Beliefs on the unborn

The First Amendment to the Constitution grants everyone the right to practice the religion of their choice. The belief that an unborn child deserves the same personhood as a living and breathing human being is just that, a belief. It is true that the Constitution does not explicitly grant a right to abortion. Neither does the Constitution explicitly grant a right to drink water.

A fact of my family is that of seven pregnancies which my mother carried to birth, two were unable to survive without being both within and totally dependent upon my mother. They died within hours of birth. Both had immediate medical care.

It is likely that a large majority of unborn children never reach live birth and survive. We can’t know the actual number because many natural fetus deaths so easily pass unnoticed. The date of our birth is the date which is certified as the beginning of our individual life. Until a child draws breaths outside of the womb and continues to live without total dependence upon the mother, the fact is that actual separate and individual personhood has not yet been achieved.

You may practice your beliefs about the unborn. Let me practice mine.

Allan deLaubenfels

Spokane Valley