Just A Matter of One's Conscience?

By chance, I happened upon Jim V’s post, Cheap Life, at Christian thoughts. He had been watching ABC’s Nightline one Wednesday night during the hearings for nominee Judge Alito. Nightline had thought it appropriate to interview an abortion doctor from Arkansas, in light of the thoughts that the liberals are afraid that the demise of Roe vs. Wade hangs in the balance with his confirmation. So, I went searching for something on this doctor, Dr. William Harrison, from Fayetteville, Arkansas.

It stuns me that a doctor, who takes an oath, upholding the sanctity of life, can turn around and try and legitimize the killing of unborn, innocent babies.

I found this bit of information, while surfing for the Hippocratic Oath. It is from questions and answers put to doctors.

Only three paragraphs (3, 4, and 7) apply in any serious fashion to what most physicians and laypeople would expect to be the content of a solemn oath at medical school graduation. The first of these suggests giving good advice on diet and keeping patients from harm. The second prohibits both euthanasia and abortion. The third promises patient confidentiality.

Now giving good dietary advice is certainly laudable, but it hardly expresses a comprehensive commitment to provide knowledgeable treatment of all sorts, without performing a sort of biblical exegesis. Keeping patients from harm, by contrast, is a critical concept to any relevant medical oath, as is the confidentiality of patient information. However, many physicians are fully supportive of abortions, and some physicians are sympathetic to aiding in euthanasia for terminally ill patients precisely to "keep them from harm."

To summarize the operational part of the Hippocratic oath, then, all physicians would swear to (1) give good dietary advice, (2) keep the patient from harm, and (3) maintain confidentiality; would probably swear (4) to abjure euthanasia; and might swear (5) to abjure abortion.

Yes, here this 70 year old doctor from Arkansas has been giving abortions for almost all his career, starting in the 1960’s. He has performed over 10,000 abortions (think of the people he has killed!), and proud of it. He says he has helped all these women to become ‘born again’ and ‘regain their lives’ after aborting their unborn child. What he doesn’t tell you is that he probably isn’t there to help the young woman through all the problems she has as a result of the abortion. You cannot tell me, a Mother, that aborting your child you’ve carried in your womb is not a traumatic experience. I’ve seen women, who have had a miscarriage, carry the heartbreak throughout their lifetime. It never leaves. So, why would aborting a child be any different?

And he remains entirely unambiguous when it comes to the fundamental issues at stake when considering to terminate a pregnancy.

"I consider the mother's life to be much more important than that little blob of tissue, and that's all it is at that time," he said.

I challenged him on this point, saying that this little blob to which he refers has by 20 days a beating heart and by 40 days a brain that's directing the functions of all the major organs.

The doctor conceded to me that all of that is true — and that he's comfortable with killing this notion of life.

The term ‘The Abortionist of Arkansas’ truly fits this doctor, and, according to ABC’s report, neither he nor his patients are ashamed of that title. I wonder how God looks upon these events.

Tags| ABC, Nightline, Abortion, Abortionist, Conscience, Doctor, HippocraticOath, Arkansas, Roevs.Wade, JudgeAlito