Conceived Through Rape

I had a friend whose cousin was the victim of a date rape. Her cousin became pregnant and delivered a baby girl. My friend said the baby grew up to be a beautiful, happy and intelligent kid. Everyone, including the mother, loved that child. This brought to my mind some questions. How do you think this little girl feels each time someone says that it's OK to abort a baby, if the baby was conceived through rape? If you meet this child, would you tell her, straight to her face, that it would have been OK to terminate her life just because she was conceived through rape? I can only imagine the thoughts and questions going through her mind: "Why should I be terminated? What did I do wrong? Did I commit a crime worthy of death? Was this my fault?" Maybe we should remember these questions next time this issue comes up.

Extraordinary Compassion

When we hear the word compassion, we normally associate it with feelings of pity for the less fortunate. We don't often associate this feeling with people who may anger us in any way. But one day, I heard the news that my co-worker's son was murdered by another man. Of course, her grief would have been unimaginable. Any mother would feel the same way. But what surprised me was when she felt compassion for the murderer's mother. She was imagining what the other mother was going through. She asked herself "was the other mother wondering where she went wrong in raising her kid", or "was the other mother fearful that her son may be executed for this murder". While she had every right to feel angry, she did not. It made me feel a bit ashamed of myself for being angry at others for less serious matters. Perhaps we all could be more compassionate, and less angry, towards those who annoy us in our daily lives.