No one can say when life begins

Mary Stuhr's anti-abortion letter had statements that could be viewed from many perspectives.

A woman with an unplanned pregnancy has already been given the gift of her own life. She may have too much invested in it to adequately give to another, or, due to her own free will, not want to.

An aborted fetus is forever an unopened present only if the soul was present, and does not reincarnate. Depending on one's religious view, the talents, if present, can easily be used elsewhere.

Praying for an aborted fetus is pity, an emotion I've distrusted since breaking my ankle years ago. A situation that wasted a lot of my time prompted time wasting, unwanted pity from strangers telling me of their broken bone. Pity is an emotion for the giver, who unknowingly uses the receiver as a microphone for subconscious self pity, not receiver.

True, abortion stops a beating heart, which is the prerequisite, not the totality, for human life. A soul and consciousness must also be present. Ensoulment is a matter of religious belief, and the consciousness structure doesn't exist until the sixth month. As Lennart Nilson, the photographer for the book, "A Child is Born," said, "When life begins is not a scientific question. That is like asking when love begins."

Diana L. Carter

Elgin