A conversation at the Iowans for Life booth at the Iowa State Fair

By Tom Quiner

“Look, a baby!”

One kid after another squealed that phrase in delight yesterday. You should have seen them.

I was working a shift at the booth for Iowans for Life at the Iowa State Fair. We had accurate models of the human person at 12 weeks in the womb, 16 weeks, 22 weeks, and 26 weeks.

Kids would pick up the models and cradle them in their arms. The weight for each model was pretty accurate, as I understand it. They were made out of some rubbery material which made them extremely huggable. Kids treated them lovingly, with great care.

Here’s the good news: our pro life booth is receiving a fabulous reception. There was a steady stream of folks signing our online petition calling for passage of pro life legislation here in Iowa. So many of the adults signing the petition had kids in tow. Even the five year olds would look at our 12 week model and identify the little guy as a baby, not a fetus, or a blob of goo as some particularly grotesque human abortionists would proclaim.

You can’t fool a kid.

But it seems you can fool an adult. Here is one conversation I had: A young, pregnant woman excitedly came up to our display with a young child and pointed at our 26 week pre born model. Look, she cried, that’s about the same size as the baby in my womb. She’s 28 weeks.

The child was all excited.

I asked the pregnant mom if she would sign our pro life petition. She demurred.

I would never, ever, have an abortion, she explained. But I can’t tell another woman what to do.

You know the shpeel.

I asked her, why’s that?

The young mom firmed up and said that she can’t impose her belief system on another woman.

What belief system is that? I asked.

She wasn’t quite sure what to say and began hemming and hawing.

I pointed out that just a minute earlier, she had used the term ‘baby’ in describing the object in her womb.

If your belief is that the object in the womb is a baby,a human person, how could you tolerate any belief system that allows the destruction of another human being? If we aren’t willing to stand up for the weakest among us, why have any laws at all?

And so it went.

Sadly, I had lost her. I hope I gave her something to ponder.

But even if I didn’t, her little girl got an exciting glimpse into the wonders of human creation. She saw what a baby looks like in her mommy’s tummy.

That matters.

***

[Be sure to visit Iowans for Life’s website. Sign the petition. Make a donation. If you like the site, my company built it. We can build one for you, too. Call for details: 515-276-9266.]