Friday, March 18, 2005

Cleft Palate Abortion

I was absolutely amazed with the Crown’s decision to not prosecute the appalling abortion of a fetus diagnosed with a cleft palate recently in the news. How can anyone with a conscience even begin to believe being born with a cleft palate can be described as a birth defect much less a ‘serious birth defect’? This is nothing short of elective abortion of a near term (+ 24 wk) baby. My own son was born at 30 wks, fullly formed and now a beautiful, healthy young man.

What is the next step in the evolution of abortion? I can understand the first trimester limitation. But now we have Partial Birth abortion, which as a father I don’t know how anyone can condone such an action unless the mother is in dire peril. After all, at this point it’s not a fetus but a real live baby. Otherwise, why was Connor Peterson even considered in Scott Peterson’s murder trial.

Now, as feared by many, we have elective abortion. This one was because of a cleft palate. Let me repeat, a bloody CLEFT PALATE!!! At what point do we draw the line? With modern medical procedures today, we are often able to predict how our children will turn out. Do we have positive AFPs aborted on the possibilities of neural defects? What about other genetic tests such as Tay Sach or Fragile X?

As a male, I feel I don’t have the right to tell a woman what to do with her body. As a converted Liberal, I’ve grown up all my life with the thought of a woman’s right to choose. However, after participating in both my children’s births, I have changed my position on a personal level. But I still do not feel it’s right to tell women what to do. However, I won’t even go into parental consent now that I’m a parent of a young lady (tattoos require parental consent yet abortions do not ?!?!?!?) .

This action taken ( or not taken ) by the Crown in England borders on criminal not to mention the physicians involved.

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