This letter is in response to a letter that appeared in the Jan. 29 edition of The Northern Star. The subject of the letter was, of course, abortion.

I found a statement made by the author rather disturbing. Ms. Hoffner stated, “This result (conception)…is a separate human life.” I personally find this statement absurd. How can an unborn fetus, which cannot survive without the mother (by any natural means), be classified as a separate human entity? I invite anyone with a feasible answer to that question to please reply.

Not only is that statement intellectually hard to digest, the legal implications are astronomical. Ms. Hoffner, I urge you to try to claim an unborn fetus on your income tax return as a dependent. I guarantee you the IRS will be knocking on your door.

This might seem like a trivial example, but it makes the point. Unborn fetuses are not equally protected under the constitution, as are their mothers. Therefore, Ms. Hoffner, they are not “entitled to the same basic rights we are granted in the Constitution.”

The day fetuses are granted equal protection under the law, the entire judicial system will be faced with chaos. The courts will be forced to deal with many difficult questions.

The following are examples of such questions. Should fetuses be claimed as dependents? Should a murder be charged with two crimes when the victim is a pregnant woman? Should expectant mothers who abuse their own bodies during their pregnancy, causing damage or even death to the fetus, be prosecuted?

These examples barely touch upon the legal implications involved with declaring a fetus a “separate human life.” Maybe the courts are not prepared or willing to deal with these questions. Maybe, just maybe, that is the reason why the courts are so hesitant to take a firm stance one way or another.

Andrea Snow

Junior

Finance