Baby Boy A - What's In A Name?

There's a familiar question - what's in a name? It provokes us to really look at the meaning of giving someone a name or moniker. In English, the question, "what's your name", sounds matter of fact. In the Latin Romance languages, such as the Spanish, "Como Se Lama", which interprets to English "How are you called", seems to touch a little more deeply on the subject of "what's in a name".

The giving or changing of a name in the Bible is quite important, as we read how God changed Abram's name to Abraham, Jacob's name to Israel, and ultimately Simon's name to Peter. There is even a childhood fairy tale, titled "Rumpelstiltskin" wherein a woman is forced to guess the name of a mischievous gnome, if she is ever to win back her kidnapped baby from the devious wretch. To this day, much excitement goes into the naming of a new baby ... and even the naming of pets. In the many cemeteries for those killed in wars, the saddest are always those in unmarked graves. In Arlington National Cemetery in fact, a special "Tomb of the Unknown Soldier" was erected in 1921, as a shrine to specially honor unknown and unidentified soldiers. To this day, a special "Society of the Honor Guard" keeps perpetual vigil over this tomb, in memoriam to these soldiers whose names are unknown.

What's in a name? Quite a bit I would say. It's almost as if you really don't exist until you know how you are called; or more importantly, who your father is. Even pets soon learn how they are called by their masters.

So, who is Baby Boy A and why is he called only thus? There is a a criminal grand jury case against an abortionist, Kermit Gosnell, who stands accused of butchering seven babies after they were born alive, as well as fatally drugging one of the mothers. The Grand Jury case against this man, has a 261 page report, which includes a photo of "Baby Boy A", whose neck was allegedly slit by Gosnell. This poor little nameless baby boy, is simply relegated to evidence in a criminal case, by the moniker " Baby Boy A".

The horrors of this case are beyond description, in which Gosnell repeatedly murdered babies, born alive after he aborted them well beyond the legal limits, by slitting their necks and severing their spinal cords, in order to, in his own words, "ensure fetal demise". People are rightfully horrified, shocked and appalled at this gruesome and macabre story, which defies reason; and the case against this man is fully and completely justifiable.

But I would put forth, that Baby Boy A, is merely one of many nameless little victims of abortion. Baby Boy A's case is only brought to court because he was murdered after he was outside his mother's womb. As such, our societal conscience is still sensitive enough not to want to see a newly born infant's throat slit, while it moves and squirms and struggles to take it's first breaths outside the womb. And so, Gosnell is charged with the 7 counts of murder in the deaths of what are termed, "viable babies". Viable because they were outside the womb and gestationally old enough to continue life outside the womb.

So again, what's in a name .. viable? The dictionary definition of this moniker, in brief, is that it indicates a person or state, capable of existing independently .. ie ... such as a child that can sustain life outside it's mother's womb. This is one of the biggest excuses used by pro-abortion advocates, in their reasoning of a woman's right superseding that of her child, because she is viable, while her child, as long as it is still dependent upon her body to sustain life, is not.

And so, the abortionist Kermit Gosnell is only charged with murder of these infants, simply because they were considered "viable". What's in a name? For those women who sought Gosnell's services, or the services of any abortionist, when they were not far enough along in their pregnancy for their baby to be deemed "viable", Gosnell's work would be, according to our current laws, completely legal and not considered murder. And their children would never be called by any name.

The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier is a special shrine to honor all those fallen, whose names are unknown to us. Yet, though we may not know their names, they did have names; unlike the millions of little Baby A B Cs all the way to Z's, who no one called by name. No one except for God that is. In Isaiah ch. 43 we read, "I have called you by name: you are mine." Don't worry little Baby Boy A, you do have a name .. even if we don't know it ... God does, and He has called you by your name.