For children like Matthew ...

By Ruth Schenk | rschenk@secc.orgrschenk@secc.org

Five visits. Four ultrasounds. The thump … thump … thump of a baby’s beating heart.

That’s what changed one young couple’s mind about abortion.

They say the most pro-life people in the world are those who have seen abortion up close. Huizhi and Shaohua Wang will tell you it’s true.

Abortion seemed the best option when they faced a crisis pregnancy in 2006. It couldn’t have happened at a worse time. The young couple still was settling in Louisville so Huizhi (Hoi ja), a physician from China, could study for his PhD in immunology at the University of Louisville. Shaohua (shaw wa) had taken a regimen of strong prescription drugs to treat pneumonia, and they were afraid the baby had been harmed. They had no insurance and spoke little English.

When Huizhi asked a colleague where to go for an abortion, he sent them to A Woman’s Choice Resource Center, a pro-life center in downtown Louisville. Their counselor that day was Southeast member Janet Backman, who has a Chinese granddaughter. The three formed a fast bond.

Backman encouraged them to choose life and told them about her own faith in Christ. The Wangs said no one ever talked to them about God before. They saw their baby on an ultrasound screen and heard his heart beat.

Shaohua said she was deeply touched.

The Wangs went back to A Woman’s Choice the next day with an interpreter. Their goal was to convince Backman that abortion was the right choice. Neither Backman nor the Wangs knew the interpreter assigned to them was a Christian whose husband is the pastor of the Chinese Christian Church. She invited the Wangs to worship services in Chinese.

From then on, the couple seesawed back and forth between keeping the baby and seeking abortion. Two weeks later, the Wangs returned for yet another ultrasound. By then, Backman had enlisted her Bible study and weekend group to pray.

On their fifth visit to A Woman’s Choice, the Wangs decided to keep the baby.

"God gave us a chance, an opportunity to see a bigger picture," Huizhi said.

The Wangs began attending the Chinese Christian Church and spending time with the Backmans. Shaohua watched the Christians she met at a Woman’s Choice and the church.

"I wanted to have what they have and be like them," she said.

On Nov. 13, 2006, the Wangs named their newborn baby boy Matthew, which means "gift of God."

Since then, they have been baptized and joined Southeast. Matthew, now 3, runs and slides on the hardwood floor of their apartment. His older brother, Andrew, laughs as he watches his little brother.

It’s clear Matthew is the center of attention. They say he speaks "Chinglish," his own mixture of Chinese and English. The Wangs say they cannot imagine their lives without him.

"What would our life be without him?" Huizhi said.

Matthew is one of thousands of babies saved at A Woman’s Choice Resource Center.

Jan. 22 marks a grim anniversary of 37 years since Roe v. Wade made abortion on demand legal. More than 40 million babies have died since then. Their names would fill the Vietnam War Memorial more than 700 times. It is equal to the population of 17 states:

But there is good news.

- Fewer Americans support abortion. According to the Pew Research Center, the 1.2 million abortions performed in 2005 totaled the lowest number since a high of 1.6 million in 1990.

- Hearts are changing. According to a nationwide survey commission by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, four out of five American adults, 82 percent, think abortion should either be illegal under all circumstances or with limited legality. Only 9 percent said abortion should be legal for any reason at any time during pregnancy.

- The younger generation is more pro-life. The Pew Research Center reports that 18-29 year-olds, many of whom consider themselves abortion survivors, consistently favor tougher abortion restrictions than do those 30 and older.

- The courts are looking at Planned Parenthood, the nation’s largest abortion provider. On a national level, Planned Parenthood receives many millions of federal tax dollars and makes a sizeable profit, even though it is a nonprofit organization.

- Pro-life healthcare professionals are protected. The department of Health and Human Services issued regulations that strengthen existing laws and provide protection to pro-life physicians and other healthcare professionals who conscientiously object to performing abortions or referring for them.

- Young adults support a ban on abortion. A Zogby international poll reports that young adults are more likely than their parents or grandparents to support a total ban on abortion. One-third of people ages 18-29 said that abortion should never be legal, compared to 23 percent for those ages 30-64 and about 20 percent for those over 65. A University of California-Berkley poll found a similar trend in that young people ages 15-26 were about 10 percentage points more likely to support abortion restrictions than their elders, by a margin of 44 percent to 34 percent.

- Pro-life laws are lowering abortion rates. Over a 14-year period, Mississippi passed 15 pro-life laws. As a result, the number of abortions has declined by 60 percent, and six of seven abortion clinics in the state have closed.