As we were walking through one of the buildings at the Oregon State Fair there was a very large booth that caused my heart to sink. This particular booth had a sign that said something about Oregon and abortion laws. As I briefly looked around I saw that the booth was being run by a group of senior citizens and there were all kinds of baby models on display. As I held my sweet little boy, all I could do was cringe as I turned and quickly walked away.
I was floored that the fair would allow a "pro-choice" booth be to setup. As we walked through the fairgrounds and drove home, Andy and I had a lengthy conversation about this booth we saw.
I believe that we are all children of a loving Heavenly Father. I believe that we are created in His image. I believe that our bodies are a gift from God. I believe that this Earth life, is a time for us to learn and grow and a chance for us to become more like our Father in Heaven. That being said, I believe in the sanctity of life. I know that there will forever be a great debate about when life truly begins, but I don't think that question will ever truly be answered in my lifetime. It is my personal belief that life begins with that first positive pregnancy test.
I remember taking a sex education class in middle school and more or less being taught that all it took was one time of having unsafe sex to get pregnant-- while that may be the case for some people, this was not the case for Andy and I.
We waited a long time for Bubba to join our family. We hoped and longed for the day that we could be parents. We prayed daily that our little one would arrive safely. We have many friends and family members that have struggled with fertility problems and have longed for the chance to be parents. Some have even tried to adopt and haven't been successful in that endeavor yet.
A few months back while visiting with a dear friend and fellow blogger, this same topic of abortion came up. This friend is religious but of a different denomination than me. She told me that many of her friends are of the option, "My body, my choice." The phrase, "My body, my choice" is selfish. Your body was your own until you chose to have sex. One of the consequences/blessings of having sex is becoming pregnant. Once you become pregnant your body is no longer your own, it is home to your child. While you can choose what you do with your body, you don't get to choose the consequences of your actions.
I used to believe that the only scenario that warranted an abortion was in the case of rape. This belief changed when my sister became friends with a young man who was a rape baby. If this young man's mother chose to have an abortion this wonderful human being would not exist-- how tragic that would be!
To those who may be considering abortion, I beg and I plead with you not to. Give that child growing in you a chance at life. Put them up for adoption if you feel you aren't in a position to raise that child yourself. There are so many wonderful people out there who are longing to bring a child into their home and lives and for whatever reason are unable to.
As I was talking with a friend at church, she said that maybe the booth was a pro-life booth. Upon further investigation, I learned that that booth I saw that was so disturbing was indeed a pro-life booth.
I have since learned that more that 58 million abortions have occurred in the United States alone since 1979 when abortion was first legalized. In Oregon alone more than 3,800 abortions have already taken place this year.
As far as I am concerned, abortion is pro-meditated murder. Let's put an end to it!
