Matters gestative and digest-ative Designer babies - by the knife If you've been a reader of mine for any length of time at all, you know how I feel about the vast majority of abortions. But since this is a medical forum at least as much as a political one, I try not to be too preachy about it… However, this much-abused practice has been in the news a lot lately, so I feel the need to weight in. But first, a little context. A few months ago, I wrote to you about the common practice in India of aborting female fetuses. The practice, though technically illegal, nonetheless persists, resulting in as much as 20% more male children than females in some Indian territories. And as much as I hate to say "I told you so," I've often predicted that sex selection would be a problem in much of Asia (where male children are preferred over females) - and I think it'll be even more of a problem once genetic engineering reaches the masses there. Already, sex selection at the embryonic level is possible in many parts of the world for those who can afford it. And as everyone knows, the price of technology goes nowhere but down over time… But I digress. I was talking about the abuse of abortion - now I'm back on topic. According to a recent UK Daily Mail article, a growing trend in Britain is to abort fetuses with only minor (and correctable) defects. UK law permits even late-term abortions in the case of "severe" handicaps, but things like clubfoot and cleft palate are now resulting in the knife - instead of life. Official records indicate that since the late 90s, abortions have been performed on at least 20 unborn babies at or near the five-month point simply because ultrasound or other prenatal scans indicated a club foot (a foot pointed downward). This minor physical defect can in most cases be totally corrected in the first few years of life without surgery by using splints and casts. Others were destroyed because of webbed fingers, extra digits, or a cleft palate - all relatively common defects that can be surgically corrected quite easily. In the vast majority of cases, people born with any of these problems can end up living normal, happy, and productive lives. Why is this happening? Because we live in a beauty-obsessed world that says you're no one if you aren't physically without a blemish. We live in an era where the value placed on life is cheaper every day - partly because of rampant crime, "morning after" pills, abortion-on-demand, and partly because of video games, newscasts, and entertainment that fixate us on violence and death. So is it any wonder that people aren't thrilled to have a baby of their own? Nowadays, they have to have the PERFECT baby… Even if it means killing a few in the process. Vegetative State Speaking of India and its mixed up priorities, here's this news item from the Associated Press: In Bombay, a burgeoning, ultra-modern cosmopolitan cultural center of 16 million people, you can be just about anything you want to be - Hindu, Jain, Muslim, Zoroastrian, as long as you aren't… A meat-eater. According to the article, many non-vegetarians - even well-to-do ones - are unable to buy or lease homes in Bombay. Vegetarianism has become a criteria for admittance into many neighborhoods and districts. And even though India is a constitution-less, secular nation, it's increasingly common to discriminate in this manner. In fact, the Indian equivalent to the Supreme Court ruled just last year that such practices were perfectly legal! India currently boasts a population of around 1.1 billion people. The Indian government estimates that 220 million (around one fifth) of these are vegetarians. Even though this is a minority, most of them are middle and upper class Indian citizens - the ones with the most economic clout. Even "Bollywood" (India's answer to Tinseltown) is in on the act. Many high-profile stars are pro-veg, and the ripple effect through the fashionable streets of Bombay is taking a toll on omnivores. According to one source cited in the AP story, vegetarianism has taken over the restaurant scene and grocery store shelves in the posh neighborhood where he grew up… Guess that's what happens when fashion takes the place of freedom. Passionate about life - and food you cut with a knife, William Campbell Douglass II, M.D. | 
