Seasoned with Salt                

Abortion: Convenience

Recently, two men were sent to jail for killing ... a duck.

In the past 27 years, nearly 40,000,000 American babies were killed legally, before they had a chance to be born. Where is the justice? Is animal life of greater value than human life? It all depends on the cost. President Clinton's political campaign nailed it: "It's the economy, stupid." In other words, we ought to do whatever seems most convenient to us, ignoring questions of life and death.

What does it cost when a duck is killed? We experience a twinge of guilt, as an innocent creature has suffered premature death. The antiseptic word "termination" never enters the mind. The bird is d-e-a-d, no two ways about it, brutally killed by a golf club, and it costs us an unpleasant thought or two.

What does it cost when a baby is killed in the womb? We still feel guilt, and probably more, because something inside tells us that a baby is worth more than a duck. But this guilt has not brought about laws to protect the baby, for reasons we will come to shortly.

First, we need to examine another aspect of killing animals: It depends on the species. It's OK to kill cattle, pigs, chickens, and even baby sheep, because we are accustomed to eating their flesh. We don't think about killing them, because if we do, we may feel guilty eating them. But since most of us do not eat horses--at least, not to our knowledge--California voters recently amended the state constitution to outlaw the killing of horses for food.

So, then, we can kill an animal if it is convenient for us to do so, that is, if we commonly eat the particular species. People do eat duck from time to time, but the image of a flying or swimming duck never makes it to the dinner table. When we see cattle in the field, we don't make the association with plastic- wrapped packages, ready to pop in the pan or oven.

With similar illogic, it's OK to kill an unborn baby, because we are accustomed to a level of personal freedom unprecedented in world history. We want to be able to have sex when we want it, with whom we want it, and without any inconvenient consequences. The baby is an inconvenience, and therefore, she is expendable.

In the case of the abortion, the baby is plastic-wrapping in the forum of public discussion. Abortionists do not speak of killing babies; they use such words as "terminate a pregnancy" and "eliminate the contents of the womb," with the hope that the woman paying for "the procedure" will not think too hard about what is actually taking place. And when she suffers over the next 20 years from post abortion syndrome--the long-range heartache and depression that many abortion patients suffer--they hope she will not mention it too loudly.

That brings us to events that happened last year in Oakland, California. For years, a non-profit organization called First Resort has given compassionate care and consulting to women who are "inconveniently" pregnant. About a year ago, the large HMO Kaiser Permanente arranged to begin sending all of their patients who contemplate abortion to First Resort. First Resort would meet with the women, give them medical information, do an ultra-sound so the woman could see "the contents of the womb," and inform them of their options, including abortion, adoption, and keeping the baby.

Of 140 women seen during the past year, 139 rated First Resort highly, most feeling that they had benefitted from the arrangement. They did not feel that they had been coerced in any way--fully half of them chose abortion--and there were no complaints to Kaiser or anyone else.

Then last week, an article appeared in the Washington Times that highlighted First Resort and its relationship with the HMO, quoting First Resort's president as saying that personally, she believed abortion is never the right choice. The state abortion machinery sprang into action, deploring Kaiser's use of this "stealth" group that had the temerity to speak publically against abortion. In the face of pressure from the California Abortion Rights Action League and the ACLU, Kaiser buckled and "terminated" the relationship with First Resort.

Apparently in the minds of Kaiser and the abortion lobby, a woman has the right to choice, so long as that choice is abortion. She is also entitled to advice regarding her decision, so long as the advice is provided by the same people who turn a profit killing those who have not yet been born.

We can depend on Jesus Christ, who loves us even when it is inconvenient.

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