Abortion does not ease pain; it causes it. As president of Missouri Right to Life, I was inundated with calls from concerned families who read the op-ed “Pro whose life?” (Aug. 23). The writer, Dr. Steven Rothman, indicated that some lives have more value than others and those with less value should be considered for abortion.
One of those who contacted me was John Foppe, saying, “This doctor basically says that people with disabilities are a burden to society.” Foppe, executive director of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul, leads 3,000 St. Louis-area volunteers in service to the poor and needy — including the disabled.
Foppe has a unique perspective on the disabled. He was born without arms. He said that he was born just before the landmark Supreme Court decision Roe v. Wade that legalized abortion in the United States. He said, had he been born a few years later, there would have been a clamor among some doctors to abort him on the premise that his condition, as Dr. Rothman wrote, would “interfere with most childhood activities” and be “incompatible with a normal childhood.”
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By Dr. Rothman’s description, Foppe did not have a “normal” childhood. Yet, he has traveled the world speaking about his condition, inspiring people across the globe with his compelling story of overcoming adversity.
Dr. Rothman also wrote that an Iowa law would be “especially cruel to the woman compelled to give birth to children with serious disabilities, and to their other children as well.” Ask Foppe’s parents and brothers if they had been treated cruelly because of his birth and life. They’ll tell you a story of love and inspiration. What a great loss we would have experienced if Foppe had been aborted for not being “normal.”
I received a copy of the op-ed with a handwritten letter from Jim Nolan. Nolan wrote, “Yesterday we watched our 2 little grandchildren, Danny and Mia. Danny is autistic. If Dr. Rothman had talked to my son and his wife before Danny was born ... who knows? Rothman is telling people the child more or less is worthless if not perfect. Well, let me tell you, nobody is perfect. Mary Ellen and I love Danny!”
Pete Daub talked to me about his incredible daughter Rose — the light of his life. Rose has Down syndrome. Dr. Rothman’s writings reflect the same stance as the country of Iceland, when they declared to the world that they have eradicated Down syndrome in their country. No, they have not eradicated Down syndrome; they have killed every child in the womb diagnosed with Down syndrome. Rose may not be perfect in the eyes of Dr. Rothman and the country of Iceland, but she is a loving, incredible joy in the Daub family.
On a personal level, 16 years ago, my daughter Beth gave birth to our granddaughter Rachel. Rachel was diagnosed in the seventh month of gestation with hypoplastic left heart syndrome. The prognosis was grim. Rachel was scheduled to have surgery immediately after birth to rewire her heart. There was a possibility she would not make it through the surgery. If she did, she would probably have to have a heart transplant by her first birthday.
Beth’s doctor told her that abortion was an option. Beth said, “That’s my child you’re talking about. You are no longer my doctor.” Rachel was born — perfectly healthy. The doctor was wrong. Based on his urging, the doctor would have aborted a perfectly healthy little girl. He would have aborted my beautiful granddaughter. How many Rachel’s have been aborted because of misdiagnosis?
Dr. Rothman indicated that abortion is a compassionate answer to a difficult pregnancy. Let us never forget as we blithely talk, as he did, about “terminating a pregnancy” we are talking about poisoning, suffocating and dismembering innocent, living human beings because they aren’t perfect. That’s not compassion, that’s hideous.
Imagine a world without people like Rachel, Rose, Danny and John Foppe. What kind of a world have we become when these precious, beautiful, “imperfect” people are expendable?
Steve Rupp is president of Missouri Right to Life.
