I sit here in a hospital waiting room waiting for my friend to come out of the surgery that has taken away her ability to ever give life again. She is only 26.
This surgery was not her first choice, but an inevitable one after the years of pain that she has went through. She will come out a stonger person physically from this, because she will not be sick and in pain all of the time. She will also be a better mom to the 2 year old son that she, thankfully, does have. She needed to take care of herself instead of playing the waiting game of "what if..".
Her son came at an inoportune time in her life, she was young and unmarried and not with the father any longer. However, he has turned into such a blessing in her life, because she has been able to experience the joy of motherhood that she possibly would have missed if he hadn't come along when he did, since there was little doubt that her condition would worsen to the point it did.
Her surgery comes the same week that I went to my doctor for my regular dose pregnancy prevention that I choose to take - I choose not to have a child now. I have that option. I can always have another baby at a later time - if I want to. She doesn't have that option anymore. I try to imagine what it would be like to know that I could never have a child again, instead of just not having one now, and I can't - or maybe I just don't want to.
I am not some big pro-lifer, I am definitely pro-choice, however, today I am sad that my friend will never have the chance to make that choice again.