Grave New World

A reader had sent me a couple of links including the story about euthanized babies in the Netherlands. This story has gotten much coverage in parts of the blogosphere and talk radio, though nowhere in the main stream press. Hugh Hewitt on his show the other day mentioned how newspapers like the L.A. Times managed to cover stores like "Salmon and Steelhead May Lose Protection" but had a virtual blackout on the Netherlands story.

When I first read this story I would like to say that it shocked me, yet unfortunately it was just zero surprise to me. After all the Netherlands was the first to legalized euthanasia and many pundits said that this is exactly where it would lead. When socialized medical costs meet expensive health care situations you know who is going to lose and pay with their life. Liberals send out so many mixed messages. It is alright to spend billions to reduce some pollutant down a another thousands of a percent even if the scientific case is rather dubious. But to spend money to keep someone living another day is just too extreme. Reasonable medical attention should be given but when it comes to government coffers you will soon need a coffin.

The other question is why isn’t this more an outrage here and internationally? If a gunmen had walked into the hospital maternity ward and started to shoot babies – this would have been front page news everywhere. Since instead it was just a team of doctors who vote on the decision to essentially do the same thing it is somehow alright. Part of the problems in the culture of death is that all life (except our own) becomes less precious. Terms such as quality of life are banded about as if having life isn’t a quality all its own. Stephen Hawking probably has a whole different understanding of quality of life compared to somebody else who is not in the same condition

The other factor of course is abortion. People like Dr. Singer have advanced the philosophical notion that abortion and infanticide are equivocal and that people should just accept abortion and not feel queasy about killing your child after birth. Killing a child five minutes before birth or five minutes after is not any different. Dr. Singer is at least consistent in this view but it is quite a scary consistency. His conclusion is wrong because his acceptance of abortion is wrong. Those that are against infanticide and yet accept abortion, especially partial-birth abortion, have an inconsistency that is also scary. Pro-abortion advocates also realize this inconsistency but will not make any public acknowledgement of the fact. Instead when a story comes out like this they are only horrified that somehow it might infringe on legal abortion.

Pain medicine for the child being aborted must be refused because it acknowledges that there is a person feeling pain. Laws against fetal murder by third parties must be voted against because there again it implies a person instead of a tissue. Anything that might dampen access to abortion must be ignored. Giving abortion risk accessments are struck down from judges because they say it puts an undue burden on the person seeking an abortion. To keep abortion legal everything else becomes acceptable. This is why countries like China can do forcible sterilizations and abortion without hardly any outcry. Women’s groups and outfits like Planned Parenthood don’t care about choice just as long as it ends up in abortion. They don’t see forced sterilization as a great evil since having a permanent contraceptive state to them is seen only as a bonus. Forced abortions are also fine since who wants to be burdened with a child and hey you are allowed one after all.

The attitude of only having perfect little children also factors in. When you only desire a very small family – what family you have should be just as perfect as if you went shopping at your car dealer for the model you wanted. When they are good and ready they want the perfect little Stepherd child. And if the child is not up to snuff well then you can just snuff it out. I have grown tired of hearing every child a wanted child. Wanting something is an exercise of the will. Any child will be wanted when the parent chooses to want it. This is not a defect of the child for not being wanted and is a defect of the parent.

The reader also sent me a link to an article from from the Catholic Exchange called Dealers of Death. This article goes over the case of Terri Schiavo and lists a bunch of cases where people survived their deadly diagnoses. Also on the Hugh Hewitt show I heard callers relate stories about themselves or the children who were born with some some defect and how in many of these cases the doctors were wrong. Regardless though of whether an infant has only days, weeks, or years to live we have no right to end that life. It does not matter if the doctors prognosis is accurate since in reality we are all suffering with a terminal decease and know not the hours we have left to live. Surprisingly I think one of the most pro-life stories on TV that I every saw was an episodes or Roseanne. Darlene gives birth to a very premature baby and the family spends time with the child while it is dying. This was a very positive depiction of a very difficult situation. Senator Santorum’s wife Karen wrote a very beautiful book called "Letters to Gabriel" about when this same situation happened to them. If the new style doctors had there way children would be aborted at the slightest detection of an imperfection on an ultrasound. That they would deprive a family of the short time on earth that a family gets to welcome that life.

Glenn Reynolds wonders if this example is really a case of abortion mission creep as pro-lifer’s have pointed out. He points to an article saying that abortion is somewhat harder to obtain in Europe compare to here. In 1981 contraception became free of charge and abortion had been free for year and was codified in law in 1981. I certainly think it is a case of creeps with a mission. The trend always starts with contraception, then backup contraception (abortion), then euthanasia for the terminally ill, so on an so one. Do you think they will euthanize babies in Portugal where abortion is illegal? I think not, only countries that have already swallowed abortion and some form of euthanasia will take it to the next step.

Dawn Eden had also aleady made some good points about this story and euthanasia as supported by Planned Parenthood.