Here is the beginning of my Political Series. I have really enjoyed expanding my political views lately and even feeling a little "fire of change" growing inside me. This first topic I'm covering is a little less political for me. Although, it must be addressed politically if there is to be a change. For me, it a question of morals and our God-given human rights. It is something I always knew was wrong but not until lately have I really come to feel so strongly about it.
So here it is: Abortion. I once heard someone say that they don't want to change abortion law, but that they want the existing laws about murder to apply to everyone. I love that statement. Being Pro-Life is not about abortion laws, it's about recognizing that everyone is a person, even unborn children. In my research, I am constantly awed at the extent of life these children have from the earliest weeks of their lives. Life never started when we emerged from the womb. It started a long time before that. Whether you believe in a life before this world or that this Earth is all there is, a child is living before he/she takes that first breath. I asked some mothers to share their thoughts about having life growing inside of them. Their remarks are amazing and you can read them here.
Don't get me wrong, I don't believe that women should give up their lives to turn their uterus into a baby factory. I believe that children should ideally be brought into this world with both parents being fully committed to raising and caring for their children. It is up to the parents to decide how many children they will have and when they will have them. I know that a lot of Pro-Abortion activists believe that a woman has a right to her body (which is a very fair statement) and that she has a right to terminate an unwanted pregnancy. However, she already made her "Choice" when she had sex. She gave up the right to her body by engaging in sex which is emotionally and anatomically designed to create children, in addition to being an expression of love between two people. Can you see why I hate the term "Pro-Choice"?
When did our society change to a place where pregnancy is disease that needs to be eradicated, or that pregnancy is an undesired side-effect of sex? When did a child become something that will ruin our lives? There was a time when even an unplanned pregnancy was something to be excited about because people understood that a child is a blessing. Unfortunately, we live in a world where there is no option of NOT having sex. Society believes that sex is just what you do throughout the normal course of life. Take some responsibility when you engage in an act that is designed to create children! Don't have sex unless you are willing to deal with what might happen. I won't even go as far to say "deal with the consequences" because that implies that having a baby is a punishment. If getting pregnant would result in you having an abortion, then you shouldn't be having sex. I'm not saying that you should exclusively have sex only when you are trying to get pregnant, but don't do it if you aren't willing to accept that you might get a baby as a result. There are alternatives to abortion if you aren't ready to be a parent. Many amazing couples are in want of a family and would be ecstatic if they were given the opportunity to raise your child.
I knew a girl a few years ago who was 18 and trapped in a terribly abusive marriage. She was able to get out of that marriage after several horrible months with help from her family. Shortly after she left, she found out she was pregnant with her abuser's child. However, she miscarried and lost that baby. Many people told her that she must have been relieved, now she could fully sever all ties to that man... But for her, it wasn't a relief. She grieved for that child, as most mothers would at the loss of her child. I would dare any Pro-Abortion person to tell this mother, or any mother grieving a miscarriage, "Your loss wasn't really a loss. You dodged the bullet of parenthood. It was only a clump of cells, meaningless tissue that wasn't ever a real child." Many times people will use this following phrase in reference to a pregnancy, "There is life growing inside you." But if the pregnancy is unwanted, it is no longer deemed as the aforementioned “life”. How is it that a change in perspective will make ending someone’s life acceptable? Just because a baby is unwanted, doesn't mean that their life is less valuable than a child whose parents want to keep their child.
I remember a few years back going to the "Bodies" exhibit at the museum we lived near. You know the one... they have all kinds of preserved dead bodies showing the different systems of the body like muscles, organs etc. Well, they had a section of the exhibit about fetal development. In the exhibit they had preserved babies of all stages of fetal development. It was a bit overwhelming for me but I was glad to learn that none of the babies in the exhibit were acquired by terminating a pregnancy. However, it was very enlightening. Even in the earliest weeks of life, these babies start looking like little humans. They have tiny eyes, a defined head/body, little arms and legs etc. This is only further proof to me that there is true life in each and every unborn child, and not just a clump of tissue. I encourage you to read this story about a woman's conversion to being Pro-Life when she witnessed an "ultrasound-guided abortion."
Often times people will bring up the question, "What if the pregnancy was a result of rape or incest? What if the baby won't live past birth or if delivering the baby will result in the mother's death?" In my religion we have the following explanation:
And while I support this statement, I strongly believe that a woman who has been raped or was impregnated incestuously, can find a little beacon of light in that horrible situation by bringing that baby into this world and giving him or her to a loving family who will care for it. I have read some very touching articles about mothers who have been in these situations (both rape and incest) and found great joy knowing that they saved a life and made a family complete. I have also read about a 17 year old mother who had an unplanned pregnancy and made the choice to continue with her pregnancy only to find out her baby girl had a condition causing the brain and skull to not fully develop. The prognosis was bleak and these young parents knew that their baby would not live past birth. The doctors strongly advised her to abort the pregnancy but she knew that there was a living child in her womb. Here is a piece of her story. "No matter what, she was my daughter. There was a life inside of me and I couldn't just take that away from her. She didn't choose to have this happen to her, so how could I choose to end her life to save myself from more heartache? The bottom line was simple. She was alive, she had a life and it was my job as a mother to give her the best life she could possibly have." Her daughter was stillborn at 35 weeks, but had lived a peaceful and happy life for those 35 weeks inside her mother's womb. I couldn't imagine the strength it took for a 17 year old girl to make that choice. And though I would encourage a mother in any of these situations to continue with her pregnancy, I will never scorn or ridicule anyone for whatever choice they make if this burden was placed before them.
Like I said at the very beginning, this is more of a moral topic than a political one. I have some very strong opinions about politics and government. However, there is a line between opinion and what is morally wrong. Abortion is part of the latter category. It falls in the same group as stealing, murder, child abuse and the like. Most people know that those kinds of things are wrong but somehow abortion has slipped under the line and is now viewed by most of the population as opinion. In most cases, if a doctor knowingly kills his/her patient, it's classified as murder. How can someone like Scott Peterson be charged with TWO murders for killing his wife and subsequently killing their unborn son that she was carrying, but a mother and the doctor performing her abortion are not punishable as murders?
I would like to encourage anyone reading this to truly think about their feelings on the subject of abortion. Do you have your own children, nieces or nephews, grand children etc.? At one time, those precious little ones you love so dearly were no different than millions of other babies who lost their opportunity at life. God has given us the amazing gift of bringing children to this world. Let's take responsibility for our actions and do what is right. Get involved and stand up for what you believe in. I was so nervous about this post. I was afraid of offending someone or having people retaliate against me for what I believe in. But there comes a time where we will all need to decide if our self-interest is so strong that we won’t stand up for what we know is right.
So here it is: Abortion. I once heard someone say that they don't want to change abortion law, but that they want the existing laws about murder to apply to everyone. I love that statement. Being Pro-Life is not about abortion laws, it's about recognizing that everyone is a person, even unborn children. In my research, I am constantly awed at the extent of life these children have from the earliest weeks of their lives. Life never started when we emerged from the womb. It started a long time before that. Whether you believe in a life before this world or that this Earth is all there is, a child is living before he/she takes that first breath. I asked some mothers to share their thoughts about having life growing inside of them. Their remarks are amazing and you can read them here.
Don't get me wrong, I don't believe that women should give up their lives to turn their uterus into a baby factory. I believe that children should ideally be brought into this world with both parents being fully committed to raising and caring for their children. It is up to the parents to decide how many children they will have and when they will have them. I know that a lot of Pro-Abortion activists believe that a woman has a right to her body (which is a very fair statement) and that she has a right to terminate an unwanted pregnancy. However, she already made her "Choice" when she had sex. She gave up the right to her body by engaging in sex which is emotionally and anatomically designed to create children, in addition to being an expression of love between two people. Can you see why I hate the term "Pro-Choice"?
When did our society change to a place where pregnancy is disease that needs to be eradicated, or that pregnancy is an undesired side-effect of sex? When did a child become something that will ruin our lives? There was a time when even an unplanned pregnancy was something to be excited about because people understood that a child is a blessing. Unfortunately, we live in a world where there is no option of NOT having sex. Society believes that sex is just what you do throughout the normal course of life. Take some responsibility when you engage in an act that is designed to create children! Don't have sex unless you are willing to deal with what might happen. I won't even go as far to say "deal with the consequences" because that implies that having a baby is a punishment. If getting pregnant would result in you having an abortion, then you shouldn't be having sex. I'm not saying that you should exclusively have sex only when you are trying to get pregnant, but don't do it if you aren't willing to accept that you might get a baby as a result. There are alternatives to abortion if you aren't ready to be a parent. Many amazing couples are in want of a family and would be ecstatic if they were given the opportunity to raise your child.
I knew a girl a few years ago who was 18 and trapped in a terribly abusive marriage. She was able to get out of that marriage after several horrible months with help from her family. Shortly after she left, she found out she was pregnant with her abuser's child. However, she miscarried and lost that baby. Many people told her that she must have been relieved, now she could fully sever all ties to that man... But for her, it wasn't a relief. She grieved for that child, as most mothers would at the loss of her child. I would dare any Pro-Abortion person to tell this mother, or any mother grieving a miscarriage, "Your loss wasn't really a loss. You dodged the bullet of parenthood. It was only a clump of cells, meaningless tissue that wasn't ever a real child." Many times people will use this following phrase in reference to a pregnancy, "There is life growing inside you." But if the pregnancy is unwanted, it is no longer deemed as the aforementioned “life”. How is it that a change in perspective will make ending someone’s life acceptable? Just because a baby is unwanted, doesn't mean that their life is less valuable than a child whose parents want to keep their child.
I remember a few years back going to the "Bodies" exhibit at the museum we lived near. You know the one... they have all kinds of preserved dead bodies showing the different systems of the body like muscles, organs etc. Well, they had a section of the exhibit about fetal development. In the exhibit they had preserved babies of all stages of fetal development. It was a bit overwhelming for me but I was glad to learn that none of the babies in the exhibit were acquired by terminating a pregnancy. However, it was very enlightening. Even in the earliest weeks of life, these babies start looking like little humans. They have tiny eyes, a defined head/body, little arms and legs etc. This is only further proof to me that there is true life in each and every unborn child, and not just a clump of tissue. I encourage you to read this story about a woman's conversion to being Pro-Life when she witnessed an "ultrasound-guided abortion."
Often times people will bring up the question, "What if the pregnancy was a result of rape or incest? What if the baby won't live past birth or if delivering the baby will result in the mother's death?" In my religion we have the following explanation:
"Some exceptional circumstances may justify an abortion, such as when pregnancy is the result of incest or rape, when the life or health of the mother is judged by competent medical authority to be in serious jeopardy, or when the fetus is known by competent medical authority to have severe defects that will not allow the baby to survive beyond birth. But even these circumstances do not automatically justify an abortion. Those who face such circumstances should consider abortion only after consulting with their local Church leaders and receiving a confirmation through earnest prayer." (www.lds.org)
And while I support this statement, I strongly believe that a woman who has been raped or was impregnated incestuously, can find a little beacon of light in that horrible situation by bringing that baby into this world and giving him or her to a loving family who will care for it. I have read some very touching articles about mothers who have been in these situations (both rape and incest) and found great joy knowing that they saved a life and made a family complete. I have also read about a 17 year old mother who had an unplanned pregnancy and made the choice to continue with her pregnancy only to find out her baby girl had a condition causing the brain and skull to not fully develop. The prognosis was bleak and these young parents knew that their baby would not live past birth. The doctors strongly advised her to abort the pregnancy but she knew that there was a living child in her womb. Here is a piece of her story. "No matter what, she was my daughter. There was a life inside of me and I couldn't just take that away from her. She didn't choose to have this happen to her, so how could I choose to end her life to save myself from more heartache? The bottom line was simple. She was alive, she had a life and it was my job as a mother to give her the best life she could possibly have." Her daughter was stillborn at 35 weeks, but had lived a peaceful and happy life for those 35 weeks inside her mother's womb. I couldn't imagine the strength it took for a 17 year old girl to make that choice. And though I would encourage a mother in any of these situations to continue with her pregnancy, I will never scorn or ridicule anyone for whatever choice they make if this burden was placed before them.
Like I said at the very beginning, this is more of a moral topic than a political one. I have some very strong opinions about politics and government. However, there is a line between opinion and what is morally wrong. Abortion is part of the latter category. It falls in the same group as stealing, murder, child abuse and the like. Most people know that those kinds of things are wrong but somehow abortion has slipped under the line and is now viewed by most of the population as opinion. In most cases, if a doctor knowingly kills his/her patient, it's classified as murder. How can someone like Scott Peterson be charged with TWO murders for killing his wife and subsequently killing their unborn son that she was carrying, but a mother and the doctor performing her abortion are not punishable as murders?
I would like to encourage anyone reading this to truly think about their feelings on the subject of abortion. Do you have your own children, nieces or nephews, grand children etc.? At one time, those precious little ones you love so dearly were no different than millions of other babies who lost their opportunity at life. God has given us the amazing gift of bringing children to this world. Let's take responsibility for our actions and do what is right. Get involved and stand up for what you believe in. I was so nervous about this post. I was afraid of offending someone or having people retaliate against me for what I believe in. But there comes a time where we will all need to decide if our self-interest is so strong that we won’t stand up for what we know is right.
Amen! I couldn't have said it better!
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