Opinion: Why it is biologically sound to call a fetus a ‘pre-born child’

To the editor: One letter writer penned an incredibly misinformed analysis of pre-born humans in saying that a fetus is biologically not a child. (“The intellectual dishonesty of the antiabortion term ‘prenatal children,’” Readers React, Oct. 14)

This is a stunning statement, given the facts of biology. When the sperm and the ovary successfully unite, the complete chromosomal “information” that defines the fetus as “human” is present. At conception.

And, from that moment forward, no person has the “right to choose” to end the life of that newly conceived person — not a man, not a woman, not a politician.

Ron Kays, Orange

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To the editor: The best way to limit abortion is to prevent unplanned pregnancies in the first place. In the U.S., about half of all pregnancies are unintended. The Colorado experiment, where free, reversible, long-acting birth control was offered to teens and low-income young women, resulted in dramatic (40%) drops in unplanned pregnancies and abortions.

The trouble with banning abortion after 20 weeks is that some severe birth defects, the kind that can be “incompatible with life,” can’t be identified until after 20 weeks. The idea that women suddenly decide to terminate a pregnancy at five months because they simply change their mind is sheer nonsense.

Everyone should be allowed to make medical decisions with the help of his or her doctor and family. Legislators need to stop playing doctor.

Sue Guilford, Orange

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