Hey everyone!
I had to write a dialogue for school "in which one of the characters explains and clarifies an important moral point rooted in one of the Ten Commandments". I decided to do commandment #6-- Thou shalt not kill-- and write about abortion. Hope you like it!
The
two friends, Lizzie and Serena, met up at the door, all ready for youth group.
Serena was so excited because the head of their local pregnancy resource center
was coming to talk. After a Bible reading, activity, and reflection, the woman
finally got up to speak. Once she finished her speech, the group adjourned.
“That was a really great
speech,” Serena said as they started to walk home.
“I suppose so,” Lizzie
replied, “but I don’t really agree with it. I think a woman should have the
right to have an abortion. After all, it’s not a baby, only a blob of cells.”
“But Lizzie, it is a baby.
There are a bunch of things that prove it.”
“Like what?”
“Well,” Serena said, “the
heart starts to beat at 18 days after conception, and everything with a beating
heart is considered living. A baby’s brain waves can be detected at six weeks,
and it can feel pain by nine weeks. In the just fourth week, many of its major
organs like the liver, lungs, pancreas, and stomach, begins to form.”
“Okay,
but it still doesn’t look like one. And it’s inside its mothers body, and she
should be able to do what she wants with her body.”
“Just because it doesn’t look
like a human doesn’t mean it’s not one. If a child with special needs is born
looking different, does that mean it’s not human? Or how about a soldier whose
face has been brutally burned and distorted, does that mean he’s not human,
either?”
“Well… no.”
“And yes, it’s inside its
mother’s body, but that doesn’t mean it’s a part
of its mothers body. The baby has its own body, too, which you shouldn’t be
permitted to kill. Besides, if you kill a pregnant woman you would be charged
for two murders.”
“Okay, so the baby’s a person.
But you have to think of the life he would have,” Lizzie countered. “What if
its mother couldn’t afford to take good care of him? Then he would grow up poor
and starving.”
“If she can’t afford to take
good care of him, the mother should give him up for adoption. There are a lot
of couples out there who can’t have kids, and adoption is their only way to
have a family. Frankly, I think most teen moms should give their children up
for adoption, so that their kids can have a mother and a father. It would also be a lot less stress on the birth mom.”
“That’s true… and, since the
baby is a human, when you have an abortion you would kill it, which means you
violate the sixth commandment,”
“Thou shalt not kill,” Serena
finished her sentence. By now they had reached their parting way.
“Thanks, Serena, for telling
me all this stuff. I already have a bunch of ideas on pro-life volunteering
work we can do. Bye!”
“Bye, Lizzie! I can’t wait to
hear your plans! See you!” Serena continued on her way home, smiling to
herself.
I'm working on a three-part adoption series. It'll be coming soon!
~Chastity