I’m writing in response to the Oct. 3 letter to the editor titled “A letter from your future doctors” and their “three components of reproductive justice” including: “1) the right to have children, 2) the right to not have children and 3) the right to raise children in safe communities.” I disagree with their belief that a critical part of this is “access to abortion as a part of basic healthcare.” 

At its core, this is an entitlement problem. Not every couple has the right to have children, and excuse the double negative, but not every couple has the right to not have children. As a society, we have decided that murder is bad, so why do some believe abortion is okay? The argument of the fetus being “her body” is not a sound argument as this would mean that the fetus has the same DNA as the mother, and this is biologically incorrect. If a fetus in the womb has unique DNA, and having unique DNA makes you a unique person, then by aborting the baby, you are taking a life. 

No one person should have so much power over another as to decide if they should be sentenced to death. The group of future physicians claims that abortion is instead about efforts to limit the delivery of basic healthcare. By healthcare if we mean improving a life, I can see how this procedure will benefit those who make the decision to terminate their pregnancy. However, when viewed in its entirety, the life truly affected is the fetus in the womb who is about to be ripped apart. By avoiding the fact of what is actually happening through the abortion procedure, the group of future physicians can justify murder by painting those who oppose it as limiting “basic” healthcare. 

Mark Bastiaens is a student in the University of Minnesota’s Carlson School of Management.

This letter to the editor has been lightly edited for style and clarity.