It’s not black and white

The flat statement by Silvio Famularo (Letters, Nov 2) that ‘‘thou shalt not kill’’ is meaningless unless qualified and exceptions examined. To take an admittedly ludicrous example, surgical removal of a tumour means deliberately killing human cells, but no-one would seriously maintain that it would be breaking the Sixth Commandment.

On the other hand, a human embryo, implanted in the oviduct rather than the uterus, would be doomed anyway. Would Famularo seriously suggest such ‘’killing’’ would breach the Sixth Commandment?

Martin Hanson, Nelson

Karl du Fresne (Nov 1) appears to think all foetuses are created equal. The prime minister’s baby was wanted by both parents and the whole country; a foetus carried by a 14-year-old raped by a member of her family is not wanted by the prospective mother, and few in the country would expect her to have it. Where do you draw a line between these two polar extremes? The only one you can draw would be, is a child wanted. In an already overpopulated world, the last thing we need is more unwanted babies.

Chris Bowen, Lower Hutt

Terry Bellamark of Abortion Rights Aotearoa lists a number of reasons (Nov 5) why a pregnant person may want to end her pregnancy and the life of her unborn child; not one of them is a health issue.

Teresa Homan, Upper Hutt