Posted on 07/04/2007 1:43:16 PM PDT by wagglebee
BRASILIA, July 4, 2007 (LifeSiteNews.com) - A Brazilian university professor claimed that the practice of infanticide by indigenous tribes should be respected as a cultural practice, the Telegraph reports.
Dr. Erwin Frank, an anthropology professor at the Federal University of Roraima, Brazil, is quoted in the Telegraph as having defended the violent practice, saying, "This is their way of life and we should not judge them on the basis of our values. The difference between the cultures should be respected."
Certain tribes believe that some babies are "cursed" and therefore do not have souls. Such children include those with physical disabilities, females (or any children of an undesired gender), babies born to unwed mothers, twins or triplets. These "cursed" children are sometimes smothered by leaves, poisoned, buried alive by parents or simply left to die of exposure.
Dr. Marcos Pelegrinia, a doctor working in the Yanomami tribe district, stated that 98 children were killed by their mothers in 2004, the Telegraph reports.
The non-profit anti-infanticide campaign group Atini, also known as "Voice for Life", noted, however, that the exact number of annual infanticides cannot be pinpointed. Official agencies do not step in and stop the abuse for fear of meddling in local customs. As a result, the deaths of many babies are officially recorded as death by "malnutrition" or "undetermined causes."
The Brazilian couple that founded Atini, Marcia and Edson Suzuki, worked for over 20 years with the Suruwahara Indians in the Amazon Basin of Brazil. Mr. Suzuki described their mission, saying, "We are fighting against doctors and anthropologists who say we must not interfere with the culture of the people."
Referring to those who defend infanticide as part of a cultural tradition, Marcia Suzuki states on the Atini blog, "We respect the cultures and the differences, but above all we respect the human beings with no distinction."
At present, a new law that would abolish infanticide, called Muwaji's law, is being debated in the Brazilian Congress, states the Telegraph. The law is based upon the fundamental right to life that is sanctioned in both The Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the Brazilian Federal Consitution.
In an address to the President and Brazilian Congress this March, Mr. Henry Afonso defended the law, saying, "The practice of infanticide is not justified, however much anthropologists wish to defend tradition and cultural practices of certain peoples. The number of sacrificed children per year in this country is far from few; victims of a cultural practice that many times is more important than the most fundamental human instinct: Preserving life itself."
Read story by the Telegraph:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/06...
Read full address to the Brazilian Congress on Muwaji's law:
http://voiceforlife.blogspot.com/2007/05/muwaji-honoured-in-...
Voice for Life blog:
http://voiceforlifewhoweare.blogspot.com/
I'm going to be sick.
Pro-Life Ping
Ping
Freepmail wagglebee or little jeremiah to subscribe or unsubscribe from the moral absolutes ping list.
FreeRepublic moral absolutes keyword search
Why? Have you not heard of abortion in this country? That practice kills disabled and non-disabled, all.
Dr Frank would have been an admirer of Mollech ....
what’s not to respect about the required sacrifice of children?
That’s why they’re still just “indigenous tribes.”
There is nothing new under the sun......people have been helpless children since the beginning. It is sick and should not be tolerated.
“This is their way of life and we should not judge them on the basis of our values. The difference between the cultures should be respected.”
We don’t have to respect satanic possession. We didn’t have to respect it with the Carthaginians or the Aztecs, and we don’t have to respect it with any contemporary Brazilian tribes.
should have read killing helpless children
They tell us abortion should be respected... so hey, why not?
"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." - Manuel II Palelologus
Dr. Marcos Pelegrinia, a doctor working in the Yanomami tribe district, stated that 98 children were killed by their mothers in 2004, the Telegraph reports.
*************************************************************************************************************
Mothers and doctors here in America abort more than that in a day.
What "difference"?
I think we’re up to near an even 5,000 a day...4,700 was the last figure I read. A day. Every day. *SIGH*
Reacting to wife-burning in colonial India, General Sir Charles Napier was impeccably multicultural: “You say that it is your custom to burn widows. Very well. We also have a custom: when men burn a woman alive, we tie a rope around their necks and we hang them. Build your funeral pyre; beside it, my carpenters will build a gallows. You may follow your custom. And then we will follow ours.”
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.
