About the editor: I appreciated Aaron Tang’s views on whether a federal ban on abortion would be constitutional, and I was especially grateful that he placed a woman’s right to vote in the context of freedom and not just the right to have an abortion.

Tang points out that in last year’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, the conservative majority “recognized that the ‘primary historical fact’ that a 14th Amendment denies the right to abortion is that many states have banned abortion during the pregnancy when this amendment was ratified. 1868.”

Of course, another important historical fact relevant to the time of the passage of the 14th Amendment was that women were not allowed to vote and were completely excluded from the political process.

And it points to the more deeply rooted “history and tradition” of humanity’s patriarchy and misogyny and its seemingly never-ending tendency to turn to authoritarianism.

John Eaglesham, Long Beach

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About the editor: In addition to mifepristone, there are many other U.S. Food and Drug Administration-approved drugs that should be considered for withdrawal because they

additional addiction

overdose and even death.

Mifepristone is not one of these drugs. Mifepristone does not cause addiction or overdose. It’s not habit forming. It does not contribute to the overdose crisis in this country.

The only crisis mifepristone has created is how easily a federal judge and possibly the U.S. Supreme Court can make a wrong decision that ignores medical research and science. The overturning of the drug’s approval is just another step in the demise of our democracy.

Sheryl Kinne, Van Nuys

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About the editor: I appreciate Tang’s optimism that federal abortion rights are safe from the current conservative majority on the Supreme Court, because consistent and logical application of her reasoning based on previous decisions would place Fifth Amendment abortion rights “on a solid footing.” .

The only consistent thing about this court, however, is its willingness to be illogical for partisan gains.

We have every reason to believe that this court will defy its own past as it achieves longstanding conservative goals such as a nationwide ban on abortion.

Greg Seyranian, Redondo Beach