Celebrate Life Magazine - Winter 2018

BY EVELYN FRENCH
© iStockphoto.com/kupicoo
Seven suggestions for recognizing
the personhood of the preborn
In the last few decades, we have come a long way
in our attitude toward expectant mothers. Only
40 years ago, mothers were expected to limit their
appearance in public. If a mother was employed,
her employment was terminated as soon as her
pregnancy was visible.
An unfortunate carry-over of our former reticence
is that, for the most part, we are inclined
to hush-hush a miscarriage. This should not be so,
especially among pro-lifers.
It is estimated that 20 percent of pregnancies
end in miscarriage. When a baby is lost through
miscarriage, the miscarriage should not be treated
as a non-event. It is one thing to respect the privacy
of others, but it is another to ignore grieving
parents. Grieving parents should not be left alone
to suffer in silence.
Insensitive comments such as “You can always
have another one” are cold; heartless attitudes
like this provide no comfort to the grieving parents
and miss a crucial aspect of being 100 percent
pro-life without exceptions. These insensitive
words and attitudes do not re-enforce the pro-life
position that a human being is a person from the
moment of his/her biological beginning.
Regardless of the stage of development at the
time of the miscarriage, losing a child is losing a
child. We must remember that and approach parents
who have miscarried a child with empathy
and love.
Recognizing the personhood
of the preborn
What can we do to recognize the little person
whose debut is not expected for seven or eight
more months? Here are a few suggestions:
1
2
a felony.
Support the passage of laws making the deliberate
injury or demise of the preborn child
Support legislation that treats the remains
of a miscarried child with the respect his/her
remains are owed as a human person. In some
states, no law requires the return of the child’s
remains to the family after medical examination,
even if they request it. That is an outrage that
must be corrected in those states.
WINTER 2018 | Celebrate Life Magazine 9