Rivers yes, babies no

By Judie Brown

How is it that we can deem a river more important than a human child?

Recent news articles about two rivers that have been granted the same legal rights as human beings give us pause to stop and think. Or at least, I hope they do!

These rivers in New Zealand and India are viewed as "sacred" bodies of water. In India the decision was based on the idea that the bodies of water should have the same rights as Hindu religious idols. In New Zealand the government cited the spiritual beliefs of a Maori tribe in order to come to its decision.

No doubt that these rivers and their newly found status – just like that of the quest to grant personhood to apes – are par for the course in a world where nature takes first place over human beings, especially preborn human beings. The devaluation of the innocent seems to be growing every day.

This sad state of affairs does not merely apply to cockeyed discussions of rivers and primates. It goes right to the heart of the matter on campuses and elsewhere nearly every day. Take, for example, the case of Reverend Susan Chorley who had an abortion 12 years ago and was recently featured on CNN. Chorley is talking about her abortion now as part of a video explaining why women of faith have aborted their children. In her case, she and her then-husband decided the timing was wrong for another child, so she aborted her baby.

Chorley is part of a group called Exhale, an organization dedicated to carving out safe spaces for women to talk about their abortions. According to the report:

Every time Chorley has visited a church and spoken about her abortion experience, she's been greeted by several woman thanking her and sharing their own stories of abortion. These exchanges remind her of the importance of the work she does with Exhale. "Why did I grow up not knowing that anyone had been through this experience?" Chorley said. "Why is that so hidden?"

In another example of skewed thinking, we look to what happened at Washington State University. The WSU Students for Life group hosted a "Cemetery of the Innocents," which prompted the campus newspaper to publish an article entitled "Anti-Abortion Display Should Not Impose Views." If that sounds a bit distorted, that's because it is! The writer explains to her readers:

The "Cemetery of the Innocent" does attack women who have had or are considering an abortion. By portraying aborted fetuses as humans killed by their mothers, the demonstration imposed feelings of guilt upon women. After all, being called a murderer would make most humans feel shame. . . .

I cannot tolerate when members of the anti-abortion group try to impose their views on women as a whole. Values and ethics are not a blanket framework that applies to everyone. By stating that abortion is universally wrong and thus should be outlawed, pro-life groups are infringing on the rights of autonomous individuals.

For the writer, the preborn baby has absolutely no status as a person; the very idea that abortion kills someone is intolerable and downright wrong to her – and to many of her fellow students, I fear. She says that values and ethics are not the same, so she denies the validity of the natural law. And clearly she is not alone.

Today's culture is uncivil toward the innocent human being, but will bend over backward to accommodate other biological entities – be they apes or waterways.

Rivers yes, babies no! is not the slogan I want to hear. So let's get busy and right the wrongs. There are many ways you can get involved:

Students, take control of your life and your education. Then help educate your peers. Become a part of American Life League's Life Defenders.

Parents and teachers, help teach the truth to your students. American Life League's Culture of Life Studies Program has the tools you will need to teach a culture of life from the time a child is old enough to begin learning.

Anyone interested in ending Planned Parenthood's reign of death and destruction can do so with the tools from American Life League's Stop Planned Parenthood International.

We must take control. We must educate no only ourselves, but our children as well. Only then will we return to a culture of life.

© Judie Brown