Articles
The Value of Life
By now you may have heard about Richard Dawkins’ comments on aborting Down syndrome babies. They were appalling. But more than that, they were instructive. For, you see, Dawkins is one of the fiercest defenders of naturalism in our generation. The charge has long been made by believers that atheism robs mankind of a fixed moral standard to which all should be held accountable. Atheists bristle at this charge and insist that they do have a legitimate moral standard. But as it turns out, is not “fixed” but “flexible.”
Initially, a woman messaged Dawkins on Twitter saying she would have an ethical dilemma if she learned she was pregnant with a Down syndrome child. Dawkins’ reply: “Abort it and try again. It would be immoral to bring it into the world if you have the choice” (quoted from Christian HealthCare Newsletter, p. 3). Wow … not only did Dawkins defend aborting a Down baby but asserted it would be wrong to bring such a child into the world.
This created a firestorm, and Dawkins tried to put out the flames with gasoline: “If your morality is based, as mine is, on a desire to increase the sum of happiness and reduce suffering, the decision to deliberately give birth to a Down baby, when you have the choice to abort it early in the pregnancy, might actually be immoral from the point of view of the child’s own welfare … you would probably be condemning yourself as a mother … to a lifetime of caring for an adult with the needs of a child” (ibid).
Ah, so there’s the rub with Dawkins. His morality is based on happiness, his own personal happiness, and it is his view that having a Down baby would make him – or anyone – unhappy. So, voila! Abort the child and try again. No great loss. You’ve done yourself and the child a favor by killing him/her.
This is so warped that it is hard to formulate a serious reply. Briefly, Dawkins’ view substantiates the charge that atheism provides no fixed or absolute standard of morality. It all comes down what the opinion- shapers and policy-makers feel like. In the absence of God-based standards, human life is devalued. There is no redeeming worth in lives that do not fit the atheist’s personal template. This is why there is such support for “choice.” It originates with selfish people who want to enjoy their lives without accepting the consequences of their decisions. Or, they don’t want to be inconvenienced by a child who will need extra love and care.
Interestingly, 79% of parents with a Down syndrome child report that their outlook on life was more positive because of their child; 94% of siblings report feelings of pride about their sibling with Down syndrome; and 99% of people with Down syndrome feel happy with their lives. So all in all, it sounds as if the sum of human happiness actually increases, not decreases, in families with a Down syndrome child (ibid, p. 12). Thank you, Richard Dawkins, you have most eloquently made our point. “There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death” (Pr 14:12).
