Tuesday, January 29, 2013

The rights of the Innocent.

On January 25, 2013, Americans will gather in our nation’s capital to commemorate the 40th anniversary of Roe v. Wade. To me this means that nearly 55 million of our most innocent have perished. I do not know what kind of people could celebrate let alone tolerate this

. Many say that it is about the rights of a woman regarding her own body. They say that all women deserve the right to rule what happens to and inside of their bodies. They see abortion as a means of control over their own bodies. But what about the babies they are severing from a chance at life. Shouldn't a fetal female also be allowed to live and grow and not have her body brutally mutilated and her life ended. Do the rights of women only start at birth, or is it at puberty or when a women becomes sexually active?

 I think it is great that women can now vote and have the respect in many aspects of society that we deserve, but I think that everyone's “right” should end when the rights of another begin. In the United States of America we are promised Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. Why do we then take the lives of innocent soon to be born babies and deny them the right to all of the above. When a baby is conceived, it is alive. I have seen many ultrasounds of babies who are living, moving and awaiting their chance in the world. From personal experience, I KNOW that babies in the womb are not a condition, but are life in it's most innocent form..

 After carrying a baby for 4 and 1/2 months, we learned that our baby had died. I had to go through a painful delivery of the deceased fetus. Although the baby was not fully formed and was not a bouncing, breathing baby, it was a human being and if the little heart of that baby had continued to beat it would now be running around with my other children. No one can tell me that a pregnancy is a growth or a medical diagnosis, it means that you have the privilege of hosting another human being for a short time and allowing it to experience life.

 It is inconceivable to me that a woman would choose to end the life of another human being for her own convenience, comfort or character preservation. Especially when there are so many who lovingly long for a baby and are not given the privilege of parenthood. It is even more inconceivable that any government would deem it acceptable to tax those who believe that abortion is wrong to pay for abortions for those who feel it is somehow acceptable. Our government has also paid for many abortions in other nations. Are we trying to ease our own guilt by spreading the stain of abortion to other countries?

 My favorite scripture is in Isaiah. It seems to fit this topic: Can a woman forget her sucking child and have not compassion on the son of her womb. Yea, they may forget, but I will not forget you, for I have graven you on the palms of my hands. I think that Jesus chose the most loving image that he could imagine, that of a mother, to try to teach us about his love for us. I salute those mothers in this world who continue to have this love and allow their children to live and become the full grown children of God that they are.

 When our daughter delivered our first grandchild. I was amazed at the security measures including a nurse guard, locked doors, and other procedures that protected the babies at the hospital. The mothers were not allowed to leave the hospital until they had completed a battery of educational classes to make sure they were mentally capable of caring for their new child. Yet.... a woman can walk into a clinic and dispose of her unborn child in the name of convenience and selfishness. Where are the guards and the doors and the education protecting those children? Why do we protect some and neglect others? Why do nurses rush around to save one child struggling for breath in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit and turn a blind eye when another child of the same age is simply left to die in a medical trash receptacle. I honestly don't get it.

 Abortion has been legal most of my life. I am grateful that I was allowed to live. I think that I owe something to those who are not as fortunate. As long as we are trying to make everything fair by spreading around the wealth and giving everyone a fair shot, let’s dedicate some of the life that we have been granted to rescue those who are not getting a shot a life. When Mother Theresa visited America a few years ago, her biggest concern was our toleration for abortion. Prophets have warned us for ages against the horror of abortion. For 40 years we have allowed an evil to rage within our borders. It is time to take a stand and stand up for those innocent ones who would be among us.