Our two cars have special license plates that say “Respect Life” and have a Columbine flower on the plate. The special license plates came into being after the Columbine High School shooting happened in 1999. Two students came into the school and murdered 12 students and one teacher. Then they killed themselves. There was no respect for life.
Today many of us do not respect human life like we should. Human life is sacred. We all are made in the image of God, so we should treat all people with dignity. Every person is loved by God. And yet today many times we treat people as less than human, and in some cases we kill them. We make enemies out of those who disagree with us, and those we perceive to cause a major “negative” change in our lives. We make them into someone less than human. We rationalize our reasons to disrespect people and make them less than human, but it does not make it right. Human life is precious, and everyone deserves to be treated with respect and dignity.
I believe that “It is wrong to intentionally kill an innocent human being.” Life is precious and I believe that abortion is an intentional act that kills a unique, distinct, and innocent human being. This human being has their own DNA. So it does not matter whether you are a small fertilized egg, an unborn baby, a child, a teen, an adult, or an old person. You are a unique human being. The size or level of development does not change the person. The environment does not matter. Whether the human being is in the womb or not. Whether the person can breathe on their own or not. The person, whether unborn or a 90 year old on oxygen, is still a person. Dependency does not matter. In the womb, the unborn child is dependent on the mother. A new born child is still very dependent on the mother. And an aging person may become very dependent on others. Whether unborn or aged, each person deserves the respect and dignity of the rest of us.
The abortion debate is more complicated than simply the killing of the unborn. We must not leave the mother out of the abortion debate. She too deserves to be treated with dignity and respect. When 75% of the women getting an abortion are poor, it looks like to me that financial concerns are a major factor in abortions. As I see it, tackling poverty will significantly help lower the number of abortions. How can we support the pregnant mother? How can we support mothers in general? Can we remove their financial worries? Can we make adoption a more viable option for them?
Fathers are important too. They also deserve to be treated with dignity and respect. Many times the mother is on her own. Children who have both parents do better. How can we bring the father back into the family and give him a place in caring for the child? How can we build up the family? The abortion debate is a complicated issue that requires that the needs of the father, mother, and the unborn child be taken into account.
Around the country there are many pregnancy centers that can help a mother deal with a pregnancy in a respectful and loving manner. A good one in the Loveland/Longmont area is Life Choices.
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