By Timothy D. Naegele[1]
Dionne Warwick asked this in a song, as did Michael Caine in a film.[2] What’s Life really all about? We come into this world, and we die. None of us leave this world alive. The Pharoahs didn’t; billionaires don’t[3]; and we won’t—which is a sobering fact.
Because of Infanticide, some lives are cut short and aborted, who might have influenced the world in ways we can barely imagine—for good or evil. Suppose Adolf Hitler, Joseph Stalin and Mao Tse-tung had been aborted, or never born. And what about Jesus?
Many people globally have “experienced” God, including yours truly.[4] Does that provide guidance, and a sense of what to do in life? Perhaps so. Maybe the answer is to never stop believing; and that all we can do is our very best, and hope for the rest. And thank God for our loved ones.[5]
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© 2024, Timothy D. Naegele
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[1] Timothy D. Naegele was counsel to the United States Senate’s Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, and chief of staff to Presidential Medal of Freedom and Congressional Gold Medal recipient and former U.S. Senator Edward W. Brooke (R-Mass). See, e.g., Timothy D. Naegele Resume-21-8-6 and https://naegeleknol.wordpress.com/accomplishments/ He has an undergraduate degree in economics from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), as well as two law degrees from the School of Law (Boalt Hall), University of California, Berkeley, and from Georgetown University. He served as a Captain in the U.S. Army during the Vietnam War, assigned to the Defense Intelligence Agency at The Pentagon, where he received the Joint Service Commendation Medal (see, e.g., https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commendation_Medal#Joint_Service). Mr. Naegele is an Independent politically; and he is listed in Who’s Who in America, Who’s Who in American Law, and Who’s Who in Finance and Business. He has written extensively over the years (see, e.g., https://naegeleblog.wordpress.com/articles/ and https://naegeleknol.wordpress.com/articles/), and studied photography with Ansel Adams. He can be contacted directly at tdnaegele.associates@gmail.com
[2] See, e.g., https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfie_(Burt_Bacharach_song) (“Alfie (Burt Bacharach song)”) and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfie_(1966_film) (“Alfie (1966 film)”)
[3] See, e.g., See https://naegeleblog.wordpress.com/2017/05/31/jerry-perenchio-kind-and-caring/ (“Jerry Perenchio: Kind And Caring”)
[4] See https://naegeleblog.wordpress.com/2010/05/12/what-and-where-is-god/ (“What And Where Is God?”)
[5] See https://naegeleblog.wordpress.com/2024/05/12/legacy/ (“Legacy”) and https://naegeleblog.wordpress.com/2024/01/23/the-wonder-dog-is-dead-and-part-of-me-died-with-her/ (“The Wonder Dog Is Dead, And Part of Me Died With Her”)
NaegeleBlog 
I appreciate your comments here today. When Roe v Wade was passed I was working at a law firm in Beverly Hills. I didn’t understand why there had been no discussion about the legality of ending a human life because it wasn’t wanted. One of the attorneys told me the entire argument was based on privacy because the U.S. does have laws that relate to privacy but since no one really knows when life begins it wasn’t even brought up. I wonder how you would react to that. In my nursing career I worked at a facility that did outpatient surgery. Some were abortions. I was sickened when the parents would say that this pregnancy was inconvenient or that ultrasound had shown this baby was a boy & they already had 3 boys so wanted a girl. They’d try again later. But I also knew a woman who was told the fetus was terribly deformed & missing organs required to live. She chose to abort & I was glad she didn’t have to carry the baby full term only to watch it die shortly after birth. It’s a complex issue. To be honest I don’t understand why now, decades after effective birth control was developed, it’s not readily available to all. But so long as opposing sides are talking about two different issues, privacy vs human life, I don’t see it revolving. I have questions….if the Spirit of life enters the zygote at conception, how then can it later sometimes split into 2 or 3 and be different individuals? I know, weird questions, welcome to my mind.
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Welcome to your mind, indeed, Susan. It shows you are alive and asking fundamental questions. 😊
The thought of “right to life,” abortions, and Infanticide never entered my mind until three things happened: (1) Ronald Reagan raised the issue; (2) I watched a fascinating film showing a fetus from the moment of conception to birth; and (3) I read an article authored by a Beverly Hills doctor who had conducted many abortions, and was having nightmares.
I defy anyone who says that once conception takes place, there’s an “interlude” along that spectrum where a life begins (e.g., 3 months). Also, the lawyer’s comment about privacy issues governing is absurd.
An unwanted pregnancy can be averted by using contraceptives or birth control pills, or simply abstaining. And yes, I believe that there may be two exceptions to the crime of Infanticide: in the case of rape; and where a mother’s health is at risk.
Otherwise, I believe Infanticide should be prosecuted. Also, there are many couples who cannot conceive, and adoptions should be encouraged.
See, e.g., https://naegeleblog.wordpress.com/2018/04/29/adoption-a-scar-that-never-heals/ (“Adoption: A Scar That Never Heals?”)
One problem emerges there when the adopted child becomes angry at the adoptive parents who have given nothing except love, in which case the adoptive child needs mental health therapy.
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One more thought re: late term abortions. If a “fetus” is delivered as the result of an abortion and then attempts to breathe on its own what is the appropriate action? Should the staff attempt to resuscitate or hold a cloth over its nose/mouth to suffocate? Or simply neglect to provide any care at all and await the likely outcome. At the moment it’s separate from the mother it’s no longer her call….it’s a human being with all the rights we acknowledge a person to possess. For this reason and to avoid such circumstances fetal demise is induced prior to delivery.
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Thank you again, Susan.
On this issue, the law would be clear. Killing a “fetus” outside of the womb would be murder; and anyone involved — and any entity (e.g., the hospital or clinic) — would be well-advised to hire criminal counsel, which would cost LOTS of money.
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The Pinnacle
In a sense, Novak Djokovic and Rafa Nadal are in the same place in life. Both have life-long supportive wives and young kids; and each has climbed mountains in the sport of tennis, as Roger Federer did.
See https://www.express.co.uk/sport/tennis/1907090/Novak-Djokovic-French-Open-retirement (“Novak Djokovic questions the purpose of continuing career after raising French Open doubts”)
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