New Stanek WND column, “Helen Thomas’ kind of life”
On Aug. 4, White House journalist Helen Thomas celebrated her 87th birthday.
I’m 51 and already worried about someday being a burden, dependent on others to care for me.
Thomas apparently is not. That or she hasn’t connected the prenatal-to-octogenarian dots.
At a recent Planned Parenthood of Greater Iowa fundraiser, Thomas said:
“Let’s return to the true ideals of the Bill of Rights. The issue is not the right to live. The issue is the kind of life. The issue is freedom without government or outside interference.”…
Helen’s phraseology is interesting. “Kind of life” refers to “quality of life,” the primary reason mothers abort….
Thomas’ “kind of life” standard is perplexing, given her age. Because in that circle of life, Thomas is daily edging closer to a time when she will be as mentally and/or physically helpless as a fetus….
Continue reading my column today, “Helen Thomas’ kind of life,”on WorldNetDaily.com.
Jill Stanek is a nurse turned speaker, columnist and blogger, a national figure in the effort to protect both preborn and postborn innocent human life.
“So Helen’s pro-abortion position will likely come back to bite her in two ways, first by desensitizing our culture to the sanctity of human life, and second by terminating the doctors who would care for elderly people.”
Isn’t that what we call a natural consequence?
Helen, be careful what you wish for.
Usually when people find that the hole they are digging is getting too deep they stop digging.
Well said.
May she give herself to God before it’s too late.
Based on Thomas’ ideal, how long will it be before it’s OK to terminate the life of an elderly person, or should I say and inoperative unit? By the way you look pretty good to me regardless of your age.
If it’s okay to put aborted children in trash cans and on shelves to die, then what do the elderly have to look forward to? The name of the game is “unwanted” and “burdens” We live in a society filled with some who think that others should just be discarded. Helen thinks abortion is okay. Would she like to be discarded because @ her age some may say she is ready to be put out to pasture?
Helen has always been a big left-winger, she just loved the abortion President Bill Clinton, who vetod the PBA twice.
What a sad person Ms. Thomas appears to be. I find it hard to understand how anyone who has lived such a privileged LIFE could be so indifferent to the idea of preventing some innocent baby from having the same opportunity.
In any event, I suspect that history will record “pro-choice” zealots like Helen with the same disdain they now reserve for those who championed slavery.
In fact, I suspect the “pro-choice” crowd will be held in even greater contempt because they actually preferred killing their targets.
I tend to see things in bigger patterns. And abortion, being so strongly promoted and defended by the Left (and Democrats), is part
of a larger picture of human engineering that was started, en masse, by Hitler.
Today, it is continued by the forces of antichrist, including embryonic stem cell research and everything pertaining to the manipulation of embryonic materials. They want the power to create beings in their image.
Under all the surface, it is truly a battle between the forces of evil and and of good (God Almighty).
Many who defend abortion don’t even really know why they feel so strongly about it. I think you do.
*wince* I find no way to say this tactfully or without sounding callous. When a person ages to the point where they serve absolutely no function…they relatively quickly ‘eliminate’ themselves. That’s death. That’s the circle of life. You get old, your health goes, and you die. Sometimes you’ll hang on for a while, but all that happens is the QoL decreases exponentially(barring a quick heart attack or stroke or the like), until you die. For example, my grandfather right now has a very, very advanced case of Parkinson’s. He has a live in housekeeper, my grandmother can’t take care of him anymore because he’s so severely disabled, and my mom even gets frustrated by how difficult it is to provide him with care. He is suffering and has virtually no independence- and within a few years, he will quite likely die. I love him very much, but I honestly won’t be too broken up about it, because I see him suffering and know that that isn’t the quality of life that a man who once used to be dignified and independent should have to experience. People live, people die. The elderly and the geriatric are different matters than unplanned pregnancies and fetii. There isn’t much comparison. People live. People die. That’s it. :-/
“The elderly and the geriatric are different matters than unplanned pregnancies and fetii.”
Erin, how are old people needing constant care and unborn babies different?
Erin,
The difference is when other people decide “who will live” and “who will die”. And that happens both at the end of life and the beginning. We have no problem with death. But you guys seem to have a problem with life.
because I see him suffering and know that that isn’t the quality of life that a man who once used to be dignified
How sad that you see his suffering and advanced age as somehow lessening his dignity.
My father also lies in a bed and waits to “go home”…I think he has more dignity now than 20 years ago. The way he has accepted what God has asked him to do…without complaint…well, he’s my hero. It takes more courage to do what you have to when all odds are against you, than to do what is right simply because it is easy.
John McDonnel is a perfect example of this. To you, his life probably seems worthless. And who could blame him if he were bitter. But he isn’t. He works with what he has to better the world in any way available to him. You and I whip out our thoughts on here and go flying onto the next thing, complaining because we can’t find our shoes! John painstakingly types out each letter, not word, in order to share his views on the worth of each and every human life.
That’s dignity by my definition. By yours, John just sounds pathetic.
John, what happened to you? I have heard you make remarks about your health, but I didn’t know what was wrong. I hope you are okay!
I have met people with spina bifida, bilateral amputations, quadriplegics, etc. They don’t love their lives any less! These people still work, DRIVE [with a specially designed van] gamble, go out to eat, and have boyfriends and girlfriends, husbands and wives. They may have it a little harder than us able bodied folks, but they deal with it! For most, it’s the only life they know.
We’ve all known that the right to die movement was the next step in the culture of death feature since the 1970’s. What we didn’t know was how necessary it would seem to be, given the imbalance in the population (old vs young). I only hope that those of us who’ve had large families will have our children to protect us somehow. It seems fitting that the baby boomers who’ve aborted the children by the bucket-load should be “helped” out of this world by the survivors of abortion and contraception. In the same way, women who’ve failed to stand up for the sanctity of life now, find in a macabre twist, that future generations of the “fair sex” are being aborted and actually have less rights than their predecessors.
As always your articles are funny, sad and very entertaining.
Patricia, excellent post.
Anonymous,
“We have no problem with death. But you guys seem to have a problem with life.”
That is all the more reason to feel sorry for them. They will never experience many joys that others feel because they are simply incapable of it. Bluntly put, they themselves are already dead in many ways.
Did I hear my name in vain?
Hi Heather4life,
I have the distinct privilege of having a rare genetic disorder called Friedreich’s Ataxia (FA). In its vast repertoire of symptoms, it closely mimes multiple sclerosis …. the worst ms and there are no periods of remission like MS. The vast majority of FA’ers have died by 50 yrs-old.
Simple rejection of people based on physical abilities seems easy when speaking about people like me, but how about a child who develops arthritis or, a very young adult with retinosa pigmentosa (like Erin). I knew a therapist who disallowed he and his wife any children because they might inherit his very poor vision.
If our society rids itself of a burden like me … Erin is next. [All elderly folk (60+ yrs) will have already sacrificed their lives to the god ‘expediency’!].
Well, John. I’m glad you’re here! I’m glad Erin is here too.
Thank you John. I didn’t know. I’m glad you’re here as well!
Maybe it has to do with my perception of dignity. I have and always will hate the idea of being dependent on anyone. Once I was shot in the leg, and during the healing process, for a few days, I couldn’t get up, move around, get my own food, use the toilet, or make my own decisions. My greatest fear is being dependent on others. I hope greatly that I will have a quick death via heart attack or stroke, because the concept of an advanced disease that takes away all my freedom I find degrading, hopeless, and ugly. Ironic, because if I fully lose my sight, I really honestly don’t know if I would want to continue living. My independence is my most valued trait, becase loss of it is always ugly.
Erin,
Pain is part of life, sometims we do have to depend on others.
btw: I wish you good luck with your eye problems, this is a great place for treatment:
http://www.meei.harvard.edu/
Erin, I can also relate to you. It is a frightening thought, and a lot of people fear losing independence. I fear it to.
It may be a frightening thought, but there are so many blind people, so many disabled people, who have contributed greatly to this country!
Being disabled is NOT the end of your ability to contribute to the world. It is only the beginning…your first step towards overcoming your obstacles!
Helen Keller did not let the fact that she was both blind and deaf get in the way of her achievements…look at all the things that she accomplished for this country, and what an inspiration she was to millions!
Stevie Wonder, another inspirational blind person.
The list could go on and on. There are difficulties in life, that is true…but letting them get you down to the point where you feel you are worthless without every other ability is wrong….
Look at this guy, with no arms OR legs…notice that he is doing something with his life! He is not complaining, or letting himself die because he cannot do simple things like brush his teeth, walk, or even wave… he is making every moment count. He is an inspiration, and a great teacher for all of us to take heed to. Be thankful for what you have been given! You are more than your body! You have tremendous value beyond anything you can understand.
Bethany, great post. I think my greatest fear is dementia or alzheimers. Something that would affect my mind.
Thanks Bethany,
we very often assume falsely that life is pedantic/ho-hum. Most Christians feel that the Christian life is about duty and drudgery; drudgery and more duty…. I can hardly believe these people are for real!
God is absolutely nuts about human beings. My Life in Him is this: ‘His living (and this exuberance) In me’. He’s gotta be nuts to care about me. And He’s gotta be a bit wacky after we ‘spit in His face’ (have an abortion); call Him stupid – irrelevant, and He just-keeps right on loving us.
Maybe, He is just plain ‘nuts’ …. peanuts anyone! [It is really hard not to be in love with that kind of ‘nutiness’.]
John, you’re the best! I don’t want to get too personal, but how has your disease affected your life so far? If this is too personal, please disregard the question. Also, do I detect an accent?
@Heather4life …
in a phrase … I’m NOT enough … to have any normal commitment … me to a job (bad insurance risk) – me to any woman – it’s always NO …. but it’s that … you’ve-gotta-be-kidding-kind of NO; a vocation … it seems the Church-here would rather feel sorry for me [looks Christian] than ordain me [doesn’t handle easily … doesn’t appear as a good move.]
the accent … I do not have any kind of one … have a difficult time these-days even speaking more than two-three words at once. Several decades ago, I did travel to Cleveland, Ohio. Many folks there said I had a British accent … I thought, ‘Huh?’
John, thank you for your reply. I am back and forth on my computer reading up on Friedreich’s Ataxia. I thought you had a bit of a British accent. Perhaps it’s an Ohio thing. I went to the west coast, and everyone there thought I had an accent also. I didn’t think I spoke ANY different from them. LOL!
John,
To the work force I say…their loss.
To the women in the world I say…their loss.
To the Catholic Church I say…their loss.
With the dedication you have any employee would be lucky to have you.
If I was a single woman being married to you would have been a dream come true. I imagine you would treat any woman you loved like a queen! To be love as completely as you would love me…wow!
And with your love of the faith and the lack of good priests these days, I have to ask the Catholic Church…what in the heck are you thinkin’? Have you ever looked into becoming a brother? I bet you’d look great in a Franciscan Robe! And your free spirit would love the whole shoeless/sandal thing.
Ahhhhh…if I ran the world…
Anon [MK?] I second that!
I guess I should take heart for folks like Helen Thomas – they can’t live forever. Rats and worms probably won’t even touch that scorpion when she’s in the ground.
Hope things are going ok with you, Jill. Few writers get me riled up (in a bad way) like that Helen.
Glad I’m on your good side C. T. :)
Helen’s phraseology is interesting. “Kind of life” refers to “quality of life,” the primary reason mothers abort….
Thomas’ “kind of life” standard is perplexing, given her age. Because in that circle of life, Thomas is daily edging closer to a time when she will be as mentally and/or physically helpless as a fetus….
No, it is not perplexing at all, and none of these ideas are new. As a nurse, you should understand this very well. Isn’t what triage means in certain cases: you must make a decision about who is going to live and who is going to die, because there are not enough resources to save everybody?
If you read Plato’s Republic (written in or around 360 BCE, or about 2,367 years ago), you will learn that Socrates (or rather, Plato speaking through Socrates) was in favor of witholding health care from people who could not be useful to the city anymore (Helen Thomas, at 87, would be a prime target, but the mentally ill, the chronically sick, the cripples would fit the bill too). Plato was also in favor of abortion if carrying a pregnacy to term meant disrupting the duties to the city of the pregnant woman (Plato had people divided in three categories, the ones with golden souls, the ones with silver souls, and the ones with bronze souls, so, depending on the type of your soul, your duties to the city differed).
I can name at least one philosopher (and no, it is not Peter Singer) who asks very pointedly about the existence of a duty to die (http://web.utk.edu/~jhardwig/dutydie.htm). Now, quite a few people, when they hear the word “duty,” they mistakenly believe that they will be asked to kill themselves even if they don’t want to. This is evading the question by appeal to emotion and attacking a straw man. The way I look at it, every thinking person should comtemplate the issue very seriously, as I believe Hardwig does. Do I want to be a burden to society? To my family? Do we want to save all lives no matter what the cost, financial and/or emotional? Are all lives equal? I don’t think so. To demonstrate my case, I perform the following thought experiement:
Assume that you are faced with the following situation:
1. There is a train running on a track that splits at some point.
2. On the main track, 5 healthy kids are playing, oblivious to the coming train. If you don’t activate the switch before the train gets to the split, anytime now, they will die.
3. If you do activate the switch, the train will be rerouted and go on a parallel track.
4. On the parallel track are five old people/mentally ill people/disabled people, whatever you want.
5. If you activate the switch to save the children, these five will die.
I give you four options:
1. You activate the switch to save the children, implicitly admitting that their lives are more valuable than the lives of the other five (if you can think of another potential meaning for this decision, I would like to hear it).
2. You do not activate the switch, for whatever reason (I can think of many reasons to go that way).
3. You stick to your line that all lives are equally worthy and you flip a coin; head you activate the switch, tail, you do nothing. Either way, five lives are extinguished, and since their value is equal, you have a clear conscience.
4. You pray to god that he intervenes, and you do nothing, shifting the responsibility of whatever happens to god.
I pick one without a second thought. What do you do?
Not long ago, I watched a program on HBO about people who had horrible accidents that left them brain damaged to the point that most of them were just ghosts in human form. There was nothing left of their humanity except the envelope. It was a heartbreak to watch the parents try to deal with these imossible situations. I am not here to tell anybody what to do if this happens to them, but I know what I would want my family to do if it happened to me: Just let me die, and if there is no other way, make me die (or execute me, if you prefer that term, I don’t mind it). Same story if I was in a coma for more than a year, no matter what the odds that I emerge from it in 7 or 15 years. My life is just not worth this much of trouble, expense and heartbreak.
If you want to cling to your own life out of what you believe is your duty to god, knock yourself out, but be aware that I am not willing to pay for your moral decisions with my taxes, just like I am sure you are not willing to pay for abortions wth your taxes (which is fine by me).
Hey Jeff,
I’m glad Socrates didn’t write the Hippocratic Oath.
And your scenario is an either/or, which does not correlate.
*wave to my favorite atheist*