Letters: When does a woman's right to choose begin? Social 'tribes' divide and harm us.

What about the rights of the unborn?

Everyone is talking about a woman’s right to choose, and it’s very true that she has that right. I just want to back up a bit and ask, “When did she receive that right? Was she 10 years old, was she was 5? Did she get the right to choose at her birth? Or when her mother was eight months pregnant with her, or possibly seven? Just when did she gain that right?”

More: Letters: My mom already birthed two babies 'another one was more than she could take'

Left alone, a pre-born person would grow into a living and breathing human being with the ability and right to make its own choices. Because that pre-born child hasn’t taken a breath on its own yet, is it less than human, less than deserving of the right to choose?

More: 'Bringing a life into this world is never wrong, no matter the circumstance' | Opinion

Surely not. Please consider this.

One final remark: “Raise your hand if you’re glad your mother didn’t choose to end your life when you were in her womb.” Thank you.

Kathy Lehman, Columbus

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Far left divides us into 'tribes'

I want to make a comment on the far left tactic of dividing us all into social tribes and the harm it causes all of us in this great country.

The first example is former Mayor Michael Coleman stating that menthol cigarettes target Black people. 

More: Former Columbus Mayor Michael Coleman has personal reason to seek menthol cigarette ban

All cigarette companies have been targeting all people, regardless of color, for many years. Menthol cigarettes killed my father.

Also, movies that highlight Gay Pride Month. What about a section titled “Watch Human Pride”?  We need to change our approach. Let’s work for social justice and celebrate the lives of all Americans regardless of race, creed or sexual orientation.

Stan Fulk, Dublin

Pride weather too hot for dogs

Columbus Pride is an important time to celebrate progress and remember what remains to be done to secure rights for all LGBTQ+ communities. This year, we needed that renewed commitment more than ever.

More: Thousands turn out for Columbus' first Pride parade in three years

But also this year, like many others, Pride was ruined for me by the sheer number of dogs subjected by their owners to stressful and even dangerous conditions. While we were blessed with cooler weather, by late morning, the asphalt was too hot, the sun too bright, and the crowds too large for the safety and comfort of dogs. Excepting service dogs, who are trained for a wide variety of conditions, they do not belong at Pride or other festivals.

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I saw a Great Pyrenees mix hiding between her person’s legs on the front line of the parade, with obvious anxiety. I saw a Golden Retriever refuse to drink water while panting excessively, signs of heat stroke to which her person was oblivious. And, of course, I saw several bulldogs  — who struggle to breathe in the best conditions — in severe distress.

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Just stop it, please. Dogs will do anything for you. Don’t make them.

Lynn Rosenthal, Columbus

The lighter side of gas prices

In these not-much-to-laugh-about times, I offer Dispatch readers a bit of ironic humor in the form of a flashback.

I was watching on television an old rerun of "The Tonight Show," starring Johnny Carson, from 1979. In his monologue, Johnny was saying that gasoline prices were continuing to rise and had that day reached the "outrageous price" of $1.00 per gallon.

Ah, the good old days!

Mike Adamkosky, Columbus

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Letters: Unborn children should grow up to have the right to choose