Posted on 03/16/2006 3:04:21 PM PST by Mr. Silverback
Note: This commentary was delivered by Prison Fellowship President Mark Earley.
There’s nothing parents dread more than their doctor telling them that there’s something wrong with their child. In an instant, all of their hopes and dreams vanish, for themselves and their child, and are replaced with a numb, empty feeling.
It’s a feeling that some here at “BreakPoint” are personally acquainted with, which is why we empathize with any parent in this situation. But the price of our consolation can never be the sanctity of life itself.
And that’s what is happening in places like Orangeburg, New York. The New York Times recently told the story of a couple and their 6-year-old son, A. J. When the wife was thirty-one weeks pregnant and on vacation, she began to bleed. Doctors at the New Jersey hospital noticed the small size of the fetus and suspected there was something wrong.
This came as a surprise to the prospective parents, since their doctor had told them everything was fine. However, subsequent tests, including amniocentesis, confirmed that the child had a chromosomal abnormality.
Since the wife was more than twenty-four weeks pregnant, she could not, under New York law, have an abortion at this stage of the pregnancy. Her only choice was to give birth and hope for the best.
The “best” wasn’t very good. After A. J. was born, he was diagnosed with Wolf-Hirschhorn syndrome. Its long list of symptoms includes “mental retardation, physical disfigurement, inability to speak, seizures, and respiratory and digestive problems.”
Eventually, the parents did what an increasing number of Americans are doing in similar circumstances: They sued their doctor for “wrongful birth.” They claimed that the doctor’s negligence deprived the mother of the right to abort her unborn child. In other words, A. J. shouldn’t have been born, and his being alive is an injury to his parents. This is clearly contrary to a biblical worldview, which tells us children are a gift from the Lord and that all children are fearfully and wonderfully made by God.
Unfortunately, “wrongful birth” lawsuits aren’t limited to New York. Half of the states recognize such a “right.” This reflects what the author of the piece, Elizabeth Weil, calls “contemporary expectations about childbearing.” Technology has led parents to believe that they can exercise a kind of “quality control” over their unborn children.
These expectations wouldn’t matter without abortion-on-demand. Prior to Roe, courts rejected the idea of “wrongful birth.” As the New Jersey Supreme Court ruled in 1966, “the sanctity of the single human life is the decisive factor in this suit . . .”
Roe changed all of that. Abortion-on-demand combined with the expectations Weil described to create a “right” not to have a disabled child. And, as Weil acknowledges, “disabled” isn’t limited to severe birth defects just like A. J.’s—it could include deafness, blindness, and mild mental retardation. Any “defect” that can be identified through prenatal genetic testing is potentially the subject of a “wrongful birth” lawsuit.
All of this is an incentive for doctors to err on the side of prenatal testing and abortion. Or as Weil puts it, these suits “may bias the medical establishment toward termination” of human life.
A. J.’s parents deserve all the help they can get, but not at the price of calling life “wrong” or an “injury” to the parents. That kind of compensation leaves us all poorer.
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What the heck?! "I'll love you only if you're perfect"? What crap.
I often wonder what such parents would do if they had a healthy child who became disabled as a result of an accident. What if he received a severe head injury which left him with the mental status of a child much younger? What if he snapped his cervical spine and was left a quadralapegic (sp) for the rest of his life? What if he was burned and left with scars over most of his body?
What if he had a near drowning and had to receive the care of an infant for the rest of his life?. I guess in their view killing the child would spare them the burden of his
" wrongful life" God help them.
To love a child, even if for only a day, a year, no matter what their differences are, will enrich your life more than anything you will ever know.
That is why I refuse genetic testing.
It's a good thing the poor little boy is retarded so he won't ever know that his parents sued the doctor for allowing him to be born! Words fail me right now Mr. Silverback, but as usual, thanks for your posts.
Excellent point.
I'm sure some people might think I'm a wrongful birth.
You have to wonder just how maladjusted people like this are.And how unhappy if they'll only accept perfection. The possible events that you list would push perfectionist nutjobs like this over the edge. They should not be parents.
Words fail me.
Abortion is Murder, BUMP.
The term "wrongful birth" is an insult to Our Lord for whom there is no such thing. In this case we should be able to sue the parents of liberals because their children have wrought such evil on the world.
Though I have three children who are healthy (and tall, smart, good looking...you know, like their Dad...) I know what you mean.
About an hour after Silverback Junior was born, he turned blue and was rushed to the neonatal ICU. At first they told us he might have a major heart defect. I told God, "This boy is a gift from You. I will love him while he's here no matter what, and I refuse to hold it against You if he has to leave us early." I had peace after that.
Fortunately, a chest X-ray diagnosed the problem--aspirated fluid in two lobes of one of his lungs.
Colson should not hide the parents' name next time so they can try and defend their actions in the full light of day, to their friends, neighbors, and community.
"Prior to Roe, courts rejected the idea of 'wrongful birth.'"
Prior ro Roe, the courts also saw killing your offspring for what it is: murder.
"I guess in their view killing the child would spare them the burden of his 'wrongful life' God help them."
Excellent point! I'm a step-Mom to three boys; married their Dad when two were toddlers and one was in Kindergarten. They found new and creative ways to injure themselves and one another every day for fifteen years it seemed, LOL! I can't imagine not loving a child that wasn't "perfect" in every way.
It's a shame that more kids aren't exposed to siblings that do have physical problems. I was raised with a cousin who had CP. We'd just wheel her around in her chair and include her in whatever the rest of us were doing. Our parents expected no less, and her life was much richer for it, as was ours. She died at age 33. We all still miss her terribly; she had the most beautiful smile and the bluest eyes you could imagine. I've also worked with handicapped kids while in Grade School. We had integrated classes so those of us that were "normal" could help those that weren't.
I don't think that happens in classes these days, and it's a shame because everyone benefits and a profound sense of compassion and appreciation that EVERYONE has special gifts to give, no matter what their situation, can be developed.
Life from conception to birth to death to everything that can happen to you inbetween is just no longer respected by some and that's very sad.
Oh, I have tears in my eyes after reading this!! I am currently 25 weeks pregnant and cannot fathom for a moment not loving my child regardless of how he is as God made him. I turned down genetic testing because I have no need or desire to know if anything is "wrong" - it would not alter the course of our lives. This baby's life is in God's hands - as are all of ours! I just will never grasp these people believing they have the "right" to judge the unborn for simply existing. God does not make mistakes!!
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