Why isn’t it murder when doctors kill babies?

Why isn’t it murder when doctors kill babies?

EDITOR:

The June 28 Vindicator reported that the 8th U.S. District Court of Appeals ruled 7 to 4 that all South Dakota doctors being consulted for the purpose performing an abortion must tell the mother that she is asking the physician to terminate the life of her baby, who is (in the words of the judges) a “whole, separate, unique human being.” They have finally realized that the baby is not part of a woman’s body that she can treat as she wishes, but is instead a completely human being separate from her flesh. The uniqueness comes from a genetic blueprint (DNA) possessed by the baby, half of which was derived from the father and half from the mother.

There are various ways that one ends human life. If the human in question is guilty of a capital crime (rape or murder), we call it capital punishment and death comes by way of a lethal injection; or in by-gone days by means of high voltage electricity, lethal gas or hanging. Ending the life of an innocent baby could not possibly fall under that category. Another way to end human life is by means of self inflicted or physician assisted suicide. Abortion is neither since the unique, intrauterine human in question has not taken part in the decision to end his or her life. Homicide (the killing of another human) can be justifiable as in the case of self defense or a just war, or unjustified, in which case we call it manslaughter or murder, of one degree or another.

The dictionary defines genocide as the systematic killing of all the people from a national, ethnic or religious group. The killing of 1.5 million “whole, separate, unique human beings” per year in our country since the Supreme Court’s Roe v. Wade ruling made abortion on demand legal in 1973, has involved over 52 million little American people, and that comes very close to the definition of genocide, if not outright murder.

The first logical question that ought to be posited by the expectant mother to her doctor: “If you are terminating the life of my baby as a result of my desire to do so, are we not accomplices in murder? If not, then what do we call it?” Another question is this, “Where in the Supreme Court’s ruling and that of the 8th District Court does one find any recognition of the rights of that whole, separate, unique human being to ‘life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness?’”

CHARLES H. McGOWEN, MD

Howland

Supreme Court follows the elections and the NRA

EDITOR:

Finley Peter Dunne’s fictional character Mr. Dooley got it right: “Th’ supreme coort follows th’ iliction returns.” George W. Bush won two elections for president, and last week his supposedly conservative (but actually right-wing activist) Supreme Court appointees declared that the Second Amendment of the U. S. Constitution says what the National Rifle Association claims that it says.

In fact, the Second Amendment is simple and easily understood. It was written in the year 1789. This was a time when some of our newly formed nation’s leaders thought that large standing armies were a bad idea and that civilian militias were a better choice for meeting the country’s limited defense needs. It reads, in its entirety, “A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.”

Glock pistols, AK-47s and crack cocaine had not been invented in 1789. However wise the authors of our Constitution may have been, they could not have anticipated the gun-related misery and death that our nation faces today. They were writing in a very different time in response to very different concerns. The Second Amendment therefore has no relevance to the reasonable regulation of guns in America today. The recent Supreme Court decision thus represents dogma, not good law or good sense.

I was interested in guns back in the 1960s and joined the National Rifle Association. After a few years I came to realize that the NRA leadership was fixated on a mythology that says that some shadowy “they” were trying to “take away our guns” and leave law-abiding Americans unable to defend their homes and their wives from murderers and rapists. It was the old game of “crying wolf,” turning a manageable concern into a major crisis that required extreme action. The Second Amendment was (and continues to be) cited as moral justification for the NRA’s position — “Hey! It’s in the United States Constitution!”

The whole mess could be cleaned up easily if there was good will and willingness to compromise on both sides. We get along fine buying motor vehicle licenses, and gun licensing would be no big deal. We accept the need to prove our driving skills to a licensing examiner, and showing the ability to handle a gun safely is both doable and in everyone’s best interest. Sad to say, though, the nation is so polarized that no end to this long-standing conflict is in sight.

ROBERT D. GILLETTE, MD

Youngstown

Protect Downtown’s history

EDITOR:

The Eastern Ohio Chapter of the American Institute of Architects wants to express, as a single voice, its concerns with the recent events that occurred at the Stambaugh Building in downtown Youngstown. More specifically, demolition activities that were undertaken without any regard for local permitting and public safety.

The Central Business district of Youngstown is defined by its Central Square. The Stambaugh Building, Realty Building, First National Bank Tower, Huntington Bank Tower, Civil War Memorial and Chase Bank Tower in the Central Square chronicle the development of Youngstown in the era of its transition from a small Ohio Community into a bustling metropolis. All of these structures carry pedigrees, which elevate these buildings to a landmark status. All were designed by known and famous architects of the period.

We call on the city to assemble a task force of architects, business leaders, citizens and city officials to study and create a landmark structure ordinance that bestows landmark status on selected buildings in the Central Business District and would prohibit their demolition.

The Eastern Ohio Chapter of the American Institute of Architects stands ready to assist the city in any manner it feels appropriate.

MICHAEL FAGAN, AIA

Youngstown

X The writer submitted this letter as secretary of the Board of Directors of the Eastern Ohio Chapter of the American Institute of Architects.