Services of Planned Parenthood needed

I'm glad to see Planned Parenthood will soon be opening a new clinic in Aurora. We need their services, from counseling and sex education, to birth control information and service, to cancer screening and abortion. They provide competent and low-cost health care, especially important today when so many do not have adequate health-care insurance.

Every woman has the right to decide when and if to bear a child. It's a big decision and one that the government should keep out of, as recognized by the Supreme Court when it ruled in Roe v. Wade that women's right to choose abortion was included in the constitutional concept of the right to privacy.

We will not go back 50 years to the time when abortion was illegal and tens of thousands of women each year were forced to put their lives and health into the hands of underground abortionists. Each day they showed up in hospital emergency rooms, bleeding, infected and dying. Keep abortion safe and legal!

I urge the Aurora City Council to do everything they can to ensure the Planned Parenthood clinic opens and operates free from harassment and disruption.

Harvey McArthur

North Aurora

Nice response to hurricane victims

Just after the Gulf Coast was devastated by Hurricane Katrina on Aug. 29, 2005, a bunch of us wondered, "What can Naperville do to help?" One thing led to another and a large group of interested residents were energized to start Naperville Responds. Our all-volunteer group was determined to build hope and 20 homes in Pass Christian, Miss.

Our Web site, www.napervilleresponds.org, tracks our progress and our contributors. Thanks to the big hearts of thousands of residents, the Daily Herald, many in-kind services, and an extremely generous benefactor with a $300,000 gift, we've raised funds for 20 modest homes.

Our unique partnership with the Rotary Club of Pass Christian and the Mennonites Recovery Assistance has provided skilled labor and the management to make it all possible. We're not finished. Because new construction down there is still slow, it will take several years to complete all 20 homes.

We continue to welcome support and we'll build as many homes as funds will provide. For now, however, we want to give a big thanks to everyone who helped Naperville Responds keep its promise.

Bill Brestal

Ron Wehrli

co-founders

Naperville Responds

We all can pitch in to assist veterans

As a 128-year-old civic organization with a long history of providing support to U.S. military servicemen and women and to veterans, the Union League Club of Chicago applauds the work of the bipartisan Presidential Commission on Veterans Benefits. The commission, co-chaired by former Health and Human Services Secretary Donna Shalala and former U.S. Sen. Bob Dole, addressed serious shortfalls in our country's treatment of veterans that should prompt chagrin and embarrassment in the hearts and minds of all Americans.

To rectify these wrongs, Americans need to understand that it's not the sole responsibility of government to address the needs of veterans and their families.

We call on all who value and cherish commitment to country to join with us to assist veterans, the men and women who volunteer to serve and protect us around the world and then return home to resume their lives. Here's a practical action agenda:

• Communicate with federal and state legislators in support of public policies, like the commission's recommendations, that benefit veterans.

• Volunteer and give generously to recognized charitable organizations that provide services to veterans.

• Support and promote the use of veteran job banks by Chicago-area employers.

• Advocate paperwork simplification of veteran benefit applications.

• Remember all living servicemen and women on Veterans Day.

We needn't wait for government agencies to act. We can all extend a hand to say thank you to our veterans for their service and for a job well done.

Frank R. Niederman

President

Union League Club of Chicago