What does it say about our country when its Vice President is dispatched on a nationwide pre-election campaign to promote unrestricted abortion to the moment of birth? Is this concept better or worse than recent live beheadings of babies and burning of children by murderous Hamas invaders of Israel? Is there no longer government respect for human decency, religious teachings and the sanctity of life? Intractable absolutist commentators on this subject deserve no respect. No one seems to be challenging a pregnant woman’s (or man’s?) right to choose, but there’s no reason for delay up to nine months to do so. Unwanted pregnancy can easily be prevented in advance by contraception and subsequently by medications in cases of mistaken choice of partner, rape, incest, electronic discovery of physical deformity, or serious health risk to the expectant mother. Democratic government of, by and for the people was never intended to encompass personal-life family planning and related reproductive decisions. The pro-abortion road show is a calculated distraction from far more immediate and threatening issues of concern to most Americans. Phil Osifer