An Open Letter to My U.S. Senator Re Abortion, Rights, and Our Own Bodies

Dear Senator Murray:

In a recent email to your constituents addressing what you call the “right to abortion,” you ask, “do you support a woman’s right to make her own decisions about her own body?” I regret that I cannot answer that question with the simple “yes” or “no” requested as the way it is presented constitutes a false premise.

The trouble is that we’re not talking about the woman’s “own” body, but another body that happens to be inside the woman at the time. This is a body with its own unique DNA that is distinctly different from that of the woman and therefore is clearly not the woman’s “own” body. The body we’re discussing aborting has its own genetic markers that distinguish it from the woman’s body as certainly as if a car parked in my driveway had a VIN number different from the one I hold title to – even if it happens to be in my driveway, it’s not my car and not mine to dispose of.

Whether a body is inhabited by a person at conception as some believe, or at birth as others might believe, it is nevertheless a unique human body that is clearly not that of either the mother or the father as it has DNA that is distinct from each. A human body can only be the possession of the one to inhabit it and no one not inhabiting that body may rightly claim it as their own.

If for the sake of argument, we were to assume there was a right to abort, or to kill a body that is not our own, i.e. not inhabited by us nor possessing our own DNA, then the decision would of necessity be equally the right and responsibility of both the man and the woman. Since the body in question is comprised equally of the genetic material contributed by both the man and the woman, then both may claim an equal right to the object in question. Therefore, to call abortion a “woman’s” right to choose denies the equality of the sexes in the procreation process and is inherently sexist.

As for the supposed “right” to abortion, rights are not granted by government but bestowed by God. The Declaration of Independence makes it clear that all men are “endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights.” Government does not have the power to create or grant rights, neither may it properly deny or infringe upon the free exercise of those things with the Creator has revealed to be right for the creature of His creation.

As for what the Creator has revealed to be right for His creation, we need look no further than the prohibition “Thou shalt not kill” (Exodus 20:13). Whether one believes in personhood at conception or birth, one thing is certain, there is a living human body with its own unique DNA that is not that of either the mother or the father and which is currently part of a process that will result in a live birth unless that body is actively killed first. Therefore, there can be no “right” to abortion as there is no “right” to kill.

I must also confront your assertion of a “constitutional right to abortion.” The U.S. Constitution does not grant rights to the people. Rather, it is an instrument whereby we the people have delegated certain, few, and enumerated powers to the central government with which to protect our “God-given rights.” No right can be traced to our state or federal constitutions as its source. Even the Bill of Rights did not grant rights to the people but merely provided a sample listing of some of the God-given rights being retained by the people as explained in the Ninth and Tenth Amendments.

Even if the American founders had foolishly looked to government to be the grantor of rights, the constitution itself does not name abortion as a granted right. Therefore, it would be for Congress to determine rights as it is the constitutional recipient of “all legislative power.” The judicial branch was not given any legislative power. Therefore, judicial decisions, including Roe v. Wade, do not constitute law and cannot grant rights.

So, with the foregoing in mind, my answer to your question is “No,” I do not support a right to abortion, but “Yes,” I do support a woman’s right to make her own decisions about her “own” body. Making decisions about “our own body” is the inherent, God-given right and responsibility of each individual.

Therefore, I must request that you oppose all vaccine mandates, seek the repeal of the Affordable Care Act, and work to abolish all government regulation and intervention in the arena of healthcare. In some cases, such mandates and regulations force upon our bodies’ treatment not of our own choosing, and in other cases, they prevent us from obtaining the treatment that we would choose. This is a gross violation of our God-given right to “make our own decisions about our own bodies.”