Incompetent cervix linked with abortion

It has long been known that two or more first trimester abortions or one second to third trimester abortion greatly increased the risk to incompetent cervix. This link has been reinforced through my nursing education and in my own small amount of research into the topic online.

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What is incompetent cervix?

Sometimes the neck of the uterus, called the cervix, can be weak during pregnancy. If the cervix is too weak and becomes too thin, the pregnancy leads to a miscarriage after the 12th or 14th week. (1) However, incompetent cervix is not the sole cause of pre-term labor and it is also not something that is easily diagnosed. One treatment that sometimes is offered is cervical cerclage, a procedure in which a medical doctor sutures the cervix to help prevent miscarriage. (1)(2) Many people who are diagnosed with incompetent service are told to be on complete bed-rest (to reduce weight on the uterus and cervix) and to abstain from sexual intercourse (which can disturb the weakened cervix) among other recommendations. (1)

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What leads to incompetent cervix?

The risk factors to developing the condition of incompetent cervix does not always include therapeutic abortion. However, many do. Some include surgical procedures that are also used to accomplish abortions such as dilation and curettage (D&C). The Australian medical journal O&G had an article stating the risk factors to be congenital, acquired, and/or clinical. Congenital risk factors included "biological variation, collagen disorders, Ehlors Danlos syndrome, congenital uterine anomaly, and in utero diethylstilbestrol (DES) exposure." (1) DES is "a synthetic nonsteroidal estrogen that was used to prevent miscarriage and other pregnancy complications between 1938 and 1971 in the United States." (3) Acquired risk factors included "cervical lacerations or injury post vaginal or caesarean delivery, prolonged second
stage, surgical procedures [such as] D&C [and] excisional biopsy." (1) Clinical risk factors were listed as presenting signs and symptoms to help physicians consider a possible diagnosis of incompetent cervix.

The part that I want to focus on is the "acquired" risk factors of incompetent cervix. Some risk factors in this category may have been avoidable risk factors. Cervical lacerations can occur during an induced surgical abortion and is oftentimes considered a "side effect" of even the earliest abortions (4). Procedures that must go through the cervix include a D&C. Dilation is often accomplished through hard metal rods and curettage is accomplish through large metal tools which can directly injure the cervix and even the uterus.

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So the cervix is injured in an abortion?



Illustration of the cervix, tools are used to stabilize and dilate it.

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Tenaculum is used to stabilize the cervix by grasping it on the side during a surgical abortion.

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Hagar dilators commonly used to forcibly dilate the cervix during a surgical abortion. Even if laminaria (osmotic dilators) are used prior to the surgery, these kinds of dilators will still be used.

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A curette. This is used for D&C associated and not associated with surgical abortions.

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Abortion Procedure In-Progress
Link shows an actual abortion procedure and it's trauma to the cervix and pieces of the mutilated unborn human being. You have been warned, the pictures are very graphic.

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What's the big deal?

All of this information is culminated in the following quote from eMedicine: "The most common etiologies for cervical injury are elective abortion, surgeries to treat cervical dysplasia, and injury occurring at delivery." (2) This means that more children are being born prematurely directly due to the practice of surgical abortion. Not even using non-mechanical means to dilate the cervix in a surgical abortion fully mitigates this risk. (2)

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How many people have an increased risk due to abortion?

Think about the numbers. The most recent numbers regarding the amount of yearly surgical abortions in this country come from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). The caveat, however, is that California, New Hampshire, Louisiana, the District of Columbia (DC), and New York City (NYC) do not report any abortion statistics to the CDC which dramatically lowers the total numbers of abortions in the United States. According to the CDC, there were 820,151 legal induced surgical abortions that occurred in the United States in 2005 (the number is probably over 1 million due to the exclusion of the states aforementioned). Thus, over 800,000 women are at higher risk of having incompetent cervix in the future.

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Yet people get cervical lacerations from childbirth?

Yes, this is true. However, the number of people that experience true cervical injury during childbirth is very small. According the American Journal of Obstetrics, only 0.16% of vaginal childbirths resulted in any cervical lacerations. (7) Keep in mind that the cervix naturally prepares for childbirth through a long process during pregnancy and during the labor and delivery process. Induced abortion, however, is sudden and unnatural. Many people confuse cervical lacerations with vaginal lacerations during childbirth. The difference is real since it is the cervix which helps keep a woman in the pregnant state while the vagina is much more related to the actual birthing process as the birth canal.

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How come I never hear about this?

I believe the reason is political. I can only pray for March of Dimes to declare the suggestion to "have fewer or no abortions to decrease the risk for pre-term labor in relation to the increased risk of incompetent cervix." I doubt that they will step into the political fray no matter how true a statement that is. I really do want people to stop thinking of abortion in terms of political correctness.

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Let us pray for the women who are at risk for incompetent cervix that they may have the strength and courage to bear children. Let us pray for the unborn children whose mothers have incompetent cervix that they may be born alive and healthy. Let us also pray for health care workers to have the ability, knowledge, and willingness to care for the women and unborn children affected by incompetent cervix the best that they can.

Follow the sources that I have listed (one is extra) for further information. Of course, I do have some pro-life bias. Research all of this stuff on your own to form your own conclusion. Remember to follow the truth, always.

(1) Lo, Chern. O&G Magazine. "The incompetent cervix." Winter 2009. PDF
(2) Ross, Michael. eMedicine. "Preterm labor." Jul 31 2009. HTML
(3) Schrager, Arina and Potter, Beth. American Family Physician. "Diethylstilbestrol exposure." May 15 2004. HTML
(4) State of Alaska Health and Human Services. "Making a decision about you pregnancy: about abortion methods." Accessed on October 15 2009. HTML
(5) Centers for Disease Control. "Abortion surveillance." November 14, 2008. HTML
(6) Pregnancy-Facts.com. "Incompetent cervix and pregnancy." morefocus group. HTML
(7) Melamed, Ben-Haroush, Chen, Kaplan, Yogev. "Intrapartum cervical lacerations: characteristics, risk factors, and effects on subsequent pregnancies." April 2009. HTML

Is deceit part of the pro-life mantra?

A user at RH Reality Check wrote, "...deceit is part of the pro-life [mode of operation]." (1) Are those who are against abortion purposely deceiving others? This is hard to believe. Others may contend that those who are against abortion deceive others based upon their own misconceptions. This is a fact that is a lot easier to believe; it is specifically those who are in favor of legalized therapeutic abortions that believe this slant of the opinion.

What is my own opinion on the matter? You may think that you know; actually, you do not know.

Can I write a sentence or two? Maybe I can write something like the following: deceit is part of the pro-choice mode of operation. Would I be more wrong than the user at RH Reality Check? Could it be said that those in favor of abortion purposely deceive others? This is certainly hard to believe. It may be easier to believe that those who are in favor of abortion deceive others based upon their own misconceptions. This is a fact that is a lot easier to believe.

So what is my own opinion on the matter? Those from both sides of the abortion debate inadvertently deceive other people based upon their own misconceptions!

It is hard to distinguish between the truth and lies. It is even harder to distinguish this in today's age of information. Numerous people are giving information in one way and then another person is giving information in another way. It is all given in a certain slant. The information on this blog is, of course, swayed a little by my own bias.

What do I suggest? Be skeptical whenever anyone ever tries to "prove" something to you! Do your own research! Find out the facts in as objective a way that you can! Then, apply your deepest morals and theology to those facts once those facts have been determined.

What facts have I determined to be true? The core of these facts are as follows:

1. Human life begins at conception (2)(3)(4)(5)(6)

Wow... that's a lot of core facts!!! So, where exactly is all of the deception that both sides can commit? I did mention about applying morals to the facts, right? What are the morals? They are as follows:

1. No one should purposely kill a human being (7)(8)(9)(10)(11)

Shazaam! That's a lot of deep morals and theology! And, is it in this deeply held moral and theological standard where much of the deceit comes from? No, it does not come from here. It is easy now to see where all of this deceit comes from. The deceit comes from the muddy battle grounds when arguing the validity of fact and the importance of morality.

My suggestion to both those for and against legalized abortion? Be true to what is true. Don't worry about what others think. Don't be concerned that others feel that you are "deceptive." Also, don't be concerned that others are being "deceptive," rather, look through what people say to determine reality. Do what is right.

Thus, is deceit part of the pro-life or pro-choice mantra? Who really knows? Who really cares? It is wrong if someone is deceitful but that is their own prerogative. It doesn't matter. Find the truth, wherever it may be, and follow it. All that is really required is that you not participate in deceit; follow the truth and you have the ability to change history.

"Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind." (1 Peter 2:1)

1. The "Pro-Life" Movement's Hot Rhetoric and All-Out Lies as found on RH Reality Check accessed on July 3, 2009.

2. "The resulting single cell [from fertilization] is now referred to as the zygote." Klossner, N and Hatfield, Nancy. Introductory Maternity and Pediatric Nursing. Page 107. Lippincott Williams and Wilkins, 2006.

3. "Development begins with fertilization, the process by which the male gamete, the sperm, and the femal gamete, the oocyte, unite to give rise to a zygote." Sadler, Langman, and Leland. Langman's Medical Embryology. Page 37. Lippincott Williams and Wilkins, 2006.

4. "A zygote is the beginning of a new human being (i.e., an embryo)." Keith L. Moore, The Developing Human: Clinically Oriented Embryology, 7th edition. Philadelphia, PA: Saunders, 2003. pp. 16, 2.

5. "Although life is a continuous process, fertilization (which, incidentally, is not a 'moment') is a critical landmark because, under ordinary circumstances, a new genetically distinct human organism is formed when the chromosomes of the male and female pronuclei blend in the oocyte." Ronan O'Rahilly and Fabiola Müller, Human Embryology and Teratology, 3rd edition. New York: Wiley-Liss, 2001. p. 8.

6. "Human embryos begin development following the fusion of definitive male and female gametes during fertilization... This moment of zygote formation may be taken as the beginning or zero time point of embryonic development." William J. Larsen, Essentials of Human Embryology. New York: Churchill Livingstone, 1998. pp. 1, 14.

7. "Thou shall not murder." The Holy Bible. The Old Testament. Exodus 20:13.

8. "The deliberate murder of a innocent person is gravely contrary to the dignity of the human being." Catechism of the Catholic Church. New York: Bantam Doubleday Dell Publishing Inc, 1997. pp. 602-603

9. "From the earliest times, Hindu tradition and scriptures condemn the practice, except when the mother's life is in danger." Hinduism's Online Lexicon URL LINK **Must input "abortion" in search box. 2006 Himalayan Academy. Accessed on June 3, 2009.

10. "Abortion for any purpose other than saving the life of the mother is not permitted." Jacob Neusner, Dictionary of Judaism in the Biblical Period, p.226. June 1999.

11. "Buddhism believes in rebirth and teaches that individual human life begins at conception. The new being, bearing the karmic identity of a recently deceased individual, is therefore as entitled to the same moral respect as an adult human being." Damien Keown, Science and Theology News, April 2004. As retrieved from BBC - Religion and Ethics, "Buddhism and Abortion." URL LINK

Does a low percentage help you feel better?

How many of those who support the legal "right" to abortion understand that abortions can be done past 21 weeks of gestation? Many people that I talk to do not know this. Most are ignorant of this fact. Then, if one is not ignorant of this fact he says "only 1% of all abortions are done past 21 weeks!"

What, then, is 1% of all abortions in the United States of America? Let's see... I was just looking at a journal article from the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology which cited that "in 1999, 9,643 abortions were performed at [greater than or equal to] 21 weeks’ gestation, representing only 1.5% of total abortions reported"(1)(2).


Fetus at 22 weeks gestational age(3)

At 20 weeks gestational age the fetal "nervous system is starting to function; [the fetus] can suck a thumb, yawn, stretch, and make faces"(4). Furthermore, many studies suggest that the unborn fetus can now experience pain: "new evidence...has persuaded [Dr. Kanwaljeet "Sunny" Anand] that fetuses can feel pain by 20 weeks gestation and possibly earlier"(5).

10,000 abortions for therapeutic reasons a year and hardly a peep of outrage from the public. Do the research for yourself and understand the horror that abortion really is. Maybe people will just continue to hide behind the idea that 1% is such a small percentage...

1. The American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, (2004) Volume 190, pages 1180-3 PDF FILE

2. Elam-Evans LD, Strauss LT, Herndon J, Parker WY, Whitehead S, Berg CJ. Abortion surveillancedUnited States, 1999. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep 2002;51:1-28

3. Retrieved from "A Woman's Right to Know" on 5/28/2009 URL LINK Photograph by Lennart Nilsson URL LINK

4. WebMD, Fetal Development Timeline, reviewed by Matthew Hoffman, MD, URL LINK

5. New York Times Magazine, Fetal Pain, written by Annie Paul, Feb. 2008, URL LINK

When did Life Become Expendable?

For many people that see abortion as the killing of a human baby, it may be hard to realize that there have been many other massacres in the history of mankind. We humans are all imperfect; we humans are all sinners. What are we capable of doing?

The Romans around 2,000 years ago persecuted Christians in brutal and disgusting ways (1). Today, over 50,000 people have died in Sudan due to the conflict between Arab militias and and Africans in western Sudan (2). There have been atrocities in the past and there are still atrocities in our current world. Has it always been this way?

Abortion, as a means to end an "unwanted" child's life, has been a part of society for a very long time. Throughout man's history, abortion has sometimes been accepted and, at many other times, shunned. Sometimes there are just people who view abortion as a means to achieve their goal. The following is a quote from an average citizen back in 1930, "for those who cannot be educated, sterilization or legalized abortion seems to be the only remedy, for we certainly do not want such stupid people to pollute the race with stupid offspring. The defective conditions of life call urgently for improvement" (3). Unfortunately, this kind of mindset will always be around in some people.

There will always be those who wish harm to come of others for their own self benefit. Being pro-life is about overcoming those who wish to kill innocent human beings. We must be called to action and let others know that abortion is unacceptable. Human life has been expendable in various times throughout history. We can stop life from being expendable; life can only become expendable if we allow it to be.

1. Manzullo, N. (2000, February 8). The roman persecution of Christians. Retrieved April 26, 2009, from http://patriot.net/~carey/afa/latinclub/persecution.htm

2. O'Keefe, E., & Marcus, J. (2004, September 9). Crisis in Sudan. Retrieved April 26, 2009, from Washington Post Web site: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A20765-2004Jul1.html

3. Norman Haire, letter to the editor, Birth Control Review, (July, 1930) ... as viewed on Wikiquote on April 26, 2009 Web site: http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Abortion

Love Those Who Hate You

Yesterday I was browsing the Catholic blog American Papist and enjoying the blog's hilarious photo caption feature. A user started to comment in all caps how horrible it was that the blog was being funny about religious photographs. Due to the user's comments he was banned. I posted in defense of the ban since the owner of the blog has a right to do so if he wishes; a blog owner could even disable commenting altogether if he wanted to.

Due to my support of the blog the user that was banned came onto my own blog and posted many comments from different names. All of the quotes I am showing here were intended by the poster to be public since he used the "Comment" feature of this blog.

Hey ..., you're a total dunce. Your mother should be ashamed to know she gave birth to such a sissyfied nitwit.

You call yourself a Catholic? You're an idiot.

BTW are you a homo? Just wondering after seeing your photo.

Well, that's nice. For the record, I'm not a homosexual; I am getting married next summer to a beautiful woman. This person continued to flame so I changed my blog settings so that I would have to approve messages prior to publication on my blog. The poster continued ranting.

Next time keep you efing mouth shut birdbrain

But wait, there was more hate in my email inbox!

I see you're sooooo brave over at American Papist where you can shoot off your big mouth, but get you alone over here and you are a sniveling crybaby cowering in the corner with your "Comment moderation has been enabled. All comments must be approved by the blog author."

hahahahahahaha Which means we can post all we want and you just sit there and listen. We don't have to listen to YOUR bull**** you coward.

You're what we call a real piece of work.

This poster claims to be defending the Blessed Virgin Mary. Defending her is certainly honorable; I do agree. However, it is not right, in fact sinful, to personally attack those that you disagree with. Using silly cuss words certainly does not help any one's credibility. Thus, I feel like this is the perfect example to illustrate why hate is such a horrible thing.

The Bible instructs us about hate, "whoever hates his brother is in the darkness and walks around in the darkness; he does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded him" (1 John 2:11). Therefore I pray for the one posting such hateful comments. Through such expression of hate he is lost in darkness. Hopefully the hate coming from him will subside. Regardless, I forgive him and I love him.

Where does this darkness of hate lead? For many people, hate is temporary. For others, hate builds on top of itself and is very hard to overcome. For still others, hate is treasured and encouraged and will lead to dire circumstances. The hate of reproduction in our society has lead to the acceptance of birth control and lead to the acceptance of elective abortions. Many women despise their bodies. I have heard of women who say things such as "I'm so happy I got rid of my uterus" after having a hysterectomy. No uterus, no children. The hate of human reproduction leads to a hate of children. Many people will say things like "having a child now will take away my ability to have fun." Children are seen as a burden rather than a blessing. This has lead to people despising their elder family members who they need to take care of. Euthanasia is slowly becoming accepted. We need to reverse hate of our neighbors, family, children, and our own bodies. If we do not reverse this hate then hate will further damage our society in ways most people could never imagine.

I have personally experienced hate when I protest against the horror of abortion. Just by holding a sign passersby would yell profanities, show their middle fingers at me with pride, and throw objects at me with the intention of harming me. By the grace of God I have been able to respond with kindness. They are mad at me for reasons that I may not understand. Thus, I pray for the healing of their hearts.

Jesus tells us what we should do in response to hate, "Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you" (Luke 6:27-28). God bless the one who continues to send me hateful comments. I pray that your hate will be reversed and that you will have a peaceful life without sin. God loves you. Let us all go forth and reverse hate in our community and our society. Let us replace hate with a never ending supply of love. “God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him” (1 John 4:16). Let us bring God back into our world.

God Made Me be a Nurse

When I was a child I had a dream of composing music for video games as a career. Today I am a Licensed Vocational Nurse in the state of California. Hopefully, in little over a year I will become a Registered Nurse. What made me decide to become a nurse? I certainly didn't do it; God made me do it!

Just three years ago I was a college student with my eyes set on being involved in the video gaming industry. Not once did I ever consider going into the medical field in my whole life. One day my fiance and I were driving around town. Without thinking I sputtered out the words "wonder if I want to be a nurse?" What the heck was I saying? I didn't want to say that! In fact, it felt like I wasn't the one saying it at all. Today I realize what made me say those words; God made me do it!

For everything that God does there is a reason. For me, the reason has recently become very obvious. I have consistently been Catholic and Pro-Life. Have I been a Catholic blindly? No I have not. When I was challenged by various anti-Catholic high school friends I took the time on my own to learn all I could about my Catholic faith. I found that the more that I was challenged the stronger my faith became. During my journey of faith I found one very strikingly serious issue facing our nation: legalized induced abortion. I have always known that my faith values unborn human beings as equals to those who are born. What I did not know was the reasons behind this belief.

I searched and searched for information about abortion. I looked at both sides of the issue. If my own faith was wrong regarding this issue I certainly could not remain a Catholic. I understood, in a vague sense, the hardships that many women go through prior to making the decision to remove the growing human being inside of them. Abortion was no easy decision even if it was legal and easily accessed. My question was "what right is more important: the right of an unborn child to life or the right of a woman to end a pregnancy?" In the end I came to an affirmation of faith. I knew that while many women may face hardships due to pregnancy it in no way entitled them to destroy a baby developing inside of their body. All people have a right to life. As such, the right to life trumps all other rights.

During my search for truth regarding abortion I gained a heart for all those involved in the dilemma. I had so much reason to care for pregnant women and unborn children. My own mother was pregnant with me inside of her womb! For her protection and sharing of love I am eternally grateful. I wanted to show the love that mothers have for their children to all people. These were feelings in the depth of my mind and soul. The only way that it came out of me was in my expressions and, eventually, in my strive to become a nurse.

While I was in nursing school I still had doubts about becoming a nurse. I have even had doubts about a nursing career very recently. However, what was clear was that it has always been God's intention for me to be a nurse. The clearest example that showed me that nursing is where I belong was when I went through the four week obstetrics rotation in nursing school. This was where I was able to see the beauty of life coming into the world. This was where I was able to truly show my inner-most emotions of gratitude to all mothers all around the world. The experience was absolutely surprising.

The first birth that I saw was that of a delivery by the surgical procedure cesarean section. During the procedure I saw the uterus outside of the woman's body. It was such a wonderful sight. Biology and spirituality mixes through the purpose of one organ. Biologically speaking, the uterus has no knowledge of what it does. However, the uterus has a divine purpose to nurture and bring forth life! Then I saw the baby being born. The baby was covered with blood and amniotic fluid from the procedure. I looked past these factors and saw a beautiful, perfect human being. Soon thereafter the baby was taken to the nursery while the mother was brought to the post-anesthesia recovery room. I was placed at the bedside of the woman and monitored her vital signs. I observed the nurse administer medications ordered by the obstetrician for the woman. After the woman stabilized properly she was transfered to postpartum where I assisted licensed nurses to take care of her. I helped her walk to the bathroom, monitored her condition, comforted her, gave her advice I learned during nursing school, and did what I could to aid in her recovery.

Following all that I did for her, the mother made sure that I knew how much she was thankful for my help. What I did for her fit so perfectly with my psyche.

I had a similar experience with a natural delivery. It was a magnificent experience. I aided in the advice for breastfeeding and watched in wonder at the newborn's perfect form. God is so great. I did all that I could for this woman as well. The experience I had with the first mother was reaffirmed with the second. God intended me to help mothers survive and thrive; God intended me to save the lives of unborn children through the science of nursing.

Does this mean that my childhood aspiration to compose video game music is dead? It is never dead. God has not stopped working in my life. God made me do it!

"The things which are impossible with men are possible with God." Luke 18:27

The Most Selfish Act

What do we think and feel about motherhood?

When I think of motherhood I think of a kind, warm, giving, and loving woman comforting me with a hug as I cry. Oftentimes I feel awestruck knowing that I cannot experience as a man what all mothers do. In a conversation with my aunt about the experience of pregnancy I gained some insight of motherhood. She told me that she felt a rush of joy when she felt her child move inside of her womb. She expressed that pregnancy was a fulfilling experience that she would never trade for anything else in the world. She also mentioned how much of a bond she had with the child inside of her.

I cannot fathom the experience, nor will I ever experience it personally.

Soon I will be married. By the grace of God, I pray that I will be a father and that my fiance will be a mother. When I look into my fiance's eyes I can feel motherhood at such a deep level. When I feel her sense of motherhood I realize that there is something about a woman that a man will never have. Unexplainable in words, what man cannot have is the deep feelings that mothers possess. These are degrees of bonding with her children. Such an outpouring of love can never be grasped properly by a man. It is selflessness that is at the heart of motherhood.

If motherhood was so magnificent of a thing, how could therapeutic abortion be so prevalent? This has been a question that I have struggled with so much in my life. If motherhood during pregnancy and throughout the lifespan of a woman was so strong and wonderful, how could so many mothers be complacent to killing their unborn children? The problem was not that I didn't know the answer. The problem was being able to believe the answer.

Selfishness has grown, slowly but constantly, in our society. People demand that they should be able to have sex with whomever and whenever they want. People demand that whatever career they choose should be as easily obtainable as possible. People demand to increase every possible convenience to make their days easier. People demand so much just for their own self gratification. The eventual fruit of this selfishness is death! If what people demand is in the way, get rid of it!

To take it a step further, if a new human being is in the way of my life, kill it! This idea is so very hard to believe--yet it is very true. This way of thinking has become part of the fabric of today's society in the United States.

I have so often looked at the abortion debate from both sides. When I look at the side in favor of legalized abortion, I have always seen selfishness as the underlying cause. "A woman shouldn't be punished with a baby." When I look at the side in favor of protecting unborn life, I have always seen concern for least among us. "The unborn are human beings and should be protected." Instead of siding with those who already have power, I have decided to protect those who have no power.

I have taken a lesson from the understanding I have of motherhood, albeit elementary. The lesson is that I must not be selfish. I must give of myself fully to others. I have also learned that while mothers must strive to be true mothers, so must fathers strive to be true fathers. As a future father, I must protect those who are the weakest among us. As a future father, I must give of myself to all those around me.

Abortion is the most selfish act. It is the destruction of motherhood.