OPINION

Life is precious

Re: "Abortion law sparks mass protests," (BP, Oct 4).

Generally I consider myself a liberal. But on the issue of abortion I feel compelled to side with the conservatives.

I base my position on religious grounds. I believe that the God of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam would consider abortion to be an abomination. To rip an unborn child untimely from its mother's womb, or to end its potential existence by other means -- is that not a terrible act unworthy of a species that professes to be civilised?

The golden rule -- do unto others as you would have others do unto you -- sets the standard. Would you want to have been aborted when you were a foetus in the womb? No? I didn't think so. So what you would not desire for yourself, why inflict upon others?

Women cry out that they have a right to control their own bodies. But none of us have complete control over our own bodies. Which of us can determine the time and circumstances of our own birth or death?

Which of us can save ourselves from diseases like cancer, or from strokes or heart attacks when they come calling?

But who would justify cutting off a potential life merely because it would cause inconvenience? If a baby is not wanted, it can always be put up for adoption.

Nature does not care about life, spawning billions of life-forms and consuming them with equal indifference. But if we who have life do not hold all life sacred, how shall any life be held sacred at all?

Vaccinations not a cure-all

Re: "Masked question," (PostBag, Oct 6).

This letter is not directly aimed at JF Leduc but at many who write in wondering why vaccinated people get Covid-19.

A vaccination consists of deactivated (or dead) molecules and does not prevent a person from being infected; it just forewarns the immune system to be ready for a major attack in the form of a live virus infection.

In almost all cases the jabs will prevent any serious or life-threatening effects.

Many countries which have vaccinated vulnerable people are still counting fairly high infection rates, but most of those who need hospital treatment have not yet received a vaccination or a second shot.

Death rates become much lower across the board as the numbers of fully vaccinated people increases.

The danger that remains is from mutations resistant to previous strain antibodies.

This means further jabs are going to be required just like annual flu shots many countries provide already.

Nok Air says sorry

Re: "Nok Air's nosedive", (PostBag, Oct 7) and "Nok flights games?," (PostBag, Oct 2).

Firstly, we do apologise for the experience that passengers have received and we are very sorry to hear about it.

Our flight scheduling is made seasonally and is adjusted to better suit the dynamism of the industry and other potential operational constraints.

We strive to operate all flights we schedule as much as possible and cancel only when necessary and at the earliest possibility.

This is in order to allow more time for our passengers to make changes to their travel plans.

During this time, we are experiencing an influx of passenger inquiries due to travel restrictions.

Nok Air is trying to increase its capacity whenever needed to the best extent possible but due to the increasing demand, delays may still occur from time to time.

Alternatively, passengers may contact us through our social media channels.

We do apologise for the inconvenience once again and we appreciate you letting us know.

We would like to assure our passengers that we will continue improving your experience with us. We hope to see you onboard soon.

Let's lead by example

Re: "Seize climate change opportunity, PM urges," (BP, Sept 26).

It was great to see Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha urging world leaders to rapidly transition from fossil fuels to clean, renewable energy during the recent high-level Dialogue on Energy Summit 2021, recently convened by the United Nations.

But it would be far more encouraging to see Thailand leading by example rather than with hollow rhetoric.

The Thailand Development Research Institute says there are 27 coal-fired power plants in the country, spitting out some 35 million tonnes of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases each year. Plans are on the books for Thailand to add even more coal-fired plants rather than cut the number.

It's time for Thailand to take serious action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and PM2.5 pollution, rather than simply talking about it.