Abortion

Please read the following article:
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/14/us/kermit-gosnell-abortion-doctor-found-guilty-of-murder.html?hp&_r=0

An article on Philadelphia's twisted case of late-term abortions and one patient's accidental overdose.
It's heart-wrenching for me. Was it for you? Were you able to read through the entire article without flinching, without looking away?

I was walking on the treadmill while reading the New York Times. The headline comes up on a nifty News&Weather App I have on one of the home pages I have on my phone. "Abortion" was all I needed to see to know there had been an update on the case that began circulating, at least in my circle, only weeks before.

I attend a small church in Beaumont, CA. I say small only because it feels that way. The number of the congregation is bigger than any other community I've ever been involved in besides my huge, immediate and non-immediate family. But, for a non-religious audience or for anyone unfamiliar with a church, if you came to mine you might be under the impression that this is an extremely small town and be confused for a moment with the hard-pressing reality that churches like this do in fact still exist. My Pastor calls to families from the pulpit, he recognizes us by face and knows the members of our family that only come out every once and awhile. He is concerned for the baby in my womb and the ones that will be there in the future. He prays for all of that and he is only one of the people who feels so connected with all of us who attend that church.

He is the one who first brought the story to my attention. I believe it was a Sunday morning, although it could have been Wednesday night, when he mentioned the recent revelation of an abortionist in Philadelphia found to have murdered babies when the attempt at late-term abortion failed. It was disgusting to me then, and even more so now. My heart is literally ripping apart inside of me; not because I wish to judge anyone who has experienced the exact situation or those who deal with their own consciences in that decision. But because as I was there on the treadmill, I felt my own 24 week old baby inside of me and instantly recalled the moments in this week alone when I have sat and felt him kick and prayed to God for his inevitable health and safe delivery.

I'm not perfect. I didn't always feel so strongly or sweetly about the preservation of infant life. However, having a child inside of me makes me want to rescue every puppy I see, not to mention the unborn children of my friend who might, some day, make the decision to abort in light of her circumstance. I'm so overwhelmed by the feeling of attachment to my baby, all I can be is grateful for his life and for the fact that I am now at a place in my life when I would be MOST comfortable raising him. I'm not back in my college days facing an unexpected predicament. I'm not in the arms of someone who is only pretending to love me. My husband lays with me and feels the baby kick and laughs when he sees my enjoyment at talking to our son and playing with him already. I'm grateful and now I understand why other mothers love their children so much. I wouldn't wish a different predicament on anyone else.

All of this is to say, we need to do something to stop what happened in Philadelphia. There will be those who want to use fear to protest abortion saying, "If we completely ban late-term facilities than even more women will turn to quack doctors" but I'm pleading, let's not settle! The idea is to stop abortions past 20 weeks because it has been discovered that those age infants have pain sensors and as one person asked, "Why is it murder once the baby is out of the womb, but not while he or she is inside at the exact same age?" The answer is, there is no logical or fair explanation except platitude. We cannot control society, or so it is said, so we make exceptions, we make laws to include the degenerates so we don't feel as badly about the high number of people who are breaking the law.

I can't help thinking that even this wouldn't work, even though many states already make 20 weeks the legal limit for abortion. My personal agenda is an end to all abortions, but how can that be? We can't tell people, "No." They hate that. They feel trapped, criticized and want to do what they want to do. I've been there. So what do we do? We shed light. We ask for a new reason to have children. Not to procreate the intelligent, elitist race. That would eliminate the abortions from parents who are just not ready, financially. I'll tell you right now, my husband and I have no idea how we are going to set aside that fifty dollars a month we dream about for our son's college fund, but I know for sure he will never be a drain on society. I will love him and take care of him enough to ensure that either he gets a job and makes a living or works hard enough to put himself through college like I had to do. With a father and mother's influence, a kid is less likely to end up in prison. Don't believe me, check the histories of most inmates. Does the record claim, "Child of loving parents?" No. More like, the reason that most serial killers are so outrageously surprising is because they come from "normal" households. Probably not Christian, but two-parent nonetheless. It is an anomaly for a convict to come from a fulfilling household. So, please let's start teaching the truth in schools again. Sex, most often, leads to children. If you want to have a successful family, wait to have sex. A successful family usually results from two committed people making the ultimate sacrifice of getting married. Therefore, wait until you are ready to get married to have sex and then you will be ready to have a child.

I know this doesn't answer every question or present every possible solution, but God is good and He is working it all out. Amen to that. (Amen means "So be it"). Also, any reference to a quote is made directly from the article posted at the top.

~Jenn