2008 Woodie Awards
An open letter to Ola Switala
By: Josh Schukman
Issue date: 5/2/08 Section: Opinion
Ola,
I appreciate you taking the time to respond to my essay in the Mac Weekly, but I was disappointed that you answered my essay in an overly personal way. I do respect your views, but I ask that you respect mine, too. Nonetheless, I will respond to your critique as thoroughly as space will allow.
Your claims that my essay represented "na've anti choice moralizing" and that I was some "clueless dude" were offensive and unfounded. I've taken great care to ensure that I'm both educated on this topic and that I defend my views accurately. Not only did I engage in a great deal of research for this essay, I also had several of my pro-choice friends read it and offer criticism. In the end, my essay (the complete one, not the one that I cut for the MacWeekly) was the product of 4 revisions, countless discussions among my friends and me, and hours of research at such sites as NARAL, the American Medical Association, and the Center for Bio-Ethical Reform. Rather than na've sermonizing, I used my essay to offer my beliefs and supported those beliefs with research.
You then went on to state that my only concern for women's health regarding abortions is to "prevent back alley abortions." .That is absolutely false. Women should have the right to choose what happens to their bodies, unregulated abortions should not occur, women should not be made into criminals, we should staunchly support reproductive freedom, and men should be held accountable for any child they father. However, I also believe that an unborn child is endowed with a right to life - and this is why I hope we can put all of our effort into finding alternatives to abortion.
Your claim that I avoided research into birth control is untrue, but I had to cut that section from my original essay due to size constraints. Here it is: "The number of abortions can be reduced in many ways: promoting adoption, more effective sexual education, family planning, access to affordable and readily available birth control (excluding drugs, such as RU-486, that amount to abortion drugs) and, most importantly, placing more accountability on any potential father. Finally, it cannot be denied that affordable access to basic healthcare is a critical part of the solution. We must ensure that every person in the United States has ready access to family planning, birth control, and many forms of sex education." You'll notice this addresses your point about health care as well.
I appreciate you taking the time to respond to my essay in the Mac Weekly, but I was disappointed that you answered my essay in an overly personal way. I do respect your views, but I ask that you respect mine, too. Nonetheless, I will respond to your critique as thoroughly as space will allow.
Your claims that my essay represented "na've anti choice moralizing" and that I was some "clueless dude" were offensive and unfounded. I've taken great care to ensure that I'm both educated on this topic and that I defend my views accurately. Not only did I engage in a great deal of research for this essay, I also had several of my pro-choice friends read it and offer criticism. In the end, my essay (the complete one, not the one that I cut for the MacWeekly) was the product of 4 revisions, countless discussions among my friends and me, and hours of research at such sites as NARAL, the American Medical Association, and the Center for Bio-Ethical Reform. Rather than na've sermonizing, I used my essay to offer my beliefs and supported those beliefs with research.
You then went on to state that my only concern for women's health regarding abortions is to "prevent back alley abortions." .That is absolutely false. Women should have the right to choose what happens to their bodies, unregulated abortions should not occur, women should not be made into criminals, we should staunchly support reproductive freedom, and men should be held accountable for any child they father. However, I also believe that an unborn child is endowed with a right to life - and this is why I hope we can put all of our effort into finding alternatives to abortion.
Your claim that I avoided research into birth control is untrue, but I had to cut that section from my original essay due to size constraints. Here it is: "The number of abortions can be reduced in many ways: promoting adoption, more effective sexual education, family planning, access to affordable and readily available birth control (excluding drugs, such as RU-486, that amount to abortion drugs) and, most importantly, placing more accountability on any potential father. Finally, it cannot be denied that affordable access to basic healthcare is a critical part of the solution. We must ensure that every person in the United States has ready access to family planning, birth control, and many forms of sex education." You'll notice this addresses your point about health care as well.
Viewing Comments 1 - 3 of 4
Please take a step back
posted 5/02/08 @ 7:24 PM CST
Your positions continue to be underscored with aggressive male chauvinism and contradictions of claiming to support women. Support in this case is taking a step back and allowing born individuals autonomy to choose how they live! No one (besides a few outlying impostors) is advocating for more abortions! Its not something that anyone takes pleasure in, it is an emotionally exhausting and physically draining process that is seldom an easy choice. (Continued…)
Student
posted 5/02/08 @ 10:07 PM CST
At least you're in good company:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=uNgotUM4gk8
Don't Agree BUT!
posted 5/21/08 @ 4:00 PM CST
I cannot say I completely agree with you, but I respect you for writing a professional response to a mean spirited and personal attack. Your staying the highroad, even after such an attack, demonstrates your professionalism. (Continued…)
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