I think what particularly struck me -as an older pregnant mother, I can somewhat relate to her. I'm pregnant right now & tests have shown that I am at a high risk for a down syndrome baby. I haven't had an Amniocentesis to confirm it, as I didn't want to risk a miscarriage. It's news that you don't pray for, and I still pray for everything to be normal as no test have confirmed it either. So for the past few months, I haven't & still don't know what the outcome might be. But Sarah's words have inspired me, she stated: "So I prayed that my heart would be filled up. What else did I have? I had to call upon my faith and ask that my heart be filled up. And I'll tell you the moment he was born I knew for sure that my prayer was answered. And my heart overflowed with joy." I also pray if the outcome is not what I hope for, then I pray that God may also fill my heart with joy and love, and give me the confidence that I may be able to raise this baby too. We're all God's children, no matter what problems, disabilities, etc., we are born with, and all children are in need of love. A pro-choice doctor told, me at my appointment, "Well, some women - just cannot handle having a Down Syndrome child and would have to terminate." I say, if you cannot handle that (as I know it may be too big of a burden for some), why not give the child life as there are many couples willing & wanting to adopt special need children. Why kill the child???
Here is a brief summary of Sarah Palin's speech from the National Right to Life:
Palin's candid discussion of the many extraordinary challenges of the last year or so, including finding out that she was pregnant at 44 and later that her baby would have Down syndrome. She already had four kids, a demanding job, and a husband whose job was hundreds of miles away. On top of that her oldest son was about to deploy to Iraq and Palin's then-17-year-old daughter told her she was "going to be a mom. Talk about change!"
Before she gave even more details, Palin added, "There has been great purpose in what I went through this past year."
Palin told her audience that she found out at 13 weeks that Trig would have Down syndrome and "that blew me away, it just rocked my world. And to be honest with you I had a heck of a time being able to put my arms around the idea of first of having a baby at 44 and then knowing that the baby would have some challenges. It was serious time of testing. … It was a time where I had to ask myself, 'Was I going to walk the walk, or was I just going to talk the talk?'"
She then explained that she had first found out she was pregnant while attending an out-of-state conference. "Just for a fleeting moment, I knew, nobody knows me here. Nobody would ever know. I thought, wow, it is, it could be easy to think maybe of trying to change the circumstances and no one would know, no one would ever know.
"Then when my amniocentesis results came back, showing what they called abnormalities. Oh, dear God, instantly I had an understanding, for that fleeting moment, why someone would believe it could seem possible to change those circumstances--just make it all go away and get some normalcy back in life--just take care of it."
Not even Todd knew she was pregnant. "No one would know," she said, and then added, "But I would know."
A moment later, she lightened the atmosphere: "Plus, I was old," she quipped. "And I thought, 'Very funny, God. My name's Sarah, but my husband's not Abraham, he's Todd.'"
These were "truly less than ideal circumstances, perhaps, but I had just enough faith to know that my trying to change the circumstances wasn't any answer."
Growing increasingly more reflective, Palin said, "I came to believe that Trig's prenatal test was me being asked if I would trust and believe and, more importantly, live out what I had been saying for years about the pro-life movement and the purpose and the sanctity of every life, no matter the circumstances. 'I'd always been pro-life,' I said.
"So we went through some things a year ago that now lets me understand a woman, a girl's temptation to maybe try to make it all go away, if she has been influenced by society to believe that she is not strong enough or smart enough or equipped enough or convenienced enough to make the choice to let the child live. I do understand that what these women, what these girls go through in that thought process."
The most revealing moments for me were when Palin talked about trying to research what it meant for a child to have Down syndrome.
"It just seemed liked when I tried to open the book, like this was something for someone else, someone stronger and maybe more compassionate than I, to be able to give this child what he would need, to better handle the circumstances. I wasn't sure if my heart could hold what this baby would need.
"So I prayed that my heart would be filled up. What else did I have? I had to call upon my faith and ask that my heart be filled up. And I'll tell you the moment he was born I knew for sure that my prayer was answered. And my heart overflowed with joy." Thunderous applause.
"And I tell you this for a reason. I felt a love that I had never felt before and compassion that I didn't even know was there. Trig is a miracle … . He is the best thing that has ever happened to me. And I want other women to give this a chance and experience this, this that can make their lives better, not inconvenienced or burdened."
An incredible speech, an honest speech. It was the kind of speech only a pro-lifer who had been through the fire and had come out the other side having protected her baby, could give.
This is a beautiful, touching poem that is written for an unexpected pregnancy, but can also apply to a pregnancy that have unexpected complications or if a baby is found to have unexpected problems/disabilities.
REFLECTION by Carmen Pate
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An unexpected pregnancy is perceived by many young
women as the end of their life as they know it. News
of an unexpected pregnancy pulls the rug from under
her well laid plans.
Sadly, these women may choose abortion as a matter of
self-preservation, believing that an abortion will
help return life to normal and give them opportunity
to start anew.
They don't see abortion as killing a child, but rather
as saving their own life. Of course, abortion will not
bring the newness of life they are seeking, but
instead will bring death to their child, lifelong
regret, and unexpected -- possibly devastating --
consequences to their own life.
Abortion will be the choice made if we don't meet them
at the crossroad between life and death with a better
way.
Almost without exception, these young women are
looking for love, acceptance, and to be valued.
In their efforts to have those needs met, they have
become promiscuous. Most, if honest, will admit the
needs were only met momentarily, if at all, during
their brief encounter, and afterward the needs
returned unmet.
The truth is, only Christ loves them unconditionally
with an everlasting love. Only Christ will accept them
as they are, and only Christ sees them for their true
value in Him.
He has a perfect plan for each woman and her child if
only she will allow Christ to transform her life as
she surrenders to Him.
No, an unexpected pregnancy is not the end of life,
but rather can be the beginning of two beautiful lives
if God's plan for them is given opportunity to unfold.
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