September 10, 2012 (UnmaskingChoice.ca) – The other night I received an email from YouTube notifying me of a comment that had been left on one of our abortion videos. The commenter wrote,
“After watching this video I feel like such a piece of [****] and betrayed by my doctor they told me my baby wasn’t developed yet (I was 5 weeks pregnant) and at 19 I believed the doctor. I wish I had gotten more information on what an abortion really is. It still hurts me today (it’s been 9 years) I can’t take back what I did but I hope this video stops anyone else from doing what I did. I hate myself for it. May my baby RIP I’m sorry I’m so sorry.”
As I finished reading the comment I found myself on the verge of tears. We hear this kind of story all the time; while my heart breaks for these women, I have never before been moved to the verge of tears. Perplexed, I began to head to bed and saw Ruth sitting with William. It was then that I realized: William changed everything.
My son was born at 10:16 pm on August 13th. His name is William Eli Shaw. Since his birth, I have spent countless hours holding him, rocking him to sleep, teasing him, blowing raspberries on his cheeks, trying to make the same faces he does, and being totally and utterly dumbfounded by the wonder of life.
We have taken William out for dinner and gone to malls and stores. Everywhere we go everyone gushes over him; and rightly so, he is a little wonder. Everyone asks how old he is and when we tell them that he is only a week or two old, they are often left speechless.
The other day, one lady said, “It’s a miracle that they grow inside of us.” While I am grateful for these comments, I wonder how many of these people thought he was a real human being, deserving protection, at 10:00 pm on August 13th, or after just a couple days in the womb.
You see, it wasn’t until 10:16 pm that William was considered a human being under law, and by many Canadians. It wasn’t until 10:16 that he was protected under our laws. It wasn’t until 10:16 that he was guaranteed protection.
Perhaps it is wrong for me to question the comments of all these people. However, in a country that celebrates unrestricted access to abortion for whatever reason you can come up with, I think the questions are justified.
I truly feel for the woman who wrote the comment above. I do not pretend to know what it is like to lose a child, or to have a child aborted; however, I can certainly sympathize with her. I don’t know what I would do with myself if I ever lost William. William has helped me understand what abortion must do to those who have them, to the doctors who do them, and to the families affected by them.
William has changed everything for me, he has added a new dimension to abortion for me. William is a totally trusting little man, trusting that we will give him what he needs to live; just like all pre-born children in Canada. Let us affirm their trust, not betray.
This piece is republished with permission from the Canadian Centre for Bioethical Reform.