To the editor:

Heather is correct when she says it is the desire of the anti-abortion groups to stop abortion at any stage of a woman’s pregnancy.

There are a number of differences in opinion within the groups involved regarding the circumstances under which an abortion should be performed.

The following link (http://www.independent.ie/1999/302/d20a.shtml) references a story in which a doctor is performing a restorative surgery on a fetus to repair damage from spina bifida.

What is interesting is the accompanying photograph of a second trimester fetus (abortable under Iowa law) reaching out and grasping the finger of the healing surgeon.

This photograph should end all controversy regarding whether this fetus is a living human being.

The root of the issue is not abortion but societal morality.

As stated by feminist Mattie Brinkerhoff, “When a man steals to satisfy hunger, we may safely conclude that there is something wrong in society — so when a woman destroys the life of a her unborn child, it is an evidence that either by education or circumstances she has been greatly wronged.”

What have we been saying to our children about the importance of all human life?

Does it pain you to see someone starving on a rooftop in Africa?

Enough to do something about it?

Consider now how it pains someone who views a fetus as a life to see that fetus lose its life so that a mother is not inconvenienced.

I believe in the democratic process to determine the laws we live by.

If abortion is supported by a majority in our legislature, then it is up to the individual to determine for themselves the right or wrong of the procedure.

Having the legal right to abort one’s fetus does not mean it is a good moral choice.

It does mean that as a citizen of this country, a person should recognize the legal right of others to do so. We have the obligation to establish just and moral laws.

Morality cannot be legislated and should not be. Our laws are, however, a reflection of the morality of our people.

Kevin Siepel

Alumnus

Cincinnati, Ohio