Today is January 22nd.
This day means very little to most people. Most people won’t notice its passing. That is because most people are unaffected by its significance. Those most directly affected will never raise their voices to speak about it. They can’t. They did not live long enough to have a voice at all. This day that was life and death to them. This day that the rest of us hardly notice. Today is the anniversary of Roe v. Wade. January 22, 1973 is the day that the Supreme Court of the United States of America legalized the murder of unborn children. It is the day that millions of voices were condemned to silence. January 22 also happens to be the birthday of my first sister. Twenty years ago today I was waiting at my grandparents’ house for the announcement of another life. I knew that babies were possible. I had seen them. But until this day, they didn’t have much to do with me. Late that night my two older brothers and I were driven to the hospital to meet our new sister. Her name was Julia. She looked like a little alien creature and was wrapped in a scratchy hospital blanket. She smelled funny and didn’t seem capable of much. This was the first time I encountered the miracle of birth in a real way. That day I went from a little boy to an older brother. I got to hold a person in my arms. This person’s name was Julia and she was my little sister. Over the past twenty years I have been blessed to be Julia’s older brother. Watching her grow up four years delayed from me has been incredible. A few memories come to mind. We used to put our faces together because it would make it look like the other only had one eye. I am one hundred percent sure this amused me far more than it did her. I once took a protractor and hit her in the face. This was not the only time that I hurt her in my awkward boyishness but for some reason it sticks out in my memory. There was a period where we did this dance where we would hold hands in front of us and both turn over and spin through. It’s hard to explain but I remember it vividly. I watched Barbie’s Princess and the Pauper so many times with her “because she wanted to watch it” that I still remember almost every word. Now she’s a grown up human. She is in college and studying music. She is one of the funniest people I know and an incredible person. She is absurdly kind and forgiving. She is going places and I have been able to watch the whole thing happen. Here is another person who is beautiful in every way and gift to all who know her born on a day that tells us she didn’t deserve the chance. Imagine that she had been conceived in the womb of a woman much less prepared to have a child. What if instead of a loving family, Julia was given to a broken one? What if our mother had been alone? What if our mother had been pressured into making “the smart choice”? In a different circumstance, abortion could have been seen as the only option. It is true that so often abortion does seem like the only option. So many women are left without any support suddenly faced with the reality of a child. How will I afford to raise a kid? How will I explain this to my parents? What about my future? My boyfriend does not want to keep him! These issues are real. They leave women with the hardest of decisions, trapped in a way that I, or any other man, will never understand. What I do understand is that our society has to do better. We have to be there for these women who have nowhere to turn. No woman should be left to feel like abortion is the only way out. This past weekend hundreds of thousands marched in Washington D.C. to protest abortion and its legality in our country. This is beautiful and necessary. It is such a powerful statement that we who stand for the rights of the unborn are not going away, but it cannot just be a statement. The marching in D.C. must turn into action in our communities. No law can ensure that women won’t feel alone or abandoned in their time of incredible need. That is the work of individuals and communities who make commitments to serve and support those facing the wonderfully terrifying reality of carrying a human being inside of them. This does not mean that unless a person works at a women’s center he or she has no credibility in the pro-life cause. No, the pro-life cause is credible by its own merit, but since the goal is the protection of human life, it is self-defeating to ignore the problems at the personal individual level. We must seek to remove the factors that contribute to abortion even as we seek the legal victory. If we abandon our sisters and friends to the lie of abortion while we march in Washington then we are the worst type of hippocrates. Think about your life right now and ask yourself what you would do if you suddenly had to care for a child. Could you do it? What changes would you have to make to your life? Who would be there for you? Every fear that you feel in the hypothetical is a fear that someone is having in reality right now. Those fears contribute to the demand for abortion. As pro-life people we must create a society where every woman knows that although they are scared there are supports, resources, and options. (I do not wish to ignore the amazing work that is already being done in this regard throughout the country. So many amazing people are dedicated to caring for pregnant mothers. We simply need more.) It is not enough to ask the pregnant woman to make the choice of life while we do not lift a finger to help her. Each of us are alive today because our mothers were able to make the choice of life. Life is always the correct choice, regardless of circumstance, but that does not mitigate our moral responsibility to ensure the most life-accepting circumstances. What are we willing to sacrifice in our own lives to give the innocent a better chance to live? Today is January 22nd. Today my family celebrates the fact that nine months after Julia came into being we were able to meet her. Despite Roe v. Wade, Julia was given the chance to live. I know how different it could have been. This is why I fight for the unborn and their mothers. Everyone deserves the chance to meet their family. Wait for the Lord. Take courage; be stouthearted. Wait for the Lord.
1 Comment
Bob Swanson
1/22/2019 12:50:58 pm
Ben is right, we have to do more than march in January and stand in silent prayer in October. There are some that work tirelessly day after day, while others do far less than they could. Me included.
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