Readers React: ‘But what about abortion?’ — for some readers, no other issue is more important

Gov. Gavin Newsom’s moratorium last month on executions in California drew plenty of criticism from readers who said it was wrong for the governor’s personal belief on capital punishment to trump the will of voters, who as recently as 2016 opted to keep the death penalty. A subset of those letters offered more pointed criticism: They said Newsom was wrong to value the lives of convicted killers more than victims — and by victims, I mean aborted fetuses.

This wasn’t the first time some of our letter writers tied abortion to a seemingly unrelated issue. Over the last several months, I’ve saved a selection of these letters that I filed under the topic, “But what about abortion?” The sampling of letters below shows that, for at least some readers, fetal life and death is an issue that rises above all others.

In March, one reader suggested applying death-penalty terminology to abortion:

“I object to the Democrats’ undying support for abortion while at the same time they express support for Newsom’s mercy toward wicked killers.

“Newsom’s moratorium has made me realize that we should rethink some of our terminology. The ‘death penalty’ has historically been applied to criminals who have taken the lives of others, while ‘late-term abortion’ is legal in many places and seemingly OK when a baby is unwanted, inconvenient or imperfect.

“So let’s be honest — late-term abortion should actually be called ‘the death penalty for the innocent.’ I find it very disgusting how evil tries to deceive us with its own manufactured terminology.”

Another reader had a similar reaction to Newsom’s moratorium:

“I find it astounding that lefties like Newsom just can’t stomach a fully grown adult convicted of killing multiple people being executed, but any baby (or embryo) is fair game for the death penalty. And, now it has become somewhat mainstream to discuss killing a newborn in the form of a late-term abortion if that is what the mother desires.

“Newsom calls his moratorium on executions in California a moral decision. Wow.”

In December, one reader questioned the L.A. Times’ priorities in publishing letters on banning plastic straws:

“With all due respect, why print three letters about something as trivial as straws? One writer mentioned finding 171 discarded straws.

“Every day on average, Californians kill and discard well over that amount of children by abortion. The insanity of priorities is beyond the pale.”

Again in December, a letter writer wanted the pope to focus on a new state abortion law instead of President Trump’s comments on immigration:

“Recently, the pope wasted no time lecturing President Trump on his attempts to control our borders, but as far I have heard or read, he has been deathly silent on the infanticide that the state of New York just enacted into law.”

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