What’s the Difference Between Abortion and Infanticide?
by Justin Dyer, Public Discourse:
Is an infant, marked for abortion but delivered alive, even in tragic circumstances, a person whom the law ought to protect?
Virginia Governor Ralph Northam offered a qualified defense of infanticide when commenting recently on a proposed bill that would loosen restrictions on late-term abortion in his state. If a mother were in labor and nonetheless elected abortion, Northam said,
I can tell you exactly what would happen. The infant would be delivered. The infant would be kept comfortable. The infant would be resuscitated if that’s what the mother and the family desired. And then a discussion would ensue between the physicians and the mother.
As the public conversation focused in on Northam’s comments, before they were quickly overshadowed by the discovery of a shockingly racist photo from his medical school yearbook page, the Governor’s office released a statement that third-trimester abortions always arise in
tragic or difficult circumstances, such as a nonviable pregnancy or in the event of severe fetal abnormalities, and the governor’s comments were limited to the actions physicians would take in the event that a woman in those circumstances went into labor.
The Governor’s clarifying statement inadvertently brought to the table this clarifying question: is an infant, marked for abortion but delivered alive, even in tragic circumstances, a person whom the law ought to protect? Grappling seriously with this question takes us very quickly to the heart of the debate over Roe v. Wade and its legacy today.
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