8mm
Posted on 10/07/2008 4:06:03 PM PDT by wagglebee
The public presence of little Trig Palin is a powerful witness to the sanctity of human life, and the knowledge that this little infant with Down syndrome is bringing such joy to his family is upsetting those who believe that babies such as Trig should never be born.
The public presence of little Trig Palin is a powerful witness to the sanctity of human life, and the knowledge that this little infant with Down syndrome is bringing such joy to his family is upsetting those who believe that babies such as Trig should never be born.
The facts are daunting. It is now estimated that between 80 and 90 percent of all unborn babies diagnosed as likely to have Down syndrome are aborted. The availability of prenatal testing presents parents with the possibility of aborting the baby and starting over. The statistics now speak for themselves - the vast majority of parents are choosing to abort under these circumstances.
But the visible presence of Trig Palin in the arms of his parents or one of his sisters is resetting that equation, at least in terms of the public's emotions. The sight of little Piper Palin licking her hand and flattening Trig's hair during their mom's acceptance speech at the Republican National Convention is likely to stick in the public mind years after Trig's hair is again unstuck. It's hard for even the most ardent abortion defenders to insert an argument against Trig's precious life at that point. Or, at least we would think so.
At least one highly-placed source objects to the whole picture. Writing in The Globe and Mail [Toronto], Dr. André Lalonde, executive vice-president of the Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Canada, explained his worry that other parents might feel pressure to follow the Palins' example.
As the paper explains:
Dr. Lalonde said that above all else, women must be free to choose, and that popular messages to the contrary could have detrimental effects on women and their families.
"The worry is that this will have an implication for abortion issues in Canada," he said.
Taken at face value, the paper seems to be suggesting that a decision to keep the baby contradicts the doctor's assertion that "women must be free to choose." In other words, the only "right" choice would be to abort the baby.
Given the relatively few words quoted from Dr. Lalonde, it is possible that his quote is not fully representative of his position. If this is true, he should certainly make this clear. A look at the Web site of the SOGC indicates that this statement might well be representative of his position.
The group has announced its clear opposition to a proposed Unborn Victims of Crime Act - an act that would allow courts to consider an unborn baby as a victim in assault or murder cases. Such laws are not uncommon in the United States, but the SOGC has taken the position that, once an unborn baby is recognized to have a legal existence and right to live, the entire question of abortion and "reproductive rights" takes on a new frame.
The descent into the Culture of Death is fueled by language such as found here - that a woman might be "pressured to keep the baby" in light of Trig Palin's visibility. At the same time, the inherent evil of such abortions and the slander against humanity represented by the abortion of these babies comes to bright light in Trig Palin's little face.
Maybe Dr. Lalonde and his colleagues are right to be worried. The entire question has been reset by one precious little infant.
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R. Albert Mohler, Jr. is president of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky. For more articles and resources by Dr. Mohler, and for information on The Albert Mohler Program, a daily national radio program broadcast on the Salem Radio Network, go to www.albertmohler.com. For information on The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, go to www.sbts.edu. Send feedback to mail@albertmohler.com. Original Source: www.albertmohler.com.
Nathan is so blessed with God’s special love. May God Bless Your Wonderful Family.
Look, it is nice to know and everything, but the thought of snuffing out that little life I had just watched on the screen was heartbreaking. As soon as we got back to the car, I tried to explain the implication to my wife (who was too thrilled with having seen the ultrasound to compute anything else) and I just broke down. What is so wrong with us that we would even consider it? It is so hard to grasp when these issues are not in the abstract.
I do not hate the women who make the decision to abort (nor do I hate the men who are supportive of such a decision). I hate the culture we have which makes it acceptable - and even something to celebrate to some. I'm not a religious or spiritual person, nor am I approaching this from just some sappy emotional level.
I simply cannot hand down a death sentence to an innocent unborn child, with defects or not. Nor could I endorse the decision if my wife so made it. Foremost, I cannot accept genetic or chromosomal abnormality as grounds for execution. Second, even if I could endorse the notion that such defects constitute grounds for execution, I could never live with myself if I found out that the test was incorrect, and I had "unjustly" sentenced a child (one incapable of guilt) to death. That 'this' particular procedure is 30% more accurate than the next best procedure is of no comfort. The topic is just so ugly.
Anyway, beyond politics, that Palin kept her precious baby, and that thousands of other women have similarly chosen (even if they are in the minority) makes me proud to be a human being. I have so little faith in humanity, but once in a while I see something amazing, like Palin holding her "imperfect" little angel protectively against herself (and I would not care if she were antithetical to my views in every other way).
Bless you and your family. And an extra hug for Mr. Precious!
My favorite photo which say volumns about Sarah Palin and all good Moms who are blessed so and I mean it. Our extended family has “special needs” children who have taught US so much, the selfish will never “get it” but they miss out on what is truly valuable.
God bless all you Moms who without hesitation made the choice of giving life regardless. You show the way by example, you are GIANTS in today’s world and thank you.
I have a friend who’s cousin was told her baby would have Downs and they decided to still have him and spent months preparing having all the things ready to go.
They will never forget the look of shock on the face of their OB when Kerry Ryne was delivered and DID NOT HAVE DOWNS SYNDROME!
Thanks, I will give him an extra HUG for you.
God bless you and your as well. I will give Mr. Precious and extra hug for you too. He loves HUGS, big grandma ones. lol
Hon, that was motherly grooming.
You are really reaching with your judgemental comment.
Then why are you so upset?
M203M4 - thank God, your post proves there are some real men left in America! Not either extreme of macho brutes or sappy sensitive liberals, but a rational man, with a head and a heart that can discern the truth without the aid of political or moral obfuscations.
I have read that this is not uncommon, and so then that leads to the obvious conclusion that many women are aborting perfectly normal babies.
Some years back, my Mom’s neighbor, in her 40’s, had a “surprise” pregnancy and did all the tests and was advised to abort because the baby “would most likely” have Down’s Syndrome. My mother (devout Catholic), amazingly somehow talked this woman out of an abortion. The woman gave birth to a perfectly normal, healthy girl.
How many children do you have?
Siblings will do that anyway. We home school, my wife is with the kids all day.
Nevertheless, my kids think they’re allowed to parent each other. It gets them into trouble all the time, with us and each other. Not equating Piper’s positive actions here, just using a negative example to make the point. Kids will emulate parents whether they work full time or not.
Here's a picture of Bill and Vlad, just because they're cute:
Beautiful, beautiful post.
Thank you.
Tatt
You're joking, right? When I saw that, I said, "EEEEEW! She's SLIMING his hairs!" You can check the live debate thread.
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