Fetal Attraction?

| Image via Wikimedia Commons

Part XXXI of the “Back-to-Basics Governance” Series

To the limited knowledge of this columnist, he appears to be the first wordsmith to coin “Fetal Attraction.” He is not copying the film titled Fatal Attraction, a 1987 American psychological thriller directed by Adrian Lyne. It was based on a screenplay by James Dearden, who spun it off his 1980 short film of the same title.

“Fetal Attraction” may be the often-temporary passionate interest of, and for, a fetus. Of course, a fetus is an unborn offspring that develops and grows inside the uterus (womb) of humans and other mammals. In humans, the fetal period begins at nine (and not six) weeks after fertilization of an egg by a sperm and ends at birth.

The problem with most people hooked by “fetal attraction” is that after the fetus is born, they no longer care about the baby’s welfare. Unless, of course, the people concerned are the parents, grandparents, great-grandparents (like this columnist), close in-laws, or other kin. But there are numerous cases when some mothers or even fathers abandon the baby they procreated. Or give it up — as allowed by civil law — to an orphanage or a fire station. Or hand over the newborn to the police or other law enforcement agency.

Many of the pro-life activists apparently lose fast their “fetal attraction” because some of them do not really care what happens to the baby. Do nearly all of them adopt babies given up by their mothers, especially if their skin is not white? Especially if the fertilized egg was the result of rape or incest? Do pro-lifers (sic) donate even modest amounts to orphanages or serve as pro-bono volunteer caregivers?

This column discussed Abortion and Other Mundane Issues Derail Florida’s Drive to Be the ‘State of the Future’ on August 7, 2022. Here is the link to the said article.

It did generate lots of controversies, especially when this columnist wrote in it these passages: “Per my school education on the Abrahamic faith of the three major Judeo-based religions, I learned in a Catholic school in the Philippines — Jews consider the start of life with the first breath of the newborn infant. Medically speaking, the embryo (that becomes the fetus) in the mother’s womb is not breathing (on its own) before it is delivered.

“According to Jewish law, human life begins at birth, not conception. Many foundational Jewish texts assert that a fetus does not attain personhood status until birth.”

A growing number of Christians with progressive minds think that the issue of abortion should be left to the woman’s conscience. After all, she is the person who is carrying the fetus in her womb. It is her civil and human right to decide what is best for her body and the fetus that she is carrying.

The viewers that are passionate about “the supposed evil that is abortion” should have watched the maiden episode of CNN’s new program The Whole Story with Anderson Cooper last Sunday night. Viewers were warned about some scenes in the program. The warnings were about human bones scattered on the jungle trails. Or of decaying bodies of unknown refugees that succumbed to the natural conditions or were victimized by criminal elements and of toddlers getting sick during the dangerous voyage. One of them even threw up — as caught by the camera.

Perhaps those that continue to be passionate about their “Fetal Attraction” should do their best to help — at all costs — the refugees and the toddlers they are carrying. More anguish and tragic scenes were depicted in the CNN program.

The attraction to saving fetuses should be for life (pun intended) and not just during pregnancy. Humanity has to help fetuses become babies after they are born. Babies become toddlers, and so on. This is what it means to be pro-life.

As stressed in Part XXX of this series on human rights, churches and their leaders and lay ministers must help save not only the souls of their members but also the latter’s lives. Yes, especially if the church members seek political asylum in any foreign country. People and their descendants living marginally need help escaping “economic purgatory.”