Voting pro-life beyond the womb

It is with trepidation that I address the issue of abortion. It is a polarizing issue. Many people determine their vote only by a candidate's stated position on abortion. A pro-life position is more than just being anti-abortion. And one's vote should be determined by how well a candidate protects life, conception to death.

To be pro-life should include doing all that one can to protect the sanctity of human life, especially the lives of those who are most vulnerable. Children's lives are threatened by bullies, those who bring guns to school and those who will not allow common sense gun laws. Children's lives are threatened by not having access to decent health care and by poverty in a society that does not pay its workers a living wage.

The pro-life position would advocate for the well being of all mothers and children, including immigrants. How can you be pro-life and support an administration that puts babies in cages and separates children from their parents? To attack protesters is not consistent with the pro-life position. A pro-life person would not disrespect the dead by calling them losers. A pro-life person would do everything in their power to keep people from dying in a pandemic. Pro-life means taking care of the earth because the earth sustains life.

It is imperative to uphold human life at all stages from conception to death. When deciding who to vote for we should consider how candidates have protected human life at all stages.

STEVE M. ESSNER, Cape Girardeau