There is a great war of philosophies between the culture of death and the culture of life. You stand in the midst of this battle. Some of your friends have already made a decision. The media, college professors, relatives, and other friends are encouraging you to side with them-to be pro choice! Other friends invite you to take a stand for life. But the time to make a decision has come. So then, what should you do?

Once somebody said, "do not ever let anybody make a decision for you." With this in mind, know that my purpose is not to tell you what to do. My sole purpose is to make you think. It is through deep thinking that great decisions are made.

The media favors the pro choice or pro death movement. This is the side of the story that you are accustomed to hearing. They advocate for the right of a woman to choose, to do whatever she pleases with her body. Do I disagree with this? Of course I don't. However, I do disagree with the interpretation of their advocacy.

If you pay close attention, the phrase "her body" has the key to solve this problem. From a grammatical point of view, the possessive pronoun "her" refers only to the woman, not to the body of the baby. If the woman wants to paint, to starve, or to exercise “her body”, she can do it. After all, it is her body. Yet, the body of her baby possesses his/her own identity and human dignity, and it is not an object to be possessed. In other words, the baby in her womb has rights (especially the rights to life and to the pursuit of happiness, also included in the Constitution of this country) that come from God and not from the State or from the mother. Therefore, those rights need to be respected at all times because if we had the right to do whatever we wanted with the lives of other people, then slavery will still be alive or we will probably be living in a communist country where the rights of individuals come from the State not from God, which gives the government license to do whatever they want.

Allow me to use another example to explain this matter further. Think in terms of boxes. If you have a big box and small box inside of the big one, then you have two different objects. The fact that one is inside the other does not mean they are both the same. So it is with a woman and a child. They are two separate human beings. Neither one of them has the right to take the life of the other. But, wait a minute…what about the argument that claims that the little human being is not a child but just a fetus or a blob of tissue or nothing? Well, think of this question. Were you less of a human when you were three months old? Are you to be treated better now than when you reach 80 years old? The human being has something called "dignity" and the signature of the image and likeness of God that must be respected and protected at all times, from the moment of conception to natural death. That little child is not a cell with a potential to become a human being. It is a human being with lots of potential.

Think of these questions too. You went to school, played with soldiers or with dolls. You are enjoying life, eating at Burger King, beholding nature, and making use of technology. What about these unborn babies? You can choose, but they don't! Is it not ironic? Or even better, have you ever thought of the possibility that one of these killed babies could have been the person who was going to find a cure for cancer, AIDS, be the next Albert Einstein? By the way, he understood the worth of human fife by saying, "There are two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle." Have you ever wondered if the abortion movement really cares about you? Have you ever asked about the serious medical and emotional consequences (cancer, depression, guilt, among others) it produces? Have you ever thought of the other person instead of yourself? Have you ever thought of the fact that your mother chose life and that's why you could read this paper?

Remember that you are free to choose as you please. Remember that an unborn child is a human being; that your choice will have serious consequences. Remember that the power to generate life or death rests within you. Remember also to first think, weigh your decision and then choose. May your decision be the right one!

Note: I dedicate this paper to all the babies killed since 1973.