Unborn have right to life
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Editor,
In response to Richard J. Bell’s recent letter on whether unborn babies should have constitutional rights, I submit that if life begins at conception (and I do believe that to be true), the only part of the Constitution that applies to abortion is this: “No person shall ... be deprived of life ... without due process of law,” (Article 5 Bill of Rights of the U.S. Constitution and Section 17 of the Montana Constitution).
If we acknowledge a baby’s constitutional right to life, Mr. Bell asks the question, “Do we not have a responsibility to punish mothers while carrying the child if they do things science can prove damages the fetus such as smoking, drinking, etc.?’’ He goes on and mentions other things such as the mother providing proper nutrition, dietary habits, affordable food, homelessness, etc.
The question of whether there should be laws addressing every one of these issues, some of these issues or none of these issues is a very controversial topic that raises other constitutional questions and could just as easily be asked of the plight of a child after being born as well.
But to deprive an unborn baby of constitutional protection of its life because it forces us to address other difficult issues is simply wrong.
Dan O. Tromp
Polson
