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Abortion - A Matter of choice
By Haven Bradford Gow- Greenville, MS
Journalist William Murchison, in ‘Mortal Follies’ (Encounter), and Professor Elizabeth Fox-Genovese, in ‘Feminism Without Illusions’ (University of North Carolina press), both point out that legalized abortion on demand in the United States means the freedom to choose has been elevated above the right to life of unborn babies. Prof. Genovese says: “Without some…. agreement on the definition of life, the right to abortion opens the spectre of any individual’s right to kill those who depend upon her and drain her resources – elderly parents, terminally ill or disabled children. Without some such agreement, the right to abortion – the woman’s right to sexual self-determination -- can logically lead to the right to murder with impunity.”Writing in the September 2009 ‘Christianity Today’, conservative social critic, Dinesh D’Souza, said: “that freedom to choose can be a good thing; but we must also consider the moral implications and consequences of what we choose”. For example, President Abraham Lincoln said it made a big difference morally whether or not we viewed black people as human beings or simply as animals to be used, abused and discarded after use. What we choose to do or think in such a matter, said Lincoln, had immense moral implications and consequences. (Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation by Guelzo, published Simon & Schuster).According to Mr. D’Souza, legalized abortion is a consequence of the sexual revolution of the 1960s that ushered into mainstream thinking and behaviour the false and pernicious idea of “free sex”, that is, sex devoid of morality, fidelity, commitment, love and responsibility. Mr. D’Souza observes: “Today a widespread social understanding persists that if there is going to be sex outside marriage, there will be a considerable number of unwanted pregnancies. Abortion is viewed as a necessary clean-up solution to this social reality.” Mr. D’Souza adds that contemporary feminists advocate that “women must have the same sexual autonomy as men”. Consequently, they insist that the unborn child constitutes “an unwanted guest” who has “invaded the female body”. Women should have the right to do whatever they want with their own bodies, argue the feminists. Mr. D’Souza puts it this way: “As long as the foetus occupies the mother’s womb, (the contemporary feminists) argue, the mother should be able to keep it or get rid of it at her discretion.”The founders of the Feminist Movement in the United States would disagree with today’s feminists who elevate the freedom to choose above the right to life of an unborn baby. Susan B. Anthony said that abortion is “child murder”, while Elizabeth Cady Stanton described abortion as “infanticide”. Victoria Woodhull, first woman for president of the U.S., observed that “the rights of children as individuals begin while yet they remain the foetus”, while Alice Paul, author of the original ‘Equal Rights Amendment’, said “abortion is the ultimate exploitation of women.” Matilda Gage, a feminist writer/social activist, discerned that abortion is a great male convenience because it allows men to evade responsibility for their hedonistic and self-centred lifestyles.Since 50% of the unborn babies aborted are baby girls, it seems fair to say that abortion advocates are the real enemies of women; pro-abortionists likewise, are the true foes of freedom of choice because abortion denies the unborn child her choice to live.
FOR JACOB --
10.4.2008 until for ever
Invisible the hand that rocked the cradle
Forgotten too the hand that sped the plough
Along with arms that strong in time down all the ages
Once held the arms that hold you now.
The yes that scanned the future’s far horizon
For home-coming ship’s hope-bringing prow;
The eyes that never failed with disappointment
Gaze with the eyes that gaze upon you now.
The ears that listened in the darkness
For threatening footstep in the silent slough –
That never would deceive themselves by pious wishing –
Still listen close with ears that wait upon you now.
The lips that through the generations
Bestowed sweet kisses – it was scarce known how –
On babes that moved their hearts to pity,
Bend with the lips that kiss you now.
The voice that in the stress of evening
Would soothe with song the infant’s mournful howl
And hush the pains of newborn living,
Sings in the lullaby that lulls you now.
The living ghosts of love’s procession –
Communion of saints –would thee endow
With faith and strength to travel in life’s pathways;
With measured tread they bear the ones that bear you now.
By Ann Farmer for her grandson.
DAVE’S DIGEST
Laying the Netherlands to Sleep.
By Joseph Meaney.
On my most recent visit to Amsterdam for the World Congress of Families (WCF), I was once again struck by the remarkable façade of peaceful, tolerant prosperity the Dutch maintain. Although its famous openness to lust and license is ever more apparent, Amsterdam’s charm remains in tidy homes, shops, museums, and beautiful (though empty) churches.The simple fact, however, is that this beacon of liberalism worldwide is rotting from the inside out and must increasingly rely on deception to keep up appearances as a nation of tolerance, peace, and prosperity.That was made nowhere more apparent than at the WCF, a biannual event that brings together pro-family and pro-life persons from around the globe. The mainstream press debated the acceptability of allowing it to take place in Amsterdam and condemned the participation of Dutch elected officials in the Congress. Anarchist anti-family protestors trashed the WCF office and spray-painted messages with slogans like “Christian Fundamentalists Go Home & Die” and “Pro-Choice” on the walls leading up to the Conference centre. City workers removed graffiti within a few hours of its appearance in a remarkable demonstration of efficiency.Dutch authorities have become quite adept at painting over anti-family and anti-life attitudes that are eroding not only the last vestiges of their rich culture but what remains of the Dutch people themselves. Their total population is 16.7 million; those 65 or older make up almost 15% of the inhabitants (as opposed to the U.S.A. whose 65-or-over citizens account for
12.8% of the population). The percentage of youths aged 15 or younger is declining, and within that demographic group is an increasing number of foreign immigrants. It has been reported widely, that the most common name chosen for a male child born in Amsterdam today is Mohammed (as is the case in London, Brussels, Oslo and Copenhagen). Arguments about religion, ethnicity, and assimilation aside, it doesn’t take a trained demographer to notice that this trend does not bode well for the European Dutch.This proudly progressive nation increasingly tries to maintain its air of normality and prosperity by sophisticated deception. They frequently claim their country has one of the lowest abortion rates in the world, at 6.5 abortions per 1,000 women, or about 22,400 a year. They also claim a very low teen pregnancy rate.But this is simply statistical sleight of hand. Although the Dutch faithfully use birth control, anyone who studies family planning knows the failure rates for contraceptives are very high. Combine the inevitable failure of pregnancy prevention with an openly promiscuous populace, and you inevitably will see large numbers of pregnancies. So are the Netherlands an exception to this rule? Some claim that their “double-Dutch” method of using both hormonal contraception and condoms
works better than most other countries’ birth control practices. Something rarely discussed in this context, however, is the fact that it is now common practice for a woman in Holland whose period is late to go to her general practitioner and receive a “menstrual extraction”, or “menstrual regulation” – a clever euphemism for a procedure essentially consisting in manually vacuuming the contents of her womb. But here’s the catch: In these cases, no pregnancy test is done to determine if the procedure aborted a pre-born human in the first few days of life.
Menstrual extractions are thus never recorded as abortions, which they almost certainly are in a large number of cases. The official Dutch statistics therefore grossly under-report the real number of abortions. Euthanasia is another area where the official numbers paint a misleading picture. Dr. Henk Jochemsen, holder of the Linderboom Chair for Medical Ethics at the Free University in Amsterdam, reported that the Netherlands acknowledges around 2,300 deaths by euthanasia each year, including hundreds of patients who never explicitly request such a death. As if this weren’t disturbing enough, he also revealed that over 11,000 people a year die while under “deep sedation”. This procedure is sold as a compassionate option for the terminally ill, a way for them to end their lives with dignity. It was originally designed to be rarely employed, and only then for patients in their last few hours of life suffering pain that was difficult to control.
But deep sedation as currently practised in the Netherlands has become a widespread form of passive euthanasia. Dr. Jochemsen explained that the cause of death nowadays is usually not the disease but lack of food and hydration – in short, patients are routinely starved and dehydrated whiledrugged into an unconscious state, a fact not revealed by the doctors. Needless to say, these deaths while under deep sedation are not counted as euthanasia in Holland, even though they account for more than four times as many deaths as the “official” euthanasia numbers.The land of progressivism run amok loves to proclaim itself a diverse hedonist’ paradise and an island of tolerance. Dishonest statistics may maintain the clever illusion for a time, but the current version of Dutch liberalism is unlikely to endure much longer. It simply cannot be sustained. Their enthusiasm for euthanasia may wipe out the Dutch even faster than the other European nations with below-replacement birth rates.Many ethnic groups have disappeared throughout the course of history, generally by assimilation into other peoples who placed a higher value on having children. It would be a tragedy if the unique people and culture of the Netherlands, for love of license and convenience, decided to cease to exist. Yet this slow suicide is already far advanced. As European Dutch culture moves from present to the past, it seems they’ve chosen nationwide deep sedation.
Source: Human Life International (jtaylor@Wi.org)
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