War deaths belie pro-life position

To the editor:

I have been watching the blooming of yellow Vote Pro-Life signs in the area with curiosity. Under normal circumstances, I would expect those sporting these signs to toe the Republican Party line and oppose abortion even when a woman's life is at risk and oppose embryonic stem-cell research even though this might lead to the cure for many lethal diseases. But now I am not so sure.

If you adopt a right to-life position, you cannot in good conscience be Bush-Cheney supporters and, therefore, cannot support the Republican ticket nationally or statewide since this directly or indirectly would be the same as supporting Bush-Cheney. The reason, just in case there is any doubt, that you cannot support Bush-Cheney is that they have cost the lives of over a thousand Americans and tens of thousands of Iraqis in a senseless unjustified war. More than that, however, they have established or promote policies that have increased the concentrations of toxic pollutants in our air and water. Although we may not be able to put names to the folks these policies are killing, there can be no doubt that increased deaths are the result.

By launching a unilateral pre-emptive strike against Iraq when the United Nations weapons inspections program was still effectively controlling any delusion of threat that Saddam Hussein might have had, Bush-Cheney have cost thousands of lives needlessly. Assuredly, these war-mongering chicken hawks are not worthy of the pro-life vote.

NATHAN BOTSCH, Dexter, Mo.