The nurse approached the hospital bassinet of the 3-day-old baby with needle in hand. In a not-so-caring way, the nurse jabbed the needle into the infant’s one good leg and pressed the plunger. A sharp cry filled the room but no one seemed to notice. In a few moments the crying stopped. The baby grew still and then stopped moving altogether. He was dead.
The incident did not occur in the darkness of night. The nurse was not stealth-like in her movements. Administering a lethal dose of medicine to a disabled child was a routine, everyday occurrence. In 1939, Hitler had implemented a child euthanasia program that targeted disabled infants and toddlers for death.
Parents of children under 3 who had signs of severe physical or mental disabilities were encouraged to admit their child to a special pediatric clinic. In reality the clinics were killing wards where specially recruited medical staff murdered the children through lethal injections or by starvation.
What began as a program aimed at newborns quickly expanded to mentally and physically disabled children up to age 17. Researchers say more than 5,000 children died in the 20 months the program operated. There was no room for the disabled in the future envisioned by the Nazis. The disabled were “life unworthy of life.”
Henry Friedlander in his book “The Origins of Nazi Genocide” documents that Germany’s euthanasia planners also targeted disabled adults who were transported to 1 of 6 gassing locations for execution. Their bodies were then cremated and ashes returned to relatives along with a fake story about the cause of death.
Open secret
What was supposed to remain unknown soon became an open secret. Public protests led by German pastors caused Hitler to scale back his slaughter of the disabled but it never stopped completely. Instead it expanded to include geriatric patients and foreign-forced laborers. Later Hitler tried to kill whole races of people including Jews and Roma. All were considered “life unworthy of life.”
The United States has its own group considered “life unworthy of life” — the unborn. Researchers estimate more than 3,000 babies are legally aborted each day in the U.S. Since the infamous Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision of 1973, more than 58 million babies have been aborted, according to reliable research.
The Bible teaches God’s first gift to humanity is the gift of physical life. God asks for His gift to be accepted, nurtured and cherished. Yet more than 1 in 5 pregnancies in the U.S. (22 percent) end in elective abortions. God’s gift of life is rejected. Babies die. Life created in the image of God and by God is deemed “life unworthy of life.”
Some attempt to justify the death of the innocent babies in the name of birth control or personal freedom. Society talks about it as progress and liberty. Society should be weeping in shame for its brutality and rebellion.
Adding to the nation’s disgrace are the recent revelations about Planned Parenthood. Although Planned Parenthood provides a number of services, it is best known as the largest provider of abortions in the U.S. Again researchers indicate Planned Parenthood performs about 325,000 abortions each year. Since 1970 the organization is credited with nearly 7 million abortions.
A series of videos by the Center for Medical Progress alleges that Planned Parenthood profits by selling fetal tissue.
Defenders have tried to explain away the videos as “heavily edited.” They are. The interviews were hours in length while the videos can be seen in minutes. Some charge the videos present a false picture but that argument is fading as people read through the verbatim transcripts.
Tampa Bay Times in an article titled “The Planned Parenthood video in context,” which was written after reading the transcripts of the interviews, concluded “that the conversation indicates that at least some Planned Parenthood clinics do sell aborted fetal tissue.”
The article attempted to defend the practice saying it is a legal service. Yet another video shows a Planned Parenthood executive explaining that procedures for abortions could be altered to preserve tissue and organs intact if that would make the tissue more desirable.
To do so would violate federal law, which states, “In the case of tissue obtained pursuant to an induced abortion … no alteration of the timing, method or procedures used to terminate the pregnancy was made solely for the purposes of obtaining the tissue” (NIH Revitalization Act of 1993).
Cost of a liver
And what if it is legal, is it right? Hitler’s child euthanasia program was legal but was it right? No.
It is hard to watch the bargaining over the cost of a baby’s liver, heart or brain and to hear a Planned Parenthood official say, “If it (the price) is still low, then we can bump it up.”
The videos have jarred the culture in America. Now everyone knows what happens to babies aborted by Planned Parenthood. Thankfully people are protesting the ghastly practices. On Aug. 22 people sickened by the reports about Planned Parenthood’s practices turned out in protest in more than 350 locations nationwide including three in Alabama. The combined protests have been called the largest protests in the history of the pro-life movement.
Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley yanked all state funds going to Planned Parenthood. The U.S. Senate got a majority vote to withdraw federal funds from the organization but fell short of the 60 votes needed for a final vote. The House of Representatives has two hearings scheduled trying to expand understanding of the practices of Planned Parenthood.
We commend Gov. Bentley for his prompt action and encourage national officials to carefully scrutinize the practices of Planned Parenthood and whether the organization is profiting from the sale of fetal tissue as the videos show.
The Bible stands against a culture of “life unworthy of life.” Our faith calls us to say “yes” to God’s first gift. That includes life for the unborn, for the disabled, the elderly and all of God’s children.
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