Revisiting the Past

I know this will opinion will be opposed by many of my dear friends, but I feel the need to write anyway. It has been weighing on my mind for some time now; and after a frank discussion with my older kids it rekindled the fire within me.

A year or so ago we learned about slavery. The boys were VERY upset and even spend many nights crying for those who were enslaved. They could not understand WHY. "WHY Mom?" Nothing I could say made sense to them (of course). I told them that 'back then' people had different views of other people and cared more about their own comfort and profit than another person's life.

Fast forward till a few weeks ago. We were in the car and the kids heard a commercial on the radio that mentioned the word "abortion". Having never heard it before they began to question. I tentatively answered them with vague definitions until my 2nd, always the bold speaker, asked me why I was not telling them the whole story. I did relent and go into further detail (still holding back a great deal) explaining what it was and why a mom would do it. Kell was shocked. SHOCKED. He asked if these doctors were all in prison. "No sweetheart. They are not. The government says it is legal and okay to abort living babies." Well. That opened the floodgate. Many questions and discussions later my children posed this question:

"What is the difference between slavery long ago and killing a baby"?

I had never thought of these two subjects as being relevant to one another. As I mulled over the answer it seemed to fall into place. The arguments for slavery back in the day are the same arguments we hear for the right to abort a child. One could use the term "slave" or "abortion" interchangeably in the following sentences:

Those who appose slavery/abortion do not have to participate. Only those who feel morally comfortable with their choice should own slaves/have an abortion.

Freeing slaves/having an unwanted child would flood society with social problems. A slave would not know what to do with him/herself and would put undue pressure on society as a whole to care for them. Same with those unwanted babies. They would rather be aborted than to possibly face difficult lives just like a slave feels "safer" being a slave.


Black people are not quite human. Unborn babies are not quite human. (This being the crutch of both issues it is a heinous statement and yet one that is repeated about unborn babies every single day (as it was about slaves) in order to make the crime "okay".)

Economically it is great to have slaves. Economically it is okay to abort and many times the wisest choice.





My kids brought out this comparison and I thought about it and researched it to be able to articulate the glaring similarities. Apparently these things have been debated before; I just had not seen/heard it until my logical, justice searching children mentioned them. They saw the same reasons given for slavery apply to having an abortion.


Will our grandchildren's grandchildren one day be discussing the fallacies of our past and be as horrified of abortion as we are of slavery? Will they question WHY would anyone allow such treatment of another human being simply for their own gain?
I think they will.
I know they will.