When talking about the pro-life/pro-choice debate, one point always gets brought up. It is an interesting thing to think about. "What if the cure to cancer is in the mind of a baby who was aborted?" And on the surface, it isn't a horrible question. It is interesting to think that the next Hitler or the next Einstein could be eviscerated before even getting a chance at life.
However, fetuses or clumps of cells or babies or a fertilized egg or whatever you personally chose to call the unborn are not the only things with untapped potential. And if your argument against abortion is based on that then it is crucial you apply that same concept to others who will never get to reach their maximum potential for other reasons beyond their control. What if the cure for cancer is within the mind of a little black girl who was forgotten about in her inner city school system and the teachers don't have the time or resources to help her succeed? What if it lies within the mind of a high school student who is gunned down in a mass shooting before even getting the chance to graduate? What if it lies within the mind of someone who opts to go right into the workforce because he knows he'll never have enough money for college?
Or what if the cure for cancer lies within the mind of a young Muslim girl who has been blocked from entering the United States because of where she's from and what she believes in?
What if we are so afraid of the evil that an immensely small proportion of an immensely peaceful religion that we are blocking bright minds who will change the course of history from reaching their full potential in this great nation?
If the cure for cancer could be in the mind of an aborted fetus, the cure for cancer could also be in so many other minds of children and people who have fallen victim to horrible, yet, mostly preventable things that our world has done.
Or, God forbid, the cure for cancer or another amazing thing isn't in their mind. Maybe they want to become a teacher or a lawyer and make the world better for a few people at a time. Maybe they just want to be a stay at home mom and teach their children how to be a good human. Maybe they will become a senator or a janitor or maybe they will truly change the world. But they can't do that when they are being blocked from entering a nation where their potential can be fulfilled.
And I know it is scary. We have seen terror attacks and lives shattered by people in the name of the Muslim faith. But the KKK acts in the name of Christianity. The Westboro Baptist church acts in the name of Christianity. Many white mass shooters have acted in the name of Christianity. And if we are willing to separate those horrendous acts with Christianity and still see it as an overwhelmingly peaceful faith, we can do the same for others.
We are all ancestors of immigrants. All of our great great great ancestors came here hoping for a better life for themselves and their lineage. Remember that. The people trying to come here are just trying to build a beautiful life here as did our ancestors. They are people just like us. And we need to remember that.