Abortion?
Michael over at Confessions of a Madman: Insights into Living and Coping With ADHD has written a thought provoking entry on the issue of abortion and his personal view point. My response was too long to fit in comments, so I decided to move it here...
Hi Michael. Well written post, as always. But you miss one critical choice that many on both the pro-life and pro-choice sides of the fence often miss.
Almost four years ago, a 16 year old girl living in poverty with her single mother in a low income studio apartment made a mistake one night and didn't practice safe sex. Terrified by what her mother's reaction would be, she hid her condition for several months. By the time her mom figured things out, the free clinic told them it was too late for an abortion.
This girl was still in high school and her mother was already struggling to support just the two of them. Keeping the baby was not an option. What to do? She knew she could leave the newborn at the hospital, a local designated church or other facility, no questions asked. But was that the right choice?
She wanted to know where her baby went and to whom. In fact, she wanted to choose. She did some research and discovered that private adoption would not only pay all her medical expenses, but it would also pay her living expenses for the duration of her pregnancy. This would lift a huge burden off her mother's shoulders and they would be able to pay their rent and have plenty of food in the fridge.
As she sat in her new lawyer's office looking at photos of couples waiting to adopt a child, she spotted a young couple and something about them struck her. She read their detailed biography and knew that this was a family she wanted to meet.
That childless couple was my husband and I.
We welcomed this girl into our extended family with open arms. We paid her expenses happily and went well above and beyond what the law required to make sure her future looked brighter and she would always have a way to keep in touch with us and watch the baby's progress.
If not for the procrastination of a fearful teen, Tyler's life would have been snuffed out only weeks after his conception. That thought alone brings me to tears as I type this.
Why are the choices only abject poverty with an unwanted child or abortion when people debate this highly charged issue? If a woman finds herself with an unwanted pregnancy, why kill all that unborn potential? That child could one day go on to invent the cure for cancer or be a messenger of peace for the planet.
There are too many childless couples currently waiting to adopt and far too many abortions happening every day. I weep for the children who may have been. I weep for the families with so much love to give and no child in their arms. I weep for a culture that so readily tosses it's unborn children into the trash when contraception is so readily available and the word "no" is so easy to say.
As Krissy said in her excellent comment to your posting, we also donate regularly to charities and organizations dedicated to helping the poor in our own country. We also donate to an organization whose sole purpose is to educate and inform the public about adoption.
I even make a point to donate to a small private charity that helps people pay their bills when they find themselves temporarily short of funds. We know what it's like to work hard but find yourself with sudden unexpected expenses that you just can't afford. We used to be in those shoes...barely scrapping by from week to week.
I wouldn't feel right about my pro-life stance if I didn't also believe that we need to look out after our fellow man. We worked hard for the comfortable life we currently lead and share our good fortune generously with friends and strangers alike.
It's sad that we must also pray for another young girl or woman with an unwanted pregnancy to choose adoption (and us) rather than abortion in order for us to once again bring a baby home to love.
There is a third choice. Never forget that.
Hi Michael. Well written post, as always. But you miss one critical choice that many on both the pro-life and pro-choice sides of the fence often miss.
Almost four years ago, a 16 year old girl living in poverty with her single mother in a low income studio apartment made a mistake one night and didn't practice safe sex. Terrified by what her mother's reaction would be, she hid her condition for several months. By the time her mom figured things out, the free clinic told them it was too late for an abortion.
This girl was still in high school and her mother was already struggling to support just the two of them. Keeping the baby was not an option. What to do? She knew she could leave the newborn at the hospital, a local designated church or other facility, no questions asked. But was that the right choice?
She wanted to know where her baby went and to whom. In fact, she wanted to choose. She did some research and discovered that private adoption would not only pay all her medical expenses, but it would also pay her living expenses for the duration of her pregnancy. This would lift a huge burden off her mother's shoulders and they would be able to pay their rent and have plenty of food in the fridge.
As she sat in her new lawyer's office looking at photos of couples waiting to adopt a child, she spotted a young couple and something about them struck her. She read their detailed biography and knew that this was a family she wanted to meet.
That childless couple was my husband and I.
We welcomed this girl into our extended family with open arms. We paid her expenses happily and went well above and beyond what the law required to make sure her future looked brighter and she would always have a way to keep in touch with us and watch the baby's progress.
If not for the procrastination of a fearful teen, Tyler's life would have been snuffed out only weeks after his conception. That thought alone brings me to tears as I type this.
Why are the choices only abject poverty with an unwanted child or abortion when people debate this highly charged issue? If a woman finds herself with an unwanted pregnancy, why kill all that unborn potential? That child could one day go on to invent the cure for cancer or be a messenger of peace for the planet.
There are too many childless couples currently waiting to adopt and far too many abortions happening every day. I weep for the children who may have been. I weep for the families with so much love to give and no child in their arms. I weep for a culture that so readily tosses it's unborn children into the trash when contraception is so readily available and the word "no" is so easy to say.
As Krissy said in her excellent comment to your posting, we also donate regularly to charities and organizations dedicated to helping the poor in our own country. We also donate to an organization whose sole purpose is to educate and inform the public about adoption.
I even make a point to donate to a small private charity that helps people pay their bills when they find themselves temporarily short of funds. We know what it's like to work hard but find yourself with sudden unexpected expenses that you just can't afford. We used to be in those shoes...barely scrapping by from week to week.
I wouldn't feel right about my pro-life stance if I didn't also believe that we need to look out after our fellow man. We worked hard for the comfortable life we currently lead and share our good fortune generously with friends and strangers alike.
There is a third choice. Never forget that.
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