Life

"As sons and daughters of God, we cherish life as a gift from Him. His eternal plan provides opportunities for His children to obtain physical bodies, to gain earthly experiences, and to realize their divine destinies as heirs of eternal life."

Russell M. Nelson, “Abortion: An Assault on the Defenseless,” Liahona, Oct 2008, 14–19

The last few days I have not been able to stop thinking about a news story that I saw, about Carlos Boozer's family and another family here in Utah. (Here is the link to the story, http://ksl.com/?nid=148&sid=4904000) With Aleck's condition this really hit home, both of these families chose to go and have their embryos tested for disease/disorders/disability, however you want to put it. After testing they choose which embryos get to live, and which do not, their whole purpose is to have a "healthy" child, unaffected by what ever could be passed on to them from the parent(s). I just wanted to cry as I watched the story. I cannot imagine someone choosing to kill, in my opinion, a child or multiple children in these cases because they inherited a bad gene. I am truly thankful for medical technology and the treatments we have for disease/disorders/disabilities, but when it comes down to life I believe that all have the right to live no matter what is wrong with our physical bodies, and in the end we all have at least a little something wrong.

Aleck's condition came about because of a gene mutation, because Chad nor I have the condition, but he has a 50/50 chance of passing aniridia on to his children. If I had known that he was going to be born with this ailment I would have never chose to not have him because of it, and I pray that he will do the same for his children. He is a child of God, (as we all are), who deserved a chance to gain a physical body and to live on this earth to learn and to grow, I know I am blessed to have the gospel (being a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints) and to know the truths of this life. It just breaks my heart that the world is becoming so careless that they would be willing to sacrifice a life for their idea of "perfection", which is unattainable anyway. In my opinion it is all selfish, no one wants to see there children suffer physically, or in any other way, and no one wants to spend endless hours in the hospital, or at the doctors, or therapy or potentially have to watch there child die, but that is what being a parent is all about, becoming selfless.

I would not trade anything for the opportunity that I have to raise a child with special needs, it is not easy and many tears have been shed over the difficulties. But in the end he is Aleck, a child, and aniridia does not define his life, in the eternities it will just be a small spec of who he is and what he went through in this life.