They Changed My Life

There's been a lot of abortion talk where I live, with the recent elections and some legislation about abortion up for vote.

I have a lot of empathy for people in a situation to choose abortion. I see the struggles firsthand. I try to help the lasting damage some environments cause. Kids can't help the families they are born into, and some adults are not in a place to be parents. It's a sad reality.

I have always believed life begins at conception, so abortion is stopping that life.

Having embryos puts a whole new perspective on abortion. Physically seeing life from the time of countable cells to a heartbeat flicker on a screen only weeks later. I'd bet any mom feels this way, but it is magnified when you go through IVF and see each step as it is happening.

I know my embryos are/were lives. It's pitiful to think the sacrifices that have already been made for mine but others are sucked out of their mom before they even have a chance or say-so.  Furthermore, having d&c's (essentially the same procedure as a surgical abortion) makes me realize how traumatic an abortion is, I imagine even if the pregnancy was "unwanted".

The moment I knew the church I was going to was "my church" was when, in a sermon about abortion, the pastor reminded the congregation that caring about life is more than just abortion but helping the mom/family in a crisis pregnancy, etc. To me, that is the key to my moderate beliefs. Protect life but don't stop there- love all people and serve those in need.

I don't really know the point of all this other than to say although my gift of seeing all perspectives can be dangerous, I think I have cemented truth about life forever in my soul through this experience.

I never knew 8 cells could change my life so much!