In her February 21 column about Ron Paul, Leah Forester writes “Paul is pro-life and if you don’t like that then get over it.” Nope, I’m not going to “get over” a presidential candidate advocating that the government force women to continue unwanted pregnancies against their will. Been there, done that; it was a disaster. When I was in medical school in St. Louis in the 1960s, I saw enough women who had been butchered and mutilated by illegal abortions to become absolutely convinced of the necessity of legal access to safe abortion services. This is the true “pro-life” position. The Council on Scientific Affairs of the American Medical Association has documented the toll that illegal abortion took on women before Roe v. Wade.

There is no scientific, religious or philosophical consensus about when a human life begins. A fetus does not develop the neurologic function that is a medical criterion for personhood until 5 to 6 months after conception. The notion that “life begins at conception” is an opinion. Ron Paul is entitled to his opinion, but he is not entitled to impose that opinion on others through government coercion. Paul’s claim to be a “Libertarian” is completely negated by his view that the government should intrude into the most intimate and private part of a woman’s life.