Molly Ivins October 27

AUSTIN — Some cultural notes on our time:

— Best Headline of the Week: "Pope Acknowledges Theory of Evolution."

— The new book on birth order, "Born to Rebel" by Frank J. Sulloway, is creating such a stir that I'm waiting for the first report of a new singles-bar come-on. Instead of "Hey, baby, what's your sign?" somewhere in this great land, a stud is about to say to a babe: "Say, good-lookin', where are you in the birth order?"

— According to Richard Darman's book "Who's In Control?" when Rep. Newt Gingrich was elected House speaker two years ago, he declared that "to do what he wanted, government first had to be completely discredited — ethically, programmatically, managerially, philosophically." (Thanks to "The Washington Spectator" for that one.)

In the Olden Days, children, anyone with an agenda like that would have been denounced as a commie agent. Can it be that the Republicans will eventually do what the Soviet apparat tried unsuccessfully to do for so long — destroy our faith in the American system of government? Just a snack for thought.

— There is a television ad running frequently these days on the evils of "partial-birth" or late-term abortions, and, indeed, whenever a late-term abortion is necessary, it is always a tragedy. The ad shows pictures of adorable preemies and says that late-term abortions are just like killing these cute babies.

During the Senate debate on banning late-term abortions, I was much struck by a letter read by Sen. Rick Santorum (R-Pa.), who is opposed to abortion. Written by Whitney Goin of Orlando, Fla., and printed in the Congressional Record, it describes a potential case for late-term abortion that has a happy ending. Her developing fetus, to which she and her husband had looked forward with such joy, had an enormous abdominal-wall defect.

"My husband was unreachable, so I sat alone, until my mother arrived, as the doctor described my baby as being severely deformed with a gigantic defect and most likely many other defects that he could not detect with their equipment. He went on to explain that babies with this large of a defect are often stillborn, live very shortly or could survive with extensive surgeries and treatments, depending on the presence of additional anomalies and complications after birth. The complications and associated problems that a surgical baby in this condition could suffer include but are not limited to: bladder extrophy, imperforate anus, collapsed lungs, diseased liver, fatal infections, cardiovascular malformations, etc.

"I describe my situation in such detail in hopes that you can understand our initial feelings of despair and hopelessness, for it is after this heartbreaking description that the doctor presented us with the choice of a late-term abortion.

My fear is that under the emotional strain, many parents do and will continue to choose this option that can be so easily taken as a means of sparing themselves and their child from the pain that lies ahead. Without total faith in the Lord, we chose uncertainty, wanting to give as much life as we possibly could to our baby.

"On Oct. 25, 1995, the doctors decided that, although a month early, our baby's chance of survival became greater outside the womb than inside, due to a drop in amniotic fluid. At 7:53 a.m., by Cesarean section, Andrew Hewitt Goin was born. The most wonderful sound I have ever heard was his faint squall of joy for being brought into the world. Two hours after being born, he underwent the first of his three major operations.

"For two weeks, Andrew lay still, incoherent from drugs, with his stomach, liver, spleen and small and large intestines exposed. He was given drugs that kept him paralyzed, still able to feel the pain but unable to move. Andrew had IVs in his head, arms and feet. He was kept alive on a respirator for six weeks, unable to breathe on his own. He had tubes in his nose and throat to continually suction his lungs and stomach. Andrew's liver was lacerated and bled. He received eight blood transfusions and suffered a brain hemorrhage. Andrew's heart was pulled to the right side of his body. He contracted a series of blood infections and developed hypothyroidism. Andrew's liver was severely diseased, and he received intrusive biopsies to find the cause. The enormous pressure of the organs being slowly replaced into his body caused chronic lung disease, for which he received extensive oxygen and steroid treatments as he overcame a physical addiction to the numerous pain killers he was given.

"The pain and suffering was unbearable to watch, but the courage and strength of our child was a miraculous sight. We were fortunate. The worst-case scenarios painted by the doctors did not come to fruition, and we are thankful that our son was allowed the opportunity to fight. His will to live overcame all obstacles, and now we are blessed by his presence in our lives every minute. Our deepest respect and prayers go to the courageous parents who knew that their baby would not survive and yet chose to love them on Earth as long as God allowed and intended for them to be."

A beautiful letter, a wonderful ending. I am so happy that the Goins had a choice. But, as Mrs. Goin says, they were fortunate. Others are not. And they need a choice, too.

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Molly Ivins is a columnist for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.

COPYRIGHT 1996 CREATORS SYNDICATE, INC.