As a child care provider, I was caring for four little girls. I provided lots of balloons to play with so I needed to keep an eye on the three 3-year-olds and the 1-year-old.

The game changed as the girls put the balloons under their shirts.

“When is your baby coming?” one 3-year-old asked.

“My baby is due today,” replied another.

The third said to her friend: “Hey, your big brother and his girlfriend are having a real baby!”

Here was the reply, given with hands on hips: “No, because they went to the doctor and made her not pregnant.”

“Un-uh! Cuz if they did that, the baby would die!”

In response, the girl froze and looked shocked. “Oh yea,” she said. “I forgot.”

I then watched the 1-year-old lay her baby doll into a small bed. She covered it with a tiny blanket, put a finger to her lips and said, “Hush.”

The root cause of abortion is the breakdown of support systems for expectant parents.

Michelle Williams

Oregon City