Ella Johnson’s opinion of the use of abortion as a form of birth control (“Writer’s case against abortion unpersuasive,” Thursday, Feb. 2) is a sad thought.

I believe that abortion should be an option only in extreme cases. Pregnancy is all too often the afterthought of a night of unprotected sex. There is access to affordable birth control to those who are willing to put forth a little effort to attain it. There are clinics and planning centers that pass out free condoms to those who will pick them up, and this form of birth control is not expensive for someone who wishes to purchase the item rather than visit a clinic or center to get them.

Whether you are a Christian or not has little to do with the choice of life. That choice is fed by a compassion for human life and a voice without a chance to be heard.

The argument that the fetus isn’t a living being during the early weeks is just plain misleading. Anyone can search the Web and view the gruesome photos of abortion aftermaths and know for certain that the fetus is not a mass of unrecognizable cells; he or she actually has many body parts, such as a heart, developed at a very early stage. The child does not choose his parents or to be conceived — just as the child has no voice in the decision from the point of conception to birth or termination.

If a woman is so focused on her education and/or career, then she should be mature enough to take the precautions needed to prevent a pregnancy from occurring. There are other alternatives to those who find themselves pregnant and not ready to be a parent.

Abortion should not be a method of birth control or a means to end a pregnancy due to an imperfect child. If all women chose to end their pregnancies due to an imperfection in the life they are carrying, then our world would have been void of the human race many years ago. There is not a human being on this earth who is without a flaw of some type.

This argument will never be settled. There are those who will always believe in their right to choose and those who will always be pro-life. I thank God every day that I live in a country where I am free to “babble” about my beliefs or opinions and know that it will not land me in prison or in front of a firing squad.

Lisa Jones

Enterprise