March 30, 2005 5:35 PM
The slipperiest slope of all
Slippery slopes? Here's my experience:
Back in the early 70's -- as a radical feminist and plaintiff in a Virginia abortion class action suit -- I enjoyed five minutes of fame. The media loved the story: new mother brightens her horizons by going back to college, worries that another pregnancy would ruin her future, therefore should have the right to abortion.
Simple, logical, and convenient. In those pre-sonogram days, it was easy to think of the first trimester "fetus" as little more than a bunch of cells -- at least for someone like me who hadn't been brought up to understand man's relationship with the divine.
Lacking that foundation, I scoffed at the stodgy, moralistic opposition -- portrayed as older angry white men -- with their talk of slippery slopes and respect for human life. I just didn't get it.
I get it now.
I get it now because I honestly don't think that even the most cynical of my Second Wave sisters would ever have predicted that abortions would number 1.5 million annually, nor that we would destroy a quarter of each coming generation. Had someone told us that abortions would be performed for babies with Down syndrome, cleft palate, or "family balancing," we would never have believed it. Had someone told us that eventually a doctor could pull a full term "fetus" out feet first, stab with scissors to collapse its skull, then deliver a dead baby -- and that act would be legal -- we could not possibly have conceived it.
And yet, like the proverbial frog in the slowly heated water, over the next 30 years feminists accepted incrementally the absolute betrayal of woman's deep connection to life, becoming fierce defenders of these incredibly barbaric and inhuman practices.
And so, yes, today I am a firm believer in slippery slopes. And perilous precipices and the kind of moral freefall which has led us today to a hospice-as-fortress in Pinellas Park, Florida.
You see, Terri Schiavo is about so much more than a woman and a feeding tube. It's about so much more than relatives at war. Just as abortion was about who will control the beginning of life, Terri Schiavo is about who will control the end.
And it's much scarier than most Americans can imagine. As a mother of kids with disabilities, I know. I've been watching the forces of darkness steadily brewing like the heaviest, darkest rain clouds on the horizon. Forces which weigh things with the same scales which once made me think a baby could ruin my future. Forces which are seeking solutions that are simple, logical, and convenient.
Take Peter Singer, who advocates a 30-day window in which parents would have the right to terminate the life of a disabled infant. As an ironic aside, Mr. Singer also believes that humans and animals are equal. Which might not matter much at all if Peter Singer were considered a kook. Instead, he is chair of Princeton's ethics department, and has been for six years. Think about it -- hundreds of our best and brightest are being brainwashed in this extreme utilitarianism each year.
Then there's renowned IVF pioneer Bob Edwards, who stated that with all the prenatal testing available, soon it would be a sin for a couple to bear a child with a disability.
Those without ties to the disability community have no idea the growing shadow people with handicaps have been living under for the past decade. And the media isn't focusing at all on that part of the demonstration in Pinellas Park. I imagine it's much like the one I saw outside the Calvin Simmons Theater in Oakland, California on July 7, 2002 when Peter Singer debated Nigel Cameron on "What It Means to Be Human." Dozens of men and women in wheelchairs circled the entrance and flooded the aisles of the auditorium. Some had to be forcefully removed as they tried to reach Dr. Singer's hardened heart with their all-too-human voices.
These people have an understandable interest in the debate, however their voices are not being heard. And I have a feeling that after Terri leaves us, there will be thousands, then hundreds of thousands more who leave us under ever more dubious circumstances. All because of the desire for simple, logical and convenient solutions by those who consider themselves without disabilities.
But from my own experience -- as one healed of spiritual blindness -- I would contend the ones so anxious for the right to pull the plug are actually the most disabled of all.
Posted in Babies, Church Issues, Culture, Current Affairs, Disabilities, Down syndrome, Feminism, Pro-Life Issues | Permalink
Comments
Hear, hear. Anyone who thinks my little Alice isn't "contributing to society" is a complete moron himself. She is an invaluable member of the human race... crafted by God and endowed with unique and beautiful characteristics that put His handiwork on vivid display for anyone who knows her.
Posted by: Gradual Dazzle | March 30, 2005 11:57 PM
Great article! When Evan was 6, a doctor told us it would be years before we knew if Evan would be a "functioning human being". After letting that doctor know a list of normal, wonderful things that Evan could do, it was my decision that the man with all the degrees was the one who wasn't functioning properly.
That was many years ago and the climate has grown ever more hostile toward those who have disabilities. May God open the eyes of those who do not see the "slippery slope" they are falling down.
Posted by: Lori F | March 31, 2005 9:46 AM
Thank you for standing up, and speaking up, for those who can't stand up, and/or speak up, for themselves, Barbara.
Posted by: Julana Schutt | March 31, 2005 2:00 PM
Thanks for telling us about your weblog.
I agree so much with what you said about Peter Singer.
You might be interested in the open letter I wrote to him at
http://caslater.freeservers.com/singer.htm
Catherine
Posted by: Catherine Slater | March 31, 2005 4:18 PM
Great post.
Posted by: Mel | March 31, 2005 5:43 PM
Here's an argument for Terri's life from the pen of an atheist: http://www.villagevoice.com/news/0513,hentoff,62489,6.html
Posted by: Julana Schutt | April 4, 2005 7:29 PM
Excellent post - thanks for the realness and clarity.
Posted by: Catez | April 7, 2005 2:39 PM
Hope you saw George Will's piece on disabilities today:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A51671-2005Apr13.html
Posted by: Julana Schutt | April 14, 2005 5:17 PM
This post is wonderful! My heart exactly.
Posted by: Sal | April 26, 2005 11:12 AM
