For Life

As hundreds of thousands of pro-life demonstrators converge on Washington Mall, protesting the laws in our country that have made legal the slaughter of over a millions children each year, I was dismayed to read this article on AnnArbor.com, urging “zealous Christians” to be more respectful of those who support abortion rights out of “love”.  I should note that it was not written by staff, but by a community member (like a “letter to the editor”) — and yet I was sorry to see it posted on this particular weekend.

Because I couldn’t get it to post online I thought I’d post it here …

I appreciate your comment about keeping things civilized. Let’s see if I can do as well.

Although young adults inevitably crave independence, adulthood, and self-determination . . . they are simply ill-prepared to handle the consequences of a sexual relationship. If they do make that adult choice, the stakes are much higher than they are for what school to attend or what car to buy. TWO lives are at stake!

Once a child is created in his mother’s womb, the focus rightly shifts for the parents from “rights” to “responsibilities.” (This is true before the child’s birth as well as afterwards.) If the parents do not believe they are ready for parenthood — financially, emotionally, etc. — this does not mitigate their responsibility for the child. The unborn child — who cannot speak for himself — has rights that are no less important than the mother’s — and he stands to suffer most if the mother makes the wrong choice.

In the end, families need to be included in the decision, and be prepared to help plan for the infant’s future. The younger the mother, the less likely that she will have the experience she needs to plan for her child’s welfare. Those who seek to separate a woman in a crisis pregnancy from the influence of those who love her most do her a grave injustice.

 Since Roe v. Wade, crisis pregnancies ending in adoption have declined to under 2% (from over 30%). However, over 52 MILLION children have been killed. Over a million children each year. How can this possibly be a good thing? How can that many lost lives NOT affect us?

Women in crisis pregnancies now have far more “choice” than our mothers did — choices that will not end in the death of a child. For example, open adoption alleviates fears of what happens to a child after being is placed with a new family. While the mother may continue to regret not being able to parent the child herself, open adoption can give her peace of mind — and offer the baby the most important gift of all: life.