DEFINE: A woman's right

I would like to respond to Millie Hayes letter in Friday’s Press: Millie, you ARE in charge of your own body. All women are. You have the right not to have sex. If you do have sex, a baby may be conceived. You do not have the right to kill that baby. Is it OK to kill an infant after birth? NO! You would go to jail. A newborn infant is just as dependent on a mother’s care as the baby in the womb.

The question of abortion is not so much a moral or religious issue. It is scientific. Life begins when a zygote is formed and attached to the uterus of a woman. She nurtures this life in her womb as it grows. After the child is born, the mother still needs to nurture the child to grow. Failing to do this could lead to arrest for child neglect.

To sum up, we are talking about two rights here. The right of the mother and the right of the child. The mother has the right to choose not to have sex (except in the case of rape) and the baby has a right to life.

DIANE RUTHERFORD

Coeur d’Alene