My name is Liz Kleemeier, and I am proof that abortion is not necessary, a living example of how to handle a problem pregnancy without killing the baby. A woman like me is the abortion industry's worst enemy. Not only am I a product of a teenage, unplanned pregnancy, but I am also a female that believes she should not have the abortion option.

Abortion advocates offer many arguments for protecting the legality of abortion in this country. Some arguments include “How can I, a man, ever attempt to understand the circumstances surrounding a woman's right to choose?” Or, “we... are in no position to judge.” There is the example of rape, saying that a woman not given the abortion, HAD she become pregnant, would be given a life long reminder of a heinous crime. Some say they know abortion is wrong, but view it as “not their business, so deal with it and move on.”

To that I say, “my life IS my business,” and I resent the abortion laws of this country telling me otherwise.

Years ago a teenager became pregnant and knew that my life was worth any difficulty a teenage pregnancy would entail. She knew I was alive within her, and she let my heart beat on, strong and steady, proclaiming life. She is my hero, and I am thankful.

Abortion has become a form of birth control in this country. A female director of a New York abortion clinic was asked why women have abortions. She said she is “sick and tired of hearing women don't do this lightly.” Of her own clinic, she said, "Ninety-eight percent of women do it lightly in here... They think of abortion like brushing their...teeth, and that's okay with me." According to abortionists themselves approximately 95% of abortions are performed for social problems. The other 5% involves birth defects, health threat to mother, and rape and incest.

In defense of babies with birth defects, a young woman in Cincinnati recently became pregnant and wanted to give her baby up for adoption. Tests showed that the baby had Down Syndrome, and the Cincinnati Right to Life found a waiting list of 30 couples in the Cincinnati area waiting to adopt Down Syndrome babies. Life is truly beautiful in all forms, and God calls us to respect it.

In cases of health threat to the mother, I stand by the Catholic teaching: if a baby dies as a result of trying to save a mother's life, than the death of the baby is not murder.

Finally, in cases of rape and incest, murdering the baby serves to execute capital punishment for the crime of the father. A child should never have to pay with their life for the crime of another. In these cases the woman already has the life long reminder of a rape or incest. I know girls who have been raped and I doubt they will forget the crime any sooner than a woman who has become pregnant through rape. Abortions in these cases add to the trauma, as the woman will later remember the rape and abortion.

I ask you to consider a survey that speaks for itself. Planned Parenthood, the largest abortion provider in the country, conducted a survey of women who had had abortions. Of the women, 39,000 had joined the National Abortion Rights Action League, the largest pro-abortion organization in the country. 245,000 of the polled women had joined the National Right to Life Committee, the largest pro-life organization in the country. Apparently, women who have had abortions are more likely to oppose abortion than to defend it. Pro-life IS pro-woman, as it fights to keep women from falling into the clutches of the abortion industry.

I would like to share my thoughts on one of the most often used arguments of the abortion industry: “It is none of your business, you are going to have to deal with it and move on.” If you see someone being beaten on the street, is it right to just keep walking and justify it by saying “the attacker will just deal with God someday?” No. If someone knew that Susan Smith was planning to drown her sons, would abortion advocates condemn him for interfering? Susan has said that in her despair, it seemed to be her only choice.

It was a terrible and difficult decision. What would have given anyone the right to interfere in the most difficult decision Susan ever made? Susan probably would be grateful today if someone had interfered. During the Jewish Holocaust, should the United States have stood back and let Hitler go about his business, saying “God will let him know it's wrong eventually?” No. The question is not “what right do we have to interfere?” It is “what right do we have to abandon these women just when they need us most?” That is a question rarely asked, and almost never answered.

Now we face the American Holocaust against those who cannot protect themselves, as abortion targets the most innocent of our society. We will all be judged someday, and God will call for an accounting of our lives. However, God will not judge us solely on our sinful actions, but also for our lack of taking a stand against the evil in this world. It is too easy to look the other way in this world of convenience.

There are millions of couples in the United States on waiting lists to adopt these “unplanned” babies. Planned Parenthood uses the slogan “Every child a wanted child.” By Planned Parenthood's standards, as a teenage pregnancy, I was not a wanted child. Tell that to my parents, who spent five years on a waiting list to carry me home from the adoption agency, and another four years to get my brother. I thank God for the patience of my parents, who have embedded me with strong Catholic faith and values by their example. When the adoption agency phoned them and said “we have a baby girl, do you want her” they said yes and so I was born into the Kleemeier family.

My mother is always there to console me with a gentle touch and kind words when I am frustrated by the pro-abortion world around me. The biological mothers of my brother and I allowed God to guide us into the welcoming arms of the wonderful person I call “mom.” My father spends each Saturday morning, rain, shine, or snow, picketing abortion clinics. God's will burns in his heart as he prays and endures being spat upon, screamed at, and hated for reaching out in love to strangers, only a rosary and prayers as his defense. His eyes have seen woman after woman drive up in everything from the cheapest to the most expensive cars, enter the clinic, have her money taken, her baby killed, and shoved into the parking lot to bleed. I remember my family standing together during the Life Chains of years past, hand in hand. God's hands made us a family and a beautiful one at that.

I hope that today I have been able to offer a different perspective on abortion, adoption, and what “right to life” really means. I have made fighting abortion my business. I will stand up to the pro-abortionists and let the fruits of my life serve as proof that unplanned pregnancies can have awesome results. Abortion should not be an option: My life is the most priceless gift anyone has ever given me. I believe it was a beautiful choice.