I'm just reading this letter to the editor. It is in regards to the pro-life protests in Jackson Mississippi.
She writes:
The president invaded a sovereign country (Iraq) with the blessing of the religious right in the belief Iraq was responsible for 9-11. We are still occupying that country and instead of making things better, the Iraqi war has killed off nearly 3,000 of our troops, not counting thousands of civilians, turned the country into a sectarian civil war mess, and spawned even more terrorism.
Why aren't these protesters, protesting that? Why are they also silent and not protesting the state of Mississippi's trafficking in liquor, a beverage which causes more deaths on our highways than anything else? Cigarettes cause untold deaths each year not only from using the product, but also from secondhand smoke.
Only abortion seems to bother them. Death is death, whether from legalized abortions, legalized booze or legalized cigarettes. So, pardon me, protesters, but your hypocrisy is showing.
Not every pro-lifer is a supporter of the war in Iraq. Just look at Pat Buchanan and the Pope. There are places in the South with strict liquor laws (like Kentucky) which is supported by the Religious Right. Cigarettes? I'm sure there are many pro-lifers who hate the tobacco industry. I do!
Here's what is missing from the equation: Pro-lifers are not just protesting the act of killing babies, but fetal rights. That's the whole point, and I think this angle should be more emphasized. It is not hypocrtical to support fetal rights, but support the War in Iraq. Why? Because no one is denying that innocent Iraqi civilians have a right to life; Smokers, drinkers, cancer victims, they all have a right to life.
The State does not acknowledge that unborn children have a right to life.
People will die by unfortunate circumstances, like wars, drunk driving and secondhand smoke. The State is already trying to do something about it, through diplomacy (in the case of war) and education and regulations (in the case of smoking and liquor laws). You can't stop all deaths. But you can at least acknowledge that something should be done to try to stop them.
NOTHING is being done for the unborn.
That is why pro-lifers protest. If the State acknowledged the right to life of the unborn and went out of its way to protect them, then there wouldn't be any protests.
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