I'm constantly amazed at just how much has changed in our world since the days of my childhood. I say this because, not so long ago I turned on my car radio and caught a snippet of 'Women's Hour'. Now I remember that as a 4 year old each afternoon after having, 'Listened with Mother', the next radio programme was usually, 'Women's Hour', when the latest fashions, flower arranging, baking recipes and the like were discussed. But on this occasion when turning on my radio in 2022 I heard a term used which would have my mother turning in her grave... 'sex toys' ...I could hardly believe it.
TABOO SUBJECT
But then, it seems as though there's no such thing as a taboo subject nowadays as far as media people are concerned. After all, what delights are the TV bosses treating us to at present? Well there are programmes with such intriguingly attractive titles as, 'In the ambulance', and '24 hours in A & E' , or we can always watch 'The Pimple Popper' squeezing some nauseating pus out of the lumps on some poor soul's anatomy. Yes, what edifying entertainment... NOT! Yet there is one subject that seems still to be 'beyond the pale' for public TV consumption and that is... Abortion. And I was interested to see that columnist Peter Hitchens had picked up on this issue recently...
'Abortion is the only event that modern liberals find too violent or obscene to play on TV. This is not because they are squeamish or prudish. It is because if people knew what abortion really looks like, it would destroy their pretence that abortion is a civilised answer to the problem of what to do about unwanted babies.'
By and large, Christians believe that human life begins at the point of conception, and not only when a baby's life is considered 'viable'. After all, not all that long ago 'viability' was around 30 weeks, but over more recent years this has been steadily reducing due to the wonders of medical science. Sadly, it seems to be widely accepted that human life is much more 'human' post-born, than pre-born. And so long as we call the person in question a 'foetus' and not a baby, we can feel much better about putting them to death.
Yet is it not an horrific absurdity to see paediatric surgeons fighting to save the life of a tiny premature baby, whilst in the same hospital there are those tearing apart the tiny body of a perfectly healthily developing baby and their placenta... and, in a growing number of cases, for no better reason than social convenience! Yes, I really have seen this happen in my social work days. On the other hand, it can be heart-breaking to see the parents of a miscarried or stillborn child treat their tiny bodies so tenderly... so gently... so carefully... so lovingly... not only giving them a name but also a properly dignified funeral.
ULTIMATE CHALLENGE
So, surely we must ask ourselves, since when did the Lord God Almighty, give us the right to kill the children He has entrusted to us, whether born or unborn? On the other hand, no matter our circumstances we should all be ready and willing to say with gratitude to Him...
'...you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb.
...I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful.'
Psalm 139:13-14
In the light of this, how about all those who support abortion – believing it's a 'Woman's right to choose', and 'Abortion on Demand' are morally defensible positions - pressuring the media chiefs to bring to our TV screens the brutal, gruesome reality of what's actually involved in the performance of an abortion. In fact, let me suggest that in addition to, 'One Born every Minute' they could call such a series, 'One Killed every Minute' and then let's see if we can look ourselves in the mirror and still consider ourselves a civilised country!
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