The Problem with the Phrase “Incompatible with Life”

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According to conservative commentator Ann Coulter, the pro-life movement “has gone from compassion for the child to cruelty to the mother (and child). Trisomy 18 is not a condition that is compatible with life.” She was referring to a Texas Supreme Court decision rejecting a woman’s request for an abortion on the basis of a health exception. Trisomy 18 is a genetic disorder of which 50% of babies die within their first week of life and 90-95% don’t survive after one year.  

But this shows why phrases like “incompatible with life” are so problematic. Former presidential candidate Rick Santorum responded to Coulter with a photo of his daughter Bella, who has Trisomy 18, and is now 15 years old.  

Trisomy 18 does not risk the life of the mom. And Trisomy 18 does not make a baby less human, and therefore no less valuable. But adopting language like “incompatible with life” will make doing the right thing far less likely.

Copyright 2023 by the Colson Center for Christian Worldview. Reprinted from BreakPoint.org with permission.

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Marijuana is Dangerous for Unborn Children: New Study

Marijuana
Photo Source: University of Utah Health.

Yet another study shows marijuana use during pregnancy poses a serious risk for unborn children.

In a study published earlier this month, researchers at University of Utah reviewed data from more than 9,000 pregnant women across the U.S.

Their findings show marijuana exposure during pregnancy is associated with a host of unhealthy outcomes — especially low birth weight for newborns. Researchers also found that higher marijuana exposure is associated with higher risks.

Marijuana use raised a woman’s risk of experiencing an unhealthy pregnancy outcome nearly 49% — from 17 in 100 to nearly 26 in 100.

The study goes to show once again just how important it was that Arkansans rejected marijuana at the ballot box in 2022.

Researchers have found over and over that marijuana use is harmful — especially for pregnant women and unborn children.

Earlier this year researchers from Oregon Health & Science University published a showing that consuming THC during pregnancy could affect an unborn child’s development.

A 2023 study found marijuana use during pregnancy could decrease a newborn’s birthweight by approximately one-third of a pound — which is a significant amount for a baby.

A 2021 study out of California found infants were 35% more likely to die within a year of birth if their mother used marijuana heavily, and that infants were more likely to be born preterm, have a low birth weight, and be small for their gestational age.

The list goes on and one.

All of this underscores what we have said for years: Marijuana may be many things, but “harmless” simply is not one of them.

Articles appearing on this website are written with the aid of Family Council’s researchers and writers.

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