Wednesday, 29 December 2010

• Mother Gives Birth at the Airport, Strangles the Child to Death, Dumps It & Proceeds to Catch Flight

  
  Some stories can be laughed at, even if they're serious in nature. I'm known to be humorous in nearly all of my posts, but this story made my jaw drop in disbelief. (Skip to the end for another take on the case)

  A woman, possibly Ethiopian and in her mid-thirties, gave birth to her child in a Dubai International Airport toilet before boarding a flight. It appears that she ripped the umbilical cord apart with her bare hands as a chef would do with sausage links, and suffocated the newborn before trashing it. It's likely that a cloth was used to stifle the child's breathing, before it was barbarically tied up with its own umbilical cord and stuffed within the confines of a plastic bag.

  The blood-ridden bathroom stall rightfully caught the attention of a passenger, who proceeded to contact an airport cleaner upon noticing a trail of blood that led to the garbage bin. After encountering this scene straight out of a horror film, the newborn was lifted and unwrapped. Still gasping for air, the child passed away moments later after a failed revival by the rescue team. The airport cleaner later stated, "...I decided to empty the waste bin which was covered with paper rolls. When I lifted it I found it to be a little heavier, so I got curious and started removing the tissue papers. I was stunned to see a baby all blue on the face and gasping for breath."

  The most likely scenario is that the woman, who became pregnant out of wedlock, was trying to leave the UAE (United Arab Emirates) before giving birth to avoid a maximum sentence of three years in prison. Having been unfortunate enough to give birth before leaving, she opted to end the life of an innocent child in an attempt to keep herself out of prison. It's a criminal offense to have sexual relations or give birth to a child outside of wedlock in the UAE.

  What a waste of life. This is a common occurrence, believe it or not. For example, in 2008, 17 children were abandoned by August but little is known about their well-being. It's possible that they suffered a similar fate. Cases like these really make me consider the idea of stripping the reproductive rights of certain people. I understand the situation that they're in, but they shouldn't have been risking pregnancy in the first place if jail time was undesirable enough to kill your own child. A woman's reproductive rights aren't inconsequential, but it's disheartening to see such disregard for life.

  If you want to argue murder, this is a clear-cut case (pun not intended). For all of the debate over abortion and sentience, this story in particular almost makes it seem like a non-issue. And where is the logic in killing your child to avoid jail time, when murder will give you a larger jail sentence? I don't understand this at all. I shouldn't be trying to make sense out of her mentality, because it's clear to me that some people just aren't fit to be parents.

  I'd like to forcefully flush her head in a toilet full of gasoline, then light her head aflame in my own recreation of the Ghost Rider. But as much as I despise this woman for her actions, I don't support the death penalty or an eye-for-an-eye mentality. I do hope she's imprisoned and left to rot in her own filth, however. Even the worst postpartum depression in the world doesn't turn a mother into this steaming pile of human waste. She's an example of the worst humanity has to offer. Welcome to the carnival of human filth.

  Another Take:
  Despite the deplorable actions of this woman, the laws are so Draconian that it may have forced her hand in the end. I can't claim to know what it's like being put in this situation, and although I don't excuse her actions in killing the child, the real issue here is the restrictive laws which made this scenario possible. Instead of introducing jail time for something as petty as having a child out of wedlock, they should be implementing women's rights, the ability to terminate, and birth control.
  
  It's no question that if women had proper rights in the UAE, this would likely have never happened. I can sympathize with the woman, since she must have been so desperate that she chose to do the unthinkable. Her mind must have been spinning in circles, making it hard to properly judge the situation. Despite that, I still can't sympathize with her killing a newborn, when other options were clearly available, even if it involved leaving the child alive on the bathroom floor. In fact, fostering an orphaned child in that region is seen as an act of good faith. They view it as bringing the child back from the dead, so the newborn would have been taken care of.
  
  During times of oppression, men and women can be pushed to do things that they normally wouldn't. It's a sad case all around, and while what she did is inexcusable, you need to point a finger at the bigger issue. It's completely possible that she had remorse and wasn't intending on doing this, but the strict laws led her to a sad psychological state.
  
  What would you do in this woman's situation? Can this be justified in any way at all?
  Do you place more blame on the law or the individual?
  Discuss.

  Sincerely,
  Nuñez Love Doctor

  Certified with a PhD in Aborted Mothers and The Vengeful Spirit of Newborns.

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