Unplanned

I just made one of my rare visits to Twitter (where you should follow @JustNotMyTypee) and came across a tweet from Tyndale House Publishers about a free ebook. I have enjoyed many books from them in the past, so I clicked on the link to check it out. But what caught my attention as soon as I reached the site was a different book.

Staring out at me from the cover of a book called Unplanned was Abby Johnson. I'm not sure if it was the title of the book or her face that drew me in first. She just looks nice and she looks like she has a story to tell.

It turns out Abby used to be the director of a Planned Parenthood clinic until she personally witnessed an abortion procedure for the first time. She was so horrified by what she saw that she joined the Coalition for Life. How interesting is that? This is a woman who clearly knew what she was getting into when she took that job and, I'm assuming, was in favor of abortion until she actually saw one being performed. I can't wait to read her story.

I have a personal interest in this topic because I volunteer with the Christian Life Home, which is an organization in Raleigh, North Carolina that offers support and housing to young girls and women facing unplanned pregnancies. I firmly believe that parents and the community have the responsibility for educating young people in order to prevent unwanted pregnancies, young women have the ultimate responsibility for preventing pregnancy in their own lives, and that once an unplanned pregnancy has occurred, it is the mother's responsibility to see it through. Making a mistake doesn't give you the right to take someone else's life.

The argument most people give for a woman's right to have an abortion is that life doesn't begin until birth, or the third trimester, or whatever arbitrary deadline they set. But if that's true and the only thing an abortion destroys is some parasitic tissue growing inside a woman's body, why was Abby's mind completely changed by her contact with the procedure? I have not yet read the book and so I can't answer this question myself, but clearly she saw something that opened her eyes to the crime that is committed every time a woman chooses to terminate a pregnancy.

There are women in my life about whom I care deeply who have had abortions, and I don't believe that people who are pro-choice are evil. I simply believe they are blind to the fact that abortion is wrong. If they truly saw it as an injustice and a morally reprehensible act, they wouldn't support it.