I recently saw a meme with several complaints regarding those who see abortion for what it is – murder – and therefore want to end it. Rather than facing the issue and staring it in the face, the meme was basically an accusation that we who oppose abortion really only want to control women, rather than prevent babies from being killed.

The meme began with, “If it was about babies, we’d have…” and went on to give illustrations of other purported issues. To be clear, this is a red herring, but I want to look at each allegation. Also worth noting, the “we” in the rhetoric is America. My intent is to dissect the meme and discuss the validity of her arguments, at times with scriptural insight. If the author is right and makes a point, I’m happy to concede we need to work better to help parents.

As it went, “if it was about babies, we’d have:”

– “We’d have excellent and free universal maternal care.” Well, for those with lower incomes, we do and we have for decades. This is called Medicaid. In Alabama, if you can’t afford insurance, you simply go to the Medicaid office and enroll. They back pay medical bills for two months too. For those in the lower to normal middle class, we also have CHIP, which provides Blue Cross for kids for a small fee, not the actual premium amount. And then there’s “Obamacare,” which provides coverage via a subsidy as well. But here’s the thing – you can’t FORCE someone to sign up for those. They have to take the initiative. But the programs are already there, unless you’re wealthy. I hate to break it to you, but if you’re upper middle class or wealthy, you don’t need help paying for maternal care.

– “You wouldn’t be charged a cent to give birth, no matter how complicated your delivery was.” I get that the medical industry charges a ridiculous and likely sinful amount for their services. A good proof of this is comparing what they’d charge YOU versus what they accept from the insurance companies. Also, as a dad of five with a wife who has chronic health issues, I could tell you stories. But a medical staff has to get paid for their services. Why would medicine be any different than what you do for a living? Do you charge your employer? Yes? Well, you’re a hypocrite if you expect anyone else to work for free. I guarantee you the author of the meme expects to be paid for whatever it is she does for a living. Hypocrisy! But to the actual issue at hand, insurance covers medical treatments of any sort and disadvantaged folks qualify for Medicaid, which costs far less out-of-pocket than what post-Obamacare insurance policies cost.

– “We’d have months and months of parental leave, for everyone.” First, as a dad, I don’t need months of parental leave. Sorry Meme lady, but society doesn’t function this way. Also, while maternity leave (notice the feminine gender of that word) is great, “months and months” of it isn’t possible unless you work for a government. The rest of the world has to balance a checkbook. Unless you want to pay many more times for the same items, or you want your smaller business to go extinct, this isn’t even a realistic expectation. In reality, it’s nothing more than a vague, impossible point of rhetoric peddled by pandering politicians. Ma’am, we actually live in the real world. While Utopia sounds great, it also doesn’t exist. Literally, the word comes from two words meaning “not” and “exist.” It doesn’t exist.

– “We’d have free lactation consultants, free diapers, free formula.” Actually, because of WIC, those on Medicaid do have free formula. Or at least some free formula. WIC also provides free eggs, peanut butter, cheese, juice, cereal, and milk. And there are plenty of nonprofits that help people who actually need formula. That’s certainly not “nothing.” Does the requirement to receive WIC need to be increased because of our horrendous inflation? Yes, I could see that and would support that. But the resources exist. Someone should introduce the author of this meme to a social worker. Social workers are trained to put you into contact with such organizations in your town. But here’s the thing – you don’t need formula if you nurse. God gave females in nature the ability to feed their offspring and the milk a mother produces is superior to anything you can buy in a can. I recognize sometimes issues prevent that, but not in the majority of cases. As far as lactation consultants, these are actually employed by hospitals and do, in fact, speak to young mothers before being discharged. But honestly, and I say this with all respect, the entire rest of the creation seems to have figured this out without a consultant. Cows need no teacher. Monkeys need no teacher. Dogs need no teacher. Cats need no teacher. Surely human beings have more sense than cows, monkeys, dogs, and cats? And free diapers? I wonder if these folks ever consider that for the majority of human history, diapers were cloth. Guess what? Cloth diapers are washable and reusable. Harder? Yep. I vaguely recall them from when my brother was born in the mid 80s. But they exist and they’re an option if you can’t afford the convenience of disposable diapers all the time (and again, ministries exist to help with diapers). While I’m thinking about it, if you feel like this is an area your community needs improvement, here’s your chance to serve! Go volunteer, like I do, with local organizations to help with this. They’ll be excited for you to join them, I promise. But this is another subject for another blog post (I observe that many who complain along these lines do very, very little volunteering themselves).

– “We’d have universal preschool and pre-k and guaranteed after school placements.” In other words, free daycare for all. Let me just point out that we DO have free schooling for 13 years of a child’s life. And Pell Grants supply college tuition for disadvantaged adults. Is that good enough? Does that prove we love children? Not to the author of the meme. To her, there must be more! No ma’am, I’m sorry. That’s not society’s role. That’s your responsibility. I’d also point out that children don’t spontaneously enter into existence either. In the overwhelming majority of cases, they’re the product of sexual intimacy. But I understand that some families struggle because our society has become so expensive that a single income might not be enough. I am, however, convinced that many people could survive on a whole lot less income if they’d budget better and live more responsibly. That’s a biblical principle, by the way. When we were younger, my wife and I made ends meet with a single income of $11/hr. That was within the last two decades, by the way. My point? Well, from experience, you don’t need daycare if Mom is at home. But I remind you, education is already provided.

For my last grenade, let me just say that God’s laws on sexuality AND His structure of the home fixes virtually every “issue” this memester raises. If you don’t fornicate, you don’t have children you didn’t plan to have. Marriage is the institution through which children are to be born and intimacy is to be enjoyed. Husbands are designed to work and protect. Wives are designed to birth, feed, and nurture children. Citing alleged imperfections in society is no excuse whatsoever to allow unborn children to be murdered. Helping the poor IS to be a part of our regular Christian ministry. Society DOES have many, many resources in place to assist young parents. And lastly, people need to take responsibility for their actions, their livelihoods, and their children. Honestly, it seems like the author of this meme wants the rest of us to take more responsibility for children than their very parents. What we really need is repentance and a return to God’s ways across the board.