Previously, we discussed that the abortion debate boils down to the question of, “Who gets rights?” The Pro-Life side asserts the fundamental right to life for all; the Pro-Abortion side claims that a woman’s (person’s) right to bodily autonomy is greater than a fetus’s (“non-persons”) right to life.)
The abortion debate hinges upon the issue of “rights.” Proponents of abortion claim to advocate women’s rights- the right to bodily autonomy. Pro-Life individuals point to the intrinsic right to life of every individual.
I want to share a very personal story with you, it’s not an easy thing but I feel it’s time to allow myself to use my story in a positive way. This morning as I sit with a heavy heart, shame that can’t be measured, tears flow, and prayer it’s been 34 years. I was forced 34 years ago today to have an abortion.
On Tuesdays, I am typically at the Hinds Co. Penal Farm doing a Bible study for inmates there. After studying one evening a few weeks ago William (names in the story have been changed) asked if I knew Doug standing there with him. “He has been with you out at the abortion clinic.”
I admitted that I didn’t recall him. He reminded me. “I and my girlfriend were headed into the abortion clinic and you confronted me. Asked me what I was doing. Challenged me a bit. Sent me to a nearby restaurant with a friend of yours.”
I met LaTonia in mid-February outside the abortion clinic in Jackson. When I told her about the support available to her, should she choose life, she listened closely and began to ask specific questions about how we could help her. I could see that her heart was soft and that she felt convicted about what she was about to do, so I gave her my number and pleaded with her to turn away and to let us walk with her through the difficulties ahead. A few minutes after she drove away, she called me to tell me that she had decided to keep her baby and ‘accept our help.