We sat and watched our televisions and rejoiced
as Jeffrey Dahmer was sentenced
to life in prison
for the brutal killing of hundreds of men, women, and children. Yet, right
now, as you are
reading this paper, another life has been taken...a child's life. A child
who, one day,
could have been seen take his or her first steps, opened the first Christmas
present. One who later could have went off to school
and come home with news of his or
her first new
girlfriend or boyfriend. A scholar, who
could have fulfilled his or her
dreams by going
to college to study in a chosen field, and one day, been deemed one of
the greatest in
that particular field. The child who was
just
"murdered" could have seen
all of these
events come to pass, but instead, the child's mother had a partial-birth
abortion
and ended the
infant's life forever. Partial-birth
abortion is a topic that has caused a
massive
controversy in the past few years. In
September, 1993, Brenda Pratt Shafer, a
registered nurse
with thirteen years of experience, was assigned by her nursing agency to
an abortion
clinic. Since Nurse Shafer considered
herself to be "very pro-choice," she
didn't think this
assignment would be a problem. She was
wrong. This is what Nurse
Shafer saw:
"I stood at
the doctor's side and watched him perform a
partial-birth
abortion on a woman who was six months
pregnant. The baby's heartbeat was clearly visible on
the
ultrasound screen. The doctor delivered the baby's body and
arms, everything
but his little head. The baby's body was
moving. His little fingers were clasping
together. He was
kicking his
feet. The doctor took a pair of scissors
and
inserted them
into the back of the baby's head, and the baby's
arms jerked out
in a flinch, a startle reaction, like a baby does
when he thinks
that he might fall. Then the doctor
opened the
scissors up. Then he stuck the high-powered suction tube
into
the hole and
sucked the baby's brains out. Now the
baby was
completely
limp. I never went back to the
clinic. But I am
still haunted by
the face of that little boy. It was the
most
perfect, angelic
face I have ever seen." (Patriot, Partial Birth-
Abortion)
A partial-birth abortion is a procedure used
after twenty weeks (4 1/2 months) of
pregnancy--often
to six months, seven months, and even later; and involves inducing
labor and turning
the child into "breech" position.
The only difference between partial-
birth abortion
and homicide is a mere three inches. The
abortionist delivers the baby's
entire body,
except for the head. He then inserts the
sharp end of scissors into the baby's
head and opens
them to enlarge the hole. The baby's
brains are then vacuumed out with a
suction
device. The dead baby is then removed
(Patriot, Partial-Birth Abortion).
One would think the American people would want
this "murderer" brought to
justice just as
we angrily waited for the sentencing of Dahmer, yet nothing is being done.
In fact, in March
of this year, a bill was passed in Congress to make this type of abortion
illegal; but in
April, the bill was vetoed by President Clinton. Scientific theories, social
and political
views, and religious standards clearly exhibit partial-birth abortion is wrong
and a law should
be passed to make this terrible death illegal.
It has been said that patients abort their
child believing it is not alive until it is
born, but they
are wrong. "Physicians, biologists,
and other scientists agree that
conception marks
the beginning of the life of a human being--a being that is alive and is a
member of the
human species" (D.C. Metro Pro-Life/Events Line, FactBot Database). So,
if life begins at
conception, then how can abortionists say that abortion is not murder? An
abortion is the
intentional killing of an innocent child.
I say that is murder. But, it is
often disputed
that the fetus is not a living being until it is born. Let's clear this up a little,
shall we?
By the end of the
second week of pregnancy, there is a distinct embryo present. The
fetus has a
developing brain and heart.
At the end of the
fourth week, the fetus has the beginnings of vertebrae, a bony jaw,
eyes and ears, a
closed circulatory system, a working heart, lungs, limbs, a developing
nose, and a
pancreas.
In the sixth week
of pregnancy, the fetus is also starting to develop hands, feet, a
bladder, kidneys,
a tongue, a larynx, a nervous system, and a primitive cranium.
After nine weeks,
unborn babies can feel pain, yet 48 % of all abortions are performed
after this point.
Now, if the fetus has all of these developing
parts: a heart that beats, lungs,
circulatory
system, nervous system, then how can it NOT be called a living being? (D.C.
Metro Pro-Life
News/Events Line, FactBot Database).
The "popularity" of partial-birth
abortions has raised substantial controversy
stemming
throughout the American society to the U.S. House of Representatives, and has
provoked many
church groups and pro-life activists all across the nation. Many church
groups have
protested and signed petitions regarding the bill President Clinton vetoed that
would have put an
end to partial-birth abortions. The Pope
has also displayed how he
feels about the
issue and is "very disappointed with Clinton's decision" about the
veto.
U.S. citizens
have signed petitions to make President Clinton reconsider his veto. Did
every voting
citizen know that over 2,000 partial-birth abortions are performed annually,
and that at least
75 percent of them are elective? (Schnurpfeil, M.D., Partial-Birth
Abortion). With
his re-election, pro-life activists are going to fight to get him to pass the
bill in order to
make partial-birth abortion illegal (Patriot, Partial-Birth Abortion).
The controversy doesn't just stop at Capitol
Hill, but spreads throughout society,
especially into
the various religious denominations.
Their main defense, The Holy Bible,
has proved very
effective in their conflict with pro-choice activists. Exodus 20:13, a very
familiar verse
which most every American has seen: "Thou shalt not kill"; and
Jeremiah
1:5, "Before
I made you in your mother's womb, I chose you.
Before you were born, I set
you apart for a
special work..." are two Bible verses that pro-life activists are using to
clearly state
that abortion is wrong, and are two verses I firmly support (The Inspirational
Study
Bible). I know everyone does not know
about God and what He has done for us,
but He created
every person and knows all about us before we are even born. And, like
stated in
Jeremiah 1:5, He has set us apart for a special work. If God knows the child in
the womb and has
a special work set aside for that child, why do abortionists feel they can
"play"
God? How can we let the 27.5 % of the
pregnant women who have abortions each
year know that
they are, in fact, committing murder in the eyes of man and God?
Think about it.
In the past year, over 1,500,000 abortions have occurred--2,000 of
which were
partial-birth abortions (1995 Information Please (TM) Almanac, 844). And,
in the five or
ten minutes it has taken you to read this essay forty more children were born
and thirty were
aborted, three of which by a partial-birth abortion (Morgan, Christianity
Today, 66). With all of the medical theories, political
views, and religious convictions,
surely you can
see that partial-birth abortion should be illegal. Abortion IS murder, no
matter if it's in
the third week, the tenth week, or in the eighth month. The fetus is still a
living human and
deserves a chance at life. Please join
with me in my fight to end partial-
birth
abortion. Call 1-800-LIFE-YES and tell
your state senator and President Clinton
that
partial-birth abortion is murder and should be made illegal, or write to: House
of
Representatives,
Washington D.C. 20515. Please, help stop partial-birth abortion NOW!
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