Thirty Years Ago, Last October

Many times, readily available therapeutic abortion crushes a mother's hope for her child and optimism over the birth. Since Roe v. Wade condoned the act of abortion, perfect children have become a commodity to be obtained -- through ending imperfect lives -- for the parent's personal enrichment. Rather than viewing our children as precious life-trusts from God, values have become skewed -- through this change of paradigm, little lives are needlessly lost. Many times abortion is chosen to prevent a child with birth defects from being born, to prevent projected suffering for either the child or the parent, and for the ease of the parents' lives. Here is the truth about one such pregnancy and its outcome:

When I was 23, my third pregnancy ended in the fourth month when my baby broke a misplaced placenta. I became pregnant again only 2 months after the D & C. Having advised me to postpone pregnancy for 2 years, my doctor immediately scheduled an early abortion for my health's sake. He said I was in too poor physical condition for another pregnancy. I fought for my baby's life; the OBGYN was staid against my carrying to term. Finally, he agreed to ALLOW me a "trial pregnancy", as if I weren't already pregnant or he had control of my body -- the core issue of Roe v. Wade.

Every day of that pregnancy was marked with anxiety, prayerfully preparing for birth of a potentially disabled baby. I refused ultrasound, because the main reason would be to abort a defective child, if one were found.

To make a long story as short as possible, my daughter was born merely 3 weeks early. The doctor's presupposition that my child was endangered led him to order her to the Prenatal ICU, because he predicted she may have weighed "4 pounds, if we're lucky." In fact, she weighed 6 lb. 4 oz. and was 18 1/2" long with an Apgar of 9. We both went home perfectly healthy after 3 days' hospitalization.

This daughter just turned 30. She has Bachelors degrees in Spanish and Art History. Recently, she was accepted into a highly competitive Masters program for educators. A tiny fireball of determination, she strongly advocates as a translator for Spanish speaking hospital patients . She has taught English to Hispanic prisoners and worked as an ESL volunteer. Oh, she's beautiful, too.

Imagine the world's loss if I had succumbed to fear and accepted the doctor's expert medical advice by ending this life. How many other wonderful, healthy, productive lights are snuffed because of premature decisions of their future productivity? Where has it been written that every pregnancy is entitled to a perfect child as its result? When did our moral compasses begin to point to other than True North? Not every problem pregnancy leads to a disabled child, but every abortion leads to a dead child.