Health care was one of the top issues in the midterm elections. According to a letter that I received yesterday from the School of Nursing at the University of Michigan (my alma mater) : We grapple with the knowledge that the United States is the top spending country in health care but only ranked 34th among wealthy countries in health outcomes.
It is perplexing to see the ideas about healthcare that are being promoted. I am saddened to know that two bills in the Illinois House of Representatives expand access to abortion, up to nine months of pregnancy.
It is painful to know of depressed young people that are being counseled to change their gender with expensive surgery when there is no clear evidence that it will have a positive impact on their health. Transgender adults have a high rate of suicide.
Health care should be about life and healing.
There is an interesting passage of scripture in the book of Exodus. The Israelites have left Egypt and are in the wilderness. They are looking for water. God provides water and speaks to them through Moses.
There the Lord made a decree and a law for them, and there he tested them. He said, “If you listen carefully to the voice of the Lord your God and do what is right in his eyes, if you pay attention to his commands and keep all his decrees, I will not bring on you any of the diseases I brought on the Egyptians, for I am the Lord who heals you. Exodus 15:26
He didn’t say that they would never get sick but referred to diseases they saw in Egypt.
As a nurse my first experience with abortion was in a labor/delivery unit of a hospital. It occurred shortly after Roe v. Wade was decided. A young woman seven months pregnant was admitted for a saline induced abortion. Saline was injected into the womb to kill the infant and induce contractions. I was horrified and wrote a letter to my manager stating that I could not participate in abortions.
Every type of abortion procedure has risks. When I read about the early cases of women that died after using the abortion pill, the procedure became part of the story in my novel, Aliisa’s Letter. The book is about a young nurse, her friend, and a midwife. The story is set in Upper Michigan.
On January 22nd it was the 46th anniversary of Roe v.Wade, the national legalization of abortion. Since that time the March for Life has become an annual event, pregnancy care centers have sprung up, healing retreats have been organized and a support group for former abortion workers has been organized.
Physical, emotional and spiritual pain surround abortion. I am thankful for the organization, Students for Life. As they educate millennials about the abortion procedure, the infant’s development and experience of pain, young people are changing their mind about the right to abortion at any time in pregnancy.
God’s ways are good. He has created life and calls on us to seek him for help. In our churches we can come along side the unmarried woman who is pregnant and the woman who has an unexpected pregnancy with difficult circumstances. I am wondering and thinking about how we can walk along side young people who are in emotional pain and suffering. How should we, in the church, respond to the transgender person?
I encourage you to pray with me over these difficult issues.
This post is part of #Write28Days. You can follow me on Facebook for health related posts.
Carol, you have such insight into this sad situation. Thank you for being willing to share it with us. I have been and will continue to pray.
Thank-you, Cindy. I have learned of someone close (my friend’s son) who is caught in a rapid onset of transgender dysphoria. So glad that we can bring burdens like these to the Lord.