticized most severely by Democratic Sen. Joe Biden and Democratic icon Ruth Bader Ginsburg.
Supporters of women's rights, including abortion rights, should focus on encouraging voters to elect pro-choice legislators and avoid turning the issue into an opportunity to attack conservative white men. They may be surprised to learn that some conservative white men are sympathetic to the ends they hope to achieve.
Ronald Haskvitz, Golden Valley
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Roe v. Wade was reversed because it was a poorly constructed ruling. Many abortion supporters agreed. Edward Lazarus, former clerk to Justice Harry Blackmun, author of Roe, stated that "Roe borders on the indefensible." In a Washington Post article, he observed, "even most 'jurisprudes' — if you administer truth serum — will tell you it is basically indefensible."