Dear Mom,
I'm here.
It's been 18 days since conception, and my heart is beating. Just 10 days later, at 28 days post conception, I have eyes, ears, and a tongue. At day 30, my blood starts flowing in my veins. 42 days in I can swallow and my fingers and toes are forming. Around day 45, I'll start moving around, even though you won't be able to feel it for another 12 weeks. I'm still here.
At eight weeks, I have all of my organs. At eight and a half weeks, I have fingerprints. At nine weeks, I can suck my thumb. At 10 weeks, my fingernails are noticeable. At 11 weeks, I can practice breathing and I can smile. At 12 weeks, I can kick. At 13 weeks, my facial expressions will start to resemble yours and Daddy's. Mommy, I'm still here.
Mommy, did you know that about 90% of abortions are performed prior to the 13th week of gestation? But look at how much I've grown, Mommy. I even look like you now. What makes me so different from you? We have the same organs and body parts. We can both move and breathe. Mommy, I know you can't see me, but I'm still here.
I know it's your body, Mommy, but I need to borrow it for a little while. After about 40 weeks you can have it back. You can't say I'm not a person, Mommy. My heart is beating. I know it can be expensive, Mommy, but I promise I'll be worth it. And, Mommy, can you really put a price on my life? Think of all I could be. I'm still here.
Give me a chance, Mom. I'm here.
Love,
Your Baby
*You can read the above facts and more here.
To those who are pro-choice:
I'm not here to convince you that what you believe is wrong. I'm not here to shame you. I'm not even here to give you the typical pro-life lecture. I am, however, here to share the truth with you because it's been hidden from you for so long.
Abortions aren't pretty. They're not simple, and they're not easy to move on from. 55% of women who have gone through with abortion express guilt, 44% develop nervous disorders, 36% had sleep disturbances, 31% regret their decision, and 11% were prescribed psychotropic medication. Many women reported drug and alcohol abuse they attribute to having the abortion. In a smaller study group of over 100 post-abortion women, 60% reported suicidal ideation and 28% actually attempted suicide, half which attempted suicide two or more times. You can read the full studies here.
Many pro-choicers use the typical arguments like "It's my body," "it's not a baby," "what about the cases of incest, rape, or endangerment to the mother or child?," and "I can't afford a baby or a pregnancy."
Allow me to open your eyes to more facts. Check out these findings from a nationwide survey led by the Guttmacher Institute:
| <0.5% | Victim of rape |
| 3% | Fetal health problems |
| 4% | Physical health problems |
| 4% | Would interfere with education or career |
| 7% | Not mature enough to raise a child |
| 8% | Don't want to be a single mother |
| 19% | Done having children |
| 23% | Can't afford a baby |
| 25% | Not ready for a child |
| 6% | Other |
These statistics are staggering. So for those of you who say "what about rape," I say that's less than 0.5% of abortions. "Endangerment for the mother or child?" That's 7% collectively. "Too much of a financial burden to have a baby?" That may be the reason behind 23% of abortions, but adoption is free.
So what about the other 69%? Those abortions are happening because a pregnancy and/or baby would be an inconvenience or because they're simply not wanted.
The state of Florida records a reason for every abortion. Here are their findings:
| .001% | The pregnancy resulted from an incestuous relationship |
| .065% | The woman's life was endangered by the pregnancy |
| .085% | The woman was raped |
| .288% | The woman's physical health was threatened by the pregnancy |
| .294% | The woman's psychological health was threatened by the pregnancy |
| .666% | There was a serious fetal abnormality |
| 6.268% | The woman aborted for social or economic reasons |
| 92.330% | No reason (elective) |
92% of abortions were elective -- that means the women chose to have the abortions just because they didn't want the baby. Just let that sink in for a minute.
Just over 6% of abortions occurred because of a financial burden. The rest of the reasons (which are conveniently the ones the pro-choice movement uses) are collectively only 1.4% of abortions. Are we seeing the problem here?
I'll be the voice of the unborn: We're still here.
