It's hard to understand why people are even debating the issue of abortion.

It's very simple, really. All life is precious, from conception to natural death. To believe otherwise, is to go down a road of values that can easily justify eliminating some people based on what other people want and believe.

This is not equality, not democracy. It is oppression. And to not realize this fact, is to deny the real motivation behind abortion.

People get abortions because they are careless, and have sex when they aren't ready to conceive a child. Then they have a moral dilemma. Some want to be able to eliminate the child, and want to call this choice.

But should the worth of a person's life be based on another person's choices? Or is this an inalienable right granted by our Creator, as our Declaration of Independence states? One that no person or government should be able to take away?

Even though a just-conceived child can't be seen, doesn't mean it isn't human. At the point of conception, a person has all the DNA they will ever need to develop into a person with blonde hair, or brown eyes, or to have their mom's smile, or their dad's laugh.

The same woman who will seek an abortion at one time in her life at an early stage of pregnancy, will turn around later in her life and act in a completely contradictory way. When married and eager for a child, the woman will say joyously , upon hearing her pregnancy test is positive, "I'm going to have a baby!" Is this inconsistent? In fact, this inconsistency is when many post-abortive women begin to have deep regrets about the abortion, because they suddenly face up to the act and its implications.

Or the guilt may be on the part of a guy who pressured a woman into an abortion--of his child.

Others justify the willful killing of a child by believing that there is an overpopulation problem in our world, or maintaining that unwanted children may be abused.

Well, we really don't have an overpopulation problem. We have poverty problems, and corrupt governments in some regions that exploit people and keep them in poverty, and localized pollution problems--but too many people is not the reason. Similar challenges have been overcome time after time by people living under democratic systems that allow them to put their talents and gifts to work on solutions. Freedom of worship usually accompanies creativity and innovation as well.

People are not a blight on the face of the earth, as some would imply. We are not just mindless, greedy consumers wasting the earth's environment. People are a resource, whose talents and ingenuity have brought us to the technologically-developed and affluent lifestyle we now enjoy . Time after time, it is human ingenuity that has solved problems and devised ways to use resources wisely.

Bermuda is an excellent example. Bermuda is one of the most densely populated places in the world. But it has one of the highest per capita incomes in the world as well--and nearly 100% employment. Bermudians are a racially-mixed population living on a clean, beautiful island under a democratic form of government .The country has a low crime rate, good schools, and very little poverty. It also has, for an island its size, a very large number of churches!

As far as child abuse is concerned, the amount of child abuse in the U.S. has drastically increased since the Roe vs. Wade decision in 1973 (which legalized abortion in the U.S.). Are these two facts related? Some think they are--that as more people consider abortion, they tend to de-value children in general. And that leads us to the gruesome subject of partial birth abortion.

Late-term abortions, in the sixth through the ninth months of pregnancy, are considered justifiable in this country by many now--all because of choice. Such abortions involve actually dismembering a child in order to remove it from the womb. There are even some academics and radicals who believe that infanticide--killing children after birth--could be justified in some cases! And these suggestions are taken seriously. All because of the philosophical road one goes down to justify a woman's so-called "right to choose."

Is choosing murder ever a good thing? No. There are some who are trying to stop abortion by committing violence at abortion clinics. This is like the old saying, "cutting off your nose to spite your face." Violence all the way around needs to stop.

Let's never forget that the violence of abortion is why these debates are even taking place, however. So don't ever let those who defend abortion pretend that they are peace-loving moderates. Abortion is a holocaust happening in this country that has eliminated 40 million people! There is blood on the hands of anyone involved in, or defending, abortion.

What if a person has had an abortion, and later realizes it was wrong? Well, that person can find healing and forgiveness. There are many churches, crisis pregnancy centers, and counselors who sponsor post-abortion support groups. Ask around in your area, and I'm sure you will discover that you are not alone. Remember that the Bible is full of people who committed grave sins, but who then went on to be instrumental in some of the greatest spiritual events in history. All people are imperfect, and everyone has mistakes they need to overcome.

For more information on the issue of abortion, see these web sites:

On fetal development:
First Journey
http://members.aol.com/SLV80/main.htm

On teens who are active in pro-life issues, including "Rock for Life":
www.whylife.org

On current issues:
www.prolifeinfo.org