Non-LDS former NBA player against abortion

CAUTION: This post may be a bit lengthy, but it is SO worth the read!!

So right now my husband is reading John Stockton's autobiography:

He knew I would like this part so he made me read it. Here it goes:

"I have given the issue of the rights of an unborn child a great deal of thought over the course of many years. My upbringing was a valuable guide. Simply stated, I believe that an unborn baby has the right to life. This is not a regurgitation of my religious or family upbringing. Nor are my thoughts connected to any political party or philosophy. For me, the logic is simple - no one should be able to dictate whether an innocent child, literally with his or her whole life ahead of them, should live or die. I'm convinced the fetus, once the cells start dividing, is a developing human being. No amount of definitional massaging is going to change its DNA to something else. In this country we recognize that everyone is endowed by the Creator with certain inalienable rights. Preeminent among these is the right to life itself.

Women should certainly have the right to choose what they do with their own bodies. They have fought and sacrificed for those and other freedoms that haven't been granted historically. They should expect nothing less, and we should tolerate nothing less. However, once conception occurs there is a third person whose rights must also be considered. The mother is responsible for that life. Her rights don't trump those of her child. I believe the vulnerable young life inside of every mother merits the same protections we guarantee to everyone in this great land of ours.

History will most likely judge us harshly for allowing the practice of abortion to exist on our watch. Having said that, it is important to note that shoveling blame or generating guilt is not my objective. I condemn no one. Unfortunately, abortion is legal and accepted by a large portion of our country's population. That is the culture we live in. Accepting this as a fixed and final practice, however, denies the positive forces in our history. We have faced many moral scourges and found a way within our democratic process to become a better society, a better place to live. We have confronted and, to a large extent, conquered ugly realities such as slavery, segregation, and gender discrimination. We should celebrate the fact that a great nation, like a great team, sticks up for its weakest members. In this case, the unborn need a voice. They deserve the same chance all of us received or we wouldn't be here to argue the point."

Can I get an AMEN?? Gosh, after reading that, my respect for John Stockton just sailed through the roof! How cool is it that he's writing a book about his own life and he felt the importance to step back and talk about how wrong abortion is? I love where he talks about how once the cells start dividing, it is a developing human being. SO. TRUE.

I wish the whole world could read this and be convinced by his argument!