LIFE OR DEATH ?

This is a longer than usual blog but the subject matter I believe warrants this. I am indebted to a good friend for spotting this piece recently in The Examiner newspaper,it is a timely and challenging article.

Why are our politicians so blind ?
20th April 2007
By Patrick Kenny Irish Examiner20th April 2007

William Wilberforce, a British MP in the 18th and 19th centuries, was the stuff of legend. He waged a twenty year long campaign to close down the British slave trade, facing the almost universal opposition of the powerful of his day. The film “Amazing Grace”, which is close to ending its month-long run in Irish cinemas and was released to coincide with the 200th anniversary of Wilberforce's parliamentary victory, powerfully recounts his struggle against the perverse notion that African slaves were less than human.
It's a shocking tale for those of us who today recognise the universality of human rights. The complete denial of human rights on the arbitrary basis of a person's colour or land of origin is now rightly seen as a grotesque relic of the past.
Of course, the arbitrary denial of universal human rights did not end with the slave trade. In most countries any human who is not yet born depends on the wishes of others for the vindication of their rights. In our closest neighbour Britain, unborn humans have only a 75% chance of surviving pregnancy without being aborted, and in former Soviet countries like Russia those who escape alive from pregnancy are the lucky ones – the number of abortions outstrips that of live births.
Of course, one's perspective on this issue depends on the value one places on the life of the unborn. The interesting thing about this, however, is that the more science develops, the clearer the humanity of the unborn becomes. Quite apart from basic biological and genetic facts, the latest 4D ultrasound technology vividly shows the startling humanity of the baby in utero…
But horror at abortion must in no way blind us to the plight of women who face the trauma of an unwanted pregnancy. Women do not choose abortion lightly, especially those Irish women who travel to abortion clinics abroad. .. Those who label themselves as pro-life must recognise that there are two lives involved, and both deserve equal respect.
This respect is all the more needed for those who have had abortions. The evidence of the damage abortion causes is mounting. Just last year, New Zealand medical researcher Professor David Fergusson, himself pro-choice, was forced to confront the reality that his data did not support his own position. His research, which cannot be accused of bias, indicated a link between abortion and subsequent emotional problems. Of course, not all women are affected in this way, but too many are to ignore the phenomenon. A society that silences them or that pretends that abortion is a risk-free activity does them little service.
These developments are having an impact around the world. Earlier this week the British media reported that Britain was facing what they called an “abortion crisis” as more and more doctors were opting out of performing the procedure. Doctors and nurses are refusing to perform abortions with increasing regularity because of personal ethical objections to the practice…
Just this week in the United States the Supreme Court upheld a ban on partial-birth abortion. This procedure, which is performed in very late pregnancy around the 8th and 9th month, is infanticide in all but name and is too gruesome to describe. This court decision represents the first real crack in what was for three decades an all but impenetrable legal edifice of support for abortion on demand in the United States…
Ireland is in a different position, never having had abortion available here. Without abortion, and despite the perceived shambles of our health system in general, we are one of the safest countries in the world for pregnant women precisely because Irish doctors recognise that they are treating two patients in pregnancy…
Instead, political parties like Labour and Sinn Féin, who could potentially form part of a coalition government, have official policy positions in favour of allowing abortion in Ireland …
The Government parties haven't covered themselves with glory on this issue either…
We have growing evidence of both the humanity of the unborn and the damaging effects of abortion on women. It is increasingly clear that any policy allowing abortion in Ireland would damage women and children. Most Irish people are opposed to abortion, yet they remain a constituency of voters ignored by the political parties. The blindness of politicians on this issue is astounding.
Where is our William Wilberforce?