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Years ago I met a women who, like me, had two young children. We immediately hit it off and became close friends.
One day she told me that when she was younger, she'd had an abortion. It was a very emotional topic and something she still agonized over. At the time it seemed like the best idea. But it wasn't. In fact, it almost never is.
In the course of our lives, we have all sorts of choices. The most important choices are about what we value. And if we don't place extreme value on human life, what else matters?
If an innocent baby is dispensable, how on earth (no pun intended) can we justify making laws to prevent global warming? If unborn babies can be sucked into pieces into a sink—and it's no different than removing a wart—how can we tax people to give to the poor? If delivering a full-term baby, holding it's head in the birth canal so we can stick scissors in its skull and extract its brains is simply part of “reproductive rights” (as President Obama says), then what possible values can we pretend to have?
Graphic? Perhaps. But certainly less graphic than what happens to tens of millions of babies every year. And if we are too cowardly to face what's happening, no one will speak for these children.
What good is a vision, a core set of values and beliefs, if you don't have the courage to enforce them habitually?
In a world where standards are mocked at every turn, it becomes more important than ever to stand on principles. Even if it's uncomfortable. Even if it's unpopular. The future depends on it.
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Alison Moore Smith is a 61-year-old entrepreneur who graduated from BYU in 1987. She has been (very happily) married to Samuel M. Smith for 40 years. They are parents of six incredible children and grandparents to two astounding grandsons. She is the author of The 7 Success Habits of Homeschoolers.
Talking about courage and having courage are two different things. It’s hard to stand up when it seems everyone is against you.
I had never thought about a values continuum before. You’re right, though, that if we don’t value life it’s hard to justify valuing other stuff, like property. How can I have a right to health care if I don’t even had a right to life?
Yvonne, you are absolutely right. It’s very difficult to stand up in the face of opposition and, more so, when the position you take has serious consequences. Frankly, in my life I’ve learned the hard lesson that few people have the integrity to do that if there is a personal cost. 🙁
martin, yours is the question of the ages. If we won’t protect unborn babies (even minutes before they are born), why do we owe someone a colonoscopy?
It is, btw, the same question being asked of liberals this week. Why do you object to water boarding if you don’t object to drone killings?