Anyway, I hate to say it, but I'm here to let the air out of something that's well meaning, and sadly quite common in the prolife movement.
How many times have you seen an image like this while hanging around in prolife circles, be it on the web or elsewhere?
Caucasian, blue eyes, perfectly chubby cheeks. Most likely wanted and planned, too. This image bothers me for several reasons.
First off, this baby is so obviously beautiful and perfect that there's no question of it's parents wanting it or not.
Secondly, a picture with a beautiful baby with the words PRO LIFE stamped on it is sadly doing the opposite of what it's trying to do.
Let's see, as prolifers, what do we believe?
We believe that ALL life is precious and worth protecting, despite all that may be physically or mentally wrong with a person. We believe that even if a person is severely disabled or in a really bad social situation, it's not fair to kill them under the assumption that their lives will be terrible. We believe that the right to life (which is right there in the constitution, by the way! It even comes before liberty and pursuit of happiness...) is the most important right, and when that that is taken away the other rights can't be far behind.
The above image and many like it sadly buy into the pro choice belief that people are only valuable if they are beautiful or talented. It's the same as that old, overused prolife argument "What if the world's next great artist or scientist was aborted?" It's true, we've probably lost a lot of talented people. But the loss of a person who wasn't really going to be anyone is just as tragic as the loss of a person who was going to be 'important'.
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| This young lady probably won't grow up to look like a super model, but the glow of joy in her face is more lovely than any physical beauty could ever be. |
I'd like to remind you also that pro life activity doesn't stop when the baby is born. If you know somebody who has a special needs baby, YOU can help to make a difference for that child and his or her mother. You can make a difference in that child's life.
This being said, Monica does not hate cute babies. She would just like to point out that they aren't the only one's who's pictures are worth being stamped with a prolife caption. Monica would also like to point out that while all babies aren't necessarily 'cute' by modern standards, they are all precious children of God and deserve to be treated as so.
