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Letters, Nov. 16 By Mail Tribune readers Updated: Nov 16, 2022 09:33 AM A A Racism, sexism and birthism How we change our language to suit our values! “She is with child” is what people said before abortion became so easy. Now, many women claim it’s not a child, just a clump of cells. They’re not murdering anyone. “Safe within the womb,” we said before abortion was so widespread. But now the womb is one of the most dangerous places to be. Parents are killing their children by the millions in the U.S. alone. Birth is a mark of status. If you’re five minutes away from being born, in most states you can legally be torn apart if Mom wants that. But five minutes later, she’d be charged with murder for doing the same thing. Why does a developing child have no rights? I call it birthism: prejudice towards someone just because he’s still in the womb. Like racism and sexism, birthism is purely arbitrary. White skin gets you a prestigious job and a home in a wealthy neighborhood. A male body gets you respect and a promotion at work. And birth gets you the right to live. I’d like all three prejudices to end. All are based on senseless, arbitrary values that people place on each other. A. Rosen Ashland Homeless panel My husband and I attended this meeting — disgusting! The disrespect towards the panel, especially law enforcement, was uncalled for. It felt more like the homeless/advocates just used the meeting as a way to act out, get negative attention and take no responsibility for themselves. A few non-homeless citizens ended up confronting the squeaky-toy persons because you couldn’t hear what the panel was saying. I wish the library staff had taken more control, walked them out of the building and locked the door. There was a lot of great information shared by the panel, when you could hear them. Thank you Medford and Ashland for everything you do regarding this situation, it can’t be easy. Rene Forncrook Medford