The hard choice

"The life of a fetus cannot be separated from the life of the pregnant woman. This is unique in medicine and law. No one can create a set of medical principles or legal principles giving a right to life to the fetus, because by doing so, inevitably the woman's rights become limited." -http://www.fwhc.org/abortion/medical-ab.htm

The life of a young woman always contains this issue, whether she herself goes through it, the girls she knows go through it, or it's a topic of her debate class.

I am counting... I personally know 8 girls, growing up around me who've had to make the choice between raising a child against impossible odds or causing themselves the most pain they've ever felt by deliberately discarding something they love.

And I know at least 6 women who are grey haired and wrinkled from fully lived lives, and after 30 years, multiple children, houses and careers, none has ever lost consciousness of the one they gave up. There are no regrets, just a subtle pain - one of their battle scars.

Blessings to all women who have had to make that choice.