The latest before-birth technology boasts the ability to detect Downs Syndrome nine weeks into pregnancy. As with all major scientific breakthroughs, there are ethical questions involved. What is the motivation of parents to learn their child-to-be will be retarded? It would be nice for them to know all they can before they actually have to care for the baby. There is another side that I am promising you will become an issue within a few years.
Abortion is a legal practice when the fetus involved is nine weeks old. Conservatively, even if it takes 12 weeks to detect Downs Syndrome, it can still legally be aborted. Is it wrong to abort a baby that will obviously receive the short end of the stick? Can we save the pain and suffering of a child who will never be accepted by the overwhelming majority of other children? Keep this child from being laughed at, called names...keep the child from facing an uphill battle that will never ultimately make him/her strong enough to bring a fair share of contribution to society?
How about the parents? After all, it is not only their decision to make, it is their interests most involved in the matter. If you or your wife is pregnant and you find out the amount of work involved to raise the baby will exceed the normal tradition, would you be able to save you and the child all the grief related to being affected by Downs Syndrome?
Religion would never allow that to be an acceptable practice. They would scream, "God has a plan! Downs or not, it's a human being!" On the other hand, these are the same people that will talk about how a "bad seed" that has murdered human beings need to be exterminated. Because obviously God did not plan for that.
When we let religious whims shape our character we are giving up the very soul religion claims to be saving. They say that God gave human beings free will. And I say that if a human being has the free will to kill, then that was God's plan. Since we don't want to have murderers running around, some of our free will may be to exterminate that murderer. If there is a God, he gave us free will for a reason.
I can tell you one thing. He did not give us free will so that he could banish the bad people to Hell. He did not fragment us and divide our faith so that one group of people could make the "right choice." In my estimation, if a human being is so depraved as to want to murder another human being...that is a sign from God that we are fucking up royally and we better fix it fast. Otherwise you may be the next one on the chopping block.
1 comment:
The first motivator that needs to be addressed is two people actually conceiving a child. That motivator should take into consideration whether the 'parents' are taking a risk in even engaging in the conduct that would result in the birth of a child with a health 'defect.' If God had a plan, it was to live life properly and not engage in activities that would jeopardize your offspring. His plan also gave us the ability to use science to good use. In this example, Science has produced the information enabling us to learn. We are closer to identifying when producing a child could result in a defect. If you were to exhume everybody who died prior to 1920, the cause of death would be singled out as other than 'natural causes.'
Conversely, abortion would not be necessary, because people would take the precautions to avoid a 'need' for abortion. NOTE: I did not say that sex shouldn't occur. I merely stated that 'unwanted' pregnancies would be avoided. So, if that was practiced, the idea of eliminating a murderer would not be so opposed as it is.
It would also better explain the reason why there is such a juxtapositioning in the "Pro life - Pro Capital Punishment" and the "Pro choice - Pro No Executions" and it would better explain why killing killers is a good thing.
And as to free will, God's plan was to have everyone exist, together. In harmony, with each other. We have made laws, that allow some to kill legally, and others to kill illegally. That is what is wrong with our collective mentality.
We as a people, must make a stand about any idea, and decide whether it's a 'left' thought, or a 'right' thought. And that is what messes up the thinking of people.
It's the season, for this discussion. It's illegal to place a Nativity scene on public property (Boston Common), but it's certainly okay to have a Menorrah display. Am I missing something?  
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