Wednesday, January 25, 2012

"Wrongful life" in Israel

Be'ad Chaim: Since 1948, the beginning of the modern state of Israel, estimates show that the lives of over 2 million babies have been snuffed out by abortion. This number is huge when one considers that our present population is 7.4 million. Every one of these unborn children would have been a unique jewel in the treasure box of the people of Israel. 

. . . In Israel, we are seeing a growing number of “wrongful life” lawsuits – over 600 since 1987. A “wrongful life” lawsuit permits parents or a child to sue the doctor for allowing the child to be born rather than recommending abortion. In the U.S. and Canada, it is primarily parents who sue, but in Israel, the child demands compensation for his disability and basically for being alive.  Imagine the consequences on the soul of the child who hears his parents testifying that they would have aborted him had they known about the handicap. 

The prevalence of these lawsuits has caused doctors to become overly concerned that a child may have a
disability or any abnormality. Israel is first in the world in the number of prenatal tests done during pregnancy. In cases where a problem is suspected, doctors will recommend abortion 75 percent of the time (as compared to US doctors who recommend abortion 25 percent of the time). More testing means more false positives, which mean more abortions.

The preponderance of prenatal testing has also created a confusing situation for mothers who have been
persuaded that “good motherhood” means protecting your child from being imperfect in any way. . . . Mothers say that they would feel guilty for allowing a baby “to suffer” if allowed to be born with a handicap or deformity. 

This same mindset of what is considered “good motherhood” applies to the adoption issue. When we’ve asked clients who were not interested in keeping their babies if they would consider giving it up for adoption, they almost always responded “What kind of mother do you think I am?” The general mindset is that adoption or handicaps are greater evils than taking the life of the child.

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