Letter to the editor: Response to column on the anti-abortion demonstration

Last month, an opinion piece was published in The Daily Evergreen concerning a pro-life display incident from the previous week.

In the piece, the author asserted that the display attacked women who have had or are considering an abortion. The author stated, “By stating that abortion is universally wrong and thus should be outlawed, pro-life groups are infringing on the rights of autonomous individuals.”

This is simply not true. The pro-life group’s message does not infringe on anyone’s rights. Having and sharing an opinion is not infringing on someone’s rights. On the other hand, denying an individual the right to life undeniably constitutes infringement.

No one is arguing against a woman’s right to make choices about her own body, rather, the argument is whether or not a human fetus is a human being. If the answer is yes, then abortion should be illegal. Given that scientific evidence overwhelmingly suggests the answer is yes, abortion should be illegal.

The author also suggests that the pro-life group is wrong to, “impose their views on women as a whole. Values and ethics are not a blanket framework that applies to everyone.” This statement is flawed in and of itself. One cannot assume a universal human right to choose while simultaneously asserting moral relativism.

That aside, human life is universally valued. That value is greater than an individual’s personal choices. The pro-life message is not meant to attack or impose, it is meant to defend the value of human life.