As the United States celebrates the 4th of July today, many will share their perspective of a freedom lost or won. It only depends on which side of the divide they agree with.
Roe vs Wade
There will be those who celebrate the overturning of Roe vs Wade as a freedom for the unborn. They hold this truth emotionally and intellectually. They have no doubt in their mind that they are on the right side of the divide.
Others, who view it as a freedom lost, will reflect with a sense of despair on what they see as a step backwards in time and an intrusion of their rights regarding a very private and personal medical decision for their own body. They are judged as being on the wrong moral side.
Seems impossible to be pro-life and pro-choice at the same time. But…… the reality of it is very few are pro-abortion. There are those who value life and the unborn that had thought NEVER but find themselves feeling no other option.
Where do we go from here?
A seat in the middle is the only place true change can be made. It’s how you sit down at the table and get things done – together. Surely each state has the courage to sit down with those from both sides who already use their voices to protest, either for or against abortion rights.
Call in those who are brave enough to talk about the impact of the whys, and then come up with ways to help change the outcome. Alleviate some of the whys such as homelessness, drug addiction, poverty and domestic violence. Make it one less thing that makes them feel squeezed into a corner they feel no way out of. Forcing those pregnancies will only add more suffering.
Doctors and those who assist on the front lines, need to be able to share their views and, those circumstances that still haunt them. They can give valuable guidance from their experiences.
Voice or judgement
Someone simply voicing that they would NEVER – that’s murder, are not the ones that have been in the ring of this fight. You cannot see your side and judge, and then think you’ve seen the full picture. That view makes you blind and no help can be given when you come at it from judgment.
Instead of simply winning a side with a court judgment, what if we could try setting out with a purpose to #SaveOne? For those you can help choose to bring forth the life, you will have saved one. For those feeling it is the only option, is there a way to help others because of it? Is cord blood collection something that could be used to save those who otherwise wouldn’t make it?
Could the reason it was the only option be something that needs more awareness, like a devastating medical condition? Could that baby’s life matter in that way?
Can they still matter?
They are not just a “procedure”, and for most, they will have an impact – but we can choose what the impact is. Don’t they deserve that respect rather than violence, rage and shame after the fact? Be humane in the the act of their death and make them matter.
Regardless of what state you live in – and regardless of the stance taken on the issue – there’s work to be done. It must be done with compassion without judgment. Then maybe, just maybe, we could save those that might not have been saved before. Isn’t that the real bottom line? Compassion not contempt.
Written by Melody Belliveau
The Social-Commentary.Com 