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Do they deserve to be born

June 2007
 
Re: Do they deserve to be born? (Toronto Sun, May 31, 2007, regarding the birth of conjoined twins Krista and Tatiana), at the risk of being a fence-sitter, I must say this is difficult one. I do agree that life is sacred and abortion should not be used as birth control. Thus I’m not saying that Tatiana and Krista shouldn’t have been born, but I think we do have to question the quality of life that they and others with drastic physical or mental disabilities will have if the pregnancy is allowed to go to full-term. What kind of lifetime medical and supervisory care will they need? Although conjoined twins can lead relatively normal lives, given that Tatiana and Krista are joined at the head in such an abnormal position, it is doubtful that they will enjoy such a privilege. These are questions that we should ask.

 

We all have anecdotal stories of family members, off all ages, who were born with or became mentally or physically disabled through genetics, disease or trauma. Did they wish to continue living in this manner? My maternal Grandmother spent the last 6 years of her life confined to a hospital bed, barely knowing her own daughter anymore. This was a formerly strong a woman who lived a harsh life on the Prairies during the Depression. The sad thing is that she had an older sister whose life ended in this fashion. Grandma was afraid the same thing would happen to her too and it did. I often wondered if she still had the cognizance to realize what was happening to her and if she wanted to continue living this way. When she died it was more of a relief that she was free from the prison that was now her body and reunited in the after-life with her dear departed husband, my Grandfather.

Will Tatiana and Krista be grateful for the life they have or will they too feel that they are trapped in a prison-like body?

About the author

Bruce Forsyth

Bruce Forsyth served in the Royal Canadian Navy Reserve for 13 years (1987-2000). He served with units in Toronto, Hamilton & Windsor and worked or trained at CFB Esquimalt, CFB Halifax, CFB Petawawa, CFB Kingston, CFB Toronto, Camp Borden, The Burwash Training Area and LFCA Training Centre Meaford.

Permanent link to this article: https://militarybruce.com/do-they-deserve-to-be-born/

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