“Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about the things that matter…”
Martin Luther King Jr.
There is a War on Women, and Children are the Casualty.
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No matter what I accomplish, monetary or otherwise, I could not live with myself if I did not use this God-given platform to talk about things that matter.
Today, I am talking about one of those things.
It is not popular. It will likely not increase my revenue. It may even shut down my business.
I don’t care.
As I prepared to celebrate Martin Luther King Jr., a man who fought for the underprivileged, the scorned, the abused and mistreated, I realized that there is population in our country that is being *murdered* every single day, and we are allowing it.
In the spirit of Martin Luther King Jr., I am risking it all to speak for them. Because they have no voice.
Because the truth of the matter is, I cannot claim to empower women when daily, women are being disempowered, and told that when they are caught between a rock and a hard place, they only have one choice.
One devastating choice.
Today, I am speaking up for the unborn.
“We can’t say we support women while simultaneously advocating for the murder of our children.” - Janelle Lara (8:48- 8:56)
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The Science of Human Development
I am not alone in the belief that life begins at conception, and science backs up this claim.
Zygote, fetus, baby, toddler, child, teenager.
All of these terms represent the life stages of our children. In each stage there is growth, development, and a progression from one to the next. Those who advocate for the woman’s right to choose somehow think it makes sense to separate some of those stages from others, delineating some as “human” and some as a “parasite” or simply an extension of the mother’s body. Science has proven that from zygote to teenager, the being is a human.
Presently over 1000 OBGYNs have signed a document titled the Dublin Declaration, which states that there is absolutely no medical reason to abort a baby to save the life of a mother.
“Stage of development does not equal worth.” (16:25-16:36)
I’m not here to argue with you about your personal beliefs, but I am here to hopefully open your eyes to the ways that society is attempting to shape you view for the sake of convenience.
Pro-Choice is NOT Actually Pro-Woman.
Recently, prominent actress, Jamilah Jamil made the statement, “There’s no democracy without a woman’s right to choose. My life is more important to me than an unborn fetus’.”
Honestly, this statement is devastating to me. A woman who claims to be a feminist and holds a place as a prominant activist in our culture is advocating for institutionalized murder.
Think for a moment of the statement, “My life is more important to me than…”
Replace fetus with another human’s name, race, ethnicity, etc. Would you ever make that statement aloud? Would you ever feel comfortable even saying it to yourself? How would you feel about someone else who proudly touted this belief?
The moment you place your own life at a greater position of importance than another human’s, you border on the language of the holocaust.
Society gives us the “right” to choose whether or not to bring life into this world. This is seen as support of us as women.
However, what if, instead of encouraging us to get rid of an “inconvenience,” our society surrounded pregnant women to give the needed support to bring a new life into this world? Why aren’t we using our efforts and energy to encourage men to be present in the lives of their children?
Why aren’t we silencing the lie that there aren’t enough resources in this world to support the precious lives that are being created?
Women are empowered to choose, as long as we aren’t being a burden to society. Yes. Children are expensive. Government food programs, childcare, pre- and postpartum care for the mother- it all costs money. And we as a society don’t want to take responsibility for unplanned children.
The belief that a child must die in order for you to have the life you want is contrary to the concept of abundance.
As an advocate for women, I spend so much of my time helping others open their eyes to the abundance available in this world. Far too many women continue to fall into the trap of a scarcity mindset, believing that to have enough, someone else in the world must go without. This mindset transcends beliefs regarding money, a metastasizing cancer affecting every area of our lives.
It’s time to stop believing the lie that there “isn’t enough.” Provision and abundance is all around you, it’s waiting for you to open your hands to receive. When we stop believing there isn’t enough, we start acting in a way that creates opportunity, makes the most of each situation, and makes space for us to have everything we want and more.
Some of you may be thinking that it’s so easy for me to speak up about choosing to honor ALL life because I am financially secure.
Friends, when I became pregnant with my daughter MONTHS after getting married, my husband was in school and I had just lost my job. It was scary and inconvenient to think about bringing another life into the world.
So many in our culture would have encouraged me to wait until I was ready.
Just scrap this pregnancy and try again later.
Honor my right to choose.
To think of a world without my daughter absolutely breaks my heart. And looking into her little eyes reminds me that she was a human long before I had the privilege of holding her in my arms. I am proof that you can build the life you want even with the “inconvenience” of a child.
Let’s End the War.
It’s because I am a supporter of women, of education and opportunity, because I want to empower women to have everything they want, and create the life they deserve that I share these thoughts with you today.
“Abortion is a war on women that women are unknowlingly perpetuating” - Janelle Lara (19:01 - 19:10)
If you have had an abortion, I want to take a moment to tell you that I love you. I support you. My heart goes out to you. There is no judgment or shame that I place on your shoulders.
MLK Jr. devoted his life to fighting the mistreatment of human beings. He believed in a world that honored every single person equally. I believe that includes the lives of those still in the womb.
As women, let’s join together to end the war. Let’s place the value deserved on each and every life, man or woman, born or unborn.
Dr. Mildred Jefferson, the first black woman to graduate from Harvard Medical School, holder of 28 honorary degrees, and a former president of The National Right For Life Committee put it so beautifully when she said, “I’m not willing to stand aside and allow the concept of expendable human lives to turn this great land of ours into just another exclusive reservation where only the perfect, the privileged, and the planned have the right to live.”
You deserve to live a full and abundant life, and so do the millions who don’t have a voice to advocate for themselves.
How to get involved
- Follow @theparttimeceopodcast on Instagram for special, podcast related updates!
- For more resources, information on my coaching services, and a whole community of Part-Time CEOs, find me on Facebook at Janelle Lara, my website, or email me at [email protected].
- There are a number of resources that were consulted for this week’s article. If you’re curious to learn more, check out the sites below.
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- https://marchforlife.org/dr-mildred-jefferson/
- https://www.americamagazine.org/politics-society/2017/12/04/patricia-heaton-iceland-isnt-eliminating-down-syndrome-they-are-just
- https://www.dublindeclaration.com/
- https://www.foxnews.com/faith-values/ob-gyn-rejects-ny-abortion-law-absolutely-no-reason-to-kill-a-baby-in-third-trimester
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