6- When a woman becomes pregnant, but the family does not want a new baby.

 This case should not be considered a serious problem, but it happens frequently, so it is worth discussing:

+ With the children of God who fear and love Him and fully understand abortion, the mere thought of abortion does not occur to them to begin with.

+ “Protection is far better than cure”; when the means of preventing pregnancy is available, it should be used carefully because negligence may result in pregnancy. When pregnancy occurs, it must be allowed to continue to the end with thanksgiving to God for His precious gift.

+ We should not correct a mistake with another mistake, especially when the second mistake, killing, is far worse than the first one, which is simple carelessness.

+ We should not understand  this pregnancy as a mistake, and we certainly should not say such a thing in front of a child born of an unwanted pregnancy. These words hurt and stay in the mind of children the rest of their lives. It is wrong to say that someone has been wrongly created, as if we blame God and doubt His wisdom.

+ The Holy Bible says: “Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord; the fruit of the womb is a reward.” (Ps. 127:3). Why should we grumble about a gift of God and try to get rid of it?!

+ If the action of murdering the child in the womb in the past happened because there was not enough church teaching, now there is no excuse after we have understood that it is a great sin that separates us from God and eternal life!!!

+ We should believe that God has permitted the creation of the child, and that He will help us to raise him and grant him a blessed life. However, we should not ignore the responsibility of the family to regulate pregnancy according to the conditions of life. We should take care to prevent other future unwanted pregnancies.

+ The unintentional child that God has given us may be a blessing to the family, to the church, and to society. We should offer thanks to God for His gift.

* A Real Story:

Fr. Marcos Gabra of St. Mark Cathedral in Alexandria told me this story:

A married couple in the church, who already had two daughters, came to me saying that the wife was pregnant and they wanted an absolution/permission to abort the child, as they were satisfied with their two daughters, and they did not want to raise any more children.

I told them that abortion is murder and a great sin and the children of God should not kill and earn the wrath of God. I tried to convince them that the gift of God is beautiful and they should thank God and rejoice for the new baby that would be a blessing for them, and I told them I could not give them an absolution for abortion. They were not convinced and left unhappy.

The wife told her brother who was a monk about her desire to abort the child, and he told her that he would talk to a bishop he knew to find a solution for this problem. The same night he planned to talk with the bishop, the monk had a dream in which a child approached him saying, “Why are you trying to kill me? What did I do to you?” The monk got up from his sleep frightened and went to his sister and told her that he did not want to be involved in this problem, and he advised her to complete the course of her pregnancy.

The woman completed her pregnancy and gave birth to a beautiful boy. The monk came to attend the bathing prayer of the newly born baby with Father Marcos and revealed his dream in front of everyone. The family was happy, and the child became a blessing for all.

 (To be continued)