Readers write (May 20): Abortion, seat belts, stadium, gambling, church sex abuse

The headline above the May 18 editorial screamed out that "cruel abortion measures" and the heartlessness of Republican legislators are resulting in legislation that's not in the best interests of women and children.

No one likes to be taken to task, least of all the Star Tribune Editorial Board, but this obvious overstatement pales when compared with the measures we take as a society against the defenseless and unfortunate in the womb.

The editorial mentions that there are many social ramifications connected with unintended pregnancies and that this legislation would lead to more of them. Isn't a third-term abortion an extreme solution to low birth weight and possible complications? We are dealing with human beings at this point in a way that is more than cruel. Some call abortion a sin, and some would say it is committing murder.

Rather than publishing emotional and attention-gathering headlines, we should address the issue in ways that can bring clarity not disparity. This is where you come in!

A newspaper like yours could lead the way in addressing what some call the greatest social injustice of our time. Go for it.

CRAIG JOHNSON, PLYMOUTH

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Having been a staff member at a Planned Parenthood facility during the 1990s, I know that not having money available for family planning or the medical procedure to end a pregnancy only increases the number of low-income children, and increases abortions. Many of those abortions will be done by nonqualified people, which can lead to the physical maiming and/or death of the woman. When a low-income person does proceed with having a child, the state will then find itself monetarily supporting the many needs that child will have during the course of its life at a much higher cost than family planning money would have been.

Of course, the stated objectives of this budget legislation have nothing to do with reducing the budget or abortions. They have more to do with imposing the personal or religious will of one segment of society upon another segment -- in this case women.

Thank you, Star Tribune editorial staff, for urging the governor to veto this hypocritical and costly legislation.

KATHLEEN LAURILA, CRYSTAL

A May 19 letter writer said this pertaining to seat belts: "We aren't hurting anyone else if we choose not to wear them."

When a person in the car chooses not to wear a seat belt, it is a direct danger to anyone else in the vehicle.

JON EISEL, RAMSEY

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The letter writer is incorrect when she says "we aren't hurting anyone else if we choose not to wear [seat belts]." First, if a person not wearing a seat belt is killed or injured, that hurts immediate family and friends. Next, if they require years of extensive care for their injuries, they contribute to increasing health costs in general. Third, children who see that their parents do not use seat belts are also less likely to use them.

Yes, stupidity does need to be legislated against. So many deaths, paralyzing injuries, emotional trauma and lesser injuries could be avoided each day if people all wore seat belts.

The arguments of Ramsey County leaders and others interested in bringing the Vikings to Arden Hills turn on the appealing notion that the new stadium will be a source of jobs. Yet a new stadium, apart from its construction, wouldn't create a new source of jobs but simply would move the source from the Metrodome to Arden Hills -- it's a wash. Same with the argument that the new stadium would clean up a blighted site: It would simply create another blight in downtown Minneapolis. It's a shell game, and, like all good magicians, stadium promoters are asking us to look at the shiny new thing over there, so we won't notice that we're being robbed blind.

TIM GIHRING, MINNEAPOLIS

The first compromise in the budget fix should be the racino.

It would raise an estimated $250 million in new revenues. That's $250 million less in spending cuts -- a win for the governor.

It would involve voluntary taxes that won't burden small businesses or weaken the state's business climate -- a win for Republicans.

Minnesotans have been calling the racino a win for years. It's about the time lawmakers figured it out.

GIBSON CAROTHERS, MINNEAPOLIS

Regarding the report on why there was so much sex abuse by Catholic priests in the 1960s and '70s: Blaming priests' abusive behavior on the changing sexual values of the era seems ludicrous to me. A more plausible factor is that the "sexual revolution" led people to talk more openly about sexual issues in general, including abuse, thus bringing attention to a problem that was being ignored. It wasn't until the '70s that services began for sexual abuse and domestic violence survivors, which helped the public begin to learn about the extent of these problems.