Blog by Samantha Kamman.
Infanticide is always wrong.
This statement should not be controversial. Humans in civilized societies recognize the value of others’ lives and understand that the more vulnerable a member of our human family is, the more they need protection.
Yet, despite the nation’s foundation on the right to life, many American politicians boast a distinctly uncivilized view of human dignity, championing the violence of abortion and tacitly accepting infanticide.
In March, Texas Special agents saved a six-month-old baby that smugglers had thrown into the Rio Grande, as well as the child’s injured mother. While the rescue is worthy of celebration, it is always sad to hear cases where someone has inflicted deliberate harm on an innocent. In generally, it is not culturally acceptable to celebrate violence and abuse inflicted on innocent people who have been born.
We also mourn the loss of babies left to die in trash cans, like when police found a dead baby in the trash in Coney Island, NY, back in February. Then, in March, an infant was found dead in a wooded area in Lincoln Park, MI. Most people find these stories distinctly horrifying.
But there is another form of infanticide that is remains unreported by news media and tacitly accepted by many elected representatives: the killing of infants who survive failed abortions.
Born-alive infants are left to die on shelves, in buckets, and trash bags in abortion facilities. From 2003 to 2014, the Centers for Disease Control reported at least 143 babies had died after being born alive during a botched abortion. Footage from the Center for Medical Progress even showed high-ranking Planned Parenthood officials admitting they trafficked abortion survivors’ organs.
But pro-abortion politicians continue to refuse to pass legislation that would legally require born-alive infants to receive basic medical care and subject anyone who intentionally leaves an abortion survivor to die to criminal penalties.
How can the same people who would presumably mourn alongside the rest of us the loss of an infant left to die in a trash can or celebrate a baby rescued from a river ignore the child who is born alive after an abortion and then killed outright or left to die?
Infanticide is always wrong — right?
If you’re not sure, ask the survivors.
Melissa Ohden is the survivor of a failed saline infusion abortion. She was believed to be dead until a nurse heard Melissa’s cries and ensured the baby received the proper care – a decision the nurse was not required to make by law. Despite the doctor’s concerns about the long-term health problems associated with surviving an abortion at seven months gestation, Melissa has gone on to thrive as a renowned speaker and writer for the pro-life movement.
Ohden is also the founder of the Abortion Survivors Network, an organization that provides individuals born alive after an abortion with a platform to share their stories. The survivors whose stories are uplifted by the organization work to add a name and face to the many children like them left to die after surviving an abortion.
Other survivors who conquered the odds and lived to tell their stories include Gianna Jessen, Claire Culwell, and Josiah Presley.
People are more than a choice. We will continue to be their voice until our elected officials do their jobs and defend the innocent lives of their fellow Americans.
