Are you a Survivor?

I'm a survivor. Are you?

If you were born on or after this date in 1973, you "survived" your biological mother's government-granted right to choose whether you would be born ... or not.

This past Sunday, I was at the Oregon Right to Life Roe v. Wade Memorial Rally with friends from church, my husband, and my three children. An estimated 6,980 other pro-lifers joined us in the cold (but thankfully not rainy) Pioneer Courthouse Square to commemorate those we've lost.

Distracted a bit while trying to keep my children warm and occupied, I couldn't help but think about those who weren't there - who couldn't be there - the 50 million who have died since Roe v. Wade passed in '73. When the bell tolled over the loudspeaker 50 times, one for each million pregnancies terminated, I couldn't stop the tears from streaming down my cheeks. 50 million. It's a staggering number, almost too many to wrap my brain around. Dr. Frank Rosenbloom's speech provided welcome yet astonishing perspective on the matter, indicating that, among other statistics, we would have to fight the war in Iraq for 75 thousand years to account for the number of lives lost to abortion.

Those touched by abortion weighed heavily on my mind. Not just the dead babies, mind you, but the mothers, fathers, grandparents, siblings, teachers - you name it - any person who was (or would have been) connected to the aborted child. It goes to show that abortion's destructive impact on our society is far greater than we can imagine.

I applauded Esther Ripplinger, founder of Oregon's Silent No More, for addressing the crowd in such a personal way; I prayed her story of post-abortive reconciliation and healing would inspire others traumatized by abortion to seek the help they need.

One of the neatest surprises that day was that my parents were there, unbeknownst to me. My husband had taken our youngest daughter for a "look-around" walk, and, amazingly, my mom's friend spotted David in the crowd. It was such a tremendous blessing for me to be able to share the experience of the rally not only with my precious children, but with the two people who took me into their home when I was just three weeks old, the result of an unwanted pregnancy who was desperately wanted by people who couldn't have children of their own. I took a moment to ask God to bless my biological mother for not caving in to any pressure she might have felt, post-Roe v. Wade, to abort me. I could have been one of the 50 million, but thanks be to God, I survived. I'm pretty sure my parents feel the same way. :-)

Perhaps not surprisingly given our "blue" state status, no media other than The Oregonian deemed the event worthy of coverage, and even they had to be "fair and unbiased," running a pro-choice-centric photo with the story. No matter. I know that I know that I know that I know that The Truth is not a matter of democratic vote, to paraphrase Pope Benedict the 16th. The 7,000+ of us who kept vigil that cold Sunday afternoon know that there was a huge rally in Portgland, Oregon, and, more importantly, we know why we were there.