One of the greatest national tragedies to ever befall us
I was up late tonight rocking a restless blue-eyed, curly-headed girl to sleep. After about 30 minutes, she fell asleep in my arms and I couldn't help but just sit there and continue to rock her and stare at her beautiful form securely resting in my arms. How blessed I am and how thankful to the Lord for her precious life - a life that I never thought I'd have, the child I dreamed about, prayed for, hoped for, and longed for. When all hope seemed lost, I didn't give up hope that someday I would be what I'd always dreamed as a little girl I'd grow up and be - a mommy.
Today, my little girl dreams have come true. Twice true. God, in His Providence, has blessed me so much more than I deserve. I feel the little life moving within me and have such incredible anticipation and humble adoration that God has seen fit to allow me to be a mommy not just once, but twice. Just a few years ago, it didn't appear even remotely possible.
Our short but very painful journey with infertility taught me much. Most of all, it intensely deepened my understanding of the gift of children - the gift of life.
That is one reason my heart weeps so deeply at today's 34th anniversary of Roe v. Wade. I can hardly bring myself to post these staggering statistics from Carmon:
Abortion is hienous and horrific. It is not a pretty or easy subject to talk about. Condemning it is not popular, but we must not be silent. Someone must speak for those who cannot speak. Someone must be willing to step up and take a stand. Someone must be willing to do what's right, no matter what the cost. Let that someone be you.
Today, my little girl dreams have come true. Twice true. God, in His Providence, has blessed me so much more than I deserve. I feel the little life moving within me and have such incredible anticipation and humble adoration that God has seen fit to allow me to be a mommy not just once, but twice. Just a few years ago, it didn't appear even remotely possible.
Our short but very painful journey with infertility taught me much. Most of all, it intensely deepened my understanding of the gift of children - the gift of life.
That is one reason my heart weeps so deeply at today's 34th anniversary of Roe v. Wade. I can hardly bring myself to post these staggering statistics from Carmon:
- Since 1973 there have been 47,282,923 abortions.
- For every 1,000 live births, there were 306 abortions in 1997 (that's almost 1 in 3 pregnancies ending in abortion).
- There were more than 140,000 second and third trimester abortions in 2000.
- In 2000, more children died from abortion than Americans died in the Revolutionary War, the Civil War, World Wars I and II, the Korean, Vietnam and Gulf Wars combined.
- Approximately 93% of all induced abortions are done for elective, non-medical reasons.
- Abortion ends a pregnancy by destroying and removing the developing child. That baby's heart has already begun to beat by the time the mother misses her period and begins to wonder if she might be pregnant (about 31 days after the mother’s last menstrual period (LMP). Surgical abortions are usually not performed before seven weeks, or 49 days LMP. By that time, the baby has identifiable arms and legs (day 45) and displays measurable brain waves (about 40 days). During the seventh through the tenth weeks, when the majority of abortions are performed, fingers and genitals appear and the child's face is recognizably human.
Abortion is hienous and horrific. It is not a pretty or easy subject to talk about. Condemning it is not popular, but we must not be silent. Someone must speak for those who cannot speak. Someone must be willing to step up and take a stand. Someone must be willing to do what's right, no matter what the cost. Let that someone be you.
posted by Crystal Paine at 12:11 AM
20 Comments:
What a horrific tradgedy! I could not imagine my life without my children. After all we have indured I would GLADLY go there again... in a heartbeat.
After almost eight years and marriage and many of those battling infertility we delivered twin boys at 32 weeks and 6 days. I had open heart surgery at 19 and was told my body would never support an additional life and look what GOD did. We chose not to find out the sexes of our babies, because that part did not matter to us, we just wanted healthy babies. We wanted to be surprised. I went from 0-8 in 55 minutes w/o meds. I hemmoraged on the table.... 3 units of blood was given. BP shot to 190/120 and had to have an emergency c-section. 35 staples to boot. Baby "B" was tranverse and 17" (3 lbs 10 oz.). HE was delivered blue and not breathing at all. Baby "A" was 16", 3 lbs. 7 oz. After a month in the NICU, sepsis, ventilators, oxy hoods, central lines, blood gases, severe bouts w/ jaundice (levels as high as 19.2), severe brain hemmorages, many many apnea and bradies, upper and lower g.i.'s, 5 transfusions, ect. We took our babies home on apnea monitiors (at about 5 lbs. each). After one week home Baby "B" crashed twice. He had develpoed c. difficles (overgrwth of bacterial organisms in the bowels). Often deadly and highly contagious. Another 12 days in isolation we brought him back home. We used gloves, gowns and masks just to hold him. Anything he touched had to be cloroxed. His brother had to be kept safe too. After 3 months he finally tested negative for this. He also had a total of 4 central lines and over 100 iv's in 12 locations. At one time he had 3 in his head. They are now 10 months and 1 day old and yes we count each and every day. A true blessing from God. Baby "A" has infantile scolosis which he is outgrowing (or perhaps should I say God is growing it out of him?). They both have severe reflux... Grade 4 and are on an adult medication for it. They are doing wonderful! God is so good... all of the time.
I am so glad that God called me to be their Mommy. I have the most rewarding profession anyone could ever try their hand out. Thank you Lord for all you have given us in these precious lives. All I can say is, Lord, please forgive them for they know not what they do!
Crystal, My hat is off to you for reminding us of this tragedy and standing up for God and his purpose. You life is a living testimony for him. Thank you!
I just don't get how anyone could disregard a life like that. The people that belong to all of those numbers have chose to miss out on the most joyous experience anyone could ever embrace.
God Bless us all.......
Thanks for posting this, Crystal. The reality that Americans have been murdering their babies under the cover government sanctioned "medical procedures" for 34 years now is unfathomable. I thank God for you and your willingness to stand up for what is true, even though it's an unpopular position to take. May God draw this nation to repentance!
Crystal,
People who declare abortion as their Most Sacred Rite (tm) wouldn't stand much of a chance of redemption if I had my finger on the "Smite" button. That's the 100% honest truth there. I know I need to be merciful, but it's very hard on a topic like this. My wife doesn't get very militant and angry about many things, but abortion is the one thing that can get her blood pressure up (and we haven't even had kids yet).
It's a good thing (for the sake of all) that God is infinitely more merciful than any one person.
Having grown up in the ... ahem... 70s and 80s, I realize how much my own opinions on this matter have changed! During my time at college, it was nothing for a dorm floor to have a $200 cash reserve for any girls who found themselves in 'an unfortunate way' that would interfere with their future career plans! Most of us learned to hire nannies adequately and learned NOTHING about life/babies/motherhood.
Now, as I gaze at my three beautiful boys that God gifted us through adoption, I am thankful that there are some women on this planet who did NOT make the same choice the girls in my dorm did. Do you realize that had my Ozzie's birthmother accepted the offer of $300 from his birthfather, I would NOT HAVE MY SON!?!?! To look at my beautiful, funny three year old, who acts JUST like my husband, it makes me cry with thankfulness that God spared Ozzie's life! Oz couldn't be anymore our son had our own genepool created him.
Our other two sons are from a slightly different situation yet a situation where abortion was just never an option. For this we are truly thankful.
Like you, Crystal, we dealt with infertility. No doctor could explain the WHY of the issue. However, within three days of being prayed over at church, we got three phone numbers about adoption from people who hardly knew us. Five months later we had Ozzie! Doesn't our Heavenly Father treat us so special!!!
My eyes have been opened to the pain of abortion. My heart has been opened to the women making that choice in hope that they can know there are families like ours EVERYWHERE who will take babies in a heartbeat, no matter what the children looks like!
Our Heavenly Father adopted my husband and me; what a blessing it is to adopt our own children. What a blessing it has been for us to learn to know these boys' birthmothers!
I'm glad you posted this morning (and I'm sorry to post so longwindedly). My heart bursts with joy each time I see my three little men smiling up at me. May my ears never tire of hearing "I love you Mamma"
Katie
The really sad thing is that I heard recently that she has since changed her mind on the subject and wishes she had never done that. Now look at all the lives that have been taken because of the selfish actions of one person who now regrets what she did.
Sad!
I watched the March for Life on TV most of yesterday. It was encouraging to see so many young people there. Our pastor preached on abortion this past Sunday. He read most of the stats you just reported. It is so sad...and STUPID! It is evil in all of it's ugliness. Cultures have been killing their young for centuries. It is done behind doors now.
I just can't grasp the concept of someone having an abortion when so many people want to have kids but can't. There are so many people who would love to be given the opportunity to raise these little blessings.
I do understand that there are times that the birth mother may not be able to raise the child themselves, but to end that child's life before they even... well, it's just selfish.
I've known several woman who are haunted by the abortion(s) they had early in their lives. 2 of them later came to find out that their abortions were the reasons that they could now not conceive.
As we're talking about this, let's remember to hate the act(sin) and not the person. Easier said than done, absolutely, but it is not our place to judge a person.
I'm so glad that you posted this...
we can't ever take abortion for granted. It seems like such a normal part of our society now, but it is so evil and we have to fight for the lives of the unborn.
I am like you, I feel life inside of me and wonder about all of the other mothers and all of the other babies who have either thrown life away, or had their life taken.
What a tragedy.
Tracy
A group from our church attended the March for Life yesterday and this weekend Father spoke about abortion. He shared good news, though. I can't remember everything he said, but he did point out that though we tend to focus on the negative (like the appalling stats Crystal posted), the pro-life movement has also been experiencing victories.
One point he shared is that Planned Parenthood has been closing clinics at the rate of one per month since 1999 (or so). Despite all their funding, they can't keep their doors open. He also cited a figure that more than 90% of the counties in this country have NO abortion clinics at all. It's a start and we should be thanking God for our victories, though we mourn our losses.
Courtney, I'm so glad you were able to attend the March for Life. Did anyone else from here go?
And thanks for sharing some encouraging news! I'm also encouraged as I see more and more young couples marrying with a Biblical view of the blessing of children. That warms my heart!
All of the people I know that had abortions that I have met through work, neighborhood, etc., were all married (and one was engaged). I don't understand it, but they all said it was the "wrong time" for a baby. I think that many people believe only young unmarried girls, or maybe the poor, get abortions. Crystal, do you know any stats on who is getting all these abortions? Your facts about abortion numbers were staggering. Just staggering.
Praying In CA
As a nurse, what I don't understand is why doctors don't inform those getting abortion in the same way they inform those getting other medical procedures. (I hate calling abortion a medical procedure.)
When I'm w/a doc and he's telling a patient about a procedure, drawings and even models of certain organs are used. Why can't a doc literally show a woman what the baby looks like at that stage of development and tell her what functions the baby's body has developed up until then! They way it's done now, the woman isn't making an informed decision.
As Christians, we all need to get the word out that we can help these women if need be. I plan on looking into how I can help my local Pregnancy Crisis Center via my church's involvement.
The statistics are horrifying. I often wonder if we focused more on providing services to pregnant young women if it could make a difference. Maybe a mother who is considering abortion because she feels she has no other option would consider otherwise if someone where there to counsel her, help her through her pregnancy, etc. It saddens me that services like that aren't as readily available as abortion is in some areas.
Anyways, my point is working on writing to legislators and such to try to illegalize abortion is one way to "fight", but finding ways to help support pregnant women/girls and help them either put their children up for adoption or raise them themselves is another more positive way we can work on lowering the abortion rate in this country.
I so agree, Noah! It starts on the local, personal, relational level.
God bless all of you who are seeking to reach out to the moms in your area who think their "only option" or "best option" is abortion. If we each seek to make a difference and share Christ's love with those in our community, think of what a big impact we can make!
Just heartbreaking...
It is amazing when you see a very, very premature baby who survives, to think that there are precious little ones who are willingly killed by their mothers at the same stage and even farther along. It is just heart wrenching... indeed the greatest national tragedy.
Noah had such a good point - we certainly should do all we can to help pregnant girls and women so that they feel capable to continue their pregnancy and raise their babies. I think the most important thing we can do though as The Church is 1) believe what the Bible says about children being a blessing and 2) spread the word! If people believed that children are an incredible blessing, a gift from God himself, then no one would want to get rid of that blessing.
It is so sad that a lot of these girls/women not only do not know the ramifications of the abortion, but they are coerced into it by their peers/parents because they think it's the quickest way to get rid of "the problem" which is really a precious child.
I too went through 7 yrs of infertility. We then decided to adopt. We have 3 beautiful children that the Lord has blessed us with. Because of the gifts God has bestowed upon us, it has enlighten me even more of the fact that they are gifts. Nothing have I done to earn these precious children. Nothing have I done to deserve them. It reminds me of our position in Christ. Nothing I have done deserves the precious gift of salvation. I have been adopted in Christ, and I have nothing to do with it. Thank you Lord you see beyond my sin and made me your child.
We have the privilege of knowing our children’s birth families. They are a huge part of our family and we see them regularly. My husband and I had the opportunity to speak at our first son's birth mom’s high school 9 yrs ago. She asked us if we would come and speak on the alternative to teen pregnancy - adoption. She said so many girls know about abortion or trying to parent, but they do not know the pros and cons of adoption. So we went and spoke along side her about the benefits of adoption as well as the benefits of an open adoption. The students heard our birth mom say how she can lay down at night knowing that Sammy is ok, she knows how old he is, when his birthday is, she gets to see him grow up. She even said if she had aborted him, she would always wonder...was it a boy/girl, when would have been the birthday, what would the child look like, what kind of personality would he have.
A couple days later, our birth mom told us that one of her friends who were going to have an abortion that week changed her mind.
We can only try to educate these young girls with the cons of abortion and the pros of adoption.
But reality is...only God could change the heart of one. We can educate, share our concerns, but only God can change the heart.
God can use all of this for His purpose, for His fulfillment of the scripture and ultimately for His glory.
Those statistics are haunting. Abortions are tragic, but the world's attitude towards children is scary, too. A mom at my church last Sunday said that she was disappointed when she found out she was pregnant, because she didn't get enough "personal time" as it is. My heart broke for that precious baby inside her. We should pray for, reach out to, and minister to these women who either choose abortion, or who have the same attitude as those who do.
Amen, and well said Crystal!-Shannon
What a tragic day. :( Thanks for posting and reminding us all of the need for action. Having been in their situation, I need to do more, and I WILL do more to educate them.
I am (unfortunately) one of those girls who has had an abortion. I think that the main "deterrant" (if you will) for abortion is education. If I knew then what I know now I wouldn't have done it.
The "counsellor" at the clinic that I spoke to was VERY pro-abortion (as I suppose you can expect, despite them supposedly being unbiased) and repeatedly told me she believed I was doing the right thing and that it was just a PARASITE - yes, she used that word - that didn't look at all human, that didn't feel pain and didn't have any senses, telling me that without me it would die anyway so what's the big deal. In school they should be taught the value of life, and the reality of what a life looks like at 5, 7, 10, 12 weeks old - it doesn't look like a THING, it looks like a baby, with little fingers and little toes - I think seeing that would change the minds of those considering it - it would have changed mine. Alternative helps for a pregnancy (ie, financial help, relationship help, adoption idea etc) would have also helped me change my mind - there was nothing like that and I saw it as my only way out of a (my thought at the time) bad situation in a bad relationship. Obviously I've since moved on and changed my mind. :)
God bless you all going out there sharing your knowledge. May the Lord's tears for the unborn soon end.
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