Right to choose is Wrong

Published in the Holland Sentinel on January 15, 2007

I would like to take this opportunity to introduce you to my niece. She does not yet have a name, but as you can see, she is a happy baby. This picture was taken at the end of her first trimester. Isn't she a beautiful sight?

When I first saw this picture, my eyes welled up with tears and my heart was filled with joy. What a wonderful gift God has given to my sister and her husband. This precious child, less than 3 months old, already has full facial features and managed to smile for the camera from inside of her mommy's womb. She will probably grow up to be a big ham, just like her older sister.

As I gazed upon this incredible sight, my mind soon began to wander. I recalled recent debates over so-called "late term" abortions and visualized angry women holding up their "abortion rights" signs. I could not imagine any civil human being looking at this picture, knowing that a child like my niece was growing inside of them and consciously choosing to end her precious life.

How did this country come to the point we are at regarding the moral and legal issue of abortion? At what point did we look at this smiling face and decide, "This is not yet a person"? How did we allow women to believe that they have the right to exterminate the child growing within them? How did we convince ourselves that there is enough of a difference between the first trimester and the third trimester to justify killing a child like my niece? What kind of society are we?

They say that a picture is worth a thousand words. Well, I believe that this picture to be worth a few choice words. Those words should be well-written and placed in the law books of our state and every other state in this country. Those words should bring an end to the cruel, outrageous, and monstrous practice we call "legalized abortion."

Just because something is legal, that does not make it right. Just because you can do something, that doesn't make it OK. Just because one half of the country thinks that a woman should be allowed to murder her unborn child doesn't mean we should allow it to happen. To kill a baby like my niece is absolutely unconscionable and should not be tolerated in any society, especially one which prides itself on human rights.

Although the topic of abortion is highly debated in religious and political circles, I submit this article in the interest of human decency. The value of the life of a child should not be used as political fodder, nor should it be used to divide a society. Abortion should simply be outlawed because it is wrong to take the life of an innocent human being. Looking at this picture of my niece, how could anyone say that she is not yet a human being?

I would ask you to cut out this picture and keep it with you at all times. Next time the topic of abortion comes up, please introduce my niece to whom you are speaking. Let them know that she was in her first trimester, not her third, when this picture was taken. Explain that she has just as much a right to live as her mother. Help them understand abortion is murderous and that the laws of this country need to be changed to reflect true civility.