What does it mean to have a voice? Who gets to have a voice? Only those who can speak?
I hesitated to write this post because I intentionally do not get involved with politics on Facebook. However much this may seem like one, this is not a political post. This is a deeply personal post.
In 1974 my mom was pressured by her boyfriend to have an abortion. Transportation provided, cash on the table, his wishes were for the inconvenient truth to be erased. She spoke up for the one who had yet to have a voice. Because she did, I now get to use my voice to encourage, empower and educate others every single day. I have been given the right to live, work, marry and raise a family. Had she not spoken up for the one growing inside of her, there would be four fewer people living in our home today.
In 1998 I was pressured by my doctor to have an abortion. Not once, but at least three times, she insisted that abortion was the easy, convenient and best option for me. Although I was in a very vulnerable place, she pushed. Fortunately I had the where-with-all to know that God places great value on the life of the unborn and I said “no” over and over again. Had I not spoken up, and given a voice to the unborn in that moment, my life would have forever been altered.
In 2017, that once voiceless unborn child, who is now 18, came home and told me that she would be walking for life in San Francisco, completely independent of me or my influence. She and her friends chose to spend their day using their right to assemble and their freedom of speech, to be a voice for the voiceless. They walked silently (sometimes singing) and peacefully, amidst the cruelties around them. She has a voice because I fought for her voice. I have a voice because my mother fought for mine.
I’m proud of my introverted, quiet and private girl, for standing up for those who are yet speechless, but certainly deserve a voice.
