We are at a funeral for this little lady and 36 million of her friends.

It is the only funeral that her and her 36 millions little friends will ever have.

For starters let's look at 3 scenarios and you think to yourself what decision you might have made if it was your "choice".

On January 22 1973 the Row versus Wade court decision made abortions legal in this country. Since that decision was made, 36 million young people have been aborted. 36 million people that could potentially have been your brothers, your doctors, your sisters, your teachers, your wives, your husbands or your friends. They say there is someone in this world for everyone, well I guess 36 million people are just going to have to do without.

First we will look at the debate as to whether or not human life begins prior to birth. Second we will look at what to do in the case of a rape.
And third we will consider the case of when the health of the mother is jeopardized.

First of all let's look at the issue of whether life begins prior to birth.
Let's look at some of the stages of development after conception:

18 days - the babies heart starts beating
21 days - the babies heart is pumping it?s own blood, and already has it?s own blood type
42 days - the babies skeleton is completely formed
7 weeks - the baby is sucking it?s thumb
8 weeks - all the babies body systems are already present
9 weeks - the baby can swallow, squint and make a fist
11 weeks - ALL the babies body systems are already functioning
18 weeks - capable of crying

This picture of our little friend here was at only 8 weeks, looks like a human to me. So, does life begin prior to birth?
Of these numbers I just gave you, the most compelling is the fact that all body systems are functional at only 11 weeks.

Isn?t that amazing, as complex as our bodies are, the fact that we can think, smell, see, feel, taste, rationalize, empathize and sympathize all simultaneously while we also walk and chew gum at the same time.

This is not to say of course that an unborn child is capable of all of these things at only 11 weeks after conception, but the systems are in place and functioning to the point that all the child needs is the time to develop the skills. So, does life begin prior to birth, what do you think she would say, if she ever would have had the chance?

Secondly let?s look at another issue that arises when discussing abortion and that is what about when the pregnancy occurs because of a rape. Rape is a horrible crime, one which can leave deep emotional scars on the woman involved. One might consider though, is not the devastation of one event bad enough, meaning the rape itself. Are you not adding yet another catastrophic event on top of that by having an abortion? Not only then will that woman have to always remember that she was raped but that she also aborted her own child. Was it the womans fault that she was raped, of course not. Was it the childs fault? Apparently, yes. That child is paying a much higher price for that rape than the rapist ever will.

Thirdly let's look at what about when the life of the mother is in danger. Here is where I feel exceptions can be made. When a physician identifies that the life of the mother is in danger, then an abortion should be an option available to the mother. Abortion is an issue where there is way to much at stake to play partisan politics.
This should not be an all or nothing issue. We should do all we can to reduce the amount of abortions in this country. Don't you find it ironic that you can abort a child before it is born, but after it is born, you could get ticketed on the way home from the hospital for not having the baby in a car seat? A mother's womb was designed to be the safest place in the world for a child, but in 36 million cases we have turned it into the most dangerous.

In Conclusion I would like to give you some numbers that can give you an idea just how many abortions have been performed in this country over the last 26 years.

World War I - 117,000
World War II - 291,557
Korea - 34,000
Vietnam - 34,000
Total - 476,557 soldiers gave there lives for this country.
Such valor to give your life for your country.

To put it in perspective though 476,557 lives lost, no big deal, we abort that many babies in 3 months, every 3 months, year after year, for the last 26 years.

Just imagine, by legalizing abortion, we have allowed the equivalent number of deaths as 104 Vietnam wars.

To our little lady here and her 36 million friends, I would like to say, on behalf of this nation, that we are sorry.

Sorry that we decided that you didn't need to have a first birthday.

Sorry that we didn't want to see the glee on your face when you took your first steps.

Sorry that we decided that we didn't want to see you full of excitement when you woke up Christmas morning when you were 3.

Sorry that we decided that we didn't want to take the time to teach you to ride a bike when you were 5.

Sorry that we decided that you wouldn't want to ever go to the movies with your friends when you were in high school.

Sorry that we decided that you wouldn't want to ever feel what is was like to fall in love.

Sorry that we decided that you shouldn't have the opportunity to ever have children of your own.