Tomorrow my daughter Olaf turns 16. I still cannot quote believe that "the miracle baby" has reached this landmark. I call her a miracle because she really should not have lived. 16 years ago her mother's preeclampsia got so bad that the doctors told us that Olaf was not growing so we had to extract her or face her certain death. Olaf emerged aged 26 weeks weighing 1lb and 4 oz. It was eight weeks before the doctors talked about when she would come home, not if. Folks around the country prayed for the miracle baby and she made it.
It was because of babies such as Olaf that the limit for abortions had been reduced from 28 weeks to 24 weeks. It was agreed that it was monstrous to fight to save 26 week Olaf in one room while killing a 26 week foetus down the corridor The fact that Olaf was viable at 26 weeks meant so was that foetus so abortion had become murder.
These days babies have survived at as little as 22 weeks. And so surely it would be reasonable to reduce the abortion limit from 24 to 22 weeks? Where is David Alton when you need him? But the Trades Union for the greedy doctors, the BMA has other ideas and has set out new demands at its annual conference.
The motion passed was dressed in the language of women's rights and called for the abortion limit to be increased to 28 weeks. At least that is a moderate proposal than that of the Royal College of Midwives which signed up to a campaign to decriminalise terminations all the way up to birth. RCM chief executive Cathy Warwick stated that “abortion is part of the role of the midwife”.
Polls show that most women are happy to sacrifice this "right". A 2017 ComRes survey showed only 1% wanted the limit increased from 24 weeks and indeed only 1% wanted abortion up to birth. 70% of women want the limit reduced.
Not only is an abortion of a foetus which is old enough to survive, clearly murder but that act also raises questions about whether the NHS should spend vast sums fighting for babies such as Olaf at 26 weeks. Surely the money spent on Olaf's birth and excellent care at UCH could have saved three or four other lives if redeployed? Well maybe it could. And if it is okay to murder a 26 week old foetus how soon before the "death panel", to use Sarah Palin's great phrase decides that fighting to save 26 week or 23 week foetus's is not a priority?
Just a smidgeon over half the foetus's that are saved at 22 weeks up to 28 weeks are women, albeit little women. The same is true of the foetuses that are murdered at 24 weeks when they could survive. These women have rights too.
Our society is driven by demands for "rights" for various groups of selfish adults. We are told there is: a right for the state to pay for remedying privately bought boob jobs for the vain which have gone wrong, a right for hugely expensive sex change therapy and a right to force the taxpayer to pay for pills allowing gays to have casual with reduced risk of resultant HIV infection (but a massive consequent increase in the spread of other STDs which the taxpayer has to pay to treat).
Anyone who argues against the "rights" of a minority to get whatever they want paid for by the money tree uis a bigot even if the case they makes is a logical one. But there is surely a greater right? That is the right of a viable entity not to be murdered.A right to life. So caught up in this PC madness are the greedy Shipmans and the nurses that they simply cannot see that.
For my daughter's first birthday I baked her a *Porter fruit cake. I had not tried the recipe until last weekend when I baked another and at Joshua's christening, in a brief interlude, we sang Happy Birthday to Olaf and she blew out the candles. The miracle baby is 16. She had a right to life and she has made such a wonderful use of it. She makes me proud every day and she is living proof of the evil that marches among us that has taken hold of the BMA, the destruction of values that really matter in a world where selfish demands are confused with human rights.
*A Darina Allen recioe where instead of milk you use Guinness or another black beer - trust me it is amazing!