Having a child is one of the greatest moments in a couple’s relationship, when you are sure that she is expecting. This is a time of great joy as you prepare for that new life to be welcomed into the world.
Then the unthinkable happens. During the course of the pregnancy, with all of those tests being run, the doctor has some news to share, the results show the baby has a good chance of having Down syndrome and a choice must be made.
It is heartbreaking and more than 90% of couples, at least in Ohio, chose to terminate the pregnancy based on this diagnosis that can be wrong. So, Ohio is struggling with a decision, should we limit abortions that are chosen because a child might be less than perfect.
Another heartbreak is the person with a terminal illness that may involve great pain and expense, should California a state that just passed an assisted suicide bill in its lower house, allow people in such cases to take their own lives?
When a nation decouples itself from the bible such questions can be difficult because we have no absolutes to draw from, but with the truth we can be set free.
Take the parents of the Down syndrome child. If we did not have the means to identify such conditions before birth when the child is unseen, but had to see the born baby in front of us, would we like the Germans of the 1930’s bring our children to a special shower because the child was less than perfect?
I hope the answer is no.
In the case of assisted suicide, if the truth is murder is never ok then we can answer both cases of life and death. That life is valuable and death is the enemy.
