One question must be answered in abortion debate

Kansans were asked the wrong question. It’s the same question that the 1973 Supreme Court failed to address in its abortion ruling and yet it made a ruling anyway. It’s the same question that neither the U.S. or Kansas constitutions (or that of many other states) do not address as well. To this day this question is avoided. And still, this question remains the key essential and fundamental question that when answered makes the rest of the Rubik’s cube squares fall into place. Some would say this question is above their “pay grade.” But it is a question we encounter every day and seem to have no real qualm, young or old, for recognizing when it is and when it isn’t. The question that needs to be answered is “When does life begin?”

When a heart stops beating we pronounce a person dead, can we pronounce them alive when we detect one? And once we establish that the heartbeat indicates life, we can address the lawful implications of rights and protections.

In the land of the “free” and the home of the “brave” may we have the courage to answer the right question first. Our Founders did, by signing off on recognizing we are endowed by our Creator with certain unalienable rights, and they began the list with life. Perhaps we should too.

Bernie Hayes

Cedar Rapids

Candidate Iowa Senate District 39