Labor pains

I don’t understand cruelty. Are the domestic abusers that are so prevalent to be clinically labeled as sadists? What could possibly provoke a human being of any age to physically harm an animal?

As I admitted, I don’t understand cruelty. Perhaps I hope I never do.

But that which is hardest for me to conceive is the ultimate cruelty – the kind that happens after conceiving – the kind that has tripled in the last decade – expectant mothers turning their unborns into addicts.

The domestic increase in the incidence of U.S. babies being born junkies is as a result of what is to me unthinkable – pregnant women continuing to use vicodin, oxycontin, and heroin. Ever see a meth baby? Don’t look.

We all have been raised with the belief that there is a natural nurturing protective trigger that allows expectant mothers to stop destructive behavior. Tell that to a pediatrician giving an anti-withdrawal medication to an infant two days old. It’s simply inconceivable.

I’m Pat McMahon.

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