Lisa Wheeler: The abortion debate makes me wonder – Have we forgotten how to love?

I have always cared about the vulnerable. When I was a teenager, it was animals. I would drive my mother crazy because I was always bringing home a stray dog or a cat. When I got to college, I volunteered in a state-funded daycare, where many of the children were in foster care I saw first-hand the effects of poverty, a lack of access to job education and career skills, and the growing drug epidemic. My heart was torn open. I became a court-appointed special advocate, known simply as CASA in many states, and began to advocate for children and their families. In my 20s, I spent time working in foreign missions, traveling to third world countries to work with profoundly disabled children who had been abandoned by their parents to orphanages.

With all this recent debate on abortion, I was reminded that these poor children could all have been spared this pain and suffering had they just been aborted.

I remembered the one little girl who disclosed to me that her grandfather was sexually molesting her. She was in relative foster care because her incarcerated mother was a drug addict. Had her mom chosen abortion, that sweet child would never have been sexually assaulted by a family member. LIVES OF THE UNBORN ARE WORTH FIGHTING FOR – NO MATTER HOW THEY WERE CONCEIVED

Black Eyed Peas Lyrics

"Where Is The Love?"

What's wrong with the world, mama People livin' like they ain't got no mamas I think the whole world's addicted to the drama Only attracted to the things that'll bring a trauma

Overseas, yeah, we tryin' to stop terrorism But we still got terrorists here livin' In the USA, the big CIA The Bloods and The Crips and the KKK

But if you only have love for your own race Then you only leave space to discriminate And to discriminate only generates hate And when you hate then you're bound to get irate, yeah

Madness is what you demonstrate And that's exactly how anger works and operates Man, you gotta have love, this'll set us straight Take control of your mind and meditate Let your soul gravitate to the love, y'all, y'all

People killin', people dyin' Children hurt and you hear them cryin' Can you practice what you preach? And would you turn the other cheek?

Father, Father, Father help us Send some guidance from above 'Cause people got me, got me questionin' Where is the love (Love)

Where is the love (The love) Where is the love (The love) Where is the love, the love, the love

It just ain't the same, old ways have changed New days are strange, is the world insane? If love and peace is so strong Why are there pieces of love that don't belong?

Nations droppin' bombs Chemical gasses fillin' lungs of little ones With ongoin' sufferin' as the youth die young So ask yourself is the lovin' really gone

So I could ask myself really what is goin' wrong In this world that we livin' in people keep on givin' in Makin' wrong decisions, only visions of them dividends Not respectin' each other, deny thy brother A war is goin' on but the reason's undercover

The truth is kept secret, and swept under the rug If you never know truth then you never know love Where's the love, y'all, come on (I don't know) Where's the truth, y'all, come on (I don't know) Where's the love, y'all

People killin', people dyin' Children hurt and you hear them cryin' Can you practice what you preach? Or would you turn the other cheek?

Father, Father, Father help us Send some guidance from above 'Cause people got me, got me questionin' Where is the love (Love)

Where is the love (The love)? Where is the love (The love)? Where is the love (The love)? Where is the love (The love)? Where is the love (The love)? Where is the love (The love)? Where is the love, the love, the love?

I feel the weight of the world on my shoulder As I'm gettin' older, y'all, people gets colder Most of us only care about money makin' Selfishness got us followin' the wrong direction

Wrong information always shown by the media Negative images is the main criteria Infecting the young minds faster than bacteria Kids wanna act like what they see in the cinema

Yo', whatever happened to the values of humanity Whatever happened to the fairness and equality Instead of spreading love we're spreading animosity Lack of understanding, leading us away from unity

That's the reason why sometimes I'm feelin' under That's the reason why sometimes I'm feelin' down There's no wonder why sometimes I'm feelin' under Gotta keep my faith alive 'til love is found Now ask yourself

Where is the love? Where is the love? Where is the love? Where is the love?

Father, Father, Father, help us Send some guidance from above 'Cause people got me, got me questionin' Where is the love?

Sing with me y'all One world, one world (We only got) One world, one world (That's all we got) One world, one world And something's wrong with it (Yeah) Something's wrong with it (Yeah) Something's wrong with the wo-wo-world, yeah We only got (One world, one world) That's all we got (One world, one world)

What thinking person can deny the simple logic of Mother Teresa, who, at the National Prayer Breakfast in Washington, DC on February 3, 1994, stated: And if we accept that a mother can kill even her own child, how can we tell other people not to kill one another?"

Mother Teresa's declaration may be the most powerful statement in 2016 from which to begin discussions of murder, ambushes, and terrorists among us.

In America, our constitutional protections rest on the Founders' premise that each and all individuals are "endowed by their Creator" with the unalienable right to both life and the liberty to enjoy it, or, in their words, "the pursuit of happiness."

The sole reason these rights were deemed unalienable is that both are derived from the Creator--not from the mother or father, and not from government or judicial decision. What is "granted" by human decision also can, by implication, be withheld.

"The God who gave us life, gave us liberty at the same time: the hand of force may destroy, but cannot disjoin them (life and liberty)," said Thomas Jefferson.

"The world is different now. . . and yet the same revolutionary beliefs for which our forefathers fought are still at issue around the globe--the belief that the rights of man come not from the generosity of the state but from the hand of God." - John F. Kennedy, Inaugural Address

That understanding underlies every other consideration embodied in our Declaration of Independence and every protection of our Constitution. It is the very basis of our rights to life and liberty, of laws to protect them, and it distinguishes ours from other forms of government.

When we fail to acknowledge that foundation of our liberty, then we risk liberty itself for future generations, for where does the right to choose who lives and who does not really end?

That is why the question is of vital importance in each election. Already, we have deprived millions of their Creator-endowed rights to life and liberty, and our nation must be weaker for their loss. We need leaders who understand the implications and potential consequences of departing from our founding principles.

In recent decades, technological advances have enabled us to observe the characteristics and actions of God's tiniest creations in the womb. Unlike previous generations who could not see, we have no excuse for imagining that these are mere blobs of tissue labeled "fetuses." In their early weeks, we now can see that they are living babies who will continue on to possess life and liberty if we do not "destroy" both. Indeed, they are simply smaller versions of ourselves.

Questions on the economy, taxes, threats from terrorists, health care--all are considerations at this election time. One, however, is basic to all others for me. Who will best protect the underlying premise of our Constitution--and the lives and liberties of millions yet unborn?

Promises are illusive and cheap. In 2020, this voter will examine each candidate's previous voting record carefully on all issues, because past actions are the best predictors of future decisions.

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