The miracle of life

OPINION:

Babies are amazing. We have a new grand nephew in our family. He was born a few weeks early at 6 pounds and two ounces. He has a full head of dark hair. He is healthy and growing and talking. And he is beautiful. 

Our other grand-nephew was born more than a dozen years ago. I can still remember holding him on my lap, watching the fireworks over the lake that first summer. We thought he would flinch or cry, but he sat in total amazement, watching the colors burst across the sky. 

Both of our sons Matt and Alex, were born in the mid-1990s. We still have each of their ultrasound photos. It was so amazing seeing their tiny hands and arms. I remember looking at Matt’s and seeing him put his thumb in his mouth. It made me think of God’s call to Jeremiah when He said, “Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.”

In Hebrew, our son Matthew’s name means a gift from God. In reality, however, all babies are a gift from God. Babies are amazing. 

As the members of the Supreme Court deliberate on the merits of the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization case, let us pray that they appreciate the miracle of each new life. Science shows us that an unborn baby is a human being. 

According to the Cleveland Clinic, a primitive face will take form with the baby in the first few weeks of pregnancy. “The tiny “heart” tube will beat 65 times a minute by the end of the fourth week,” according to their Fetal Development: Stages of Growth. 

The baby is fully formed by the end of the third month. All the organs and limbs are present. Within 13 to 16 weeks, a heartbeat should be audible through an instrument called a doppler. The fingers and toes are well-defined. Eyelids, eyebrows, eyelashes, nails and hair are formed. Just as we saw on each of our sons’ ultrasounds many years ago, a baby can even suck their thumb, yawn, stretch and make faces according to the details provided on fetal development. 

All of this is why people say they’re having a baby and not a growth in their body. The unborn child is a living human being. 

Repealing the 1973 decision by the Supreme Court of the United States will not make abortion illegal.  It will return the decision on its legality to the states. And that will give us a chance to save lives. 

It only makes sense that each state can enact legislation to protect innocent human life. All states have some form of laws punishing intentional homicide, but many states have a variety of crimes involving the death of an innocent person.  These laws are meant to punish those who illegally take an innocent life and deter others from doing the same in the future. 

I am proud that my home state of Wisconsin has a law that protects innocent unborn life. Striking down Roe v. Wade would allow us to enforce that law and protect thousands of innocent babies. 

Those who support abortion on demand do not want us to focus on the victims. They try to intimidate people into ignoring the reality of abortion with the lame excuse that you can be personally opposed but believe you shouldn’t tell others what to do. That is like saying you are personally opposed to murder but don’t want to tell others what they can do. This is morally unacceptable. 

Abortion proponents were mortified when Virginia Governor Ralph Northam described abortion legislation on a radio show, saying, “The infant would be delivered; the infant would be kept comfortable; the infant would be resuscitated if that’s what the mother and the family desire, and then a discussion would ensue between the physicians and the mother.” He articulated what they thought but never dared to say in public. 

There was an amazing shift towards the pro-life position soon after the story about Governor Northam’s statement was shared across the country. Interestingly, the two groups where it had the largest impact were young people and self-described Democrats. My theory is that these groups could not ignore the humanity of a newborn baby. The abortion industry wants Americans to ignore the reality of talking about a baby. 

As the founders of our nation declared, all of us are created equal with certain unalienable rights given to us by God. They are many, but life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness are chief among them. The government is established to protect those rights—particularly for the most vulnerable amongst us. The most important of those rights is life. 

Babies are amazing. They are a gift from God. It is our responsibility to protect them—born and unborn. 

• Scott Walker is the president of Young America’s Foundation and served as the 45th Governor of Wisconsin from 2011 to 2019.