![]() Sitting by the window next to my desk is a framed 8 ½” x 11” certificate, given to us by some close friends. It reads: A tree has been planted in Israel at The Friends of Israel Grove for Baby Perry. This piece of paper is not unusual--many trees have been planted in Israel in honor of children and others. It’s a common tradition, especially in the Jewish community. But this certificate is special to us. I’ll never forget the morning my wife came to me with a smile on her face. In her hands was a pregnancy test, and the message on it made it clear that our lives were about to change: Pregnant. A day or two later, as I was sitting in a coffee shop across from the university, I took out my laptop and wrote a letter to my unborn child. I wrote of being elated and fearful, of the budding love I already had for him or her, of the great hopes I had of being a good father and for this child to grow and to learn and to walk with the Lord. I’ll also never forget the morning we realized my wife was miscarrying. We had only known about the baby for a short time--he or she had only been alive in their mother’s womb for 6 weeks--but the sense of loss was great. I’m reminded of that hurt when I read the entry in my journal from that day: We lost our baby… It hurts. It is an unselfish hurt in the truest sense. I hurt because a life was extinguished. We have experienced such wonderful lives ourselves, and we desired that for our baby, too. I don’t completely understand why the Lord allowed this child to die, but my knowledge of His goodness and faithfulness allows me to know this is no exception to His ways. Whenever I look at that certificate sitting to the side of my desk, I think of that little one and of the tears that streamed down my face that day, as I mourned the loss of life. On the other side of my desk is a crib, and in it, as I write, is a smiling, cooing, blue-eyed baby girl. Just two months ago, she was in her mother’s womb, and I could see her frequent movements. Sometimes, I think she even played with me, as I poked at her and she poked back. This little girl is, aside from my salvation and my wife, the best thing that has ever happened to me. I look at her lying there with wonder. It is not a questioning wonder about who she is and what she will grow up to be like, although I do think about those things. Rather, it’s an awestruck wonder at the fact that this little girl is a person and was a person when she was in her mother’s womb and will always be a person, from now to the moment she breathes in her first breath of Heavenly air. As I sit at my desk and consider the lives represented on both sides of me in this moment--one born, one unborn--my heart aches. Today is the anniversary of Roe v. Wade. Forty-six years ago, this Supreme Court decision was handed down, making abortion-on-demand legal in all 50 states. Since that time, an estimated 60,000,000 unborn children, many of them minorities, have had their lives taken from them while still in utero. Much has been written--and, sadly, shouted-- about the matter of abortion. My purpose is not to write about why abortion is wrong or to engage in cyber fencing matches. It’s true, my hope is that abortion will one day become as unthinkable in the American mind as slavery or Jim Crow laws are. Yes, I wish for my friends and neighbors to see Planned Parenthood for what it really is-- a lucrative and bloody industry of death, hiding behind legitimate medical services. But my purpose in writing is to point out that there is far more to being pro-life than voting for Republican candidates or slapping pithy bumper stickers on our vehicles. To be truly pro-life, we must value and uphold the dignity of life on both sides of the womb. Being pro-life means giving of our time and resources to pregnancy centers that help families not only reconsider their abortion inclinations, but also to assist them with parenting classes, adoption services, diapers, formula, or a shoulder to cry on. Being pro-life means helping widows and orphans in their distress, even if they look differently than we do, or don’t speak English, or vote for candidates we do not support. Being pro-life means prayerfully considering adoption and foster care, or supporting those who are. Being pro-life means being pro-man, pro-woman, pro-child, pro-family. Being pro-life means treating all human beings with dignity, from conception to death, because they have been fashioned by their creator in His image. We must avoid the political trap of being either for women or against women, for the unborn or against them. The truth is, the circumstances that lead women to consider abortion are not happy ones. Often, women are fearful--fearful of the circumstances their unborn child would be born into; fearful the announcement of their pregnancy would draw the ire of the men in their lives; and fearful of how their own lives will be upended by the introduction of this new one. As pro-life individuals, we must not compromise on our most foundational belief--abortion is wrong. But to be truly pro-life, we must value life on both sides of the womb, and we must help both the parents and the unborn children not only live, but thrive. Today, we mourn the fact that Roe v. Wade has not yet been cast onto the ash heap of history, and we do all in our power to see to it that it is one day. But we also rejoice that there are organizations, churches, and individuals who are dedicated to helping all parties facing unwanted or unplanned pregnancies, and upholding the dignity and sanctity of human life on both sides of the womb.
1 Comment
Mark Rogers
1/22/2019 02:27:28 pm
Brother Ty,
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AuthorTy Perry is a writer and blogger living in metro Detroit. Archives
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