I ran across this article from 2006 that sheds a lot of light on our human “intentions” to do good. We delude ourselves with claims for good intentions, even when evil results from them.
In this story, the Dutch PM got his nose out of joint after a high European official likened the Dutch policy of killing ill or disabled babies to Nazi practices. It was a true observation. Of course, the Dutch PM wasn’t embarrassed by the killing of the babies, only of being compared to a Nazi. Sad.
Here’s what the author,Wesley J. Smith says,
But they [Dutch officials] claim that the Netherlands’ infant euthanasia program is substantially different: Dutch doctors are motivated by compassion whereas the Germans’ were motivated by the bigotry of racial hygiene. Of course it is the act of killing disabled and dying babies that is wrong, not the motivation.
I can’t help but think of the racism of abortion when I read this. A highly disproportionate number of African American babies are killed by abortion each year. If we were told that African American babies were being killed because of racial genocide we would be outraged.
But when we hear that African Americans represent only 12% of the population of the United States, yet they account for 35% of the abortions performed in this country (according to the Center for Disease Control), no one seems to care.
Abortion is wrong no matter what the race of the baby. But, if you’re pro-choice (or just apathetic), doesn’t it make your skin crawl just a little to think that by not opposing abortion you are giving tacit endorsement to the disproportionate killing of a race of people? If the killing of babies doesn’t make you shudder, how about the lopsided killing of a race?
Having something in common with Hitler should make us uneasy. But abortion itself should be the real shame-producer.
Even when we believe our intentions to be good (ie I don’t want a young African American woman to have to have a baby, with no father and no money if she doesn’t want to), it doesn’t make the results any less horrific (ie the unequal killing of a particular race).
It’s like China’s abortion policy: it results in the killing of baby girls in much greater numbers than boys. I’ve heard pro-abortionists bemoan this fact. They like the “one-child policy,” but think that there should be no discrimination in aborting. What kind of perverse thinking is this? The answer isn’t to become an equal opportunity killer. The answer is to stop killing.
If it’s wrong to abort more girls than boys, then it’s wrong to abort at all. If it’s wrong to abort more African American babies than white babies, then it’s wrong to abort babies.
Pro-abortionists’ intentions may appear to be good. We hear things like, “Let’s make abortion rare.” The intent behind a statement like this seems good, but the ugly practical reality goes like this: “Let’s keep abortion legal. Let’s fund abortion with tax-payer dollars. Let’s give young kids condoms and hope they don’t get pregnant. Let’s get rid of any and all restrictions to abortion.”
In other words, pro-choicers who intend to make abortion rare, end up making it common.
Proverbs 8:36 “..all who hate me love death.” Proverbs 12:10 “..the mercy of the wicked is cruel.”
Amen! Great post!
I am pro-choice and I have to admit that it doesn’t really make my skin crawl. I believe that because abortion is a choice it doesn’t mean that one race is being intentionally being “killed off” more than another. A woman of a particular race is simply choosing abortion more than another race. I was actually against abortion when I got pregnant with my son 3 years ago and despite the fact that my boyfriend wanted me to have one, I absolutely refused. I think that it was the best decision for me but if I didn’t have my family to help with support, I would have been a disastrous decision if I had kept him. I’m certainly not trying to say that I don’t love my son, on the contrary, I think he’s the best thing that’s happened to me. but I can easily understand how a woman who has no family or support and very little income would want an abortion. and I believe that many African American women fall into that category. the stress is sometimes insurmountable when you’re struggling to raise a child when you have no money or family. I’m certain you could easily find hundreds of articles about parents who have killed their children and then themselves because stress stifled their ability to survive. being a single mom on a limited income, I can completely relate to that stress. it is the reason I became pro-choice after my son was born. so I disagree with you. I believe abortion can sometimes be the better choice, especially in the case of rape or incest. and I believe that African American women still don’t have the advantages that white women have in this country so abortion is, to them, the better choice. white people are not “killing” African American babies…the African American race is simply choosing to have abortions more than other races.
You’re right that it isn’t intentional (probably). Assuming that it isn’t intentional (ie the lopsided killing of a race), the result is still the same. That’s the whole point of the post. We may not set out to kill a race of people, but if a race of people is killed, regardless of our intentions, it is evil!
And I think the number of people who kill their children and then themselves because of the stress of having them is practically zero. Usually when someone kills their child they have some major psychological problems.
Quite the opposite is true. When someone keeps their baby (as opposed to aborting it), they end up happy that they did. As you say, “he’s the best thing that happened to me.” I think everyone who ends up having their baby instead of aborting it feels this way.
I’ve never heard of a person who decided against abortion and now says about their child, “Boy, I wish I’d have gone through with that abortion.” But I have heard and talked to women who deeply regret their abortion (abortions that were done because of lack of income/support).
And to say that abortion should be allowed because babies can be stressful to someone with no income or support still dodges the underlying issue. Are babies valuable or not? When someone kills their 2 day old baby we put them in jail and throw away the key.
So, was the baby valuable a few days earlier or not? The worth of a child is not determined by the amount of stress their parents feel because they have to have them. They are valuable because they are human and made in God’s image.
I very highly doubt a whole race is going to be killed off by abortion. that’s ridiculous.
could you possibly explain to me what a nervous breakdown is? your comment of “I think the number of people who kill their children and then themselves because of the stress of having them is practically zero” sounds just as ludicrous as my argument to you. have you ever had to look in your children’s eyes and tell them that you don’t have money for food? have you ever had to worry where your family was going to live and how you were going to stay warm? until you’ve experienced that kind of desperation and hopelessness, you just don’t understand. and I doubt very seriously that you’ve ever had to worry about any of that. you need to experience that kind of desperation long enough that it just turns into a hard ball of panic inside your gut all the time and see what it does to you.
yes, my son is the best thing that has happened to me. would I go back and undo that night I got pregnant? absolutely. would I go back and have an abortion? probably not. if I got pregnant again now would I have an abortion? definitely. the point that I’m trying to make is that I have been in that spot that I want an escape from the stress. if I had another baby right now I would probably kill myself. I’ve been on suicide watch before and my mind and body just can’t take that stress. and all of this stress and panic stems from being a single mother. you clearly have absolutely no idea how to even begin to relate to that.
yes, we do punish people who kill their babies. whether it is jail time or a mental hospital, the punishment is there. but the whole debate is when life started. I don’t believe life begins until a baby can live on his/her own outside of the womb. so I don’t feel that a woman having an abortion at 12 weeks is killing a baby.
quite frankly, we are never going to agree on any of this, which is fine. I am content with my views and beliefs.
This is the perfect argument for adoption. The baby can still live without causing stress to the birth mother, and the adoptive parents receive great joy. I am very pro-life and regardless of how the baby came to be conceived, God was there in the moment and created the baby. I can’t even fathom how abortion can be legal, the point Abigail made about the baby being worth less two days prior to birth is very valid, it’s still the same baby, just in utero, that it is a few days after birth. I guess my point is that there is always an alternative to abortion, the baby doesn’t need to die to reduce stress in the world.
Tina- Thanks for pointing out the beautiful solution of adoption! Truly, there is no practical need for abortion with all the wonderful families wanting to adopt.
Nicole- I’m sorry that you have struggled with not having enough food and suicide. I hope things are better for you now. I hope you have people around you to support you.
I do think you’re wrong about this issue. You say you’re content with your beliefs, but if that were true, then why did you keep your son? Why are you justifying your considerations of abortion here?
There are plenty of single moms and starving people in the world who would never ever dream of aborting their baby or killing their children. Ever. People with a lot more “stress” than what we have in America–who infinitely and unconditionally value their children regardless of the personal cost to themselves.
It’s only been in recent history (late 20th cent) that the idea of killing one’s baby has become an acceptable result of being poor.
Also you say, “I don’t believe life begins until a baby can live on his/her own outside of the womb.” When babies are born they can’t live on their own. They are utterly dependent. Many are born and placed immediately on life support.
What about the people who are permanently dependent? Invalids, people with downs syndrome? They will never be able to “live on their own.” Should they die too, for all the “stress” they cause?
I’m glad you didn’t get an abortion with your son and I sincerely hope that you never consider it again…
sooo…i clicked on your name off of challies, from that post on smoking, and i’ve been perusing your blog, and like it! this post on the topic of abortion is very good. i am increasingly burdened by it, and oftentimes feel helpless, but with the advent of the internet, i really shouldn’t. we can all write.
the first thing that popped into my head when i read nicole’s comment was, “what about adoption?” maybe each professing christian, no matter their ethnicity, should adopt an african american baby. maybe if there was a campaign for that, those numbers would drop! OF COURSE, there is also far more to this issue, which is the Gospel pursuit of the young girl’s heart…before the issue arises. i wonder if the negative stereotype of “welfare mothers” in the african american community is what spurns young women to get abortions. my husband, who is african american, has 10 aunts and uncles from his paternal grandparents’ side of the family. they grew up in a small community in louisiana. not much money, but a ton of love for one another. they all went to college. no matter what race, i really think most who get abortions feel pressure to do so by those they trust the most.
I agree that pressure from a boyfriend or family member is often a decisive factor.
I think Pregnancy Care Centers are so important
here.. they give free preg. tests, free ultrasound and most importantly, support. Someone who says, “I will be here with you and help you through the whole thing, even if your boyfriend leaves and your family is mad. I will help with the money and the baby clothes and the car seat. I will be your family.” PCC’s are vital.
Thanks for your insights, Lindsay.
As an African American, I found this post moving and very disturbing (the statistics, that is). Abortion is murder; there is just no other way to look at it if you are at all following Christ. The fact that more African-American babies are aborted does seem to me, at least, especially evil. I read the arguments against this post and, all I have to say to this post is…right on.