This is a story; a part of my life story. When you are born with a disability, it takes a while before you understand and realize it. you don’t realize it at first. When you are a child, everything seems normal. You don’t know you are different; you don’t know how others feel about you. You go about your daily routine without much disturbance. A peaceful three or four years of bliss.
And then school starts …
…things begin to change, very quicktly. People keep their distance, parents pull their kids away, and odd questions begin to arise; mainly of the variety of “What’s wrong with you?” or “Why are you like that?” At this point you begin to question things yourself, “Maybe there is something bad about me?” or, “Why did God even bothering making me this way then?” However, through it all, there were always people who shined like stars in my journey and they will never be forgotten. My parents, certain teachers, and fellow parishioners helped me to see that God has a special plan for my life.
With regards to the modern abortion issue, those that advocate for it always state that it should be an option to terminate pregnancies of disabled children. This statement always feels personal to me, even if it’s not meant to be. I have had people say to me specifically, or to my parents, that it’s a shame they didn’t know about my disability sooner, because had they known, they could prevented me from coming into the world to suffer; and it would have been the more merciful approach. The question is often asked, “How much of a burden disabled people are on a society.”
That’s the catch…
If negative attitudes like that didn’t exist, why would abortion even be necessary? Abortion would be far less common. It is my experience that education is more fruitful within regards to helping disabled people understand their lives. Trying to erase disability from the world is not going to work; simply because, God has allowed it for a purpose. He wants to teach compassion and creativity, different ways to look at life and situations, and different types of contributions. If those who believe abortion is the answer get their way, then there is a good chance that I would not be alive and many others like me would not be allowed live a beautiful life. It appears they would prefer a world without people like me. Pity, ignorance and misunderstanding cause fear; fear causes abandonment and unwant, and unwant causes the cessation of life. Let us stand for a change, a renewal of God’s gifts, which is displayed in many different ways. Let us be the light of the world, as Christ calls us to be.
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