To The Editor:
Words are important – and particularly so when we want to mince them. Mr. Kettles suggests in his letter to the editor last week, for instance, that the Legislature intends to "... give a newborn the gift of death." No one is asking for permission to kill newborn babies – that's off the table. Mary Laulis refers to "infanticide" in her letter of objections last week, but "infanticide" is the act of "killing a newly born child" – again, off the table. Steve Allen is weary of hearing the "worn-out copout " I support a woman's right to choose, but has evidently not tired of the worn-out copout that the state is trying to make ownership of firearms more difficult in order to impede his right to protect himself. At the risk of getting off topic, we have plenty of guns and it has not been difficult to get them or keep them. Who is after you that you need an AK-47, a bump stock, and a magazine that holds 30 bullets in order to defend yourself?
Folks, if you have not read H.57 – please, please, take the time to read it. It's relatively short for a law and it doesn't mention the killing of newborn babies anywhere. In fact, the words it uses over and over again is "termination of pregnancy." We may not be able to agree on what is life – an egg, a fertilized egg, an embryo, a fetus – but I think we all understand that "pregnant" does not involve a child located outside of a body. I am not in favor of abortion, but I recognize that there are circumstances – many of them – where a woman might want to avail herself of that kind of reproductive freedom. What I believe is that these decisions do not belong in the government domain but should, rather, be made by a woman in consultation with her partner, her doctor and her God. If you want to cut down on abortions you could really help by supporting Planned Parenthood, which exists first and foremost to educate, to assist people in family planning, birth control and prevention of sexually transmitted diseases.
Sheila K. Getzinger
Moretown
