Editor,
In Benjamin Sanchez's column, "Abortion a modern-day injustice," he claims abortion is analogous to slavery. This is absolutely irrational.
He is accurate in saying slavery denied black people their "fundamental human rights," but there is no basis for a reasonable comparison between that and the fetus in the womb of a woman. By allowing what he calls the "fundamental human rights" of an unborn fetus, he is denying a woman's fundamental human right to control her own body.
It is vital to consider women who are victims of rape or incest. These women are subjected to immense injustice and pain already. If a woman becomes pregnant under these conditions, is it really just to force her to carry out the pregnancy?
Further, if this pregnancy is carried out, and a child is born, what kind of life is available for that child? A life of severe impairment due to incest, a life of abandonment because the father is a rapist and the mother detests the unwanted child - is this not a blatant violation of the child's quality of life, just for a sanctimonious anti-abortion opinion?
What about instances where carrying out the pregnancy is life-threatening to the mother? In Sanchez's column, he argues that in abortion, the mother is given unlimited authority over her unborn child, but if the mother's life is endangered, then is not the fetus given unlimited authority over the mother?
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I think the basic argument here is: Who should have the authority? In most cases, an abortion is carried out when the fetus could not survive outside the mother's womb, more often before the brain develops. So should the fetus, unable to independently sustain life, or the living, breathing mother have ultimate authority?
Finally, I am quite dismayed that Sanchez claims legalized abortion is the greatest injustice of our time. Perhaps you are unaware of the situation in Congo or Darfur. Or more related to the issue at hand - is it not a greater injustice that children are being born into situations of poverty, homelessness and abuse? It is completely inadequate to make abortion illegal, if not for a woman's right to control her body, then for the sake of quality of life.
Kysten Diener
Daily Lobo reader
