Life in the balance at the ballot box

Written by beautiful bride Kelli R. Loos

With election day coming fast and many early ballots being cast already, the extremely divisive and controversial issue of abortion has been weighing on my mind. Morally and ethically, I am completely opposed to abortion. I also feel strongly that we need to offer mothers with unexpected pregnancies better options and much more help. I don’t think that is through a government program but rather a personal, church and community responsibility.

There are parents out there looking to adopt and many more who would consider it if presented the possibility. But that is a topic for another day. While my college student was home for fall break, she completed her absentee ballot and we entered a discussion about the two very polar opposite ballot measures on abortion.

Measure 434 would allow abortion up to 12 weeks of gestation and in the case of rape, incest or if the life of the mother were in jeopardy. According to the statistics I could find, those reasons make up less than 1% of the total abortions. Measure 439 would essentially allow abortion until the time the child was born and lock that into our state constitution.

Our conversation revolved around not only the moral component but also the personal rights issue. Of course, along with rights go personal responsibilities which include being mature enough to understand the potential outcome of your actions which could include pregnancy. We both agreed that, obviously, we would hope that abortion would not ever have to be an option or the choice someone would make. But that is where things become a bit of a grey area.

Years ago, I was whisked away from the Nebraska State Fair after suffering from severe stomach pain and then eventually lost consciousness. In the emergency room, it was determined that I had an ectopic pregnancy that had caused my left fallopian tube to rupture and my abdomen was filling with blood. That would explain the ash grey color my husband witnessed in my face as he entered the hospital and they were rushing me to surgery. Of course, all of that was a blur to me but in retrospect it brings to mind the discussion of “life of the mother.”

Most likely this fetus was under the 12-week age requirement but for all of those who think that abortion should never be an option, how would you consider this? If the doctors were forced to try to rescue a fetus that had nearly zero chance of viability, how would that have impacted what happened to me on that table? I certainly wasn’t willing to give up being a mother to the three amazing daughters that I already had in order to try to save this fetus. Nonetheless, I wasn’t given the choice.

Am I saddened by the loss of one of God’s creations and another child for our family?

Absolutely. And terminating that pregnancy would not have been a choice I would have made but I believe God had other plans and thus that embryo was not implanted where it should have been. I am thankful for the medical team that saved my life and I feel the pain of everyone who has lost a child in this or any manner.

The decision on this issue is clearly one of moral compass but it is also one of being open-minded enough to know that we may not be in full understanding of every situation that could present itself that could, technically, be considered an abortion and we must decide if that is our choice to make for someone else.

Should a doctor be punished for saving my life if we take the side of being 100% against abortion? I am against killing babies, especially when there are other options, but I don’t think we can possibly understand all the ramifications of every medical situation and make that blanket decision. With over 650,000 babies aborted every year in the United States, many at taxpayer expense, we need to address the root of this problem!

With all of that said, I am against abortion but not against personal rights. I also support protecting doctors who have to make life and death situations like the ones my doctors made.

Thus, I will support Measure 434 and I am 100% against Measure 439 which takes away parental responsibility and safe health care for women in favor of a “right” that clearly has no moral compassion for human life!