Re: 'At what point does an unborn child have civil rights?' [Village News, Letter, 9/29/22]

My wife and I wish to respond to the Julie Reeder Op Ed regarding the civil rights of unborn children.

We have been pro-lifers all of our lives so our input is going to have that slant to it. We believe that human life begins at inception. We also believe that if a woman does not want a child, she should use any of the many contraceptive paths available to her or demand that the man perform the contraceptive task (either by device, vasectomy, or other).

If we take these precautions, we will avoid the conception taking place and there will be no human life at risk. We simply do not buy the argument that since God and nature have placed this tiny human in a woman's body for nurture and development, that she has the right to terminate its life. With one exception: if doctors determine that the pregnancy threatens the life of the mother.

That said, we do believe that our society should have guidelines on how to deal with the entire matter. We know that our attitude would be very unpopular with a large segment of our population but there are other laws and guidelines that direct what we do with our bodies, like drug use, prostitution, etc.

This issue involves an innocent member of our society who represents the ultimate in vulnerability. We must have some soul and consideration of life at this stage of its development.

Michael & Barbara Sullivan