Abortion not only choice

It was nine long steps from the car to the building. She rubbed her forehead, and her stomach churned as if something were trying to tell her not to open the car door. People circled the building. She counted twelve signs, but the number seemed to increase with each second. She shook her head and her boyfriend put the car in drive.\nAnna is four years old today. She has curly blonde hair and her eyes are the color of the ocean in the Caribbean. She loves to read and when it's sunny out she likes to eat popsicles on the porch. When it snows she makes snow angels until the yard is covered with them. She is beautiful. Every time I see her I wonder, what if? What if my friend had entered the building that day? What if she had an abortion?\nAnna's mother was a senior in high school when she found out she was pregnant. She had eight months until graduation. At the time those had seemed the longest eight months of her life, but if you asked her today she'd tell you they were nothing. \nIn 1970, Norma McCorvey, also known as Jane Roe, filed a class action suit in federal court. The unmarried pregnant Texas resident claimed she was gang-raped. Prior to this day a Texas law banned abortion except under one circumstance: if pregnancy were life-threatening. The U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments twice before deciding Jan. 22, 1973, that abortions were a woman's choice.\nThe Roe v. Wade decision started the ongoing debate of the century. The case divided the country into two polarized groups. Protests scattered the countryside. If I believed protesting was an effective way to bring about change, I would be walking the March for Life every year. I would have been at the Washington rally. The Roe v. Wade ruling was a mistake.\nMy sister is 28 years old and ready for a child in every way one can be. She's financially stable, married and emotionally prepared for a baby. This summer she had a miscarriage and she has been unable to conceive since. Every day she prays that God will give her a baby.\nAbortion is not a form of birth control, but it seems like it's becoming just that. My friend recently told me about a girl who walked out of the clinic feeling relieved after the procedure. Relieved? Relieved is how you should feel after you get an A on a test, not after an abortion. \nThe ability to conceive is a privilege. It is not a consequence. Having a baby is an opportunity, not the end of the world. We have condoms and birth control. We do not need abortions. There is adoption for mothers who aren't ready to take on the responsibility. There are other options.\nAbortion is a mistake. Just ask my friend, who still celebrates her unborn child's due date. Read Gianna Jessen's story at www.abortionfacts.com . And ask yourself a question: What if your mother had made a different decision while she was pregnant with you?