Battlin' Bobby Martin

This is simply amazing - a high school senior who plays varsity football in Dayton Ohio, even though he was born without legs and cannot wear prosthetics because he has no hips. At 3 feet tall, 112 pounds, he plays on punt teams, and as backup nose guard. Sound outmatched? The guy benches 215, and his heart is worth twice that.
This past week, however, Bobby Martin ran into a snag - not with his disability, but with the refs. Officials barred him from playing in the second half because of a rules violation. The problem? "Number 99 has no shoes, knee pads, or thigh pads." Wow.

You can read about it here and here, and there's a nice photo spread over at Sports Illustrated.

The best quote comes from the young man himself, "I love the reaction people have when I make a tackle, like it’s impossible for me do it. I prove them wrong."

Kudos to Bobby for having the guts to actually get out there and do this, and to his parents and coaches for allowing him the opportunity.

And now for a question: What kind of 'quality of life' do you think Bobby Martin has? He seems pretty enthusiastic, determined, and thankful right where he is - all he wants is a chance to compete. Yet how many of us would have considered aborting a fetus like Bobby, precisely on the grounds that it wouldn't be fair to him, that he wouldn't have any 'quality of life'.

Where would Bobby be, if we let others make his decisions for him?