The Rest of the Story

Does this scene sound somewhat familiar?

A young, married, pregnant woman is admitted to a hospital. She is in pain, but not quite sure what is happening. Early labor? Perhaps. Complications associated with the pregnancy? Maybe. After some tests are conducted, the diagnosis is made: Appendicitis.

The frightened woman is relieved and treated. But at the end of the surgery the doctor advises that her baby is likely to be born with a disability. Why? A consequence of the treatment which had been necessary to save the pregnant woman’s life.

The recommendation? Abortion.

What should she do? What did she do?

Thankfully, this particular woman decided not to abort and carried her baby to term. A happy ending? In some ways, the doctor was correct. The little boy had extremely poor eyesight. He was diagnosed with congenital glaucoma and by the age of twelve was completely blind. As a young boy, music was the only thing that would comfort him.

But because of the young woman’s courage and conviction, singer Andrea Bocelli was born. With more than 70 million albums sold, he’s now one of Italy’s best known singers.

“I may be biased,” Bocelli recently said, “but I can tell you it was the right choice, and I hope that this will encourage other mothers who are perhaps at a difficult moment in life but want to save the lives of their children.”

 A pop artist’s remarkable story—revealed for the first time this week—is making the rounds online. I’d like to commend him for stepping forward and stepping out to share his moving testimony.

Mr. Bocelli, like the Denver Broncos’ Tim Tebow, whose mother made a similar decision many years ago, are stars of the modern age and stage. But their stardom and success aren’t the reasons why we celebrate their mothers’ respective decisions.

Thousands of women all around the world have made the same tough choices and delivered precious children who may never headline on Broadway or make millions of dollars on the gridiron. The mothers of these less-celebrated individuals are no less noble or significant. Not by far! That’s because each and every life is a gift from God, and He has a distinct and important purpose for each person He creates.

I wonder if any of you have a similar story to tell? I would love to hear it if you do.

It’s interesting to me that a man like Andrea Bocelli, a gentleman who’s been completely blind for 40 years, sees the matter of the sanctity and sacredness of life more clearly than pro-abortion minded people with 20/20 vision.

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Topics: Family and Home Tags: pro-life June 11, 2010 by Jim Daly