Abortion Is NOT the Only Choice.
“A fetus is just a blobby tissue.” “It’s my body, leave me alone.” “How dare all these self-righteous people tell others what to do?”
Many women cite financial reasons for having an abortion, that they can’t afford to have another child or they can’t afford one at all. Other women decide to have an abortion because it’s not the right time, or emotionally they’re not ready, their parents will be disappointed, their boyfriend/husband will leave them. There are many reasons for having an abortion, including the results from a medical exam that determines the child is going to be disabled, either physically or mentally. Pro-Choice people cite these reasons as being valid reasons for choosing abortion over giving birth to a child–but they’re actually just excuses.
Abortion is a subject that is only glossed over on the surface when discussed with friends and family. We don’t know who has had an abortion because it’s not exactly something discussed at the dinner table with family or over a coffee with a friend. This article is not intended to be critical of those who have chosen to have an abortion. Pregnancy is an emotional time in a woman’s life, and decisions she makes are not always well thought out. That’s why it’s important for the pro-life people to offer support and solutions to pregnant women who feel they are in a dilemma. This is to encourage any female to really consider what she is doing before choosing abortion.
Bottom line, abortion is murder of an innocent child. Fetus is a Latin word meaning little one, yet the word is tossed around like the word garbage. In utero, the child needs only two components to survive: oxygen and food. That’s right, the same two components that you and I need to survive.
From the moment of conception, the fetus (little one) has everything needed to grow. In other words, nothing is added or taken away for the child to fully develop. All the 30,000 genes that determine eye color, skin color, personality, etc. is there from that moment on. All the 46 chromosomes are in place. There are even two separate blood vessels – one for the mother and one for the baby. Of course, many doctors are advising pregnant women to abort babies diagnosed with what has become known collectively as a “poor prenatal diagnosis.” Meaning that children with Spina Bifida, Down syndrome, Trisomy 13 and a host of other disabilities never have the chance to take their first breath.
“Every Life is a Gift” was the theme for the March for Life on January 22nd, 2015, in Washington DC. Listening to the speakers on the radio at the March For Life 2011, Jeanne Monahan, March for Life Education and Defense Fund spoke about her 7-year old son Cole. Monahan tells the audience her son, Cole, was born with an extra 21st chromosome, and that he has “brought my family a bunch of joy.” His likes include reading, peanut butter, and basket-ball, just like any other 7 year old child.
A concern many have when hearing the news that their child will have one of the above conditions is how it will impact the family and will the child lead a productive life. Having a child with a disability definitely impacts the other family members, but not necessarily negatively.
A Harvard study in 2011 discovered that 99 percent of parents with a child with Down syndrome love their child; 97 percent of these parents were proud of their child with Down syndrome. Not only that, many parents felt that they enjoyed life more fully because of their child.
For the past four years, I have worked with Special Needs children in middle school and they are amazing. They are loving, tolerant, and they seem to love life to the fullest. Yes, having a child with a severe disability changes the family dynamics and parents do have to think long term about everything this entails. But new sonograms testify to the reality of life inside the womb, a reality that many prefer to ignore in order to accommodate their life vs. death choices. Is it really our “choice” to deny a person the right to live? Ask any parent of a Special Needs child if they would rather have not had their child and the answer is an unequivocal “no.”
In 2015, children are seen as commodities, something that can be thrown away if it’s not wanted. Children thought to be defective are never given the opportunity to live. Children are not choices. Would a doctor consider performing surgery on an infant without anesthesia? Of course not. Yet an unborn child feels the unquestionable pain of life being sucked away.
There are viable choices when it comes to abortion. ‘Mary’s Shelter’ run by Kathleen Wilson in Fredericksburg, Virginia is a home for young pregnant women who seem to have no hope. There are many of these homes and shelters across the country. Women need to know there are alternatives to abortion and help is available to them.
We will continue the fight to stop the killing fields of America.
