A recent letter to the editor written by Gayle M. Tiller from
Planned Parenthood would have one believe the abortion debate is
only about women controlling their own bodies. As with most rights,
there are limits. One example is the right to free speech, where
one has the right to yell
“fire”, but not in a crowded movie theater. So while women have
the right to control their own body, are there other rights that
are higher in priority? The answer to this question depends on
whether what is inside is a “blob of tissue” or a baby, and when
life begins.
EDITOR:
A recent letter to the editor written by Gayle M. Tiller from Planned Parenthood would have one believe the abortion debate is only about women controlling their own bodies. As with most rights, there are limits. One example is the right to free speech, where one has the right to yell “fire”, but not in a crowded movie theater. So while women have the right to control their own body, are there other rights that are higher in priority? The answer to this question depends on whether what is inside is a “blob of tissue” or a baby, and when life begins.
Medical science knows that life begins at conception, but even by any definition of life it begins long before birth. Ask anyone from Planned Parenthood to define when life begins and if they will give a definition (which they probably won’t), one will discover that life begins in the womb.
Some people will think that the critical issue is when does the baby feel pain. The first pain receptors appear at eight weeks and 20 weeks the brain contains 1 billion pain neurons waiting to receive pain impulses and these connections are completed between 20–24 weeks. Some other experiments show the reaction to pain even being earlier in the pregnancy. In any case the baby feels pain long before being born.
If a picture is worth a thousand words, please visit the following web site http://www.family.org/docstudy/newsletters/a0010560.html to see a picture of a pre-born’s hand when the baby was being operated on in the womb. The baby deliberately grasped the surgeon’s finger stunning all in the operating room. If this picture does not convince you this is a life deserving of our protection then nothing will.
Also remember that with partial birth abortion, the only difference between having a baby and aborting the baby is matter of a few inches. If the baby changed location by a few inches it would be protected. During partial birth abortion the baby has been born breach with the head still inside. (Does an abortion make any sense?)
One last point is that from Planned Parenthood’s own statistics rape or incest is less than 1 percent of the reasons why women have abortions. Future letters or columns may address the devastating effects that abortions have on women, but the critical issue here is whether the unborn fetus is really a baby. You will have to decide for yourself, but if you investigate the facts honestly, we believe that you will conclude that the unborn is a baby deserving of our protection.
On a more practical note, anyone pregnant who thinks Planned Parenthood’s way is their only option should call the Community Pregnancy Center at 978-9310 (San Jose) or South Valley Pregnancy Care at 778-1175 (84 W. 2nd St., Morgan Hill). The counselors there are dedicated to giving you the whole story.
Roger & Karen Salstrom,
Morgan Hill
