We are blessed today with this heartfelt post from Sister Lydia Haley Crandall. God Bless you Lydia!
I know I speak up often for the unborn & I believe it is very important to do so! But today, I have the other victims of abortion on my mind-the Mother’s & fathers that were coerced, pressured, deceived into believing that abortion was their only choice. Those that conceived a child through no fault of their own-either by rape or incest ???? the woman who desperately longed for a child & conceived, only to find out their child wasn’t viable; either growing in the Fallopian tube, or missing essential anatomy. In those instances, given that the mother’s life was at risk & the child could not grow to full term, they had no other option. Any logical person finding themselves in that position, would have most likely made the same choice. Please understand that I do not place any judgment on those of you that have, for one reason or another, chosen to terminate a pregnancy. In addition, the recently passed laws in many states that stand up for life, also have provisions in them to allow such procedures to be done, when the life of the mother is at risk. Those circumstances are few & far between. Those are not the abortions I’m talking about. What I feel compelled to speak up about, is the woman who laughs about having her 9th abortion-killing healthy children out of convenience. That’s what myself & other pro-lifers has an issue with. The people who are wreckless with promiscuity & don’t think beyond the heat of the moment as to what the consequences of their actions may result in. The absolute blatant disregard for human life. I am convinced that our collective attitude as a culture about this “issue” breaks God’s heart & there WILL be judgment to come. At 14 weeks pregnant with my twins, I was told they would be born with Down syndrome. I don’t remember the name of the test the dr did, but I know they measured a section on the back of my babies’ heads. Evidently, that measurement was off & “abnormal.” I was encouraged to abort. I told them “no!” A week later, I was told that my twins did not have Down syndrome, but rather, an extremely rare disorder called TTTS (Twin to Twin Transfusion Syndrome). Look it up. It was the earliest onset & most severe case my perinatologist had ever seen. I was, again, encouraged to abort…I was offended at the thought of killing my babies because they weren’t “normal” or “perfect” by the medical staff’s standards. In fact, it would have been an easier choice for me in many ways, as I was 2 years into an abusive marriage to my now ex-husband, at the time. But these were my babies! These little lives had been given to me to care for by God. My love of babies along with my faith helped me remain strong in my convictions to keep my twins. Believe me; there was pressure! They were the “professionals” with the brochures & all the years of college, right?! Still; I remained steadfast, by the grace of God. But I think of others that may not be as strong in their convictions, that have been convinced to terminate at an alarming rate. I again, told them “no!” I would not abort. They said that the disorder, left untreated, was 80-100% fatal for both twins. So, of course, we sought treatment for the twins, which included in-utero surgery, along with many, many prayers. Some may view prayer as a passive choice. To stand by & “do nothing” as I’ve been accused of. Well, I disagree! We know that God created life & HE alone sustains life! We had a life saving surgery at 19 weeks gestation in Philadelphia at CHOP hospital. As I was waking up from anesthesia, I clearly remember the surgeon telling me that the surgery was a success, but that he didn’t think my “little one” would make it through the night. That “little one” is our Brooke Faith. She is still little & is a warrior!! While he was operating, he had noticed that her umbilical cord was barely attached to the placenta & was “hanging on by a string!” There was nothing he could do. But GOD!! I was miraculously able to carry my twins to 34 weeks! They were only 2 & 4 lbs at birth. Autumn had a stoke in the womb at some point & it has caused a few somewhat minor issues with her development; mostly her gross motor skills. She had to wear leg braces as a toddler to help her walk & she underwent a couple of eye surgeries for her lazy eye. But she’s my most tender hearted & honest child! Honest to a fault & she often tattles in herself ???? Brooke was anemic & her growth was stunted. We tease that she is our “airhead” & it’s true! The poor girl didn’t have much of the essential nutrients she needed early on before the surgery as she was shunting everything over to Autumn, who received too much; hence the reason for the stoke. But she has managed to catch up in many ways. And she is the best hugger!! Today, they are healthy 11 year firecrackers! I am biased & think they’re pretty special! It causes me to think about all the many, many unborn babies killed each year because their parents were told their babies aren’t perfect ????????
Do you see now, why I’m PRO-LIFE for life?!
If you’ve been touched by abortion; I am praying for you today. It is NOT the unforgivable sin! In fact; there is only one unforgivable sin & that is blaspheming the Holy Spirit of God. If you have had an abortion, or multiple abortions, ask God for forgiveness. If you are ever faced with an unplanned pregnancy in the future, I pray you make a different choice & choose LIFE ❤️