This morning something very strange happened. I arrived at the office a few minutes early to get caught up on emails and correspondence. Everything appeared normal–at least at first. That’s when the most unusual thing happened. I remember was sitting at my desk reading a position paper when, without warning, I tumbled down the rabbit hole with Alice leading the way.
Remember Alice in Wonderland? Same Alice. Same twisted reality.
If you recall this classic children’s tale, when she fell down the rabbit hole, Alice was transported to a fantasy world; a place where everything she experienced defied logic. Nothing made sense. She struggled to iron out her confusion.
Making matters worse, the Mad Hatter and the White Rabbit crossed her path. The more they spoke, the more Alice was forced to question her own sanity. Why? Logic, morality, and the law are relative terms in Wonderland.
I found myself this morning in a similar predicament as Alice. When I tell you the details of what triggered my fall down the rabbit hole, you may need to remind yourself that this is not a fable. This is really happening. Right now–not in Wonderland but here in America.
In short, a nurse working at an Illinois hospital stumbled on a dark secret in a dirty utility room. Behind closed doors, away from the scrutiny of the public, she discovered that infants were being shelved and left to die. Why? These newborns had been aborted, but lived.
Although they were viable outside of the womb, these children were supposed to die. And when they didn’t die the abortionist made sure the job was carried out. How? Leaving the newborns alone with no food or care, they would cry until they gasped a last breath and died.
That practice has a name: Infanticide. The act of killing an infant.
In 2001, the nurse who made this discovery, Jill Stanek, dedicated her energies to help pass a measure known as the Born Alive Infant Protection Act (BAIPA) in her home state. She testified before the Health and Human Services committee about her experiences and the need this legislation. The BAIPA would have ended the practice of infanticide–the killing of an infant–at least in Illinois.
One problem.
The bill was met with sharp opposition by a powerful senator who voted against it. Not once. But twice. Then, in 2003 the bill was reintroduced for a third time. This same senator–who had become the chairman of the committee–voted against the measure while in committee thereby preventing the bill from reaching the whole Senate for a vote. This, in turn, allowed the practice of infanticide to continue.
Regardless of ones viewpoint on abortion, I cannot imagine anybody justifying the act of killing a baby outside of the womb. To do so boggles the mind. Think about it. If American’s sanction killing a newborn child just because he or she was supposed to be aborted, what’s to stop killing a child once he or she is born for any variety of reasons? Maybe they don’t “look right” . . . or have Downs Syndrome or some other undesirable physical characteristic . . . or happen to be a girl when the parents wanted a boy.
By the way, when the Born Alive Infants Protection Act was introduced into the U.S. Senate, even liberal Senators Ted Kennedy, John Kerry, Hillary Clinton, and Harry Reid had the courage to do the right thing by voting to protect babies who had been born alive. The measure passed 98-0. Even very liberal minds agree that infanticide crosses a line.
Here’s the scary part for me–the part of the story that sent me reeling down the rabbit hole. The state senator who voted against the Born Alive Infant Protection Act two times, and the powerful committee chairman who refused a fair and equal consideration of the bill before the general legislature–just happens to be on a fast track to the White House. His name?
Barack Obama.
Pro-abortion rights. Pro-infanticide.
Like I said, this isn’t a fable. It’s reality. If you’d like to read the Ten Reasons why Barack Obama didn’t vote to stop the practice of infanticide as an Illinois State Senator, click here. If you’d like to read why CNSNews Editor in Chief Terence Jeffrey considers Mr. Obama the “Most Pro-Abortion Candidate Ever,” click here.
If we, as a people, embrace infanticide as “normal” and if Senator Obama convinces the American people this is simply about a woman’s right to choose, climbing out of the rabbit hole will be next to impossible.
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