If you know me at all, you know I am unapologetically pro-life. From womb to tomb I believe life is the most sacred and precious thing the universe has to offer. In the words of Sleeping at Last, "How rare and beautiful it truly is that we exist." It's exquisite, it's breathtaking, how we spend 9 months being woven and formed and developed into a whole, unique, and fully functioning human being. Every single person is a chosen miracle. And because of this weight, this importance, I want to talk about the reality of what went down in New York on January 22nd, 2019.

New York passed an abortion law, allowing an abortion procedure to be granted to pregnant women up to full term during their pregnancy. This abortion bill allows for "doctors and other health care professionals, such as midwives and physician assistants, to perform abortions up until birth for any reason in the state." Any. Reason. At. All.

I understand that there are some people who think there are "acceptable" reasons to get an abortion. So let's turn to the facts. According to the Guttmacher Institute, the percentage of women who get abortions due to an incestuous relationship is .001%. The percentage of women who get abortions due to the woman's life being in danger is .065%. Rape? .085%. But no reason at all? Strictly Elective? 92.33%. NINETY-TWO PERCENT PEOPLE. NINETY-TWO PERCENT OF PREGNANT WOMEN ARE KILLING THEIR BABIES JUST BECAUSE THEY HAVE CHOSEN TO. The media wants you to believe the few unimaginable circumstances who are the exceptions, are the majority of abortion cases. This is not. True.

882,000 abortions took place in the United States in 2017 alone. 45,789,558 total since 1970.

Young women aged 15-19 account for 10% of abortions in the United States. Precious and young teenagers who should just be beginning their life, not ending one. I wonder if this has anything to do with Planned Parenthood failing to report sex trafficking time and time again, insisting that sex traffickers can pose as guardians to procure abortions.

Among white women, 10% of all pregnancies end in abortion and among black women, 28% of all pregnancies end in abortion. And you're trying to tell me Planned Parenthood doesn't target racial minorities? Abortion clinics, Planned Parenthood specifically, are disproportionately located in poor communities. "black children make up almost 40 percent of total U.S. abortions each year, despite black Americans comprising only 12 percent of the population." This is not a coincidence. Margaret Sanger, the founder of Planned Parenthood, did so to "assist the race toward the elimination of the unfit," aka she was racist. If you're truly about fighting for equality for women, or even everyone, yet you're pro-choice, I am going to have a hard time believing this contradiction.

These statistics should break your heart. In 2014, approximately 19% of all pregnancies, excluding miscarriages ended in abortion in the United States. So why am I mad? Because one-fifth of the newborns who should've been joining me here on earth were murdered. One-fifth.

Now that I've established a bigger picture, back to New York. 35% of pregnancies in New York, excluding miscarriages, end in abortion. They even legalized abortion three years before Roe V. Wade was ruled, so I guess you can say this state is far more aggressively pro-choice than the rest of the nation. After this so-called healthcare act passed, surrounding supporters chanted, "Free abortion on demand, can we do it, yes we can." America has turned into a never-ending pursuit of instant gratification and taking the easy way out. We don't need abortion on demand, we need better-paid maternity and paternity leave. We don't need an easier way to go through with abortions, we need an easier way to go through with adoptions and a better foster care system. We don't need the freedom to end more lives, we need the freedom to fight for more lives.

Between 1973 & 2014, 437 women died due to an abortion procedure. This is not a consequence-less action. Side effects include depression, eating disorders, regret, suicidal thoughts and tendencies, bleeding, vomiting, perforation of the uterus, damage to the cervix, and losing the ability to become pregnant again.

A study published in the British Journal of Psychiatry concluded that "Women who aborted were 81 percent more likely to experience mental health problems compared to all other control groups, and 55 percent more likely to have problems compared to women who delivered an unplanned or unwanted pregnancy." Not only can rejecting abortion save your baby's life, but it can also save yours.

According to Omar L. Hamada, a board-certified OB/GYN who has delivered over 2,500 babies, "There is not a single fetal or maternal condition that requires third-trimester abortion. Not one. Delivery, yes. Abortion, no." There is absolutely no reason at all to have an abortion in the first place, but there is an even stronger "no reason at all" to end a life that can survive outside of the womb, a life that begins at conception according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. A baby that has a heartbeat at just 6 weeks. A baby that can make facial expressions and suck their thumb at 14 weeks. A baby that can move and dance at 23 weeks. A baby that can inhale and exhale at 27 weeks. A baby that can dream at 28 weeks. And what part of the American dream includes killing off our youngest dreamers?

As a Christian, I can't help but think on the truth that a fetus was the first to rejoice at the news of Jesus Christ. "When Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the baby leaped in her womb and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit." Luke 1:41. If you truly believe in the sovereignty of God, there is no such thing as an unplanned pregnancy because His timing is perfect and His ways are above and far better than ours. He has knit together intentionally and purposefully every unborn baby with His wise provision and care. Our response should be adoration, not rejection.

Women are freaking strong, we can honestly do anything. And an abortion believes the lie that pregnancy is too much for you to handle. That's not true one bit, not even for a second. The female body was MADE for pregnancy, and you were MADE for more than the lies the abortion industry wants you to believe. There are thousands of families and couples waiting to adopt, thousands of women with infertility issues begging and praying for a child. Thousands of resources, thousands of people willing, ready, and eager to help you, myself included. We are quick to have compassion for criminals who have broken the law, but we are also quick to give the death penalty to the most innocent members of our society, an unborn baby.

Sweet reader I beg of you, a human being who came from the womb yourself, choose life. Fight for life. Remember the preciousness of others and encourage a society where we value humanity over convenience, ease, or anything else that is short of a celebration.

Sources & websites I encourage you to visit:

https://www.christianpost.com/news/new-york-legisl...

https://abort73.com/abortion_facts/us_abortion_sta...

http://thefederalist.com/2016/02/18/yes-planned-pa...

http://americanpregnancy.org/unplanned-pregnancy/a...

https://www.lifenews.com/2014/12/19/suicide-rate-f...

https://www.babycenter.com/0_fetal-development-tim...

https://www.nationalreview.com/2017/01/planned-par...

http://thefederalist.com/2017/10/13/life-begins-at...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Margaret_Sanger#Plan...