"At Any Cost: Heroic Measures to Saves Lives"

Some time ago my sister, Angela, sent me her essay "At Any Cost:  Heroic Measures to Save Lives." Although written after the Haiti earthquate and well before Peter Singer's recent op-ed titled "Should This Be the Last Generation?," I think it offers a powerful response to his essay.

All work stops.  A small tapping sound is heard beneath the rubble; signs of life.  Everyone on the rescue team increases their determination and will go to any length to find the survivor.   I have watched the tremendous humanitarian efforts of not only trained professional rescuers, but film crews, family members, and every day individuals as well.  They are all trying to save as many lives as possible following the devastating earthquake in Haiti.  The images on television are heartbreaking; children, already born into difficult circumstances, now facing unimaginable hardships, many without parents, shelter, and even limbs.  But they are alive and the world rejoices.

 

I cannot help but wonder, how many more are left under the rubble still alive?  They may be buried so deep, that any signs of life cannot be heard.  Their movements and sounds go unnoticed.  There is no doubt; every rescuer present would risk their very lives to save them, if they could only hear their cries.  No matter how difficult the circumstances the children and other survivors will face, everyone agrees, life is worth saving.

 

In spite of the magnitude of the disaster, I cannot help but be filled with hope for our world.  Nations are at war, global recession is wreaking havoc, and crime is on the rise, while job opportunities are falling.  Still, the global community has heard the cry for help and responded to the humanitarian call.  The world has sent a message from Haiti as a testament to life itself.  Everyone has joined forces around one of the poorest nations in the world to literally lift it from the rubble and preserve life. 

 

If the world will rally for Haiti, will it not also finally join forces and rally on behalf of all the unborn whose lives are in danger?  These children are moving, tapping, living.  Although we cannot hear their cries, we know they are there.  With today’s technology, we do not have to rely on microphones buried deep within the Earth to detect life, we can see their humanity.  Although not everyone will agree that life begins at conception, there is clearly life forming activity from the very start.  The life forming is human.  If we followed the example of rescue workers in Haiti, we would proceed on the assumption that what we are detecting is alive. Rescuers are not absolutely certain that they will find someone breathing when they finally make their way through the rubble.  If there is even the slightest chance that someone is left alive, they give their absolute effort.  Should we not proceed as well, erring on the side of caution, not waiting until everyone is convinced that a human embryo is human life?  If there were even the slightest chance that a life could be spared, wouldn’t all of us want to give our absolute effort? 

 

Precious time is passing and lives are being lost.  It is time to put political positions aside, join forces, and as a global community, collectively work to preserve life.  Just like many of the children we have seen on the news laying in parks next to the ruins, these unborn children may be “unwanted,” they could be born into “devastating” circumstances, many could even be deformed or facing other unimaginable health issues.  They have a chance at life though.  The world has spoken in Haiti.  Life, no matter how devastating the circumstances, is worth saving.  What of these unborn lives?  Will we not go to heroic measures to save them?  Their tapping will go on long after the Earth finally settles in Haiti.  Let’s not let their sounds go unheard.