Friday, August 15, 2008

David Cameron in favour of abortion up to birth for the disabled

Briefing. It seems the disabled do not have the same rights, according to Mr Cameron, as everyone else.

From John Smeaton: The leader of the opposition in the UK parliament has confirmed that he supports abortion for disability up to birth. Asked about the issue by an SPUC supporter at a meeting in Cumbria, England, Mr David Cameron MP said: "[I]n the case of parents who have medical evidence that they may have a very disabled child, I would not want to change that." Mr Cameron has a six-year-old son with cerebral palsy and quadriplegia, and he said: "Ivan [has] brought incredible things to my life but it is an enormous challenge and I don't think it's right to ... tell other parents ... that actually doing something about it isn't an option." He wanted a free parliamentary
vote on such issues, and the time-limit for non-disabled abortion to be cut from 24 weeks to 20. Mr Gordon Brown MP, prime minister, also supports unlimited abortion of the disabled. [John Smeaton, 13 August]

1 comment:

Snowdrop said...

As the father of a little boy who suffered profound brain injuries, who sadly passed away four years ago, I find Mr cameron's views to be nothing short of monstrous.

There are several important points where Mr Cameron's argument is fallacious; - they are as follows.

* This position presumes that people with disabilities are lesser human beings with fewer human rights than the rest of us. Mr Cameron's view would mean effectively that these 'lesser human beings' could simply be 'put down.' What kind of 'master race' mentality is this?
* Although I agree that if it can be independently determined that a child is going to spend a life of pain and suffering, ocassionaly, this might be the correct solution, the question is, can we accurately detrmine this? Medical people have a nasty habit of making mistakes, that is how many childhood disability issues are caused, (Shall we terminate doctors who make these errors perhaps?), so are they to be relied upon to make an accurate judgement of a child's future? I think not.
* Quality of life is a subjective measure. What might seem to be an unacceptable quality of life to you or me, might have a completely different perspective from the point of view of the person whose life it is! Who is qualified to judge? - Certainly not I!
* Mr Cameron's proposal that disabled children could be aborted as late as thirty-nine weeks is simply monstrous and is tantamount to cold blooded murder.

All life is sacred. All people, no matter what difficulties they face, are valuable human beings. We cannot utilise our own subjective judgements to determine which people are allowed to survive and which people are not.

Pope Leo XIII's Prayer to St Michael

Holy Michael, Archangel, defend us in the day of battle. Be our safeguard against the wickedness and snares of the devil. May God rebuke him, we humbly pray, and do thou, Prince of the Heavenly Host, by the power of God, thrust down to Hell Satan, and all wicked spirits who wander through the world for the ruin of souls. Amen