Ripped From The Womb, Not A Person

A woman who was preparing for the birth of her child responded to an ad on Craigslist to purchase clothes for her baby. Upon her arrival, the person who placed the ad, a deranged woman bent on kidnapping the unborn child, attacked the expectant mother, cut her open and removed the baby; leaving the mother in serious danger of death and ultimately killing the infant. The assailant is being charged with the attack on the mother, but will not be charged in the murder of the infant. Colorado state law does not consider a fetus to be a person because it cannot live on it’s own outside the womb for an extended period of time; hence the death of the baby was not a murder—because a person wasn’t killed. (See article on CNN here.)

I have often noticed that in news reporting, when discussing abortion, reporters would refer to the unborn child inside as a “fetus”, but when they were reporting on a story where a wanted unborn child was killed as a result of an accident or an attack that the child was referred to as an “unborn baby.” A distinction is made according to the intention of the mother. That’s bad enough. But now, in a case where a mother was actively preparing for the birth of her child, she is not even being given the dignity of the state acknowledging her little lost one as a person.

How wounding, how disgraceful and how inhuman the law is becoming. In an effort to “protect the rights of women” in their reproductive choices, we have come so far as to not even protect the lives of unborn children that are wanted. I believe all abortion is wrong—I can’t understand how in this day when we have so much information about what happens in the womb, the way a child develops and the absolutely clear humanity of these tiny ones how anyone could not see the evil of abortion. But this takes our disregard for human life to a whole new level.

According to Colorado’s law, would an attack on a neonatal intensive care unit in a hospital [nic-unit] be a crime? Developmentally challenged individuals can’t take care of themselves; neither can people in comas, the elderly, people on respirators…the list could go on an on. Where do we draw the line at who is a person and who isn’t? As a society (and rightly so) we become outraged when animals are mistreated because of their helplessness. They aren’t people. An infant, so helpless that it needs the safety and nourishment of its mother’s womb, is not recognized a person by some legal standards and yet, when harmed elicits less outrage than an abused dog.

As Christians, we are taught that we must protect all life, cherish and honor it, particularly the lives of vulnerable human beings. Our law has been increasingly at odds with the dignity of the human person in all its stages. It continues to devolve as assisted suicide becomes legal, late-term abortion is legal and post birth abortions are on the table, the poor are being neglected and we still have many states that practice capital punishment.

We are privileged to live in a democracy. It’s our duty and right as Americans to require our laws to be life-giving and protective of our citizens. If we don’t speak up we’re part of the problem.