Opinion

Logic Fail: Kill the baby to “save” it from abuse

In countless cases where children are born with disabilities or into impoverished or unhealthy families, the go-to solution for liberal-minded individuals is abortion.

Is your baby suffering from Trisomy 18? Abortion will take care of that. Are you a woman living in the hood with four baby-daddies and a bun in the oven? Take the bus down to Planned Parenthood, and be sure to ask for assistance. Are you prone to angry outbursts which could escalate if you suffered from having an “unwanted” child? Be sure to abort your baby before you could potentially do it any future harm.

In a recent opinion piece on the Duluth News Tribune, a writer remarked that aborting children who could potentially suffer abuse is an act of kindness. This type of deluded thinking is common in our society today. The “abort to save the child pain” philosophy masquerades as compassion, when it’s truly rooted in selfishness.

poor-childrenWe all know that our world is full of sick, abused, and unloved children. The question for us as caring individuals is not “how can we get rid of them?,” but rather “How can we help them survive?” There are no easy answers, and there never will be. This is why it will take everyone from psychologists and social workers to concerned teachers and ministers getting involved.

Presenting abortion as a quick fix for sick and suffering children is dangerous. The pro-choice community throws out vague words like “abused” and “unwanted” children. They warn us of the horrors these children will face if they live. They stress the need for them to be put out of their misery before they’re born. Yet in a twisted world like ours, I wonder how many children could fit into such broad categories.

When it comes to being “unwanted,” a baby can be placed in that category for simply being an undesirable gender. If a woman wants a boy and has a girl, would that child be an unwanted baby who should be aborted?

How can we identify children who will be abused? I know there are stats and figures, but even those are subject to individual behavior. I once read a story about a young girl who faced sexual abuse and rape at 9 years old. Should she have been aborted to save herself from that trauma? Some would argue yes. If so, the world would have lost the voice of Oprah Winfrey. Oprah’s mentor and world-famous author Maya Angelou is another survivor of childhood sexual abuse. Maya’s abuse led her to go mute for a season. She refused to speak with anyone but her brother. Maya’s praying grandmother told her she would speak when she was ready and that one day her voice would be heard all over the world.

Well-known actress Drew Barrymore suffered drug and alcohol addictions as a pre-teen because of negligent parents. Former President Bill Clinton suffered emotional abuse, as he lived in a household with an abusive stepfather who beat his mother. Would it have been a compassionate choice for their parents to have aborted them to save them from the misery they endured?

I’m in no way making light of emotional or physical abuse. Irresponsible parents who can’t raise their children in a healthy home should allow them to be adopted by people who will love them. However, we must know that abortion is not a solution for children who may suffer abuse.

We need answers that will help protect children and allow them to survive. Does it make sense to rip apart a fetus in the womb to save him or her from potential physical harm down the road? Isn’t abortion a legitimate form of child abuse? If you want to act in true kindness, display it by caring for children inside and outside the womb.

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  • http://www.facebook.com/terrek Terre Krotzer

    As the mom of a 13 year old daughter with full Trisomy 18, we’ve certainly heard and seen a lot out there. Our families are encouraged to “interrupt” the pregnancy to avoid the “pain” of a disabled child. One who will most certainly die eventually. Well, news flash, all of us will die eventually. I don’t believe that we chose to come here to avoid life lessons, quite the opposite. All of these challenges people find themselves struggling to avoid are the very reason we chose to take trip around on this spinning planet. Thank you for your share and for pointing out the obvious flaw in the logic! Terre Krotzer, http://www.trisomytalk.com

  • ldwendy

    Christine—

    Speak for yourself. Apparently you have never experienced the real miseries of people who actually live with physical or sensory disabilities. You do not speak for me.

    No everyone is interested in helping disabled people (who are already alive) survive. As someone else told me on this site, we live in tough economic times and she implied that there will never be enough funding to resolve all the accessibility issues of disabled individuals.

    My point is, as a disabled individual, there are many times when I am not sure life is worth living. I’m not sure I want to subject a profoundly disabled infant to the many attitudinal barriers I face daily.

    • Sanjay

      Point is, Wendy, that it’s not up to you to decide that someone else’s life is not worth living. If you don’t think your life is worth living, that is sad.That doesn’t give you the right to decide that for anyone else. Being disabled does not make you a god to decide another person’s fate *for them*.

    • kim

      I’m sorry your life is so hard, but you really don’t have the right to make that decision for someone else. I was raised in a horribly abusive home with cruel parents. Anyone would probably say to abort me as my parents had no idea on how to raise a child. But I and God are the only ones who make that decision, not you, not the liberals, no one. I am glad to be alive and am glad I was allowed to live. Please don’t make that decision for anyone else no matter what the disability.

      • Basset_Hound

        I’d say the same things to you as I did to Edward.

    • http://twitter.com/EdwardMCurtis Edward Curtis

      I have to respond to this. I, too, have a disability. I use a wheelchair for my daily mobility. And yes, there are days that my disability makes me miserable. But I also have received many, many more blessings. Even on the bad days, I wouldn’t trade it for non-existence.

      • Basset_Hound

        Edward, I admire and respect your attitude. You face your mobility issues with dignity and grace. You emphasize the blessings you’ve received rather than the negative aspects of your suffering. Neither do you complain about what others aren’t doing for you. If your post is any indication, I’m sure one of the blessings you’ve mentioned is the fact that you have had a positive impact on the lives of others.

    • Timmehh

      I agree with you in some respects. For many, death would be infinitely more peaceful than the horrible suffering they have to endure living. But no one should be able to decide for someone else that their life isn’t worth living.

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  • http://profile.yahoo.com/MWW7XTI5325ZWCDWULB24LU6FQ Debbie Browning

    All I have to say is that if all the people who are against abortion spent as much time lobbying their Congressmen for stricter laws over child abuse, maybe you wouldn’t be writing this article.

    • Timmehh

      Debbie, abortion is just one of the many causes I have taken a stand against. As someone with multiple adopted siblings, aunts, and uncles (some of which were adopted at an older age from an abusive situation) what you are proposing is very close to my heart. And I have in fact worked to protect people in all stages of life. I am someone who believes in being pro life to the fullest extent. This includes being against capital punishment, for medical care for the poor, against animal cruelty, and against abortion among other things.

      The problem is that their are so many wrongs in this world that it is impossible to put a stop to all of them. I agree with you that there are pro life people out there whose focus is solely abortion, but that’s not the approach that I, and others like me, have taken.

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  • Basset_Hound

    If one is willing to inflict death on the unborn in the name of “mercy”, then what about a child who has a disability that occurs after birth (or does not manifest itself until after birth). What about a child who is “wanted” initially, but who does not live up to his parents’ expectations?

  • http://www.facebook.com/nagy.b.sandor Nagy Benjámin Sándor

    It1s better to live abused than not leaving. Life is a gift, even if there is many pain. I think abortion is murder. By the way, do we have the right to choose instead of our children about being or not being? Do we have the right to decide that, “my son/daughter, you’d better to not live!”?