Tragic death of mother and child points to unnoticed daily tragedy
Posted by Jack Francis on 16 March 2012
A man in the UK has recently been convicted of murder, rape, child destruction and arson after murdering a pregnant teenager two weeks before she was due to give birth.
Mr Carl Whant has been jailed for 35 years for the murder of Nikita Grender and her unborn child.
This is a tragic story and it is difficult to imagine the grief currently being experienced by the victim's family.
But this story also points to the ongoing and largely unnoticed tragedy which occurs every day throughout Britain. In Britain abortion is allowed up to birth under the Abortion Act as amended in 1990. Mr Whant has been convicted of child destruction under the Infant Life Preservation Act 1929, which forbids the destruction of a child capable of being born alive. Until 1990 the abortion of a child deemed capable of being born alive was unlawful under statute law.
The Infant Life Preservation Act 1929 specified 28 weeks and above as a guide (only) for when a child could be deemed capable of being born alive. This 28-week guide was also used as a guide (only) when the Abortion Act 1967 was drafted. In 1990, however, an amendment was passed which severed the link between the Infant Life Preservation Act 1929 and the Abortion Act 1967. The effect was to allow abortion up to birth.
If a paid professional kills a child capable of being born alive, for example one day before birth, in an abortion procedure then our society accepts this as the legitimate choice of the mother and the abortionist. Dr Patricia Lohr, Bpas' chief abortionist, says that performing such a procedure is "extremely gratifying".
But if someone intentionally kills a woman carrying a child capable of being born alive then they will face two separate charges: murder and child destruction. The two separate charges correspond to the intentional killing of the two distinct individuals: the mother and the child.
Acceptance of abortion has put the British legal system into a disastrous muddle. That law and the abortion-culture which has swept Britain in the past 45 years has managed to confuse many people and harden their hearts and their consciences to the plight of our unborn brothers and sisters. But it hasn't managed to eliminate the truth that life begins at conception, and on some level everyone still knows that.