Think about this silly little euphemism for a second.
There are only two ways to ensure a child’s “wantedness”:
1) We start wanting the children we create.
or
2) We kill all the unwanted children.
The first option is the choice to love.
The second option is the choice to kill.
Voilà! Both options will leave us with only “wanted” children! Since the unborn child is helpless and has no way of remedying his “unwanted”/”wanted” status, the “unwantedness” or “wantedness” of a child falls, 100% of the time, on the adults around him, including the adults who made him in the first place (the parents), the adults around those parents, and the adults in society at large.
The Culture of Life’s solution is love, and the Culture of Death’s solution is, of course, death.
But let\’s go with the fun little slogan for a moment, and expand it. How about, “Every woman a wanted woman”? The rest of you will be shot at dawn! Too bad for you — you should have been wanted, heh heh heh. Maybe “Every Jew a wanted Jew”? Wait, someone in the 1940s already thought of that one. Oh, sorry, I’m so out of line there.
Back to the original: “Every child a wanted child.”
Let’s revisit the premise. So what if a child is unwanted (i.e., unloved) by others? Since when do we have the right to kill those who are unloved and unwanted? Isn’t our own humanity measured by how we treat those who are the least popular, the biggest outcasts, the most despised? What kind of culture kills its unwanted?
And what does it say to the children of a culture when they hear slogans proclaiming that they must be “wanted” or else they are not even worthy of life itself?
Thank God that Catholicism teaches the polar opposite of the pro-“choice” slogan above. “Wantedness” has never been the measure of a human being’s worth, nor a requirement for being allowed to stay alive.
If we don’t want a piece of clothing or furniture anymore, we get rid of it. But we don’t do that with human beings. At least not in my world.
I’m going to challenge the ghoulish slogan above with the following antidotes:
Every child is a wanted child.
Every child is intrinsically valuable.
Every child is infinitely lovable.
Every child is made in the image and likeness of God.
Imagine a world where we live and teach those truths!
“Can a woman forget her infant, so as not to have pity on the son of her womb? And if she should forget, yet will not I forget you.” — God
And as for these idiocies…
…don’t even get me started!
23 thoughts on “The Sheer Idiocy of \”Every Child a Wanted Child\””
I take issue with your extrapolation of in utero death with the death of women and Jews. Is there really a comparison to be made? How is life’s potential for service to the Lord judged as absolute and equal between the earliest stages of conception and existent human beings? Certainly the gift of life is precious and worthy of defending. Is potential life given the same weight as a life in progress? In every society, a life terminated is weighed and judged based on potential and responsibility. The murder of a married father of six or a six year old will be punished differently under human justice systems. They are not equal. The murderer is valued differently based on criteria such as age or mental status.
A woman faced with pregnancy is traveling a long path of choices both made and those yet to come. While generous and good fearing people can hope for ideal outcomes, we know this is not always the case. Perhaps we should work to adjust adoption laws to make it easier for loving families to bring a child home. We should focus on education to teach parents and children.
How many of us can volunteer as Big Brothers or Big Sisters and offer friendship and guidance to kids here in our own towns and cities. We should be volunteering beyond ourselves. Are we all fostering children? Do we have neighbors who need childcare assistance, and do we help them? How many of God’s children can we help today?
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Wow, Mrs.Miller. I guess the Bon Secours nuns didn’t get that memo, huh? I’m sure by now you’ve heard about the 796″Home Babies”found in the septic tank in Ireland? Yes.Well, as far as I’m concerned, there’s nothing else you or anyone else can tell me about Roman Catholicism; this beyond horrible discovery has destroyed what little regard I may have had for this…religion.In my mind it’s clear who really reigns over this insane, soul-killing religious system, and it’s most certainly NOT Jesus Christ!! Who but Satan could preside over such a child-destroying enterprise?? So again, Mrs.Miller, as far as I’m concerned, Roman Catholicism is as dead as those cruelly mistreated and murdered “Home Babies”.-I await your reply, if any.Ugh!
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Actually, this campaign is also about contraception, too. Families that are preventing pregnancy through contraception is part of the message. This then avoids abortion.
Oh, if that were only true – except that many oral contraceptives work as abortifacients by preventing implantation of this new, tiny human being (blastocyst) by preventing development of the uterine lining.
People who use contraception should know that the function of the reproductive organs is to reproduce and they are playing with fire when they try to circumvent that scientific fact. Contraception is not an answer to anything, it is a not-so-subtle justification for “doing it my way, not God’s way.”
I think it’s safe to say that the intelligent people who use contraception know why they use it, which is why they use it. I also believe the general adult population is aware of what “reproductive organs” are and that, with god’s plan in mind, s/he will force a pregnancy on them even if the “parents” can’t afford the child. You guys need to pick one argument or the other: either god takes over and does the work and gets the credit, or god’s out of the equation and the parents have sex. One but not both.
I am missing the point of your comment.
I guess I must be one of your non-intelligent types – even though I have a degree in nursing and worked 32 years in maternal-child health, and with my second degree in science, I teach high school science.
Yes, I do believe you’re missing the point of my comment, perhaps on purpose. They certainly don’t need someone to remind them. People who use birth control are aware of its wanted effects; people know what reproductive organs are about. People are trying to prevent pregnancy, then you bring in a zero-sum supposition that you hope will prove a red herring to the issue. Because of my J.D. +, with a specialty in Constitutional Law, I am quite adept at plowing through the smoke and mirrors the church throws out at unsuspecting followers. Fortunately, the majority of these people soon wise up.
Now, I would please like an answer to a question I’ve asked non-choice/every child is wanted believers: if every child is wanted, as you claim, why are there orphanages, foster homes and children living on the street? I ask you to please, lecture me on this conundrum, because I truly do not understand the situation, and am asking sincerely to be enlightened.
Every child is a wanted child, cause if God didn’t want them, He wouldn’t have made them.
If god makes the children, why should the “parents” of these truly wanted – or at least in your mind – children be held responsible for anything. I wasn’t the parents’ fault. god stuck his nose in the way and caused the issue, so what’s the problem. it’s all god’s fault. All settled now.
Here Here!! (Applauding)….thank you dear Leila!
Although I can appreciate your perspective from your personal experience, I respectfully challenge you that every child is wanted…by thousands of couples who selfless adopt children as their own. As one of those couples, our child was wanted before we knew her name. Her birthmother gave her life, so we could teach her how to live it. We waited five years, after losing our child by conception, in hopes of being parents to a child…we wanted.
Abortion is an epidemic. There is a cure. Adoption. Thus the pro-life referencing to “every child is a wanted child.”
LifeNews cited this issue very well in the article “Thirty-Six Couples Wait for Every One Baby Who is Adopted.”
Quote from article: “The good news is that the cure for our abortion epidemic already exists, and it is adoption. If, in fact, there are 36 couples lined up for every adoption, there are 4-5 million couples waiting for babies, a number that is 3-4x greater than the 1.2 million babies we annually abort. Imagine the benefits of annually adding another 1.2 million happy and productive citizens. These rescued individuals and their children just might solve the demographic challenges of our broken entitlement programs.”
For many, an unplanned pregnancy is an unwanted child. But that doesn’t mean the child is “unwanted.” Scripture tells us that “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.” (Jeremiah 1:5) Our loving Heavenly Father places a child in a womb with a purpose. It is up to us to protect and preserve that life – – – despite the circumstances.
Mother Teresa said, “Abortion is murder in the womb…A child is a gift of God. If you do not want him, give him to me. Thus the intrinsic message of every couple waiting to adopt a wanted child.
Amen, I say to you and all who are reading this comment. A human life, despite the circumstances of conception is a wanted life…by God. Otherwise, He would have not placed that life in a womb for birth. He knows that there are families willing to welcome that life as a wanted member of their family…for a lifetime.
Peace be with you.
Diane, I think Leila is basing her critique off of the pro-choice interpretation of “Every child a wanted child.” When they say it, it means that we need abortion so all the unwanted children can be killed off, but the point of Leila’s article seems to be very similar to your comment above.
Diane, I was specifically referring to the pro-abortion slogan, “Every Child a Wanted Child”. This is a very common slogan to keep abortion legal. What they mean by it is: “We want to make sure that every child born is wanted, so that is why abortion is a great option!” In other words, they are saying, “No unwanted children should come into this world. Abortion is the answer to ensure that every child born is wanted.”
See, it’s insidious, evil.
Of course, as pro-lifers (and pro-adoption), we know that every child is wanted, by adoptive parents, and of course, always by God.
Thank you, Leila and JoAnna, for taking the time to clarify. It was not my intent to discredit your intention. 😉 Forgive me. However, your clarification is not the message I received after reading the piece. Respectfully, before I commented I asked a couple of nationally recognized Pro-Life advocates to read to make sure I wasn’t misunderstanding the point of the piece. They too advised that the message could easily be misinterpreted. Therefore, I wanted to make sure of the slant by offering another perspective. Thank you so much again. Peace be with you. Diane
Diane, yes, the insidiousness of the euphemism here is that it certainly does sound like a pro-life statement. That was a big point of the article. God bless!
If I can add one thing, I am fortunate (if we can call it that) that when I see that phrase ‘planned and wanted child’ I can ONLY hear it in my mind’s eye with the hideous vocalization of the people who say it with evil intent. I hear the arrogance, the sneering, and the contempt aimed at us when I see those words. That vile phonological loop is seared into my brain. I wish it weren’t.
So in a weird way, I am fortunate in that I am physically unable to ‘see’ the words in anything other than a malicious sense. Thanks to your perspective, I can totally ‘see’ these words being spoken sincerely by someone who might not see the implications of the idea.
Ironically, Jeff, like you that phrase evokes the same emotions. I have actually had pro-abortionists taunt me with that phrase, “Every child a wanted child” as if arrogantly inferring that “every child is NOT a wanted child.” What a horrific world in which we live. God help us.
If all the children that you claim are “wanted”, why are there orphanages and foster homes? Is there some reason that these little ones don’t get to live in a living home? Rethink your equation.
Thank you, but rethinking my “equation” will not change the truth. The reasons that there are so many children in foster care and orphanages is because many of them are removed from homes where they were not being provided for properly. Sadly, people view children as possessions and not gifts. With many of these children, and let me caution you that I know what I am talking about from having talked with many…many….children in these situations, as well as those who aged out of foster care…..their parents know how to manipulate the system so that they do not have their parental rights involuntarily revoked. I remember talking to one young woman in particular who shared that she was removed from the home, because her mother was a drug addict. This girl wanted to be adopted so badly, because although she loved her mother, she knew that she would never be successful living in that environment. However, she was never adopted, because her birthmother knew exactly how to manipulate the system. She shared details.
Every child is a “wanted” child. God wanted them to be placed here for His purpose.
I’ve never thought of this.
“And what does it say to the children of a culture when they hear slogans proclaiming that they must be “wanted” or else they are not even worthy of life itself?”
What a devastating message to kids on the fringe.
Spot On Leila!
Well said!