I'd like to respond to Royce Dunn's Aug. 1 letter. In it, he attacks Planned Parenthood and its founder with the fervor of a junkyard dog. I'm not informed on Margaret Sanger or her philosophies but I have been within the halls of PP. Have you, Mr. Dunn?

Your letter sounds like angry, judgmental rhetoric. I agree that abortion is a horrible tragedy and out-of-wedlock conceptions are unfortunate. I know the latter personally. When I was pregnant with my daughter, her father wanted me to abort her. Planned Parenthood was where I went for my early prenatal care. One of them cried with me as I told her how I'd refused to give up my baby. Their nurses weighed me, examined me, took my blood pressure. And it was there that I first heard my little girl's tiny heartbeat. No one tried to pressure me into doing anything but having a healthy pregnancy. In fact, two of the nurses were pregnant (and married) and they made me feel so kindred. I wasn't given any unsavory advice or literature and the posters on the wall advised the difficulties, complications, and unfortunate frequency of abortions. Their care was so warm and competent, I was compelled to write a letter of thanks accompanied by a photo of my newborn. They had an entire wall dedicated to postings of babies and happy updates from all of the mothers they helped over the years.

PP is the sole provider of medical care in some poor communities. Perhaps your outrage is better directed at this truth. Complaining about the problem is a pretty common phenomenon these days. What have you done to be part of the solution? Planned Parenthood isn't the bane of our social fabric.Complaint without productive action is. These girls who abort their unborn do so fueled by fear and a lack of information and resources (or succumb to pressures from the father); not as a result of a secret, evil brainwashing program going on within the walls of PP. I'm pretty sure they have some other worthwhile programs there - if you're not too outraged to do the research. And P.S., My daughter, despite the circumstances of her conception, (far from ideal), is the very best blessing I could have possibly been endowed with by our "maker."

Alicia Ansley
Plumas Lake