The Right to Choose (Provided, of course, that you make the Right Choice)

I guess I'm kind of a delayed reaction person... (That's a nice way of saying I'm slow.)

As you may or may not know, Teen-A-Thon gave birth to, and placed her adorable baby boy for adoption early this year. I can't begin to adequately chronicle what that was like for her or for our family, so I have not tried. The emotions that come with seeing a young girl holding a positive pregnancy test are vast, let's just put it that way. Add to that the various health scares, a very long, hard labor that ended in an emergency C-section in the wee hours of the morning, and let me tell ya, Teen-A-Thon has had quite the year.

Here we are today, and we must go to great lengths to ensure that the choice that Teen-A-Thon made is respected by the law. I can't help but get a little frustrated as I realize that, had she made a different choice for her baby, we'd have the law completely on our side instead of having to wrestle with it. And that, my friends is what has caused me to realize that the issue is not choice. I do think (hope?) the issue was once choice, or at least I think (hope?) that's what abortion proponents believed. But that is simply no longer the case.

Because she chose life, her choice is totally disregarded. If she had chosen death for the baby, no father notification would have been necessary, and her choice would be upheld without issue. However, that is not the case. With one 11th hour phone call, her choice is completely overlooked and the birth father's rights supercede hers, those of the family who has cared for the baby from birth, as well as the rights of the baby himself! The message to women is clear: choosing death is not only legal, it's easier and a heckuva lot cheaper. Oh, and upheld by the law.

One last minute phone call warrants greater legal consideration than the choice this young woman made? Seriously? After all the pain, sacrifices, heartwrenching decisions and prayer Teen-A-Thon put into placing her baby for adoption...she poured over profiles of adopitve families, finally deciding on the one family she knew would love and care for her baby. It's truly stunning to think that one phone call would be regarded in the same light, much less in a favored light.

So, I've come to realize that the political question is not whether our country values choice--we know it does(Roe v. Wade isn't going anywhere). The question on a political level is whether it values life.

By the way, the father has done nothing since the phone call months ago. Yet, in the event that he pulls another last minute stunt, the court system behaves as though he has. Therefore, we have to behave/plan as though he has. All of this time/effort/money/stress/even taxpayer money because of the grand show of love and dedication to fatherhood in one phone call. Amazing.