When some look at a pregnant woman, they see only one life: we see two. That’s the idea behind the social media #iSEETWO campaign.
We are pro-woman and pro-child
We believe that all life is to be respected and treasured, for each of us is created in the image of God. Instead of passing judgment on a woman facing an unexpected pregnancy, we choose to surround her with support, helping her to see the child growing within her as a unique person with a life as valuable as her own.
Help us to change the tone of the discussion from one that encourages taking sides, to one that embraces life-affirming action that expresses respect for both mother and child. We invite you to add your voice to the conversation by taking a selfie while holding an #iSEETWO sign – you’ll find instructions for submitting your selfie at our Facebook page.
Five Women Add Their Voices to the #iSEETWO” Conversation
We asked five women who come from different professional perspectives to share with us why they support the #iSEETWO message. Here are their stories:
I am a doctor and #iSEETWO
Freda Bush, M.D., OB/GYN
As a doctor, I was taught when I cared for a pregnant woman, I cared for two: the pregnant woman and her unborn child. Anything you did to the mother, any medications you prescribed for her, you had to consider the effect on the child she was carrying inside her body. That truth is still taught in medical school.
With this basic science education, how does a doctor forget the baby in the womb is a person even when it is unplanned or unwanted? Medical ethics and my own conscience demand that I promote the health and wellbeing of both.
For 40 years, I have delivered thousands of babies. It has been a joy to place the babies into the waiting arms of their mothers. Then I see two unique persons –the mother and her child–embracing and crying tears of joy.
Pregnancy is not a disease. I pray for the day we all in the medical profession have the courage to protect and defend the lives of both of our patients because #iSEETWO: the mother and her unborn child.
I am a lawyer and #iSEETWO
Anne O’Connor, J.D.
In law school when we studied Roe v. Wade, and I was surprised to read that the Supreme Court Justices purposefully declined to address the issue of when life begins. To me, that seemed the paramount issue to address.
We have scientific/medical guidelines to determine when life has ended. Why is it so difficult to apply scientific/medical standards to determine when life has begun? Those scientific/medical facts reveal that life begins early in the womb.
It was that day in law school that I realized what a great wrong was happening in our society – not only to the unborn child, but to women. Women choose abortion because they are not given all the facts on the life emerging inside them. They often choose abortion because they feel like they have no other choice. That’s not freedom to choose – that’s oppression.
From that day sitting in my Constitutional Law class forward, I have dedicated my career to helping women so they never choose to abort because they felt they have no other choice. We women deserve better than that.
Women don’t need to be sheltered from these facts and given a fabricated constitutional right to a procedure to terminate that life under the guise of “choice.” Women are smart, bold, courageous and loving. We not only deserve, but can handle, all the facts. When we are pregnant, there are two of us in the equation. #iSEETWO
I am a civil rights activist and #iSEETWO
Dr. Alveda King
My uncle, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. said “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” As a woman who regrets her own abortions, I can truly say that abortion is a grave injustice to fathers, mothers — women and their children. The sting in the African American Community is especially brutal. When we said we will no longer sit on the back of the bus, a place was being reserved for us – and our children – down at the abortion clinic.
In the days of slavery Blacks were counted as 3/5 persons for the purpose of apportionment in Congress. Today, the pre-born are not seen as persons for the purpose of protection by the 14th amendment.
As a Civil Rights activist I fight for the rights of all persons, born and unborn. My father, A.D. King and my uncle, Dr. Martin Luther King fought for the Civil Rights of Blacks. Today, I fight for the Civil Rights of the pre-born and their parents. Abortion is the Civil Rights Movement of our day. When I see a pregnant woman, I see two unique human persons, each with its own DNA makeup and worthy of dignity, respect and protection. #iSEETWO.
I am a journalist and #iSEETWO
Maria Gallagher
As a journalist, I embraced the pro-choice philosophy based on the twin pillars of reasonability and convenience. But, as I began to put my journalistic skills to work, conducting more in-depth research, I discovered some startling facts—that a heart starts beating only 24 days after conception…that brain waves can be detected a mere 43 days after a child is conceived.
I came to see that life must have a logical beginning, not an arbitrary one based on subjective feelings. Reason led me to the pro-life movement; careful analytical thinking keeps me there.
I believe that empowering pregnant women…giving them the support they deserve…is the fundamental human rights issue of the 21st century. Just being one small part of this millennial movement gives me tremendous hope.
As an advocacy journalist and as a legislative director, I call attention to the needs of both mother and child. Both deserve compassion and honor. My dream is that all pregnant women and their babies will be celebrated and cherished, making abortion unimaginable. Where once I saw only one individual, now #iSEETWO – mother and child, connected by a sacred bond that no human being has a right to sever.
I am a former abortion clinic manager and now #iSEETWO
Susan Thayer
I began working at Planned Parenthood because I had always believed that their mission was to offer health care for women and to prevent abortions. Now, I see that I was naïve.
For 17 years I managed their clinic in Storm Lake, Iowa, which didn’t do surgical abortions. But then, I was pressured to offer “web cam abortions” in which a doctor in a remote location would prescribe the abortion pill without ever meeting the patient.
A knot formed in my stomach as my boss talked increasing our abortion numbers, along with our profits. I knew that such abortions would destroy the lives of innocent babies and put the lives of their mothers at risk. I objected – and in late 2008 I was fired.
After pondering my own life and choices, and seeking God’s forgiveness and leading, I decided I couldn’t keep silent about what was happening at the clinic. In 2011, I organized a peaceful 40 Days for Life prayer vigil outside my former clinic, praying for my former co-workers and for the women entering their doors. Less than a year later, that clinic closed its doors forever!
When I see a pregnant woman, #iSEETWO and I speak up for both.
