A Baby's Valuable Life

I am not much for getting involved in political talk...I usually see it as being so divisive that it's not worth it. Several things recently have had me thinking a lot about the issue of abortion, however.  First of all, I am 22 weeks pregnant with a baby girl.  She has just as much of a human right to her own life and future decisions as any other woman (even though my thoughts on our "rights" as children of a merciful God are another topic altogether!).  Then there was this picture that has been circulating in my circle a little bit on Facebook...an artist's clay depiction of a baby in the womb at 12 weeks. I really felt compelled in the middle of last nights' storms while watching the news at 2am to write a little bit about my thoughts regarding abortion.  I saw a short story about the law that was recently upheld in Arizona banning abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy.  What really stirred my spirit was the language that is so often used, as was used in this news piece, when talking about abortion, babies, and pregnancy.  I really believe that the language lawmakers, media, and those opposed to a baby's right to life use only make it easier for us all to live with the fact that we are killing babies.  It just soothes the pain that we should be feeling when talking about this issue...and in my opinion is a way to sort of live in denial.  I know I am really putting myself out there for criticism in this day talking like this, but I honestly believe it is true.  When we say things like, "a law has been upheld that makes it unlawful to terminate a pregnancy beyond 20 weeks," it's a little easier on the heart than hearing, "a law has been upheld that makes it unlawful to end the life of a baby once the baby has completed 20 weeks of development."  We say things like "terminate pregnancy," and "right to choose," and "fetus," "tissue," and "unborn child" because we don't want to see the truth....abortion is killing a baby....it is ending the life that has begun in a developing human with a heartbeat, spinal column, nerves that feel, and muscles that cause it to kick and move around. 

I feel pretty confident that most abortions do not take place prior to 6 weeks.  However, at the 6 week ultrasound of all 3 of the babies I have carried (although I did lose our second baby at 10 weeks), we saw a strong heartbeat over 100 beats per minute!  At 6 weeks!  There was life....it was moving right there on the screen.  It was not just tissue...it was life.  The spinal cord begins developing before most women even know they are pregnant.  I felt my baby kick for the first time at 13 weeks, even though she was kicking long before that point.  It makes me so incredibly sad to know that in some states it would be legal to end the life of the baby that I am currently carrying...at 22 weeks....simply because she is not "viable,"...meaning that if she were born today, she would not be able to survive outside of my womb.  Does that mean that she isn't a baby?  Does the fact that she still needs my body to nurture her development mean that her life is not as important or meaningful? 

Now, I also want to say that I am not naive to the other side of this issue.  While I have never experienced a pregnancy as a single woman, a young teenager, or just during a time when I was not hoping for a child, I know it is not an easy life circumstance to find oneself in.  And, I know that choosing to have an abortion is not always a decision that a woman enters into lightly.  I also know that it is a decision that she will battle with emotionally for a very long time.  My heart towards women who have had, are having, or are thinking about having an abortion is full of compassion.  I cannot imagine what they have been through and/or are going through.  I am currently praying for a group of women who are part of a local support group designed to guide women who have had an abortion towards healing through the Gospel of Jesus Christ...and I am humbled by their courage and faith when I read their requests.  And, I have friends who have personally experienced abortion and are finding healing from their experience, while very possible, to be an ever-present battle.  Hearing their stories and the long-term effects of abortion on their hearts only makes me more certain that abortion is not the answer to a woman finding she is carrying a baby when she wasn't planning to.  The results for the woman are going to be difficult no matter what a woman decides to do, so why add to that ending another life?  And I know that for those opposed to a baby's right to life the issue at stake is the woman's choice.  Which leads me back to my original point.

My only thoughts last night were this:  If we are going to keep allowing abortion to be legal, then let's call it what it is, for the sake of the babies who are dying and the moms who are hurting more than we know.  Let's stop making it an easier pill to swallow.  To say it in health care terminology, let's offer women the option of giving truly "informed consent."  When a woman is presented with her options, let's say:  "you could allow your baby to develop until you go into labor and give birth and keep the baby for yourself, OR you could allow your baby to develop until you go into labor and give birth and then allow another couple who is longing for a baby to adopt your baby as their own if you are not able to care for him/her, OR, you could end the life of your baby.  We will not be just 'terminating your pregnancy,' we will be ending your baby's life."  Then whatever stage of development her baby is in, let's make sure she is aware of all that she will be deciding to end.  She needs to know what her baby looks like, is doing at this point, etc.  We don't need to hide such crucial information in order to "make it easier on her" to decide to end her baby's life.  I just wonder if women were presented with a more genuine picture of the choice they are being given, how many more of them might choose to nurture, rather than end, their baby's life?