As promised here are my thoughts behind the lyrics to my pro-life song, “I’m Here.” The lyrics scroll through the video, but here they are again for your convenience.

I’m Here by Emily Naugle

In the cocoon of the womb
There’s panic in the atmosphere
And I am afraid that you
Don’t know I’m here . . .

In the haze of my mind
I seek but cannot find
The answer to “why me?”
When you don’t want to see . . .

(Refrain)
I’m here
Though you can’t hear my voice
I’m more than a choice
I cry out to you
See me through (Repeat)

A happy family we could bless
And I won’t think you less
It’s not selfish to share
To give is to care

Now I understand
that I was not planned
Before you decide,
Know deep inside . . . (I’m Here)

Listen with your heart,
You can hear my voice
I’m crying out to you

(Refrain)

I am part of you
You are part of me
{The road ahead is rough, But you are enough} (this was deleted in the final version)
You’re not alone . . . (Repeat)

I’m here (Repeat)

The perspective of the song is fairly obvious, it is the unborn child speaking to her mother in crisis. If you read my post with the video you saw how I was inspired to write this song while I was pregnant before I knew it, and I wrote the lyrics and rough draft of the tune before my daughter was 8 weeks gestation (which is when most babies are aborted). Though my daughter was never abortion vulnerable, I like to think that she was “speaking out” on behalf of her peers. We too as pro-life advocates must be a voice for the voiceless. The song generally speaks for itself, but here are a few insights.

If we kill a caterpillar do we not also eliminate a butterfly? It is an amazing feat of God’s creation that in the two weeks in the cocoon a caterpillar transforms itself into a butterfly. The cocoon offers protection and a place of remarkable development. You might think of a caterpillar of being a more lowly life form than a butterfly, but it is equal. It has the same DNA; it is the same species, and every butterfly was once a humble caterpillar. “In the cocoon of the womb, there’s panic in the atmosphere.” God created the perfect shelter for man, his most prized creation. However, in what should be a safe haven for development the unborn baby senses panic. This is intuitive as a pregnant mother, but I have since read about a study out of Germany supporting that unborn babies feel emotions, such as fear and joy (http://www.lifenews.com/2014/02/12/unborn-babies-feel-anger-and-joy-psychotherapists-study-says/)

“I am afraid that you don’t know I’m here.” How many women who choose abortion are deceived into thinking that her unborn child isn’t a real person yet. Those that profit from abortion certainly don’t go out of their way to give them any idea. I have heard 80-90% of women who see an ultrasound of their baby choose life. Because they can see that it is a little person. Women are told it isn’t a baby yet it is just a “blob of cells.” Aren’t we all made up of blobs of cells? But really 18-24 days after conception the human heart begins to beat. So, if you conceive a baby and then two weeks later are late for your period you have about a week, maybe less, to get an abortion before the baby has a heart beat. I have heard people say that women choose abortion like a trapped animal chooses to gnaw off its leg. The women who feel trapped without alternatives have instincts that tell them there is life and this is wrong. However a shocking number of women have had three or more abortions (7.7%! So of the million abortions/year in the US that is 77,000 women! You have to assume that these women just plain don’t know the gravity of the situation, and don’t hear he/she crying out to her heart “I’m here!” I would also think that once you go through pregnancy once and snuggle and bond with the fruits of your labor, it would be impossible to have an abortion. But also surprisingly (at least to me) is that 61% of women already have children at home (2008).

One of the prolife groups in Houston, Texas shared the following story of a woman (this is from the “40 Days for Life” book by David Bereit and Shawn Carney- I’d recommend it). This woman worried that the fetus would feel pain, even though Planned Parenthood (PP) lied and told her it wouldn’t (Science for sometime has shown that the nervous system is complete at 8 ½ weeks gestation and several neuroscientists have testified that the unborn feel pain certainly by 13 ½ weeks). She had been given an ultrasound picture of her pregnancy at the pre-procedure appointment by PP that was an indistinguishable round circle. A week later, plagued with doubts the day of her scheduled abortion she decided to check out the free ultrasound and other services offered by a life-affirming mobile clinic parked on the street outside of PP. She was shocked at what they showed her: her baby moving around with a head, body, arms, and legs- jumping! She continued the pregnancy. This courageous mom also reported that she had been told by Planned Parenthood staff to cover her ears so she wouldn’t hear the heartbeat. There are MANY pregnancy support centers around the country and I encourage you to support them as you are able. Women should not be choosing abortion because they feel trapped by life’s circumstances.

“A happy family we could bless, and I won’t think you less, it’s not selfish to share, to give is to care.” I recently helped put together a pro-life pamphlet mostly about our local 40 Days for Life, but in it I also included other ways we can counter the abortion culture. Number two on my list was to encourage adoption. Our culture seems to have a stigma about adoption. Mothers are made to feel selfish, but in truth it is a very mature decision. Why does it seem like abortion is accessible, yet adoption is such a process. I think that there are more parents willing to adopt American babies than do, because it is expensive ($30,000 is the average American domestic newborn adoption (2012)) and an exhaustive process. If you have the opportunity, please promote adoption as a blessing and make it more attainable.

The last lyric I’d like to expand on is “You are not alone.” There is a double meaning here. The obvious one is that the child is trying to communicate that she is with her, and within her. The second meaning is that she is not alone because we, the pro-life community, are with her too. We know that “the road ahead is rough,” but we are available to lend support in numerous ways, to help her turn the stumbling block of an unplanned pregnancy into a stepping stone to a better life.

I kind of goofed by putting the credits, not quite at the end, but I wanted to be sure that my awesome “models” got their due recognition! Many thanks to the friends that supported my project by sending me pictures. A number of the ultrasounds I used in the video are of my daughters, Charlie and Siena. God provided me with some great images, I was especially impressed to discover that the video clip the US tech had accidentally copied onto the CD we got with Charlie was of her heart beating! I left the true timing of the beating of her heart. The first ~8 week ultrasound really is love at first sight.

If you have any other questions about the song or video feel free to leave me a comment!

I stumbled upon this website in verifying my memory about some of the facts, it seems like a good one, since it gives a little background info as well. I was just looking at the stat pages, but it seems the other pages are well done also. http://www.abort73.com/abortion_facts/us_abortion_statistics/