Open Forum: ‘. . . Baby shoes, never used’

Ernest Hemingway once wrote a six-word “bio” that said. “For sale, baby shoes, never used.”

One wonders what circumstance, what sorrow and regret caused him to write this phrase. Yet in our country these six words could be repeated thousands of times a day. There are more than 3,400 abortions every day in the United States.

Abortion has robbed our nation of more than 50 million of its citizens over the past 39 years since the Supreme Court legalized abortion through its Roe v. Wade decision. Only God knows the full impact of so many tragic life-ending decisions. But make no mistake, there have been many negative consequences.

The medical and psychological results are well documented to include future infertility, increased risk of drug use, depression, and suicide, to name a few. Also our Social Security/Medicare system was not designed to have such a low worker/retiree ratio that we are experiencing today.

Abortion is a permanent solution to a temporary “problem,” that being an unintended pregnancy. It trades a lifetime of a person to avoid a few months’ inconvenience. There are many resources available today for women who find themselves in such a situation that it is not reasonable to use abortion as a way to “fix” this “problem.”

Adoption, financial assistance from the father and various agencies, and raising your own child are all viable options. A decision made in haste and usually under pressure from others is almost always not the best one. What appears easiest often turns out to be the hardest to deal with in the long run. Abortion is a hopeless act that obliterates a future hope.

Abortion was and is touted as a solution to so many of our society’s problems. But deception and lies were the foundation of this belief. From the number of maternal deaths from illegal abortions prior to the legalization of abortion to “It’s not a baby, it’s just a glob of tissue” argument, abortion has been couched in language — fetus, products of conception, choice — that hid the fact that a fully formed baby is being killed by abortion.

The young people of today have grown up with the belief that abortion is safe and legal, so it must be OK, many unaware that one-third of their generation were aborted.

The only way to change a viewpoint is to change a heart. And that, I believe, can only be accomplished through the power of prayer. You can have the opportunity of joining thousands across our nation this Sunday, from 2 to 3 p.m., in an hour of prayer for those facing abortion decisions and their babies. You can do this by joining LIFE CHAIN, a peaceful, prolife time of prayer with participants standing on sidewalks, holding signs and silently praying.

Winchester’s link in LIFE CHAIN will take place along Pleasant Valley Road, from Cork Street to Millwood Avenue. Signs will be distributed at the site.

Last year, 1,800 chains in 1,500 cities had a link. Please join us in praying for the most vulnerable in our society. Please come and pray like someone's life depends on it, because ultimately it does. Make a stand for LIFE!

Elizabeth Harrison is a resident of Frederick County.