Sunday, February 4 [1984]

Called a woman in Peoria Il. who had wired after the St. of the U. Her complaint was over freedom of choice. She was referring to abortion & she called herself an ex Repub. who wouldn't vote for me. I was going to write her & then just on a hunch I phoned. It took a little doing to convince her that it was really me. We had a nice talk & I was right that her problem was abortion. I made my pitch that there were 2 people's rights involved in abortion -- the mother's & the unborn child. She promised to give that some deep thought. We had a nice visit. She's a 51 year old divorcee working for less than $10,000 a year -- has a 17 year old son ready for college & a married daughter. I think I made a friend.

-- Ronald Reagan, The Reagan Diaries, 217-8

Comments

[Brian]

A family friend of mine now works for PriorityOne and sends out a "Thursday Thought" each week. They normally look at a passage from Scripture. Today's was different, he talked about the difference a personal connection can make. In ministry, in outreach, in invitations to gatherings...

I think your snippet illustrates that beautifully.

I imagine she gave more critical thought to her would-be-abortion after a phone call with President Reagan. I wonder what the landscape would look like if we did a better job of talking WITH pregnant women rather than talking AT them from afar with rules and regulations.

[Gina Dalfonzo]

Excellent question, Brian.