{"id":22044,"date":"2012-10-12T19:21:25","date_gmt":"2012-10-12T23:21:25","guid":{"rendered":"\/news\/?p=22044"},"modified":"2012-10-12T19:21:25","modified_gmt":"2012-10-12T23:21:25","slug":"light-the-candles-its-my-31st-birthday-and-im-wishing-out-loud","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/light-the-candles-its-my-31st-birthday-and-im-wishing-out-loud\/","title":{"rendered":"Light the candles: It’s my 31st<\/sup> birthday, and I’m wishing out loud!"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>

My 31st<\/sup> birthday is October 13, 2012. I\u2019ll admit I’m quite excited. I see birthdays as kind of a big deal. It\u2019s not about the balloons, flowers, or my favorite layered chocolate mousse cake. While I appreciate those things (especially the cake), the main reason I love birthdays is because of what they represent. I see birthdays as a special time to celebrate the gift of life.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s no secret that I almost\u00a0didn’t\u00a0make it out of my mom\u2019s womb alive. Like many women, my mother was caught between two choices.\u00a0 The words of a wise janitor in a hospital hallway gave her the strength to make the right one. She walked into the abortion doctor\u2019s office and told him she\u2019d changed her mind and was having her baby. Thirty-one years later, I\u2019m still here and all grown up.<\/p>\n

Over the years, I’ve been in multiple discussions focused on the question \u201cWhen is a fetus a baby?\u201d I’ve heard all sorts of interesting opinions. Some people believe that life begins\u00a0at conception. Others may be pro-choice but are uncomfortable with abortions done in the 2nd<\/sup>\u00a0or 3rd <\/sup>trimester. While aborting a seven-week-old fetus is justifiable to them, \u00a0a more developed fetus makes them\u00a0squirm. Some defend the right to abortion up to nine months. There are even those<\/a> who argue for after-birth abortions if the baby is deformed or has a disability.<\/p>\n

My personal story<\/a> has given me a simple perspective. If I had been aborted at six weeks, I\u00a0wouldn’t\u00a0be here. If I had been aborted at six months, the truth remains. The way I see it for my life is the way I view it for other children. Regardless of the time of termination, a beautiful life has been lost.\u00a0Isn’t\u00a0that the main point? There are millions of people who will never blow out a candle or hear a Happy Birthday song. They won\u2019t experience Disney World like I did on my 30th<\/sup> birthday or spend time with sweet children in a Mozambican orphanage as I did when I turned 29. No one will kiss them on the cheek and whisper, \u201cI love you\u201d or tuck them into bed at night and read them a story. The beauty of life has been stolen from a generation who met death in a place that was supposed to be their safe home.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Fifty-five million-plus children have died in America alone, yet somehow I am alive. There have been times in my life when I\u2019ve felt something akin to survivor guilt. My mother left the hospital, but there were women who stayed. Why did I survive and they\u00a0didn’t? I’ve\u00a0often wrestled with feeling that I must do something significant to prove my life\u2019s worth. We all love an overcoming story. The \u201cI had my baby and he became a nuclear scientist or pro-baseball player\u201d tales are the testimonies we cherish. At times\u00a0I’ve\u00a0felt internal pressure to have an exciting life or an amazing career that would cause people to think, \u201cBoy, I\u2019m glad she\u2019s here.\u201d<\/p>\n

As\u00a0I’ve\u00a0struggled to understand my worth, I’ve learned important truths. Life is meant to be enjoyed. I am here, and that\u2019s cause enough for celebration.\u00a0I’ve\u00a0grown to appreciate my successes\u00a0while being grateful for my failures. Life is a complex journey – full of ups, downs, joy, and sorrow.\u00a0I’ve\u00a0lost friends and gained others. I’ve felt the sting of lost love yet dared to open up my heart again. I walked through the confusing years of adolescence, the confident days of college, and am now settling into my own skin as a woman. I\u2019m more than a girl who survived abortion and became an advocate for its end. I\u2019m more than my degree, my career, or anything\u00a0I’ve\u00a0done or will accomplish in this life. To borrow the words<\/a> of abortion survivor Gianna Jessen, \u201cI make God smile.”<\/p>\n

I have value just because I am a human being. I am loved by God and others. I deserved a chance to see daylight. This is my birthday wish for every baby in the world. I wish for them to experience the complexities of life on this dear planet we call earth. Life is not perfect, but it\u2019s worth living. I wish for legalized abortion to end and for babies to live. It’s a big wish that some may think me silly for wishing. But I do have 31 candles this year, so I figure I can get away with dreaming big.<\/p>\n

This weekend I’ll be spending my birthday cruising down a New England river, on a beautiful boat, gazing at the autumn leaves with my family, friends, and wonderful boyfriend. For these moments and the ones to come, I’m grateful to be alive.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Time to celebrate life – not just for me, but for everyone.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":204,"featured_media":22064,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\nLight the candles: It's my 31st birthday, and I'm wishing out loud! - Live Action News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/light-the-candles-its-my-31st-birthday-and-im-wishing-out-loud\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Light the candles: It's my 31st birthday, and I'm wishing out loud! - Live Action News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Time to celebrate life - not just for me, but for everyone.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/light-the-candles-its-my-31st-birthday-and-im-wishing-out-loud\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Live Action News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/liveaction\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:author\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/christina.m.martin.54\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2012-10-12T23:21:25+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/10\/7215879040_6b43e867462.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"500\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"500\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Christina Marie Bennett\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@ChristinaMar81\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@liveaction\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Christina Marie Bennett\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/light-the-candles-its-my-31st-birthday-and-im-wishing-out-loud\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/light-the-candles-its-my-31st-birthday-and-im-wishing-out-loud\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Christina Marie Bennett\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/30873716583e62355a8406ee9ea7d40f\"},\"headline\":\"Light the candles: It’s my 31st birthday, and I’m wishing out loud!\",\"datePublished\":\"2012-10-12T23:21:25+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2012-10-12T23:21:25+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/light-the-candles-its-my-31st-birthday-and-im-wishing-out-loud\/\"},\"wordCount\":818,\"commentCount\":4,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/#organization\"},\"articleSection\":[\"Opinion\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/light-the-candles-its-my-31st-birthday-and-im-wishing-out-loud\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/light-the-candles-its-my-31st-birthday-and-im-wishing-out-loud\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/light-the-candles-its-my-31st-birthday-and-im-wishing-out-loud\/\",\"name\":\"Light the candles: It's my 31st birthday, and I'm wishing out loud! 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