Letter: Prepare for problems unwanted children bring

There is a secondary issue to consider in the wake of the overthrow of Roe v. Wade: increased incidents of child abuse. I've been a mandatory child abuse reporter for over 50 years and spent over 15 years actively doing child abuse interventions, mostly in states with minimal access to abortion services.

Some of the cases involved babies as young as a few months. They came from all social, economic and racial communities and almost all of the child victims were the result of unwanted pregnancies.

Many of the states where abortion is being banned or seriously restricted also have poor records for children's services and other social services. Abused children tend to do poorly in school, have poor physical and mental health and do not have good social skills. They tend to become bullies and abusers themselves or, at the other extreme, reclusive. This makes them a burden on society in one or more ways throughout their lives, but without the support networks they sorely need.

We in Illinois will be surrounded by states with these problems and will likely experience the impact of their societal and economic damage. We can expect these problems to bleed across state lines in a variety of ways. So, in addition to erosion of our right to privacy and other civil liberties, striking down Roe v. Wade will contribute to a general degradation of our quality of life.

Our state government should strengthen our own social service networks so we are ready to manage any fallout that lands here. It will take a while to see the damage, but it will also take a while, and a lot of hard work, to be ready when we do see it. It will be more than worth the trouble and expense when our way of life is successfully maintained.

Jamie C. Smith

Wheaton