A Baby Is A Baby Is A Baby

Warning: Very long controversial rant ahead

Can I get on a soap box for a minute? I see a lot of miscarriages in my line of work. Most often I’m the first person to confirm or deny that a pregnancy is viable or if there is a problem. I’m the one they call when they don’t know how far along they are. I’m the one who has to make the gut wrenching call that a baby doesn’t have a heart beat. But I also get to tell people the gender of their little pumpkin, I get to tell them they’re having twins, I get to show them a cute little nose and fingers.

It breaks my heart when a woman comes in who desperately wants to have a baby and I find that she has or will soon miscarry. She’s done everything right; seen a doctor, stopped alcohol consumption, taken prenatal vitamins. No one knows why it happens but I believe that God knows what’s best. I believe that some of those babies that don’t survive would have had severe deficiencies and chromosomal abnormalities and a poor quality of life. God has promised us that He will never give us anything that we cannot handle (1 Cor 10:13). This also means that if we are presented with that situation, He will take it away. Sometimes I think it’s better that those little babies go right to heaven than ever be a part of this world.

And then there are the women who come in and have a perfectly normal pregnancy with a healthy little peanut and they just don’t care. They continue to drink and smoke, shoot heroine, they may even abort. And that just infuriates me. Now, I have no place to judge a person, but those people probably wouldn’t make the best mothers anyway. There is a thing called adoption and there are thousands of couples who would love that little baby more than anything.

I say all that to say this; I just don’t understand how anyone could kill a baby. Yes, I said it. Abortion is killing a baby. I don’t care how far along you are a baby is a baby is a baby. From the moment of conception there is a life inside that body. “It’s just a cell.” Seventh grade science class taught us that cells are living things. “I’m only 5 weeks pregnant, that’s barely anything.” Five week old babies have a heart beat. Seven week old babies have arm and leg nubs. Eight week old babies have bones. Bones. Don’t tell me that’s not a person.

When a woman comes in and is less than thrilled about her pregnancy or doesn’t care to take care of herself (side note: you become a mom at the moment of conception too and need to start taking care of that baby from day one by taking care of yourself) you can tell when a patient is considering abortion. I am not allowed to tell those people my opinion on the matter and it’s not my place to judge them. Believe me, though, I make sure I show them what that little bean looks like inside them. I make sure they know it’s real, I make sure they see the heart beat and watch it jump around.

That life is a little miracle created by God, and God doesn’t make mistakes. He knows exactly what He’s doing and has a perfect plan. So when people say they “accidentally got pregnant” I just don’t believe that. Babies aren’t accidents, God made that! Maybe you can’t take care of a baby, maybe it’s just not the right time for you. But who are we to decide that that baby shouldn’t live?

I have a rare opportunity that most people don’t get a chance to experience. I have seen the beginning of life and I will tell you that it is amazing. It is incomprehensible to me that anyone could deny the medicine behind conception, that it is not a fetus but a living baby, or that anyone could take that life away.