I do not know if all the Focus on the Family broadcasts are the same throughout the nation each day, but here in Los Angeles, I have been listening to it this week. The theme they have adopted for this third week of January is the sanctity of life. For the last two days Focus on the Family has had the leader of Life International speaking about how he opened the first chapter of Life International in Grand Rapids Michigan next door to an abortion clinic to pray for the women and unborn children, and for God to relieve us from this culture of death that people all over the world have embraced.

Sometimes the Focus on the Family broadcasts make for a tearful commute, and these last few days are no exception. Abortion hits close to home for me. I am single, unmarried, and I live with my parents. I have not had an abortion. I have a brother. I have never met him, I was never given the chance; I will meet him the same day that I meet my Father. My parents, over the course of the last few years, have revealed to myself and my sister that my mother had an abortion sometime between when I was born (1984) and when my sister was born (1988).

So, everytime I listen to one broadcast or another that addresses abortion, I find myself telling God various things. I suppose it is only natural for me to want to know my brother. I want to know his favourite color. I want to know the color of his hair and his eyes. I want to know if he likes football or fishing; camping or skiing; etc. In short, I feel cheated. My parents told me in vague terms why my brother was aborted: that he had a genetic disorder, and if mom delivered him, she would not be able to have more kids. My sister was only told that she would have an older brother, but I filled her in on the details.

I may not know the pain and suffering a woman goes through to arrive at the decision to have an abortion. I do not know the despair, shame, and guilt that plagues a woman after having had an abortion. But, I do know how it affects people other than the mother. You get cheated out of a life, out of a brother or a sister, a son or a daughter, a grandson or a granddaughter. It hurts.

I am also saddened by knowing that my parents claim to believe, vote pro-life, and call themselves Catholic. I'm sorry, but these are not just labels you stick to yourself for Sunday or for election day. You either believe it and live it, or don't. Am I upset? Yes. Each person bears the image of God, each and every single person on this planet is a Child of God. To say that a woman has the right to decide who lives and who dies, is the work of Darkness. What you percieve as a choice, is really death.

I want no part of this culture of Death, of Darkness.