It’s terrifying. I love my daughter more than anything in the world, yet being pregnant with her was agony. Sometimes the Christians around me helped, and that was great. A handful of pro-life Christian people around me really saw me as a human being, and that was wonderful of them. But there were also far too many times when neighbors could have lightened my burden and didn’t, and in those times I was terrified. And the thought of abortion danced across my mind, and every time I reminded myself that it wasn’t an option. But after I reminded myself that it wasn’t an option, I felt guilty. Because all around me I saw devout Catholics who honestly viewed the poor as parasites breeding parasite children. They openly believed that poor people shouldn’t be allowed to have food or medical help from the government; that poor people were lazy; that letting my baby die of malnutrition would somehow “encourage” us to “get jobs.” I referred to myself as a “welfare pig” and felt guilty that I was bringing another “welfare pig” into the world, because that’s the way poor mothers were thought of by many pro-life Christians in my social circle, my entire life and during my pregnancy.
Yes, I should have been more virtuous. I should have been so inspired by the Holy Ghost with the horror of sin that the attitudes of the people around me rolled off like water on a duck’s back. But I wasn’t. And mine is not at all the worst situation a pregnant woman could be in. In many ways I got off easy. I can absolutely see how women really do feel forced into abortion, whether you want to believe it happens or not.
Of course, the only way toward a just society is conversion of hearts. All the social change in the world will be futile if our hearts do not love justice. But a heart converted to the love of justice will love the poor and desire to help lighten their burdens.
And of course, some abortions are sought for frivolous reasons. But if you actually believe that the unborn are human, you’ll want to save as many lives as you can. If even a few abortions are sought out of financial desperation, you’ll work to ease their burdens and at least save those lives. Yes, I’m aware that there are many pro-life people who are already doing this, but I have to be very clear about it for those who aren’t.
For anyone who doesn’t know: the real story of Saint Nicholas and the poor man with three daughters ends differently than my little parody at the beginning of this post. Saint Nicholas threw a bag of money through their window, and left before anyone noticed. The father used that money instead of selling one of his daughters. And then Saint Nicholas did it again years later when the father was broke again, and again a third time, before the father realized who his mysterious benefactor was. The man was converted to a life of virtue, seeing the generosity and humility of the bishop.
We who share Saint Nicholas’s faith and worship his God must be converted, and do as he did.
(image via Pixabay)
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