Your Opinion: Pro-life must extend to nurture

Dear Editor:

As a pro-life Christian I read with great interest the Jan. 16 issue of the News Tribune about several local upcoming pro-life events. Unfortunately, my participation in these events is limited (because of a broken ankle) to this letter, which is a follow-up to one I wrote to you last October expressing my concern that laws and activities designed to protect unborn children do not go far enough.

If I sincerely value life, I must equally be concerned for the unwanted newborn child. Some lucky newborns are accepted and loved and grow up to be happy, well-adjusted adults. Many others remain unwanted and face a life of abuse, first as victims and later as angry maladjusted abusers themselves. It is unconscionable to wait until these unwanted children have been abused and then to punish their abusers and to place the damaged children in foster homes. The early years of a child's life are formative. Damage done to them is rarely reversible. It may be possible to require a woman to carry a child to term, but it is not possible to make her want or to love that child.

When women are required to give birth regardless of their circumstances (especially in cases of rape and incest) or whether or not they have the mental, physical and material resources to care for the newborn child, then society must take some responsibility, not only for the precious unwanted child but for the mother's life as well. Perhaps our lawmakers should pass laws that would provide at birth for the care of these unfortunate unwanted children. Whatever the solution, for it to be moral, it must be based on love and compassion for the mothers as well as for the unwanted newborns. If I am truly pro-life, I must include all life. I base this belief on such guidelines as those found in Luke 10: 27; I John 4: 8; Matt. 7: 1-2 etc.

In addition, I base my beliefs about unwanted newborns on numerous scriptures wherein Jesus blessed already born children. For example, in Mark 9: 36-37, Jesus took a little child in his arms and said, "Whoever welcomes this child in my name welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes not me but the one sent me." (See also Luke 9: 48 and Matt. 19:14, etc.)