On this 41st anniversary of Roe v. Wade, I was hoping to be in Washington, DC participating in the March for Life. But plans change when you have small children and big, ill-timed snow storms. And since I can't be there in person, I thought I'd share why I am pro-life.
In the last eight years or so, I have gone from being apathetic about abortion to being a pro-life advocate. There was no one moment, event, or epiphany that led me to become staunchly pro-life. It was more of a steady realization of truth. A learning of facts combined with a deeper moral understanding, that made it impossible for me to ever accept abortion or the killing of any innocent human being.
Science has always been very persuasive to me, as it is for most people. I was apathetic about abortion mainly because I was ignorant. Everything changed when I became informed. Informed of how a child develops in the womb, how abortions are performed, statistics on abortion, etc.. I'd be hard-pressed to find someone who has Googled abortion, looked at the images, and is not affected.
After learning the scientific aspects, I looked at the abortion issue through logical reasoning. In having discussions with some pro-choice people, I found that they were not able to answer the hard questions that were leading me to be pro-life.
If not at conception, when does the fetus become a human being?
Pro-choicers have given me so many different answers to this question, and even the supposed medical professionals at Planned Parenthood haven't quite figured out the science either. But scientists know that at the moment of conception, a human life has begun in the mother's womb. It is not part of it's mother, but a unique human being just starting its development.
At what point in a pregnancy is abortion wrong?
Most people agree that late-term abortion is morally wrong. But why then? Some argue because the baby can survive outside the womb. But that just means that a human being's right to life is determined by scientific advancements. By that logic, babies in developed countries have an earlier right to life than those in third-world countries, and the right to life will change throughout history.
For those who think abortion is permissible up until birth, I wonder what the critical difference is between that baby outside the womb and one second earlier inside the womb?
And if you are appalled at the idea of killing a baby born alive after an abortion, what made it okay to kill the baby just seconds before while inside his mother?
Our humanity does not depend on whether or not we are completely dependent on another human being. Otherwise, it would be fine to kill already-born babies, children, a sick spouse, or an elderly person. The bottom line is that pro-choice people don't have the answers to the hard questions.
Besides science and logic, my daughters solidified my pro-life stance. From the very beginning of pregnancy, I knew that a life was growing inside of me. That new life made me very sick, in fact. I could see how my body was changing in order to grow this new life, and it was a weighty realization that I was a helper in God's miracle of creation. Eventually I could feel the swishing of this tiny baby in my belly, and then the kicks and punches. The moment my first daughter was born, as I held this fragile, miracle in my hands, the gravity of the situation hit me. This little person did not just matter because I already loved her and she was wanted; She mattered simply because she was a human being, needing to be loved and cared for.
As a mother (aunt, friend, teacher), it is so clear that each human life is unique from the beginning. Each has her own personality, body makeup, and facial expressions. Each has her own developmental journey. Each has her own potential. But at the most basic level, each is a unique creation of God.
There is no way that I can believe that each person is a miracle created by God, and think it is permissible to kill even one of them.
When I think about the abortion industry, I think of the bible quote from Matthew 7:15-17, "Beware of false prophets who come to you disguised as sheep but underneath are ravenous wolves. You will be able to tell them by their fruits. Can people pick grapes from thorns, or figs from thistles? In the same way, a sound tree produces good fruit but a rotten tree bad fruit".
Our culture and many political leaders are leading us astray when they try to promote abortion as a good thing for women and a necessity for society. Or even those who say they personally think it is killing, but they won't tell another person not to kill. They are the wolves in sheep's clothing.
Look at the "fruit" of abortion. Are the fruits of abortion good? There have been almost 57,000,000 babies aborted since 1973 (Roe v. Wade). Abortion is the number 1 killer of African Americans, and in New York City more black babies are aborted than born alive. Kermit Gosnell's house of horrors, where infants born alive were decapitated, went under the radar for years because organizations like the National Abortion Federation failed to report the deplorable conditions they found. Planned Parenthood and other abortion doctors have been found lying and breaking the law in a wide array of undercover videos by Live Action. This is also backed up by dozens of former abortion workers. In Florida, a Planned Parenthood spokeswoman defended infanticide, AKA killing babies born alive. We are now at a point where babies are aborted because of their gender or a disability. In fact 90% of babies determined with prenatal testing to possibly have Down Syndrome are aborted. That is 9 out of 10. And one of the earliest proponents of abortion, and creator of Planned Parenthood, Margaret Sanger was a racist, who believed in using birth control, sterilization, and abortion to limit the "human weeds, reckless breeders...who should never have been born" and to "create a race of thoroughbreds". Charming, right?
It doesn't take much to realize that the fruits on the thorny abortion tree are rotten to the core.
On the other hand, I have found that the pro-life movement has an incredible amount of love and a deep desire to help all people, through all stages of life. It is not simply about saving babies. These are people who spend their time, talents, and money helping women who are experiencing crises, babies whose lives are at stake, and families who feel they have no hope. These are people who congratulate and support any pregnancy, planned or unplanned, and any child, wanted or unwanted.
I have never been so sure of anything in my life as I am that being pro-life is right. That is why I am pro-life.
