EDITORIAL

Ultrasound provides clear picture on why unborn must not be aborted

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What have been the most important life-saving medical advances of the last hundred years? That’s a question which is certainly open to intelligent and thoughtful debate. However, any honest discussion of modern, life-saving medical marvels has got to include ultrasound. As every pro-lifer (and pro-choicer) knows, ultrasound has given us a window into the womb of a pregnant woman — a window that was closed to previous generations. Peeking into that window (even for a few seconds) has caused many women to change their minds about terminating their pregnancies and depriving their children of the precious gift of life.

This is the reason that during the last decade the Knights of Columbus have donated more than 1,000 ultrasound machines to pro-life pregnancy centers around the world. It’s also the reason why, on May 4, Focus on the Family broadcast a live, 4D-ultrasound of a 36-week gestation baby in Times Square, as part of their “Alive in New York” celebration. This gathering, which numbered in the thousands, was estimated to be the largest pro-life demonstration in the history of the state of New York. Fittingly, the woman who received the televised ultrasound was Abby Johnson, the former Planned Parenthood clinic director whose conversion story was recently captured and shared with the world in the movie “Unplanned.” It was through an ultrasound image — an image that she saw while assisting in an abortion — that Abby finally came to terms with what abortion actually is, and how it destroys an innocent human life.

The message of all this is clear: If a woman you know is seriously thinking of having an abortion, encourage her (and maybe even challenge her) to have an ultrasound, and to demand that the doctor allow her to see the image!

You never know — you might just help to save a life.