Pay attention, New York’s abortion law is horrific

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Pay attention, New York’s abortion law is horrific

By Rebecca Horvath 
If you’re looking to restore your faith in humanity, don’t look toward New York state. The state legislature there recently passed a bill, signed by Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo, which lifts nearly all restrictions on abortion. Essentially, this means a woman can legally abort her baby at any stage of pregnancy, right up until the very moment of birth, for nearly any reason that can be broadly defined as her “health” or if the baby is not expected to live after delivery.

If you’re not horrified by this concept, you’re not paying attention.

Now, it is fair to grant that most women would not choose a late-term abortion; most people would not choose to rob a bank, but it’s illegal anyway. All the same, 12,000 late-term abortions occur each year. That’s the same number as gun homicides in our country each year, but progressives sure do want to change that by controlling guns. Murdering innocent babies is totally OK with them, because all that matters is a woman having a choice.

Other states are attempting to enact similar laws — our neighbor, Virginia, failed to pass theirs on the first attempt. (In a bizarre twist, the same delegate who introduced the bill put forth a bill the very same day to protect caterpillars. You can’t make this stuff up.) The state’s governor, Democrat Ralph Northam, faced backlash over his comments indicating a baby born alive could be left to die if the mother chose. Northam’s recent campaign received $2 million in donations from Planned Parenthood, so his appalling comments shouldn’t come as a surprise.

The problem with abortion being legal at all is that it’s a slippery slope. If it’s OK to abort a baby at nine weeks gestation, eventually folks will become so desensitized to it that they will accept abortion at any stage. Though current abortion numbers are down, 60 million babies have been aborted since the Roe v Wade decision in 1973. That is more than three times the number of people who died in the Holocaust and more than the number of deaths in all U.S. wars combined. “Safe, legal and rare” is a boldfaced lie. This slippery slope of abortion has led some people to acceptance at any stage, so long as the woman gets to make her choice.

This isn’t reproductive health. This isn’t a woman’s choice. This is infanticide. Full stop.

Killing a baby does not save the mother, period. Any life-threatening health issue that a mother experiences after the age of viability (about 24 weeks gestation, but inching ever earlier as science and medicine advance) is treated first by delivery. Not abortion. Ever. Former U.S. Attorney General C. Everett Koop once called the “life of the mother” justification a “smoke screen.”

Obstetricians across the country have affirmed again and again that they have never seen a case in which a mother’s life is saved by killing her child. Delivering the child, certainly; but abortion, never.

A late-term abortion is a process that takes two to three days — no medical emergency can wait three days; delivering the baby either via an emergency Caesarean section or an induced delivery is significantly faster and will rarely result in a dead baby. There is no such thing as an “emergency abortion.”

It’s not good enough to say “I’m personally opposed to abortion, but I can’t tell women what to do with their bodies.” One, a baby is not a mother’s body. But two, the very idea is a meaningless escape hatch leading to moral relativism. Morality is not subjective, friends; abortion is either right or it’s wrong, no matter who we are talking about. Are you also “personally opposed” to drunk driving but don’t want to impose your view on other people, lest it restrict their freedom?

It’s also a fallacy to suggest that men should not be allowed opinions about abortion. The very people who preach that lie are the ones celebrating Governor Cuomo, so their real feelings are clear: men can only have an opinion about abortion if they are pro-choice. Like virtually every pro-choice argument, it’s a cop out.

As a society, we lament “deadbeat dads” and complain about fathers who do not take care of their children. Either fathers matter or they don’t; we can’t have it both ways. A baby conceived in the usual way has two parents who are supposed to love and protect him. To force men out of the picture is dangerous and damaging. American men must be willing to take a stand and demand their place in the abortion debate, rather than allowing anyone to tell them their opinions don’t matter. Abortion is not “women’s issue” — it is a human issue.

When New York passed its abhorrent law, the state Senate chamber erupted in applause and a grotesque standing ovation. This state that forbids the death penalty for the vilest offenders will allow a physician to “finish the job” if an attempted late-term abortion fails. Infamous abortion doctor Kermit Gosnell is a horrific example of a medical professional not acting in good faith with reasonable judgment — we can’t blindly rely on doctors to do the right thing, especially when the law does not expressly support life.

These laws — and the celebrations by far-left progressives — are bringing to light the radicalization of the Democrat Party. No longer the party of John Kennedy, the party moves farther left each year. The majority of Democrats in Congress support overriding state restrictions on late-term abortion (while only 13 percent of Americans believe abortion should be legal in the third trimester). They no longer represent their constituents, only their own interests and their desire to get in line with their too-powerful leaders.

Democrats underestimate the effects of their radicalization; it pushes moderates (who make up a majority of Americans, despite what the media will have us believe) toward the center and, possibly, to the right. The average moderate voter, even one who identifies as a Democrat, will not vote for candidates who back radical abortion laws. People care most about issues related to their fundamental values, even more than issues related to their pocketbooks.

Several states, including Tennessee, have passed or are attempting to pass “heartbeat” bills, which outlaw abortion after a fetal heartbeat is detected. A large number of Tennesseeans support this type of legislation and the general, nationwide outrage over new late-term abortion laws is encouraging. But as Edmund Burke wrote, “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.” If you’re opposed to radical abortion laws, speak out. We must be as loud with the truth as the radical left is with lies.

Babies who aren’t expected to survive after birth beat the odds all the time and babies with special needs deserve to live every bit as much as those without them. All babies deserve a chance at life, never a horrifying, painful and heartbreaking death.

A society can be judged by how it treats its most vulnerable members; there are none more vulnerable than the unborn. Right now, we have blood on our hands. We must demand better.

Rebecca Horvath of Johnson City is a wife, mother, community activist and writer for National Federation of Republican Women. Reach her at rebeccasjh@hotmail.com.

Editor’s note: The opinions and analyses of Community Voices columnists are their own and do not necessarily reflect those of the Johnson City Press.