Throughout history, men have committed true outragesone of them is cannibalism, or the practice of eating human flesh by an ancient Antillean people. There have also been cases of cannibalism among some tribes in South America, Africa and Oceania. Today this practice is opposed by all civilized peoples.
Another type of outrage is the practice in the city of Sparta, where those who were born with disabilities or simply weak used to be thrown down to death from Mount Taygetos.
Third, we might take the human sacrifices performed by the Aztecs: any religious ceremony entailed dismembering and skinning a young, 12-year-old male or female victim.
But, thank God, man has progressed and gradually come to reject such outrages.
We could argue that progress is the change of a person or thing into a better, more advanced or further developed state. We could also say that progress is the development of a society from an economic, social, scientific and cultural perspective. Progress implies great advancement of humankind.
What would we say about a social group or a political party supporting the death of babies inside their mothers wombs? Of course, we cannot consider those practices as progress for humankind.
The defense of human life from the time of conception is a goal of human progress. The defense of human life before and after birth is a human right and the acknowledgment of its dignity.
A further aspect of progress is the abolition of the death penalty around the world, which took place in Spain in 1983.
But some social sectors today identifying themselves as left-wing progressive defend the death of the child before birth and justify and support abortion clinics making millions of euros through these practices. This is not progress but a backward movement to historical stages which are already over, such as cannibalism, the death of children in Sparta, or human sacrifices by the Aztecs.
True progress involves defending human life and acknowledging its dignity as a person.
small>Arturo Ramo, coordinator Independent Forum of Opinion, Teruel, Spain
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