Are we allowing ourselves to be desensitised?

Making abortion freely available desensitises people to the value of every human life. The scientific evidence about the beginning of human life has never been clearer. It is, therefore, a great irony that we in Ireland are for the first time in our history losing our clarity about the right to life of the unborn. Knowledge about the mysterious workings of DNA and the stunningly vivid evidence of ultrasound images of little persons in the earliest weeks in the womb should be making us more committed than ever to the protection of unborn life.

The child in the womb has life and potential. However, like all babies, before birth or in the early years, she or he has no choice. Powerless to defend themselves they rely on the rest of us to protect their lives and vindicate their rights. By using the word ‘choice’ we need to remember that, for the baby waiting to be born, the choice we make can be a matter of life or death.