Monday, March 24, 2014

Let's burn babies to heat hospitals

Have you seen this article reporting that hospitals in the UK had burned 15,000+ aborted and miscarried babies as "clinical waste" in incinerators to provide heat for these hospitals as part of their "waste to energy" program? I have only one word to describe what's going on…









horrifying? no…









inhumane? no…







 

unthinkable? no…









predictable?  yes.

Honestly, this sort of behavior should come as no surprise. After all, these are just feti or fetae (in the interest of gender equality). What's the problem? 

No, really...I'm not sure why the hubbub. Apparently, the UK Department of Health was troubled enough to issue a ban on the practice and the health minister called the practice "totally unacceptable." But, if feti are simply parasites, I say burn them! Akin to moles on our skin? Light the fire! After all, these tissues are invading the mother's body. Here's a match! These feti are unwanted. Not yet human. A clump of cells. It's really not even a news story.

And yet, the hospitals involved are tap dancing in defense. One of the spokeswomen said that the facility "takes great care over foetal remains." Why? Do they take great care over ruptured appendices? How about cellulite from lipo suction? Do they honor that? Cancer cells surgically removed? Now, those are real invaders. Are they disposed of carefully?

Am I the only one who sees the irony here? 

Since the late 60s, abortion has been legal in the UK. Not only that, it's generally free. So, I'm curious…do abortion providers "take great care over foetal remains?" If not, should the NHS investigate there, too? Is the hullabaloo because the feti were incinerated, because the fire was used to heat the hospital? I'm hoping someone that supports abortion can clarify this for me.

Just in case you're unaware…a baby's heart starts beating in the 4th week after conception. By week five, the baby has nostrils and the beginning of eye lenses. Week 6 reveals a nose, an upper lip, and the start of fingers. Toes, bones, and elbows show up in week 7, and eyelids can close in week 8…fingernails by week 10. Maybe these are some of the reasons that this story is so upsetting. Maybe there is a bit of humanity in society that instinctively understands the incongruity?

Oddly enough, the same spokeswoman said that "parents are given exactly the same choice on the disposal of foetal remains as for a stillborn child and their personal wishes are respected." If that's not a tacit pro-life message, I'm just not sure what is. Hypocrisy, perhaps?