Try this 'clump of cells' test

In his recent letter "Opponents of choice use religion, not fact," John Gleason opens with this: "It boggles the mind that writers like Michael Ellegood and other anti-choice fanatics continue to assign human qualities to what amounts to a clump of cells in a woman's body." A bit further on, he informs us that, "Most of the legally terminated pregnancies are of embryos, not babies."

Clump of cells, John? That's all you see? OK, then let's test your thinking. Do a web search for the Decorah eagles. You'll find a page that includes live-streaming video of an eagle's nest there. Bookmark the page and go back there daily, beginning in, oh, say, late January of next year. Keep going to that page until you see that the nest contains an egg or two.

Then, drive to Decorah, climb the tree and take an egg. When you get back down on the ground, start up a little campfire and make yourself an omelette using that egg you just retrieved from the nest. Keep it warm, and then sit there and wait for the IDNR officers and/or other officials from the state/county.

Not to worry, however, as you can explain to them that the egg was not an eagle, but merely a "clump of cells" inside an eggshell. Just convince them that your meal does not involve an eagle, and in fact, is a mere embryo, and does not even have "eagle qualities."

If you manage to convince them, who knows? They might ask if they could join you for breakfast.

If, as I suspect, you can't convince them, you could well find yourself having some "quiet time" away from your home and family. If that should happen, write another letter and tell us all about how and why everything happened as it did.

John Babush

Big Rock