The headline was intended to provoke a response: After-birth abortion: why should the baby live?
It worked.
And it is a trap for those who stand against such evil.
Obviously, real evil like this must be called out for what it is. But when we do so, we actually grant the writers greater standing and credibility in the world than they deserve. And they will be heros, to some, for their “courageous” academic work given the hundreds of angry blog postings and commentaries that already exist.
If we ignore it, the culture continues down a heart-hardening slope where the language concerning the destruction of the most vulnerable becomes normalized. Evil behavior can then follow behind this language.
So, if it isn’t wise to ignore it, and it isn’t helpful to call it out, what should we do?
Here’s my suggestion: Call it what it is, and then dismiss it. Be persistent in helping people see how evil this thinking is, and also how old it is. Strip it of its power to incite rage and let them run into a wall of determined, eternal, protective regard for the weakest among us.
The idea they propose isn’t really even clever or edgy. For example, their promoting a new term for infanticide – ‘after-birth abortion’ – might be perceived as clever, but it certainly isn’t ground-breaking. And including typically-developing babies as candidates for murder appears shocking, but healthy babies are being birthed and then killed, if they happen to be girls, in some parts of the world today.
No, this isn’t new.
I don’t fault Dr. Giubilini and Dr. Minerva for being ambitious. Both are young scholars with very little published to this point in their careers and it is hard to get noticed.
But this is a horrible way for them to begin their academic careers. Let us pray for them – really pray – that God would call them away from such thinking and that they would use their talents for much more positive, life-giving and God-centered purposes.
Someday God’s wrath against the evil behind this article will be set aside because they cling to Jesus and his righteousness, or they will be held personally responsible for it and face God’s wrath themselves. That choice is easy, but only if they are granted eyes to see it.
And wouldn’t the world be shocked if that were to happen!
The Works of God 
I heard an interview with both authors on a local radio station today. It was horrifying! My two children that heard parts of it could not believe it was true. Here is a link to the podcast: http://www.whoradio.com/player/?mid=21865887&station=WHO-AM&program_id=simonconway.xml&program_name=podcast The interview starts at about 12:45. Their verbal gymnastics are also not new, reminding me of many conversations I had while manning a pro-life table at the University of Minnesota twenty-some years ago. Thank you for bringing this paper to light.
[…] Comments « This evil appears new. It is not. […]
[…] care to respond with grace when responding to articles such as this one. John Knight made the point in his blog post that we shouldn’t grant the authors greater credibility through the nature of our response. […]
[…] John Knight (www.theworksofGod.com) stands on the wall and warns the world of murder by other names, let Eric Metaxas do the same with the story of Hitler’s slaughter of the […]
[…] John Knight (www.theworksofGod.com) stands on the wall and warns the world of murder by other names, let Eric Metaxas do the same with the story of Hitler’s slaughter of the […]
Now, I may be wrong about this so please don’t jump all over me. But isn’t this woman making a logical case against abortion here? I mean if I, a pro-life supporter, were to play devils advocate in a debate with an anti-life supporter couldn’t I ask the same question? “Well since you believe that babies still in the womb should be killed when unwanted, shouldn’t we also kill them after their born?”
It seems to me that’s what this lady is trying to say. If you’re for abortion of unwanted babies, why aren’t you for murder of full term babies? What’s the difference?
In that case, I can see why she’s saying what she’s saying. Maybe this is actually a pro-life argument?
[…] John Knight pointed out: This evil appears new. It […]