RESPECT LIFE
"Truly you have formed my inmost being; you knit me in my mother's womb. I give thanks that I am fearfully, wonderfully made; wonderful are your works." (Psalm 139:13-14)
In the Beginning
From the beginning, each of us was "fearfully, wonderfully made."
Different from all members of the human family who came before and all who would come after. Yet we possessed the value and dignity common to every human being.
In the watery world of the womb, the developing child is a complex, dynamic, and rapidly growing individual.
By the 20th day the foundations of the brain, spinal cord, and entire nervous system have been established. The heart begins to beat in irregular patterns by 21 days and in smooth rhythmic contractions a week later.
By the end of the first month, the child has grown ten thousand times his or her original size, and by birth the child's weight will have increased six billion times. Lines in the hands and fingerprints begin to be etched in the 8th week, and these will remain a distinctive feature of the individual throughout his or her life.
After eight weeks, the child bears all the external features and internal organs of a full-term baby. From now until fully grown, generally around 25 years of age, the body will change mainly in terms of size and gradual refinements.
In the third month, the child becomes very active. If the womb had a window we would see graceful and fluid motions as the child sleeps and wakes, makes fists, sucks his thumb, fans her toes, and seeks positions of comfort. During the remaining months in the womb, the child continues to develop activities, and even to learn, in preparation for the day of birth.
"How weighty are your designs, O God; how vast the sum of them!" (Psalm 139:17)
Are you aware?
Every day in the United States, more than 4,000 unborn children die from abortion. More than 1,5000,000 are aborted every year.
More than 95% of all abortions in the United States are performed for reasons of age, economics, or convenience. Fewer than five percent are sought because the mother's life or physical health is in jeopardy, because the pregnancy was the result of rape or incest, or because the child would be born with serious birth defects.
In 1986, 35% of abortions in the United States were obtained by women who had already undergone one, two, three, or more abortions. Abortion has become the method of birth control for many women.
Pro-abortion groups claim, as they did two decades ago, that 5,000 to 10,000 women will die from illegal abortions if they cannot obtain them legally. Yet Dr. Bernard Nathanson, co-founder for the National Association for the Repeal of Abortion Laws, confessed a decade ago that he and his colleagues purposely fabricated those figures because they were politically "useful." Before 1973, fewer than 100 women died each year from abortions-legal and illegal.
Americans agree that the Supreme Court's 1973 abortion decision should be changed. A recent Gallup poll showed that only 24% support the unlimited access to abortion that we now have, 57% want abortion to be legal only in certain limited circumstances, and 17% want abortion to be illegal for any and all reasons. In other words, 75% of Americans want to see Roe v. Wade's policy changed.
What Can I Do?
Sometimes we are overwhelmed by the issue and feel helpless to do anything about it. Or perhaps we are just reluctant to get involved. "After all," we think, "what can I do?" And so often we do nothing.
But the Gospel message challenges us. Not only must we take action when faced with human need, but as the parable of the Good Samaritan reminds us, there are helpful things each of us can do.
What we do does not have to be dramatic. There are many opportunities to express personal concern in the ordinary circumstances of our lives. Here are some ways:
Become informed. Follow the public debate. Request information from local and national pro-life organizations.
Communicate your information and concern to others. Discuss the issue with family, friends, and neighbors. Talk with your children and other young people who are victimized by pro-abortion propaganda in the media.
Become involved in community programs that foster respect for human life. Volunteer your time and money to worthy efforts.
Write your representatives to ask their support for pro-life legislation or to thank them for such support.
Join or form a Respect Life Committee in your parish or school.
Pray that all human life will be respected and protected. Be mindful of the words of St. Paul: "In him who is the source of my strength, I have strength for everything." (Phil. 4:13)
Responsibility is more than just duty. It's the ability to respond to need. To know that every person has a right to life that precedes and surpasses all other rights, a right upon which all other rights rest. To be willing to protect that right at the risk of inconvenience or loss. Responsibility challenges each of us. It preserves our past and guarantees our future. It is the essence of life.
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