March
for Life
Essay contest
2013
Essay contest
2013
In the Bible there are
many stories regarding marriage. In Biblical times, the father would hand over
his daughter in marriage to whom he saw fit (1 Samuel 18:19). It seemed as if the father was handing his
daughter over in marriage as a reward (Joshua 15:16). However marriage has changed since Adam and Eve:
and even more so since the time of our great-grandparents. It used to be that once you married to
someone, you were married to them until death.
Divorce was highly frowned upon, and was very rare. Now, 41% of first, 60% of second, and 75% of
third marriages end in divorce (statistics are from: http://www.mckinleyirvin.com/blog/divorce/32-shocking-divorce-statistics/). Not only has
the length of marriage changed but also the definition. The original definition of marriage,
according to Merriam-Webster Dictionary, is, “The state of being united to a
person of the opposite sex as husband and wife in a consensual and contractual
relationship recognized by law.” The new
definition of “marriage”, also according to Merriam-Webster Dictionary, is,
“The state of being united to a person of the same sex in a relationship like
that of a traditional marriage; also known as same-sex “marriage”.”
When a married and
financially stable couple announces a pregnancy, friends and family are
normally eager to congratulate. It is
when the mother and father are not married and/or do not have a way to support
both themselves and a new baby that friends and family can push them in the
direction of abortion, and even when the couple has more than two children. They justify the abortion by placing the
parents’ needs above the child’s rights. They may not even believe that the
baby is alive. Life is an interesting
thing, but what is the definition of life?
When does life begin? “Life is
the ability to grow, change, etc., that which separates plants and animals [and
humans] from things like water or rocks; it is the period of the time when a
person is alive.” (Merriam-Webster Dictionary).
Human life, for a fact, begins at conception, or fertilization. Of course not everyone understands or knows
this; and their definitions of when life begins change from person to person,
argument to argument to fits what they want it to. If the parents cannot care for a baby, their
definition might be that life begins when the baby can survive outside the
womb.
Because of this
“definition,” the lives of many humans have been terminated and disposed
of. One of the main, popular, and
obvious ways that this is done is by abortion; which put simply is the killing
of a human being. However, abortion is
not the only way that babies are being killed.
Contraceptives like the Pill and Plan B are abortifacients. An abortifacient is a drug that causes and
abortion. Contraception is often use by
woman and girls who want to avoid pregnancy.
The Pill works in three ways: first it tries to prevent ovulation,
though some woman have breakthrough ovulation and can conceive. Second, the pill tries to prevent sperm from
reaching the ovaries by thickening the cervical mucus. However, it is possible for sperm to break
through and fertilize the egg. If and
when this happens, the hormones in the pill change the lining of the uterus,
causing it to be thin and have holes in it; thus making it hard for the baby to
implant, causing a chemical abortion.
Some women use the pill for “health” reasons. Little do they know, most of the time the
contraception can cause infertility in the future as well as cause other health
problems. For example the pill has many
health endangering side effects such as: cerebral hemorrhage and thrombosis,
Melasma, migraine, dizziness, loss of hair, cataracts, hypertension, mental
depression, Edema, weight change, rash, pre-menstrual syndrome, bone loss,
cancer, nausea, vomiting, etc. Along
with the above listed side effects, the pill has a large impact on reproductive
organs; a few things that it can cause are: breakthrough bleeding, change in
menstrual flow, breast changes, Vaginitis, Endometriosis, and so much more
(side effects found on thepillkills.org). Almost all of these side effects are serious;
some of them may even cause death to woman.
All of these effects are in addition to the abortion that may
occur.
In these ways, life is
not protected and cherished as it should be.
How can we protect and cherish life if abortion and contraception are readily
available just about everywhere? The
biggest and most important thing that we can do is pray; we can and should pray
for the mothers, fathers, babies, and families.
We should also pray for those who act against abortion and those who
perform and defend abortion, contraception, euthanasia, etc. Another thing that we can do is to spread the
truth. In order to spread the truth we
have to stay calm. But why do we need to
stay calm? It is important to stay calm
because calmness invites deeper discussion and allows the opportunity to
connect with people at a personal level.
We need to see each person as an individual and listen to his/her
story. Only once we understand their
point of view can we speak truth with charity and hope to change hearts. Personal attacks or emotional outbursts serve
only to put distance between hearts, whereas calm responses will gain respect
and trust. A prayerful presence will
also help us to remain calm. With prayer
we can ask for wisdom, peace, and the conversion of hearts. It is also important to remain calm in order
to be a model citizen and representative of the pro-life movement. After all, to be pro-life is to respect life
at all stages, never seeking violence as it is an assault on human dignity and
the very essence of the culture of death which we are trying to overcome. All in all we can help save people of all
ages and the true definition of marriage by living and speaking the truth.
I am excited to be able to update you on what it is like to go to the March!!!
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