The storm clouds gather. Or possibly, I may be deluding myself. The storm is already well upon us.
Last week New York passed a new "Reproductive Health Act"legalising abortion up to birth. Until now, it was only possible to abort babies up to 22 weeks of gestation. Now, in New York, you can legally kill a baby the day before it is due to be born.
I was shocked. Last year, during the debate on the Embryo Protection Act, I had written that;"Once we declare an embryo as non-human we can just shift the timing a bit and declare a 30 week baby as non-human and abort it." I cannot believe my words have become reality so quickly.
The path to evil is very insidious and subtle. It starts with minor transgressions and exceptions to the rule. We start on our downhill slide by justifying an evil act because of exceptional circumstances. Or else, we think that if we do something minor and nobody is aware or effected by our actions it is not something inherently wrong.
Historically, the path to abortion in many countrieshas been similarly strewn with such case scenarios. It usually starts with the introduction of abortive contraceptives, then moves on to the morning after pill and then to the disposal and manipulation of the embryo who is often dismissed as "just a clump of eight cells". Of course, all of this is justified in the name of the sacred right of the mother to have a child, no matter the consequences, even if we do kill some people here and there in order to alleviate their suffering.
Once we have hardened ourselves to the fact that embryos can be killed without any obvious consequences, we can now progress to the next step - abortion in "exceptional" circumstances. The exceptional circumstances usually include rape, incest, disability or danger to the mother's life. Of course, many strict rules are put in place limiting the possibility of "abusive" abortion. However, time is a formidable ally to those who harden themselves against life. The exceptional circumstances are gradually expanded until abortion can be carried out on practically any grounds. Once we are again hardened to this, we can now move forward and permit abortion in later and later stages of pregnancy.
We have now finally reached the point where it is permissible to kill a baby in a womb just before it is born.It is difficult to even conceive what this really means. What we are saying is that the maturity of a baby is now no longera ground to preserve its life. The simple act of moving in or out of a womb- location- makes it possible to kill legally or to be accused of murder. The New York legislators do not find it necessary to justify abortion anymore by claiming that the baby cannot feel, is undeveloped and is not human. This is the murder of a fully formed infant. I find this mind blowing. And who knows if it will end there? Maybe it will also soon become permissible to kill one year old babies in order to preserve the mental health of the parents. After all, the rights of the mother are always so much more important than the rights of a non-voting baby who isincapable of speaking for his or herself.
People in Malta do not think we will travel down this wretched path. I though, am absolutely certain that we will do so - unless we guard ourselves against it. We have already taken the first few determined steps down the road. Those steps have not been minor and they will have terrible consequences for the people involved. Unfortunately, we live in a society,where in the name of democracy, governments are always willing to pander to the will of the majority and to the "rights" of the minorities- even if it is morally wrong to do so. Once people start to demand abortion there will always be somebody who will legislate in favour of it. They will cite progress and the fact that we are the only country in the world to ban the practice. They will make us sympathise with the poor mother who is suffering greatly because of her unwanted child. They will quote those exceptional cases that occur once in a million and justify the legislation of abortion with these cases. We must be on our guard. Only by educating ourselves and by speaking up against this terrible evil can we prevent its introduction into Malta.
The storm is indeed upon us!
Mario Stellini is a physician and gastroenterologist.