Letter to Senator Schumer (D) NY on the Life Issue

I wrote to Senator Chuck Schumer (D) NY about how a health care reform bill that includes taxpayer funding of abortion takes away my right to oppose abortion and further trivializes the sanctity of human life in America. Here's how he responded:

Dear Friend:

Thank you for your letter opposing taxpayer funding of abortion in health care reform. As the father of two daughters, I share your deep respect for the sanctity of life and realize the importance of honoring one’s moral and religious heritage. I also value the freedom of all American citizens to base their personal choices on their own values and moral convictions. I also support measures that aim to reduce the number of abortions, and I believe that education and prevention are critical to achieving that.The decision to have an abortion will never be an easy one, nor should it be. While I believe that every woman should have the right to make her own decision, in counsel with her physician, family, and religious adviser, I also believe that funding programs that aim to reduce the number of unwanted pregnancies is essential.Thank you for contacting me on this important issue. Please do not hesitate to contact me in the future if I can ever be of assistance to you on this or any other matter.

Sincerely,
Charles E. Schumer
United States Senator

So I wrote him again:

Dear Senator Schumer,

Thank you for your response to my letter. Abortion is not just a women's rights issue. It is a human rights issue. Do you believe that people who choose to take the life of another (born) person have the right to sit down with their clergymen and counselors to decide whether or not to commit that act which our government has deemed a crime? I'm not saying that I think abortion is a black and white issue, with no grey area; I don't believe that. However, when abortions take place because the mother and/or father of the unborn child decides that he or she is not ready to be a parent, and that the child's conception is a "mistake," this freedom to snuff out a life because of selfishness is clearly a great evil. Abortion should not cost less than a flat screen television, and the silent, tiny unborn child should have a degree of human rights. If you truly respect the sanctity of human life, you will modify your stance on this issue, and work to give the most vulnerable Americans human rights. As a nation, we are rich enough to "want" all of our children. Adoption is a beautiful thing. It's a great blessing for both an unborn child at risk and a couple who yearns to be parents.

Sincerely,
Loren Christie
New York

Then, I got a response to this second letter: a copy of his first letter, above.

As long as I have a mouth and two feet I'm not going to stay passive on this issue. I just can't. I'm not sure if Senator Schumer and I are really "friends." ;)