In the premiere episode of the fifth season, we learn that Jenelle has become pregnant with her estranged husband, who is now in jail. She decides that it would be "selfish" to have another child when her first child is being raised by her mother, and decides to have a "medical abortion". In this procedure, a woman takes a pill to break down the lining of the uterus. Then, as Plannedparenthood.org states it, she is given a pill that "causes the uterus to empty." As hour by hour ticks by, the woman begins to cramp and bleed as her baby is "expelled" in a form that looks like blood clots mixed with tissue. While discussing the impending abortion, her mother tells her it's "just like a miscarriage" and that she may feel "weepy", but it's a "wise decision".
Within a matter of days after her abortion, Jenelle meets a new boyfriend, whom she moves in with very soon. They decide that they want a baby, and soon Jenelle has a positive pregnancy test. When she calls her doctor, she is informed that it is probably a false positive brought on by the recent abortion. This is the part that made my stomach turn. She takes her boyfriend to breakfast and tells him she doesn't know if the test was positive because "there's a dead fetus inside of me [the product of a side effect known as "incomplete abortion"]or if it's because I'm pregnant with your baby."
Probably no one else watching caught that, but it pierced me. The child that she did not want, who would be months older than the second child she possibly conceived was called a "fetus", but the new child, because of the change in circumstance, was called a "baby".
My first instinct is to despise her words and actions. As I grieve for the child she threw away, I can't help but think of my friends and family who either can't conceive, or have suffered miscarriages, and imagine how badly they would want that baby she treated like rubbish. While it would be easy to hate this young woman and her attitude, something happened just two days after I saw this episode that turned my heart.
Thursday was my eight weeks OB appointment. During my visit, we had an ultrasound done of my child. There he (or she) was, the size of a raspberry and seemingly the shape of a gummy bear. Joy filled the room as my husband, mom, and I were enthralled by the image on the screen. It looked like he was dancing as the ultrasound instruments came close. That's my baby. I've been talking to him for weeks, even though I know he can't hear me. I rub my stomach even though I know he can't feel me. There is a connection that I can't explain because it makes no sense.
As we drove home, I thought about Jenelle. I wasn't angry with her, I hurt for her. I hurt that she has been brought up in a culture and a home that calls life merely a group of cells. At eight weeks, I would be eligible for the same type of abortion she had. As I looked at those pictures I couldn't imagine how anyone could see this as anything other than a miracle.
Don't misunderstand me. I have always and will always be staunchly pro-life. I believe we have a responsibility to care for these babies who have no ability to protect themselves. I vote for pro-life candidates. I have offered monetary support to crisis pregnancy centers. I make no excuse for what she did, or her cavalier attitude about it.
I know that some of my friends will read this and think I'm too liberal. That I should call her a killer and be done with it. But I am asking us, as the body of Christ, to learn how to help young women like Jenelle, whose minds are warped by a culture that demeans life. Do we say abortion is anything less than murder? No. Do we pacify young people by telling them it's not a big deal that they had one? No. But we have to learn to reach out to them. We have to understand that in their mind that has been twisted by society, that they think they did the right thing. Let us take the time to learn how to counsel with these young ladies beyond just holding signs calling them "murderers" and "whores".
Below is the link of a crisis pregnancy center located in Cleveland, TN, which I have become familiar with over the past several years which offers many services including information on abortion as well as post-abortion counseling. I would encourage you to find a center in your area that specializes in helping young women who find themselves in such situations and support them if not monetarily, then in prayer. This is a serious battle and most tactics haven't been working. Let us pray for wisdom in our fight against this culture that has poisoned the mind of so many young people and left millions of unborn children in its wake.
http://www.newhopepcc.org/index2.htm
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