Posted by
Brett on Saturday, November 04, 2006 4:03:04 AM
My wife told me about the Oprah show today regarding a woman who is now
serving jail time for the murder of her baby when she was 15. In short,
her story goes as follows. When Jessica was 15, she became pregnant but
hid the pregnancy. After giving birth to the baby in the upstairs
bathroom of her house she put the baby in the closet. After eating
dinner she went back upstairs and stabbed the baby because she thought
he might be in pain and wanted to put an end to that pain. Her
boyfriend and she decided to put the baby in a bag and throw him in a
quarry. The baby was found six months later but they didn't know she
did it. After a while evidence came out that led to her arrest and
conviction. She is now serving a six year sentence for the murder of
her baby. People who watched Oprah are outraged by the leniency of this
sentence but I take a different look at it.
We live in a
society that, for the past 30 years or so, does not care about unborn
life. We teach our kids that they should do whatever feels good. Sex is
something they are going to have so be safe. There is no such thing as
absolute right or wrong. Life does not begin at conception but when the
mother decides she wants that blob of tissue thus turning from a
lifeless mass to a precious baby.
The family has no value
anymore because we have destroyed the sanctity of marriage. These kids
are being raised with no values and no structure. I do not know about
the specifics of Jessica Coleman but she has grown up in this society.
While I personally believe that what she did is heinous and mind
blowing, I look at it from the lens of the Bible where life is sacred.
Our society does not value life and has made abortion legal up to
almost any point before birth if the mother's health, including mental
and emotional health, is "in danger". There are many people in this
country who see no problem with delivering a "fetus" feet first to the
neck, shoving a scissors into the base of "its" skull, and sucking out
"its" brain before pulling "it" all the way out. This is not murder
because a doctor at an abortion clinic did the "procedure".
Why
is what Jessica did any worse? I don't really see the difference. She
didn't want this baby. He would have been a burden on her. This was a
time in her life when raising a child would have been hard and maybe
even an embarrassment. She was the mother and it was her body so she
had the right to do with her body as she pleased. Sure she could have
had an abortion but maybe she was scared. She could have done many
things but she made a choice, and I thought being "pro-choice" was what
we were teaching our kids. Fifteen year olds do not have a propensity
for making wise choices but she made a choice nonetheless. Instead of
having an abortion doctor suck out her baby for her, she delivered her
baby, shoved him into a duffel bag and tossed him into a quarry.
According
to the intent of our law, why should she be judged for murdering a part
of her own body, a lifeless and unwanted fetus? Aren't young girls told
that life begins when the mother decides? That there isn't such thing
as right or wrong, only what you determine is right or wrong for
yourself?
Just to reiterate, what Jessica did was terrible and
was murder but that is looking at it from a Biblical perspective. What
matters here is American law because once again, I see incredible
inconsistencies and hypocrisies. A fetus is a baby if a mother gets
shot while pregnant but not if she willingly sucks it out in a clinic.
A fetus is a baby when a woman wants him/her and a doctor must remove
him/her via c-section but not if she secretly delivers in a bathroom
and throw him/her into a quarry. Our society is so screwed up and I
have tremendous sympathy for this woman.
I read the message
board on oprah.com and so many people expressed outrage towards Jessica
and claimed that they have no sympathy for her. I would love to hear
their position on abortion. It wouldn't shock me if they were
"pro-choice". The difference here is that the baby was put into a
duffel bag and thrown into a quarry rather than tossed into a red
biohazzard bag like the aborted babies.
What is the right
thing to do to Jessica? Should she have received a stiffer penalty? I
really don't know. You would have a hard time convincing me that what
she did was any worse than what happens on a daily basis in this
country. I honestly cannot say what the appropriate punishment for
Jessica is. Our country is so messed up on this issue that nothing
makes sense anymore.
I teach fifteen year olds and they make
stupid decision all the time when left to themselves. The fact that
they are lied to every day of their lives by television, movies, music,
teachers, parents, and politicians does not help their already poor
decision making. Where is Oprah's outrage with the liberal politicians
and judges who have made abortion legal? Where is Oprah's outrage with
actors and actresses who promote sex and abortion on screen? Where is
Oprah's outrage with musicians who glorify promiscuity through their
music.
I believe in personal responsibility as strongly as
anyone, but I have to have sympathy and compassion for anyone in
Jessica's situation because of the mess our country is in and the lies
they hear. If a fetus is granted the choice of life, I pray that they
meet our Loving Lord and Savior as early as possible, otherwise there
will be many more stories like Jessica's appearing on the Oprah show.