Unborn

You are washing dishes and your young child walks up behind you and says, “Dad, can I kill it?”  What do you have to know before you can answer that question?  You have to know what “it” is. If it is a spider you might say, “yes, please, let me help you.” But if it is the neighbor’s cat or his baby brother you have to say no. There are certain things we do not kill

A friend (Josh Brahm) told me this story. And I am sure he got it from someone else. But it is a fitting parable for the abortion issue

Have you noticed that recently there is a bizarre commitment to avoid this question? Some people approach it like it is suspicious package at the airport. As if ignoring the truth will somehow make it go away.  The reason is fairly obvious. If we answer this question it based on observation, common experience, and science then the answer is pretty clear, and it comes with a freight train of implications. Unborn babies are just that. Babies that haven’t been born yet. They are indeed human babies.  In recent weeks America has been confronted with these uncomfortable facts. They have limbs, livers, kidneys, skulls, hearts with electrical systems, central nervous systems, etc.  The exact same kind that other humans have. That is why they are worth so much money.

My family and I watched this video interview (below) with Planned Parenthood president Cecile Richards where she answers the question “when does life begin” by saying the question is irrelevant to the work of Planned Parenthood.  I guess it isn’t good for business to admit that the organisms that you are planning to kill and sell are both alive and human.  Even worse, she says that because there is disagreement on the subject of what constitutes a living human, each woman gets to determine that for herself.  I wonder if Cecile would be eager to allow others to make that decision about her.  BTW, I will let you in on a secret, having one set of standards for yourself and another set for other people is not good.

By the way, on the issue of trying to deny full humanity to other people, haven’t we learned from history?  It isn’t good to believe that someone is 2/3 of a human.  “Am I not a man?”

A few thoughts.  First of all, this is dodging the issue. This question is definitely relevant, and we definitely know when life begins. My son, a college sophomore who just completed anatomy and physiology in preparation for a nursing major, watched the video and exclaimed, “that’s ridiculous, an unborn child matches all 7 characteristics of life!”

Second, the question of what constitutes a human life is not something we want to allow people to decide for themselves. Historically, this has been the strongest tool of tyrants. Deny the status of human being to your quarry, and you can perpetrate your will in barbaric ways.  That has been the story of imperialism.

Let me ask you a question: Does her answer give you confidence that she is engaged in good and honest activities? Or like she is being evasive and trying to hide from inconvenient truths? What is your take on the interview?

Photo courtesy of Justpo