Albert Mohler: What Makes Abortion Plausible? What Makes Abortion Unthinkable?, Part Four

Wednesday, January 28, 2009

In the world in which abortion would make sense, we would have to talk about life as being potentially worthy, having potential dignity. We would talk about life as perhaps being worthwhile and worthy of protection. Immediately, you can see where that slippery slope leads as you then have to decide which life is worthy of life and which life is not worthy of life.

In the 20th century we can look at the long parade of horrible terrors, and one of the easiest to identify is the medical ethics of Germany before and during the Third Reich. There, the Germans actually had a medical philosophy - Lebensunwerten Lebens - "life unworthy of life," that formed the foundation for their murderous atrocities. The Germans actually came up with a gradation of life, from life that was definitely worthy of life to life that was definitely unworthy of life. And the life that was worthy of life was Aryan life. It was the life of those who were considered to be physically and genetically superior, who could contribute to the welfare and the defense and the policies of the Third Reich. And the life unworthy of life: Gypsies, homosexuals, the mentally retarded, the physically disabled, Jews. the rest

Part I here Part II here Part Three here