Pro-Insert-Name-Here: Two Sides to Every Abortion Story

I recently saw a post on social media in which the author disavowed being "pro-murdering babies," claiming rather to be "pro-insert-name-here," followed by a litany of heartrending stories of women who apparently chose abortion for what many would consider very valid reasons.

Here is my loving response to the writer of that poignant post, with which I respectfully disagree:

The Stories

I am pro-Melissa Ohden, who survived an attempted abortion and went on to become, in her words, “a woman that brings life and restoration to others.”

I am pro-Jenni Maas, whose mother, Cindy Speltz, graciously allowed me to interview her for my novel, which has a pro-life theme. Cindy was raped when she was young but chose life against all odds and advice. She and her daughter (who now parents children of her own, who will presumably all contribute to the tax base and hopefully the betterment of our country) now spread the word that choosing life is most certainly possible, even in “impossible” situations.

I am pro-Andrea Bocelli, whose mother chose not to abort her son against medical advice. He grew up to become one of the most gifted operatic voices of our time, despite having a disability many would have felt rendered his life not worth living.

I am pro-infant and adult victims of Dr. Kermit Gosnell who, along with his unqualified staff, performed illegal abortions on desperate women (at least one of whom died), and then murdered those babies tenacious enough to survive the procedure.

I am pro-the 63 MILLION aborted children who perished in the last 49 years following the legalization of abortion in the United States. Children whose potential this country will never know. Children whose only contribution to our nation’s floundering economy went into the pockets of those who snuffed out their pre-born lives.

Shall I go on?

Or can we just agree that there are two sides to every abortion story?

Not to mention two lives.

The Counterargument

To those who dismiss the viewpoints of pro-lifers who are unable to adopt or foster “unwanted” children, let me assert as firmly as I know how that one does not need to be able to single-handedly solve a problem of Herculean proportions in order to hold an opinion about it. I’m referring to the many abortion supporters who contend that, unless one is prepared to “put one’s money where one’s mouth is,” one ought to keep said mouth shut when it comes to the subject of abortion. The argument usually goes something like this: because so many children live in abusive situations or become mired in our nation’s overburdened foster care system, the pro-life camp should either take those kids into their homes or remain silent. The underlying premise is that children would be better off dying at the hands of an abortionist than running the risk of growing up in less-than-optimal circumstances.

That argument, besides espousing an all-or-nothing barbarity, exposes seriously flawed logic. If everyone who voiced an opinion about an issue were required to personally handle that issue, no one would have the right to speak out on anything other than what was in their immediate purview to act upon.

Take capital punishment, for example. Interestingly, many who argue against capital consequences for egregious offenders defend rigorously the right to abort defenseless children – but let’s leave that inconsistency to the side for the moment. When was the last time you heard someone who believes in capital punishment demand that non-believers be tasked with the housing and rehabilitation of hardened criminals to relieve the overcrowded prison system?

While many are in no position to adopt or foster even one of the undervalued children in this world, that in no way negates the opportunities they can and do avail themselves of to assist in that process. Many, like myself, operate in other ways, such as staffing church nurseries and children’s programs; nurturing at risk youth while working in the education field; sharing time and resources with struggling parents of typical and special needs kids; contributing to crisis pregnancy centers and adoption-minded parents who are short of funds; writing articles and books; and, most importantly, offering fervent prayers to the only Power who can fully fix the brokenness that got us into this mess in the first place.

Not every citizen is called to the front lines when his country comes under attack, but each can and should participate behind the scenes through conservation efforts, rallying others to the cause, and lending support in myriad other ways. How is the war on life any different? As General George Patton once said, “All of the real heroes are not storybook combat fighters either. Every single man in this Army plays a vital role. Don't ever let up. Don't ever think that your job is unimportant. Every man has a job to do and he must do it. Every man is a vital link in the great chain.”

The Bottom Line

I don’t have answers to all the sticky, tangled problems and situations that may lead potential parents to consider abortion. I don’t know how to fix the albatross that is our overtaxed foster care system. Nor do I attempt in my novel to answer any and every question about the misnomer deemed “a woman’s right to choose.” Rather, I respectfully invite readers to question the values they may have osmosed over the past 49 years since Roe v. Wade was enacted, with the prayer that the next half century may render abortion only a sad footnote in our nation’s history – one that was corrected once minds and hearts reconsidered this tragic waste of humanity.

I don’t pretend to have all the answers, but as an informed citizen, I have every right and even an obligation to ask the questions.

The Stakes

In the wake of an unprecedented breach of ethics, the highest court in the land is preparing to release a decision that will have consequences as far-reaching as the deplorable one rendered almost 50 years ago. This author will continue to pray and urge those men and women, who are being hounded, harassed and even threatened into dismissing their Constitutionally-bestowed responsibility to render upright decisions, as follows:

Members of the Supreme Court of the United States, please do what’s right. I realize I’m asking you to put yourselves and our country in harm’s way by standing by your convictions. I realize too well the chaos that will likely be unleashed in your lives and in the life of our bitterly polarized nation if you overturn Roe v. Wade. But let me ask you this:

How will history remember you if you fail to do what’s right because you choose to do what’s convenient? And how will our nation survive, let alone thrive, if it continues to choose death for its most vulnerable citizens?

Perhaps most importantly, how will you be able to live with yourselves if you allow violence in one sphere to continue so as to avert violence in another?

Emotions on both sides are running high, but the stakes are even higher. If history has taught us one overarching lesson, that is the importance of valuing human life. Regimes which hold life cheaply eventually crumble.

Does the United States really want to be on the list of superpowers that burned brightly for a time, then succumbed to their own depravity?

The Heart of the Matter

Finally, I wish to thank the writer whose Facebook post sparked this whole discussion. Her heartbreaking vignettes of women whose dire circumstances led them to choose abortion touched my heart.

But there’s the rub, isn’t it? The bumper sticker, “Abortion stops a beating heart,” really says it best. There are at least two hearts involved in every abortion, but only one of them survives the procedure. And for every woman who celebrates her abortion, there are scores whose emotional hearts will always regret that choice.

We owe it to those women and their absent children to tell both sides of the story.