Letter Sent to President Bush Regarding Partial Birth Abortion from our own Paul Wood

March 7, 2003

President George W. Bush
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Ave. NW
Washington, DC 20500

Dear Mr. President,

Let me begin by saying that I greatly appreciate your leadership, integrity and the stand you've taken for truth. I am particularly grateful for your unwavering determination to protect the unborn. I honestly believe that America has never had a president who stood more firmly for what he believes is right in the face of great opposition.

With all the attention being placed on partial-birth abortion the last several years, I wanted to share with you a little of my life story. I hope my story will be an encouragement to you to continue the fight to eliminate such barbaric acts. I am deeply grateful that you are my president.

In 1978, I was born via C-section only two days before my mother's twenty-third birthday. My mom told me of her sorrow when the doctor gave her the startling news: "Your baby has an anomaly. Have you heard of Spina Bifida?" Almost immediately, I was rushed to a nearby children's hospital to be treated; Mom wasn't even given a chance to see me, let alone hold me, until hours later.

When the neurosurgeon who had examined my CT scan spoke with my dad that afternoon, he explained that I had extensive brain damage, and that it was unlikely that I would have intelligence within the normal range.

That same doctor spoke again with my dad a few days later to explain some of the further surgeries I would need. In the midst of the conversation, this doctor also said something that caught Dad off-guard: "Mr. Wood, this never has to happen to you again."

When Dad asked him to elaborate, he said, "We can detect these children in the womb."

"And repair the problem?" Dad asked.

"No," replied the doctor. "Terminate the pregnancy."

This elicited a strong but calm response from Dad: "Why don't we just go in and kill him right now? It would avoid a lot of pain and suffering for all of us." My dad then made sure that this doctor was no longer assigned to care for me, because as he puts it, I would be better off in the care of someone who didn't think I'd be better off dead.

Many years (and about a dozen surgeries) later, I joined my parents and thousands of others in the Georgia Right to Life March, a peaceful pro-life demonstration that wound through the streets of downtown Atlanta. The sign I carried was one my mother had made, based on one we saw another child carrying in a news story about a similar demonstration in another state. The wording of the sign was simple: "I'm glad my mommy let me live." Despite the twenty-three painful surgeries I have endured over the years, I can still say with all sincerity, "I'm glad my mommy let me live!"

It is such a joy for me to be able to tell people that I share the name of the great apostle Paul, who once described a "thorn in [his] flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment [him]" (2 Corinthians 12:7, NIV). Because of the obvious physical challenges I have always faced, people have regularly commented on my positive outlook on life. I take delight in explaining that I feel the same assurance from God about my disabilities as the apostle Paul did about his thorn: "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness" (v. 9).

I am now twenty-four years old. I spent six semesters at two colleges but was forced to withdraw both times because of medical problems. After my second withdrawal, I was living with my parents again while facing another surgery. During this time, my dad got a call from Jay Sekulow, a close friend. Mr. Sekulow, Chief Counsel of the American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ), said he had heard about my having to withdraw from school and told my dad that I was welcome to come work for him in Virginia Beach once my health issues were resolved. When Dad told me about Mr. Sekulow's call, my response was immediate: "Tell him I'll pray about it to make sure that it's what the Lord wants, but tell him yes, I'm definitely interested."

In the two or three months that followed, I had a successful surgery and all of the other pieces fell into place. On Wednesday, August 15, 2001, I went to the ACLJ offices in Virginia Beach to be interviewed and began work that very day. By early September, I had moved into an apartment less than two miles from work at the corner of an intersection that also has a gas station, grocery store and drugstore, and what is now my church. In addition, my doctor's office is just on the other side of the ACLJ, which makes life much easier for someone whose disabilities include trouble with spatial relations. I am now totally independent and drive with hand controls. God has truly blessed me tremendously, and the challenges I have faced because of my birth defects have often provided the channel of blessing.

My mom and dad, a former pastor, founded Wears Valley Ranch in 1991, a home and school for children who come from families in crisis. Last spring my parents adopted three children, two brothers and a sister, from Ukraine, bringing the total number of Wood siblings to six (but that's a separate story).

In conclusion, let me just reiterate my sincere gratitude to you for your dedication to the cause of life and your efforts in creating, as you described in your State of the Union address, "a culture that values every life," including the unborn. I pray that in the years ahead that will become reality once again in our country.

Sincerely,

Paul Wood