Molly Roberts was right in many regards about her abortion [“My pregnancy was unlucky. My abortion wasn’t.,” op-ed, June 26]. In my experience as an abortion and family-planning provider, most women who discover an unplanned pregnancy know right away what they want to do. Yes, sometimes there is ambivalence, but most women present a clear sense of what they want (not to be pregnant and not to be forced to give birth) and what they need to do. Don’t get me wrong: These are thoughtful decisions. But they are not decisions that are necessarily filled with angst or that need a three-day waiting period to “rethink,” as is required here in North Carolina.
It is insulting to women to suggest that after they present for an abortion with an unwanted pregnancy they need even more time to make the decision that they have already made.
Yes, it should be as easy as it was for Ms. Roberts; sadly and infuriatingly, it isn’t.
Debby Teplin, Durham, N.C.