To the Editor:
I was shocked by the editorial "A Brave New World: No Fetus Can Beat Us" printed in The Dartmouth on July 23. The tone of the article was so sarcastic and tasteless that even some of The Dartmouth's pro-abortion readers might have cringed in disgust, and I feel that a brief reminder of certain facts is necessary to address some of the outrageous statements that were made.
First, the article rejects the fact, touted by members of both sides of the abortion debate, that many women seek abortions either because they have been pressured by their male partners or because their male partners have chosen not to support them through social, economic and other means. Not only does the article suggest that men should be absolved of all responsibility in these cases, but it also implies that both partners (who can be assumed to be unmarried students) should not have to deal with the responsibility of using protection when they engage in sexual activity.
Moreover, "the granting of sacred human rights to a mere bundle of cells" does not "denigrate the uniqueness of humanity." Rather, by consulting grade-school biology concepts, one quickly remembers that a new human being, with a distinct set of chromosomes, is created upon conception. In as little as three weeks after conception, this "mere bundle of cells" already possesses a beating heart; other human characteristics appear not long thereafter. Even at one point in the article, the fetus is referred to not as a "mere bundle of cells" but as "the child [that] should be killed immediately." Regardless of whether or not a fetus can "survive outside the womb," I think most readers would agree that human life begins at the moment of conception, not at the moment of birth.
The real "moral and judicial bankruptcy" in all of this is not behind the woman that chooses to undertake the responsibility of raising a child, but behind our popular culture, which encourages wholesale abortion as the remedy for our lack of responsibility when bedroom matters are concerned. The emotional and divisive debate over abortion can be avoided if more people use judgment before entering into sexual activity, and if more people protect themselves if they choose to enter such activity.
