Secular Sanity

By Marie Alena Castle

Regarding the murder of Dr. George Tiller, the anti-abortion zealots would like everyone to think late-term abortions are performed in the last couple of months of pregnancy, and never for a good reason. (Women’s life, health and wellbeing, and severe fetal defects are not considered good reasons.) Perhaps a real-life example will help everyone (at least the decent people) understand this issue.   When I was 5 ½ months pregnant, I started filling up with huge amounts of fluid. The doctor said it indicated a severe fetal abnormality of some kind. Since I was a devout Catholic at that time, abortion was not even considered.   I spent the next 2 ½ months in considerable physical and mental pain. (Misogynist anti-abortion zealots, I have found, dismiss this as unimportant. They have empathy only for fetal life — and then only until it’s born.) At 8 months, the doctor said there was no point in continuing the pregnancy and the suffering I was enduring, so he decided to induce labor. If the fetus was actually OK, the slightly premature birth would do no harm.   A cute red-haired baby girl was born looking quite healthy, although weighing only 4 pounds. However, examination showed her esophagus was solid instead of hollow and her intestines were just a fibrous mass. She could not eat. It took her a few days to starve to death.   Late term abortions are performed to prevent such needless tragedies. (Of course, the baby was baptized, so I’m sure the zealots think that made the ordeal well worthwhile.)

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