Letter to the editor One cannot be both pro-life and pro-choice

To the Editor:

Judith Crose's letter of Oct. 26 was interesting but contained some lapses in logic.

In our country, elected officials do not act as an arbitrary entity. They pass laws reflecting the will of those who elected them or they get voted out of office. The majority constituency, not the "government," is the source of law.

Second, one cannot be both pro-life and pro-choice. Pro-choice means one can choose life or death. Pro-life means one chooses life, not death. The terms are exclusive, contradictory and opposite. If "pro-choice" means one can choose death – the cessation of existence – for her child so she can have a better couch, car or career, she is gaining a poor substitute for the love of her child and potential grandchildren sacrificed for a "better" life.

Parents who withhold nourishment from their children and cause them to starve are rightly charged with murder as a result of the medical coroner's findings. In the same way, medical science defines an unborn child who ceases to take in oxygen, metabolize nourishment and stops growing as dead. Clearly, medical science does define life and death.

One who causes the death of a mother and unborn child at any stage of development in an auto accident is charged with two deaths, not one. The unborn child is dead due to a disruption of its ability to get oxygen, metabolize food and grow. Unless performed in order to save the physical life of the mother (an extremely rare medical necessity), why should the intentional ending of the same unborn child's existence by a medical procedure be any different?

Abortion is a medical procedure that unless performed under stringent medical conditions results in a high likelihood of mortality for the mother. Obviously, pro-choice (medically controlled abortion) means life only for the mother, not for the child.

Let's be pro-life for both mother and child. Vote for candidates who compassionately value life, not death. Work in the community through agencies such as Starting Point to assure the well-being of every mother and unborn child.

Martha Lou Baker

Mount Vernon