As readers may be aware, Dr. Francis Collins, an Evangelical Christian, has been appointed by President Obama to head the National Institutes of Health. Dr. Collins does not hold views on the sanctity of human life which one would hope from a man who is known for being a devout Christian. For example, David Klinghoffer's article at Beliefnet notes that Dr. Collins:
considers [in a book he co-authored in 1998] a bioethical situation where a genetic counselor is discussing with a (married) mother, 8 weeks pregnant, whether to abort her child because there's a 7 to 8 percent chance the child will have a mild learning disability. Should the mother indicate an interest in aborting, Collins and his two co-authors commend to the counselor a stance of "respect for [patient] autonomy" and "nondirective counseling."
See "Francis Collins on Abortion: Obama's Pick for NIH and His "Devout" Views on Terminating Down Syndrome Children," available at http://blog.beliefnet.com/kingdomofpriests/2009/07/francis-collins-on-abortion.html.
Contrast this with the view that handicapped children are gifts from God to bless their parents expressed on the first hour of the July 13, 2009 episode of Catholic Answers, "Raising a Handicapped Child," available at http://www.catholic.com/audio/2009/mp3/ca090713a.mp3.
I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse. Therefore choose life, that you and your offspring may live, loving the Lord your God, obeying his voice and holding fast to him, for he is your life and length of days.
May God open the hearts of our people to love the children made in His image with which He so graciously blesses us and not to contemn the gifts of God.
Posts
1 comment:
My initial post had an incorrect link to the audio from Catholic Answers. I have now corrected it.
Post a Comment