Ninety-two-year-old Ray Lane wouldn’t be here if his parents hadn’t listened to their doctor.
Born during the Great Depression, Mr. Lane has accumulated a wealth of lifelong experiences and knowledge—but one of his all-time favorite talks has always been recounting how he was saved from being aborted. Ironically, it happened during the era when abortions were illegal in the United States; a thoughtful doctor successfully counseled Mr. Lane’s parents to not terminate the pregnancy.
Referring to the American scientist Dr. Thomas Verny’s two decades of medical study on what an unborn baby can learn, Mr. Lane said an unborn baby can respond to music and sounds and even warn parents of medical problems they or their doctors may not be aware of.
A Life-Saving Conversation
Mr. Lane has long been a defender of the unborn, perhaps stemming from his long and intimate knowledge of abortion.
When he was 8 years old, his mother told him that she had intended to abort him, but her doctor persuaded her not to. She'd already terminated two previous pregnancies; it was the Great Depression, and the parents feared that they would not be able to feed their children.
“There were lots of abortions happening even though it was illegal,” Mr. Lane said. “There were lots of abortions happening all over during the great depression.”
Fortunately, the doctor reassured Mr. Lane’s mother that they lived on a farm and could grow and can their vegetables and have enough to support the life of their family. When questioned further about why she wanted an abortion, she admitted that it was mainly her husband’s fears.
“‘Well, where is he?’ the doctor asked,'” Mr. Lane said, recounting the conversation that saved his life.
“He was in the car. The doctor suggested, ‘Would you mind going out, bringing him in?’
“Mom went out and got him out of the car and went down. The doctor took him in his office, and they had a conversation—and the abortion did not happen.”
Mr. Lane does not know the specific details of that conversation, but he concludes that he never felt unwanted, believing that he belonged with his family; feeling love and acceptance.
The Potential of the Unborn
Though this early intimacy with such a sensitive subject has surely influenced many choices in his 92 years of life, it didn’t negatively impact Mr. Lane’s childhood.“I was a happy child,” he said.
Having a place to live and farm, where he could bask in the innocence of childhood, Mr. Lane grew into a bright young man, graduating in 9th grade as the valedictorian in his small Idaho school.
Endeavoring to glorify God in whatever line of work he has been in, Mr. Lane has worked all over the United States and even spent time in New Zealand. Whether it has been winning an award for his cattle breeding, being a capable Air Force sergeant, or being a champion for the unborn, Mr. Lane represents what could have been for his siblings who were never born and the millions of babies who never got a chance at life.
A Continuing Impact
Mr. Lane reflects on the impact of his work for the betterment of the world, and he also sees the impact of his parent’s choice in the good work his grandson does.“My one grandson was the top computer engineering graduate from School of Mines in Colorado, which is one of the nation’s top schools for engineering,” Mr. Lane said.
Mr. Lane’s grandson lost both of his parents and his step-grandmother to pancreatic cancer, which has influenced the work he does. Having graduated with his master’s degree in 2015, he works for a company based out of London, England, using artificial intelligence to search for cures for cancer.
“My grandson is the lead guy on the study to see if artificial intelligence can help in finding answers to treatment for cancer,” Mr. Lane said.
