Babies

Several events of recent have me thinking about the human ideals surrounding reproducing.

On one hand, the only issue that seems to matter to people querying the supreme court nominee or political candidates is how they stand on abortion. One side seems to think that all human babies conceived should be birthed, no matter the cost to the parents, the child, or the community. Others seem to think that having babies ought to be a deliberate choice, not some accident of passion.

At the same time, humans seem to romanticize having babies to the point of scorning those who choose not to have them. Humans love babies so long as they are chubby, bubbly, cute, and healthy. We don't seem to know what to do with the less than "perfect" babies. Suddenly, the romance is gone. We blame the parents for the creation of a less than "perfect" baby --- even when those "imperfections" are unpredictable, manageable, and not really even imperfections. If there are imperfections, rather than helping parents, children, learn to accommodate the differences --- we teach "hide it" or find a quickie cure. Even to the point of pressuring parents to submit their babies to treatments that can be painful, cruel, and in some cases deadly.

But at the other end of the scale are those people who give no thought to the long term consequences of quick sex and fast relationships. The big, glaring example is what the media has nicknamed "TomKat". Here is a couple that you might not even notice were they not "celebrities." They have been "together" for about 6 months -- and look to be progressing into a pregnancy that is likely to have been conceived during the rush of infatuation and glow of new romance. Not exactly the stuff to base a life, and life long commitment upon. The Chick pointed out that they seem to think that having a perfect, healthy baby is their entitlement -- that having a baby is easy, and nothing to put anymore thought into than picking out this Winters coat.

Lastly, there are the babies that end up unwanted after being conceived. Conception is a biological function humans only have limited control over. There are ways to prevent conceptions -- most of the time. Other people just don't put that much thought into the lives they might be creating/ruining -- or their own bodies. Fortunately, humans, like many animals, have the capacity to adopt babies that cannot otherwise be cared for by their mothers -- and can love them and provide a life as if they were the biological children of the adopted parents. It is one of the traits of humans that make them worthwhile as a species. But, still, there is debate as to who makes a good parent - who ought to be eligible.

I wonder if humans are ever going to be able to see procreation for what it is -- a long, hard, scary, process with many ways it can go wrong and thus worthy of tremendous respect?