Death penalty, abortion are not comparable issues

Published 1:30 am Saturday, October 8, 2022

I am writing in response to a recent letter regarding abortion and the death penalty.

The author’s purpose was to point out a hypocrisy that she perceives among anti-abortion supporters, stating that for all of 2021 through August 2022, 17 executions were performed in 17 states that currently have highly restrictive abortion bans. I, personally do not know what percentage of anti-abortionists support the death penalty, but I do have a little different perspective.

In order to receive the death penalty, one must be charged with a heinous murder and must also be tried by a jury of his or her peers. In comparison, an infant who is the most innocent of all humans, who has not committed any crimes against humanity, will be executed without benefit of any trial. The infant’s death will be decided by the parents, and a doctor.

Nor did the author mention that each year hundreds of thousands of abortions are performed in the United States. The latest statistics I could find were for 2019. I used the statistics from usafacts.org, but there were numerous other sources and all were from 2019. They reported over 600,000 babies were aborted in 2019, and that seems to be an average for most recent years. I would ask how pro-abortion supporters will fight to save the lives of people who have done outrageous crimes, but still support the killing of innocent babies.

Our country is severely divided on abortion, and I do not profess to know the answers to ever resolving it, but the statement “Pro-life may be about the sanctity of life, but anti-abortion is about controlling women.” This is absurd, abortion is still legal in a large majority of states. I do believe there needs to be some reality checks and people need to stop fanning the flames with issues that are non-existent.

Patricia Johnson

Lake Stevens