Is it our right to have the option to end the life of a pre-born baby whose heart is beating? This is a hot discussion in Iowa today…
In my emotional response to today’s headlines and online voices I created this collage of pictures… my sweet Ruby at 8 weeks in the top left, and then the same sweet Ruby as she has grown over the past 9 months.
Ruby was Ruby at 8 weeks. Her kidney bean-sized body full of movement and life — heart beating rapidly, fingers stretching out of tiny hands—the same hands that now clap gleefully each time she hears music. At 8 weeks Ruby already had thin eyelids covering her teeny eyes and perfect, intricate lungs taking their place in her functioning body. Her nose, which is now a constant drip from a winter’s cold, was already formed, positioned perfectly above her developing lips.
I believe Ruby was as much human then as she is human now. And I believe it was my human responsibility to care for her (as it is now) since she was unable to care for herself.
Today Iowa decided to pursue a law saying that abortions can no longer take place once a beating heart is detected in a baby (which can be as early as four weeks). Eight-week old babies would now be protected, their lives defended.
And while many see this as an infringement on women’s rights, I see this as a victory, a step forward for humanity.
Valuing life and equality makes headlines every single day. Praise God. But it pains me to see these little lives forgotten, disregarded. I hate that being pro-life feels almost too political to talk about. It’s discussed differently based on political party and usually brought up much more in election years. All too often these lives have been reduced to bargaining chips and debate topics.
And today, as I educated myself on something I tend to think too little about, I couldn’t quit considering how these lives, these humans, don’t have legs to stand in front of government leaders, they don’t have fingers to type a letter or draft a social media post about their opinion on the matter. They don’t have a voice to speak out for their life at all.
But if they did, what would they say?
What would their signs say in a women’s march? Their letter to the editor be?
What would their plea be to you and me– to those of us who DO have legs and voices?
This is an emotional and heated topic. I’m not looking to argue or bring about guilt or shame. I just wanted to use my voice today, as I was moved, to remember the value of these lives. To ask us to pause and ask God how we can speak for those who can’t speak for themselves.
“These are human beings. We have the responsibility to offer them the same liberty and the same rights that you and I have.”-Sen. Amy Sinclair
If you are pro-life, how do you advocate for the pre-born?
*edit* I have not experienced the confusion and fear of an unexpected and unwanted pregnancy. I do not know how it feels to be in this extremely challenging situation and don’t claim to. But I believe babies born into those scenarios deserve life as much as any other.
Read here for more about what is going on in Iowa: https://www.desmoinesregister.com/…/fetal-heartb…/318762002/
