Monday, June 25, 2012

Abortion: For Me It's Personal

Hi~Lori here again. This is my last guest post for Angie.  She will be home Wednesday and plans to start blogging again as soon as she unpacks, takes out the garbage, and cleans the kitty litter box. I've enjoyed visiting with you and hope you'll come see me over at Life, Love, and Laughter in a Large Family.   

I am a substitute teacher at our local middle school and high school. While subbing the other day, after we'd finished the lesson, one of the classes talked about the different speech topics they'd had that year.  The students debated many issues: Should college athletes get paid? Are casinos good for states? Is the death penalty a good thing. The kids debated each issue from their personal point of view and experiences. I contributed here and there, but mainly listened. You can learn a lot in a high school classroom.

The kids were passionate about the topics and loud~because apparently the louder you talk...the more right you are. The kids exhausted the topics they had and cast around for a new topic to discuss. They landed on abortion. The usual arguments came up about what if the woman is a rape victim or her life is in danger. They talked around and around, with sadly the general consensus being that abortion should remain legal.

On this issue, I put in my two cents; not overtly, but as they made statements...I countered~What about women who get pregnant from being raped? While this scenario is sad and tragic, the number of women who get pregnant from rape are small and the percentage of abortions for this reason is very small. What about when a woman's health is in danger? Again, this is only a small percentage of the number of abortions performed each year.

As I talked, the kids recognized that this might be important to me. They commented that I had done a little research and that opened the door for me to share why this topic is personal to me.

In 1969, a young woman attended college. She was only 20 years old when she became pregnant. She wasn't married and the boy~man responsible for her condition was also a college student whom she didn't love and didn't want to marry. She kept her pregnancy a secret for 8 months before telling her family over Thanksgiving break. The young woman gave her baby up for adoption in December of 1969...and I am very grateful...since I am that baby.

Just four short years later, she would have had another option: one she wouldn't have had to share with her boyfriend or her family and no one would have been the wiser. No one would have known that a baby girl had been there and then was not. My parents, the ones who raised me, would not have been able to adopt a baby so quickly after trying for seven years to have children.

For me, the issue of abortion is personal.

For my parents, the issue is personal.

For my birth mother, the issue is personal.

For my kids, the issue is personal.

I also personally know several women who have had an abortion. For them, the abortion is issue is personal~there is much that is not stated about the consequences of abortion...the long lasting emotional trauma along with physical side effects an abortion can cause.

After I told my story, the classroom was silent. The students who moments before had boisterously stated their opinions on everything were reluctant to say anything. It is very easy to talk philosophically about an issue, but when it gets personal...when someone you know and love has been personally affected by an issue you choose your words more deliberately...more carefully.

I am personally thankful that when I was the baby in an unwanted pregnancy abortion was NOT legalized. I am also thankful that I had an opportunity to share my story with the young people in my children's class so that the next time they talk about issues they realize that people are directly affected.

Thanking God daily that I was allowed to live, love, and laugh,

7 comments:

  1. Lori,

    It's been great to check out your posts on Angie's site while she's on vacation - this was a great post. I especially love this sentence:

    "when someone you know and love has been personally affected by an issue you choose your words more deliberately...more carefully."

    That's so true! We have to remember that when we're rambling on about something we know very little about...there could be someone listening that feels very differently because they are more personally affefcted by the issue.

    Thanks for a great post!

    ~Robyn

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  2. So very true. Thanks Robyn! It's been fun over here at Messy Cars and Muddy Shoes!

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  3. Keep your creepo hands out of other womens vaginas! If abortion is so personal an issue to you than why are you trying to get the law to fight your battle for you?

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  4. You conservatives are pure scum. You wanna force women to have babies, but youre the first to piss and whine and moan when you find out your tax dollars are helping feed babies on welfare. And you got the nerve to claim the name of Jesus. Epic fail!

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  5. Josh,
    I am debating whether to leave your comments here. It doesn't bother me that you have a different opinion. It bothers me that you're crude and rude in your comments. The gist of the post is that abortion is personal to Lori, because if it had been legal when her mother got pregnant, there's a good chance Lori would have been aborted. Lori is thankful to be alive. She shared her opinion and experience. That doesn't make her a creep, scum, or hypocrite. You're welcome to share your opinions as well as long as you're polite and respectful.

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    1. Youre right. That , in fact, doesnt make her a creep , scum, or hypocrite which are words i aim at conservatives in general. At least christian conservatives. What im saying is if the issue is personal why not fight it on a personal level? Why ask the law to fight it for you?


      Also lemme put this in perspective for you. This will be blunt, but will also be true. Obviously im a man. .......... So lets say that i ( as a man) decide to go to the beach today and simply start touching strange women on their genitalia area. I mean lets say i without female permission decided id make physical advances on women by touching their private parts against their will............. When you hear about this, what will you think of me??? Probably nothing good i assume correct? I mean, we both agree that putting your hands on other womens private parts uninvited ( and after theyve told you no) is insanely sinful correct?




      But not so fast............ How can i be considered a creep for doing this but the pro-life movement is constantly trying to put their hands on other womens vanginas and control what they do with them? How can i be considered a creep but the pro life movement be considered Godly for engaging in the same basic actions???? The pro lifers are constantly trying to control what goes on in womens bodies. They may not be physically touching these women , but they are trying to put their hands on women thru the letter of the law..........which is just as bad if not worse. Putting your hands on women uninvited is wrong....... And this is wrong whether or not these hands are your own physical hands or these hands are attached to the law. And these women have repeatedly stated that they dont want your hands (laws) in their bodies. Im not even trying to be harsh with this......just dont know what else to say.

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  6. Hi I’m Heather! Please email me when you get a chance! I have a question about your blog. HeatherVonsj(at)gmail(dot)com

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