Imagine for a second that you’re a 27 year old woman. You’re married to a bad husband and bad father. You have one child—a seven year old boy. And you all live in poor conditions in a poor country.
One morning you discover you’re pregnant. And you worry you barely have enough money for yourself, your husband, and your little boy. Now that you’re pregnant, you’re convinced you do not have the means to feed your new baby.
You don’t make a lot of money, and your husband doesn’t make a lot of money either. When he learns you’re pregnant, he becomes frustrated and overwhelmed. He knows what you know. He knows that when the baby is born, life will be even more difficult than it already is.
But you’re confident the two of you, you and your husband, will find a way to persevere.
But one day, your husband packs his bags and carries his items out of the house—leaving you to carry the baby, the boy, and your burdens by yourself.
Remember, you live in a poor country. In this poor country, government assistance isn’t available to you. You’re alone with your seven year old boy and the preborn baby.
What would you do?
You could take two full-time jobs—if you can find any—so you can keep your home and provide for you and your two children. You would work 16 hours a day and sleep 4 hours or less a day.
And you would have only 4 hours every day to prepare your children for school, prepare their meals, walk them to and from school or child care, before you can walk to and from work.
You could do that. You could ruin your life.
Or you can get an abortion and you can keep your life. Your husband won’t leave you if you get an abortion. If you get the abortion, you can keep your one job—not two. You can keep your one child, not two. You can keep your one husband, not zero.
You could do that. You can get an abortion. Maybe that wouldn’t ruin your life.
But your life isn’t the only thing to consider. Maybe getting an abortion wouldn’t ruin your life. But getting an abortion ruins a life. Abortion ruins a human life. Abortion ruins a baby’s life. Abortion kills babies.
Abortions at every stage of pregnancy kills babies. Human life begins at fertilization. We can trace our distinct DNA to the moment we were fertilized as zygotes because that’s when human life begins. When we develop from a zygote to a fetus, we do not become more human, we simply become more physically mature.
However, abortion rips a baby apart, limb-by-limb. Abortion decapitates and destroys a baby’s body. Abortion rips a baby’s legs and arms off of their bodies, and it crushes a baby’s spine and head. Abortion forces preborn babies to suffer horrific deaths.
If you were that 27 year old woman, what would you do? Would you choose to get an abortion? Or would you choose to love and protect the baby?
You don’t have to imagine what you would do in that scenario. I can just tell you more about that woman and her preborn baby.
This is a true story. The woman’s name is Cecilia. She didn’t get an abortion. The pregnancy made her lose a husband, but she gained a another son. The man who promised to be faithful to her abandoned her, but she promised that she would be faithful to her preborn son.
The baby made her life much more difficult. The baby forced her to get two jobs. The baby made her worry. The baby overwhelmed her.
But Cecilia and that baby overcame all of their challenges. They eventually immigrated from Ghana to Canada many years ago. And that baby is now a man. And that man is writing this article.
Mom recently said to me that I am the only reliable man she’s ever had in her life. She says without me, she couldn’t overcome her challenges. I’m glad she thinks I’m reliable and faithful, but she’s underestimating herself. She didn’t need my father, and she doesn’t need me. God’s grace is sufficient.
And God’s grace is sufficient for you too. A positive pregnancy test is never bad news. Pregnancy is always much more of a blessing than a burden. If you get an unplanned or difficult pregnancy, your life isn’t over, a life—your baby’s life—is just beginning.
Abortion ruins a life. It kills babies. And it kills a good story about hope.