It’s almost too difficult to know what to say about the July 24th profile that the Washington Post did on Dr. LeRoy Carhart, the late term abortionist who transferred his practice to Maryland last year after more restrictive laws were passed in Nebraska where he had been conducting his abortion business. With new restrictions slated to go into effect in Virginia at the beginning of 2012 and the anticipation of more clients, Carhart is also considering an expansion of his current clinic and creating an informal training network with other concerned practitioners (i.e. abortionists). As a Maryland resident, my stomach is turning!
There are several important points to consider in response to this profile.
Point 1: There is a great need for counselors to help parents deal with results of prenatal genetic testing. Carhart claims that all the late term abortions he has done were on babies with abnormalities. In the story, his most recent was a baby with spina bifada. We know that 9 out of 10 children diagnosed with Downs Syndrome don’t leave the womb alive. As science advances, so too will the tests and the variety of conditions that they will “predict”. There are still only scarce resources in this area, but one website to check is BeNotAfraid.net…a site of support for couples facing poor or difficult prenatal diagnoses. These couples need support to be able to recognize and accept the loving gift that these special children are.
Point 2: The laws in Maryland are too permissive when it comes to late-term abortion. In Virginia, a second doctor has to sign onto the procedure before it can be completed. At a basic level, we must ask: is it truly in the best of a woman (not to mention her unborn child) for a doctor who stands to benefit monetarily by the death of that child to be also the sole decision-maker as to whether or not the baby can legally be killed? Yes, doctors do take oaths to do no harm, but we are all human and the laws as they stand in Maryland (and possibly other states as well) are awfully flexible…you might just be able to drive a truck through the loopholes. Do these laws really have the best interests of women and children in mind?
Point 3: There will be a counter-protest to Summer of Mercy 2.0…and (wait for it)…it will be called: Summer Celebration of Choice. Among the groups sponsoring the counter-protest is one called Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice. We all know that there is one answer to counter-protests: We must (and God willing, we will) outnumber the counter-protesters by a margin of at least 3-to-1. All the details about Summer of Mercy 2.0 are available here! Mark your calendars today.
Even the Washington Post admitted that this has been a truly outstanding year for pro-life legislation. Let’s keep the momentum going today, tomorrow and through the 2012 elections! Together we can save lives.
