Last month pro-life group Live Action had an investigator film at a Planned Parenthood clinic in Austin, Texas while she posed as a pregnant mother seeking advice on how to abort her child if the baby was a girl. The Planned Parenthood worker advised her to lie to an OB/GYN, use Medicaid to obtain an ultrasound, and then schedule a late-term (after 20 week) abortion if the child was a boy.
Lila Rose, founder of Live Action, rightly called this “a horrific disregard for human life”.
While many now balk at the idea of gender-based abortions (still legal in 46 states), within a few years a new type of DNA testing may mean parents can find more “reasons” to kill their babies.
The New York Times reports that researchers at the University of Washington have developed a method to discover almost the complete DNA blueprint of a child months before they are born without invasive or dangerous testing.
“Use of the approach could lead to an increase in abortions because some parents might terminate the pregnancy if the fetus was found to have a genetic disease. But it is also possible that parents may be tempted to terminate if the fetus lacked a favorable trait like athletic prowess,” writes Andrew Pollack.
Abortions are already frequently performed (and even recommended by doctors) when babies test positive for Down syndrome or other disabilities. This new mapping would enlarge the number of genetic diseases doctors can test for, and would also show other genetic traits of the child– something that could allow abortions based on parental preferences for things like eye color and body type.
We like to think of things like gender- and trait-based killings as problems belonging to other cultures or past regimes (China’s one child policy, or Nazis euthanizing mentally or physically handicapped children). Those who do not take heed of history are doomed to repeat it. This is a fallen world. The video of the woman’s experience at Planned Parenthood (an organization funded in part by federal dollars) shows America is not immune to such horrors.
We must keep fighting for all life. Millions’ future depends on it.
See Live Action’s video of the clinic and Fox News’ coverage of the investigation