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Academics, some based in the UK, have argued it is not morally wrong to kill newborn babies if they are disabled. Here’s a chilling line from the Guardian’s report—it’s worth quoting the whole paragraph:
“What they preferred to call "after-birth abortion" rather than infanticide should be allowed not only for babies with abnormalities, such as Down's syndrome, which had not been detected during the pregnancy, but also newborns whose parents would have been granted an abortion because they felt they could not psychologically or materially cope with a child.”
We want to say that they are wrong...
But it is worth noting that, within the ethical framework most people in the UK operate, they are, logically, being consistent (please don't panic - bear with me…).
They argue that a baby is a non-person because they have no sense of their own existence, or of the fact that their existence is valuable. “The moral status of the individual killed is comparable with that of a fetus”. And it’s that sentence that is going to be a problem for people who don’t think abortion is wrong—so it’s that sentence which perhaps helps us to talk to friends about this issue.
In terms of value, there’s no intrinsic difference between a baby in the womb and a baby in the cradle. If one isn’t a person, neither is the other. If I say abortion is morally justifiable, I can’t really oppose infanticide (though these academics prefer to call it “after-birth abortion”). If, on the other hand, I understand that humans, made in God’s image (Genesis 1 v 26-28), have intrinsic value as His image-bearers (whether or not they have a sense of this great value), then I will oppose infanticide. And so I will oppose abortion as well.
Sadly, though not surprisingly, their views have led to threats being made against them—and that’s what some newspapers led with, rather than the substance of their argument. But justice is not ours to mete out, however horrific the opinion or the action: “’I will repay,’ says the Lord” (Romans 12 v 19). Our part is to love those who hate God and His standards—to pray for them and seek to tell them of judgment to come and forgiveness to enjoy. Wouldn’t it be great if their inboxes were filled up with assurances that they are being prayed for?
Carl is Editorial Director at The Good Book Company and is a member of Grace Church Worcester Park, London. He is the best-selling author of The Garden, the Curtain and the Cross and God's Big Promises Bible Storybook, and also serves as series editor of the God's Word for You series. Before joining TGBC, he worked as a journalist and then as a teacher, and pastored a congregation in Hull. Carl is married to Lizzie, and they have two children. He studied history at Oxford University.
