To the Editor:

Ms. Storey-Welch quotes the Bible out of context, attempting to show contradictory evidence to those of faith regarding the unborn. Luke 1:40-42 re-affirms the sanctity life of a fetus:“…. when Elisabeth heard the salutation of Mary, the babe leaped in her womb; and Elisabeth was filled with the Holy Ghost. And she spake out with a loud voice, and said, Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb.”

A common argument for abortion is to prevent unwanted children growing up poor, abused, a burden on society, and become potential criminals. I do not hold to that. That was Margret Sanger proposal of removing “human weeds” from society, her exact words, not mine.

This idea prejudges the unborn with a scarlet letter they do not deserve, condemned guilty for offenses they did not do. It reminds me of the movie, “Minority Report” where people were arrested for crimes they did not commit, based on the word of others who predicted in the near future they would be fated to do so.

What then of children of single mothers or who lost a parent? Are these living children to be considered "mistakes", as social liabilities, negatively marked for life because their circumstances now mirror those of unplanned births? That is a terrible argument to justify abortion. It smacks of eugenic planning that another nation once promoted as policy in WW2, to decide who lives and who doesn't.

The rape of Ms. Storey-Welch friend by her father was horrible crime. But notwithstanding that outrage, incest, rape and medical necessity for the mother’s life statistically constitutes less than 2% for all necessary abortions performed today. The remaining 98% abortions have less to do for health reasons and more for convenience sake.

The slogan “Abortion is Healthcare” is an oxymoron. Viewing an unborn child as a neutral entity to be decided by subjective whim as either a parasite for removal or a human being deserving life is immoral. Such Malthusian logic makes all human values held dear open for re-interpretation the sake of cold-blooded pragmatism.

Ron Shirtz
Rensselaer Falls