“So many of the comments urged me to consider adoption but I already feel so attached to the little zygote inside of me (my friend named it Ziggy) that I don’t think I could carry a baby to term just to give it away. The mere thought of handing my child to someone else, as altruistic as it is, breaks me. “

As upset as I was reading Emmie’s story, I continued on reading some of the comments to see how people were responding. These made me want to throw up. Mostly, they are from people congratulating her on this difficult decision, reassuring her she’s made the “right choice” for her at this time in her life. They remind her that she will be a great mother when she is ready and can plan for a pregnancy. There were handfuls that “respected” her decision, but called into question her refusal to place the baby for adoption when she says she cared for it so much.

There are still others who blame society for not offering enough support to women who become pregnant by accident and feel they have no choice to abort. In my opinion, life is about choices we make, they are just not all choices we prefer. Emmie has a choice to not kill her baby. Becoming a mother at 22 while attending graduate school might not be the life she wants right now, but it is a viable choice.

The comments that really stopped me in my tracks where the ones arguing that those of us on the side of Life only care about babies before they are born, and ignore them once they get here.

“Until pro-life people are willing to acknowledge and support women and children *beyond* birth, I find their arguments in “support” of life to be hollow.”

Evidently, since there are children starving in foreign countries, languishing in foster care and poverty, it is wrong to advocate for the life of the unborn. These comments accuse Pro-Lifers of being hypocritical, alleging we offer support for women in a crisis pregnancy, but once they have the baby they are left alone to suffer motherhood unsupported.

This is a myth that is very frustrating to me. One of the things that drew me to the Pregnancy Resource Center where I volunteered was the program available to mothers and fathers from pregnancy until their youngest child was 3. The volunteers worked with the men and women from their first visit confirming the pregnancy, to helping them with their babies and then toddlers. It was a great experience to work with these new families. While in training, I was very impressed with the long list of referrals we could provide to a mother who needed assistance. Before coming to the PRC, I had no idea the vast network to aid struggling families in our community. I believe most people don’t realize it either because we haven’t had the occasion to utilize it. But it does exist.

This article reflects the selfish attitude in our society. If something feels good, do it. You can always rationalize your reasons to avoid the consequences later.

I pray for our society that encourages and rationalizes decisions based on our self-centered lifestyle at the sacrifice of innocent life. To quote Mother Theresa, “It is a poverty to decide that a child must die so that you may live as you wish.”