Category Archives: General

Six Tips for Internet Debates about Abortion

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Internet comment debates about abortion quickly can become fruitless and downright immature, but that doesn’t mean that we as pro-lifers should never try to bring the truth to a conversation.

girlPro-lifers can have good conversations with the other side on the Internet. We just have to be tactful and respectful when we do it.

Here are just a few tips:

First, make sure you’re addressing the person’s actual argument. For example, if they’re comment is something along the lines of “my body, my choice,” don’t just respond: “It’s not just your body. Do you have two heads and four feet?” The “my body, my choice” argument can mean several different things. So, don’t just assume you know what the other person is thinking. Ask questions.

Second, back up your argument with sources. It’s best to use something from a neutral source, such as a mainstream news outlet or a reputable research group. If you can find a source from their side, such as research from the pro-abortion Guttmacher Institute, share it.

Third, be respectful of the other person when you disagree with them. Don’t respond with an attitude that makes them feel stupid, or resort to name calling. It’s childish, and it doesn’t win any arguments.

Fourth, if you start feeling angry, take a deep breath and step away from the keypad. It’s easy to get frustrated and angry, but remember that you’re conversing with another human being who you want to help see the truth. “A gentle answer turns away wrath …”

Fifth, don’t feed the trolls. If a commenter keeps responding with nasty remarks, just ignore them. They’re probably just trolling you.

Sixth, if you don’t know, just say so. No one expects you to be the Pro-Life Encyclopedia. Go do some research and get back to them.

To get you thinking, here’s a great example of an Internet debate from Live Action News blogger Kristi Burton Brown.

Clearing Up Some Confusion on the Hobby Lobby/Conestoga Case

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I’ve noticed a lot of confusion this week in reports about the U.S. Supreme Court ruling on the HHS Mandate. Here are two clarification points for you as you’re reading about the case:

Supreme CourtFirst — Many media outlets are saying the two companies, Hobby Lobby and Conestoga Wood Specialties, oppose providing birth control coverage to their employees. This is not true. The family owners of Hobby Lobby and Conestoga opposed only four of the 20 types of contraception that the government requires employers to provide. The families argued that the four types aren’t just contraception; they can be abortion-causing, life-destroying. Abortion is what the families object to paying for.

Second — Some pro-abortion groups claim that the four drugs/devices in question don’t cause abortions because they don’t interrupt a pregnancy. However, these groups define pregnancy as beginning when the embryo implants in his/her mother’s uterus. They fail to acknowledge that a new human life begins before that point. According to biologists, a new human being forms at the moment of fertilization. The four drugs/devices may sometimes work by preventing an embryo from implanting in the womb, thus killing him or her. That’s why the families who own Hobby Lobby and Conestoga are opposed. They do not want to be forced to pay for the destruction of innocent human lives.

As you read news about the case, please keep these facts in mind.

Hillary Clinton Still Doesn’t Get Mother Teresa’s Message

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It’s probably the most highly publicized book of the summer — Hard Choices by Hillary Rodham Clinton. Curious, I decided to download a sample onto my electronic tablet.

HillaryClintonBookI was surprised when Mother Teresa made an appearance within the pages of the memoir. Hillary Clinton talks about her first visit to India in 1995, accompanied by her daughter Chelsea. Hillary refers to the celebrated Teresa as the “humble Catholic nun whose charity and saintliness made her a global icon.” The former First Lady talks of touring an orphanage filled with baby girls, abandoned because of their sex (boys being considered more valuable than girls.)

Hillary also writes of leading a U.S. delegation to Mother Teresa’s funeral in 1997. According to Hillary, Mother Teresa’s successor later led her to a private meeting at the Missionaries of Charity headquarters. There, Hillary says, the nuns asked Hillary to offer a prayer before the closed casket.

“I hesitated,” Hillary writes, “then bowed my head and thanked God for the privilege of having known this tiny, forceful, saintly woman during her time here on earth.”

But what made Mother Teresa saintly? Merriam-Webster defines saint as “one eminent for piety or virtue.” Mother Teresa’s care for the poor, people with AIDS, and the dying were legendary. She entered into the messiness of life, took on tasks that were hard and distasteful, and showed love and respect to people that might have been ignored by polite society. And she did it day after day, hour after hour, with an angelic smile that radiated the warmth within.

Back in 1994, the diminutive Mother Teresa delivered a powerful speech before the National Prayer Breakfast in Washington, D.C. There, she spoke the following words:

“But I feel that the greatest destroyer of peace today is abortion, because it is a war against the child, a direct killing of the innocent child, murder by the mother herself.

“And if we accept that a mother can kill even her own child, how can we tell other people not to kill one another? How do we persuade a woman not to have an abortion? As always, we must persuade her with love and we remind ourselves that love means to be willing to give until it hurts. Jesus gave even His life to love us. So, the mother who is thinking of abortion, should be helped to love, that is, to give until it hurts her plans, or her free time, to respect the life of her child. The father of that child, whoever he is, must also give until it hurts.

“By abortion, the mother does not learn to love, but kills even her own child to solve her problems.

“And, by abortion, the father is told that he does not have to take any responsibility at all for the child he has brought into the world. That father is likely to put other women into the same trouble. So abortion just leads to more abortion.

“Any country that accepts abortion is not teaching its people to love, but to use any violence to get what they want. This is why the greatest destroyer of love and peace is abortion.

“Many people are very, very concerned with the children of India, with the children of Africa where quite a few die of hunger, and so on. Many people are also concerned about all the violence in this great country of the United States. These concerns are very good. But often these same people are not concerned with the millions who are being killed by the deliberate decision of their own mothers. And this is what is the greatest destroyer of peace today — abortion which brings people to such blindness.”

You can view the video of the speech here. Hillary Clinton was there, too. It has been 20 years since Mother Teresa spoke unflinchingly of the devastation caused by abortion. Hillary heard the message, but she has yet to embrace it. Instead, she continues to trumpet the abortion-on-demand philosophy of Planned Parenthood.

Citing Mother Teresa is always a crowd-pleaser, especially among Catholics. Mother Teresa stood for social justice, but it was and is a justice that serves all — including the women inside their mothers’ wombs. The 20th century trailblazing Teresa wanted an abortion-free world. That is not Hillary’s World.

Supreme Court Upholds Religious Freedom for Business Owners

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The U.S. Supreme Court ruled against the overreaching Obamacare HHS Mandate on Monday.

“This is a victory for religious freedom,” said Michael Ciccocioppo, executive director of the Pennsylvania Pro-Life FederatioGaveln. “Government cannot force business owners to pay for abortion-causing drugs for employees.”

“This decision renounces the Obama administration’s attempts to overreach the basic provisions of Obamacare by imposing unlawful mandates on Americans,” Ciccocioppo said.

The high court ruled in favor of family-owned businesses Hobby Lobby and Conestoga Wood Specialties, a Lancaster-based Mennonite company. Both objected to paying for abortion-causing drugs for their employees.

Click here to read the full Supreme Court decision.

My Childhood Friend Died Young, but Her Life Is Still Making an Impact

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I don’t remember how old Jessica was when she died. We moved away when I was 6 years old, and I never saw her again.

The other day I was reading through some old papers when a name popped out at me, and with it a long-packed-away memory of Jessica.

Me at about age 6

Me when I was about 6 years old

She was several years older than me, but we knew each other from church. She had cancer, and it kept her home from school a lot. When Jessica had to stay home, she sometimes invited me over to play. 

Jessica always made me feel special. She was a big kid who took an interest in me. She trusted me with her big kid toys and treated me as her equal. We played dolls and dress-up just as I did with my other friends – but with Jessica I always felt honored because she chose to play with me. I was just a little kid, after all.

I remember giggling while we played Barbies in her room. I remember her kindly instructing me to use her new toy this way so I wouldn’t break it. She never complained or argued with me about what we would do next.

Honestly, I don’t remember much more. I was very young, and we spent just a short time together. Yet, she left a lingering impression on me. She encouraged me. She cared about me. She made me feel valuable. Every time I remember her, I can’t help but smile.

Jessica probably never knew how special those few playtimes were to me. She probably never thought that I would still warm at the thought of her friendship more than 20 years later.

As I think back, I believe Jessica is one of the reasons why I do what I do. Though I was only 6 years old, I was changed by Jessica forever. She taught me that every person is valuable, no matter what their age; and no matter how much time you have with someone, you can change their life for good.

Because of that, I will never forget her. Thank you, Jessica.

Tom Wolf Endorsed by Radical Abortion Group NARAL

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By Maria Gallagher, Legislative/PAC Director

The Democratic candidate for governor of Pennsylvania, Tom Wolf, has the backing of the pro-abortion PAC known as NARAL.

Capitol-front-viewLargeA press release said that Wolf, whose TV ads portray him as an affable cabinet maker, “happily accepted” the endorsement.

“I am thankful to NARAL Pro-Choice America PAC for their support,” Wolf was quoted as saying.

NARAL supports abortion on demand for any reason during all nine months of pregnancy. The special interest group opposes all protective laws, including restrictions on late-term abortions and bans on taxpayer funding of abortion.

The endorsement clearly indicates that a Wolf administration would attempt to turn back the clock on the significant gains Pennsylvania has made in protecting women and children in the aftermath of the massive Kermit Gosnell tragedy. Gosnell was ultimately convicted of killing three full-term babies and causing the death of a female patient in his abortion center “House of Horrors.”

Back in the Gosnell era, abortion centers in the Keystone State went uninspected for 15 years or more. The Gosnell grand jury said the refusal to inspect resulted from the pro-abortion political stands of former Governors Ridge and Rendell.

Governor Tom Corbett took swift action in response to the Gosnell case, holding bureaucratic ideologues responsible, retooling the state health department, and insisting on inspections of abortion facilities.

Governor Corbett also signed into law Pennsylvania’s landmark abortion center regulation act, which placed the Commonwealth at the forefront of national efforts to safeguard the health and safety of women. At least a half-dozen abortion facilities closed because they either could not or would not abide by these basic safety standards.

The media should consider asking Wolf whether the NARAL endorsement means that he also rejects unannounced inspections of abortion facilities and the common sense safety standards that are now protecting women in Pennsylvania.

Yet Another Abortionist Is Convicted of Mistreating Women

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The law finally caught up with abortionist Charles Rossman this summer. The Georgia abortionist was sentenced to five years in prison for locking a woman in his office after she took a handful of abortion pills and went into labor, according to LifeNews.com.

The woman callGaveled 911, and police arrived and broke down Rossman’s office door right before she gave birth to a baby boy.

After this happened in 2003, Rossman fled the country to avoid charges. A decade later, he was captured in Germany and brought back to the U.S. to face charges.

These articles about abortionists’ horrible mistreatment of women seem so common on pro-life news sites.

As I was reading the article, I wondered what it would look like to compare the percentage of abortion doctors who have been charged with or convicted of crimes to doctors as a whole. I think we’d be shocked by what we’d find.

Sidewalk Counselor’s Compassion Touches Angry Father’s Heart

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Compassion is something I think about a lot. I strive to be compassionate and respectful to every human being – whether preborn baby or mother, elderly adult or teenager, pro-lifer or abortion advocate.

Yet, I struggle. It’s easy to throw compassion to the wayside when someone starts yelling. Unborn baby pictureOur natural urge is to defend ourselves. It takes a lot of self-control and compassion to keep calm, but it’s a virtue we must strive for as pro-lifers.

When we respond in love, not anger, we show that person that we care about them enough to put our anger and discomfort aside.

I was reminded of this the other day when I was talking to a dedicated sidewalk counselor in our area.

A few weeks ago, she approached a couple going into the abortion center. The father berated her and cursed at her as they walked by. She kept calm, assuring them she only wanted to offer free support to them and their baby. They ignored her and walked inside the building.

About 15 minutes later the father came out and approached her. First, he apologized for yelling at her, and then he confided that he did not want the abortion.

She encouraged him to talk to his partner and told him about the free help available at the local pregnancy center. As he walked back inside, she began praying. Soon, he came out again with his partner. They were beaming as they told her they were going to keep their baby.

I’m pretty sure it was her compassion that made all the difference to him. He could see that she genuinely cared about him and his family. If she had yelled back, I wonder if he would have confided in her the way he did. Probably not.

It’s hard to be compassionate when we know babies are being killed every single day in our towns. We should be upset that abortion is legal, but we’re not going to change minds by reacting in anger.

When we react in compassion and love, we demonstrate our ultimate purpose as pro-lifers – to ensure that every human life, born and preborn, is valued and protected.

Government Study May Have Put Premature Babies at Risk

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I always find it interesting how news stories seem to coincide.

A few days ago, I read about a Time magazine cover story featuring the wonderful medical technology now available to help premature babies survive and thrive.LiveActionvideo

Today, I read about an investigation into a government study of premature babies that may have put the babies’ lives at greater risk.

The Daily Signal reports that some parents were encouraged to sign up for the study without receiving details about what it was or how it could risk their babies’ already fragile health.

According to the article, “It was a national, government-funded experiment on 1,316 extremely premature infants in which their fate may as well have rested with the flip of a coin.”

The study researched the effects of oxygen given at different levels to premature babies. When a premature baby’s lungs are still developing, too much or too little oxygen can cause serious damage. Researches wanted to find the perfect amount for these babies.

Sounds good, right? The problem was that “there were key differences in how researchers treated babies in the study compared with those not in the study.”

“Normally, medical personnel constantly adjust oxygen as preemies’ conditions change, based on their individual needs. But the SUPPORT study was designed to keep infants in their randomly assigned range, despite a baby’s individual needs.
“And in a decision that one government source says shocked seasoned researchers when they learned of it, the babies’ oxygen monitors intentionally were altered to provide false readings. The reason: so medical staff wouldn’t be tempted to adjust oxygen out of the babies’ study-assigned range.”

Why are some babies treated with the utmost care and value, while others are being used as objects for research? Why this inequality?

Our abortion-minded culture has allowed us to devalue certain human beings, to treat them as objects because they are sick or poor or unwanted.

Through stories like these, we as pro-lifers can help others to see how critically important it is to treat every single human life equally.

Rape Victims Hurt by Assumption That They Want Abortion

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Victims of rape deserve our utmost compassion and support, but they’re not getting it in today’s abortion-minded society.

Mom-and-ChildAn article this week in the Christian Science Monitor explores a major problem that’s never addressed in debates about abortion and rape: People automatically assume that rape victims who become pregnant want to have an abortion.

The assumption is very dangerous because, first, it denies the fact that there is a second victim involved, the preborn child, and, second, it pressures these victimized women toward abortion.

Analyn Megison, a mother in Florida who was raped and had a daughter as a result, explained how she was criticized and condemned for choosing life.

“People ridicule you and distrust you because you chose to have your child – ‘Oh, you must not have been raped,’ ” Megison says. “It’s such a strange world we live in where you have to be questioned as a mother why you love the child that … you nurse and play with and pray with and read stories with.” Read the rest of the report here.

What has our society become that we fail to protect and support the most victimized among us?