Valued by Convenience
In the state of Kansas, the wellspring of values are up for a test. No, we didn’t have trigger laws put in place, though we do have an amendment on the ballot during our state primaries next week. Unlike other states, it does not outlaw abortion. It is designed to fortify some of the safeguards and limitations previously put in place such as, parental notification for minors, enforcement of safety practices and clinic requirements, and a ban on late term abortion which were declared as unlawful regulations by our state supreme court in 2019.
Conversations are heated. Children are listening. Maybe we need to do some real soul searching to find out where our population has fallen off track. The way we treat each other has some forbearance to indicate misconceptions leading us to misplaced priorities.
Somewhere along the line, we adapted to the assumption everything must be planned. Mentally, we assess our own feasibility studies and impart our personal judgment upon those whose opinion we hold in lesser regard. Everything including the value of life depends on a ‘convenience level’. Sadly, the religion of convenience over the trust in God is the new way. Instead of the unifying experience of supporting one another through tough circumstances, we have lost tolerance for those incohesive to our existence.
Our society has come to believe that life is a choice rather than a gift. We complain about young people having an unexplainable sense of entitlement. Why wouldn’t they? They are planned, coddled and treated like princes and princesses from the time of conception, yet they hear their parents in the other room fuss about young people being raised in less than desirable conditions, instead of witnessing them offer help on individual levels. They hear and see parents raging about the right to eliminate the very birth of people they see as less than or unworthy of. Children begin to question their own place in this book called life.
Respect has died in the name of convenience. The search for unconditional love is drowned out by hearing moms tout her two abortions and seeing her trunk full of pickets and yard signs promoting the death of even more innocent children. Do not think they cannot hear. Language influences how they view their peers and others they deem to be in their way. Surprisingly, parents are shocked when they find a stream of bullying texts to someone their child dislikes saying such things as “your mom should have aborted you.” Or, “You’re better off dead!” And we wonder where the violence is coming from?
As heart-wrenching as it is, the majority of all abortions fall back on the misconstrued justification of convenience. Of course, a young mother in school would prefer not to share her youth with pregnancy, but the crime is instead of helping her maintain, we put limitations on her and tell her she will never be capable of advancing. Too often women flagrantly use it as birth control, choosing to abort again and again without any respect to the harmful effects on her own body.
Scientifically, there is a bond between a mother and child from conception. “Cells of the baby migrate into the mothers bloodstream and then circle back into the baby. It’s called ‘fetal-maternal microchimerism’.” Present from conception, this miraculous imprint made on the mother’s body exists in full-term, miscarried and aborted pregnancies and can remain present for up to 18 years in her body.
Much like the trauma a woman experiences from miscarriage, the physical and psychological effects are also very much a part of abortion. Researchers concur, mental illnesses can result as an after-effect. Various studies of post-abortive women report instances as high as 70%. Interestingly, I found a study revealing 38% of women suffer at the one-year mark following the loss. Although, rather than diminish at the two-year mark, numbers rose, and so on. It stated regret is the biggest hurdle.
The abortionist doesn’t deal with emotional byproducts. So in turn, the majority of medical personnel continue to hand out anti-depressant prescriptions like candy. Fortunately, the Catholic Church has recognized this. The establishment of an organization called Rachael’s Vineyard helps women of all faiths try to heal from the distress of losing a child to abortion.
Convenience may seem to make life quicker, but it always involves skipping important steps that exist to make something better and more complete. How can we expect our young people to treat others with compassion if we are telling them that some are not deserving of life itself?
Maybe it is time to reprioritize our feelings about what kind of help we think should be easy. Maybe this stance on choice is truly not in the best interest of the women or society.