It's personal now

Shawan

I was in awe of the moment this week as two Pro-Life bills I had co-sponsored were being debated on the floor of the House of Representatives. As amendments were added making this multi-faceted bill the strongest anti-abortion bill in the United States, testimony and inquiries were being made back and forth and the sense of drama was electric in the Chamber.

As we voted the amendments in with large majorities, I was eagerly anticipating casting my vote for the completed bill, when a member spoke against an amendment which would protect unborn babies with defects. While covering all defects, the amendment is primarily designed to protect Downs Syndrome babies, who are routinely slaughtered with the conviction that their lives are not worth living.

He chose a personal story describing his unborn baby who was discovered to be suffering with spina bifida and opined that he and his wife should be able to choose to end that baby’s life, due to a defect. At that moment, I felt a flush go through my body and realized that I was being called to “speak” on the amendment.

You see, very few people know this about me and while I have never felt I needed to be secretive, it’s just something deeply personal, rarely spoken. I realized that I was going to speak most publicly about the fact that I am a spina bifida patient.

When I was born 6 weeks premature in 1956, no one knew that my lower spine had not completely developed and back then, they lacked diagnostic tools to test for such a thing.

It wasn’t until I was 15 years old and suffered a back injury that an X-ray revealed that I indeed had spina bifida and my spine “twists” a bit with scoliosis. I have always suffered with daily pain, but with proper stretching and exercise, mine has minor consequence compared to extreme cases. Though I struggle some with my condition, I believe at 62 years of age, my life is worth living and I hope that my story helped my colleagues to see my perspective: it is not ours to judge the value of life, it is ours to protect life, most especially the lives that cannot speak for themselves!

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Jeff Shawan represents the 153rd District. Contact him at jeff.shawan@house.mo.gov or by calling 573-751-1066.