Abortion. Euthanasia. Divorce. Homosexuality. Population
Control. Premarital Sex. And the list goes on. These are
pro-life issues that are defended and mocked by pro-life
and anti-life groups, respectively. I ask myself… Are these
issues relevant to me? When I was still in High School and
College, were these issues ever raised and more
importantly, was I ever aware of the importance of these
issues?

Life has its way of showing you different facets of life.
And not everything about life is beautiful. In God’s time,
each person is developed to SEE, not just view, the world
we live in and if there is really a need for us to care
about Pro-life issues.

Looking back, I never thought about it. I was raised in a
Catholic School where values and tradition existed. I grew
up in a normal home with loving parents and difficult (but
loving all the same) siblings. I knew right from wrong and
which are bad and good. My friends were good influences, a
reason why dealing with different people, knowing how to
have good, clean fun, understanding friends and boy-girl
relationships were developed. I assumed everyone had the
same set-up as mine, until life showed me that my set-up
was considered unique and on the verge of extinction in
these times.

My experiences in life has shown me so much beauty yet at
the same time, shown me so much ugliness that it’s hard to
see the beauty in such situations. I saw a friend who got
burned by premarital sex experiencing extreme depression
and no longer knowing how to differentiate LOVE from LUST
after her experience. I have a friend who paid the price of
promiscuity by being pregnant at an early age and not being
able to enjoy her youth. I have a friend who wanted to die
and attempted suicide more than once because she aborted
her babies. These cases are real and are happening today.

I ask you, why should we care? Why should the youth care?
Because one day, you will have your own family and you will
have your own children. Would you want them to live a life
where morality is a thing of the past?
Because one day, whether you like it or not, you will meet
people you CAN influence. Would you want them to fall into
a deep hole and take years before you can help pull them up
again?
Because one day if abortion is legalized, the right to life
will all the more be violated. You wouldn’t be reading this
if your mother aborted you, would you?
Because one day if divorce is legalized, the essence of
marriage will be forgotten. Would you want to constantly
ask yourself if your marriage would survive another day?
Because one day, you will realize that you are a product of
the consequences of the past generation and realize that
while being responsible is hard, it is one thing we should
care about if we still want to see the beauty life has to
offer?

Confucius said: “Don’t do to others what you don’t
want
them to do unto you.”
Jesus proclaimed: “Do to others as you would have others do
to you.” Luke 6:31
I remember these wise words whenever I think of
consequences. In this time and age, consequences are rarely
given thought, if at all. Don’t you ever have this gnawing
feeling whenever you let your emotions get the better of
you? Don’t you ever feel a bit sad that because you cared
more for selfish reasons, you forgot to think about how it
affected others? Don’t you feel uneasy and worried that you
said “OK” to things like pre-marital sex and could get
pregnant at an early age? Don’t you feel sad for the mother
taking pills or other contraceptives because it’s
convenient knowing that it could harm her body and make
ectopic pregnancies possible? Don’t you feel guilty that
you are unable to stop mercy killing and abortions? Don’t
you feel distressed that we are more concerned about the
rights of animals but we don’t think a few weeks old unborn
baby has the right to live?

I believe that if we just take time to think about our
actions and look at the consequences they may bring, we
would be avoiding a lot of issues that will be brought up
in the future. I am not saying we should take away the
learnings one can get from the experiences of mistakes and
falling (because I believe we become stronger when we fall)
all I want to say is that we can help ourselves by being
informed, by being aware of these issues that we can see
the blessing in such trials and don’t get too burned to be
disillusioned about life.

I am grateful that I have seen what I saw and the graces to
look at the beauty of life in spite of these experiences. I
felt the need to know more about Pro-life issues because I
want to be responsible for my actions and the consequences
that arise from them.

On an ending note, please come to our office at Good
Shepherd Convent, 1043 Aurora Blvd, Q.C. or call 4228877,
4217147 to learn more about Pro-life and how you can be
more aware of Pro-life issues. I did and I will never
regret this decision I made.

(Arlene C. Thay is the newest and youngest staff member of
Pro-life Phils.)

- Published in Pro-life magazine, March-April 2004