My deep thanks to Seaford Mayor Dave Genshaw, solicitor Dan Griffith, and council members Dan Henderson, Matt MacCoy and Orlando Holland for enacting an ordinance requiring respectful treatment of the remains of aborted babies at the recently opened Planned Parenthood Center. It took true courage to stand for basic human decency in the face of threatened lawsuits from both the State Attorney General and the American Civil Liberties Union, who derided the bill as a “stunt” designed to simply harass the clinic.
Honoring the dead is one of the universal traits of mankind. According to National Public Radio, the Japanese conduct a ritual called mizuko kuyo following an abortion to mark the loss of a sacred life and help the healing process. The ceremony is “conducted by a Buddhist priest and the woman may or may not be present. The heart of the ceremony is attention to the feelings of the aborted child or mizuko.” What a contrast to the garbage can for hazardous waste used by Planned Parenthood – or what is worse, the sale of baby parts for money.
It isn’t so long ago that we in America would lecture Asian countries on the sacredness and value of human life. How sad that self-appointed guardians of liberty like the ACLU now threaten to sue a small city like Seaford for daring to show it still considers life sacred and to be treated with dignity.
Councilman Santos complained that supporters of the bill dared to quote the Bible, saying a religious “ism” had no place in such deliberations. What would we become if the country founded on “one nation under God” were to prohibit citing the Bible when deciding how to treat our dead? His complaint is especially incongruous since the council opens its meetings with a prayer to God. I respectfully suggest that Santos take a hard look at his own woke “isms” before dismissing the venerable Bible as an unworthy source for ethical guidance.
Kudos for Seaford, a light to our nation at a time of trial!
Tom McGean
Seaford