Pro-life mailing offends some residents

BY PAUL SLOTH
Journal Times

Wednesday, January 16, 2008 8:38 PM CST

RACINE — Peggy Bell recycled the tiny plastic fetus she received in the mail. She didn’t know what else to do with it. Bell, 51, an insurance agent, wasn’t going to spend the money to send it back to the local Wisconsin Right to Life chapter, the organization that sent it to her, she said.

Bell and several of her neighbors in the 5300 block of 16th Street received the plastic statue this week, along with literature from the pro-life organization.

The pro-life literature that comes in the mail from time to time doesn’t bother Bell, who said she believes abortion is “a very personal and individual decision,” but the plastic fetus statue somehow crossed a line, she said. It reminded her of the graphic placards she seen pro-life demonstrators display in parts of the city in the past.

“I don’t care what literature you send me, but I just think they went too far,” said Bell, who sent a letter to the local chapter to tell them how she felt. “I was offended. I think it was in poor taste.”

The manila mailer addressed to “Resident” seemed innocent enough to those who found it in their mailboxes Tuesday, but the neighbors agreed the contents surprised them.

The Racine Chapter of Wisconsin Right to Life sent the mailing to mark the Jan. 22nd anniversary of the passage of Roe v. Wade, the Supreme Court ruling 35 years ago that struck down many state laws restricting abortion.

The roughly 2-inch fetus, called the “Young One,” is a model of a “pre-born.” The model, which fits in the palm of a hand, included a card detailing the development of an 11- to 12-week-old “pre-born.”

“We are sending the ‘Young One’ model to all of the residents in Racine to help remind them of the humanity of the unborn baby,” the letter accompanying the model stated. “We hope that you use the model to involve your family and friends in the discussion of human development.”

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