It is so horrific, so barbaric, so depraved it’s hard to believe anyone actually thinks it’s permissible.
But many do. After-birth abortion, a euphemistic name for infanticide, is gaining increased support among college students.
According to a recent article in The College Fix, pro-life activists say they not only see more support for infanticide on college campuses, but some students even suggest children up to four or five years old can be killed because they are “not self-aware.”
Mark Harrington, Director of Created Equal, told the publication that “we encounter people who think it is morally acceptable to kill babies after birth on a regular basis at almost every campus we visit.”
The article says the trend is based on “…the notion that it’s OK to kill babies because somehow we don’t become human until we are self-aware.”
GRTL President Dan Becker said, while tragic, the idea should be expected because of the “continuous immoral propaganda being spread by people like Princeton Professor Peter Singer.”
In 1979, Singer wrote that “…human babies are not born self-aware, or capable of grasping that they exist over time. They are not persons…[therefore] the life of a newborn is of less value than the life of a pig, a dog, or a chimpanzee.”
Singer is far from alone. Two philosophers writing in the Journal of Medical Ethics have said that simply being human should not be a guarantee to the right to life.
“Merely being human is not in itself a reason for ascribing someone a right to life. Indeed, many humans are not considered subjects of a right to life,” such as “spare embryos where research on embryo stem cells is permitted” or “fetuses where abortion in permitted.”
They continue with their twisted thinking by claiming that killing a pre-born or new-born child doesn’t harm anyone.
“In order for a harm to occur, it is necessary that someone is in the condition of experiencing that harm. If a potential person, like a fetus and newborn, does not become an actual person, like you and us, then there is neither an actual nor a future person who can be harmed, which means there is no harm at all.
“In these cases, since non-persons have no moral rights to life, there are no reasons for banning after-birth abortions.”
Such convoluted logic and evil can be laid directly at the feet of those who place man before God and their desires before His clear principles. It’s a slippery slope that will lead to even worse atrocities if not reversed.
In other words, without all human life being valued according to the scriptures and even our founding documents–all standards become subjective and discriminatory.
The answer is to change hearts and minds through education. In this case, college students need to understand the harsh reality of taking someone’s life – born or preborn – in other words they need to recognize the sanctity of all human life.
GRTL’s “Pillars of Personhood” program does just that. The two-part program is being taken to local churches and schools, as well as college campuses.
The program includes a five-hour training session and for those who attended the training, a campus outreach where they have an opportunity to put into practice what they learned.
The objective is to prayerfully help others understand the the true logic behind these arguments in order to clearly and comfortably articulate why not valuing life is morally, ethically and scientifically indefensible.
Consider hosting a Pillars of Personhood training in your community or at the very least attend the next training and pray that God gives wisdom and courage to the presenters and that He softens and prepares the hearts of the hearers.
For more information or to schedule a Pillars of Personhood training email aprilfry@grtl.org
Sources: slate.com; thecollegefix.com.