I watched some, not all, of a highly emotional video although I REALLY hate videos which try to manipulate my emotions which is why I didn’t watch it all and haven’t linked it.
It was a tale of abortion refused, and the year that followed. Stripped of emotional throbbing-voice content, the facts are pretty simple.
The couple had five children already. They had previous drugs and drink issues. Four – FOUR – of the children had already been taken by the state as they were judged unfit parents. She tried to get number six aborted for a very real health issue but was refused. Strike one.
That health issue - she’d fallen pregnant again when her earlier child was three months old. The embryo was embedded in the C-section scar from her last pregnancy which meant chances of carrying to term were non-existent. Chances of life-threatening complications, extreme. Not good enough reason for an abortion. Strike two.
Complications indeed but both mother and child survived emergency premature birth and the child went straight into an incubator. The closest hospital with suitable facilities was an hour away. Mother America dug deep to pay the mother the life-changing $14 a week paid to mums whose kids are in hospital at a distance, to spend as she wished.
The baby was discharged, still needing a feeding tube and specialized care, and did I mention quite severely retarded? on the first birthday of its older sister, presenting serious care issues. Too young and too disabled to be put into day-care facility, but here’s a little problem, both parents work, neither parent eligible for European-style parental leave or support. In fact, it seems the states refusing abortion ironically offer the least support to mothers of newborns. Some American logic for you. Strike three.
Well, I gave up on the video at that point. Even the American who had posted it didn’t seem to realize how shatteringly badly it reflects on you as a supposedly advanced country, it was posted as a heartwarming tale of courage in the face of adversity, to tug at the heartstrings. Aw.
I drew some conclusions, then deleted them. What's the point. Add your own if you feel a need. I do find that my interest in your Big Issues, now I've seen your ignored ones, is diddly squat.
There’s a blog at the moment mocking the way Europe tries to look after its own and hoping America doesn’t go that way. I deleted my comments on that too.