The medical and biological response to recent letters in this space on abortion is that the fetus is not part of the woman’s body. It is not tolerated by the woman’s body. It consists of separate protein and would be rejected if it were in direct con­tact within the human body. It requires a special organ, the placenta, to separate it from the woman’s body. Second, society has placed limits on what a person may do with their body. Suicide and other harm to one’s body are discouraged and prevented, if possible, including by physically re­straining a person from committing such acts. Abortion could be considered in the same context. Third, parents are not allowed to abandon their children. If a fetus is a child, then abortion could be viewed as abandonment.

David Weldy, Monclova, Ohio