I have long been a proponent of Christian values and morals. Being a Christian myself, this should be obvious. But my desire to have these beliefs and morals generally accepted as good for society has been based almost solely on intellectual arguments. You aren't really a "true believer" until it comes from the heart.

My wife is a mental health therapist at a local university where she counsels students. And while most of her clients are "I don't know how to handle my girlfriend leaving me" and "my parents just don't understand me" -- typical college life issues -- she recently had a client of a different nature.

A female student who is pregnan came in to talk to my wifet because she is considering an abortion. She and her parents emigrated to the U.S. a number of years ago and her parents still hold to traditional cultural values. The girl wants to have an abortion because she knows her parents will ostracize her. Normally, I would oppose this abortion on the strict grounds that the Bible teaches us to hold every life -- even those still in the womb -- as sacred and valuable to God. But another factor has been added to the equation.

My wife and I have recently decided that we are going to adopt. We haven't established a timeline yet, but we know that we would like to adopt some time in the next year.

With this added to the mix, abortion takes on a new meaning. I see this young woman's unborn child as the "every child" -- one that could potentially be the child my wife and I would adopt. I now find that I am heart-broken when I think about this girl's plans to abort "the fetus." The young lady asked my wife if we had any children and "smiled" when told we plan to adopt. But she would not be able to hide her pregnancy from her parents and carry the child to term in order to put it up for adoption.

I find myself grieving terribly for the unborn child. I grieve for the young woman who is put in the position to make such a decision. And while I have a greater understanding of this issues that such women face, I still stand firm on my belief that abortion is the murder of unborn children for convenience sake. The young woman in question is merely exchanging one set of the consequences for exercising her sexual "freedom" for another set of consequences. She is trading potential ostracism by her parents for the psychological and spiritual damage of an abortion will cause. And while I try not to hold it against her, she has broken my heart. She has decided that there will be one less child who could potentially be my son or daughter. One more offering at the altar of the culture of death. This will not be easy for anyone involved.

Please pray for her -- unnamed. Please pray for me. Pray for our society of convenience and death.