Letter to the Editor

Your View: two from 10/22

Friday, October 22, 2004

On Sunday, Oct. 12, Christians from churches in cities all across America gathered in what are called life-chains to prayerfully support the unborn. Unborn babies are defenseless. Yet, statistics show that the killing of unborn babies (we call it abortion but it's killing) since Roe v. Wade in 1973 is several times more than the number of American soldiers killed in all wars fought in our history.

Here are the facts:

1. Life begins at conception. It's a baby, not tissue.

2. More than 40 million unborn babies have been killed in America since 1973 (12,476 were killed in Missouri in 2003).

3. There are more than 140,000 second and third trimester abortions each year.

4. There are 305 abortions for every 1,000 live births.

5. Embryonic cell research requires the death of unborn babies. The end does not justify the means.

6. Fetal tissue research requires killing of unborn babies.

7. Only about 1 percent of abortions are for the life of the mother; 95 percent are for birth control.

What am I saying here? The war in Iraq and against terrorism, health care costs, roads and highways, and education are important, but the lives of defenseless unborn babies are far more important!

Consider slavery in the 1800s before emancipation. Just because the Dred Scott Supreme Court decision said that slave-owners' rights must be protected and that slaves were the property of slave-owners did not make slavery any less evil. It took a civil war, the Emancipation Proclamation and the 13th Amendment to the Constitution, but slavery was abolished in America.

Just because Roe v. Wade says that a woman's constitutional right to privacy gives her the right to choose to have an abortion does not make abortion any less evil. In the sight of God and in the framework of a moral culture, it is still killing a human being.

Every time we pass a law involving behavior, we legislate morality. It is against the law to murder, steal, rob banks, sell pornography to minors and buy or sell illegal drugs. That is morality. George Washington said that religion and morality are the pillars of good government. Abortion is morally wrong whether it's legal or not, and no one should have the right to kill an unborn baby under the ridiculous pretense of pro-choice! Our tax dollars shouldn't be used to fund abortions or research on aborted babies.

When we go to the polls Nov. 2, we have a choice to vote for candidates who are pro-life (not just personally opposed to abortion) or are pro-choice (for a woman's right to choose to have her unborn baby murdered). It is up to you and me to vote for candidates who will take a moral stand. The bottom line is: vote morality, not your pocket-book! (Psalm 79:11, 94:16, 102:20 and 139:13-16; Proverbs 24:11,12; Isaiah 5:20 and 10:1.)

Voting Pro-life,

Richard D. Swift, Bloomfield

As many of you are aware, on the night of Oct. 9 we all experienced a tragic and devastating event at Reeves Boomland.

The fire that destroyed a large portion of Boomland is somewhat of a setback, but we will not let it dampen our spirit and determination to rebuild a new facility to accommodate all of our loyal customers and put our dedicated employees back to work.

We would like to express our sincere gratitude to all the emergency personnel who assisted and supported the effort to put out the fire and save a significant portion of the building. Your dedication to provide the service you were trained to do was commendable and will always be appreciated and never forgotten.

To all our customers and friends who have called or stopped by to express their concerns and offered their prayers, we are truly grateful. The outpouring of love and prayers during this traumatic time has been a true blessing in helping us get through this difficult time.

In closing, we want all of our customers to realize that our new facility will reopen in 2005 and we look forward to serving you again, just like we have for almost 30 years.

Thank you for your support and prayers!

The Reeves Family,

Reeves Boomland, Charleston