Your Opinion: Prison needed for drug-addicted prostitute

Dear Editor:

A New York judge has ordered a drug-addicted prostitute to not get pregnant again. The order came after the woman gave birth to a drug-addicted, premature fourth child. Three of the four children birthed by this woman were born addicted to drugs. All of the woman's children are being raised by other people, no doubt at great cost to taxpayers.

Would it not have been much more humane to either put this woman in prison until she either got her head screwed on straight, or was beyond child bearing years? Who in society thinks it is humane to let her continue to get pregnant and birth premature, drug addicted babies? How could any remotely responsible human being want to be allowed to continue to get pregnant after birthing one or two premature, drug-addicted children? Offering her the option of being sterilized, as opposed to incarceration, would also seem a reasonable option, after she gave birth to her first drug-addicted child. Certainly one of these actions should have occurred after she gave birth to the second drug-addicted child. Before anyone accuses me of being sexist, I would strongly support mandatory sterilization of all people, especially males, who are more than six month behind in their child support payments.

By the way; my brother and his wife, who live in another state, have three grandsons living with them because their mother, my niece, is an alcoholic/addict (thankfully all of the boys were born healthy and not addicted). The court has decided that, at this time, the boys father is also unworthy of their custody. My niece has been in jail numerous times. My brother has spent many thousands of dollars on her treatment programs. Her lifestyle/attitude has not changed for any appreciable length of time. At least she was smart enough to ask to be sterilized after the birth of her third son.

These boys are growing up in a rural area, surrounded by family that provides them with both emotional and financial support. They are learning the value of work and education by example, both my brother and his wife are hard-working, self-sufficient people. The boys will grow up to be assets to our society. I hope the same is true for the children of the woman in the article.

Issue-oriented letters to [email protected] are welcome. All letters should be limited to 400 words in length; longer letters may be edited to conform to the specified length. The author's name must appear with the letter, and the name, address and phone number provided for verification. Letters that cannot be verified by telephone will not be published.