So, what is a human life?
Who decides?
In the United States, legally, it’s the choice of the
mother. I use the term “mother” because,
well, that is what they are. The female
participant in the creation of a fertilized egg, a fetus, a BABY. The terminology really doesn’t make a
difference.
Well, not really, but we seem to interchange terms anyways,
using “baby” when it is wanted, and “fetus” when it is not.
I’ve shared my story here on this blog. I had no intentions of being a parent. I cried when I found out I was pregnant. Pregnant.
With something that was developing into a fully developed human
being. Not a puppy, not a tadpole, not a
non-living blob of tissue. A child.
Luckily for the amazing kid sitting in the next room
watching ESPN trying to verify if my favorite baseball player has been traded
or not, I never felt like my life was more important than his. I still don’t. He may not always be the easiest kid to
raise, he costs me lots of money, he has issues which require medical
specialists and educational accommodations, he can drive me absolutely crazy (and
enjoy doing it) and, well, I may just not have enough patience to be the
greatest Mom in the world, but I am responsible for him. I have been since the moment he was
conceived. There was no other “choice,”
that is just how it was. I created a
human being, and it is my job to help make him the best human being he can be.
Unfortunately, there are a lot of amazing kids the world
never got to know. There are kids whose father’s may have wanted them, but who
did not have a say in their fate. Here,
in the US, you will be lambasted as being irresponsible and uncaring and just
plain scum by people for taking your dog or cat to the Humane Society because
you cannot care for them, but celebrated, many times by the same individuals,
if you choose not to carry your human child to term. If a third person harms a child in the womb,
they are charged with murder, but if the mother does it, she is just taking
control of her body.
My heart bleeds for all those children who never got their
chance.
And that’s why they have wine.
