Viable Babies
By Joanne Byfield

Three news stories in the past month have collided to point out the utter incoherence we display in this country over babies and birth. There is no official connection between the stories but many have noticed the contradictions and some have even written letters to the editor to make the point.

In mid-August, Edmonton police arrested a 22-year-old woman after they found a dead two-day-old baby at the home of the woman’s parents. N.A. had told no one, not even the baby’s father, that she was pregnant, and had denied she was when families members asked. She’d already had one child and given it up for adoption, a decision she found “hard”, according to a friend, and she “talked about it a lot.”

In early September, a 15-year-old Calgary girl returned home from school and went to her bedroom. Her single mom was at work and her two younger siblings were downstairs watching TV. The girl, who cannot be identified because of her age, gave birth to a son and stayed in her room with the baby for two hours. Then she wrapped him in a plastic bag and put him in the garbage can at the curb for pickup the next day. A passerby heard the baby’s cries and took him to a neighbouring house and called 9-1-1. The baby is fine and in the care of social services. The teen mom and her mother want custody of the baby. The teen also told no one she was pregnant.

The third story appeared just this past week. Several provincial governments in Canada use taxpayers money to send women to the U.S. for late-term abortions. “Late-term” is defined in some provinces as over 24 weeks gestation, in others, over 20 weeks. The governments of Quebec and Ontario say they hope to find home-grown doctors to do these abortions. It costs about $5000 for these abortions (and I’m sure that doesn’t include travel and accommodation which we undoubtedly cover too). Having them available in Canada would save so much cash and be easier on the women.

Or would it? How easy can it be to enter a clinic, lie down on the table and wait for the “doctor” to rip your baby limb from limb, crush its skull and suck the remaining “products of conception” out of your womb? This is a baby who has moved within your body, whose kicks and churning have astonished you with their strength and patterns. For those who like to define humanity based on “viability,” this is precisely the population we are talking about. These are “viable” babies.

How is it that we are shocked and appalled when a mom leaves her newborn baby to die? Why do we immediately send them for psychiatric assessments to determine what deep-seated pathology has pushed them to this inhuman act? If only they had made the decision a month earlier, we could have sent them, tax-free, to the U.S. for a “medical procedure” and they wouldn’t now be looking at pre-trial detention, a court hearing and possibly a jail term. Jail rarely happens, of course, because killing your baby, or leaving it to die, is considered so horrific, the mom cannot be held responsible for her behaviour. It is clearly a severe psychiatric problem. But paying a doctor to do the job is not.
The question that stymies me is this: Why didn’t these two women have abortions?

It is impossible to live in this society, especially in urban areas and not be aware of abortion and how easy it is to have one. Both Edmonton and Calgary, where these women lived, have free-standing abortion clinics, paid for by taxpayers, and no parental consent is required to have an abortion.

I know nothing about either of these women or their situations, beyond what has been in the newspapers. But I do try to imagine what they thought as they progressed through their pregnancies. I know what the pro-aborts would say. They’d point to judgmental anti-choicers like me for scaring them away from abortion.

Except there aren’t many Canadians who are judgmental anti-choicers. Most people prefer to ignore the subject entirely and our media virtually censors the pro-life message.

I think that both these women feared exactly the opposite. They would be pressured to abort. “You’re too young.” “You’re single.” “You have your whole life ahead of you.” “Don’t wreck your life by trying to raise a child.” “Children shouldn’t raise children.” “Have an abortion and no one will ever know. Your little problem will be solved.” It’s almost impossible for a scared, alone, and embarrassed young woman to resist the pressure.

It’s easier to keep quiet and avoid facing the difficult decision of what to do. Nicole Anderwald had already been there once. She chose to give up her baby for adoption. She couldn’t do it again. That is absolutely consistent with polls. Women in crisis pregnancies often say they’d rather abort than give up their baby for adoption. They can’t imagine doing that to their child.

The Calgary girl spent two hours in her room with her baby after it was born. It seems so strange and yet I can recall weeping when my first child was born. It wasn’t from pain (I didn’t have any). It was with sheer astonishment and wonder that this perfectly-formed, unbelievably big, and alive human being had emerged from my body. I was quite simply overwhelmed by the experience.

I imagine that this young girl had a similar experience and then the reality set in. For whatever reason – immaturity, post-partum hormones, or family situation – she couldn’t fathom a solution to her problem. Maybe she hoped someone would find her baby. Several days after she abandoned him, she visited her son in the hospital for half an hour and held his tiny hand.

It seems so utterly contradictory. She stuffed him in the garbage and two days later she’s cuddling him. It strikes me that she’s perfectly reflecting the message endorsed by our culture and supported by our laws and policies. Babies are great when we want them. When we don’t, they are expendable.

I’m glad these women did not abort their babies and sorry that one died. I’m even sorrier that no one – not the families, nor the “caring” professionals, nor the religious and pro-life communities – were there for these young women. We all share the blame and we should seek a solution to ensure someone is there to help the next young, scared, pregnant woman and her miraculous baby.

Joanne Byfield is president-elect of LifeCanada and its Alberta rep. This article appears on Alberta Pro-Life’s website, www.albertaprolife.com, and reprinted with permission.