Several residents have taken exception to a printed heading that appears on a Borough of Bowmanstown letter in support of a Senate bill.

A draft of the letter, in support of Senate Bill 378 - The Heartbeat Bill - Protecting the Rights of the Unborn, was a hot topic of conversation at Tuesday’s borough council meeting.

Drafted by Mayor Zach Snyder, the matter was listed on the meeting agenda, with council members invited to co-sign.

The letter is addressed to The Honorable Sen. Douglas Mastriano with the Borough of Bowmanstown letterhead, and reads as follows:

“We write to you in staunch support of your primary sponsorship of Senate Bill 378 of the 2021-2022 regular session, better known as The Heartbeat Bill. Your consistent fight for the right to life, and the rights of our society’s most vulnerable is inspiring, and we trust you recognize the broad support of this legislation across our great Commonwealth.

“As we have recently learned via the success of aborting-inhibiting legislation in Texas and other states, our nation’s Constitution defends the rights of the unborn, and preserves the original intent of our founding Declaration that “all men are created equal, [and] that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.”

“As fellow Christians, we take seriously the charge that God has given purpose to all life, regardless the circumstances surrounding one’s conception, or the station in life into which one is born. We find great joy in the inspired words of Jeremiah, who declares plainly in Jeremiah 1:5: ‘Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee ...’ Additionally, as believers in science, the study of which has been given to us by God, we know that life starts at the moment of conception, and that each person, from that moment, is a unique individual, created by God in His image, with their own unique DNA.

“We wish to encourage you in your pursuit of this legislation and implore you to press for its presentation to the Senate body for proper and formal consideration.

“By way of carbon copy of this letter, we also notify our local Senate representative, Sen. John T. Yudichak, of our support for the above-listed bill.

“Should you find use of our help with this legislation in the future, please contact us without hesitation.”

That ruffled the feathers of several residents, including Joe Civitella, who argued that Snyder has every right to send it, but that he should use his own letterhead, and not the Borough of Bowmanstown.

Snyder replied that he took an oath to uphold and defend the constitution of Pennsylvania, and that this was not a political statement.

While Civitella told Snyder that while he has the right to believe whatever he wants to believe, he shouldn’t include the Borough of Bowmanstown letterhead on it.

“You write any letter you want,” Civitella said. “Don’t make it on Bowmanstown’s letterhead.”

Solicitor Anthony Giovannini Jr., who sat in place of borough solicitor James F. Preston, recommended to council that it table the matter.

Afterward, Snyder agreed to send the letter with his own personal letterhead, and not the borough’s letterhead.