We are the village.

Recently our local paper printed a story detailing a new bill on the senate floor calling for a complete ban on abortion, statewide, in the event that Roe v. Wade was ever overturned. A few days later, I came across the Reverend Irene Monroe's column, "We Who Are Left Behind" [May 9], which spoke of the Catholic influence on gay adoptions. And the contradiction became elephant-like: Why are lawmakers and religious leaders so intent on depriving parentless children the benefits of a loving home and in the same breath ensuring countless more of these parentless children?

"It takes a village to raise a child" and "Children are a gift from God" are two of the defenses we have heard, both from the Democratic diva herself, Hillary Clinton, and from the religious right and their conservative Republican homeboys, yet neither side has been asked, "Which members of the village are allowed to raise the child, and did God hand-address the parentless gift?" Neither party has taken a stand for us or our future children--those produced with our DNA and those whose DNA we lovingly accept as our own.

In a state steeped in Catholicism, I plan to be vocal in my protest of any religion that would deprive a child from being loved and cared for. We have strong, vocal leaders in our LGBT community. Maybe it's time we fought for ourselves and our families and our friends. We need to be heard. We are the village.

E. HILL Baton Rouge, La.