Recently, I read a news article about the now famous (or infamous) abortion doctor, Kermit Gosnell who was recently charged with eight counts of murder for abortions he performed. The story is not for the faint of heart, so if you’re going to read the entire article, please be prepared.
There were a number of things that concerned me while reading through this. And that’s in addition to the gruesome details of the things this man did with these tiny, helpless human beings. Part of what bothered me was because of the reaction by some people who otherwise don’t seem to be particularly bothered by abortion.
First, let’s take a look at a quote in the article by Philadelphia District Attorney Seth Williams. Please be prepared as this quote divulges some of the horrifying details of the charges against Dr. Gosnell.
“A doctor who with scissors cuts into the necks, severing the spinal cords of living, breathing babies who would survive with proper medical attention commits murder under the law,” he said. “Regardless of one’s feelings about abortion, whatever one’s beliefs, that is the law.”
Now, I’m guessing a number of people will look right past this and simply agree with it. But I have a couple of problems with it. First of all, it would seem that in many places the only part of this that made it against the law was the fact that the baby was outside the womb. Especially given the qualification “who would survive with proper medical attention…” After all, how many babies are killed who could have otherwise survived with “proper medical attention?”
That’s not the worst of it, though. Another glaring issue here is that many people will be willing to consider what Dr. Gosnell did to be a terrible, violent, immoral thing. So far, I would have to agree. The problem comes down to why this is so. For many people who would otherwise be pro-choice, it would seem that their biggest problem with this is grounded in the emotional response one has when hearing about the details. In other words, they claim it’s wrong because it disgusts them.
Many who are opposed to abortion have a much different reason for believing this was immoral. The reason is because, from the “Pro-Life” point of view, it is objectively wrong to willfully kill a human being for the purposes that most women have abortions. It wouldn’t matter how gross the circumstances are, it would still be viewed as wrong.
On the other side of the fence, if this was done in a clean, sanitary operating room with educated professionals and done in a similar manner as any other medical procedure, nobody would be batting an eye.
The fact of the matter is, we can’t base our morality on whether or not something seems distasteful or disgusting to us. Just because something is gross, that does not factor into whether something is objectively good or bad.
Do you believe what Dr. Gosnell did was wrong? Why or why not?
Grace, love and peace.
