Column for March 10, 2011

I recently read of a new bill introduced into the North Carolina General Assembly that would “punish those who commit violent crimes against unborn babies and their mothers.” The bill is called "The Unborn Victims Of Violence/Ethen's Law". Currently, there is no law creating a separate charge for harming or injuring a fetus when a pregnant woman is attacked and that attack results in the death or miscarriage of the baby. Obviously, one would find such an attack heinous. There are exceptions included for acts of abortion, stillbirths, and miscarriages.

I have long believed that abortion is an immoral act amounting to murder of the unborn. I did not always believe that, however. I made my share of mistakes when I was young and stupid. With a newly found Christian world view, I changed my perspective on the act twenty years ago. But even from a civil government perspective, I look at our founding documents and find things that would similarly persuade me. For instance, in our Declaration of Independence, I read “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”

The “Life” portion is where I diverge from the Libertarian Party and most Democrats. I find it difficult to comprehend how anyone can believe in the sanctity of life, the right to life, or protection of the innocent while at the same time advocating a woman's right to wantonly commit infanticide. Regardless of how the pregnancy occurred, whether from negligence in employing birth control, or even cases of rape or incest, I firmly believe that the right to life trumps a woman's so-called right to choose. The ironic thing is that most (not all, but most) people I know that are “pro-choice” are against the death penalty. They are willing to slaughter the innocent for the sake of personal convenience but want to let the guilty live. Where is the logic in that?

From what I read about "The Unborn Victims Of Violence/Ethen's Law", it is better than the bill proposed by Republican Bobby Franklin of the Georgia State Legislature. He has introduced House Bill 1 that would “classify the removal of a fetus from a woman for any reason other than to produce a live birth or to remove a dead fetus as "prenatal murder." Mr. Franklin, like myself, finds abortion abhorrent. However, he goes way too far in his bill. Though he would not place criminal penalties upon natural, spontaneous fetal miscarriages, his bill would require the issuance a fetal death certificate for miscarriages that occur within medical facilities. Miscarriages that occur outside of a medical facility would require an investigation by the government.

Thankfully, this is not proposed in North Carolina, and I do not live in Georgia. As much as I support the choice for life, I would have some rather unpleasant words for Mr. Franklin if he was my representative. In the name of his Christian values, he wants to protect the unborn to such a degree that he wants parents to give account for their due diligence in protection of the fetus.

Franklin's bill states "The State of Georgia has the duty to protect all innocent life from the moment of conception until natural death". With that, I agree. However, to require a full investigation into any miscarriage that does not take place in a medical facility is intrusive and absurd. This is where it gets personal for me. My wife and I went through two miscarriages in 2010, one on June 1st at a medical facility, and one at home just this past Christmas Eve. It was heart wrenching enough for us both to endure in losing our children. The last thing we would want or need is a government official knocking on our door inquiring if we did all we possibly could to keep our embryo/fetus from being miscarried.

With a Christian world view, I realize that we live in a sin cursed world. Sickness, disease, and tragedies occur as a result. That is our inheritance here on Earth as a result of the fall of Adam. As a joint heir with Christ, I look forward to life eternal where there is no sickness, disease, or miscarriage. I don't like the fact that our earthly existence has such things with which we must contend, but that is life. I don't have all the answers, but I do know that I disagree strongly with my libertarian minded and even my Christian brethren when they go to the polar opposites of either allowing the wanton slaughter of the unborn on the one hand or highly intrusive and unnecessary measures to “protect” the unborn on the other.