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My personal musings about anything that gets on my radar screen--heavily dominated by politics.

2005-01-24

So Respect Is Worthy Of Protest, Too

I guess internal consistencies have never been the hallmark of most liberal arguments. That was never more on display than yesterday in Boulder, an event covered by both a news article in the Monday Rocky Mountain News and a column by Jeannie Torkelson.

Hundreds of parishioners of Sacred Heart of Mary Catholic Church buried the ashes of aborted fetuses Sunday, an act variously described as sacred and outrageous. . .

Under a white statue of Jesus, members of the church knelt and carefully unwrapped a small box covered in blue velvet. Then they poured what they said were mostly the ashes of up to 500 aborted fetuses into a hole and covered the ashes with soil.

The burial was punctuated by tears, prayers and a small protest.

Such burials had been going on quietly for years. Susan LaVelle, a parishioner who founded the memorial wall, estimates that up to 5,500 cremated remains have been buried since 1996. She said the church decided to publicize Sunday's ceremony to reach out to people who may be grieving about having an abortion.

But Hern and other critics blasted the Catholic Church. A handful of protesters, stationed at the church entrance, raised signs with slogans such as "What gives you the right?" and "Stop forcing your will on us."

So, on the one side are the parishioners who have been holding these memorials for the last several years to give the dignity of a human burial to the aborted and miscarried fetuses; on the other side, abortion-rights activists who see this as. . . I don’t know, maybe an incursion into their privacy? I think that’s the first big question this event brings up: why, exactly, do these people care that these ashes are being buried?

But that’s only the first big question. Read this quote:

[abortion clinic director Dr. Warren] Hern could not be reached for comment Sunday. In a previous statement he said, "These fanatics simply cannot leave other people alone with their most intimate sorrow."

If, as abortion-rights activists assert, the fetus is nothing more than property—-and, once discarded, trash—-why in the world would it matter what somebody else does with it? Do these same people get worked up when the garbage collector comes around every week to take their trash to the dumpster for proper disposal? Does the disposal of a used Kleenex cause these people "sorrow?" Or does this “trash” fit in a different category of trash? Perhaps one to which you wish no awareness to shine. That opens up the uncomfortable (to them) possibility that these fetuses DO have intrinsic value, and that they are not simply so much excess flesh to be discarded at will.

[hospital CEO John] Sackett said he was surprised to learn that remains of miscarriages from his hospital were included in the mix through Crist Mortuary. He said it was his understanding that Crist provided a "common burial" in a non-sectarian setting and that he would review the hospital's relationship with the mortuary.

If the fetuses are so value-less, and these people are so wrong to give them a proper burial, then why does the hospital have a policy for burying the ashes? Why not simply discard them with the rest of the trash?

Torkelson writes: But if it's only tissue, like an amputated finger, what's the difference if it ends up in a dumpster or buried with respect?

"But it's not their tissue to treat with respect," said protester Helen Kamin. "It's arrogant. This is none of their business." Also this quote: "Ashes to ashes, dust to dust, it's a mother's choice you must trust," said one. Or this: "This is just another example of religious fundamentalists making decisions for all of us," said Boulder public school teacher Karen Rosenshein.

First of all, all of humanity is our business--I thought that was one of the great mantras of the "tolerant" left. And what is the big crime in treating ANYTHING with respect? I find it amusing that the argument they would put forward is the need to discard. And, by the way, I don't think treating the aborted baby with respect in any way affects the mother in the least. And, by the way, in what way is this making a decision for anybody? If the child is trash, how does where it finds its final resting place an infringement on anybody's decision-making process?

The big picture here is that the Left is making our point for us. By responding in the over the top way that they are, without any shred of logical argument, they shine a bright light on the fact that they ARE ashamed of the practice of abortion. It isn’t that they don’t want you to impose your religion on them—in point of fact, nobody is doing that; what they don’t want is for you to bring their murdered child into the light of day for all to see.

They want aborted fetuses to be the proverbial tree falling in the forest; what this Church has done is to go into the forest to listen to the anguished cries of the fallen, and to bring them some measure of comfort.
Posted by: Michael / 1/24/2005 06:38:00 PM

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