Letter: Don’t condone what makes the world worse

Carol Turnbull (Bulletin, Dec. 10) thinks that I was not nice when I stated that a well-known Bulletin correspondent is “one of Woodbury’s most vocal abortion advocates.”

My response? I was merely pointing out what is demonstrably true. If Turnbull has doubts in this regard, I suggest that she go to the archives and read the many letters that the writer in question has submitted during the past several years.

Also, let’s ignore the specious, tiresome references to Iraq and capital punishment. Such comments should be seen for what they are, a tactic used to dodge meaningful discussion of the abortion issue itself.

We should, rather, focus on the presumed distinction between the terms pro-choice and pro-abortion.

I know, of course, that those who favor unrestricted abortion relish the “choice” euphemism, claiming that they are not promoting abortion as such. They just want to make that “choice” readily available, no let or hindrance allowed, no reason required.

Regrettably, however, “pro-choice” people, their pious protests notwithstanding, explicitly denigrate pre-born human life, thereby committing them to a view which both encourages and trivializes abortion.

Even if they sincerely want to reduce the incidence of abortion, the fact remains that they have, ipso facto, embraced a pro-abortion ethic, and worse, have effectively aligned themselves with a bioethical and political movement that seeks to increase, not decrease, the number of abortions, whether in the United States or elsewhere.

Finally, I would remind Turnbull that what she calls “hair splitting” is really a matter of making the distinctions that are critical to rational debate, of determining whether a spade is really a spade. And, yes, we do live in an imperfect world, a world which often requires “tough” decisions. But that is no reason for condoning practices that would make that world worse than it already is.

Thomas St. Martin

Woodbury

Tags: opinion, martin, letter, turnbull, woodbury, abortion