How do you check for life?
A heartbeat?
By 5 to 6 weeks of development, I have a heartbeat.
A face?
By week seven my facial features are becoming distinct.
A law?
In 38 states in the US it is considered a crime if someone kills me in my Mama’s belly, without consent. But with her consent, I can be aborted up to 40 weeks. This does not make sense to me, New York. Please, help me understand.
I am a life.
I am not just a mass of cells.
When you pull me apart, I feel that.
By Week 13, my internal systems are formed. I have organs. I have reproductive parts. I am getting there…
By Week 24, I can respond to my mommy rubbing her belly. I’m responsive. Would you take someone’s life in the back of an ambulance that had a heartbeat and was responsive? You don’t do that do you?
Give me a chance.
By Week 27, my mommy may have felt her belly move because I have the hiccups! Not to worry, I’m okay, just growing! And in another week I’ll begin to open and close my eyes!
Now, let’s talk about Week 39, New York.
By Week 39, I am probably between 6 to 9 pounds and anywhere from 18 to 20 inches long.
This is a 39 week old me.
Sadly, I may never see the world.
And the world may never see me.
***
Writing this letter was agonizing. I sat and typed while tears threatened to come from my eyes as I realized the magnitude of what our nation has fallen to in the name of rights.
We so easily forget the ones that need their rights the most, those that can not fend for themselves.
The morality of abortion is something that has really come to the fore-front in the last decade. Conditions are put on the subject: What if the woman was raped? What is the conception involved incest? What if the woman is in danger of death from the baby’s development?
Can I say this honestly- I don’t know the answer to all of these questions, and my heart hurts so badly for the woman who endures any of these things. I can not imagine being in your situation, and you are loved, valued and useful and a beloved creation of God!
I can speak on what I do know, and I do know the majority of woman that are getting abortions are not victims of rape or incest and they are not in danger of death.
The following graphic is based off of CDC’s 2015 surveillance report out of an estimated 826,199 abortions for the year:
The statistic that grabbed me the most was 85% of these women were unwed and 50% were under 24 years of age. Oh, beloved, how my heart breaks for you. I know it was hard if you had no help, if you were scared, if you felt you had no other choice. I wish I could embrace you right now and tell you that you are loved, valued and useful.
To the women that are unscathed by your abortion and feel no guilt for that– I would love to have a talk with you about why you feel that way respectfully. I find that hard to believe emotionally, but I can tell you that God loves you too!
There is no judgement of unwed mothers coming from me.
I wonder if the people who legalized this law considered the faces of nameless children that will haunt their mothers at night after they give into the pressure of an abortion out of fear or loneliness, or the agonizing reality of what doctor’s live with after pulling a lifeless, near full term baby out of the womb. What if the abortion doesn’t work? What if it goes wrong? What will have to happen then? The thought is absolutely terrifying.
There is a book called The Giver by Lois Lowry. It’s a classic dystopian fiction novel. In this book, babies and the elderly are sometimes “put to sleep,” or killed.
As we read this in grade school, the thought of such a society seemed brutal, inhumane even.
Little did I know that certain parts of this nation, that I love, would be doing the same.
In 38 states is it against the law to kill an unborn child in the womb by homicide. In other words, if a person kills a pregnant woman, they can be tried for BOTH lives; however, if that same woman decides she wants to get rid of her own pregnancy, it is her right.
How does this make any sense?
I really considered not writing this article. I try to keep out of politics on social media and my blog. But this isn’t politics…
This is lives.
The lives of these babies.
The lives of these doctors.
The lives of these mothers.
The lives of these lawmakers.
My soul within me hurts. My heart cries. My eyes close and don’t want to see the state of our nation.
If you are a woman who has had an abortion please know that I love you and God loves you. I do not condemn you, nor do I wish to yell at you. If you were here I would give you a big hug and tell you that you are loved, valued and useful and that your story can be used for the good.
If you are a New York law maker, let’s go out for a cup of coffee. Let’s talk. Be respectful as I will be respectful. I only speak with respectful.
If you are a doctor that is doing these procedures, God made your healing hands to give life! You have a gift, use it for His glory and for the right reasons!
But let’s really take a hard look at what we are doing here people.
We were that unborn baby once.
We were in the womb.
We all have something to offer the world and God’s kingdom.
We are loved.
We are valuable.
We are useful.
Sources:
Earll, Carrie Gordon. “By the Numbers: US Abortion Statistics.” Focus on the Family. Year Not Given.
https://www.focusonthefamily.com/socialissues/life-issues/dignity-of-human-life/abortion-statis
Knapp, Julie. “Your Developing Baby Week by Week.” Parents Magazine. 2011. https://www.parents.com/pregnancy/week-by-week/baby-development/?slideId=slide_ba5de802-629e-4ed0-bdc8-01be2084835c#slide_ba5de802-629e-4ed0-bdc8-01be2084835c
Author Not Given. “State Laws on Fetal Homicide and Penalty- Enhancement for Crimes Against Women.” National Conference of State Legislatures. May 1, 2018. http://www.ncsl.org/research/health/fetal-homicide-state-laws.aspx