Abortion Up to Birth: Does it Matter? ~ BENEATH THE SURFACE with PAULMURANO

In order to prepare for the possibility that Roe vs. Wade be overturned within this presidency, the states of New York, Virginia, Vermont, and others have been attempting to legalize abortion up until birth. The governor of New York publicly celebrated their new bill while the governor of Virginia stated proudly that their legislation would allow for “the mother” (his words) to decide whether or not her baby who was accidentally born alive would be left without aid to die. Many are appalled by these developments. Social media has erupted. Yet, none of it surprises me.

Infanticide is the logical extension of abortion. If human life is not respected at one stage of maturity it will not be respected at any stage. I can almost guarantee you that in the not-so-distant future there will be a bill on some governor’s desk making “post-birth abortion” (killing infants) legal up to the third day after birth.

Then eventually up to the third year, with the claim that personhood does not kick in until then. These are questions already being debated by academics.

Governors like the ones from New York and Virginia are at least open about their dire support for murder. I find this preferable to the dishonest murder supporters that make up the bulk of today’s pro-choice movement.

Many pro-lifers see a silver lining in all this. People seem to be waking up to the horror of abortion, they say, and that is a good thing. I am skeptical about this. In fact, I am a bit saddened that all the recent media chatter seems to be focused on the emotional responses of (mostly) women rather than their principled conviction that all innocent human lives are sacred and inviolable. Embedded in the media ruckus is the unspoken belief that robbing a person of his/her entire future is more grievous if committed later in his/her prenatal development.

Even in many “pro-lifers” there is a sense that abortion is less justified if the preborn child is more developed. This is truly nonsensical, and contributes to the abortion mentality that a person’s value depends on their stage of maturity.

Will this be a moment that finally begins to turn things around in favor of protecting human beings from the beginning of their lives, the moment of conception? I hope so, but think not. Most of the emotional reactions of revulsion have been expressed by those who are otherwise ‘pro-choice’ on killing preborn children. There seems to be no thought or principle accompanying their protestations, only emotion. Do they express this same alarm for these same preborn children in danger of death a few months younger? Even if the current uproar leads to some states protecting babies in their third trimester of maturity, abortion minded women would simply choose to kill them a little earlier. It’s the same human being. Same death. Same future denied. How does this protect human life?

To illustrate my point, let’s delve beneath the surface to ponder a thought experiment. Imagine that your grandmother was aborted. Your grandfather would have never met her. Your mother would not exist. Your uncles, aunts, and cousins would never exist, and neither would your brothers, sisters, nieces, and nephews.

You would never exist.

This is the great tragedy of each abortion. It doesn’t matter whether the person is killed one week after conception or nine months later. Late-term or early-term makes no difference. With every abortion at any stage of life the person’s entire future is stolen, as is the potential future of their posterity.

From conception these are real people with real futures and immeasurable human dignity – whatever their current stage of development may be. This is the great tragedy, the grave injustice, and the real heartbreak of abortion.

Paul Murano is a college instructor and radio talk show host of Beneath the Surface on WCAP 980 AM. Podcasts available at http://breadboxmedia.com/paul-murano/. Paul has graduate degrees in philosophy and theology, and is certified in health care ethics. He speaks on topics relating to faith and reason, and is a musician that sings oldies in a one-man band. E-mail Paul at PJDM@aol.com