Family for Life

Over the past couple weeks, I have heard in the news about the slaying of Byrd and Melanie Billings, a couple from Florida. This couple had 16 children, 12 of which were adopted. Several of these children had special needs such as Down Syndrome, autism, and other developmental disabilities.This family really exemplifies an often-overlooked portion of what it means to be pro-life. These parents cared for children, no matter what struggles they might have faced. Oftentimes, pro-abortion advocates argue that they only want good lives for children, and that children with physical or developmental disabilities would have harder lives. Similarly, people whom consider themselves "pro-choice" will say that most women seeking abortions would not be able to provide their children with a good home and that there wouldn't be a parent interested in adopting the child. The Billings family is evidence against both of these points.Being pro-life is more than just protecting the lives of the unborn. It's also about loving those who are born. Byrd and Melanie Billings valued the lives of these children so much that they took them into their own home and provided for them to the best of their ability. In an interview with the Pensacola News Journal, Melanie Billings said of her adopted children, "I just wanted to give them a better life."For further reading: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/us_world/2009/07/12/2009-07-12_leonard_gonzalez_arrested_in_murder_of_.html