Letters to the editor

Sirs,

  Apparently, some of our citizens still believe that if you click your heels together three times and wish, it will become reality. In a letter to the editor printed Thursday, January 17, a  Ms. Farrell  states  categorically that violence  (I assume  she means violent crime)  is higher in America than 40 years ago and then blames it on Roe V. Wade.  In truth, she is diametrically incorrect!  Current headlines notwithstanding and regardless of  one's personal opinion regarding  Roe v. Wade, violent crime in the United States was significantly lower in 2012 than in 1972, so were gun related deaths,  gun ownership and rape. Interestingly enough, death due to sepsis following botched amateur abortions is also down. This is also true in Canada, where abortion is legal and regulated as a health care issue, not a government matter. The book "Freakonomics" offers some interesting  (and controversial) statistical analysis of why this may be  so.  This person has a moral opposition to abortion, as many of us do, but attempting to blame  abortion for violence, when the reverse is true, is a huge leap of illogic. One might as well blame an increase in  traffic fatalities on poor dental hygiene. This is simply yet another case of deciding your point of view and then reverse engineering  "facts" in support, just like in the recent political campaign. Enough, already!