Children as Commodities

On a recent television news magazine there was a segment on college age girls selling their eggs to pay off student loans. One of the girls was talking about how it isn't just the money, but knowing that they are helping people who want to become parents and aren't able to conceive.

This segment has weighed on my mind a great deal. Our society has come to feel that children are a commodity to be traded. If you become pregnant and don't want a child, feel free to abort the unwanted child. If you want an established career and let your highly fertile years pass, purchase another woman's eggs.

I'm not against women who want a career. But, life is full of consequences for our choices. As a society, we are so full of our need for self-gratification that we are comfortable killing other people. Years ago when abortion was made legal, my father said that we had gotten on a slippery slope that would only make killing more and more people acceptable. This is coming to pass in my lifetime.

A Christian woman I know recently let her husband die of starvation at a nursing home. He was in the final stages of Alzheimer's disease and the family was under extreme stress handling his care. Even though my heart ached for the difficulties that the family had on a daily basis, I believe that they killed or allowed him to be killed. They decided that it was time for him to die. It was too much trouble for him to remain alive.

I don't have the answers on how to handle Alzheimer patients. It is a real problem to families and needs to be addressed. The problem will only grow larger as our Baby Boomer population continues to age. The thought of our country getting universal health care scares me. Some politician will determine that it is too expensive for society to pay for the care of Alzheimer patients. Children who will be born with genetic problems will be deemed to expensive for society. Quality of life will be judged according to perceived values with a bureaucrat deciding where our health care dollars should best be spent.

American society is too selfish to make sacrifices of time and money to care for the sick, young and old. What makes a 40 year old career person more important than someone else. Today's elderly made sacrifices for their children. They did without luxuries that today we feel are necessities. They worked longer to make a little bit more. Instead of roast chicken for dinner, they had casseroles and soup to stretch the grocery dollars a little longer. Isn't it sad that the recipients of this selflessness are now so selfish?