LETTERS: BETTER TO SAVE LIFE OF PREBORN CHILD

To the editor:

I never thought I would say this, but for once Gov. Mel Carnahan and I agree on something. In his open letter published in eight cities on Sunday, which cost his coffers $60,000 of other people's money, Carnahan stated the partial-birth abortion veto facing legislators this week is extremely difficult and complex. I agree. He also calls for the members to put aside party differences and do what is right. I agree with that also.

He then says the woman's health and life should be considered before this horrendous procedure is initiated. The woman's life being spared is already a part of Senate Bill 275. However, slaughtering an unborn baby due to a woman's health issue, be it physical, psychological or mental anguish, open's up a Pandora's box of exceptions and interpretations which are subject to abuses. Let us not forget this whole abortion-issue jumble, which was seeded in 1972 with Roe vs. Wade, sprouted from a woman who lied (by her own admission after being saved) that she was raped.

One interesting note arises from this mess. According the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Missouri Attorney General Jay "Nixon said under current law, persons performing partial-birth abortions could be charged with second-degree murder, which requires more prison time than the bill." So our attorney general has issued an official advisory opinion that a preborn person is a person, since only a person can be murdered. In which case, following the attorney general's logic, all abortions on demand should be shut down, since they are also murdering a human. Unless, of course, someone rationalizes sometime during the gestation period a fetus suddenly becomes a person.

With the original passage of the bill, the measure passed 28-3 with three senators abstaining. There are 19 Democrats and 15 Republicans in the Senate. In order for the veto override to be passed on to the House, it must be passed by at least 23 votes this week. Of course, if the senators do as the governor instructed, they will put away political affiliation and do what is right. This means at least eight Democrats in the Senate would have to jump the party ship. Then the baton would be passed to the House, which would require 109 votes and close to 30 Democratic representatives severing their party ties and doing what is right.

So why was $60,000 spent on full-age ads? Each of these cities have senators and representatives who voted for the partial-birth abortion ban in April but may be persuaded to change their votes from pressure of public sentiment. Whereas the Springfield area was unscathed, because we a re mostly solid conservative area. So I guess the governor figured he would be wasting his money here.

Finally, an issue has been raised about how embarrassing it would be for the governor is the Legislature sticks to its guns and overrides the veto. All I can say is the embarrassment of a seasoned politician is less threatening and destructive than killing the life of even on preborn child.

VINCENT JENNINGS

Nixa

(Vincent Jennings is a Republican candidate for the Missouri House of Representatives in the 142nd District of Southwest Missouri.)