Full Disclosure

This is an excerpt from an article that I will post next week. This has been modified for my 300-word writing group. The required words are highlighted in bold text.

“Bible THUMPERS!” quietly sneer a group of around ten people as we process through State Capitol security.

I hold my face impassive while I wince internally. Me … a Bible Thumper? I stifle a chuckle, I’m afraid to provoke a reaction from the small group.

I admit I’ve use the derogatory term describing radical evangelizers – Jim Jones’ purple Kool-Aid, Jim and Tammy-Fay Bakker’s money scheming and others working in the name of God – for themselves.

I’m not one of them! I can’t recite Bible verses. I’m not here to spew Bible passages. I’m here to fight for unborn babies. I’m lobbying to protest a Tax Bill proposing public dollars pay for elective abortions.

I’ve had elective procedures for medical issues over the years, never thinking to ask the public to pay. On the other hand, I’ve spent most of my life seeking to understand the logic behind abortion rights. I have read collections of articles on the subject. None have convinced me elective abortion is the answer.

I understand the enormous costs to raise a baby, pay for healthcare, buy diapers, clothes, food, education. I also know money should rarely be the driving force behind decisions. Every city, town, village in the U.S. offers financial assistance options for women in crisis. The abortion choice based on money, convenience, fear, the cost of diapers isn’t an informed choice. Women deserve full disclosure.

I recognize not every child is conceived in a loving, caring environment. I realize each pregnancy is not wanted by their birth mother. Does it mean those babies aren’t wanted, period? Alternative options can be explored. Care for the woman after an abortion lasts a lifetime – not 48 hours.

I agree each person has the right choose. I choose not to pay for that decision when a baby perishes.