10 reasons not to have an abortion

Via Live Action News — Note: If you are a father trying to stop an abortion, see this article. If you are a woman who is being pressured into an abortion, go here.

Parenting website Mommyish recently published an article advocating ten reasons (well, actually nine) to have an abortion. In response, I wrote a piece debunking the author’s arguments. Today, I will discuss ten reasons not to have an abortion.

1) It compounds tragedy.

Sometimes the circumstances surrounding a pregnancy are tragic. Perhaps the woman was raped. Maybe the baby has been diagnosed with a defect. Or the woman’s health might be at risk. However, one tragedy is not answered with another. We do not erase a rape by killing a child. We do not cure a baby by taking his life. And we do not avoid all health issues by avoiding the reality of another human being.

Women who have been raped must be compassionately cared for. But compassionate care does not include executing a woman’s child. Parents facing a difficult prenatal diagnosis must be given real facts and directed to others with helpful experiences. They must not be forced into a quick choice for abortion or urged to take the life of their child instead of giving her a chance to defy the odds. Women with high-risk pregnancies must be treated by real medical professionals. But treatment does not include intentionally killing a child. (If a child dies during the course of treating the woman – i.e., during chemotherapy for cancer, removal of an ectopic pregnancy, etc. – this is not an abortion.)

A Different Kind of Mommy Post

One of the super cute photos in the article that you simply must read…

Ok, so this is a LOT different from my typical posts. But hey, while we are busy working to encourage moms out there to give their babies life, it’s also important to pass on some tips of exactly what to do with those precious gifts…

I’m a young mom – with one toddler and one baby coming later this year =). And I know I can often use encouragement and helpful tips. My children are some of the most precious gifts in my life, but that doesn’t mean I always know what to do with them!

So I’m going to pass on this EXTREMELY AWESOME article that my mom shared with me. It’s called “They are Listening: 19 Things We Should Say to Our Children.” Moms are sometimes told what not to say to our kids, but what about the things we should be saying?? You may not agree with every single phrase in this list, but overall – it’s great advice that I’ll be trying to follow.

I’d also add a couple other things I want to say to my children.

1) My parents always said this to us: “We can always talk about it. No matter what you do, we can talk about it. No matter how bad it is, we will be here for you, and we will work it out.”

2) “It’s ok. You’re safe. Mommy’s here.” This seems to be helpful for little ‘fraidy cat kiddos. We all need to reassured that we really are safe and that someone we trust is here for us.

So, to finish this out, why don’t you let me know things you try to say to your kids? What are important words we need to be building in our children? Because after all, after we choose to give life to these beautiful gifts, we need to remember to treat them like the gifts they are!

Doing MY Part to Build a Culture of Life

You CAN work to build a culture of life, and you must. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Without a doubt, abortion is the greatest bloodstain on our culture. Without a doubt, it’s the main way we, as a nation, reject life. It has become much too convenient and commonplace to kill the unseen children in our wombs. No matter what, we cannot step back on our resolve to speak out for each innocent life and every family affected by abortion. Now is always a time to move forward.

I’ve been thinking lately, though, that pro-lifers ought to take a bit of time to consider how we live our day to day lives. In simple, easy ways – or easily forgotten ones – do we build a culture of life? For instance, you can read my article for Live Action here that discusses how we view children when we see them at the grocery store or at church. Silly? Maybe…but’s itself something I know I had to think about.

What about more serious things like driving tired? Do you know how many people get killed because another driver was asleep at the wheel? Don’t risk people’s lives like that! Pull over, stop at a friend’s house, chew gum, blare music, roll down the window – whatever it takes to not accidentally fall asleep at the wheel. Don’t take risks. Drinking a little too much before driving should go without saying.

How about being an overall careful driver? (You can see I’ve been thinking about driving lately.) Instead of rushing so fast to get to the next place – even if we’re late – what about slowing down and being sure to REALLY watch the road and be extra polite to other drivers. I firmly believe these kind of easy, simple actions can help save lives.

Do you have ideas on how to build a culture of life in the day-to-day things we regularly do? To stop abortion, we often need to step out of our comfort zone. But for these other things, we already do them – so why not do them right?

Share your ideas with me below!  And enjoy the following recommended articles:

Planned Parenthood’s Rebranding Scheme

What Can You Do For the Pro-Life Cause – What Kind of Warrior Are You?

Do SOMETHING!

An Abortion Survivor’s 31st Birthday (This girl is seriously awesome!)

Save the Babies of Juarez!!!

Ok, it’s time to take action…

Did you know that just ten hours from the Denver Metro area, up to 25% of babies are dying before they reach six months of age?  And no, this death rate has nothing to do with abortion.  It has everything to do with malnutrition and lack of food.  And you can do something about it!

I just found out from “Babies of Juarez” that, in Juarez, Mexico, many babies wear the same diaper for four days or longer.  The familes are too poor to afford new diapers, and there’s not enough water to make cloth diapers an option.  According to the flyer I read,

A mom will go to the store with enough money for one diaper.  The diapers are used and reused until they can no longer hold anything more, and the mom will go back to the store with just enough money to buy a new one.  Our team in the clinic saw babies with horrible sores on their bottoms and the parents with no means to help them.

The even greater tragedy is that the babies are dying due to lack of food.  Many mothers in the area–specifically in Kilometer 30, an area of Juarez–are too malnourished themselves to breastfeed, and their milk dries up all too quickly.

Up to twenty-five percent of the babies in Kilometer 30 don’t live longer than six months.  It’s extremely common for parents to not name their babies until after six months because of the terribly high infant mortality rate.  Formula is literally life itself to these people.

Reading this breaks my heart.  I’m sure it breaks yours.  But there is something we can do to help save these babies!  Go to www.babiesofjuarez.org and click on the “Get Involved” tab.

• You can collect diapers and formula and have them picked up at your house or you can drop them off at one of the organization’s hubs.
• You can make a tax deductible donation…and 100% of your money goes to buy diapers and formula.
• You can organize a diaper and formula drive at your business, club, school, church, VBS, neighborhood, kids’ consignment sale, AWANA group, or for your own missions trip.
• And of course, you can spread the word!
• Please spend some time looking around the website to find ideas of what you can do.  For example, one mom wrote saying that her two children, ages 5 and 8, were going to pass flyers around their neighborhood and ask people for donations.  I know that you can often find new diapers at thrift stores or formula (or formula coupons) on Craigslist.  You could always email the people on Craigslist and see if they are willing to donate their formula to the cause.  If you have more ideas, post them in a comment below!

How does Babies of Juarez work?  Here is a little clip from the website:

I thought it might be helpful to give a quick rundown of how the ministry works. It’s delightfully simple and effective. People like you donate supplies or money to purchase supplies. There’s a hub in Highlands Ranch, Colorado, and one in Gilbert, Arizona, has recently been added. We collect and store the diapers and formula. When a team is going to the colonias for a house-building project through Missions Ministries, the supplies are loaded and sent with that team. Missions Ministries distributes the supplies to the five local pastors in their area of service down in the colonias outside Juarez. The five pastors then distribute to the families under their care. Over the years we’ve seen pastors come the very night we arrive, late in the evening, because they knew of a hungry baby who desperately needed food. It’s a life I can only imagine. And overwhelming to say the least. Since this project started in 2007 we’ve sent 23 big loads to Juarez (see babiesofjuarez.org for pictures) and as a result the infant mortality rate has dropped significantly. It’s been my life-changing privilege to gather supplies from all of you these past few years. Thank you.

You can also email or call Quinn Anderson for more info at 303-668-8221 or quincyjoyanderson@gmail.com.

Together, let’s work to save these babies!!!