Yesterday it has been a year since MacKenzie has joined our family, she has either grown inside of me or been in our arms for a full year now. We know this, without a doubt, for a fact, yesterday she came into our lives. I am so happy for this fact and that she has been promised for us to treasure and raise and guide for as long as we can. All of you know how thankful I am to have her in our lives. February 12 will always be a special day for us and we fully intend to remember it for many years down the road! I think about what a miracle it is that her little cells were rapidly dividing at this point to make the framework that would now be the body I am looking at today. I think it is amazing that at this point a year ago, so much was determined by the creation of her own DNA that we aren't even aware of ourselves. We don't even know what color her hair will end up being, but a year ago it was set and determined! I remember being awed by the idea that a few months in, she has a brain, heart, and all sorts of organs, but is no larger than the tip of a pen. It makes me realize how far out of our hands so much is and how amazing life truly is!
The reason I decided to go ahead and write about this post was because of my beliefs about when life begins. For us, we know that her life began at this point last year. We celebrate her birth day on October 24, but her first day of life is February 12. There is no doubt in our minds that life begins at conception. From that moment she is a completely separate person from either Matt or myself. She has her own DNA and will grow up to have her own personality and traits that we might influence, but cannot manipulate to be just like our own. Just because for the first 6 months or so of her life in the womb she relies on me for strength and nourishment, that does not make her life any less worthy of living. After a child is born they still rely on those around them for strength and nourishment. Thus, she cannot be merely a choice. We fail to understand the argument of those that believe that abortion is an ok option. We hate to use the term "pro-choice" because it makes abortion seem so positive. Most people that decide that abortion is ok feel that there is a point during pregnancy where it is no longer ok. In all of the baby books I read, there is no mysterious point that makes that life any different from before. The argument may be that life is viable on its own at a certain point, but as stated earlier my child still relies on me past birth. This is not as organized written down as I had intended it to be, but I wanted to take time to encourage others to celebrate life at every opportunity, especially when you know (even an approximate) time in which your little ones joined you! My heart breaks for all of the lives lost because of a failure to understand the miracle that occurs at the very moment of conception and hope that one day we can give true choices to mothers who feel like termination of a pregnancy is their best choice.
1 comment:
Here, here! (Or should that be "Hear, hear!"?) Either way, you're right - life begins at conception and there is no magical point when a fetus (disposable) becomes a baby (worthy of life). Bringing forth a child into this world truly is a beautiful miracle!
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