Letters to the editor: policing pregnancy, gun debate, fetus’ rights & American decline
Policing pregnancy
In the 1970’s, after abortion became legal, friends of mine who were pregnant but not married, warily checked to see if I would try to push them into having an abortion. I told them I supported whatever choice they made. I told women who chose abortion the same thing.
I knew I could not control my friends’ lives. However, we have legislators in Idaho and other states who seem to feel they should make this choice for women and men. These legislators are also threatening doctors with fines and prison. We once trusted a doctor’s opinion when s/he stated that fetus was not viable or the pregnancy threatened a woman’s life. Decisions about a pregnancy are no longer private ones between a person and her doctor or support system. Our legislators intend to legislate the fate of unintended or problematic pregnancies. This is not to be an individual decision or one made by a couple or family. Involving a doctor endangers the doctor. If this becomes part of the state legal code, there will be police involvement.
Do private citizens want legal involvement in pregnancies? Do readers want police involvement? Consider the blowback in criminalizing abortion decisions.
Janelle Wintersteen, Boise
Gun debate
When will the debate about AR-15s, bump stocks, extended magazine clips that hold 100 rounds, semi-automatic handguns with clips that hold 30 plus rounds, and paper mache background checks, end? Answer: never. Which brings us to the debate on weapons of mass destruction. A weapon of mass destruction is designed to kill the maximum number of people in the shortest amount of time with the least expenditure of energy. AR-15s and high-caliber semi-automatic handguns more than fit the bill. That’s why they are the weapons of choice for mass murderers. They are military and police-grade weapons, not civilian playthings. Mass murderers are domestic terrorists, they should be handed over to the military, given a speedy trial and publicly hanged. In their hometown.
But enough of wishful thinking. The situation will continue as is as long as the wildly liberal second amendment exists as-is and is defended by the pro-gun advocates using the equally liberal first amendment, both of which are embedded in the most liberal constitution in the world.
Tom Yount, Boise
Fetus’ rights
There is much ado about women’s rights of choice, but what about a fetus’ right to life?
When a woman decides to have sex she has the right to use contraceptives and the obligation to use them if she doesn’t want a pregnancy. Using abortion as birth control is irresponsible when there is such an easy alternative.
Contraception equals no conception, and no conception equals no abortion.
That should make both the Pro-choice and the Pro-life people happy.
Thomas B. Norris, Meridian
American decline
Republicans have succeeded in taking power in the US because they are both ruthless and effective. Their foundation is based on four pillars. Power, propaganda, exploitation, and control. Power is the basis for all decisions; what will benefit me? Propaganda; The end justifies the means. Republicans use the Nazi mantra; “The bigger the lie the better. If you repeat the lie enough, the masses will believe it”. They are the masters of misinformation and lies. Exploitation; Republicans use the media, courts, local, state, and national leaders to exploit propaganda. Control; Republicans will control the federal and state governments through control of the elections. They will control women and all types of minorities. Democrats are weak, indecisive, and feckless. They need to be more ruthless than Republicans but many of them are ethical and care about people. Our divided nation will join a Mafia-like world of dictatorships laced with the corrupt elite. Europe may hold on to democracy for another decade but the die is cast for the end of democracy, liberty, privacy, justice, and equality on earth. The “Pursuit of Happiness” has become the pursuit of survival. “Babylon the great is fallen, …and is become the habitation of devils”.
Kurt Smith, Boise