Here it is, guys! Cross-posted from my birth blog. This has nothing to do with HG but is a subject close to my heart, so I wanted to post it on both blogs.
In honor of the National Day of Appreciation for Abortion Providers, I thought I would like to write a quick note about why I do not appreciate abortion providers! It's only fitting.
Anyone who has read this blog for more than a couple of entries has probably gotten the idea that I am pro-life. Well, here it is officially: I am. I have not done a lot of abortion-specific articles simply because this is a natural birth blog rather than a right-to-life blog, but I want every part of this blog to be life-affirming. It is a bit intimidating to even write on the subject, just because I know that most natural birth blogs (being, as the movement is, wrapped up in feminism and patient/women's rights) are pro-abortion, and I know that I risk both negative backlash and lost readership. However, one must stand for what one believes is right, and it's time for some pro-life birth blogs. However, if you are pro-choice, know that I love you! If you would like to have a calm, respectful discussion, feel free to leave a comment and I'll get back with you. If you would like to be incendiary and hateful, please don't bother leaving a comment. I've seen the abortion debate degenerate too often into a screaming match, and this does not do anyone any good.
It is also difficult to write on the subject simply because with abortion, one risks descending into what can only be described as a diatribe - a derisive denunciation of the other side (think Ann Coulter) which generally gets people on one's side saying, "Yeah! That's right!" and people on the other side even more deeply divided and set against what you had to say. That is not the purpose of this article. My one purpose is to have pro-choice readers examine their views and question the goodness of what they are defending.
My history, for the record: I was raised pro-abortion and stayed that way, strongly, until sometime around early college, when I took a good look at what it was I was defending - and thereafter began the gradual journey into my current pro-life position. On the way I slid through most of the "in between" positions - "wrong except in rape/incest/fetal abnormalities," "wrong except in rape/incest," etc. Only when I finally came to the resting place of acknowledging all human life as sacred did I know true peace on this issue.
There are only two possible justifications for abortion: (1) Abortion is okay if the unborn child is not a human being, and (2) Abortion is okay if there are certain groups of human beings who do not have the same rights as other human beings.
As to the humanity of the unborn, let's get realistic. Either the unborn child is fully human and thus sacred from the moment of conception, or no human life is sacred (as one abortionist so aptly put it, "What exactly is it about passage down the birth canal that suddenly makes a baby sacred?"). All of the "non-human to human" transition points that have been thought up (such as "not human until the heart starts beating," "not human until the age of viability," "not human until breathing on its own") are purely artificial human constructions that have no basis in objective fact. From the moment of conception, the baby's hair color, eye color, personality traits, and an innumerable host of other characteristics are already determined. The baby is growing and developing from day one. All attempts to dehumanize the unborn infant (calling a baby a "fetus" or "products of conception") are just that - human attempts to reason away the humanity of an infant so that its killing does not seem so heinous.
And if an unborn infant is human, then the idea that some human beings just don't have rights is absolutely despicable. All human beings deserve the right to a natural, God-ordained (rather than humanly-ordained) lifespan which cannot be pushed aside for the convenience of other human beings who don't want to deal with the bother of an "unwanted" or inconveniently handicapped child.
The abortion movement has been wrapped up in some absolutely lovely, mouth-watering terms: Freedom. Choice. Every child a wanted child. Women's rights. Patients' rights. Privacy. But at the end of the day, what do we find? Do we find freedom and empowered women? No. We find the horribly mutilated bodies of countless babies (over 50 million since 1973) being thrown out with the trash in biowaste bags. And that is the literal truth. Go look at some abortion pics on the internet and tell me what you see - you will see dead babies. Nothing more, nothing less. There is no freedom - only death, in the most brutal way and visited upon the most innocent, vulnerable and fragile of all human beings, those who most deserve our tenderest and move loving care and protection.
I could write all day about this subject, going into the various reasons for abortion and defending my position. But I don't need to get long-winded. Maybe I'll cover some of those subjects later. For now, I just want the thoughtful reader to truly think.
Thus, if you are pro-life, get active! Participate in 40 Days for Life. Participate in the Red Envelope Campaign. Go find an abortion clinic and spend some time in prayer there.
And if you are pro-choice? Please spend some time in deep thought. Think past the rhetoric, the campaign slogans, the propaganda. Realize what "choice" means. And decide whether or not that "choice" is where you want to put your heart.
Closing with the words of Mother Teresa:
"Yours is the one great nation in all history which was founded on the precept of equal rights and respect for all humankind, for the poorest and weakest of us as well as the richest and strongest. Human rights are not a privilege conferred by government. They are every human being's entitlement by virtue of his humanity. I have no new teaching for America. I seek only to recall you to faithfulness to what you once taught the world. Your nation was founded on the proposition very old as a moral precept, but startling and innovative as a political insight that human life is a gift of immeasurable worth, and that it deserves, always and everywhere, to be treated with the utmost dignity and respect."
Submitted for your appreciation -- a list of abortion providers and some of their accomplishments!
ReplyDeleteLovely job!
ReplyDeleteDiana--you state your point very well without it being pushy/preachy. I was reminded of the value of life this week when we saw our baby on the ultrasound. I struggle with my thoughts on abortion when it comes to fetal abnormality and was wondering what I would do--how would I possibly ever make the right decision--if I were faced with such a situation. Luckily it seems our little one is developing normally (according to the nuchal measurement).
ReplyDeleteIt's great that you are able to open this up to discussion from both sides of the issue. And I appreciate all of the support your words provide to people experiencing HG and pregnancy in general.
Diana- Beautifully written. I too was raised pro-abortion and continued that way until I graduated from college and got engaged to my HS sweetheart.
ReplyDeleteDuring one of our marriage prep classes through the church, I learned some things that started to change my view. From that point forward- I have completely become pro-life.
My beliefs strengthened even more after the birth of my daughter, and witnessing first hand the miracle of life.
That was a very interesting post. As you know, I had severe hyperemesis gravidarum but the thought of abortion did not enter my head. I've seen you say elsewhere that you understand but do not condone therapeutic abortion. I thought that was very honest and admired you for saying that. A couple of years ago a young work colleague shared her plans to have an abortion. I don't know why she did and I wish she hadn't told me. I tried to suggest she would manage (she had a profession) and I wondered if she was delaying because she didn't really want to. She did have one and it seemed to have so little impact. Soon after she decided she wanted a baby. Her boyfriend had not been supportive of the first pregnancy but made a fuss of his cousin's child, which made her vety angry since he had not wanted their child. I will always wonder if anything I could have said could have changed her mind. I did not have genetic tests when pregnant and the medical establishment were not very happy about that, I am a geneticist myself but I decided I would cope no matter what. I'm not the judge of others but I do think abortion is much too common now and that counselling should be offered to see if women would be willing to have their child and give it up for adoption instead.
ReplyDeleteHi again, my friend! (to "Sleepwalker") Wow, what an awful story about your co-worker - what a sad situation. Stories like that (and they are so common) are heart-breaking.
ReplyDeleteI actually started out as pro-choice - I was raised that way and believed that way for a long time. However, I am now firmly and irrevocably pro-life. I believe that human life begins at conception, and that each and every life is unique, God-breathed, precious and utterly sacred. While I understand the plight of HG mothers who abort, I believe that they would be better served by social bars on abortion - I haven't yet heard any HG mother say "Oh, I'm so glad I aborted!" What I do hear is "In a moment of weakness, I made a decision that I will regret for the rest of my life." And what is worse is when doctors and husbands allow/condone/encourage this act, when they themselves should be the protectors of babies and the champions for the mothers, making sure that they get the care that they need. It is a tragic combination.
But whether in the HG world, or the normal world of social abortions, abortion only means that babies die - horribly - and mothers are hurt. (Yes, some women don't regret their abortion(s), but to me, that is even sadder - offering up one's child for the sacrifice and having no second thoughts or sorrow.) It is a nightmarish thing all around, and I will spend the rest of my life championing the preciousness of unborn life - of all life. The Bible says:
"Rescue those being led away to death; hold back those staggering toward slaughter. If you say, “But we knew nothing about this,” does not he who weighs the heart perceive it? Does not he who guards your life know it? Will he not repay everyone according to what they have done?"
And also:
"There are six things the LORD hates, seven that are detestable to him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood..."
I am absolutely passionate about protecting those who cannot speak for themselves, much as I do understand where abortion-minded HG mothers are coming from.
I apologize for my rambling! Thank you for your kind interchange of ideas, as always!
I think a woman should have the right to choose who she wants to get in bed with. Period. If she gets pregnant and has another human being growing inside of her body, I do not believe it should be up to her to terminate that life.
ReplyDeleteHi to "The Reed Family"! Thanks for visiting!
ReplyDeleteAnd I agree with your comment!
I'd like to clarify, though, to make sure I'm not misunderstood - this is for future readers. I do agree that every woman has the right to decide who she will get in bed with. But at the same time, I do not believe that children who are conceived through rape are therefore fair game. I don't want to come across as "you agreed to have sex, so now you have to stay pregnant as punishment!" It's really more along the lines of "every child, regardless of the circumstances of his/her conception, is a special, unique, sacred, precious creation of God and therefore deserves love, protection, and a God-given lifespan." Every child is fully human, regardless of parentage. Just to clarify - I want to avoid the "pregnancy as punishment" label here.
Loved your blog! Thanks for visiting!