Regarding abortion, should the minority of evangelical Christians, who believe all of life is according to a divine plan — including babies born as a result of rape, fertilized embryos, fetuses either deformed or unable to ever have a viable life, pregnancies of an already overburdened woman and those that have complications that may result in the death of the mother — dictate the law for the majority?
Science states that in the first couple of months of pregnancy, the uterus contains only a clump of cells, some of which have a pulsating movement that will one day become the heart. At this stage, it is neither a human heartbeat or a baby.
The majority believe that abortion should be a personal decision. Evangelicals do not have dibs on morality, as they like to think, just because they believe they do.
Many regard the Bible — with its multiple interpretations over centuries, violence, contradictory texts and just flat-out myths discredited by science-based fact — to be nothing more than a history book.
There are so many issues today — including climate change, LGBTQ rights, evolution, pandemics, education, the state of Israel — which run into a similar clash between those who believe in an infallible word of God and those who believe in science.
I feel our country’s differences come down to this: Those who believe in an infallible divine plan and those who do not.
Everyone has a right to their values and beliefs and is free to live their lives accordingly. This freedom is what makes our country so great. But people need to stay in their own lane and not make laws regarding how others should live their lives. The evangelical view is only one opinion, and a minority one at that.
RUTH FLETCHER
Metairie