The annual Walk for Life event is coming up on Thursday. In our city, ii usually brings a few dozen people together, some of which hold signs, and we walk around downtown a bit with the message that all life is valued and should be protected, from conception to natural death. Obviously this is a deeply divisive and for many people, a deeply personal matter. Why should someone who has never been through the experiences of others, have anything to say about what they do to their own body, in particular, when it comes to abortion, which, we are reminded, is legal.
So why do I care, and why would I support a movement that seems to restrict the options for pregnant women?
This is a very difficult situation for sure and must be considered with nothing less than love and sensitivity. I understand that in some cases, the pregnancy is there because of gross violation against a woman (rape). That's not always the case, and I'm not sure what percentage is the case, but still, it is there, probably more often than we like to think. My heart goes out to these victims.
There is an old saying that I learned many years ago. Two wrongs don't make a right. Is it wrong to have a medically induced end to pregnancy? The answer really lies in what is being aborted.
The government says that a person is not a person until they are born. I could be wrong on that, but that's what I understand, that a person does not have any rights or is not a "person" until they are born. I understand the laws have to draw a line somewhere, but is that accurate? Does that actually reflect reality?
I know this is a sensitive topic, especially for those who lost a child in miscarriage, but I do note that when a miscarriage occurs, people mourn and grieve and express sorrow. Why? When I buy a watermelon in the summer and it goes bad, I don't fret over it. Sure, I've wasted $10 and I'm not happy about that, but there is no big deal about it. Why is miscarriage a big deal? Because what is being lost is more than a lump of cells. It is a person.
Either the unborn child is valuable or it is nothing but a bunch of cells. Which is it? Does it depend on the mindset of the mother? What if the mother doesn't like the gender of the pre-born child? If it is nothing but a lump of cells, why do we care if a mother aborts a child that isn't the gender of her choice? And yet we would find that appalling. Why?
Either the pre-born are valuable and must be protected, or it is a free-for-all.
Again, I don't bring this up as a judgment on anyone. We need to do more to love and support each other. But I just can't wrap my head around the fact that we can take life on the one hand, while we mourn for similar life on the other.
Which is it?
And when a mother (and hopefully father) is unable to care for a child or is not in a position to parent a child, my understanding is that there are many individuals looking to take a child for their own. There are options besides abortion.
I realize the Walk for Life isn't likely to change anyone's opinion on the matter. But I'm not sure I can simply do nothing because doing nothing is often equated with support, and taking the life of an unborn child is not something I can support.
I'm not going to riot over it. I'm not going to stand in the way of others who are supporting it. But I do need to stand with those who feel that two wrongs don't make a right, as painful as the outcome might be, especially when it comes to children who have no say in the matter.
Respectfully,
Norman Hajian
So why do I care, and why would I support a movement that seems to restrict the options for pregnant women?
This is a very difficult situation for sure and must be considered with nothing less than love and sensitivity. I understand that in some cases, the pregnancy is there because of gross violation against a woman (rape). That's not always the case, and I'm not sure what percentage is the case, but still, it is there, probably more often than we like to think. My heart goes out to these victims.
There is an old saying that I learned many years ago. Two wrongs don't make a right. Is it wrong to have a medically induced end to pregnancy? The answer really lies in what is being aborted.
The government says that a person is not a person until they are born. I could be wrong on that, but that's what I understand, that a person does not have any rights or is not a "person" until they are born. I understand the laws have to draw a line somewhere, but is that accurate? Does that actually reflect reality?
I know this is a sensitive topic, especially for those who lost a child in miscarriage, but I do note that when a miscarriage occurs, people mourn and grieve and express sorrow. Why? When I buy a watermelon in the summer and it goes bad, I don't fret over it. Sure, I've wasted $10 and I'm not happy about that, but there is no big deal about it. Why is miscarriage a big deal? Because what is being lost is more than a lump of cells. It is a person.
Either the unborn child is valuable or it is nothing but a bunch of cells. Which is it? Does it depend on the mindset of the mother? What if the mother doesn't like the gender of the pre-born child? If it is nothing but a lump of cells, why do we care if a mother aborts a child that isn't the gender of her choice? And yet we would find that appalling. Why?
Either the pre-born are valuable and must be protected, or it is a free-for-all.
Again, I don't bring this up as a judgment on anyone. We need to do more to love and support each other. But I just can't wrap my head around the fact that we can take life on the one hand, while we mourn for similar life on the other.
Which is it?
And when a mother (and hopefully father) is unable to care for a child or is not in a position to parent a child, my understanding is that there are many individuals looking to take a child for their own. There are options besides abortion.
I realize the Walk for Life isn't likely to change anyone's opinion on the matter. But I'm not sure I can simply do nothing because doing nothing is often equated with support, and taking the life of an unborn child is not something I can support.
I'm not going to riot over it. I'm not going to stand in the way of others who are supporting it. But I do need to stand with those who feel that two wrongs don't make a right, as painful as the outcome might be, especially when it comes to children who have no say in the matter.
Respectfully,
Norman Hajian
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