‘The most basic right'

To the editor: January 22, 2006, marks the 33rd year of abortion on demand in the U.S., 33 years since Roe v. Wade and abortion is still tearing our country apart. It still evokes powerful emotions and so it should. Abortion is not just a simple, safe medical procedure as abortion providers would like women to believe. It is a matter of life and death. A baby dies and a woman is grievously wounded. Many have been deceived into thinking that individual freedom requires abortion on demand and that scientific progress depends upon experimentation on the tiny human embryo. They think that abortion is a right and at times, even a duty. And yet the most basic right of all is the right to life. Without that, other rights are meaningless. The late Mother Teresa said that human rights are not a privilege conferred by government. They are every human being’s entitlement by virtue of his humanity and that the right to life does not depend upon the pleasure of anyone else. Virginia E. Sutton Chairman, Education Committee Orange & Sullivan County Right to Life