Jan. 22 marked my 21st birthday. It was a time to celebrate, and celebrate I did, indeed.
However, the celebration was bittersweet. Each year I am reminded that I share my birthday with a very sad day in our nation. My first breath took place on the day when it was legal to take life away. My birthday is shared with the day that the Supreme Court decided on Roe v. Wade. On my birthday, seven years before I was born, abortion was legalized.
I do not understand how anyone can be for the killing of children. The townspeople of Radnor scream bloody murder when a fledgling tree is threatened. However, the fledgling life of a child can be ripped away down the street at Planned Parenthood.
Abortion is a sad practice that has been ingrained into our society. I would like to see a society where abortion could be abolished. Desegregation did not happen overnight. Realistically, abortion cannot be completely wiped away from our society. Yet, steps can be taken to so that abortion can be eliminated.
Educating children in their early years of schooling about abstinence and safe sex is imperative. Parents and teachers need children to realize that their bodies are capable of having babies at young ages. Children should be educated on safe sex and abstinence before their bodies are capable of having children. Proper education on contraception and abstinence could help to curb the need for abortions.
I went to a Catholic grade school. When I was in fifth grade, the boys and girls in my class were split up. The girls were shown a video on “Our Changing Bodies.” We were given tampons and sanitary napkins and we were told that we would all start getting our periods soon. We were not told about sex or what was the purpose of our periods. The boys were told about AIDs and how important it is to always use condoms. They were not warned about getting girls pregnant. Our school did not tell us about abstinence or safe sex pertaining to pregnancy prevention. It should be mandatory that children learn about their own bodies and what their bodies are capable of doing.
In addition to education, adoption should be a stronger outlet. Many people want children, but cannot conceive. It’s a sad fact that many women throw away their unborn children, while many women would do anything to have a child, yet cannot. Since Roe v. Wade was passed, over 42,000,000 children were terminated in the womb. And that number is just the abortions recorded in the United States since the date that it was made legal. The actual number of abortions far exceeds the number of people killed in the entire great wars put together. That’s a sad fact in American history.
I believe that everything happens for a reason. I believe that my life was given to me on this infamous date so that I could dedicate my life to help bring others into this world. While I realize that I will never be able to see a society where abortion is demolished, I can dream of seeing a nation where abortion is unnecessary. Currently, our nation faces a higher death rate and an ageing society. Hopefully, our nation will soon realize that we have to give a voice to the unborn.
