LIFE DIGEST: Alaska’s governor shows pro-life devotion, welcomes Down syndrome son
- Apr 28, 2008
Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin has put her pro-life beliefs into personal practice.
Palin, 44, gave birth to her fifth child April 18 in an act that is counter-cultural — her baby boy, Trig Paxson Van Palin, has Down syndrome. The prevalence of prenatal genetic testing and the reportedly hopeless portrait painted by many obstetricians have helped abortion become the default option in recent years for parents whose unborn children are diagnosed with the condition. It has been estimated as much as 90 percent of unborn babies detected with Down syndrome in the United States are aborted.
Palin and her husband, Todd, introduced Trig to reporters and photographers when she returned to work April 21. She acknowledged she was sad when testing early in her pregnancy showed her baby had Down syndrome.
“When we first heard, it was kind of confusing,” Palin told reporters, according to the Anchorage (Alaska) Daily News, adding the news was “very, very challenging.”
Todd and she moved beyond that, the governor said, adding they believe God has blessed and chosen them. She said Trig is “absolutely perfect” to them.
“It just feels like he fits perfectly,” she said. “He is supposed to be here with us.”
Palin emailed a letter to family members and close friends on the same day she gave birth, writing it as if it came from God and signing it: “Trig’s Creator, Your Heavenly Father.”
“Many people will express sympathy, but you don’t want or need that, because Trig will be a joy,” the letter said, according to the Daily News. “You have to trust me on this.
“Children are the most precious and promising ingredient in this mixed-up world you live in down there on Earth. Trig is no different, except he has one extra chromosome.”
Down syndrome normally results when a person has three copies, rather than two, of chromosome 21.
A pro-life advocate and a Republican, Palin was elected in 2006 as Alaska’s first female governor, as well as its youngest. She is breast feeding Trig and plans to take him to work with her, the Daily News reported.
“Her choice to value life in a very personal way speaks volumes and gives those of us in the pro-life community in Alaska cause to believe that we truly do have a pro-life leader in charge of our state,” Eagle Forum Alaska President Debbie Joslin told LifeNews.com. “When so many in our culture have chosen to devalue the lives of those who face special learning disabilities, Governor Palin shines as a great positive role model.”
Kansas governor vetoes abortion bill
Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius vetoed April 21 a bill that would have strengthened restrictions on second- and third-term abortions in a state that the measure’s sponsor called “the late-term abortion capital of America.”
The bill’s supporters are working to gain the two-thirds majority needed to override the veto. The Senate, however, fell short of that goal in passing the legislation by a 25-13 vote. The House of Representatives achieved the super-majority in an 84-40 vote for passage.
The Comprehensive Abortion Reform Act includes a provision that would permit a woman or family members to bring legal action against a doctor who they believe has performed or is prepared to perform an illegal, late-term abortion. It also mandates an abortion provider give a woman an opportunity to view an ultrasound image of her child before the procedure, requires the posting of a notice that a woman has a right not to be coerced into an abortion and clarifies the state’s parental involvement law.
The Democratic governor said she vetoed the Comprehensive Abortion Reform Act because she was concerned it is “likely unconstitutional or even worse, endangers the lives of women.”
Pro-lifers rejected her explanation.
“The truth is that she vetoed this reasonable abortion bill because she is unreasonably indebted to the Kansas abortion industry,” said Mary Kay Culp, executive director of Kansans for Life.
Rep. Lance Kinzer, the bill’s Republican sponsor, called the veto a “tragedy for women who will continue to be exploited by an industry that places profit above respect for human life.”
Kansas has become a primary destination for women seeking abortions late in pregnancy largely because of George Tiller, the country’s best known late-term abortion doctor. Tiller’s Wichita clinic, Women’s Health Care Services, advertises on its website it has “more experience in late abortion services over 24 weeks than anyone else currently practicing in the Western Hemisphere, Europe and Australia.”
Survey: Perceived lack of campus resources may lead to abortions
Female students on American college campuses appear unaware if there are services available to assist them during pregnancy and may choose abortion or dropping out of school as a result, according to a survey released April 23 and sponsored by Feminists for Life (FFL) and Students for Life of America.
“[B]asic resources often go unpublicized, and students remain unaware of the services available to them in the event they face an unplanned pregnancy,” according to a survey overview by FFL. “For these students, the perception that they have no resources or support is their reality.”
FFL President Serrin Foster said in a written statement, “A perceived lack of resources can drive pregnant women to abortion or result in parents dropping out [of] college to face a lifetime of poverty.”
Among its findings, the survey completed by 165 participants on 117 campuses showed:
— 77 percent of respondents did not know if a pregnancy would be covered by their student health plan, while 16 percent said it would not.
— 46 percent said housing is not available for parenting students, while 31 percent said they did not know.
— 68 percent did not know whether the childcare center on campus accepted infants.
— 50 percent said they did not know if there is a person or office to assist pregnant or parenting students, while 33 percent said there is not.
FFL recommended schools provide a “well-publicized central office or staff person to handle queries about pregnancy and parenting on campus.”
More Italian doctors refuse to do abortions
Italian doctors increasingly are refusing to perform abortions, according to an April 22 report by the government’s ministry of health.
Gynecologists in Italy who claim a “conscientious objection” to doing abortions grew from 58.7 percent in 2003 to 69.2 percent in 2007, Agence France-Presse reported. The 1978 law legalizing abortion in Italy included a conscience clause for doctors who had moral objections to performing the procedures, according to AFP.
The trend also appeared among anesthetists, although to a lesser extent. The percentage of anesthetists who declined to participate in abortion increased from 45.7 percent to 50.4 percent, AFP reported.
The number of abortions in Italy declined as well, falling from 131,018 in 2006 to 127,038 last year, according to AFP.
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