In order to understand...

Why would I bother to write about the ongoing local struggle to keep PP out of our community? There are many reasons, some very specific to the PP organization while others are more simple and recite a soliloquy about the dignity of all life.

Having a dear friend who recently gave birth to a stillborn baby with Trisomy 18, I can see why someone might decide that termination is less of a "burden" for themselves and their spouse and children. The reality is though, as Christians, if we truly believe that God is the author of life and it is His divine will as to when a life begins and when a life ends, it is not about what we decide is a "burden". To paraphrase speaker and author Christopher West, if Grandma's suffering is a burden, we can wait for her to die a natural death or help the process along. The end result is the same thing-Dead Grandma. The same could be said about saying "goodbye early" to an unborn baby whose future may contain suffering or poor health, except in this country one is legal and one is not.

Many blessings come from the lives of children who have genetic and chromosomal abnormalities. I have another dear friend with a beautiful daughter with Down Syndrome and another a son with Down Syndrome. I don't suppose they would have chosen this "burden" for themselves, but I also can't help but wonder if, looking back now, would say, "Gee, I really wish I'd had that abortion." Another mother wrote about her "Wonderboy" here and the joy his life, while not the *norm*, has brought her and her family.
It is a grace from God for a parent and family to endure a difficult pregnancy, stillbirth or disabled child, but it is also a gift-one that we shouldn't think so flippantly about throwing away.

Just so you know where I'm coming from.

"When we consider that women are treated as property, it is degrading to women that we should treat our children as property to be disposed of as we see fit."
Elizabeth Cady Stanton, American Feminist, 1873
Source: Feminists for Life