250,000 abortions a year: Massacre of the unborn - Editorial
29 October 2012 06:30 pm
We have been repeatedly drawing attention to the need to discipline and take to task ministers, their sons, the wayward in the legislature and the goons in local councils. But for obvious political reasons, little or no action is taken to correct this malady of indiscipline and primordial violence.
The 30-year war has affected the psyche of our people. To add insult to injury the glorification of the destruction of the LTTE even though they were brothers and sisters, born bred and nurtured by mother Sri Lanka, has left a deep wound in the culture of our people. This wound may not be seen outwardly, but it’s like a festering cancer that’s eating into our lives.
Statistics have revealed there are about 700 abortions a day in Sri Lanka. This amounts to more than 20,000 a month and a horrifying 250,000 a year – much more than the number killed in the entire war or by the tsunami. This is a huge massacre of the innocents but no howl of protest is heard while the orthodox or extremist religious parties scream about the ill-effects of provincial councils. Psychoanalysts say the staggering number of abortions amounts to a deep form of violence that will affect society. Documentaries are available showing the foetus being pulled out piece by piece, limb by limb. What is done in the hidden confines of abortion clinics will be manifest as a distortion and imbalance in society.
Three weeks ago, we spotlighted a violent upheaval at a school in Galle. Parents, teachers and students encouraged each other to attack the new principal and cause untold damage. Now we hear of two leading Colombo schools -- Royal College and Thurstan College having a brawl, pelting stones and causing injuries to students and a policemen. They were so agitated that police found it difficult to control them. What is surprising is that this had been going on for the past two weeks and the school authorities seemed to have either wanted to turn a blind eye or had lost control over their charges. This is a sorry state of affairs in our education system. All this is because of the breakdown of law and order, and the impunity enjoyed by ruling party politicians and administrators who serve and toe the government’s crooked line; setting a bad example to others while intimidating the judiciary.
Having said this one need not get disheartened. All that we see and hear of could become opportunities to put the house in order. Political leaders and others now need to turn their attention to the caving in of society. It could be the turning point for our nation if the indiscipline and violence we see or carry in our hearts is stopped. Let’s start it from the highest level of government.