‘Long may it continue,’ coos Dr Rosy Fenwicke (Letters, Jan 24) ‘that every
pregnancy in New Zealand is a wanted and planned pregnancy’. Dr Fenwicke lives
in Kelburn, which in this context might be called La-La Land. Since when has
every pregnancy been ‘wanted and planned’? Has constant repetition of this tired
old mantra dulled her mind to the reality to which both I and my daughter can
attest, that an unwanted pregnancy doesn’t necessarily mean an unwanted
baby? How many women are appalled to find they’re pregnant, but overjoyed when
their child is placed in their arms? Conversely, how many pregnancies which are
wanted and meticulously planned result in a child which failing to live up to
its parents’ exalted expectations becomes a subject of verbal, if not physical,
abuse?
Julia du Fresne
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