It blows my mind that God chose the heart to be the most recognizable sign of life. Whether it’s a person who has lost consciousness or is found unresponsive, the first thing most people do is check for a pulse – a sign of a beating heart.
Here at the pregnancy clinic, when a woman comes in for an ultrasound, our goal is three things: placement, gestational age, and heartbeat. When a baby is early in development, the most profound and noticeable feature is the heartbeat. On an ultrasound image, the heart looks like flashes of light, pulsating at 140-160 beats per minute. It’s an unmistakable sign of life. And the image cements for us and for that family that the tiny human growing in its mother’s womb is alive. The effect ranges from tears of joy at this to sometimes shock and awe.
However, sometimes the baby’s heart isn’t beating.
Last week, we saw a mom who was abortion-minded, and not exactly excited to be pregnant because she and the father of the baby were not planning to have children and had been on birth control. However, after her appointment here, she changed her mind and decided they would parent this child.
She came back this week for her ultrasound, and the nurse immediately noted a concern. That big bright flashing pulse of the heartbeat was nonexistent. While we cannot confirm any fetal demise (we send the ultrasounds to a medical doctor to interpret), our nurse informed the mom what she should see and what was not there. She was then referred to the emergency room for immediate care. Upon hearing this news, she was visibly disappointed.
Just four days before she was certain she didn’t want to be a mom, but she inevitably was heartbroken at the absence of a heartbeat. All of the expectation, the fear, the joy, the future was now gone.
That is exactly why abortion is so insidious. We think we’re “fixing” something that was never broken. While complicated and scary at times, the promise of a new life and a future is what makes life so abundant. Yes, fear and anxiety about how it’s all going to work out are uncomfortable, but being a mom or a dad is a great blessing and children are worth fighting for.
Our thoughts and prayers are with this young woman. No matter what the outcome, she has a safe place to come to talk about all of this and more. I also pray that this was a turning point in her life and that she recognizes the preciousness of life and the value of a heartbeat.