By Nancy Virden (c)2022

I was twelve years old when Roe v. Wade became the catalyst for legal abortions in the United States. Having heard many opinions on both sides of the issue, I was confused for a few years.

The legalization of abortion in the USA was intended to protect women. Pro-choice arguments sound reasonable: a woman’s rights over her own body; the need for legal and safe abortion procedures to prevent women from dying in back-alley attempts; the right to end a pregnancy that threatens the life of the mother; and the right to end a pregnancy that results from rape or incest.

Women have historically and globally suffered much harm and death in the course of child-bearing. Abortion too has its trail of dead mothers. While I do not blame present-day men for the past, it is irrefutable that women have often been bred, and forced by their male counterparts to have children or abortions. Women have been forced by male authorities to give up their babies at birth (or later) and to be sterilized against their will. In the name of some religions, newborns and children have been taken from their mothers and murdered.

Yes, history is saturated with evil.

To avoid a repeat of any of that, women (and men) have chosen the pro-choice route. Women (and men!) have the right to say no, not me, not this time. Sometimes our no is ignored, and sometimes we give up the right to say it. As a result, abortion was legalized to preserve the lives and bodies of mothers.

Backfire

There has been a human-rights backfire to the original intent. Quite simply, the global message we have sent via abortion is that human life itself is disposable. Only people who are wanted matter.

When an abortion occurs, the woman and her medical team reteach themselves and others a powerful lesson. The message is that the selection of who is wanted or unwanted belongs to people who have something to gain or lose by the decision.

It does not. We are inherently valuable. That is why I landed on the pro-life side of the issue.

Imagine a pregnant mother who is having a tough time adjusting to the idea of a child.  Perhaps she feels she is too young, or too old, too unhealthy, or ill-equipped. Maybe this is one child too many, or the less preferred gender. A lack of money is perchance the issue, or the father of the child is urging her to end the pregnancy. Her family may not want to help or is unsuitable to help. It is possible she does not want to lose her figure, her reputation, or her job. Maybe the baby is an enemy’s child. Perhaps doctors question the preborn child’s quality of life due to potential physical or mental challenges. Timing may be the problem. Whatever the reason, the situation feels impossibly overwhelming. The unknown, unseen baby is not wanted.

Who does this wanted versus unwanted message affect most directly? Pregnant women.

A victim of sexual assault needs to know she has value beyond what her tormentor considered. A promiscuous daughter of a negligent dad needs to experience unconditional love. An abandoned single mother warrants cherishing. An unfaithful wife must be able to receive forgiveness. A prostitute can learn her significance is more than following orders or money.

All women who are not victims and not caught in troubling circumstances necessarily need to understand their worth in God’s sight.

Abortion only limits these insights. As mothers are told the life they carry is disposable, they miss the message that all life is sacred and wanted, even their own.

Dear God, thank you for creating life and for giving women the privilege of participating in bringing forth babies. Help me to understand what is right. Help me to land on the side of what honors you and human life the most. Amen

-COMMENTS WELCOME

Today’s Helpful Word

Click to read all of Psalm 139

verses 13-14: 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; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.

If you are feeling suicidal, or concerned about someone who is, in the U.S. call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 988, or for a list of international suicide hotlines, go here.

If you are suicidal with a plan, immediately call 911 in the U.S. or go to your nearest emergency room. In the EU call 112. (For other international emergency numbers, go here ). Hope and help are yours!

Always the Fight Ministries (ATFM) has been displaying compassion for those fighting mental illness, addiction, or abuse since 2012. Nancy is the founder and voice of ATFM and openly shares her emotional resurrection from despair. NOTE: Nancy is not a doctor or a mental health professional, and speaks only from personal experience and observations. In no way is this website intended to substitute for professional mental or behavioral health care.

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