This post is also available in: Español (Spanish)
To be completely honest with you, I don’t like controversial subjects. Maybe the reason I don’t like them is because of my level of empathy. I always put myself in the other person’s place to see things from their point of view. So, controversies are hard for me because even when I have my own opinion, I know the opposite opinion is as valid as mine. That being said, and after reading the title of this post, you may have an idea where I’m heading.
Please open your mind and heart before reading my next paragraphs because, well, this is a very controversial subject, especially among my fellow women. I don’t have any intention to change your mind or anything like that. I just want to express my opinion from my perspective. I totally respect yours if it’s different than mine, so let’s keep respecting each other.
In my post “We Are All Miracles,” I shared some statistics that I’m going to repeat here:
You’ve probably heard that the odds of getting pregnant are between 15% to 25% depending on multiple factors like age and some male and female health conditions. The younger and healthier the couple, the better their chance is of being in that 25% range.
Let’s say they made it: One time out of those 25, the conditions were perfect and fertilization occurred. Yay!! That means everything was in perfect order. The egg was ready, and only one (in the majority of cases) sperm cell was able to penetrate the egg. Please keep in mind that each ejaculation has between 40 million and 150 million sperm, but only one is able to make it. So, let’s review the numbers again: In the best case scenario, a couple has a 25% chance in one month of conceiving a baby with only one out of 150 million sperm cells.
Even when all that happens, there is a 30% chance the pregnancy will not make it to week four.
It takes several factors that we can’t control to create a life, so my humble opinion is that life is a miracle. I haven’t been able to conceive for many different reasons. Even with all the “perfect” conditions, and even though I tried to do it with medical help, it hasn’t happened. So, the induced abortion process is something I simply don’t comprehend, from my perspective. When I read the phrase “my body, my choice” used to explain the “woman’s rights” over their bodies to carry a baby, I always ask myself, “And what about the rights of the life they are carrying?”
I wasn’t a planned child. My mom and dad already had a girl and a boy, and they were financially struggling when God decided to send me to my mom’s womb. By week 24, my mom got pre-eclampsia, but they caught it in time, and she decided to keep going despite the risk. I’m extremely grateful my parents didn’t make the decision to get an induced abortion because of their situation. I totally consider myself a miracle. I know God sent me to this world with a purpose that is higher than me.
I know people who get extremely angry when they learn that in some third-world countries, an induced abortion is performed when they find out the fetus is female. However, some of these same people went crazy when they heard the news about the USA’s new approach to the abortion law. I try really hard to understand this perspective, but it’s not easy for me. Why is it okay when you make the decision to end a life because it’s your body, but it’s not okay if someone else forces you to do it? In other words, if you kill someone because you make the decision to do it, it’s fine, but if someone else forces you to kill anyone, it’s not. Aren’t they equally bad?
The name of this post is “God’s Choice” because in my humble opinion, from my own experience, God is the only one who creates and should end life. When you’re carrying a baby in your belly, you’re borrowing God’s space to create life. He trusts YOUR body to give form to ANOTHER life. So many methods are available to prevent pregnancies, so you do have the choice to make your womb a non-available space. And yes, I know that sometimes even when they use those methods, some women still get pregnant. But doesn’t that make you think that particular life has defeated a million odds already and it may have the right to keep going?
I respect your opinion if you think otherwise because we all have free will, and your reasons are as valid as mine. I’m not sharing my opinion to change your mind. I just wanted to share the perspective of a woman who completely agrees we have rights that must be respected, but who also considers that being chosen by God as the gender that carries all the lives that exist in this world is a privilege and an honor that shouldn’t be taken for granted. If you have been blessed with that honor, I hope you know it’s a miracle.
Even when sometimes it’s hard to see, all human lives are miracles, my friends. I respect your perspective and your opinion regarding this controversial subject, and I hope you can respect mine. All I want is for everyone in this world to feel safe, peaceful, and happy. You keep being you, and I will keep being me.
Love,
Irene
