This letter is a response to “Pro V Con: March for Life contains all emotion, little reason” by Scott Novak. To read the original article, click here.
Dear Scott,
I wrote a response to your article last week, but somehow it got lost in cyberspace. I will try again! In regards to the comment that the poor were under-represented at the March for Life event, I want to remind you of Monsignor Pope’s homily. He shared four overarching goals for ending the plague of abortion in our society:
Chastity
Charity
Courage
Constancy
Charity referred to the need for all people to give selflessly to those women that are experiencing a crisis pregnancy. He admitted that a majority of abortions are performed on women below the poverty line. He strongly encouraged all of us to be charitable to these poor women!!
Therefore, I disagree with you that the poor were under-represented because this was a tenet of Pope’s homily that was heard by approximately 20,000 people in the Verizon Center.
Also, I think it’s lovely that you might see God through the eyes of your pet cat. However, does your pet cat have intrinsic/inalienable rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness? Is your cat equal in dignity to your mom? I don’t think so.
Ultimately the question comes down to one thing: is the fetus in the womb a baby with inalienable rights or not? I absolutely believe that it is. Therefore even in the case of rape, the fetus conceived from that evil action is an INNOCENT life. Why would you punish the baby for the evil deed that the father (the rapist) committed? This is a terrible situation to be placed in, but if the moment of conception does in fact create an individualized, unique, and separate human being, then that human being deserves the right to Life! That fetus deserves the same right to life as you and me. That fetus deserves the same right to life as an elderly person in a nursing home. That fetus deserves the same right to life as a poor person suffering from an incurable disease. That fetus deserves the same right to life as a gay man or woman.
Ultimately the question is: Scott, do you believe that a fetus is a baby or just a clump of cells?
Rachel Harkins