To the editor:

Immediately following the birth of my son, he lay in the bassinet in the hospital for about 30 seconds with his eyes wide open and looking around. The nurse then came over and said we should get him breathing, picked him up, slapped him, and he began breathing and crying. During that 30 seconds, I could have plunged a knife into his heart or brain and killed him and it would have been morally acceptable to some people like our U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg who not only claims that my action would have been morally acceptable but also biblically because my son had not taken a breath. This is an extreme position on the political spectrum but shows us where some people draw the line for when an unborn baby (or in this case a born baby) becomes a human being. On the other end of the political spectrum are those who believe that as soon as the sperm fertilizes the egg then the new set of cells is a human being. I doubt if it is possible to find a middle ground which these two extremes can accept, but something has been missing in all of the interviews with our presidential candidates. When was the last time VP Harris or President Trump were asked “When does the unborn baby (or born baby) become a human being?” And the follow up, when do the rights of the unborn or born baby human being exceed that of the mother’s right to kill the child? Shouldn’t this be a part of the national discussion about abortion especially since it is the number one issue for one of the political parties?

Don Gaeddert

Larned