The same logic the ancient Spartans used to justify leaving sick or deformed infants to die in the open countryside is being employed by two Australian ‘ethicists’ to justify post-birth abortion.
Alberto Giubilini and Francesca Minerva state that circumstances occurring after birth which would have justified abortion can be used to justify an “after-birth” abortion–that is, killing the newborn infant.
Such situations include when a child is born with Downs Syndrome, and may present a burden to the family or society; the two go on to say that “merely being a human being is not enough to warrant a respect for a person’s right to life.”
It’s a slippery slope with no end. If a parent can kill his or her newborn because the child represents a burden, what about the man whose wife becomes disabled, and requires constant care? What about the mother whose teenager is paralyzed in a car accident? These people could be placed in nursing homes or similar facilities, but by the same token, the “burdensome” newborn could be put up for adoption. These two professors in Australia, however, are offering another option: Simply kill the person. If you apply that logic to an infant, someone will eventually apply it to others as well. It’s only a matter of time.
The Greek Spartans barbarically killed infants they deemed would be burdensome or otherwise not grow to be healthy, productive adults. Some three thousand years later, people holding themselves to be leading the way on ethics are espousing the very same logic. If you ask me, it’s proof that, if anything, human beings are devolving.
