Re: Traditional Tribal Killing Of Disabled Babies Should Be Respected, Says Anthropology Professor

Cross posting removed.

On 7/6/07 6:44 AM,"Sound of Trumpet" <soundoftrumpet@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1860904/posts


Anthropology Professor says Tribal Killing of Disabled Babies Should
be Respected

--snip

In an address to the President and Brazilian Congress this March, Mr.
Henry Afonso defended the law, saying, "The practice of infanticide is
not justified, however much anthropologists wish to defend tradition
and cultural practices of certain peoples. The number of sacrificed
children per year in this country is far from few; victims of a
cultural practice that many times is more important than the most
fundamental human instinct: Preserving life itself."


So, in our country we allow mothers to terminate unwanted pregnancies before
birth without even knowing or asking whether the babies would have any
handicaps. These people likely don't have that option so they terminate
unwanted babies after they are born and deemed to be defective.

Why are we so shocked and offended by this? And I would suggest that
anyone who IS shocked and offended by this be prepared to adopt the next
half dozen unwanted babies born in the Brazilian jungle regardless of their
handicaps or deformities. There are millions of babies all over the world
who are sick, dying, uncared for with no hope for any kind of life. Why
would anyone presume to insist that we bring more unwanted children into the
world?

And to state that "preserving life itself" is the most fundamental "human
instinct" is to say that any culture that allows infanticide, along with
those that allow abortion (regardless of whether because of rape, incest,
mother's health, handicapped child, or just mother's unwillingness to have a
baby), euthanasia, or capitol punishment is made up of non-humans.

.