Dear Editor,
I live on the Navajo Nation. I am not Navajo. I am not Native American. However, I love the Diné. Diné are beautiful. Diné Bizaad is a beautiful language. I truly wish I could speak it fluently. I only know a few words.
The Navajo Nation has been my home for over 23 years. My family and I have lived in Fort Defiance, Ariz. for over 10 years. Some of you reading this may be thinking that I need to leave and that you don’t need someone like me here. I respect your opinion. I also hope that if we could sit down together, listen to each other, and you could hear my heart, that your opinion about me would change for the good.
I am writing out of concern for our children, who are the future of the Navajo Nation and the U.S. The culture and some politicians seem determined to destroy the children, our most vulnerable. This is heartbreaking to me, for children are our greatest, most precious gift. One of the main things I love about the Navajo culture is the strong bonds of family, when there is K’é and Hózhǫ́’. Since Navajo is such a descriptive language, I know I can’t fully understand the meanings of those words. But I am trying.
Some politicians talk about freedom and the right to choose. Specifically, I am referring to a woman’s right to end her pregnancy by choosing an abortion. Whatever you may believe about God, we all have a Creator. He does not give us the right to take the life of another human. We know that murder is wrong and against the law.
Plus, I have seen women and men on the other side, after they have made this choice. They aren’t experiencing freedom. They are slaves to uncontrolled emotions such as feelings of rage/anger, shame, guilt, and grief. They suffer after-effects of abortion like the following: bouts of crying, eating disorders, depression, emotional numbness, lowered self-esteem, drug and alcohol abuse, flashbacks/nightmares, suicidal urges, fear of pregnancy/pregnant women, anxiety/panic attacks, repeat abortions/crisis pregnancies, infertility, difficulty with relationships, inability to forgive self or others, and fears of punishment from God.
When people say, “It’s my body, my choice,” that is not scientifically correct. Yes, the baby does develop inside of the mother whose body undergoes significant changes. However, the baby is not part of the mother's body. A pregnant woman’s body does not have four arms, four legs, and two heads. Abortion destroys the baby’s body — not the mother’s body.
Some ask what if a woman becomes pregnant through rape or incest, shouldn’t she have the right to an abortion in those cases? In those tragic situations, the baby should not be punished or killed for the immoral actions of the rapist.
The rapist should be punished for his crimes. If the mother does not want the baby, due to the trauma of the rape or incest, this baby could be adopted by a loving couple who desperately wants children. These situations are rare and should not be used to justify abortion on demand at any time and for any reason.
The argument that the baby won’t have a good life because they will be poor, disabled, etc. is not our call to make. Human value is not based on wealth or health. If a mother feels she cannot provide for her child, adoption is the loving option. If a mother decides she wants her child, but cannot provide for herself and her child, I would be willing to personally take them both into my home until the mother is able to care for herself and her child on her own.
I am pro-life, pro-child, and pro-woman. People often say that pro-lifers just want to control women’s bodies, but many people involved in the pro-life movement are women. Plus, more than half of aborted babies are female. The primary objection to abortion is that the procedure kills a human being.
You may not believe that an unborn baby is human. I will give you some scientific facts about the development of the fetus. Fetus is a Latin word which means offspring or young one. As I hope you will see, the fetus is not just a clump of cells. An ultrasound will quickly reveal what is actually happening inside a mother’s womb:
- At 5 weeks gestation, the circulatory system is beginning to form and cells in the tiny heart will start to flicker this week. Your baby is the size of a sesame seed.
- At 6 weeks, your baby’s nose, mouth, and ears are starting to take shape, and her intestines and brain are beginning to develop. Your baby is the size of a lentil.
- At 7 weeks, your baby has doubled in size since last week, but still has an embryonic tail which will soon disappear. Little hands and feet that look more like paddles are emerging from the developing arms and legs. Your baby is the size of a blueberry.
- At 8 weeks, your baby has started moving around, though you won’t feel your baby move yet. Nerve cells are branching out, forming primitive neural pathways. Breathing tubes now extend from her throat to her developing lungs. Your baby is the size of a kidney bean.
- When a baby reaches 9 weeks gestation, her basic anatomy is developing (she even has tiny earlobes now), but there’s much more to come. Her embryonic tail has disappeared, and she weighs just a fraction of an ounce but is about to start gaining weight fast. Your baby is the size of a grape.
- At 10 weeks, your baby has completed the most critical portion of development. Her skin is still translucent, but her tiny limbs can bend and fine details like nails are starting to form. Your baby now weighs a little over an ounce and is a little over one inch long from head to bottom.
- By 11 weeks, your baby is almost fully formed. She is kicking, stretching, and even hiccupping as her diaphragm develops, although you can’t feel any activity yet. Your baby is the size of a fig.
- When 12 weeks is reached, your baby’s reflexes kick in: Her fingers will soon begin to open and close, toes will curl, and her mouth will make sucking movements. Your baby is the size of a lime.
- When a mother reaches 13 weeks, she is now in the last week of her first trimester. Your baby’s tiny fingers now have fingerprints, and her veins and organs are clearly visible through her skin. Her ovaries contain more than two million eggs. Your baby is the size of a pea pod.
Fort Defiance, Ariz.
