The majority of the American Medical Association’s House of Delegates
place a possible pregnancy in about the same health category as a mild case
of the sniffles or heartburn.
The majority of the American Medical Association’s House of Delegates
place a possible pregnancy in about the same health category as a mild case
of the sniffles or heartburn.
Earlier this month, the AMA delegates asked the federal Food and Drug Administration
to consider making “emergency contraception” available over the counter.
These medicines are taken within 72 hours after sexual intercourse and again
in another 12 hours. They are commonly referred to as “morning after”
pills and are about 75 percent effective in preventing implantation of a fertilized
egg, or embryo, into the uterine lining, thus aborting the pregnancy.
Apparently, the AMA delegates want to make buying medicines that would abort
a pregnancy as accessible as aspirin, antacids or nose spray. Anyone able to
buy aspirin could buy the pills necessary to abort a pregnancy. Making available
over the counter the medicines necessary to abort a pregnancy would mean there
would be no restrictions on who purchases them.
The AMA representatives seem to think that medical judgments should be made
based solely on the physical safety of the patient. But physical safety of a
patient is not the only consideration, and may not be the primary consideration.
There are those who argue that pregnancy only begins after the egg or embryo
is implanted in the uterine lining and the drugs prevent that from occurring.
They argue that keeping the egg from the lining is not even an abortion. But,
a far better concept of human life and pregnancy is that when an egg becomes
fertilized, it becomes a separate, individual, independent form of life that
is uniquely human and should be considered as such in all deliberations.
The AMA delegates’ action reflects a lack of appreciation and reverence
for the full process of human life. It is as though they are saying, “If
you stop the developing egg or embryo before such and such a point, there is
nothing beyond the act itself to consider.”
The AMA delegates’ attitude reflects what is far too often that of much
of society as it looks at humans and human life as increasingly disposable.
Much of our society judges the value of other human beings only in terms of
“what he/she can do for me.” People enter relationships for totally
selfish purposes. “As long as the other person meets my needs, I value
that person. When that person stops meeting my needs, I have no need for him/her.
As far as I am concerned, it is time to move onto a relationship that does meet
my needs.”
This attitude seems prevalent in romantic, marital, family, business, social
and even church relationships.
Obviously, when a “this is valuable to me only as it meets my needs”
attitude dominates, a sense of responsibility goes out the window and total
selfishness dominates. Little matters except what matters to the person.
When people are treated as disposable, they can begin to see themselves as
disposable, and they treat themselves as disposable. The results are depression,
a lack of a sense of value, low self-worth and self-destructive actions.
The concept of the value of human life is like a rare crystal vase. Any chink,
any damage, any discoloration at any point on the vase decreases the value of
the overall piece.
Human life is to be highly valued at all phases and points–at its conception
and its death. It cannot be treated as unimportant at one point and highly valued
at another–it is a unit.
Someday, perhaps society as a whole will realize that every time any human
life is devalued, all human life loses value. When medicine meant to interrupt
a pregnancy is sold over the counter like aspirin and antacids, all human life
becomes more vulnerable to convenience.