Airbrushing infanticide

It shouldn't be a surprise. It's the logical - if unusually extreme - end point of the argument. A group of ethicists have now come out and said it: if it's right to abort children before they are born, it can't be wrong to abort them immediately after their birth.

Their argument goes like this. A person only has value if they know they have value. A foetus doesn't have that awareness. Nor does a new-born. So neither have an inherent right to life. Parents - who do have value because of their self-awareness - may feel trapped into keeping a child who is unexpectedly disabled, or who is simply not what they want any more, and their rights should trump the baby's. The parents should have a right to end the child's life.

Of course, the ethicists realise that such a thought is somewhat nauseating. Many people - even those with the loosest of ethical frameworks - will baulk at the thought of such a philosophy. And so they have renamed what most of us would term "infanticide" to "post-birth abortion". It sounds far less unpalatable then.

These people are not actively seeking a change in the law. Their paper was largely an exercise in philosophy. But it's dangerous nevertheless. History shows that human beings are quite capable of practising infanticide (let's call it what it is) on a societal level. The death of many has come about while people think as these philosophers are thinking now. And Christians (and non-Christians alike) need to be mindful of that risk.

Christians also need to be equipped to debate with those in the world who see these philosophers' points. It's worth remembering that:

• Human value does not come from self-awareness. If it did, not only would pre-born and newly-born babies be in trouble but so would those in a coma, those with severe learning difficulties and those with dementia to name but 3 further categories. Value comes primarily from the fact that we are made by God (Psalm 139) in the image of God (Genesis 1). The obsession society has with what we think about ourselves needs to be relegated to its rightful place - below that of what God thinks...! Further value comes from the relationships we have with those around us in community - relationships that begin before the moment of birth as most mothers - and fathers - can testify.

• The phenomenon of renaming distasteful things to make them seem less abhorrent needs to be shown for what it is. A white-wash, an air-brushing of the truth. Killing is killing and this is something Christians are commanded not to do to other human beings - certainly in peacetime. (Exodus 20). No new name will change that.

• The fact that abortion is widely accepted should not lead us to accept infanticide. Surely, the fact that infanticide is so abhorrent to many should lead us to re-question abortion. If life has value, it has value. That is a point to make loud and proud. It is encouraging that some philosophers have made this point themselves - a coup for common sense.

• Christians have a long track record of rescuing those children whose lives were in danger from those who believed infanticide to be valid and right and it's right that we rise to this role again. The early Christians were renowned for rescuing new-borns from the rubbish tips of Rome and bringing them up in good homes. We have not reached that dire state yet but the call is on us to rebuff this (admittedly minority) view robustly. God is a God who cares about the marginalised and the oppressed and so should his followers today.

Of course, as we battle these truths there is also a call to be winsome and wise. We are not to join with those who have been sending these ethicists death threats. Much as their philosophy is distasteful, their life has value too. And Christians are called to love all those about them - family, neighbour and enemy - no matter what their views. We need to be equally mindful that we do not crush those who are struggling with the burden of abortion in the past. All of us have fallen short of God's standards. But battle we must. So why not take a moment today to talk about this with a friend ... for the glory of God and the good of our children.