By Jim Ross Lightfoot
September in Iowa is a beautiful time. Summer’s heat is gone, tree leaves turn gorgeous Fall colors, and days are getting shorter.
Pregnant, 19-year-old Helen Blair walks up to the front door of the venerable old building standing at 814 Pierce Street, Sioux City, Iowa.
Nervously, she reaches out and places her hand on the doorknob. “Should I do this or not?” was foremost in her mind. Helen knew she could not take care of a baby. She is just too young and totally short of resources. The father of her baby is taking no responsibility for the pregnancy, so she has no help from him.
Decision made, she turns the knob and walks in.
September 27, 1938, young Helen Blair gives birth to a healthy baby boy in the Florence Crittendon Home for Unwed Mothers. Yes, she knew she had made the right choice. She names the child Roger Blair as he is taken from her to be placed for adoption.
I know this story is true. For a couple of months in 1938, my name was Roger Blair.
Today, I am speaking for more than 53.656,900 of my brothers and sisters who never had an opportunity to take a breath, see the light of day, or live a good life. That’s just since Roe v Wade. Statistics before 1973 are limited and unreliable.
I frequently wonder if one of my aborted brothers or sisters may have possessed the cure for cancer, depression, diabetes, or any other serious diseases without a cure. How many were engineers, artists, mechanics, musicians, or good parents?
We will never know. They are gone forever.
“Mom, may I say something to you from here in your warm, safe womb?
“You have a couple of choices to return your life to what it was before I came along. It’s too late for one of those choices. Choice one you didn’t make; you became pregnant. My dad has responsibility for this choice as well.
The argument over Roe v Wade is front-page news. You will hear much from people on both sides of the issue.
Pro-abortion people will be talking about a woman’s right to choose. It’s her body, and no one should have control of it. It’s a health issue.
Pro-life people will be talking about the 5th Commandment carved in a stone tablet Moses brought down from the mountain; “Thou shalt not kill.” “Do no harm,” an interpretation of the Hippocratic Oath taken by doctors, will be another issue discussed.
There is one issue I believe both the Pro-Life and Pro-Choice folks agree about. If the pregnancy threatens the mother’s life, a doctor will have to choose to save the mother’s life.
Born in a home for unwed mothers, living a good life as I’ve ridden this old rock we call Earth nearly 84 times around the Sun, I believe a third voice is needed in this debate with all my heart. The voice of the aborted child needs to be heard loud and strong.
As a representative of the projected more than 800,000 babies scheduled for abortion this year, if you are a woman contemplating an abortion, please make your choice to carry the child in your body full-term and then put the child up for adoption. The baby is gone from your life. Your responsibility ends. You have achieved your goal; you are baby free.
One other thing you can feel good about is that your child made someone who cannot bear children very happy. I know I have. Mom and Dad made their trip to Heaven with smiles on their faces.
Please, make the correct decision.
