I’m writing in response to the letter in the Feb. 5 opinion section by Michael Mischnick, which is full of biased assumptions and “pro-choice” trash. Seems like Mr. Mischnick has us all figured out, at least in his mind … but the fact of the matter is that he knows nothing.

Mr. Mischnick, let me ask you something. When you are talking about the differences between the child that the rich man killed and a fetus being aborted in its first trimester, you made the brash statement that “the rich man killed his child when it was fully sentient of its surroundings, as opposed to a fetus aborted in the first trimester, whose brain is not developed enough for conscious thought or awareness.” Mr. Mischnick, how would you know about a fetus’ ability to be cognizant of its environment or the potential it may or may not have to make its own decisions? Mr. Mischnick, let me also ask you this: If it comes to doing a partial birth abortion on that child for whatever ludicrous reason, how come that child still squirms and is literally crying for its own life when it’s either torn from limb to limb or has its brain sucked out? Furthermore, Mr. Mischnick, how can you be so sure in ascertaining how far along a baby is in its development through the first trimester if you don’t even do the research to make a statement as brash as yours?

As far as the money situation goes … yes, it’s sad that many women would be forced to lower their standard of living if they were forced to keep a child. But let me tell you two things, Mr. Mischnick: (1) if the woman doesn’t want to have the child and is aware of the ramifications that could come about as the result of having a child, maybe she shouldn’t be sexually active (applying to those women who aren’t violated in some way) in the first place, and (2) there is an option called adoption the last I heard. Mr. Mischnick, are you aware of the figures for people out there who are willing to adopt? (Ten million a year in this country alone, to be exact.) Are you aware of how long some people wait to adopt a child that they can call their own? With the statements you make and the rights of the woman’s body you seem to be so concerned with, I don’t think you are.

But that isn’t what burns me the most. Let me tell you what really ticked me off, Mr. Mischnick. Your ill-fated attempt to cast the majority of us off as extreme religious fundamentalist conservatives with your biased statements is what especially irked me. According to your letter, here are the statements you made: “Before all you pro-life activists send out the hit squad on me, let me just discuss choice for a little bit. Most of you who are vehemently pro-life are so because of strong religious beliefs.” You then go on to state in your letter that we are forcing our beliefs on people after being brainwashed, and that we are hypocrites because we are forcing an entire belief system on someone else in defending the life of the fetus. To put it bluntly, Mr. Mischnick, you are way the hell out of line in making that statement on a few counts. Are you insinuating that because we believe in the life of the fetus to live that we are trying to force our religion on other people? That’s what it sounds like to me. Let me tell you something, Mr. Mischnick. Just because the majority of us may (or may not) be religious conservatives doesn’t make us zealots. Just because we don’t believe in a so-called right to choose doesn’t mean we are forcing our beliefs on others. Just because we defend the right of that fetus to live doesn’t make us domineers over women’s bodies. The abortion issue in and of itself isn’t about religion and forcing belief systems on others, Mr. Mischnick. The quicker you get that through your head, the better off you will be. Let me tell you something else, Mr. Mischnick. Maybe for the majority of us, our religion has nothing to do with our viewpoints on the abortion issue. Maybe it’s personal, Mr. Mischnick. Maybe I hold my beliefs because I myself am an adopted child. Did you ever stop to think about that?

Brad Carlson

Junior

Entomology

Student Coordinator for St. Thomas

Aquinas Pro-Life Group