Millenial Says She Opposes Abortion Because “I Could Have Been One of the Babies Killed”

Opinion   |   Micaiah Bilger   |   Sep 11, 2019   |   10:29PM   |   Washington, DC

Darien Barrett began defending the rights of unborn babies before she was old enough to vote.

The now 18-year-old’s passion for the cause stemmed from the knowledge that she could have been one of those babies who was aborted, but, thankfully, her mother chose life.

A pro-life advocate from Tennessee, Barrett is one of several Millennials recently profiled in the Times Free Press.

Barrett told the news outlet that she learned about abortion for the first time when she was a pre-teen. She said it startled her to learn that most women who have abortions are not married. She said her own mother was unmarried when she was born.

“It hit me that I could’ve been one of the babies that was killed,” she said. “That’s really when I got [the conviction] to do something.”

Five years ago, she invested her time into an important state constitutional amendment in Tennessee that allows lawmakers to pass some protections for unborn babies. Voters approved the amendment in 2014.

According to the report:

At the time she was too young to vote but spoke with voters about the issues nonetheless. She preferred to meet one on one with people, which makes listening easier and has more influence than talking to a big group, she said. …

Before she was old enough to cast a ballot, Barrett was active in her community to support legislation. She talked with friends and family who had doubts or were not involved in the anti-abortion movement.

Through her church in South Pittsburg, she said she also worked to be a voice for unborn babies, the elderly and others in need.

Barrett said she believes our culture is starting to move in the right direction, but more people need to step up and help the pro-life movement.

“A lot of the problems with the issue today is people have had a problem with abortion and didn’t say anything. And that’s not the right approach,” she said.

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Though abortion activists are pushing hard for an increasingly radical pro-abortion agenda, Barrett is right that there are encouraging signs for the future.

Millennials like her are passionate and active in working to protect unborn babies and mothers from abortion. A poll released in January found that 70 percent of Millennials support abortion limits, while only 7 percent support abortions for any reason up to birth.

Abortion statistics also indicate that more young people are choosing life for their unborn babies. The latest Centers for Disease Control report shows abortions at an all-time low since the U.S. Supreme Court ruled on Roe v. Wade in 1973.

According to the CDC, the abortion rate declined to 11.8 abortions per 1,000 women of childbearing age in 2015. That is a 26-percent decline since 2006, Newsmax reports. Among teenagers, the rate declined even more drastically – a full 54 percent since 2006, according to the CDC. In comparison to live births, the CDC reported 188 abortions per 1,000 live births, a 19-percent drop from 2006.

Research from the pro-abortion Guttmacher Institute in 2016 also showed an encouraging trend among young people. According to its data, the proportion of teens having abortions dropped 32 percent between 2008 and 2014.

Meanwhile, there are hundreds of pro-life clubs popping up on high school and college campuses, full of young people eager to be voices for life. Many of these clubs help educate their peers about the issue. Some offer free babysitting services or run scholarship programs. Others lobby their colleges for changing tables, parking spots and other resources to help parenting students.

All of these are very good reasons for the pro-life to be hopeful about the future.