By Steve McGourty

June 23, 1995

The major difference between a so called pro-lifer and a pro-choicer is that the pro-choicer would not deny anyone their rights, where a pro-lifer would. Therefore pro-lifer reasoning is fundamentally un-American.

Pro-lifers say that they are protecting the rights of the unborn, based on their strictly religious assumption that the unborn are viable human life. In promoting this view, and attempting to put it into law, they would force their religious perspective onto people that do not agree with them. In doing this these extremists would deny the rights of the already born. This view is completely counter to our founding fathers' wishes on religious freedom.

In America we have long cherished the separation of church and state. One of the major reasons this country was established was to insure freedom for all religious views -- not just conservative Christian views. Pro-lifers would change that; they would make their religious dictates law, thus denying any other perspective. This is wrong, and fortunately, for those of us who are opposed to this kind of demagoguery, it is unconstitutional.

There is little difference between a radical Muslim going on jihad to kill infidels and the current narrow-minded stance of the radical Christian right on the subject of abortion. These self-righteous Christians use the same logic that convinced the fanatical Japanese sect to gas the Tokyo subways. It is this same rationale that convinces anti-abortionists to take life to save it. All these examples have one thing in common -- one group is convinced that they are so right that no one else's opinion (or life) matters. There is no precedent in American history that condones imposing one group's religious fervor on all. If they want to live in that kind of country they should move to Iran where that kind of thinking is not only acceptable, it is the law. Thankfully that is not the case, so far, in America.

Here no one would force them to have an abortion, and they have no right to force their choice on anyone else. These churlish conservative Christians need to look at another part of their bible for guidance on this matter. Have they forgotten "turn the other cheek," and "judge not lest they be judged?" They are not god, yet they arrogantly propose to speak and act for him/her (it?). They should keep their religion to themselves -- and not impose it on others who do not seek it. Please, let's keep religious freedom in America.

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