A Gift of Life

[BFranklin76]

I read with horror that since Roe vs Wade was passed in 1971, over 46 million abortions have been performed in this country alone. Abortions are horrible and I am thoroughly against them not only because of the procedure itself murders a human being but because I am speaking from the viewpoint of a child who escaped the process itself.

I was born in 1967. My mother discovered that she was pregnant with me in the summer of 1966. My mother, a lifelong diabetic, was advised by her doctor that she should abort me instead of carrying me to term. He warned that carrying me would be an incredible burden to her body; putting a strain upon her kidneys and possibly costing my mother her own life.

My mother, raised a Catholic, scoffed at her doctor's suggestion and took it upon herself to carry me to full term. My mother and I both survived the birthing process and I was granted life. My mother was ill for some time but she did not die. An abortion, therefore, would have been pointless. My Mom was so determined to be a 'mother' that three years later, she gave birth to my brother. Again, she survived the process.

I am very grateful to my Mom that she took such a courageous stand. Because she did, I have experienced the joys of growing up in a family that loved me completely. I experienced sunrises, sunsets, laughter and sorrow. I learned to love to play baseball and to swim in the ocean. I saw the stars shine brightly at night and listened to birds sing in the sunlight. I learned to appreciate sublte joy of petting a cat and the brittle coldness of a snowball thrown in winter by my brother; laughing all the time.

I learned to read and to write. I learned about teamwork and about responsibility. I graduated high school and enlisted in the US Navy. I learned meteorology as a trade and even became somewhat of a writer.

I can play a harmonica and am learning the keyboard. I've also learned what it is to love someone and to have them love me back. I learned what it was like to be alive.

I never would have learned or experienced any of this had my mother been a selfish person and placed her own safety over mine.

As a survivor, I believe that every child has the right to know what it is like to be alive. They need to experience the same joys and sorrows that I did. These experiences make up that which we call life. It's an amazing journey.

Thank you, Mom.

[Batcivic]

I'm one of those people who push the limits in life. I've been able to see the world. Didn't quit during very hard financial times and always think no matter how hard my life gets I'm glad I didn't have to try to survive the winter at Valley Forge. The pain before my surgery sloved me down but compared to other people who was I to complain.

I hate the idea of death I like it here. I'm very religeous and thank God for what I have seen and done. One of my friends asked me why I didn't want to ever see heaven. I tried to explain being content here why do I need more. LOL.

I used to go to summer camps with severly disabled kids and that was probably the most influential thing in my life next to family. The Army definately drove those lessons home but those kids did so much more. I learned my body works so I never think about how I look. Whatever gets hard try doing it when you are blind or in a wheel chair.

Coming out of surgery I don't think I've ever been so tuned into to how much more I have to do. I thought I was dead in a kayak once and the skies have never been so blue since but now I realized how much I wanted to see those skies even with the pain I was in.

Kudo's to your story.

[BFranklin76]

There are so many times when we take a look at our lives and think of how we should have turned right when we turned left. Instead of focusing on what we should have done, we should take a look at what we have done. I too have looked at my life with judgemental eyes but then when I think of all that I have done and seen I thank God for giving me this gift of life. I also thank my mother for having the courage to carry me and not to take the easy way out.

[Saugussam]

It is a difficult thing. I look at it from two sides: My mother was 44yo when she had me. She already had a 20yo, 19yo and a 5yo. It was a choice back then, she chose not to abort me.

When I was 19yo - my girlfriend, at the time, actually my fiance, became pregnant. We chose to abort. We did it without anyone in our families knowing. Later, about a year, she went with my best friend. It hurt me that she did not love me and she probably knew it and that is why she aborted. It was a decision made by both of us and a difficult one.

Today, it is one of those decisions that I regret deeply. I think it is wrong. As for her: she has been married to the same fellow and has 3 children with him. I am glad she found happiness. I suspect she carries the same shame.