By Teresa Larson, Victor
Certain parts of Marty Essen’s rant in the March 4 issue of the Bitterroot Star may or may not be correct, but when he addressed the issue of abortion he was “dead” wrong. Mr. Essen states, “I’m not sure how abortion became such a major Republican issue…” Abortion has been the major issue in this country for over 50 years. His biblical justification for abortion was laughable. Mr. Essen asserts that the Bible “states multiple times that life begins at first breath,” but fails to identify said passages. Perhaps Mr. Essen was mixing these passages up with quotes from Nancy Pelosi or Diane Feinstein.
When a United States Senate Judiciary Subcommittee invited some of the world’s most prominent scientists and physicians to testify on the question of when life begins, doctors and professors from the University of Pennsylvania, Univ. of Descartes (Paris), the Mayo Clinic, Harvard Univ. Medical School, and the Univ. of Colorado (among others) unilaterally stated that life begins at the moment of conception.
Jeremiah 1:5 states, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I dedicated you…” At fertilization a genetically distinct human being at a very early state in his or her development is created. Every child in utero is simply a human being waiting to be born. The taking of an innocent human life (born or preborn) is murder.
Mr. Essen’s lack of credibility on this issue calls into question the veracity of every statement in his letter.