In response to ("Abortion not a Holocaust," Apr. 15), I would like to point out that the word "holocaust" can be used to describe any mass killing or destruction. Only when capitalized does it specifically refer to the events of World War II. In no way is the killing of six million Jews under the Nazi regime trivialized when the word is used to describe abortion.
The students and faculty of Notre Dame are not ignorant of world history during the 1940s, they simply know that the Holocaust is not the only holocaust. Since holocaust has been mostly used to describe the slaughter of the Jews, it is not appropriate to use it too loosely because it now carries the connotation of death and destruction on an epic scale. Pro-lifers believe that abortion is the killing of innocent defenseless life in its most fragile stage, and for this reason I think it is still entirely appropriate that they use the word holocaust to describe the millions of lives that they believe have been lost to abortion.
Paul Leuck
sophomore
O'Neill Hall
April 15
