Monthly Archives: December 2018

Hearing the Cries of the Victims

Posted on by
Translator

APR_Girl_VerticalBy Maria V. Gallagher, Legislative Director

In the wake of a tragedy, it is important to listen to the voices of the family members who have been left behind. That is why, at trials, victim statements are so powerful–they put into words the trauma and anguish of losing a family member to violence.

Abortion is such a tragedy. We cannot hear the silent screams of the babies who are killed in their mothers’ wombs. But we can pay attention to the testimony of mothers who have experienced the profound loss of a child to abortion.

The Silent No More Awareness Campaign (www.SilentNoMoreAwareness.org) gives voice to these courageous mothers. They underwent abortions, at times under heavy pressure. They have now come to regret those abortions, and they want to share their experiences with the world.

Take for instance Nicole from Illinois:”Immediately after, I sat there in recovery, crying and bawling. I had wanted to keep my baby, but I was so sick. However, I immediately regretted my decision, and I felt like a horrible mother. I should’ve fought my way through the pregnancy.”

Or Janet from California: “My sister took me the first time to a Planned Parenthood clinic, and it was wham-bam-thank-you-ma’am, over and never discussed again. I didn’t dare bring up being upset about it. It wasn’t allowed.”

Or Sue from Oklahoma: “I really didn’t have a clue.  This was back in the 70’s when abortion wasn’t as widely publicized as it is today.  Back then we were still being told that it wasn’t a real baby, just a clump of cells. No one came to me and told me I was ending the life of a human being.  No one.”

Or Laura from Utah: “I cannot change what happened but I can share about it and speak out, in the hopes that perhaps one woman out there will make a different, wiser, better choice-–a life-giving rather than a life-taking choice. I pray that that will be the case!”

When I did a search of the Silent No More website, 2,331 records came up of women who wanted to speak out about their abortion regrets. Their tear-filled testimonies must not be ignored.

 

 

 

Winning the Argument on Abortion

Posted on by
Translator

Baby girlBy Maria V. Gallagher, Legislative Director

In these days of social media frenzy, when arguments break out on Facebook faster than you can press the “angry” icon, it’s important to keep in mind that rational discussions on the right to life are indeed possible.

In fact, we can learn a lot by considering the points made by Bishop Robert Barron in his recent book, which is a summary of talks he gave at the offices of Facebook and Google. While the auxiliary bishop of Los Angeles’ book is entitled, Arguing Religion,the ideas he offers for argumentation can be applied to a non-religious context.

One example he uses is of a video that went viral. It is of a six-foot tall male, interviewing college students by posing a series of provocative questions: “What if I told you I was a woman? What if I told you that I felt I was a Chinese woman? What if I told you that I claim the identity of a six-foot-five-inch Chinese woman?”

As Barron writes, the students “all agreed that they would be fine with that description if that’s what he truly felt he was.”

He points out that the interviewees “are in the grips of a deeply distorting ideology” that distances them “from reality.”

A similar argument could be used to characterize those who support legal abortion. They deny the reality that a living being with separate DNA from the mother lives in the mother’s womb. They deny the fact that the words “right to an abortion” appear nowhere in the U.S. Constitution. And they routinely ignore the cries of women who say they have been deeply harmed by their abortions.

A case in point which Barron specifically references is Planned Parenthood v. Casey, the 1992 U.S. Supreme Court ruling which failed to overturn Roe. The decision curiously stated, “It belongs to the nature of liberty to determine the meaning of life, of existence, of the universe.”

This is clearly wrong. My freedom does not determine your existence. You exist independently apart from me, and you were a separate being from your mother from the time of your conception.

On facts alone, the pro-life side wins!

 

Guide to President George H. W. Bush’s Pro-Life Achievements

Posted on by
Translator

George HW BushBy Maria V. Gallagher, Legislative Director

I must admit, I was ignorant of President George H.W. Bush’s Pro-Life achievements.

It’s been three decades since he was elected leader of the free world, so I imagine I was not alone.

But for the sake of history, it is important that we educate ourselves about Bush 41’s record of accomplishment on the pro-life front.

Here’s what I found out:

  • The Bush Administration wanted the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn Roe v. Wade, the tragic Supreme Court ruling which brought us abortion on demand for any reason, and for no reason, during all nine months of pregnancy.
  • The Bush Administration stated that “protection of innocent human life–in or out of the womb–is certainly the most compelling interest that a state can advance.”
  • Of the radical Freedom of Choice Act, which would have established a pro-abortion policy beyond Roe, President Bush said, “It will not become law as long as I am President of the United States.”
  • President Bush vetoed ten bills with pro-abortion provisions, including taxpayer funding of abortion.
  • The President defended the “Mexico City Policy,” which prevents taxpayer funding of organizations that promote or perform abortions overseas. He also banned abortions at U.S. military bases, with the rare exception of saving the mother’s life.
  • President Bush banned thousands of federally-funded clinics from counseling or referring for abortions.

These are just some of the many pro-life milestones during the Bush 41 administration. As we mourn the loss of this pro-life President, let us be thankful for the graceful manner in which he strove to protect innocent human life.

There is So Much Wrong with This “Right”

Posted on by
Translator

Baby sleepingBy Maria V. Gallagher, Legislative Director

We as Americans take our rights very seriously. The right to free speech. The right to freedom of religion. The right to peaceable assembly.

But there is so much wrong with the so-called “right” to an abortion.

To begin with, each abortion ends an innocent, unrepeatable human life. It is an act of killing a defenseless human being. There is nothing right, and everything wrong, with that.

In addition, the image of a woman freely and independently exercising a “right” to abortion is deeply flawed. Research shows that, much of the time, women are pressured into abortion by a boyfriend, husband, parent, or even a grandparent. In other words, they are making a choice they don’t want. A study also indicated that the vast majority of women who experience difficulties after abortion would have chosen life if just one person had supported it–just one!

The so-called “right” to abortion also completely ignores the rights of fathers. Under Roe v. Wade, the 1973 U.S. Supreme Court decision which legalized abortion, a father’s right to defend the life of his child is stolen away. How many men are suffering in silence today, grieving the loss of a child they very much wanted?

Our society has suffered greatly from the loss of the more than 60 million preborn children who have died under Roe. We’ve lost doctors and diplomats, social studies teachers and scientists, and all manner of other professionals from legalized abortion.

A so-called “right” to abortion appears nowhere in the U.S. Constitution. It was invented by a group of men on the U.S. Supreme Court who did not have access to the 4D Ultrasound we have today–technology which clearly shows the development of the preborn child.

For the sake of our nation and our posterity, the so-called “right” to an abortion cannot stand. It will fall under the weight of its own hypocrisy.