Conservative Student News

17-year-old Lauren Flynn holds her brother, Jack

Growing up, I was always taught to respect the dignity of every human life. As a side-walk counselor at abortion clinics with my grandmother, I witnessed the devaluation of human life. In one instance, when my grandmother offered a young mother information on adoption, the woman looked at her and said, “I would never give my baby to someone else.”

We live in a “ME” society. This woman was willing to kill her child but not to give it up for adoption to someone else. I quickly realized that everyone under the age of 32 should truly value their life and thank their parents for allowing it.

In legalizing abortion, the Supreme Court in Roe v. Wade incited the United States in an ongoing thirty-two-year struggle that has influenced politics, feminism, family life, and religion. It is one of the most well-known and tumultuous decisions in the entire history of the United States and the Supreme Court.

The issue of abortion has really hit home in this past year when my mom became pregnant and discovered that it was highly likely that her sixth child had Down syndrome. Down syndrome, also known as Trisomy 21, affects and limits the mental and physical capabilities of a person.

I accompanied my parents to the initial ultrasound. I was amazed at the cold clinical manner in which my brother was viewed by both the doctor and the ultrasound technician. The tech said nothing of what one usually hears at an ultrasound, like, “What a beautiful, lively baby!” The tech did not even point out the body parts, such as the eyes, nose, mouth, and ears. Instead, she measured the thickness of skin in the back of the neck multiple times and showed us all the signs of Down syndrome. My mom later stated that she felt as if she were carrying a deformed frog and she could see how someone who was not pro-life might abort their baby.

At the second ultrasound, this time with a pro-life doctor, we learned that over 50 percent of children suspected to have Down syndrome are aborted. This shows how society strives for perfection at a huge cost. The doctor also told us that no person with Down syndrome has ever been convicted of any crime. People with Down syndrome are the most enjoyable and loving people and we are destroying them before they have an opportunity to enter our world.

John Liam, “Jack”, entered our world on Oct. 30, 2004, a beautiful baby! The support and love that our family received in the following months was absolutely amazing and overwhelming, and still continues. Yet, there is a part of society that still wonders why we so gladly welcomed a baby—with imperfections—into our family. I could not imagine why anyone would want to destroy such a sweet, adorable child. Sure, we have had a lot of difficulties to deal with: He is unable to nurse, has already had tubes put in his ears, and is near-sighted. On the other hand, he has a beautiful smile, a cute laugh, and he kicks and sucks his thumb; little Jackie-boy brings so much joy to our family and everyone else who encounters him. We truly believe we are blessed to have him in our family.

Think about what would happen if a terrorist murdered an entire orphanage; America would be enraged that someone would kill a group of innocent—yet stereotypically labeled or thought of as unwanted—children. Nonetheless, the same incident happens each day, when aborted fetuses are also labeled as unwanted children, without sufficient outcry.

But then again, why should we care that we are potentially murdering the next Pope, the next U.S. president or the scientist who could discover the cure for cancer or Alzheimer’s disease? Or maybe the unborn child we are killing would have become just an ordinary kid, teenager, and adult, who just wanted to skateboard or play with Barbies, go to high school, and become a parent, farmer or CEO? But, hey, it’s only a fetus, right?

The life or death of these little people and future citizens of the United States is in all our hands. We all need to devote our time and energy to guarantee that we will help bring about a society in which everyone upholds the sanctity of all human life.