Knowledge is Power-Updated with Susa.n Boyle article

Leila’s post on "what is so bad about suffering anyway?" really struck a cord with me and inspired me to write this post. Through suffering we grow. I believe this with all my heart.  Of course we want to avoid suffering, but suffering is necessary.  Last week my son has some vaccines.  It hurt, but as his mom I let him go through that because I love him.  When he cries out at night because he can't find his pacifier, as his mom I know it is best to give him a minute to teach him to find it on his own. I know these are small examples, but how many people do you know that were handed everything, had a cushy life, and never look outside themselves? I had my basic needs met, but their were no extras. I grew up valuing hard work. I grew up appreciating things. I grew up with a greater sense of compassion for those that had less. Why do we think, in America, that is we don’t give our children a Wii, that we aren’t good parents? And even more extreme, but spoken often by the actions of people, that child is better of dead then comfortable? What has our society come to?!

I work with kids and families with disabilities. I volunteer at an abortion clinic where women changing their mind is very common place. What do these two things have in common? The families and women are scared when they initially hear the news-that they are pregnant and/or that they are having a child with a disability. Fear is normal. But if we let fear drive our decisions, then we are making decisions out of ignorance. Knowledge is power.


For example, when the women find out their child has a disability, often times that medical professional has no personal experience with kids with disabilities. He or she will be born with X, they will have no quality of life, etc.  Ob/gyns often act like children born with Down's Syndrome are the worst thing in the world, when in fact they are some of the sweetest individuals I have ever encountered.  What families find out who take the time to talk to other families is that exceptions happen all the time and no one can predict the future and how well children can respond to early intervention, etc.  Nothing is certain.  For example, click here for recent article on Susa.n Boyle, whose mother was told to abort.  with disabilities are children first. Their families experience trials and tribulations like any family. Families grow stronger and closer by going through this experience together. Families are stronger than they originally think they are. There is so much more I could say here, but working with these children has brought such immense joy to my life and these children bring so much joy to their families. It is not a bad thing to suffer sometimes, to stretch and grow ourselves, to look outside ourselves. It may be painful at times, but like childbirth or anything to do with raising a child, it is worth it.

As far as the abortion clinic and the turn arounds, the women entering are scared.  These women, if they are willing to talk, I would say half the time change their minds. They go into these procedures with misinformation. They don’t know the side effects (like how it will affect future fertility!). They don’t know the development of a child (They say, I can't believe it isn't a blob of tissue!). They don’t know the resources available for clothing, housing, medical care, parenting classes, free babysitters while they finish their education…the list goes on. They think that if they smoked or took a medicine that their baby will have a horrible condition with certainty. That their child won’t be adoptable.  (We have many on the sidewalk that will adopt their baby under any conditions). They have no idea the love that is out there for the mother and her unborn child. They are so misinformed and this knowledge helps them make an informed decision. One they won’t regret. We have never talked to people that had their children and regret it. Only those that had abortions regret it. Those that don’t regret it are often misinformed or choose to be in the dark.

What many women going in for an abortion don’t realize is that their choice is being taken from them. Ultrasound techs, for example, on many occasions, tell their clients they are 8 weeks along and that the baby is just a blob of tissue. That is medically incorrect, and they often water down the age of the child to make an abortion more palatable for the mom. How is that pro-choice when the information is being taken away to make an informed choice? How is that pro-woman by removing vital information, by not trusting in a woman’s ability to make the right choice for herself? People forget that both sides have an agenda. The pro life side is just far more open about theirs.

Did you get the chance to read the articles last year when the a woman director of Plan.ned Parenthood that quit and now speaks out about abortion. If not, click here.  You can tell from her talks that she came into it to help women, but when she saw the agenda was more important than the women, she started to get uneasy. One of the things that bothered her was the pressure from above to “get more abortions in the door.” We don't think of abortion as a money making business, but it is.  How would that sit if the women going in really knew? They do not get counseled at Plan.ned Parenthood to help them make a decision that is best for them. They get counseled into having an abortion. Again, this information comes from the women who have been inside the Pla.nned Parenthood in my town and then changed their mind.  Knowledge is power.  I feel sorry for folks that make decisions, such as terminating their child's life, out of fear and misinformation.  We definitely need to pray for these folks!