A Story That Gives Hope
Today I share with you a short article to provide some hope for the Pro-Life movement regarding life in the womb.
One of the common arguments presented to allow abortions is when an abortion is considered “medically necessary” to save the mother’s life. The mother’s life is very important. It is difficult at best to find good statistics on what percentage of abortions are done to save the mother’s life. My point today is to share with you a news story I read about a woman who did not rush to get an abortion when she was diagnosed with cancer.
The story is found on cbsnews.com.
Kerry Breen, “How a regular ultrasound to check on her pregnancy revealed a big health issue.” CBS News. October 5, 2024. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/suspicious-mass-found-during-pregnancy-early-detection/.
In this story it was not necessary for the mother, Allison Misconin, to have an abortion before she could have surgery for her cancer. Both lives were saved. Thanks be to God and for the healthcare workers who use the gifts God has given them to save lives.
In the second paragraph we read, “Her yet-to-be-born son was developing well and moving regularly, and fear for his safety was “the only thing going through my head,” she told CBS News.”
When she found out there was a problem with her ovaries, Allison’s first thought was not to have an abortion. Her thoughts centered on her son, very much alive in the womb. It gives me joy to hear her say this. Clearly, she did not see the life within her as just a clump of cells or just as a part of her body to do with as she wished. She saw life in her son.
The news story discuss how any surgery during a pregnancy was considered very risky for the mother and the child. Medical science has come a long way. The healthcare workers found a safe way for her to have her surgery and protect the life of a baby.
I know that it isn’t always possible to save the life of both the mother and the infant in her womb. Let us pray that day comes soon in all cases. I pray that every woman facing a medical problem during a pregnancy see her child in her womb as alive and to be protected. I pray that all healthcare workers come to see the same. I pray that no one rushes to abortion when it seems difficult to save both the child and the mother. Medical science advances when people look for new possibilities. It does not advance when we hold fast to past ideas like all surgeries during a pregnancy are dangerous.
I pray for the women who are pregnant with a health issue who don’t seem to have an option that saves both her child’s life and her life. When one understands that life begins at conception, the grief of facing such a situation can be enormous. I pray for the fathers in these situations.
Still, I cannot approve of direct abortion. There is a difference between working to save a pregnant mother’s life that results in the loss of the baby as a side effect and direct abortion to end the child’s life.
It is not an easy situation. I pray for the day when no one needs to face such a decision.
Peace,
Fr. Jeff