Adoption – An Important But Often-Ignored Option

January is “Sanctity of Human Life Month,” with the annual March for Life scheduled for Jan. 23 in Washington, D.C. The theme of this year’s march: “Life is a Gift.” The pro-life/pro-choice debate has been raging since the early 1970s. Even with Roe v. Wade being overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court in 2022, this issue is far from settled. Abortions are still performed in many states.

With so many facets to the arguments, both pro and con, it’s impossible to compress them into simple summaries. Highly charged emotions on both sides rival and even exceed rational considerations. That doesn’t mean, however, there’s no value in presenting perspectives that might be helpful.

 

Like everyone, I’ve got my own point of view. But observing how the national and local media cover the ongoing controversy over abortion, I can’t help hearkening back to my journalistic studies in college many years ago. Back then, foundational principles for reporting the news were emphasized: Being objective, fair, and balanced in what and how news events are covered. These were ideals I aspired to during my decade as a newspaper editor.

 

Unfortunately, those virtues have largely been cast aside in favor of advocacy reporting, selectively choosing to use or not to use information based upon the agenda of the reporter or news organization. I regard it as “skewed news,” shaping information to advance a preferred, very subjective narrative.

 

Getting back to the abortion debate, among the numerous pro-abortion arguments we often hear is “my body, my choice.” A woman finds herself with an unwanted pregnancy. Regardless of the circumstances, she’s facing up to nine months of carrying an unborn child she doesn’t want. ‘Why not terminate it and get on with my life?’ For her, it seems like a decision that affects her alone. Except that’s not true. 

 

Much could be said in response to the “my body, my choice” stance, but let’s focus on one very viable but oft-ignored alternative to abortion: Adoption. Yes, the pregnant woman still must give birth, but adoption relieves her of the responsibility of motherhood if she doesn’t want that. And from the moment a child is adopted, it begins having an impact on other lives in ways we couldn’t even imagine.

 

In our immediate family we have three individuals who were adopted, whose birth mothers had the courage to allow their babies to enter the world and then offer them to good, loving homes.

 

One is a son-in-law, now in his 50s, who lives in another state. Today he’s married, has two daughters and two sons-in-law of his own, two of them being first responders, along with two energetic grandsons. Being the owner of two businesses, over the years he has employed hundreds of people. Through the businesses, he has served many clients, operating with high integrity and commitment to quality. And he and his wife are actively involved in their community in a variety of ways, touching many lives directly and indirectly.

 

His adoptive parents raised him with much love, and some years ago he was able to meet not only his birth mother but also her other children – his half-siblings. She was thrilled to discover what a fine person he had become. Can you see how that one decision to give birth rather than to abort, certainly not a simple one, has made a difference in the lives of hundreds of people? There’s a term for this – the “butterfly effect” – a singular action or decision having an incalculable impact.

 

We also have two adopted grandsons, both sources of great joy for our family. Our daughter and son-in-law – like countless couples across America – were unable to have children biologically. After exploring every possible avenue with no success, they chose to adopt. Again, this meant two other women had to make the selfless, courageous decision: Not to abort an unborn child but to give birth so a couple they didn’t know could adopt him. I can attest that lives beyond number have been influenced because our grandsons were given the gift of life.

 

This isn’t just a matter of human morality. It’s a decision of divine magnitude. Psalm 139:13-16 expresses this well:

“For You created my inmost being; You knit me together in my mother’s womb,

I praise You because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;

Your works are wonderful, I know that full well.

My frame was not hidden from you…Your eyes saw my unformed body.

All the days ordained for me were created in Your book

Before one of them came to be.”

 

Even in the womb, God knows and cares for us, already making special, unique plans for each of us. This is reason enough to advocate for the unborn. As it says in Proverbs 24:11-12, “Rescue those being led away to death; hold back those staggering toward slaughter. If you say, ‘But we knew nothing about this,’ does not He who weighs the heart perceive it?”

 

Reading the gospels we see Jesus Christ’s special interest in children, reaching out to young ones that others saw as having little value or importance. He admonished, “See that you do not look down on one of these little ones. For I tell you that their angels in heaven always see the face of My Father in heaven" (Matthew 18:10).

 

There’s one other biblical perspective on adoption worth considering. Adopting a child provides a metaphor for how God brings people into His eternal family as His children. Ephesians 1:5-6 tells us, “He predestined us to be adopted as His sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with His pleasure and will – to the praise of His glorious grace which He has freely given us in the One He loves.” 

 

Numerous other passages address this, but one of my favorites is Romans 8:15, which talks about our spiritual rebirth: “For you have not received a spirit of bondage again to fear, but you have received the Spirit of divine adoption as sons, by whom we cry, ‘Abba, Father!’”

 

What a beautiful picture this is when a woman confronting an unwanted pregnancy chooses to give the unborn child the gift of life, then enables a loving couple to bring that child into their family, beginning a chain of events that will have an unimaginable, even eternal impact on many other people.

What About the Things Jesus Didn’t Talk About?

Have you noticed that lots of people these days are busily discussing what Jesus Christ had to say during His time on earth – but not for all the same reasons? Talk-show celebrities, politicians, podcasters and news commentators are all giving their two cents worth about what they believe that Jesus believed regarding a variety of contemporary issues. 

 

For example, a three-person panel of TV commentators recently spoke with great authority – self-bestowed, that is – about their conviction that since Jesus never addressed the issue of abortion, He must not have been opposed to this controversial practice.

There are at least three big problems with this conclusion. First, they were utilizing what’s called “the argument of silence.” That is, if people don’t express a particular view or perspective on something, that must mean it’s not their concern. What a silly conclusion. Just because we don’t voice an opinion aloud doesn’t mean we don’t have an opinion about it.

 

Let’s take the thought one step further: Jesus also never spoke about things such as texting while driving, speeding on highways, looking at Internet pornography, selling heroin, or abusing one’s spouse. Should we make the inference, therefore, that He approves of such things? 

 

The second problem is related to it. I don’t think it’s heretical to state that although the Bible records many things Jesus said, to presume that presents everything that He ever said makes no sense. Case in point: Chapter 2 of the Gospel of Luke recounts the time when He was 12 years old and went with Mary and Joseph to Jerusalem for the Feast of Passover.

 

After the celebration, Jesus’ earthly parents were heading back home for a day before they realized He wasn’t with relatives or friends. They returned to Jerusalem and searched for Him three days before they found Him in the temple courts, deeply engaged in discussions with religious leaders and teachers. The only specific words of Jesus mentioned from that incident were, “Didn’t you know I had to be in My Father’s house?” (Luke 2:49). 

 

In inspiring and guiding the writers of the Scriptures, God didn’t find it necessary to include more of what Jesus and the astonished leaders talked about. And we have absolutely no record of anything else Jesus said during His childhood or the subsequent years prior to the beginning of His earthly ministry at the age of 30. Surely, He didn’t remain silent. Who’s to say the subject of abortion in some form might not have come up during those years? Maybe more than once. 

 

As we read in 2 Peter 1:20-21, “Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture comes from one’s own interpretation. For no such prophecy was ever brought forth by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.” The Word of God doesn’t tell us everything there is to know about Him – how could it? But as the Lord has seen fit, the Scriptures tell us all He deems that we need to know about Him.

 

The third problem with arguments about what Jesus said or didn’t say about the topic du jour is a very comprehensive statement He made, as recorded in Matthew 5:17-19:

“Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. Anyone who breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven….”

 

In the extensive Old Testament writings Jesus was referring to, we find both commands and prohibitions of many kinds. He was recognizing that His hearers already knew what these laws were; He didn’t need to restate them. His purpose in coming was because no one then – and no one now – could succeed at observing and keeping all of those laws 100 percent of the time. Not even close.

 

Jesus wasn’t saying those God-given commands, even to the smallest letter or the least stroke of a pen, as He said, had become null and void. But because we fail time and again to keep them – the Bible calls this “sin” – we’re told, “God made Him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Corinthians 5:21).

 

So, it’s at the very least foolish and ignorant to argue that since the Bible doesn’t present a specific statement from Jesus – about abortion or any of the other questionable lifestyle choices people make every day – that means they aren’t important to Him. 

After all, the Lord said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these” (Luke 18:16). Can you imagine Him stating that, and then interjecting, “However, if you want to abort them, that’s certainly okay”? I can't.

Adoption – the Oft-Overlooked Option

This time of the year is very special for our family. The hubbub of the holidays has subsided, and we pause to celebrate the birthdays of several of family members, including two adopted grandsons. It’s an annual reminder of the courageous, selfless decisions of their birth mothers to bring them into this world and then, because they were not able to raise them, to entrust them to loving adoptive parents.

 

In the ongoing “pro-choice/pro-life” debate, often overlooked is the option of adoption, instead of abortion. If we “follow the science,” as we’ve been admonished so many times, we know that inside a pregnant woman’s womb is a living being – a human being – patiently waiting for the time it can enter the world and live without a sustaining lifeline called the umbilical cord. So, despite the arguments, abortion is the taking of a life. 

 

Sadly, many times women become pregnant and are unable or unwilling to take on the responsibility for raising a child – or another child, if they already have one or more. The alternative, some in our society insist, is abortion. But adoption – ironically the juxtaposition of two letters – is the better option, what we could term a win-win, for the birth mom, the baby, and the parents who adopt him or her.

 

Which brings us to our family. In addition to our two adopted grandchildren, we also have a son-in-law, now in his 50s, a highly successful entrepreneur who employs 60-80 people in his businesses, and is devoted to serving hundreds of clients. He’s also the father of two daughters and now the grandfather of a little boy. The lives of many hundreds of people have been positively affected the brave decision of a birth mother whom he was blessed to meet for the first time several years ago.

 

Abortion, therefore, isn’t simply a “personal decision” for a pregnant woman. Taking a long view, it literally is a life-changing decision for countless people, continuing many years into the future. Of course, adoption isn’t a simple, inexpensive option. To adopt a child often carries a cost that could total well into thousands of dollars. But how do you put a price on a life?

 

Rather than writing what might seem like a strident pro-life editorial, I’d like to offer a very different view on adoption – one presented in unequivocal terms in the Bible. Because it states that every person who is a child of God, who has been “born again,” as Jesus explained in John 3:3-8, has been adopted by the Lord.

 

Romans 8:15 declares, “For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom you cry out, ‘Abba, Father’” [literally, “Daddy.”] Eight verses later we read, “…even we ourselves groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for the adoption, the redemption of our body.”

 

The apostle Paul writes more about this elsewhere, as in Galatians 4:4-5, “But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons.”

 

Perhaps the strongest statement of all is found in Ephesians 1:4-5, which declares, “just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will.”

 

Earlier I mentioned the considerable expense of adopting a human child. But that cost, however high, could never approach what it cost God the Father to adopt us as His spiritual children. Romans 5:8 states, “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” 

 

To make provision for our adoption as His children cost the sacrifice of His own Son, Jesus Christ. So that Paul could write in Ephesians 1:7-8, “In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace which He made to abound toward us in all wisdom and prudence.”

 

Across our nation, many thousands of childless couples would love to have the opportunity and blessing of adopting an unwanted child. Many other families with children would generously open their homes to adopt additional children. If only we could hear that option explained and advocated more often as this great social debate continues.

 

From the moment each of our grandsons was welcomed into our family and adopted, our lives were changed forever. Now we can’t imagine what our lives would be like without them. And for the birth mothers, they had the peace of mind knowing they had made the right sacrifice, seeing to it that the infants they carried into this world would grow up in safe, loving homes.

But even more, think of the countless men, women, and children whom God longs to adopt – for all eternity – because of the priceless sacrifice He has already made. If you’re reading this, you’re probably already spiritually oriented. But the question every one of us must answer is, “Have I been adopted? Have I truly accepted God’s invitation to become a member of His everlasting family?” If not, this could become the day of your own adoption! 

Terrifying News for a Young Woman

Can you imagine what it must have been like for young Mary, probably barely a teenager, to carry the unfathomable, incomprehensible burden of being chosen to become the earthly mother of the incarnate Christ? She had recently been betrothed, and suddenly the angel Gabriel appeared to her to announce, “”Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you” (Luke 1:28). 

The Scriptures don’t record Mary’s response, but I suspect her first thought was, “Uh, okay?” They do inform us she was “greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be” (verse 29). Ya think? Then the angel dumped the whole load: 

“Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God. You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High” (Luke 1:30-32).

Again, the passage doesn’t offer her immediate response, but I bet it was the Hebrew equivalent of, “Say what?!” It does tell us she asked an obvious question: “How will this be, since I am a virgin?” (verse 34). Can you blame her for asking? After briefly describing the divine process that would soon come about, Gabriel finished by declaring, “For nothing is impossible with God” (verse 37).

To her credit, Mary didn’t prolong the discussion, asking if the angel could repeat what he had just told her. She simply responded, “I am the Lord’s servant…. May it be to me as you have said” (verse 38). Then Gabriel, as you might say, left the building.

I don’t mean to make light of this holy moment, but the Bible is nothing if not a very honest, very human book – yet divinely inspired. This definitely wasn’t what Mary had in mind in beginning preparations for her wedding. Who to invite? Yes. What kind of meal to serve? Probably. But the prospect of carrying the Son of God – God in the flesh – in her virgin womb? Not a chance.

Keep in mind that, unlike today when hardly anyone blinks anymore if we hear of a woman having a baby out of wedlock, it was a shameful state in Mary’s time. Women typically were regarded as second-class citizens, even property, in those days. They were expected to toe the line in laws and customs. This was why the Bible tells us her fiancé, Joseph, upon learning the news, “had in mind to divorce her quietly” (Matthew 1:19), being a righteous man, despite his feelings of embarrassment. 

Then an angel of the Lord, perhaps Gabriel, also appeared to Joseph and interceded: “…do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save the people from their sins” (Luke 1:20-21). Also a man of great faith, Joseph did as the angel instructed.

So can you understand the conundrum, the exciting yet terrifying news that first Mary, and then Joseph, had to absorb and deal with?

I think about this because, in one respect, it seems a biblical statement about abortion. I don’t know if abortion was even practiced in the days of Jesus, but surely being unwed and pregnant was more than an inconvenience for Mary. What would people think? What would they do? Thank the Lord her betrothed husband was willing to follow through on his marriage commitment.

Do you think Mary even for a moment might have thought, “How can I get rid of this baby? I didn’t volunteer for this!” And yet, the massive, world-changing Christmas story we’re soon to celebrate found its inception in the lives of these two young people.

Fast-forwarding to today, we find many in the “pro-choice” abortion camp declaring “it’s a woman’s body,” and “it’s about women’s reproductive health.” I know, being a male, I’m not supposed to know about such things. But my wife has borne five children, and together we have 12 grandchildren and soon, six great-grandkids. So I do know at least a little about women getting pregnant, having babies and starting to raise them in this world.

At its heart, a decision to have an abortion is not just a “personal choice.” It affects far more than an individual woman troubled by a tiny, growing human being in her tummy. It’s a decision that affects many people, perhaps countless. How many lives have been touched – and changed – by the life of Jesus Christ through the centuries?

In our family, we are the beneficiaries of three women who made truly courageous, unselfish decisions not to terminate their pregnancies. One, more than 50 years ago, gave birth to a baby boy in times when being pregnant while not married was still regarded as a taboo. Today, he employs about 60 people in a thriving small business that’s making a difference in his community, and many customers benefit from the services his company provides.

Best of all, a few years ago, he was reunited with his birth mother and soon afterward met siblings he never knew existed. What an image to see him, his birth mom, and his loving, adoptive mother who raised him from infancy getting together for the first time!

We also have two adopted grandsons, wonderful, engaging little boys whose impact on our entire family is beyond measure. In both cases, their birth mothers courageously chose to go through the trials and challenges of pregnancy to give them life – and surrender them to a loving home that was ready to care for and nurture them, when they were not.

Recently, a brief segment during a college football game told about a young woman about 20 years ago who initially went to a facility to have an abortion, but then left and chose to give birth to her baby and raise him. Today, he is a stellar athlete and a young man of great character. Countless millions have enjoyed his athletic prowess and will continue to do so for years to come.

So to say that abortion should be solely a woman’s choice is wrong, when in fact it’s taking the life of a little human who is not yet ready for life outside the womb. Each new life, famous or not, has the potential for influencing and having an impact on the lives of countless others.

I get it. Having an unwanted pregnancy is a daunting, even terrifying prospect, as it was for Mary some 2,000 years ago. But in God’s sight, no life is without reason or without purpose. As Psalm 139:13-16 tells us:

“For [God] created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well…. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.”

As you contemplate Mary and the Christ Child this Christmas season, please think about that.

Thinking of Those Who Will Never Know Their Mothers

Another Mother’s Day is just a few days away, giving us another opportunity to express and demonstrate our appreciation. Not only to our moms, but also to the mothers of our own children, and all women who offer such devotion and sacrifice in caring for their sons and daughters. Thank you all, so very much!

But as the “pro-choice” vs. pro-life debate continues to ramp up, I can’t help but think of the millions of infants who will never celebrate a Mother’s Day, those unborn persons whose “moms” chose to end their lives in the womb.

Admittedly I have “skin in the game” when it comes to this: We have two grandsons whose birth mothers made courageous, selfless choices by bringing their babies to term and then, unable to take on the responsibility of raising a child, surrendered these little boys for adoption. We also have a son-in-law who, more than 50 years ago, was born to a teen-aged birth mother who also released him to be adopted, refusing to terminate her pregnancy.

How our lives would have been different if any – or all – of these birth moms had chosen to kill their babies before they were born. And because of these brave, noble decisions, two women unable to conceive biologically have had the joy and privilege of becoming “Mommy” or “Mom” to their sons.

I know terms like “kill” and “murder” for some are the equivalent of waving a red flag in front of a bull. Fighting words. Civil discourse and common sense are so lacking in this crucial issue. While it’s difficult to dissuade the opposition, the rights of the unborn must be defended.

Before one of our granddaughters arrived on the scene, we were delighted to see her ultrasound photo. The image of pre-born Brynn was at 23 weeks, still in her second trimester. Clearly she already had all of her parts – her head, body and limbs were formed. She just wasn’t ready for life outside the womb. No doubt, even at that stage of development, she was a baby, fully human, not fetal tissue just floating around in amniotic fluid.

It’s reported that abortion centers are reluctant, and often refuse, to show pregnant women ultrasounds of their unborn babies. When I’ve shown pro-abortion friends the ultrasound image of my granddaughter, they have looked away. Why do you think that is? 

Brynn was born five weeks premature, at 35 weeks, necessitating a stay in the NICU (neonatal intensive care unit) of Children’s Hospital. Even at that point, according to recent legislation, had she been born in states like New York or Virginia, she would have been eligible for “termination.” Looking at her lying in the incubator, tubes attached, growing slowly and gathering strength for going to her new home, it was hard to imagine how anyone could authorize ending such a tender, promising life.

Today that same little girl, now 2, is attending preschool, singing along with her favorite songs, learning colors, and brightening the room with her mischievous smile. 

Some would argue that since I’m a man, what right do I have to tell women what they should do with their bodies? To an extent, I understand such thinking. A pregnant woman is, after all, “inconvenienced” for nine months during gestation. And if she doesn’t want a baby, or lacks the resources to care for one, isn’t it more “humane” to end the pregnancy in the womb? 

Nothing, I believe, would have been humane about not allowing a little one like Brynn – or any child – to be born and be able to experience the opportunities of this wonderful world. Or begin to fulfill the potential of God’s unique design for them. 

As Psalm 139:13-16 beautifully expresses it, “For you [Lord] created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb; I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well…. All the days ordained for me were written in your book, before one of them came to be.”

This isn’t the only place where the Bible talks about the life of the unborn. In the gospel of Luke, we see the response to Jesus by prenatal John, who would become known as John the Baptist: “…Mary got ready and hurried to the town in the hill country of Judea, where she entered Zechariah’s home and greeted Elizabeth [her also-expectant relative]. When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby [John] leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit” (Luke 1:39-41).

How can we read such passages and assert the Bible says nothing about the personhood of the unborn or aborting them?

Even more tragic, in many cases there’s more than one victim of an abortion. In 2017, the Journal of American Surgeons and Physicians published a study of 1,000 women showing that for the vast majority of them, abortions had not made their lives better; many needed post-abortion counseling. 

Studies also have shown abortion can cause future infertility and miscarriage, and other medical studies have found post-abortive women run a higher risk of mental health disorders and substance abuse. These facts, of course, are typically ignored or excluded from the abortion debate.

So on this eve of Mother’s Day, I’d like to again congratulate all moms and wish them a wonderful day. We owe you much gratitude for giving us life. For those birth moms who have unselfishly offered their babies to be adopted by loving parents, thank you! You’ve made someone else’s Mother’s Day. And for women who have undergone abortions and suffered pain in the aftermath, may God grant you peace, comfort, and the restoring power of His grace and mercy.

A Rose is a Rose is a Rose...

It seems the world is a-twitter (literally and figuratively) about Kate Middleton having a baby this July. Ah, we can almost hear the pitter-patter of tiny feet in Buckingham Palace now. And Kim Kardashian, the famous-for-being-famous reality show celebrity, has proudly displayed her “baby bump” for the child she and rapper Kanye West are expecting, also in July.

What if someone were to approach lovely Kate, or controversial Kim, and declare, “That’s not a baby you’re carrying. It’s only a fetus!”?

We’d be appalled, maybe even incensed. How dare someone say such an insensitive, uncaring thing? But every day, that’s what thousands of women in fact are saying. Mrs. Prince William and Ms. Kardashian are still early in their second trimesters, a time when many pregnant women choose to abort their “fetuses.”

Recently many churches observed “Sanctity of Life Sunday.” The 40^th anniversary of the Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision affirming women’s rights to abortions was either celebrated or mourned, depending on which side of the pro-choice/pro-life fence one stands on. Jan. 25, many thousands participated in the annual “March for Life” in Washington, D.C. to protest abortion.

Abortion proponents talk about a woman’s “reproductive rights,” but what about the rights – or non-rights – of the unborn?

Following the elementary school shootings in Connecticut, and during his second inaugural address, President Obama asserted his commitment to the safety and protection of children. We envision bright, shining faces of young ones and agree they are priceless resources. But what about babies being aborted at all stages of pregnancy that never will see the light of a single day?

Thankfully, our grandson's birth mother
made the choice to let another couple adopt him.

Well, what about pregnant women not wanting babies – don’t they have rights? Yes, but they could exercise them in other ways. Celebrated football player Tim Tebow and entertainer Justin Bieber are just two prominent examples of could-have-been abortions. Instead, their mothers chose to keep them rather than exerting the sterile-sounding right to “terminate a fetus.”

Another option is surrendering a baby for adoption. Across America millions of women – and couples – desperately desire to have a child but for various reasons, cannot. One of my daughters and her husband are an example of that.

My grandson, Maclane, a two-year-old ball of energy they adopted, is a delight. His addition to our family has been life-changing for us all. What if his birth mother, instead of making him available for adoption, had exercised her legal “choice” to abort him?

We can understand the inconvenience for a woman having to dedicate nine months to the gestation of a baby she doesn’t want. But as we express heartfelt concern for the welfare of children that succeeded in making the passage from the womb to the world, how can we not have like compassion for “fetuses” not yet ready for life outside the womb?

Psalm 139:14 states we are “fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.” Pregnancies are not accidents. They are part of God’s grand plan – if not for the birth mothers, then for others that will have the opportunity to experience the joy of parenting babies into toddlerhood, adolescence and beyond.

Somehow I think the line from the poem, “Sacred Emily,” written by Gertrude Stein, applies here: “Rose is a rose is a rose is a rose.”

Similarly, baby is a baby is a baby is a baby. To assert otherwise is simply to deny an inconvenient truth.