Dear modern-day “pro-choice” woman,
So you’re earning a decent paycheck and finally getting the respect you deserve from your male cohorts.
You’ve come a long way, baby.
You’ve graduated college, and you’re ready to take your career to the top. Nothing can stop you now.
Not even an unintended pregnancy.
“There’s a way out,” you say. “If that were to happen, it would be difficult, but I would have to have an abortion.”
Or maybe you’re just a teen and can’t imagine being an unmarried mom. You think you could never afford a baby.
Maybe your life would be changed in dramatic ways, and the mere thought of bringing a baby into this world scares you. You’ve never been a mom, and you’re not ready to be one now.
“Why do we have to talk about this?” you ask. “It’s such a depressing and polarizing subject. I sure hope you’re not one of those crazies who tells me I’m going to hell.”
No, but I’m here to tell you: You really don’t understand pre-born life.
You see, women have this fantastic gift that men can’t even fathom.
One day, you will plan your pregnancy, and that little baby won’t be a “fetus” to you because you’ll want it and you’ll love it.
Sure, men can feel the baby’s kicks from the outside and bond with him. But we feel the little guy very early on. He’s a part of us.
You’ll see the heartbeat and the yawns in your ultrasounds, feel the movements inside you and connect with the baby in a very special way.
The baby’s arm and leg movements inside our bellies feel exactly the same as a newborn baby cuddling on our chests several months later. We feel the hiccups. We feel the hunger kicks. We feel the startled movements when the baby hears a loud sound. We feel the elbows getting stuck in our ribcages. We can even make out the fingers and toes as they press into us.
The baby responds to touch and sound by about the eighth or tenth week. He thumps, rolls around and kicks as he plays and stretches out his limbs. With time, he can even distinguish between your voice and that of another person.
We go through so much to bring them into the world: pain, weight gain, stretch marks, nausea, fatigue and sometimes more serious symptoms. It’s truly an act of sacrifice at times.
When you’ve been through all that for months, your emotional connection is already very strong by the time the little guy actually is born.
And then one day it’ll hit home: That “choice” you’ve been advocating all along really was murder.
In fact, no “pro-choice” woman who has ever actually carried a child believes it’s not a living human being in the womb.
You say, “That’s ludicrous! I know plenty of pro-choice women who’ve had children and say they’d have abortions. They still believe it’s just a fetus until it’s born.”
What you’re missing is this: Those women know it’s human life. They’ve experienced it. Their maternal intuition tells them so. It’s a natural gift.
But somewhere along the way, they resolved to take that life anyway.
Let’s call it what it is: Selfishness, evil, an act of inhumanity, a betrayal of a woman’s own offspring.
But these women all know what they’ve done is snuffed out an innocent life.
So when they’re arguing and shouting about a “woman’s right to choose,” they’re not merely trying to convince the rest of us to accept abortion as a right.
They’re really trying to console themselves. Deep down, they know they’re guilty of the vilest sin imaginable.
And they’re desperate to find inner peace, to forgive themselves for what they’ve done.
I say this out of concern for you: Don’t make their life-changing mistake.
You say, “Well, what do you know about being a pregnant teenager or having a low income and no education? Maybe I just have no other choice.”
Actually, I had an unintended pregnancy when I was 19 years old, making about $19,000 a year as an enlisted soldier in the Army. I had no college education and had only been married for six months at the time. My young husband, also 19, and I didn’t have parents to raise the child for us.
It wasn’t easy. I cried when I learned I was pregnant. I was scared – very scared.
My supervisors in the Army told me I was making a mistake and that I couldn’t care for a kid when I was a kid myself.
But I’m telling you from personal experience: They were all wrong.
I never intended to become a mother at such a young age, but now I couldn’t imagine life any other way. My beautiful baby girl gave my life so much more meaning. She taught me the importance of selflessly putting someone else’s needs above my own and how to protect and love the most helpless among us. And she gave me a profound respect for human life, both inside and outside of the womb.
If you find yourself in this situation – mark my words – you will never regret choosing life.
For the girls and women out there who simply can’t raise a child on their own, there are wonderful resources to help you, whether you keep the child or choose adoption. In fact, as many as 36 couples wait for every one baby placed for adoption.
And if you’ve had an abortion, there is hope, mercy and forgiveness through God’s healing grace. It’s the only way you will ever find that inner peace.
“For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made” (Psalms 139:13-14).
Sincerely,
A young mom and soldier who chose life
To find a pregnancy care center in your area, call (800) 395-HELP. Or you can log on to optionline.org.
