Dead Babies

Casey Anthony was found not guilty of murder today in the death of her 2-year-old little girl, Caylee. "Not guilty" and "innocent" are two different things in our legal system. The prosecution just didn't prove its circumstantial case to the jury, it appears. Whether Casey is actually innocent or is guilty of a different crime than the one for which she was prosecuted is perhaps another matter, and it is not the subject of this blog.

What I'm noticing in the comments I've read is interesting in that people seem to believe the jury has perpetrated a travesty of justice, that the mother should fry, that she should rot, that she should never be allowed to have gainful employment or leave her house, that our legal system is hopelessly broken, and so on and so on. The visceral reaction of people to the death of this innocent child is understandable on the one hand, and it's puzzling on the other.

Understandable in that sweet little children should never be subjected to violence or neglect. They should be loved outrageously and liberally. They should be nurtured and cared for and protected. They should be treated well, their innocence cherished, their potential valued and realized. I entirely agree, just so there's no confusion. Life is precious and valuable. Little Caylee deserved better.

Here's why it's also puzzling. Sweet little innocent children are killed...butchered...every single day in the name of choice. They are torn to bits and vacuumed out of their mommies and thrown in the trash. And nobody seems to care about that. Where's the justice for those babies? Why aren't folks all up in arms about their deaths?

I'm sure there's a distinction in there somewhere, but I don't get it.

There have been about 50,000,000 abortions in the United States since 1973. I guess that's just too big a number to seem real. Too big a number to wrap your head around. I guess it's easier if you don't think of them as dead babies.