Only If They're Terminally Ill...?

I shouldn't be surprised. Babies are already killed legally through abortion, disabled babies can be killed legally right up until birth. Why should the mere fact of birth get in the way?

The Belgian Senate has voted to extend euthanasia to children. It's being called "voluntary euthanasia for terminally-ill children" but nothing on this earth is going to persuade me that a child is in any way able to "decide" that they want to die.

The scaremongering tactics ("Oh, but the disease has to be terminal and there must be unbearable pain!") are pretty clever. Quite apart from the simple fact that painkilling drugs such as morphine can be given so effectively that pain should not be experienced to that extent if the medical care is being given properly, there are several other points to consider. How much pain is unbearable? How do you quantify it?

I have been in what seemed to be unbearable pain which threatened to go on without any hope of treatment. I wanted to end it all. I actually considered it, but wasn't willing to put my family through the awfulness of coping with my suicide. This was some time before my reversion to the Church. As it turned out, the pain (caused by a combination of (iatrogenic) Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy, chondromalacia patellae and the complete erosion of the front of my tibia) was easily treated once a correct diagnosis was made - but it took several years of misdiagnosis and increasingly severe pain before I got there.

Now the pain I was in was not due to a terminal disease, but the doctors I saw said that there was no cure for it. Why should a child in pain for which there is no "cure" be excluded from euthanasia on the paltry grounds that the disease causing the suffering isn't a terminal one? Where does one draw the line?

So, by allowing euthanasia for children in one scenario, the Belgian authorities have opened the way to killing children who are suffering from disorders that their parents cannot cope with, or that the medical establishment cannot afford to cope with...

It will only get worse. We need to pray for our legislators, and pray for the medical establishment.

Last Chance For The Ashes...

I'm beginning to wonder if I'm a jinx. England seem to have taken a turn for the worse since I started to take an interest in cricket. I listened to the Second Ashes Test on the radio each night as I drifted off to sleep, and it turned into a bit of a nightmare - even I didn't need anyone to tell me that England's first innings was a major disaster. It only got slightly better for the second innings, and I suspect it would have been much worse had Australia not declared early due to concerns about rain.

I'm not entirely sure about tactics - the importance of batting position, for example, escapes me. Why does it matter whether Root goes in at Number 3 or not? And if you have a bowler who gets lots of wickets, why bother to change him? As for "sledging" - it's just the equivalent of playground name-calling, isn't it? So why are grown men making such a fuss? I obviously still have much to learn...

Anyone For A Tuna Sandwich...?

Everyone seems to love cat videos. Quite simply, on the internet, cats rule.

However, even in real life, cats have the edge on other mammals. These people have presumably paid to see the dolphins, or feed the dolphins, or maybe even swim with the dolphins, and all you can hear on the video is "Hey, look at the cat!"

Yes, it's sweet. But the cat isn't kissing the dolphin. Cats aren't that stupid. It isn't even "playing." I suspect that it can smell the dolphin's tuna-breath...

I Couldn't Resist...

Yes, yes, I know! It isn't Christmas yet... but it makes me smile, so...

First Celebrate Advent...

This was posted on YouTube last year, but it still bears repeating...

A Digital Advent Wreath...

Jeff, the Curt Jester, very kindly allows his fellow-bloggers to make use of his cool Advent Wreath, which I have stolen for my sidebar. Each week, another candle is lit, and Christmas itself is welcomed by a picture of Our Lady holding the newborn Jesus.

If you want to get the image for your own blog, you can find the Javascript code over at the Curt Jester's blog.

Thanks again, Jeff!

First Vespers of the Feast of the Immaculate Conception...

My Renewal of Vows on Saturday was followed by the celebration of First Vespers of the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, which was a fabulous way to round off the day (and made up for the fact that I felt like death warmed up!)

I love this particular feast - there is something so right about it. Just think, if you were God, and could choose your own mother, wouldn't you want to make her as perfect as it was possible to be, untouched by Original Sin (with all that entails)? Well, Jesus is God, and he did just that...

And then, on Sunday morning, we had the Mass for the Feast itself... (it takes precedence over the Second Sunday of Advent in the Extraordinary Form calendar.)

The Guild Meeting...

The only two bloggers willing to pose for photos at the excellent Guild of Blessed Titus Brandsma meeting back at the end of November were the two priest bloggers, Fr. Ray Blake and Fr. Timothy Finigan...

I've been snowed under (and very stressed) at work, so hadn't gotten around to blogging any sooner, but there have been other first-class reports of the proceedings from Richard Collins (aka Linen on the Hedgerow) and from the lovely Bones (Laurence England.)

Lunch was provided by Annie Elizabeth (Defénde Nos in Proélio) though I almost caused a major diplomatic incident by refusing to eat the pea and ham soup (on the basis that I loathe vegetables in general, and pulses in particular) and so was very nearly banned from having the sticky toffee pudding... She relented when my lip started to wobble (Annie's sticky toffee pudding is legendary!) but I suspect that I am paying for it now with a very bad cold (which Annie will, no doubt, inform me would have been avoided if I'd eaten my veg!)

The talk was a subject very dear to my heart - some of the miracles at Lourdes - given by Dr. Adrian Treloar. I did my best to live-tweet some of the main points. Adrian asked me to give the Catholic Medical Association a plug: something which I am more than happy to do. The CMA is responsible for producing the journal, Catholic Medical Quarterly, which is being made available online. As it happens, the May 2013 issue has an editorial by Alison Davies, a staunch defender of the pro-life cause who died just a couple of days after the Guild meeting. You can read more about Alison Davies over at Fr. Finigan's blog (he gives further links.)

Eccles also has posted an amusing account of the Guild meeting, courtesy of his Anti Moly...