Source: The Enquirer
September 20, 2007 Author: JERRY LYON
We have all been moved by the tragic death of Cecilia Slaby. We are brought to tears at the thought of a 2-year-old, possibly waiting in extreme discomfort, but trusting that at any moment her mother would appear - continuing to trust, no doubt, until she passed out of consciousness, and then on to eternity.
Those thoughts have evoked a wide range of emotions among us. Toward Cecilia, from all us, sorrow. But toward Cecilia's mother, emotions that have varied greatly.
For me, personally, it is sympathy. A dedicated, caring professional educator, she was consumed by the needs of so many from the moment she arrived at work. Caught up in the demands of a job, I have made similar errors and disappointed those who loved and depended on me, but with less tragic outcomes.
What amazes and angers me is the lack of emotion evoked by the fact that on that very same day - and every other day - hundreds of even younger children lost their lives not due to the unconscious neglect of their mothers, but conscious decisions to end their lives.
And the reasons those mothers casually give for ending the lives of their offspring sound so very much like the reasons attributed by the angry and outraged to Cecilia's mother. Many of those mothers decided to end those lives because caring for them would interfere with their careers, or their financial goals, or other selfish interests.
Like Cecilia, all those unborn children lived in complete dependence and trust in their mothers. Unlike Cecilia's mother, though, these mothers made a calculated decision to end those lives
How can we continue to turn our backs on all those precious, unborn children? How can we not strive to change the law to make these intentional killings criminal? Where is the grief, the anger, the outrage?
Jerry Lyon of Sharonville is a retired owner of a specialty retail store who is vice president of operations for Citizens for Community Values.
