Shriver: Baby Trig could be ‘game changer’ in abortion debate
September 2nd, 2008
Tim Shriver, writing in the Washington Post’s “On Faith” section, says Trig Palin could reshape the abortion debate by encouraging both political parties to find middle ground in this thought: That “we should do everything we can to choose life while doing nothing to make the choosing illegal.”
Trig Palin, the infant son of vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin, has Down syndrome that was diagnosed prenatally.
Shriver says Obama didn’t go far enough when he sought middle ground in his acceptance speech with the line: “We may not agree on abortion, but surely we can agree on reducing the number of unwanted pregnancies…”
… couldn’t he go one step further? Couldn’t he endorse the life choice and support counseling and support services for women who are open to carrying their pregnancies to term? And couldn’t Republicans make good on the pro-life rhetoric through a serious effort to support the needs of vulnerable children once they’re alive — by supporting child care, parent support, and community building?
Wouldn’t those who don’t believe in abortion be better served by trying to make life easier for struggling women rather than trying to fight the Supreme Court? And wouldn’t pro-choicers improve their standing by acknowledging the goodness of choosing life rather than pretending the decision carries no moral value?
… The bumper sticker has been around for years: “Choose life.” So let’s agree that couples should have the choice. But let’s also agree that the best choice is life.
(Washington Post photo)
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September 4th, 2008 at 3:21 pm
cynthia, that just points up the fact that more community awareness/ building, and resource allocations, are needed during and after the childhood years for the “victims” and their families. One important aspect too is making sure that the custody decisions and guardianships of their adult years are inclusive of family who love and care for them. Instead of letting them stay lost and isolated and hidden.
Did you all know that because of confidentiality laws, even their next of kin does not get to know anything at all about their own child/ brother/ sister, if they are stuck away in a custody/ guardian situation and the guardian wants them kept away? Lots of disabled people die from this. Because it is so expensive and impossible to do legal actions to change the guardian, custodian, etc. And there is not good oversight for the well-being of these needy “victims” — indeed, they can become that. BUT, that does not negate their right to live or their inherent value as people!
September 3rd, 2008 at 7:50 pm
Choosing life is meaningless when the victims of that choice are unsupported after the “child” becomes a homeless, ignored, and lonely adult and the parents become abandoned by society.