Honorable Mention: Catherine Gruen
Signum Crucis Academy
Babies Are a Blessing
In America, intentionally destroying a bald eagle’s egg can cost you up to $5,000 in fines and one year in prison. In America as well, it is completely legal in all 50 states to intentionally kill a preborn human baby. What makes an unborn eagle entitled to our care and protection? What makes a preborn human not entitled to our care and protection? Our country was founded on the principles of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, which apply to everyone, including preborn children. From the moment God creates the life of a preborn baby, he is a human and a blessing who deserves protection and life.
The Old Testament book of Jeremiah states, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I dedicated you, a prophet to the nations I appointed you.” Some abortion supporters argue that a preborn baby is a lump of tissue. Yet how can a lump of tissue be set apart? A preborn baby is not just a lump of tissue, but a human being known by God from the moment of conception.
Would you say that if your heart is beating that you are alive? At less than four weeks old, a baby in utero has begun to have a heartbeat, up to 65 times per minute. Around the same time, the beginnings of arms and legs start to form. Small slits can be seen at the eyes and the ears. The baby is only the size of a kidney bean, but he is certainly alive. Four weeks later, the infant looks just like a human being. Nearing the end of the third month, the baby is able to open and close his fist and mouth. The baby is 12 inches long by the sixth month and weighs approximately two pounds. When looking at the pictures of a tiny, forming baby, how can anyone say that the infant does not count as a human? How can anyone say he does not deserve life? And does a lump of tissue have a beating heart?
Some people say that abortion is like having a mole removed. A difference between having a mole removed and having an abortion is that a mole really is just a lump of tissue, while a developing baby has unique DNA. The baby already has a genetic code for height, the color of his hair and eyes, etc. From the moment a baby has been conceived, he has his own DNA unlike anyone else in the world. Another difference is that when you have a mole removed, you go on with the rest of the day. When you have an abortion, your whole life has changed, and it will never be the same. The emotional trauma can last a lifetime. Abortion is nothing like removing a mole.
Time is the difference between a caterpillar and a butterfly. Time is the difference between a tadpole and a frog. And time is the difference between a preborn baby and an infant. If age and time are the factors in making abortion acceptable, any human being can be subjected to death for no reason other than the stage in his life. Who gets to draw the line?
In the Declaration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson wrote that “all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain, unalienable rights.” Jefferson wrote “all” not some or many. Everyone, even preborn babies, has rights. Every infant has the right to live, laugh, love, and be loved. Every baby deserves our protection.
King David said in Psalm 139: “You formed my inmost being; you knit me in my mother’s womb. I praise you, because I am wonderfully made; wonderful are your works!” After an art collector buys a beautiful work of art, does he burn it in a fire? Only in his worst nightmare. Babies are a work of art, so to speak. Psalm 127 says, “Certainly [children] are a gift from the Lord, the fruit of the womb, a reward.” We should always treasure the blessings—especially children—that God has given us.
Eight years ago, I was blessed with a baby brother. For as long as I can remember, I had wanted a brother. While waiting for his coming, my sister and I made plans of what games we would play with him and how we would teach him everything we knew. I could not wait until he was born. Finally, the day came. He came home in a white onesie covered in green dinosaurs, looking almost frightened, but also quite pleased. I was pleased. It was one of the best days of my life. As I have watched him grow, I have seen that he is fearfully and wonderfully made, and that he is indeed a blessing from the Lord.
Close your eyes and remember the famous piece of art Michelangelo painted on the Sistine Chapel. God is reaching out His hand to touch Adam’s faint one and giving him life. Just like the “Creation of Adam” depicts, God gives life to each and every human being from the moment of conception. God has given life to babies; we need to remember to always value and protect this blessing, heritage, and reward that He has given us.