Infantacide in America

In the 1970’s Roe v. Wade brought the topic of abortion to the homes of America.   This landmark court case made it legal for women who found themselves pregnant to terminate the fetus without any legal repercussion. These procedures must take place prior to the 28th week of gestation.   According to the NCBI, prior to the 28th week, the fetus is not considered to be a viable human life (NCBI, 1997). Yet science still defines the beginning of life at conception (Derr, 2010). The American Pregnancy Association tells us that everything present in a full grown adult is present in a 3-week-old fetus (Derr, 2010). While most everyone has their own opinion on abortion, the one common ground many people have pertains to the human life that is legally protected after the 28th week.   Yet, every day, innocent babies die at the hands of medical professionals sworn to protect them.
These babies are abandoned by parents unwilling to deal with their physical problems or developmental disabilities.   In a landmark case from 1982, Baby Doe was born on April 9th with a moderate to severe case of Down Syndrome.   His parents refused to allow a physician to correct a congenital defect in his esophagus that prevented Baby Doe from feeding.   Medical personnel, torn between their own conscience and hospitals regulations, stood by and watched and Baby Doe died of starvation six days later.   The decision from hospital administration was that the parents had the right to refuse medical care for their newborn son (RNC, 2001). However, it was not only nourishment that Baby Doe was deprived of.   He was deprived of love, of care, of compassion. He died in pain and alone.
This story is not uncommon. In March of 2001, Jill Stanek, a labor and delivery nurse at Christ Hospital in Oak Lawn, Illinois, testified before Congress regarding her personal experience while working at Christ Hospital.   As a labor and delivery nurse, she witnessed physicians performing live birth abortions where labor is...