Is The Womb A Safe Place?
The doctor finished the ultrasound and sat back to look at his notes before reporting the findings to the parents-to-be. A previous test had already provided them with the exciting information that they were to have a boy.
"We have some problems", the doctor announced rather awkwardly. "The foetus has a malformed heart because the aorta is attached incorrectly. There are missing portions of the cerebellum. A club foot. A cleft palate and perhaps a cleft lip. Possibly spina bifida. It is likely the foetus will spontaneously miscarry. However, if the child is born, it will not survive long outside the womb. You need to decide if you want to try and carry this pregnancy to term".
The couple were shattered by this news. In the midst of the shock and numbness of the next few minutes, they knew that the doctor was asking them to make a decision about a possible abortion. It was then that the wife spoke. When I read what she said I was overwhelmed with her courage and the strength of her outlook. Here are her words.
"I believe that God is the giver and taker of life. If the only opportunity I have to know this child is in my womb, I don't want to cut short that time. If the only world he is to know is the womb, I want that world to be as safe as I can make it".
These words were not spoken by some theorist protected from the harsh realities of the situation. They did not represent the convictions of a person objectively and unemotionally pondering the sanctity of life. These words were spoken by a mother-to-be who was carrying in her womb an unborn male child who was deformed.
This woman faced the almost certain prospect of giving birth to a baby that would take her and her husband way beyond mere human resources. Please think about those words again. In a world that can so easily treat human life in the womb with an attitude of carelessness (if not contempt), I was greatly encouraged to read of this woman's response and her selfless commitment to her yet-to-be-born child.