Abortion is a terribly complex interweaving of lives, and choices. Is there a way to affirm a woman’s life and choices, and protect her baby’s chance at both?
Because women are incredible. I married one who is changing the world one friend at a time.
And I love babies. I have a spring-loaded 9-month-old who gives new meaning to “smiling from ear to ear” whenever you pick him up.
So what am I supposed to do about the lives and choices involved in abortions?
It’s tricky because there are victims at every level. Sometimes pregnancy isn’t the woman’s choice at all. And if they were bullied or frightened or shamed into it, even the abortion may not be their choice. Abortion doctors are insulted, and assaulted – even murdered. There are victims all around. And yet, we’re talking about real live babies here. They’re not part of the mother’s body – they’re just beautifully housed there. They have their own brain waves and blood type. From the size of a sesame seed, my son had a heart beat.
So what do we do?
First, I think we dialogue. On Monday, Feb. 22, we aired a Law & Order episode raising questions about abortion, and discussed it afterward. Hopefully it was helpful.
And we mourn the victims. On Thursday, Feb. 25, we will hold a public memorial service in the Syre Student Center Courtyard for the one-in-five babies aborted in the last two years in Whatcom County. Please join us every class break to mourn the deaths of all those little ones, and to mourn the complex, sometimes awful, circumstances that led their mothers to choose to abort them.
Shouldn’t we be pro-momma’s-life as much as anyone’s, and pro-baby’s-choice at the same time?
-Geoff Mumley
