The Choice Between Life and Death
I start this post knowing that my opinion varies greatly than much of my family and friends. Yet, as I sit here in tears scrolling through Facebook looking at posts about Planned Parenthood I don't feel like I can stay silent any longer.
I have tried unsuccessfully for the last six-and-a-half years to get pregnant. I would give anything to have a child of my own. Anything.
I do not understand how anyone can have an abortion. I just can't. I don't expect that anything anyone could offer will ever make me see "the other side."
My heart breaks for women who feel like this is their only choice. And for those who have endured horrible circumstances - rape, molestation, incest - that caused them to have to make the choice between their life and a baby's death. I don't feel any sympathy, however, for the women who choose to use abortion as their chosen form of birth control. Nor can I see how your feeling inconvenienced for your already poor choices should result in end of a child's life . . . a child who didn't choose to be conceived. . . who has no choice.
It also breaks my heart to know that these precious lives are being thrown away - not figuratively; but actually being tossed in the trash like garbage.
I'm here telling you, telling anybody and everybody, that if you are in that place or know someone considering an abortion, I will take the child with no questions asked. And I'm sure that I am not alone. There are so many people that struggle with infertility (1 in 7 couples) that can't afford the options that would allow them to have a child.
The cost of creating life is so significant. And the cost to eliminate it is almost negligible. Here's a small comparison:
Many insurance companies/plans cover abortion. At the same time, infertility treatment is rarely covered. Although diagnosis is covered to varying degrees.
I feel like there is so much more to say, but that I've said far too much. Let me leave you with this . . .
The story that has been handed down through my family is that my great-grandmother died during an abortion by knitting needle. An unimaginably horrific way to die, because she didn't think she could handle having one more child in addition to her four under the age of 5.My grandmother and her siblings grew up without their mother. My mother and her siblings never met their grandmother. My generation has a legacy to protect and a obligation to educate future generations so they don't endure the same fate.
Where do we go from here? I certainly do not know. But I truly pray that there is a better way to plan for parenthood or non-parenthood than the choice between life or death.
I have tried unsuccessfully for the last six-and-a-half years to get pregnant. I would give anything to have a child of my own. Anything.
I do not understand how anyone can have an abortion. I just can't. I don't expect that anything anyone could offer will ever make me see "the other side."
My heart breaks for women who feel like this is their only choice. And for those who have endured horrible circumstances - rape, molestation, incest - that caused them to have to make the choice between their life and a baby's death. I don't feel any sympathy, however, for the women who choose to use abortion as their chosen form of birth control. Nor can I see how your feeling inconvenienced for your already poor choices should result in end of a child's life . . . a child who didn't choose to be conceived. . . who has no choice.
It also breaks my heart to know that these precious lives are being thrown away - not figuratively; but actually being tossed in the trash like garbage.
I'm here telling you, telling anybody and everybody, that if you are in that place or know someone considering an abortion, I will take the child with no questions asked. And I'm sure that I am not alone. There are so many people that struggle with infertility (1 in 7 couples) that can't afford the options that would allow them to have a child.
The cost of creating life is so significant. And the cost to eliminate it is almost negligible. Here's a small comparison:
- On average a single round of in vitro fertilization (IVF) costs $12,000-$15,000. I have been told to expect that you go through two to three rounds as the first normally does not take. That means anywhere between $12,000 and $45,000.
- Adoption can cost $8,000-$40,000 for a domestic U.S. adoption; $15,000-$50,000 for an international adoption.
- Surrogacy ranges anywhere from $30,000-$150,000 (IVF, medical expenses, personal expenses, travel, etc.).
- The typical abortion costs between $300 and $1,000.
Many insurance companies/plans cover abortion. At the same time, infertility treatment is rarely covered. Although diagnosis is covered to varying degrees.
I feel like there is so much more to say, but that I've said far too much. Let me leave you with this . . .
The story that has been handed down through my family is that my great-grandmother died during an abortion by knitting needle. An unimaginably horrific way to die, because she didn't think she could handle having one more child in addition to her four under the age of 5.My grandmother and her siblings grew up without their mother. My mother and her siblings never met their grandmother. My generation has a legacy to protect and a obligation to educate future generations so they don't endure the same fate.
Where do we go from here? I certainly do not know. But I truly pray that there is a better way to plan for parenthood or non-parenthood than the choice between life or death.
