Dear Editor,

Apparently, the genesis of child abuse began in Genesis, whereby the perfect man, Adam, and his wife, Eve, gifted to their offspring a slew of impediments, such as brittle bone disease, cleft lip, autism, Down’s syndrome, skin infection, sore throat, and an endless list of disabilities.

Advancing further from that original child abuse, men and women have devised several ingenious ways to further ill-treat their young. For instance, they confidently misapply Matthew 19:14 by arguing that “suffer the little children to come unto me” is approving of child torture. Conversely, they have soft- pedalled scriptures against sparing the rod and spoiling the child, which obviously has resulted in a whirlwind of directionlessness and growing depravity.

Moving further into the glum of child abuse, several women who have had the privilege of becoming pregnant have also chosen to freely subject their unborn to the toxins from their smoking addiction or to the harmful effects of alcohol. They happily discard of child protection and safety in favour of adult rights and emotional liberty. That’s the real pain – when helpless children must compete against fully grown men and women for rights.

This egregious ill-treatment is epitomised in no clearer form than in the abortion escape route, by which a pregnant mother, at the turn of her desires or fancy, is allowed to invade and trespass on the miraculous development of a helpless child.

Even if you’re normally averse to biblical recommendations, who would object that doing to others as you would have them do to you is the mark of human civility in a real society?

Homer Sylvester

New York

h2sylvester@gmail.com