Sad, Angry, and Overwhelmed

http://www.lifenews.com/nat420.html

http://www.ppaction.org/campaign/hb4446_sb307

Those links will take you to some articles regarding the latest battleground in the abortion war: ultrasounds. Many crisis pregnancy centers have begun offering free ultrasounds, and many for-profit businesses have begun offering 3-D ultrasounds. The 3-D ultrasounds are incredibly detailed. You can actually see what the baby looks like. But the FDA has suddenly decided that ultrasounds may not be safe, despite years of ordering at least one routine ultrasound for every pregnant woman. Many high-risk mothers receive them on a monthly or weekly basis. Yet the FDA is concerned that a non-medical ultrasound is so unsafe that it may need to be banned. As one article notes, "The FDA said, 'Ultrasound is a form of energy, and even at low levels, laboratory studies have shown it can produce physical effects in tissue, such as jarring vibrations and a rise in temperature.'Because of that, the FDA said, 'Prenatal ultrasounds can't be considered completely innocuous.' A few limited studies have linked ultrasounds to speech delays in children."

Women have been reassured over and over again by their doctors that ultrasounds are completely safe. Why now the change of heart?

I think that there is concern that if ultrasound becomes widely available on demand it will become increasingly difficult to deny that an embryo/fetus is a living human being. I saw my baby's heart beating at 8 weeks post-conception on the ultrasound machine. Unfortunately, even if you can get a person to admit that a woman who is pregnant has a baby inside her, they still can argue that the mother's life is more valuable than the child's or that in inutero the child is the mother's property for her to dispose of according to her whims. Allowing free access to ultrasounds (i.e. no prescription required) won't cause abortion to disappear. It is disgusting to me to see how hard certain policy-makers will work to stifle the flow of information. I thought they were all about a woman's free choice?

I really don't understand the passion behind the abortion movement. I'm passionate because I believe that innocent people are being killed. Why does it matter so much to Gloria Feldt that women have the right to kill their children? That is a question I need to answer to truly enter into this discussion. Why is the value of a life-- the right to life ---judged by whether or not someone wants you? That's what euthanasia and abortion are all about. Who has the right to decide that your life isn't worth living for you?

I came across an article and a snippet caught my eye: "The right to life does not come from the government". Isn't that what this country is all about? Unalienable rights given by God to men that cannot be granted or taken away by men. And anyone who claims to be able to grant or revoke anyone's rights is a tyrant-- an unjust, unlawful ruler. I often tease my husband about being the revolutionary in the family, but when I spend any amount of time thinking about this subject I'm about ready to agree that time to make a change has come. But perhaps tis better to "rather bear those ills we have than fly to others that we know not of?"

All I can do is pray. Pray that God will send His Spirit to the people of this country, and that they would experience His redeeming love. Pray that in my life I would honor Him and be a good testimony to His name. Pray that God would show me how to compassionately discuss this sensitive issues with women of a different mindset without being being combative, but instead compelling! The war is too big for me to fight. I'm glad that the battle belongs to the Lord. I pray He would make me faithful in little things.