Well, if you haven’t heard, now you will. It’s not a good time to be a baby (born OR unborn) in England. The Sunday Times has just reported:
“BABIES born alive at less than 22 weeks gestation should be treated as if they had never existed, even if they breathe, move or their heart beats, a report by a royal college is expected to say.
Guidelines drawn up by the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) are expected to recommend that babies born alive before 22 weeks are not routinely issued with a birth certificate.”
So … let me get this right. We’re not going to allow a living, breathing baby existing outside his mother’s body legal status as a person? Instead, we leave it in the hands of lawmakers to assign “person” status to one human and “non-person” status to another.
In the politics of abortion, the word CHOICE has been used to great effect. I can say this: such usage DOES bring a great level of ethical clarity to the issue. On one side, we have folks who believe that to be human is to be human. To possess the riches of God-given genes, hands, feet, heartbeat, SOUL is to possess the rights of a person. On the other side, it is CHOICE that defines “person.” If you WANT the baby, it is a baby. If you DON’T WANT the baby, then it’s an inconvenient lump of celluar waste.
Do you think I’m being a bit extreme? Check out the rationale behind this decision to ignore the humanity of a breathing child on the operating table. Sarah-Kate Templeton reports:
“The RCOG is expected to say that acknowledging that these babies have been born alive, and having to register the births, causes unnecessary suffering to mothers who wanted an abortion.”
In the effort to protect a mother from acknowledging the humanity of her aborted child, the good folks at the RCOG have gone the extra mile to ignore the humanity of the child they’ve just delivered.
Still not convinced that CHOICE isn’t the fundamental issue in distinguishing a precious child from cellular rubbish. Well, check out this quote from another recent British headline:
“One of the country’s leading hospitals is throwing aborted babies into the same incinerator used for rubbish to save only £18.50 each time, it has emerged.’”
How can we retain our humanity when we deny HUMANITY? When we leave it in the hands of certain humans to decide that other humans really are humans, then we’re losing the fight to BE human.
God help us. Lord, please help us.
Now thats what I call a TAKE. Good show, good info.
A. in the city by the Drink
October 25th, 2006
I’ve touched on this issue in the past over at Acton’s PowerBlog, albeit in response to issues at the other end of life. Permit me to quote from that post:
Just replace “Assisted Suicide Movement” with “Royal College of Obstetricians.” The point is pretty much the same.
marc
October 25th, 2006
This is rediculous. The issue of abortion is getting very out of hand–out of OUR hands. “God take over.” I was pretty stunned by reading this.
Eric
October 25th, 2006
War: more takes with substance.
A. in the city by the Drink
October 25th, 2006
Great post Adam, not the content factor, but the “wake up” factor. The issue with those who support these actions is concerned with natural law. Human value is based on importance not on its “nature” which in this case is human.
The elderly are next to fall under this axe. Then anyone who does not have the “quality of life” that some sophisticated thinker believes is worth keeping will be the next one.
Keep one - keeping on -
RC
Ray Ciervo
October 25th, 2006
Hello Brother,
I was just on your blog and saw the article that you wrote about the murder of the innocent. It is extraordinary for me to think on such matters because of the work that I am doing with the developmentally disabled. I fear that the intention of the hearts of men toward the population of the developmentally disabled will soon come to fruition. What I mean is that there is an underlying current which is very subtle within society at large. It is the thought that “those with extreme physical and mental disabilities should be seperated from the whole of society.” I believe that this seperation is the mild effects of the true heart of godless culture which is “those who can not contribute, who are a heavy burden on the system, who have a low quality of life - have no value and therefore should be isolated or even eliminated.” I believe that most of the people that I work with on a daily basis will one day be considered part of the “choice” equation at least at birth. At birth they would most likely have been eliminated by those who believe that it would be more humane to do so than to let them live. Adam, I have come to realize that even the most severly disabled person is still a person. A human being created with a specific personality, gifts, likes, dislikes and a capacity to love and be loved. They have truely been created in God’s image with an eternal spirit. I have very little idea about how all of this works itself out before the God who knows all and sees all but I believe it is so. All I can say is that I am so glad that we live in a world that is post-Joel 2:28-32 because we must rely on Spirit for wisdom in these matters more than ever before. Truely the wisdom of God is foolishness to the world.
Thanks for allowing me to ramble a little,
Jag
Jag
October 30th, 2006
Hey, FYI, it’s not just a British problem. Check out this news story:
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/printer-friendly.asp?ARTICLE_ID=52635
Administrator
October 30th, 2006
Do those torn from the womb cry along with the martyrs “How long O Lord, holy and true, until You judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?”? God help us all when His judgement falls upon the damned!
Mike
October 31st, 2006
Respect to all that have posted, but isn’t it a wee bit presumptuous and insulting to the lives lost through of abortion to suggest that people with weakness, ie. extreme physical and mental disabilities and the elderly, are next to be ween out by an illusive evil in the “hearts of men.”
What, look out, you have a weakness, you wear glasses, your next.
I am not suggesting more bad and repressive actions will come from mankind in the future, it may be one of the surest thing in fact. I am suggesting that that sort of thinking muddles the problem and makes people that believe in the rights of unborn babies look like we believe our own lies.
I believe the reality of a solution must come through clear minded, unemotional people interesting in the well-being of what could be considered the greatest genocide in human history.
As the great Allman Brothers Band once said “Keep on, Keeping on”
I’m out.
A. in the city by the Drink
November 1st, 2006
I want to respond to the comments made by “A. in the city by the Drink”. I appreciate the comments that you have made about the casual nature with which I compared those with severe physical and mental disabilities to the plight of aborted children. It was not intention to do so.
However I believe that the underlying beliefs that motivate abortions will seep into other aspects of society under the guise of “rights”, namely the removal of the unwanted. (Whether it reaches to those with severe mental and physical disabilites, I will grant that it remains to be seen.) And I don’t want to simplify a complex issue by stating “The Five Definitive Motives behind Abortion”. But I believe that it would be hard to argue that the idea of removing the unwanted is not part of the belief in abortion.
Now let us think about the average hard working American couple. They hope to have the “American Dream” with a nice house in a nice neighborhood and smart & athletic children. But what happens when they become pregnant and early tests show that this child has physical impairments? Now lets say that they have no previous conviction about abortion and a “well meaning” doctor explains that this child will be disabled and perhaps not live past the age of 1 year old. The doctor then says that abortion is a viable option for them. How does the unwanted part of the equation fit into this situation?
All I am saying is that belief whether good or evil is very powerful. And belief creates worldview. Who can imagine where our culture goes from here with the belief in the removal of the unwanted? What is the end result of this belief? I don’t know but there are many possibilities most of which are not good.
This is why Borderlands is so important! Reshaping worldview.
Jag
November 3rd, 2006