On occasion, a new pro-life book is published that offers explanations on how to defend the pro-life position, but few are as comprehensive as the awesome new book by Serena Gaefke called 101 Reasons Not to Have an Abortion: A Girl’s Guide To Informed Choices. This easy-to-read book explains in detail the 101 reasons, plus testimonials, words of encouragement from the author, and much more. The title states that it’s A Girl’s Guide to Informed Choices, but actually it can be a guide for anyone whether they are pro-choice or pro-life. It gives the pro-choicer a plethora of information about why abortion is definitely the wrong choice. But it also supplies the pro-lifer with 101 ways to defend their position. This book took over four years to complete and is available online for, believe it or not, free.
The book opens with testimonials such as the following:
If I had the right counseling and someone to talk to me, to let me know the risks involved, the mental torture, the emotional scares that I have endured all these years, I would have walked out of that building that day without one look back, but I didn’t.
—Rhonda
I didn’t fully feel the impact of my decision to abort until January 1980 when, after four years of marriage, I had my son Justin. As I nuzzled him close to my chest and fed him, it hit me. What had I done?
—Wendy
Then there is the following:
An open letter to all women who have had abortions
If you are someone who has had an abortion then I extend my heart to you. I want you to know that as strongly as I feel about this topic I hold absolutely nothing less than love for you. You are not a bad person and you do not deserve anything less than forgiveness, love and joy…
Each reason to not have an abortion is then explained in detail.
A few of the 101 reasons not to have an abortion are:
Reason #2: We know when life begins
Reason #3: You have been lied to
Reason #10: Your baby exists now, not in the future
Reason #11: A fetus is a human and humans are persons
Reason #20: There is a plan
Reason #21: To fulfill her plan your child needs to be born
Reason #36: ‘Freedom to choose’ does not tell you what you have the freedom to choose
Reason #76: Slavery was legal too
Reason #80: Abortion is a betrayal of women
Reason #81: Abortion after rape is a double tragedy
Reason #82: There are so many couples who would love to parent if you don’t
Reason #100: You can still live your dreams
In her own words Serena Gaefke discusses her path in writing this book:
About The Author
Serena Gaefke conceived this book as an Australian 24-year-old newlywed and Green Card holder to the United States. At the time the outcome was unknown. Where would the money come from? How could she do it? What would others think of her? Still, she opened herself to the possible and her project grew and grew. Four years later after extensive personal research and much bonding with her personal computer, her project was ready to be born. At times it seemed too overwhelming or even that it was overdue – but she didn’t abort. And now, she is so glad she didn’t. It brings her much joy to announce to the world, her firstborn baby, 101 Reasons Not to Have an Abortion.
While attending the 2010 March For Life in Washington, DC, I was struck by the thousands of young people who were there to give support for the pro-life cause. So many youth groups and individuals had a passion and exuberance that I have rarely seen for any cause.
Many of their predecessors in the movement have bickered over what is the correct approach, what group is doing it right, or what pro-life leader should be followed. It’s amazing the level of disgust I have seen from some pro-lifers against other pro-lifers because they felt one group didn’t spend enough time stopping abortion or were using the wrong method.
Many high school and college students realize that one-third of their generation has been killed in the name of abortion, and they want to do something about it. In a recent poll 58% of those 18-29 say that abortion is morally wrong. What should be their plan of attack? Should they want a movement based on the attempt to change the laws or one that shows graphic pictures to shock the public? Should they attempt to convert many churches from non-action to an active role in stopping abortion? Should they focus on the biblical view of defending the unborn and prayerful vigils such as 40 Days For Life? Should they want to only pass out literature about the preborn or have fetal model displays? Should they have a concerted effort to just talk to their peers one-on-one to spread the message?
When one sees the commitment they have at rallies and marches it begs the question of what do they do to defend the cause for the rest of the year. Possibly the youth will follow in the footsteps of the past generation and focus on the best approach for them on an individual basis. What is the most effective way for the youth to spread the pro-life message? I would like to read your opinion in the “comments” on what is the best approach that they should use. If you have one that I haven’t mentioned that would be great. Thanks.
Friday, February 12 at 7 PM Everett PUD
2320 California Street
Everett, WA 98201-3750
Doors open at 6:30. Seats are limited. RSVP today!
E-mail: lotgop@gmail.com
If you are a Washington voter for whom the Right to Life is paramount, come and help decide who Patty Murray’s challenger should be!
Five candidates are actively campaigning for the Republican nomination: Art Coday, Clint Didier, Sean Salazar, Chris Widener, and Craig Williams. Each of them have been invited and will be asked, before a pro-life audience, the tough questions about how they will advocate restoring the unalienable Right to Life.
Washington State has been under the thumb of pro-abortion-choice senators (from both sides of the aisle) for nearly 40 years. Will 2010 be the year that changes? Only if serious pro-lifers get active in the process of determining the Republican nominee!
Come and see for yourself! Determine which of these candidates you can enthusiastically support if any. Get informed and then attend your Republican Precinct Caucus the next morning, Saturday, February 13 at 10 AM (See your county Republican Party website for details). The precinct caucuses are the beginning of the convention process. Republicans come together and elect delegates to the county convention, at which, they elect delegates to the state convention. At the state convention in June, the elected delegates will have the power to nominate the Republican challenger to Patty Murray.
The 6th annual “It’s About Life” conference will feature Abby Johnson who will speak on her experience as the former director of a Texas Planned Parenthood center and who has now joined the pro-life movement after witnessing an ultrasound abortion.
Opportunity to speak directly with Abby and gain support for your own journey out of Planned Parenthood will be available.
Also speaking will be nationally reknowned keynote speaker Janet E. Smith. Over a million copies of her talk “Contraception: Why Not” have been distributed.
Fr. Matthew Habinger and Dr. Elma DeLeon will speak on the latest natural family planning methods and God’s plan for marriage & family.
If you are trying to get out of the abortion industry or just want to find out how the pro-life movement can help you, please join us on February 6th.
Yesterday in Olympia the Senate committee on Health and Long-Term care held a hearing on SB 6452 which seeks to regulate crisis pregnancy centers in a variety of unnecessary and unconstitutional ways.
The bill, promoted by Planned Parenthood and the National Abortion Rights Advocacy League (NARAL), would place a series of regulations on crisis pregnancy centers that would not apply to centers that offer abortion. For those of you following along at home, yes, that is probably unconstitutional.
One statistic is missing. How many deaths by abortion were there in 2006? The total is over 1,206,200 unborn humans dying. Consequently, if that 1.2 million is added to the 2.4 million deaths that the CDC reports, then abortion is the cause of death for 1/3 of all deaths in 2006.
In the year 2002 there were slightly over 2.4 million deaths reported, but without the 1,293,000 abortions included in that statistic that year. The ratio is even more than 1/3 of all deaths caused by abortion. Since 1973 approximately 50 million unborn humans have died that are excluded from government death statistics.
What Can We Do About It?
To start there are many activities this week marking the 37th anniversary of Roe v Wade. Most states will have events, but there are two major national marches and events in Washington DC and San Francisco. If you can’t make it to those there’s a great new opportunity called the Virtual March For Life where thousands have already signed up. Let’s remember the unborn every day of the year. The following videos explain more about the events.
What have liberals defended since Roe v Wade 37 years ago?
Liberals have been the champions of human rights, especially for terrorists, prisoners, and minorities, including illegal aliens. They decry anything that is remotely related to the torture of terrorists. Have they ever realized that abortion is the worst form of torture there is? Some unborn babies have their limbs pulled off, are burned in an abortion, or are sucked through a tube. Death is almost always the result of this torture.
1. Jan. 16: Mini-retreat with Aileen McEntee Carrell
Topic: Defending life–The new civil rights movement St. Monica Parish, Mercer Island
Mass for Respect Life Intentions - 8 a.m.
Talk – 9 a.m. in the Family Center
Breakfast Buffet
3. Jan. 21-22: Prayer Vigil – To mark the anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court’s 1973 Roe v. Wade decision that legalized abortion, St. Monica’s Respect Life Committee is sponsoring an all-night prayer vigil.
Begins: Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament at 6:00 pm, Thursday, January 21st
Ends: Reposition of the Blessed Sacrament at 7:55 am Friday, January 22nd followed by 8:00 am Mass
Catherine gives an incredible testimony of abortion and redemption. Thanks to Catherine and the Passion For Christ Movement for sharing this story. The videos are a little longer than I normally have, but they are definitely worth watching.
Often hypocrisy concerning the abortion issue is so blatant that one has to ask, “What in the world is going on here?”
In the United Kingdom the National Health Service (NHS) is the national health insurance program. The NHS covers almost all abortions done in the United Kingdom. While they are perfectly fine with providing for abortions, the NHS has an extensive promotional campaign to stop smoking while pregnant because of the harm it does for the baby.
Their poster states the following:
EVERY CIGARETTE HARMS YOUR BABY
“Cigarettes restrict the essential oxygen supply to your baby. So their tiny heart has to beat harder every time you smoke. Quit for you and your baby…”
On the NHS website there is extensive information on the harm that can happen to the baby if the mother smokes.
“When you smoke you inhale over 4,000 chemicals from the cigarette. One of these is a dangerous chemical called carbon monoxide, which gets into your bloodstream. This restricts the oxygen that’s essential for your baby’s healthy growth and development, and because cigarettes restrict their oxygen supply, their tiny heart has to beat harder every time you smoke.”
It’s very interesting that when the NHS discusses having an abortion, the unborn is never called a baby. Abortion is just termination of pregnancy or removal of the fetus. How can one organization be so caring for the health of the unborn baby, while on the other hand has no problem with killing it?
Woman Suffocates Own Baby - No Charges
In Campbell County, Virginia a woman suffocated her baby but will not be charged with killing it because the umbilical cord was still attached.
“In the state of Virginia as long as the umbilical cord is attached and the placenta is still in the mother, if the baby comes out alive the mother can do whatever she wants to with that baby to kill it,“ said Investigator Tracy Emerson. “She could shoot the baby, stab the baby. As long as it’s still attached to her in some form by umbilical cord or something it’s no crime in the state of Virginia.“
Unbelievable! Why is there outrage only because the baby was just in a different location? Where are all the news stories about the babies killed earlier in the womb?
The following video explains more:
Oh, Those Pesky Permission SlipsWhen my children were young I had to sign school permission slips for virtually everything. If they took a nature walk off school grounds or if they went on any field trip I would have to fill out a complete new form. But in 16 states permission is not needed from either parent for the underage girl to have an abortion. The following video is a dramatization of this point along with the liberal perspective on abortion. (I know it’s a little cheesy).
On occasion I have written about the response people have to the abortion question. Often they state that they are against abortion but believe in a woman’s right to choose. Politicians usually give this same convoluted answer. Recently Bryan Kemper of Stand True Ministries wrote an awesome article concerning this topic:
I’m Against Abortion, But: A Pro-Life Response to the Frequent Pro-Abortion Claim
by Bryan Kemper
December 16, 2009
I’m against abortion, but…
I think the statement that bugs me most when talking to people about abortion is, “I’m against abortion, but…” I can actually respect someone’s total pro-abortion position more than someone who tells me, “I’m against abortion, but…” It just makes no sense to me at all; how can they be against something as vile and deadly as abortion and have a “but”?
My first response to them is always to ask them first why they are against abortion. What is it about abortion that would make you start your statement with “I’m against abortion”?
It amazes me when they start telling me how killing a baby is so wrong, life is so precious and we should respect it, and babies are innocent and don’t deserve to die. It would seem they have a firm grasp on the pro-life perspective, but. There it is, that little three-letter word that destroys the very foundation of what they just explained to me.
I am boggled at how in one breath you can call killing a baby murder and in the next breath you can justify this murder because you don’t want to tell others what to do. I cannot fathom how someone can say that life is precious and should be protected then turn around and support “the choice” to destroy that very life.
I have said this in past commentaries and I will say it again; this is why people can add the word “but” into a sentence about being against abortion. The problem is we are allowing abortion to fall into a different category than every other act of homicide. But abortion is not a different act; it is a different method of the act of homicide. It is still one person killing another person. Therefore, if we would feel compelled to take action to stop acts of homicide such as those in Darfur, the Congo or anywhere else, shouldn’t we also take action to stop the acts of homicide that take place in abortion clinics?
So many are refusing to take action because they have been able to infuse the word “but” in order to free themselves of the responsibility of standing against evil. As long as that they can insert that word, they can deflect or hide from the truth that is staring them in the face: innocent little babies are being destroyed.
Let’s play a game I like to call “ridiculous analogies”. In this game, I switch the word abortion for some other grave evil and see if you can justify a way to insert the word “but” into the sentence.
1. I am against child molestation, but…
2. I am against what happened to the Jews during the Nazi Holocaust, but…
3. I am against men beating their wives, but….
4. I am against slavery, but…
5. I am against rape, but…
Can you think of any situations where you can use the word “but” to justify any of these evil, deplorable actions? How about this:
A. I am against slavery, but who am I to tell someone else they can’t own slaves?
B. I am against rape but who am I to take away a man’s right to choose?
I hope you find these last two sentences make you cringe with disgust. That is the same way I feel when I hear someone say, “I am against abortion, but…”
Abortion is the act of destroying the life of an innocent human being and there is just no justification for committing this act of homicide. Just as justifying exceptions for these other horrifying acts is unthinkable, so should justifying the act of killing babies.
I truly believe that if the majority of people who claim to be against abortion (with a “but” or not) would start acting the same way we would if something like slavery was suddenly made legal again, we would see an end to the slaughter of the innocents.
When I visited Auschwitz-Birkenau, a concentration camp in Poland, I stood outside the gas chambers for some time. I had just gone through most of the camp and was emotionally wrecked, to say the least. As I stood outside this building, I was looking at houses in the distance and wondering what I would have done if I lived in those houses during the time of the Nazi Holocaust. Would I have stood up and taken action, or would I have found a way to insert the word “but” into any statement I made about the mass killing taking place in my back yard?
What I realized is that I do live in those houses; there is a mass killing taking place in my back yard. There in another holocaust taking place to which I must decide how I will respond. There is a holocaust taking place in all our back yards as almost 4,000 people are killed every day in our cities and towns.
I want you to all imagine what it would be like to have a house right next to a concentration camp in Poland during the Nazi Holocaust; would you have used the word “but”? Even more important, knowing that you do have a holocaust happening in your own back yard right now, how will you respond? Will you stand up, or will you find a way to say “but…?”
Light a candle for all the aborted children who never saw the light of day.
Place an ornament on the Christmas tree in memory of all those who died from abortion.
Wrap a box with nothing in it to symbolize the unborn who never will have the joy of Christmas.
Follow the example of Generations For Life, by placing an empty manger in front of an abortion mill and singing Christmas carols.
At Christmas vow to tell at least one person about the millions of aborted children that never got to open one present, never heard a Christmas song, or never learned the story of baby Jesus in the manger.
Pray for all of the women and men who have gone through abortion and are hurting. May they advise others not to go through the same pain that they have endured.
Pray for everyone fighting for the unborn. Pray that because of their efforts, babies will see their first Christmas next year who otherwise will not.
Pray that people involved with the abortion industry will realize the evil they are committing and leave the field.
Pray for all in 2010 that will face the abortion decision.
Make a pledge for the upcoming year to do as much as possible to alleviate this horror.
As one can easily surmise, there are many approaches to conveying the pro-life message to the public: large displays of aborted fetuses, such as what Justice For All or The Genocide Awareness Project uses; prayerful gatherings in front of abortion mills, such as the 40 Days For Life campaign; large pro-life marches in Washington DC or other communities; or speeches, blogs, and websites. All have an appropriate place in the movement and most methods have been very successful.
One approach that is not regularly seen in the United States are the fetal model displays. They may be seen at state fairs, for example, when a local Right To Life group sets up a display, but are usually not on a continuous basis in a community. This is a very comfortable way of sharing the pro-life view that doesn’t have the shock or confrontational aspect that aborted baby photos often have. Those who do not feel compelled to volunteer at a large display of photos may find the fetal model method to their liking.
In England an organization called Created4Life has display tables of fetal models set up often on college campuses, town centers or at special occasions. Created4Life has developed a free online training course for anyone interested in setting up a table. A typical conversation that may arise is covered in the course:
Person: “Why are you showing these?”
You: “We’re showing these to help people make the connection between babies we can see, look after or hold in our arms [you can point to a baby or toddler, if there’s one nearby] and those babies still in the womb. We can’t see them but they are just as human as you and me. Babies in the womb are very vulnerable. Did you know that a quarter of all pregnancies will end in the death of the baby because of an abortion? There will be over 500 abortions in this country … today.” [500 in UK, 4000 per day in US]
Person: “No! Really?”
You: “That’s as many people as went to my primary school.” [This is a powerful way to envisage the numbers]
Person: “I had no idea. So, what’s the point of you doing this out here?”
You: “Some people think that the baby in the womb is just a clump of cells, something that you can just get rid of. Showing what the baby really looks like in the womb dispels this myth. It helps to show how human and how precious life is, right from day one. [Point to the Day One picture.] This is magnified many times but that’s when our life began.
We hope through showing these models that women and men will choose to keep their babies and not have an abortion. In fact, what we are doing here today actually saves lives: people have come back to tell us that this Display Table has changed their mind about having an abortion. They show their newborn baby and they’re so pleased about! It’s amazing.”
You: “What do you think about this? ……
At the Created4Life Display Table: a woman announced to her family while pointing at us, “These are the people I met at their table in [another town]. They changed my mind about aborting your little sister!” She is now nine months old and the mum and family wouldn’t give her up for the world.
The following is from the Created4Life website::
What we do and how…
We set up our small display table in a suitable location.
On display are…
Life-sized baby models, 7 to 18 weeks from conception
Free Created4Life leaflets
Free 10 week baby models and Precious Feet badges
Beautiful images of developing pre-born babies
We visit the same location on a regular basis - every week if possible. This friendly approach leads to numerous discussions and contacts.
Please note…
This is a humanitarian issue
This is NOT a banner-waving protest
We do NOT display graphic abortion pictures
Created4Life is not a religious organization
We don’t aim to enter the political arena
Our motive is compassion and our attitude non-judgemental
Created4Life displays are simple, effective and easily replicated.
It seems this method of promoting the pro-life position would be perfect for college campuses. Often campuses will have several tables set up for different organizations or viewpoints. Even though the administration may disapprove of the pro-life view, it should be easier to get authorization to have a table set up on a regular basis than a large pro-life exhibit.
If anyone is interested in setting up display tables in America, England, or any other country please contact Created4Life or Stand For Life.
This Fall was the first 40 Days for Life campaign that I have participated in. I remember standing there on the sidewalk in front of Planned Parenthood and maybe for the first time realizing the reality of abortion.
I have always considered myself pro-life but I am not sure I ever took the time to really think about what happened to the babies and their moms and dads who would ultimately be affected by abortion. It is easy to ignore these realities when you don’t have to be there watching women walk in with babies that are alive and know that just yards from where you stand that baby is being very brutally attacked and killed. It was not long ago that I learned about the various abortion procedures, all of which are torturous and painful for the baby (something I pray the mom’s will be told because it would help them make a more informed decision).
We all know that spiritual battles happen, but I don’t think that is ever more apparent that at an abortion facility. I witnessed a mother who followed her daughter to the clinic begging her not to have the abortion. She knew that her daughter would regret the decision and was trying to spare her that pain. Unfortunately she had to stand by as her grandchild was killed.
The hardest day I faced outside Planned Parenthood was what we call “red barrel” day. A truck pulled up and unloaded some empty red barrels. Already knowing the answer with a sinking feeling in my stomach, I asked another sidewalk counselor what that was. As the full red barrels came out I got my answer. They were full of dead baby parts. Never before had I thought about what happens to the babies after the abortion. Do we really live in a world where babies are killed and their little arms and legs and bodies are carelessly thrown away like trash? I wonder how can we as people with the capacity, resources, and means to care for these children watch as millions of our brothers and sisters die. There are days I wonder if I can hold it together at all. Then I look at my one-year-old son and the pure love and joy that he brings and I ache and long for these moms and dads because they will never know that from the child that just lost it’s life.
We have had a rock and water bottles thrown at us, we have been cursed at, received some not so nice hand gestures, and been honked at. Despite all this there have been so many times that I have witnessed acts of God’s mercy and grace (by the way we do receive friendly waves, thumbs up, and kind words too). We had 4 babies saved during the campaign and we also had about 32 women go to Crisis Pregnancy Centers instead of the abortion clinic so who knows how many more babies were saved by their moms. As we know just seeing one baby saved or even one person’s heart changed about abortion is worth it. I witnessed a homeless man walking by and he asked what we were doing. He was so sad that the clinic was an abortion facility that he decided to stand out there and pray with us. On another occasion, it had started to turn cold and our veteran sidewalk counselor was wearing sandals. Another homeless man we have gotten to know was on his usual walk by us and pulled a warm clean pair of sock out of the only bag he owned and gave them to the counselor. What an example of God’s love!
When I wake up in the morning the last thing I want to do is go somewhere that is mentally and emotionally wrenching and where I will be hated by some, but I would never trade the spiritual growth I have experienced. Never before have I had to so completely depend on and put my trust in God. I had to believe that He would protect me, I had to believe that He would provide the words to speak to the men and women walking in, I had to believe that the babies would instantly be in His kingdom surrounded by the love they never received here on earth, I had to believe that “all things work together for good to those who love God”, I had to believe that all His promises are true. Most of all, as life hangs in the balance for thousands of babies, I know I will never regret standing at what could be the darkest place on earth with God’s faithful servants as we, like Isaiah, say “Here am I Lord, send me.” - Jamie
1. Pro-life groups should oppose the whole health care bill, because abortion will be in there no matter what. Abortion is extremely important to Obama. Remember his views on the Freedom of Choice Act and the Born Alive Infant Protection Act. The positive side of fighting against taxpayer-funded abortion is that it brought the subject to the forefront across America.
2. I’ve heard commentators from every perspective say that the Blue Dog Democrats should be very worried about their support of the health care bill. I believe almost anyone who is up for re-election next year in either the House or Senate should be very concerned about losing their job if they vote for this.
3. By deciding to try the terrorists in a New York civilian court, once again it is obvious that Obama believes in giving more rights to terrorists than innocent unborn babies.
4. Obama, the media, and many liberals portrayed the town hall attendees as right-wing extremists associated with the insurance companies. One of the first acts of the Obama administration was to label pro-lifers as right-wing extremists and possible terrorists. When abortionist George Tiller was murdered, the media and the administration were quick to make it appear that all pro-lifers were responsible. But we were told not to jump to obvious conclusions about the killer of 14 people at Ft. Hood. Obama hasn’t called him a terrorist or even an extremist.
5. The pathetic media has no clue until it will be too late that the Sarah Palin express has run them over. They’ve downplayed and mocked the tea parties, town halls, and the Washington DC rallies. They will try to do the same for Sarah Palin thinking that they have some sort of power to make it work. It won’t. They will continue to look like idiots, but they won’t even realize it.
6. A Planned Parenthood Director, Abby Johnson, quit after seeing an ultrasound abortion. First of all, one wonders why after all her time there she did not know that babies were being killed. Answer - Planned Parenthood must do a fantastic job of indoctrinating their workers into thinking it’s just a blob. Obviously, that is why they fight so hard against the showing of ultrasounds. Shouldn’t a “choice” have more than one option?
7. Just because an organization has a fancy title doesn’t mean that they’re right. The American Psychological Association doesn’t believe in any kind of post-abortion syndrome. If there are repercussions from an abortion, well, they believe that the woman had those same problems before an abortion. The National Education Association has supported pro-abortion candidates 95% of the time even though in the last 36 years abortion has killed more than 50 million future students. The organization Human Rights Watch supports abortion even though one of their biggest concerns are human rights for children.
8. Obama recently said for the umpteenth time that he would listen to any good ideas on how to improve the economy. My answer - CUT TAXES, especially the capital gains taxes and any others that curtail business growth. Of course, he won’t because he can’t gain more control of you and me by doing that.
9. I believe average Americans are thinking about the pro-life issue more now than ever before. Why? Because Fox News and conservative talk radio hosts have become more popular with average citizens. These outlets are not afraid to bring up the issue and occasionally have guests discussing it logically. The pathetic other networks rarely bring it up, and when they do they portray pro-lifers as extreme nuts.
10. Even though abortion is being more openly discussed by adults, the key is in the youth of America. Many high school and college students are saying to their professors, fellow students, and society in general that they believe abortion is wrong. I think it’s interesting that many colleges teach their students to think logically, but when they do on the abortion issue they are often met with resistance.
11. Thankfully we have diversions from the madness in our society - the politically correct NFL, movies that are either anti-American, anti-Christian or just anti-good morals, or we can spend Sunday morning in one of the many pro-choice churches.
Received notice at about 3:30 today from the Archdiocese of Seattle that the “Morality of Health Care Reform” discussion has BEEN MOVED to Seattle University. Yipee! It’s still too bad that our Catholic schools feel compelled to host this kind of thing but at least they won’t be defiling the Cathedral.
Pro-abortion legislator Jay Inslee is one of the invited speakers. He was demoted from “keynote” speaker status to panelist late last week. Laura Rehrmann, president of the Group Health Foundation and “in-charge of patient care” at Group Health Cooperative will also be on the panel. Group Health has a reputation as an abortion center and will allow doctors to assist with suicides at their “health” centers after the passage of I-1000. Ms. Rehrmann is a parishioner at St. James Cathedral.
Why is the Cathedral allowing this event to take place?
I had about a 20 minute conversation today with Helen Oesterle director of Religious Education at St. James about this very question. Her explanation and justification for this event was a mess of contradictions and excuses combined with the usual happy talk. Words like dialogue, Catholic faith, conversation, and respect were used to defend the indefensible.
Besides the fact that this is complete hogwash I now understand why she repeated several times, “Abortion is legal” and “There are different ways to approach the issue of abortion.” People who are supporters of legal abortion should not be setting the agenda for events at a Catholic Church. Maybe Ms. Oesterle believes that Jay Inslee is pro-life as well.
If rape were legal would Ms. Oesterle be promoting a “respectful” dialogue with promoters and profiteers of rape at a forum on the morality of reforming the justice system? And then refuse to discuss the problem of rape? Maybe rape isn’t a problem if it’s legal. It’s hard to figure out how these people think.
I think it is becoming evident that this event is nothing more than an attempt by Democratic Catholics to hijack the Church and rally Catholics behind President Obama’s health care bill.
That’s why pro-lifers are so upset about this forum.
Trust has completely broken down between the faithful and those in the employ of the Archdiocese and other Catholic institutions. One need look no further than the Intercommunity Peace and Justice Center, which is sponsored by several communities of Catholic sisters. For the life of me I have yet to find the words “Jesus Christ” or “Catholic” on their web site or in any of their documents. However, they love to throw around the words “social justice” and “Catholic social teaching.” I don’t think the ladies at IPJC would recognize Catholic social teaching if it came up and bit them in their collective rear end.
Then there’s Seattle University. Their latest slap in the face to the Church and lay faithful was this “thoughtful conversation” on “reproductive justice” that included Planned Parenthood’s chaplain. Gee, why isn’t he invited to the morality of health care forum!
Add your own outrage from your parish, Catholic school, seminary, or the chancery in the combox below.
No one doubts that there is a need for health care reform. The Catholic doctors know it and pro-lifers certainly know it but using our Church to push a political agenda is plain wrong. If parishes like St. James are going to sponsor forums like this they need to present the Catholic way of approaching the problem, not the Democratic party way and especially not one that promotes abortion.
Catholics are owed Catholic parishes with Catholic teaching. Is there not one soul in the Seattle area who can present a truly Catholic approach to health care reform? Do we have no expert on Pope Leo XIII’s social encyclicals, which are the basis for Catholic social teaching, not the worn out “seamless garment”? Is there no one who can speak to distributive justice, catholic economics, and subsidiarity? Why are we constantly using the language of the political parties , left vs. right, conservative vs. liberal to define how Catholics are to approach health care reform? It’s time to get the party politics out of Catholic discussions on health care and social justice.
Back to the phone call…
According to Ms. Oesterle, radical pro-abortion representative Jay Inslee will only be speaking on the “very narrow” aspect of how Catholics can impact the legislative process. She also described how this would be a wonderful opportunity to dialoge with Rep. Inslee on our Catholic faith and possibly evangelize him. (Notre Dame redux!) However, she also said this event “would not be about abortion.” How pray tell are we to evangelize Mr. Inslee if we can’t even discuss a key component of our Catholic faith?
Catholics need to ask Ms. Osterele — Who is doing the evangelization here? Are we going to be forced to listen patiently to a radical pro-abort lecture Catholics in their own Cathedral about the morality of health care reform? The thought is almost too much to bear.
So if Inslee is simply there to give us a civics lesson, then I would argue that his participation is hardly necessary. Is there anybody left in American who doesn’t know how to vote or contact their Congressman?
Going back to my point above, is it possible this event is to try and activate pro-abortion and “social justice” Catholics in order to counteract the pro-lifers and others who are fighting so valiantly against the current plan? The only people who would be in favor of Obama’s health care plan are people who are indifferent to abortion or in fact pro-abortion.
Overall my conversation with her was less than productive. She certainly did most of the talking and made it very clear to me that “this is not about abortion” and they “will refuse to allow this event to be hijacked.” (Look whose doing the hijacking!) Fine. Let’s move on from abortion. What about contraception, euthanasia, fetal farming, IVF, human egg harvesting, and embryonic stem cell research? I admit, abortion is almost passé with the current crew running the show in Washington DC but does Ms. Osterle have any idea what the “health” experts who so desperately want socialized medicine are planning next?
Now that she and the Obama supporters at the Cathedral have truely hijacked our Church and social teachings for their own political ends what can she possibly mean by “not allowing the event to be hijacked”? I can only assume she means she’ll refuse to have people asking tough questions like –
How can a practicing Catholic like Ms. Rehrmann, who is in charge of “patient care” allow abortions to be performed at her hospital?
Does she not see the unborn child as a patient entitled to care?
How does Ms. Rehrmann justify the use of assisted suicide at her hospital?
How will giving tax-payer funded abortions to illegal immigrants help advance the cause of justice for immigrants?
Add your own questions for the participants in this ridiculuous charade in the combox below.
As with the Notre Dame scandal earlier this year, it would appear that the vaunted “dialogue” is nothing but a fog, hanging silently over the participants and impossible to grasp. I have a new found respect for Hilary Clinton and her “listening tours.”
The purpose in my call was to simply find out whether they would allow questions at this forum. She indicated that it is still being decided but that most likely they will take questions only in the form of written questions to be reviewed and selected by the organizers. And since the forum “isn’t about abortion” and they don’t want it “hijacked” by the truth we can assume that any questions pertaining to abortion will be filtered out by the organizers who don’t want to embarrass the panel. What kind of a dialogue is this?
From there she launched into an attack on “all the misinformation out there” and a defence of the decision to host this event.
It’s our position here at AIW from years of observation and research that the “health care” system is firmly in the hands of the culture of death. Even the Catholic health care system is tottering. Look no further than PeaceHealth, which stated in an article in the Catholic Progress of December 11, 2008 that PeaceHealth is working on identifying an organization to which staff would refer patients seeking physician-assisted suicide. They already do this in Oregon. How in the world can a Catholic hospital justify cooperating with a grave evil like euthanasia?
Catholics and Christians of all good will should be standing up to reclaim health care for the common good and a culture of life rather than finding ways to compromise and cooperate with the people responsible for the killing and gruesome experiments that are taking place.
The gate to all these immoral things is wide, and getting wider all the time. It’s time those who earn their keep working in our Catholic institutions tried to narrow the gate and help save the souls of their fellow citizens.
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