Nature is a harsh judge

Mary Magdalen has a link to an extract from a documentary on the demographic crisis facing the western world. Fr Blake expresses a certain degree of anxiety about such videos because of the possible racialist agenda (not enough of us, way too many of you in a manner of speaking) of these documentaries, but I am not sure this is what the video is attempting to convey.

In any case, as one message in the combox stated rather ominously:

Fr Ray, as the (immigrant) mother of two babies and counting, I would agree that economic policies make it very hard for families in this country but that is not the real issue, it is the social expectation that 'two children are enough' and that babies are a burden who cramp your lifestyle. I come across this attitude among Christians all the time, including among 'orthodox' Catholics.

My children are mixed race and I have no time whatsoever for people who moan about shrinking indigenous populations when those populations themselves are contracepting and aborting themselves out of existence. God is merciful, nature is harsh.

In a muddle about the 'right' to die

The BBC website carries a characteristically confused article about what it describes as a 'right to die' case involving a thirteen-year-old girl. Hannah Jones suffered from childhood leukaemia and the drugs she has had to take from the age of five have weakened her heart, leaving her terminally ill. She has refused a heart transplant which may or may not be successful and even if successful would require medication for the rest of her life. She has shown herself to be competent to make such a decision and has convinced the authorities that she is not being coerced by anyone else into refusing treatment.

Contrary to media reports, this case has nothing to do with euthanasia. It can be perfectly ethical for a person to refuse burdensome treatment and this appears to be what Hannah is asking: that she be allowed to live out the rest of her life at home and to be spared invasive treatment that offers only a limited prospect of success. She has in many way made a courageous decision and it should be respected, but it should be seen for what it is - a decision to refuse treatment, not a desire to die.

An abortion survivor speaks

Melissa Ohden's extraordinary story, captured here on video, echoes that of Gianna Jessen, the abortion survivor publicly attacked by Barack Obama for exposing his record on infant protection legislation. Like Gianna, Melissa's teenage mother underwent a late-term saline abortion but Melissa was born alive and astonished doctors by surviving. She describes the procedure and her subsequent adoption by a loving couple. Particularly moving is her description of the moment her adoptive mother had to tell her the truth about her origins.

God save Spain's Pro-Life Queen!

I would never have described myself as a monarchist, but I have to admire the courage and highly-principled stand of the Queen of Spain, Doña Sofia Margarita Victoria Frederica, on the life issues. A new book based on interviews with her has caused a stir in her country after she expressed her opposition to abortion and euthanasia.

In her own words:

"It is necessary to respect every living child, every child that has begun to live. And to be in favor of life is not backward, nor is it something confined to Christianity. It is to follow the natural law."

Of death with dignity she adds:

"Life and death are not in our hands. Death with dignity? I'm completely in agreement. Those who are in agony should be in better conditions, these are their final moments. For humanity's sake, they should have the pain taken away, and for that there are sedatives, palliatives. I don't think that any doctor, any nurse, any health worker, should be willing to kill someone, even if it is requested or it is required by the hospital."

Official: lighted matches have a tendency to start fires

Here is a shocking piece of news. Researchers have discovered that if young people are constantly being exposed to images of attractive people burning houses down and playing with matches, if these programmes contain the strong message that being an arsonist is 'cool', 'grown-up' and involves no serious risk of injury or loss to anyone, young people are much more likely to start fires. The media cannot understand why this should be the case. The Government and their faithful agencies are equally baffled as to why handing teenagers boxes of matches as well as promoting the message that arson is a good idea, appears to be aiding and abetting this problem. Indeed, they doubt this is really the case. Teenagers are, by their very nature, prone to starting fires and it is far better if they are taught to do so in an open, responsible, adult....[cont. page 98]

I can't be the only person who choked on their morning cornflakes, having it solemnly announced to me via the radio news that explicit television programmes portraying sex as a glamorous recreational activity devoid of any negative consequences are increasing the teenage pregnancy rate. Good heavens, really? Can't think why that should happen.

Predictably, the give-toddlers-condoms brigade are using this latest piece of research to argue in favour of exposing children to yet more sexually explicit material (in the classroom not on the television so that's all right then). Society needs to wake up and take responsibility for this moral crisis before any more young people are sucked into a pattern of behaviour that causes such physical, mental and emotional suffering, whether or not a pregnancy occurs.