AN Italian doctor’s report on the social impact of selectively aborting the disabled has been hailed as an “excellent example” for Catholic lay professionals.
Faith and Life vicariate ministry development officer in Brisbane archdiocese Deacon Anthony Gooley said it was important high-ly qualified lay people such as neonatologist Carlo Bellieni spoke out on matters relating to ethics and the Catholic faith.
Dr Bellieni who, among other Church-related roles, is a member of the Pontifical Academy for Life, recently wrote a report called The Elimination of the Imperfect.
The report noted the disappearance of so-called “‘imperfect’ children marked by genetic disease” and gave the example of France where 96 per cent of babies with Down syndrome were aborted.
Deacon Gooley, whose ministry has a key focus of inclusion of the disabled in Church life throughout the archdiocese, said Dr Bellieni’s report raised a number of significant issues.
These issues also came into greater focus for Deacon Gooley last year when, on behalf of the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference, he was involved in the drafting of a document to guide married couples on the issue of pre-natal testing for foetal deformities.
“What I found particularly valuable in Dr Bellieni’s report was his investigation of the bigger issue of the impact of such an attitude on society,” he said.
“The doctor said the push to ab-ort children with genetic conditions reflected a society unable to accept differences.
“From my own research and experience this attitude is extremely unjust and contradictory.
“We talk about how everybody should be valued then say to people with certain disabilities: ‘You’re not valuable. You should have been aborted.’
“As a society we are horrified when we hear the first people the Nazis euthanased were people with disabilities.
“But what’s the difference between killing someone perceived as disabled in the womb and killing after someone is born?
“Let’s face it, any child at any stage of life can be potentially a disadvantage to their family.
“So why should the life of a foetus have any less value than, say, a 25-year-old who becomes a paraplegic after a footy tackle?”
Deacon Gooley concluded that Dr Bellieni’s report, from such a highly qualified practitioner, made a valuable contribution to a significant ethical debate.
“The report is an excellent example of a way to present these views from a lay point of view,” he said.
“And it would certainly be wonderful if more qualified Catholic lay people were prepared to offer such insights.”
