The Redhunter

I get that watching someone suffer is a horrible experience, and "putting them out of their misery" is tempting. And before modern times, or if you're trapped in some third world country with no escape, it might even be the thing to do. But that's not what Ironside is talking about here. She's talking about smothering with a pillow a baby in a modern country in our current time.

Children born with debilitating conditions, or people who are old and infirm are heartbreaking situations. The distinction I make is whether the person is on life support, or living on their own. It is one thing to remove life support and let nature take it's course, it is quite another to take the life of someone who is able to live on their own. It is the latter that Ironside advocates, and which made her interviewer gasp.

That this is, to put it mildly, a difficult subject is indisputable. And that's what makes Ironside's cold, dispassionate, statement that she would smother a child with a pillow so horrifying. If that's your position, at least exhibit some emotion. At least act like you see the moral dilemma involved. And don't be so callous as to say you'd just kill a baby with a pillow.

Update

"If a baby's going to be born severely disabled or totally unwanted, surely an abortion is the act of a loving mother."

You just can't make this stuff up.