Plight of ‘Baby Doe’

By Jerry Falwell

My good friend Mathew Staver, founder of the Orlando, Fla.-based Liberty Counsel, has been on a legal roller coaster this week, attempting to save the life of an unborn child in the state.

In the case of Baby Doe, Mr. Staver and his team worked valiantly to save the unborn child. And for a brief moment, it appeared they had been successful. Judge Arthur Rothenberg had ruled Wednesday night to have physicians at Jackson Memorial Hospital perform a live birth, canceling the hysterotomy abortion that was scheduled for Thursday morning.

However, the judge changed his mind and directed the abortion to be carried out.

Mat Staver utilized this case to draw attention to the emergent culture of death that is gripping our nation.

Following the abortion, he said, “The death of Baby Doe highlights the tragedy of abortion. Here we have a case where the OB/GYN physicians specializing in high-risk pregnancy stated that the baby was developing normally and there was no reason to terminate the pregnancy. But, when you place these facts in the context of a ‘disposable’ baby mentality and a non-adversarial guardianship proceeding (where the court’s decision waffles based on the most recent ex parte contact), the end result is that the most innocent victim, Baby Doe, comes out the loser.”

He added, “Here the intended procedure for the abortion was an abdominal hysterotomy (the same in this case as a C-section). Baby Doe at 24 weeks had a chance at life. Give Baby Doe one more week in the womb and the percentage of survival would have dramatically increased.”

But abortion-rights advocates did not want to give this baby a chance for life and the same procedure that could have been used to preserve life was used to snuff it out.

“I don’t understand a system or a country that calls this ‘choice,'” Mr. Staver concluded.

In a similar Florida abortion case involving a mentally-disabled rape victim, Gov. Jeb Bush and others had pressed for the appointment of a guardian to help in determining the outcome of that young woman’s pregnancy.

But abortion-rights advocates have opposed the guardian appointment, leaning on a 1989 Florida Supreme Court decision, In re T.W., wherein the court said appointing such a guardian was “clearly improper.” However, that case involved a 15-year-old youngster who was attempting to sidestep a state parental-consent requirement to abort her six-week-old unborn child. The High Court decision did not relate at all to this case.

“Legally, this situation is clearly different from the 1989 case in that the mother here is mentally disabled and unable to decide what is in the best interest of both herself and her unborn child,” said Family Research Council President Ken Connor. “Morally, the issue is the same – all life, regardless of stage of development or station in life, is deserving of protection.”

A hearing has been scheduled for Monday to decide on Gov. Bush’s request, but it is clear that the abortion-rights community will not listen to reason in these cases.

Recall that abortion-rights advocates in Florida are so bent on advancing abortion, they have legally challenged the state’s “Choose Life” license plates which state residents may purchase to help in the funding of adoption programs.

Abortion-rights leaders want no hint of opposition to their cause. The abortion community is clearly and blindly resolved to the promotion of killing innocent life.

I join with Mathew Staver in praying that the Baby Doe experience will rekindle the abortion debate in America. I thank God that leaders like Mr. Staver are there to valiantly lead the legal cause for life in our nation. The Baby Doe case was a battle lost, but one well worth fighting. Please pray for Mat, his legal team and pro-life leaders everywhere as they work to save other Baby Does who stand defenseless against the aggressive foes of life.

Jerry Falwell

Rev. Jerry Falwell, a nationally recognized Christian minister and television show host, was the founder of Jerry Falwell Ministries and chancellor of Liberty University in Lynchburg, Va. Read more of Jerry Falwell's articles here.