Questioning Woman's Healthcare

The Matt Walsh Blog is something that I read in passing. Usually my friends will post something on their feed and it pops up in mine and if the title is catchy enough, I read it. It’s not that fancy. His latest article, “I paid to have babies murdered and all I got was this coat hanger necklace?” is prompting this article based one Twitter comment posted.

It's crazy that a woman’s right to healthcare depends on her wallet. Give to @DCAbortionFund. Make choice a reality: bit.ly/1d4i2Lt— 

Michelle Chronister (@mchronister) March 16, 2014

The reason it sticks with me is something I haven’t known how to voice, Michelle Chronister is right, a woman’s right to health care should not depend on her wallet.

Let me take a pause for a moment, I am not agreeing that abortion should be considered “healthcare”, but I want to talk about other facets of healthcare for women. 

Why do I have to pay high premiums to find out why I can’t achieve a healthy and normal pregnancy. If it is an equal right for a woman to terminate a healthy, or even an unhealthy pregnancy (for her or the baby), paid for by taxpayers or her insurance, why do I have to pay all costs trying to find out what is wrong with my body?

I know I am not in a unique situation. I have a high deductible. I have to use up my deductible in order to have any insurance coverage. Any health care I have up to that deductible comes out of my pocket, unless it’s part of a preventative exam. Any blood tests, any diagnostic tools, any medication, anything that could help figure out if there is something wrong with my body is my responsibility. Women seeking birth control, Plan B, or abortions, receive grants, financial aid, and in some cases full coverage for these procedures.

Am I the only person who sees a precarious double standard?

A woman is pregnant, sure, society will help you terminate. A woman can not get pregnant, tough luck, she is dodging a bullet.

I am not an advocate for abortion in any case. I am truly curious how we can say we have a balanced healthcare system for women if there is such a biased slant against achieving and maintaining healthy pregnancies.

The current United States Birth Rate is 1.89 live births per woman as of 2011 according to the World Bank. Last I checked, it takes 2 people to reproduce, which in an ideal society, takes two children to take the place of their parents. This is also a trend for many other leading countries including China (1.66), Canada (1.63), Germany (1.36), Russia (1.54) and Japan (1.39). 

But, 1.89 is almost 2 right? True, but in the reason that the population of the United States is still growing is because of strong emigration to the United States. Countries like Germany, Russia, and Japan, their birth rates coupled with weak emigration into their countries, statisticians are predicting as much as a 20% population decline in these countries.

Then it is fine that you can not get pregnant, right?

No. If pro-choice advocates can say that women have a choice for an abortion, I should be able to have the choice to become pregnant. If healthcare now dictates that it is a woman’s “universal right” for an abortion, it should be my right and the right of women like me, to achieve a healthy pregnancy. So, why does my healthcare depend on what I can afford, and abortions and birth control don’t?

The Royal Baby and my Niece

It's not new news that the Duchess of Cambridge and her husband, Prince William, are new proud parents of Prince George. What may be news is the news that Kate, the Duchess of Cambridge is receiving over the showing of her postpartum baby bump. While many are cheering her dress choices or crying foul at the media I think that there is something in all this royal baby buzz we are missing. The world waited with baited breath the whole 9 months to welcome her baby.

The whole world and all of the media outlets were happy to divulge the nitty gritty details of Kate's health and the status of her baby. Whether we'd find out the gender, when she left and was admitted into the Lido Wing and how awful her pregnancy symptoms were, especially when hospitalized for dehydration. The one thing that the world seemed to agree on though was that she was carrying a human baby. One that not only had rights to live but had a wonderful chance at destiny being the third in line for the British Monarchy.

This former clump of cells has dignity and a chance to be born. There was also no doubt that Prince George would either be a boy or a girl or at the very least human. In one swoop The world simultaneously acknowledged the humanity of one fetus. They welcomed Prince George in the matter of a moment once the royal pregnancy announcement was made.

I collectively wonder what would happen in the world if we were to acknowledge that level of dignity in every person we meet regardless of child, middle aged, elderly or in utero. Sure the circumstances of each birth may not be as privileged as that of Prince George but it doesn't mean that their life has any less dignity.

I look at pictures of my youngest niece. In the picture above, she's nearly 2 months old. It didn't take a couple good pushes and a deep breath to affirm her dignity as a human being. That red headed princess captured all our hearts the moment we heard her mother was pregnant. Why then can't we support all mothers with love and care and let these children be born?

I Can Understand the Allure of In Vitro Fertilization

This past week I was on a blessed and relaxing vacation with friends and family. Part of the holiday weekend was spent with my husband's family for a family get together. Over the past few years the family joke was that someone was always pregnant. This was apparent by the 6 children present under the age of 5.

My younger sister-in-law had just given birth 2 months ago and no one else was pregnant. My in laws looked to my husband and I for a surprise announcement but we didn't have any news to share. The secret we had only shared with our respective parents was that we had suffered a miscarriage in November, I would have been about 7.5 months along this past weekend.

Over this past weekend I met my newest niece and the child of my best friend, both these beautiful bundles are less than 4 months old. I have never seen their mothers happier than I did seeing them holding their children, at the same time I have never been more ashamed of how much I wished to have a child.

In vitro fertilization is the combining of a sperm and egg outside of the act of sex and replacing that egg back within the mother. Extra eggs and sperm are combined and saved in order for a higher rate of pregnancy or to try again for additional children. This practice is condemned by the Catholic Church because of the undertaking of playing God by all parties involved. It is also condemned because of the reckless wasting of life through the mingling of sperm and egg. Each of these zygotes also contains a human soul which regardless of implantation or not, means they are still humans. There is a waste of life because of the low implantation rate and that many of these children will not be "utilized" for a pregnancy.

However even with the cost I can see the allure, the desire and craving that parents seeking IVF as an option see. The chance of having a beautiful, biological, child of your own out weighs a lot for many parents. If I did not have the beliefs I did, IVF would be a very tempting option indeed.

However I look inside myself and know IVF is never an option for my husband and me. Let's go through a couple reasons here.

1.     I am not God.

Sex as a marital act requires both husband and wife and including God as the author of life. It is because of this relationship that heterosexual marriage mirrors both the relationship of Christ and his Church as well as the Trinity. By removing God as the author of life we are attempting to play God. Medical science would simply say that they are working to overcome a natural deficiency of the body, we are eliminating the need for faith and trust. We are coping the choice of Adam and Eve's first sin, trying to be as God.

Secondly, I don't always know what's best for me. Just as the parable of the parent who always gives good gifts, I may be asking for the wrong gift to fulfill what is best for me. So as my spiritual father, God will not give me a gift at just because I asked for it. There may be a greater wisdom in asking us to wait.

2.     Delayed gratification over instant.

There is no doubt that our modern society places an emphasis on what I can receive now without waiting. Once a woman finds out she's pregnant, she still has to wait 9 months to meet her child but, it doesn't make her any less of a mother. Because my husband and I are still waiting for a child to be born from us, doesn't make us any less of parents, but how joyful will we be when we are finally able to hold our child and have them safe in our arms.

3.     I have other places to put my time.

My Nephews

There are mother's who can do it all. They work full time, take care of their children, volunteer, keep their home running smoothly and more that I cannot imagine. I have met these women and stand in awe of them. At this time in my life, I don't know if I can ever be one of them. As it stands, I have other children that are in need of my time, they are the students working to grasp and take ownership of their faith, my nephews learning to save the world and friends who are beginning their lives with their children. I am allowed to work crazy hours and take time to delve into other passions. While I still crave and long to be a full time parent, I understand that there are other needs that I can devote myself too in the meantime.

With these reasons, it is still hard to wait. I have prayed very choice words in frustration, heartache, and humility trying to find answers. The biggest answer I have received through prayer is "wait and see." I fully acknowledge the desire to want a child, but are incapable of having one, yet. However, until the answer I have received changes, I will wait and see what the Lord has planned for me.

The Burden of Life - Gosnell Trial

Last night I was working out with two good friends when the Gosnell Trial came to our discussion. All one friend needed to say to get my mind spinning was "Did you hear that Gosnell has been acquitted of 3 counts of murder? They couldn't prove that the babies were born alive."

As I let this sink in I knew I had to find some news source to back it up. I found two articles from CBS and a local Philymag.com blog. What also shocked me was that since one of the counts of first degree murder had been dropped from one of the infant deaths, one of two counts of infanticide we dropped. Also the charge of abusing a corpse was acquitted since the preserved feet of babies found in specimen jars could not be proven to be taken from children who had been born alive.

As I fumed over these results I couldn't help but wonder what constitutes life?

Merriam Webster defines life as:

a: the quality that distinguishes a vital and functional being from a dead body

b: a principle or force that is considered to underlie the distinctive quality of animate beings

c: an organismic state characterized by capacity for metabolism, growth reaction to stimuli, and reproduction

I will admit that Merriam Webster is not a scientific text. The scientific texts I looked at all refer to statement c with slight variation in text.

Mothers who seek an abortion are asking that a living being be removed from them so that their child does not have the chance to live. On some cognitive level both the mother and the abortionist are acknowledging that there is a child growing within its mother. By removing the child at an early stage of development there is no chance for the child to live.

The second question that I ask myself is; if these babies were not born alive, why would Kermit Gosnell need to snip their spinal cord? An answer of just to make certain that the child is dead doesn't make sense. If the child was already dead, why would Kermit Gosnell care to continue, his job was already done.

Abortion is always a hard topic for me to write on. I would adopt children if my husband and I were financially stable. I have prayed and talked with people in front of abortion clinics. I have marched at my state capital and and pray for an end to abortion. Yet, I know it isn't enough.

The on-demand pervasiveness of our culture screams that we can have whatever we want whenever we want it. Advertising marketing thrives on this need. The opposite also thrives, that if a person decides something is a hindrance or burden they do not need to follow through with the consequence of their actions. Human entitlement has allowed for us to question the value of life and determine both its start and end.

What scares me most is that court rulings have the power to become the law of the land without needing to be approved by elected lawmakers. It scares me that the acquittal of these three murders will change when a "life" actually begins. That I as a potential mother or my doctor can choose after I have given birth that my baby isn't actually alive. A future with that as a potential truly scares me.

Please join me in praying Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI's Prayer for the Unborn.

Lord Jesus,

You who faithfully visit and fulfill with your Presence

the Church and the history of men;

You who in the miraculous Sacrament of your Body and Blood

render us participants in divine Life

and allow us a foretaste of the joy of eternal Life;

We adore and bless you.

Prostrated before You, source and lover of Life,

truly present and alive among us, we beg you.

Reawaken in us respect for every unborn life,

make us capable of seeing in the fruit of the maternal womb

the miraculous work of the Creator,

open our hearts to generously welcoming every child

that comes into life.

Bless all families,

sanctify the union of spouses,

render fruitful their love.

Accompany the choices of legislative assemblies

with the light of your Spirit,

so that peoples and nations may recognize and respect

the sacred nature of life, of every human life.

Guide the work of scientists and doctors,

so that all progress contributes to the integral well-being of the person,

and no one endures suppression or injustice.

Give creative charity to administrators and economists,

so they may realize and promote sufficient conditions

so that young families can serenely embrace

the birth of new children.

Console the married couples who suffer

because they are unable to have children

and in Your goodness provide for them.

Teach us all to care for orphaned or abandoned children,

so they may experience the warmth of your Charity,

the consolation of your divine Heart.

Together with Mary, Your Mother, the great believer,

in whose womb you took on our human nature,

we wait to receive from You, our Only True Good and Savior,

the strength to love and serve life,

in anticipation of living forever in You,

in communion with the Blessed Trinity.