I stand with the unborn

Let’s talk about abortion. I know it’s a difficult subject, for a myriad of reasons. But the stakes are so high, it seems to me, that not talking about it would be irresponsible and, worse yet, a conscious act of high moral turpitude. If we are to get props from the world and from ourselves for being responsible adults, we are called upon to work out these issues in a responsible manner.

I’ll cut to the chase: I’ve decided to actively support an end to the practice of abortion in this country. And here are my thoughts on the issue, and the reasons, the basic premises for my conclusions:

It’s quite a serious issue, not only because of the consequences on the unborn child and its parents, particularly the mother, but it partly defines who we are as a civilization. Does the 1973 decision in the Supreme Court case Roe v. Wade, and the 50 millions of abortions that have ensued, mark us as civilized?

Now, with respect to what my wife and I concluded in our younger days, we’ve always been clear with each other: we have the baby. We could no sooner prematurely end the life of an unborn child than we could abuse a household pet. 

But I’ve struggled with the politics of the issue for years. In my 20’s and 30’s, I was OK with a woman’s right to choose – her body and all that, and the specter of being further victimized by rape or incest, or something she didn’t consciously impose on herself.

Now, I knew that most abortions were not to fix those problems. And the range of reasons for having to consider an abortion is varied. The common denominator, I guess, is that the couple (or at least the mother newly with child) feels trapped, and that the resulting quality of their lives, the trajectory of their very futures has been jeopardized.

So a decision is called for. There is no abdicating choice in this. You are cornered.

I have thought about this issue for 40 years. And yet the single thing to prompt me to conclude my thoughts, to write and to act on it was the public flap early in February, when the Susan G. Komen foundation for breast cancer at first made, and then reversed a decision to stop donating about a half-million dollars each year to Planned Parenthood, who regularly provides advice of the highest import to women, many of them good and decent and generally responsible people, who must feel horribly cornered by an unplanned pregnancy. That advice very often results in the death of an unborn child, and there’s a fee involved. There’s profit involved.

It was emotionally difficult and sobering to see much of the media and Facebook friends exult in a decision that would result in more deaths of unborn children. Where’s the glory in that? Some victory. Adults 1, unborn 0.

I thought, do you understand what you’re celebrating? 

Here are my first principles, my premises, as it were. Ayn Rand often warned thoughtful people to check their premises, and it’s great advice:

·         Life begins at conception

·         To abort an unborn infant is to kill an innocent soul. A choice should not be available to do such a thing.

·         It is morally wrong, and the best of our morality, of our goodness, of our ideals, should find its way into law.

·         Adults, and here I’m also referring to those who haven’t yet reached moral maturity but still want the benefits,  the sizzle and the steak, as it were - must be responsible and face consequences.

·         If you don’t want the child, give it up for adoption. Let that child live; make another set of parents happy with the unfolding miracle you have conceived.

I know there are probably countless negative, highly personal consequences to legislating an end to legal abortion, or at least to imposing very narrow limits. But I can no longer kid myself about this: I stand first with the unborn. The personal consequences, the social consequences are secondary. The life of the unborn is the first principle, and with it follows the second: adults must be responsible, and face the consequences if they’re not.

Soon, possibly sometime during this Easter season, I will become personally involved in the struggle to end the option of abortion.

Jerry LaVaute is a special writer for Heritage Media. Follow his blogs “Pa’s Blog” and "The eye of the storm" at  http://jlavaute.blogspot.com. He can be reached at glavaute@gmail.com or call 734-740-0062.