Dear Editor,
Re: [How can the message of motherhood be so offensive?, Feb. 11, The News]
I’m disappointed to see this in our local news.
Disgusted, really.
That billboard was never, and will never be, “the message of motherhood.”
It’s a blatant attempt to shame women who have had/will need to have abortions in their lifetime. And the question of motherhood plays a role on a very minuscule number of abortions.
Most are done for medical reasons.
Teenage pregnancies (like “darby” from the billboard) make up of 0.03 per cent of abortions annually in North America.
Abortion rates are exponentially higher in poor communities, where access to adequate sexual education, government aid, etc are limited.
ANOTHER LETTER: Vandalism on Maple Ridge sign is an attack on free speech
That billboard was classist, elitist, and all around disgusting.
And the fact that you would publish such a letter, says the same about this newspaper. I’m extremely ashamed to be apart of this community after this. Shame on you.
Kendra Van Eldik, Maple Ridge
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[Editor’s note: publishing these letters is in no way an endorsement – one way or the other – about the message on the billboard or the actions taken to damage that sign. It is simply a reflection of an issue unfolding in our community, and the opinions being shared by local readers.]
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