Every Life Matters: A Plea for Empowerment, Humanity, and Re-Thinking Abortion

Her hand was so small, trembling slightly as I held it. She was a young woman with anencephaly, born needing surgical help to breathe, blind and silent, yet when I brushed her arm, she’d let out a soft groan—not pain, but a sign she felt me. In the same ward was Hiram, his body so compressed he couldn’t sit up, but his spirit was fierce. He knew every nurse, cooperating only with those he trusted, giving me a playful arm-wave if I was gentle. As a teenage nurse’s aide, I saw these “ordinary” souls—deemed worthless by some—as special, each with a spark of humanity. They taught me that every life matters, a truth that makes abortion’s dismissal of potential feel like a quiet tragedy. When birth control empowers women to plan, pregnancy is a brief sacrifice, and adoption ensures no one must parent, why choose abortion for convenience?

Abortion as Convenience, Not Necessity

Too often, abortion is a shortcut, not a necessity. Data shows 60% of the 600,000 annual U.S. abortions stem from financial instability or “bad timing” (Guttmacher Institute), choices of convenience rather than crisis. Yet the real convenience lies in prevention. Birth control—pills, IUDs—is 99% effective when used right, and morning-after pills, available at every pharmacy, cut pregnancy risk by 75-89% if taken within 72 hours. These aren’t pipe dreams; they’re tools women can wield to decide when the time is right for motherhood. Choosing abortion over contraception is like cramming for an exam after skipping the study sessions. The empowered choice is to plan ahead, sparing a potential life—like Hiram’s or my anencephalic patient’s—from being ended before it begins.

A Short Sacrifice for a Lifetime - Abortion Ends

Pregnancy lasts 10 months, a mere 1.7% of a 50-year life. Is that too much to ask to save a human who might become a Ben Carson or simply touch one life, as my patients touched mine? Some argue pregnancy’s toll—8% of cases involve complications like preeclampsia (CDC)—makes it unbearable. But those risks aren’t unique to unwanted pregnancies; women who want kids face them too. The difference is choice, not danger. Those 10 months are a fleeting sacrifice compared to the potential of a life—ordinary or extraordinary. My anencephalic patient, soothed by soft touches, and Hiram, waving to kind nurses, showed me that even the most challenged lives have worth. Why not give a fetus that chance?

Empowerment Through Prevention

Birth control isn’t just a tool; it’s empowerment. Pills and IUDs are 99% effective, morning-after pills are a backup, and condoms are cheap and everywhere. Yes, barriers exist—19 million women live in contraceptive deserts, and only 39 states mandate decent sex ed (Guttmacher). But these are fixable with better clinics and education. As a nurse’s aide, I saw the value of life in Hiram’s arm-waves and my anencephalic patient’s groans, which drove me to use birth control responsibly. It’s why I pursued a science degree, chuckling to myself that changing diapers sparked my love for biology. Contraception lets women study for life’s exam, not wing it, honoring potential without regret.

No One’s Forced to Parent

For women who vehemently don’t want a child, no one’s chaining them to a crib. Adoption places 18,000-20,000 infants annually, and safe haven laws have saved 4,000 newborns since 1999, letting mothers surrender them at fire stations, no questions asked. The pro-choice argument leans on autonomy, claiming pregnancy’s toll is too much. But that toll is temporary, and adoption frees women from parenting. If Hiram, with his compressed body, and my anencephalic patient, strapped to a chair, had value, so does a fetus. Ten months is a small act for humanity, not a punishment. Abortion for convenience—60% of cases—sidesteps that truth when alternatives abound.

A Plea for Life’s Worth

Hiram and my anencephalic patient weren’t famous, but they were special. Her groans, his arm-waves, showed me life’s spark, pushing me toward science and a belief that every soul counts. I’m no hero, and this story may reach few, but it’s my plea: rethink abortion. Promote birth control as empowerment, normalize adoption and safe havens, and see pregnancy’s 10 months as a gift to humanity. We can’t know who a child might become—or who they’ll inspire, like my patients inspired me. Let’s choose life, one empowered decision at a time.

*Side note: Writing this Op-Ed, I don't often do, brought tears as I relived my nurse’s aide days—challenging yet deeply rewarding. Those patients, ordinary but special, inspired my science degree to understand their conditions. If just a few readers feel their worth, this story’s worth telling.