My Nephew
This week, we mark the 46th Anniversary of Roe v. Wade, a decision in which men in black robes, sitting on a high bench, declared that a life hidden in the womb is not equal to the life seen in front of them.
As I mentioned at the March for Life in Concord on January 11, 2019: “…we see life in front of us in the people we meet: on the street, in our lives, at our work, in our homes, but there are also the lives we don’t see, the lives that are in the womb.” Hidden lives that have no voice. We as pro-lifers may see, respect and speak out for that hidden life. But there are those who do not see that life. They are blinded to the value of that hidden life.
A few weeks before Christmas, I was looking for a Christmas ornament to give as a gift to my sister for my nephew’s 1st Christmas (yes, he’s in the womb but he’s alive and here, so yes, it’s his 1st Christmas). I wanted to acknowledge his hidden life, but the ornaments I saw mentioned “we’re pregnant”, “baby bump”, “baby-on-the-way” and “mom-to-be.” When we reduce the value of a human life to a condition like pregnancy or a bump, we devalue that hidden life. When we use the future to talk about the present, we devalue that hidden life. So, what did I do? I created my own ornament.
My nephew may be hidden from the world in many ways, but he’s not hidden from me. When he takes his first breath, his life will be just as valuable as his hidden life right now. That’s how we must see these little ones hidden in the womb. Right now, they are hidden and devalued by society, but we must strive to remind society of their true value.
And as I said on Saturday, “All life is precious, whether you can see that life or you cannot see that life.”