Abortion and Election 2012: More Than Just a Political Issue

The issue of abortion became even more personal for me this month. I had the privilege of meeting my niece's son, Carson Wayne Piatt, who was born June 27, 2012 but became part of our family September 25, 2012. You see, Carson's birth mom was a young woman, unmarried, addicted to crystal meth, that chose to carry her son to term and hand him over to two hearts that were breaking to have a child of their own.

Abortion can be argued in all shapes and sizes: reproductive rights, woman's right to choose, but it all comes down to this . . . a life that deserves living. For our family, it's not a theoretical argument — it is the reality that this adorable little boy's life could have been forcefully ended — legally. While my niece and her husband were desperately waiting to be able to love and provide for him, he might never have taken his first breath.

According to the Guttmacher Institute, there were 1.21 million abortions performed in the United States in 2008, the most recent year for which data is available — 3,322 abortions per day. Sharon Camp, president of the Guttmacher Institute, proudly remarked that abortion, since it was legalized nationwide in 1973, has become one of the most common surgical procedures. What has become of our nation that we so easily throw away millions of innocent lives every year?

According to a recent Gallup poll, female voters named abortion as the top political issue of this election. When asked how important the candidate's positions on policies concerning birth control would be on influencing their vote for president, 60% responded that it would affect their vote. It is difficult to determine whether women were including abortion as a form of birth control in this answer, but clearly abortion is still a dominant political issue.

Since the legalization of abortion in 1973, there have been approximately 50 million abortions performed in the United States — 50 MILLION. Luckily for us, a young, scared woman made an incredible sacrifice to carry her child to term and then let him live a life without her. Saying thank you will never be enough, but still, our family says thank you!

Welcome, Carson Wayne Piatt!