The worst thing about abortion?
It’s not just that 60 million lives have been lost.
It’s also the wretched lies that we’ve believed.
Twenty-one years ago, our dear friends delivered a trisomy 18 baby – a condition that occurs in about 1 in 2,500 pregnancies - against their doctors' advice.
According to my friend, God spoke life. Only He is the giver and taker of life. Only He has numbered our days and has seen our days before we breathe one breath.
Abortion was offered.
She said, "It was tough if you carry [a trisomy 18 baby] but ultimately soul-filling knowing you honored what God made. Tough if you abort, because for the rest of your life, you live knowing you killed what was living."
We watched our friend's anguish and witnessed their resolve. It was remarkable.
Their testimony destroyed the idea that we eliminate the imperfect.
Twenty-two years ago, Chris was a medical resident.
He moonlighted in small hospitals in South Carolina. Late one night, he delivered a tiny baby girl to a teenage mother in the ER in Barnwell, South Carolina. He called me because he was so excited to see new life.
The lie? That neither should've been born, because teenage pregnancy is difficult, poverty is harsh, as are severe congenital disabilities.
The truth? Each baby was loved by God, created by Him and stamped with his image.
Another lie?
It’s that of bodily autonomy.
It’s that most selfish of ideas that only the mother’s body matters.
And for those of you still protesting, even as you claim bodily autonomy, why do you ignore the bodily autonomy of the life inside the mother, whether that tiny body is perfect or not?
Aren’t you advocating for the destruction of a newly-formed, never-before-seen human being? Isn’t that the truth?
Is there someone that can make that make sense?
Because the science of embryology teaches us that life begins at conception; a new person with unique DNA is formed at the moment of conception.
It's not what you've been told. Or what you've been taught.
But it's the truth.
Perhaps, instead of advocating for destruction - both of human life and private property - instead of wailing on the internet, flinging bricks through windows of crisis pregnancy centers, spray-painting buildings with violent threats, what about helping your community? What about giving women the support they need right now?
Data from 2019 shows that pro-life pregnancy centers served close to 2 million people with services and material assistance with a total value of over $266 million.
For those who still protest, why don't you help there?
Finally, let's deal with what is perhaps the most egregious lie in the abortion debate. It's that we'll return to coat hangers and back-alley abortions.
After all, who hasn't heard celebrities wringing their hands over abortion? And grasping their Ruth Bader Ginsberg pearls over the back-alley abortions that will suddenly occur? Gosh. Even the Green Day frontman may renounce his citizenship over this!
However, if you bought into that lie and posted coat hanger images, you may want to reconsider. May I introduce you to the one who started it?
May I introduce you to the truth?
"I am one of those who helped usher in this barbaric age," wrote Dr. Bernard Nathanson in his 1996 autobiography, The Hand of God. Dr. Nathanson co-founded the National Association for the Repeal of Abortion Laws (NARAL) in 1970, thus marking what could be considered the beginning of the "barbaric age" he spoke of: NARAL, now called NARAL Pro-Choice America.
Dr. Nathason oversaw, in his estimation, 70,000 abortions, even that of his own child. Then his life was transformed by Christ.
He admitted that he and other doctors manipulated the media by inflating the number of "back-alley abortions" performed and deaths resulting from them to make them seem far more dangerous than they were to the public eye.
"Another myth we fed to the public through the media was that legalizing abortion would only mean that the abortions taking place illegally would then be done legally," he wrote. "In fact, of course, abortion is now being used as a primary method of birth control in the U.S. and the annual number of abortions has increased by 1500% since legalization."
Now you know the truth.
So what does this mean?
It’s that abortion has returned to the states, where you get to decide unless your state has laws.
Either way, it's up to you.
Instead of burning the place down, get involved.
Disagree without being disagreeable.
Start that debate by clearing out the lies and telling the truth.
The truth is, God gives life. He is the only one who has the right to take it away.
Let's start there.
Amie Beth Shaver is a speaker, writer, and media commentator. Her column appears every Wednesday in 1819 News. Shaver served on the Alabama GOP State Executive Committee, was a candidate for State House District 43 and spokeswoman for Allied Women. The views and opinions expressed here are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the policy or position of 1819 News. To comment, please send an email with your name and contact information to Commentary@1819News.com.
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