There was a time when I was pro-choice and believed in what Planned Parenthood stood for. Then my new-found faith in Christ turned my life upside down and began to mold my heart and my worldview. It gave me a new lens with which to scope the issues of the day.
I eventually came to this conclusion about abortion: everyone values life.
One person values life from the point of conception, believing a God-woven human being, with every hope and potential, exists in the womb. Cells collide. A miracle happens. Life begins. It is real and sacred and should be, at the very least, as valued and protected as an eagle's egg.
Another person values quality of life. If the baby will reduce the quality of life of the mother, or if the baby is simply unwanted, it is better off never being born. The mother, in all her emotional agony and hormonal fervor over the surprise pregnancy, gets to decide. The consequences can devastate her life.
I was deeply moved by the pro-life commercial last year that never aired during the Super Bowl. It intimated that Barrack Obama, a fierce proponent of pro-choice, was a prime candidate to have been aborted. This intelligent, articulate, charismatic leader was born to a poor, single mom, who risked her own quality of life to keep him. Oh, the irony. It makes me painfully aware that a million potential Barrack Obamas are never born each year in America.
Perhaps even the doctor who would have discovered the cure for breast cancer.
And here I have circled back around. Do I continue giving my money to Susan G. Komen when a friend or relative asks me to support a cancer walk or give a donation? Does my desire to support them trump my deep-seated convictions? I would have to say "no," until Komen reverses its decision. I would honor my loved one by giving money to a different breast cancer awareness organization, like Join the Journey, a Rochester-based non-profit, but I will not knowingly direct my money to a charity that crosses a line I have drawn.
I do not stand in judgement of the woman who has had an abortion. My friend, Julie, has a powerful ministry to these women, born of her own painful decision to abort her baby, and I share her compassion. I also care about for the spiritually-blind doctors who provide these abortions. There is hope of restoration for them. This truth is at the root of my faith.
But I will not be ashamed to speak for the unborn and to make my stand.
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