People Like Me Get to Live

I went camping with my family this week. As I was driving my sister and dog back from the campsite shortly before lunchtime, we passed a beautiful sight. A bridge over the highway had been blocked off by police cars and ambulances, and a firetruck was flying a huge American flag from its ladder. The mix of impracticality and patriotism struck me as the most American thing I’ve seen in a while. My heart swelled.
“What holiday is it?” I asked my sister.
“Maybe someone important died,” said my sister as she pulled out her phone to figure out what the heck was going on. I kept driving, of course, like the responsible adult I am. We crossed the next bridge and stopped at a red light. Then, finally, my sister finished her research.
“They overturned Roe V. Wade,” she said.
I laughed. “Oh, thank God.”
I don’t often get political. You know me. But abortion is a personal issue for me. You see, I was conceived to a couple of college students. I wasn’t planned or wanted. And the fact that it has been completely legal to kill people like me has always made me a little mad. I think it’s messed with my head, too. Not only the fact that I could have been legally murdered, but that certain people would have celebrated my death. I try not to think about it too much, but that nagging sense that I somehow have to justify my own existence always hangs around the back of my mind.
I’m glad that there are those out there who are fighting for people like me. People who don’t think that we’re worthless blobs of tissue that can be terminated on a whim. People who recognize our potential and are willing to advocate for us. People like my parents, who adopted my sister and I and gave us a good live. People like the Supreme Court justices who are risking their families’ well-being for people like me. Someone tried to kill Brett Kavanaugh a couple weeks ago; someone else made a social media post disclosing where Amy Coney Barrett’s children go to school and asked people to protest there. (You can read more about it here. And yes, I know this is an opinion piece, but the mainstream media hasn’t talked about this at all. Funny how words are only violence when certain people say them.)
I will readily admit that adoption comes with its own issues, and that it should not be viewed as a band-aid solution to all unwanted pregnancies. However, it is a viable option that should always be considered. There are resources out there (assuming they don’t get burned down by angry people over the next few weeks). Click here and here for some of those resources, and pass them on to your friends.
If you leave a comment, please do so respectfully. The last thing this world needs right now is more strife and discord, and while I’m always up for a genuine debate, I can’t stand arguments. God bless you, dear readers, and thank you for your continued support.