They are killing their own babies.

In a span of less than a week, two fetuses were discovered one after the other. Two babies deprived not only of their lives even before they could see the light but betrayed by no less than their own mothers. How heartless can they get. It is easy to pin the blame on the two women – and indeed they own the blame for the most part. In the first place, didn't they know that their indiscretions would result to pregnancies?

Abortion however is never the solution to unwanted pregnancies. It never was and never will be. While the crime can be hidden and the physical scars can be removed, the emotional and psychological baggage will remain. That is not to mention the spiritual cost. It is a matter entirely between God and the killers. Much to our discomfort however, the increasing incidents of abortion only reveal a deeper problem than the eye can see. We know for sure that we have not heard the last of aborted babies and abortionists. A good number of people blame the economic and political crisis besetting the nation for the erosion of values and morality. To some extent, it is. And yet, it would be too simplistic to look at it that way.

To do so would be unfair to the many poor people who have managed to hold on to their virtues and their values despite their economic dislocation. In the same manner, it would also gloss over the fact that among the morally bankrupt and spiritually depraved is the affluent and the powerful. When virtue holds sway in the life of a person, it hardly matters whether there is plenty or little. Some of the world's wealthiest people are in fact the ones who are most prone to bribery and compromise. It is a sad commentary to our society that morality has taken a back seat to convenience. Reputations are routinely being traded in for privilege and perks. How cheap and how foolish indeed.

Strange, but the problem has little to do with economy as with dignity. Those who live dignified lives do so gladly even though deprived of the affluence that the compromising surround themselves with. In contrast, those who stopped at nothing to acquire everything in sight are as pathetic as your neighborhood wino. That abortion is prevalent both in advanced and backward communities indicate that the problem that transcends economy, ideology and politics. The worst kind of poverty is that of the soul and spirit. Unfortunately, it is the kind of poverty that pervades the country far more than we care to admit.