Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

Anthropology Professor says Tribal Killing of Disabled Babies Should be Respected
LifeSiteNews ^ | 7/4/07 | Elizabeth O'Brien

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/



TOPICS: Culture/Society; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: academia; anthropology; brazil; culture; cultureofdeath; humanlife; infanticide; moralabsolutes; moralrelativism; multiculturalism; prolife
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first 1-2021-4041-6061-8081-95 next last
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."

I'm going to be sick.

1 posted on 07/04/2007 1:43:19 PM PDT by wagglebee
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | View Replies]

To: cgk; Coleus; cpforlife.org; narses; 8mmMauser

Pro-Life Ping


2 posted on 07/04/2007 1:43:52 PM PDT by wagglebee ("A political party cannot be all things to all people." -- Ronald Reagan, 3/1/75)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: BykrBayb; T'wit; Sun; floriduh voter; bjs1779

Ping


3 posted on 07/04/2007 1:44:25 PM PDT by wagglebee ("A political party cannot be all things to all people." -- Ronald Reagan, 3/1/75)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: 230FMJ; 49th; 50mm; 69ConvertibleFirebird; Aleighanne; Alexander Rubin; An American In Dairyland; ..
Moral Absolutes Ping!

Freepmail wagglebee or little jeremiah to subscribe or unsubscribe from the moral absolutes ping list.

FreeRepublic moral absolutes keyword search
[ Add keyword moral absolutes to flag FR articles to this ping list ]


4 posted on 07/04/2007 1:44:53 PM PDT by wagglebee ("A political party cannot be all things to all people." -- Ronald Reagan, 3/1/75)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: wagglebee
I'm going to be sick.

Why? Have you not heard of abortion in this country? That practice kills disabled and non-disabled, all.

5 posted on 07/04/2007 1:45:29 PM PDT by nwrep
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: wagglebee
In Focus: Cultural Relativism
6 posted on 07/04/2007 1:46:17 PM PDT by mewzilla (Property must be secured or liberty cannot exist. John Adams)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: wagglebee

Dr Frank would have been an admirer of Mollech ....

what’s not to respect about the required sacrifice of children?


7 posted on 07/04/2007 1:46:19 PM PDT by silverleaf (Fasten your seat belts- it's going to be a BUMPY ride.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: wagglebee
Another 60's moral realtavist speaks. When will we begin to hang these SOB's?
8 posted on 07/04/2007 1:46:45 PM PDT by voxpop (Free Angela Davis, free Saddam Hussein, free ALL political prisoners!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 3 | View Replies]

To: wagglebee

That’s why they’re still just “indigenous tribes.”


9 posted on 07/04/2007 1:46:54 PM PDT by LibFreeOrDie (L'Chaim!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: wagglebee

There is nothing new under the sun......people have been helpless children since the beginning. It is sick and should not be tolerated.


10 posted on 07/04/2007 1:47:12 PM PDT by ThisLittleLightofMine
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: wagglebee

“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.


11 posted on 07/04/2007 1:47:23 PM PDT by Ozone34
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: voxpop
relatavist, sorry.
12 posted on 07/04/2007 1:47:34 PM PDT by voxpop (Free Angela Davis, free Saddam Hussein, free ALL political prisoners!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 8 | View Replies]

To: ThisLittleLightofMine

should have read killing helpless children


13 posted on 07/04/2007 1:47:48 PM PDT by ThisLittleLightofMine
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 10 | View Replies]

To: wagglebee
Now, now... who are we to judge a superior third world culture?
14 posted on 07/04/2007 1:48:09 PM PDT by pabianice
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: wagglebee

They tell us abortion should be respected... so hey, why not?


15 posted on 07/04/2007 1:48:24 PM PDT by PureSolace (God save us all)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: wagglebee
The British would have said NO! We have every right to impose our values. Our respect for human life requires that we follow our values - and they are of a universal nature. We will ban everything that offends them.

"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

16 posted on 07/04/2007 1:48:54 PM PDT by goldstategop (In Memory Of A Dearly Beloved Friend Who Lives In My Heart Forever)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: wagglebee

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.


17 posted on 07/04/2007 1:51:04 PM PDT by John D
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: wagglebee
The difference between the cultures should be respected.

What "difference"?

18 posted on 07/04/2007 1:52:16 PM PDT by Arthur McGowan
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: John D

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*


19 posted on 07/04/2007 1:55:01 PM PDT by Diana in Wisconsin (Save The Earth. It's The Only Planet With Chocolate.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 17 | View Replies]

To: John D

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.”


20 posted on 07/04/2007 1:55:02 PM PDT by atomicweeder
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 17 | View Replies]


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first 1-2021-4041-6061-8081-95 next last

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.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson