I am writing in response to Ms. Laura McIntosh ("Reader responds to arguments on rock" SN 1/26) and to attempt to put this logically.

Merriam-Webster defines "abortion" as "the termination of a pregnancy after, accompanied by, resulting in or closely followed by the death of the embryo or fetus." Furthermore, regarding a clump of cells, a "cell" is defined as "a small, usually microscopic mass of protoplasm bounded externally by a semipermeable membrane, usually including one or more nuclei and various other organelles with their products, capable alone of interacting with other cells or performing all the fundamental functions of life and forming the smallest structural unit of living matter capable of functioning independently." Furthermore, the definition of the word "kill" is "to deprive of life."

Words mean things, people. You can philosophize all day about when life begins. (FYI: Curiously, Webster did not discern between "life" and "actual life" - whatever that is.) Replacing the words with their definitions you come up with this: "The termination of a pregnancy ... resulting in ... the death of the embryo or fetus, deprive(s) of life." Whether you agree with the message or not, logically speaking, it's true.

Nicholas Allison
communications senior