The victory which is also a defeat
Pro-life success leads to deeper struggle
People opposed to abortion have for years been working diligently to teach the general public that a human fetus is not merely a blob of tissue, but a living human child. They have been quite successful.
Facts eventually do persuade, and a long parade of them has built a convincing case. For example, it is now widely known that after just one day a fetus has its own complete and distinct DNA, and by 20 days the heart has started to beat. By six weeks the sex organs are developing and a full skeletal system is in place. By eight weeks, every organ is in place and finger and footprints are clearly visible. By 10 weeks, the child may be sucking her thumb, fingers or toes. And the list goes on.
The reality that what develops in the womb is human life is increasingly obvious. This perception has been helped by photographs of perfectly formed pre-born babies (often seen in pictures at ages earlier than when most abortions occur) and ultra-sound images that enable women to see the presence of the particular life within them.
Yes, the humanity of the fetus is now generally accepted as scientific fact, and this truth is gradually informing the broader social consciousness.
Point made, struggle continues
But there’s a problem. Education is not winning the battle against abortion. Untold numbers of women who fully understand that the life within them is a human life are making the decision to abort anyhow. With all kinds of societal pressures and inducements influencing their decisions, numerous women with unwanted pregnancies continue to tip the scales to favor their immediate concerns. All too many still choose to terminate nascent life.
There’s a disturbing deliberateness to this trend. Writing in The New Republic in October 1995, well-known author Naomi Wolfe urged feminists to put "the fight to defend abortion rights within a moral framework that admits that the death of a fetus is a real death.
"Abortion should be legal; it is sometimes even necessary," she wrote. "Sometimes the mother must be able to decide that the fetus in its full humanity must die. But it is never right or necessary to minimize the value of lives involved or the sacrifice incurred in letting them go. Only if we uphold abortion rights within a matrix of individual conscience, atonement, and responsibility can we both correct the logical and ethical absurdity in our position–and consolidate the support of the center."
While scientific awareness on life issues is steadily advancing, the moral sensitivity of Western cultures is in decline. Mother Teresa had it right when she referred to abortion as "crime that kills not only the child but the conscience of all involved."
Doug
Koop
Editor
