By Anna Gagne

Since the U. S. Supreme Court has let stand “The Heartbeat Bill,” it is sad to see groups of angry, hate-filled women protesting in front of the court and near Brett Kavanaugh’s house. We who support women in crisis pregnancies know that there is a kinder, more gentle way.

Every woman in a crisis pregnancy needs love and support. She needs to know that others believe that her baby is a unique human being that has infinite worth.

The value of life needs no defense. Witness the grief we all feel over the deaths of our 13 military personnel in Afghanistan. Some people will have difficulty with this comparison because the unborn have been dehumanized. The shock of losing lives is lessened when whole groups of people are dehumanized like the Jews in Germany, Blacks in colonial times, the Tutsis in Rwanda and the unborn in the modern world. 

But science proves that human life begins at conception with a human set of genetic information. A person with this genetic makeup is a person, even when they are an infant, are asleep in a coma, or have Alzheimer’s.

I wonder if  “The Heartbeat Bill” is frightening because a heartbeat is so real. It is not an idea and not a symbol. A doctor, nurse or parent can hear a fetal heartbeat with a fetoscope. To still that heart, it is necessary to kill it. “Reproductive rights” and “Choice” sound good, but abortion is a bloody, barbaric procedure.

The Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals would not allow vacuum suction, dismemberment or partial birth abortion to be done on an unborn calf or puppy.

It is sad that there are hard cases, but in what other situations are we allowed to kill to make our lives easier? There is a kinder, more gentle way. I, personally, have known three women who have regretted their abortions. I know of none who have a beautiful, even if handicapped child, who regret giving birth to that child. We like to be independent, but when we accept help in difficult situations, we can live life with courage and faith and find life rewarding in many unexpected ways.

The author, a retired intensive care neonatal nurse, lives in St. Albans Town.