Sixteen years ago I lay in a basket on the side of the road in China. Born into a country where abortions were required and forced due to the one child policy. I was born into poverty and my parents were not able to care for me.
But they gave me something far better than any amount of money or comfort. They gave me the gift of life. It is unknown if I had another sibling who came before me or if they were just too poor to take care of me, but either way they could’ve gone the easy way out and just aborted me. Instead, they gave me a chance at life. I remained with them for 10 days until I was put up for adoption, and 10 months later I was adopted by an amazing family.
I am forever grateful for my biological parents for giving me life and a chance. Without their gift of life to me, I wouldn’t have known my amazing family. I would not know my brother, sister, mom and dad. Without their gift of life to me, I would not know all my friends and extended family. I wouldn’t be able to experience all the joys and sorrows of life. Yes, I might have lost my biological parents, but I can never doubt their love for me because they chose to bring me into the world through difficulty and pain.
Life is one of the greatest gifts of love from God and from our parents. I believe that life should not be given up so easily. I believe that we all deserve a chance. I don’t believe in accidents because miracles don’t just happen by chance. I am so grateful that I am alive today. Life is the right of every child – it is not a privilege for the fortunate and planned. Abortion goes far past any government decision or a woman’s right to chose, it goes back to our Creator, God, who gave us His only Son so that we may have eternal life. Yes, bad things happen, but an unborn child should not be the victim.
I stand for life for every single child in foster care, orphanage, child of rape and every unborn child because I believe that what is broken can become beautiful. Choose life!
Kaia Franks lives in Charlotte.
In his commentary “Violence against Christians and the waning of reason,” published in the May 10, 2019 Catholic News Herald, Bishop Robert Barron myopically focuses on violence against those of the Christian faith. It is inconceivable to me that he completely ignored violence against Jews and Muslims. (Read the commentary)
First of all the bishop talks about both the 20th and the 21st centuries. In this context, how can one totally ignore the Holocaust, when six million Jews were exterminated by Hitler? In terms of more recent history, how does one not mention the Jewish temple that was attacked in Pittsburgh? Last year saw the most Jews killed in anti-Semitic attacks in decades, according to the New York Times. Also not mentioned was the mass murder of more than 50 Muslims in the mosque attack near Christchurch, New Zealand.
Bishop Barron also talks about the “cultural and media elites” and specifically mentions Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton as they apparently referenced the Christians killed in the Sri Lanka bombings only as “Easter worshipers.” Well, exactly who celebrates Easter? And who, besides President Donald Trump and Fox News, uses the term “elites”?
There is way too much violence in the world today – and a lot of it seems to be addressed at worshipers in churches, temples and mosques.
I am concerned that a person of the cloth who, while eventually in his commentary says that “let us reason together,” chooses to omit the killings of Jews, Muslims and other religious groups.
Larry Heyl lives in Asheville.