GIVE LIFE A CHANCE
by David Sisler
Charles McCarry wrote The Tears of Autumn, and The Last Supper, served as assistant to the Secretary of Labor in the Eisenhower administration, and was twice a member of the CIA. But he almost wasn't born.
McCarry's mother almost died giving birth to her first child. When she became pregnant at age 39 with Charles, her doctor advised her to terminate the pregnancy. He believed that another birth would be a severe threat to Mrs. McCarry's life.
The advice made sense, but Mrs. McCarry refused to accept it. Just before she died, at age 97, Charles McCarry asked his mother why she risked her own life to give life to her unborn son. She replied, "I wanted to see who you were going to turn out to be."
A few years ago a powerful pro-life television commercial talked about unplanned pregnancies and then shows the results – beautiful, healthy, happy children. A man who supports abortion on demand told me, "I hate that commercial. It is a powerful argument that we pro-abortionists may be wrong."
My wife, Bonnie, and I had three pregnancies resulting in the births of four children. Our first pregnancy and our last were not planned.
Before our firstborn was conceived, we raised the usual questions of concern to newlyweds. "Will we be good parents?" "Can we afford a child right now?" "What will this new person do to our lifestyle?"
We answered those, and other questions, as best as we could, and then decided to wait. God, on the other hand, decided the time was right. And Jennifer was born.
Two and a half years later, we decided the time was right for a second child and took the necessary steps to reach that conclusion. Amy soon joined the family.
Finally, we discussed the possibility of a third child and again decided to wait. When Amy was only 22-months-old, we presented her and her 6-year-old sister, with twin brothers, Michael and Matthew.
Today, Jennifer is married to George Eastman and works in the health care field.
Michael is a computer networking technician.
Matthew is managing a Chick Fil A restaurant.
If we had chosen to terminate two "unplanned" pregnancies, Amy, who has been Mrs. Jack D. Herrington, Jr. since 1996, and is expecting our first grandchild (I am not old enough to be a grandfather), would have been an only child.
When Beth became pregnant, the family was shocked, but they were also very happy. Beth and her husband, Zack, were having a baby late in life, a baby they never dreamed would enter their lives. Even though there were some unusual circumstances surrounding the announcement of the pregnancy, there was great joy because of the hope of new life growing in Beth's womb.
When Beth's cousin became pregnant, it was a different story. Mary was a teenager, engaged to Joe, a much older man. Before the wedding day arrived, there was a startling revelation – Mary was pregnant. And it was not Joe's baby.
Learning that his bride-to-be was carrying another man's child, Joe was brokenhearted, but because he loved Mary, he decided to make no public scandal. When Mary's tiny frame began to swell with new life, the town gossips would be sure to notice. To cause Mary as little embarrassment as possible, he decided to quietly break off the relationship.
If you were a friend of the family, would you have advised Mary to abort the pregnancy? Would you have said, "Look, you're young. You have your whole life in front of you. This pregnancy was unplanned. No one would blame you if you terminated it."
Before you give your answer, you need a few more facts. Beth's proper name was Elizabeth's. Zack? His full name was Zechariah. We know Mary's fiance better as Joseph. You're right. Mary and Joseph. And the unborn baby's name? The child of a very special "unplanned pregnancy?" Jesus. Now, would you still advise abortion?
The life of every unborn child is just as important, just as precious. Before you advise abortion, think about the child the world may never know.
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Copyright 2001 by David Sisler. All Rights Reserved.
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