Frequently editorials urge others to vote Republican because of an assumption that a candidate who professes to be against abortion is therefore "pro-life." Unborn children are important. All life is precious.
How is it that opponents of abortion often overlook the millions that die prematurely from poverty and preventable disease? The Republican platform does not seek to alleviate poverty and instead gives preferential treatment to corporate interests and the nation's wealthiest citizens.
This administration's relaxing of environmental protection laws has increased the depletion of the ozone layer, threatening the earth's capacity to sustain life. The Republicans reject working in partnership with the United Nations and other international efforts such as the Kyoto Global Warming Treaty to support life-giving measures around the world.
War is about death. Can anyone who supports war claim to be "pro-life?"
The current administration engaged in a pre-emptive war on Iraq based on false information. This unjust war has killed and maimed thousands of U.S. servicemen and women and hundreds of thousands of Iraqis.
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Can any Republican or Democrat who voted to support this war claim to be pro-life? Our nation's threat to use and develop new nuclear weapons has reversed the non-proliferation treaty, putting all life on the planet at much greater risk.
How can a "pro-life" candidate support the Republican Party's platform to re-institute capital punishment in Minnesota?
Elections are important. Voters who value life can vote for candidates that are for a consistent life ethic, that support life-giving means to peace, that support programs that bring life through justice to people around the globe.
By electing candidates that support life, we can become a nation built on economic justice, and bring down the national debt. We can end the war on terrorism by being smarter than the enemy, returning good for evil. We can be about defense with the knowledge that war is not the answer to international conflicts. Through strong peaceful means we can earn respect among other nations and work together for the common good of all.
Vicki Poier
Montevideo
