What counts as ‘pro-life’

To the Editor;

Government-sanctioned killing of death-sentence prisoners (capital punishment) – not “pro-life”! Government-sanctioned killing of the enemy in war – not “pro-life”!

For people who call themselves Christians, both of these situations should present serious moral dilemmas. With exceptions, many of us will accept both capital punishment and wartime killing. Again, not “pro-life”!

How do we justify or rationalize this? Probably by some variation of “the end justifies the means.” This possibly also applies to a woman making a decision about an abortion. For too many of the anti-abortion crowd, it seems that declaring themselves as “pro-life” is a selective, very narrow definition of the term, aimed at taking away what should be the right of any woman to make her own personal, emotional choice about what is best for her without government intrusion. To take away that right, while pretending to be morally superior, smacks of self-righteousness.  

For those few who are pro-life in all situations, I can respect their anti-abortion view. But for far too many, it seems to be more of a partisan political strategy than an honest moral pursuit, especially in light of more Americans favoring (rather than denying) a woman’s right to choose.

Gordon Canning

Ripley