March 23, 2012 is the premier for the pro-life film "October Baby".
My husband and I were fortunate to be able to attend a sneak preview a little while back. OF COURSE, I am not going to give any spoilers. I have included a trailer for you all!
http://www.octoberbabymovie.net/
John Schneider (I am dating myself when I mention his early fame in "Dukes of Hazzard") portrays the father and Jasmine Guy (once again, I am dating myself when I admit that we watched "A Different World" and "The Cosby Show" when it was brand-new) has a cameo as the nurse. She delivers a very powerful scene which is my favorite part of the movie. Again, no spoilers but the movie is sensitively- written and directed given the subject matter. It's obvious I don't write movie reviews for a living but one theme that was addressed in "October Baby" is forgiveness. This was a healing film for one of the actors and I do not have doubt that it will offer that to many of the audience members as well.
I have seen quite a few pro-life films now. It's a subject for another day when you think of some movies that weren't meant to have a pro-life message originally. Most of the films I see are documentaries. "Blood Money", "Eggsploitation", "Maafa 21" and even "180" all are documentaries. One dvd I highly recommend is "The Truth Behind Abortion" by Pastor Will Ford via Ex-Ministries. It's a very different kind of video as it's extremely gripping explanation of the spiritual aspect of abortion. It opened my eyes to a whole different level...abortion really is in the spiritual realm.
Of the fictional fare, "Bella" is a story that highlights the beauty of adoption and family. I have not seen the movie "Tilly" yet but am going to very soon. It is fictional as well (by Frank Peretti). One more I'll mention and that is "22 Weeks". This short film is based on a true story of a mother who had chosen abortion but was shocked to see her baby survive. Immediately remorseful for her mistake of choosing abortion, the mother attempts to get help from the abortion staff, who ignores her. She ends up calling her friend via cellphone who calls authorities. Actual 911 calls can be heard on YouTube of this tragic event taking place.
Except for the fictional and beautiful "Bella", not one movie comes to mind that addresses this particular subject in "October Baby". If successful in distribution, this movie could make a huge impact. It could compel a lot of people to research a subject they could never imagine existed in their wildest dreams. They could also be made aware of the thousands of pregnancy resource centers which need prayer, volunteer support, encouragement, donations and monetary support.
Of course, no surprise to anyone who knows me or has read this blog long enough......this could lead to even further disapproval of Planned Parenthood. No, this would not disappoint me in the least. Pro-choicers do shudder....they are desperate these days thanks to the work of Lila Rose and Live Action. Whatever comes of this movie, I am sure God will use it for His purposes. Is it a perfect movie? No. I could pick it apart and I wish I could tweak it here and there but really, with the rare exceptions, very few movies escape my desire to fix them. One of my favorite movies is "Despicable Me".
As I mentioned this movie "October Baby" could have a wonderful impact for pregnancy resource centers. Why not support a local pregnancy resource center now (if you don't already)??? What can they use or accept? What can you do? ALL pregnancy resource centers (aka "crisis pregnancy centers") need prayer. The spiritual attack is steady and unceasing (remember that "Truth Behind Abortion" documentary several paragraphs above?).
So many centers face different challenges in various forms. So please always pray for the staff, the volunteers, their building situation (such as repairs or limited space, security), their finances, their donations (diapers, formula, baby food, maternity clothes, baby clothes, baby furniture, office supplies) and of course, just daily operations!!! Pray for protection as there is an attack to close them down by way of legal means. Also, pray for their future plans and visions.
Make sure you pray for those clients who come in scared, defiant to God's word, confused, uneducated, and indoctrinated by the world's lies. Many of these girls and women have never been very well-treated and this may be the first place that they experience unconditional love. Pray for those mommies and the daddies too. I can't emphasize prayer enough when it comes to pregnancy resource centers. They start their days in prayer and their operating hours are bathed in it. They covet your prayers!
All you have to do is look up your area's pregnancy centers (look up Abortion Alternatives or crisis pregnancy centers) I use http://www.goodsearch.com/, also you can look up Care Net https://www.care-net.org/ for their affiliates and also for their hotline number 1-800-395-HELP. When I found the local pregnancy center in my town, my link came from Feminists for Life (Patricia Heaton is their spokeswoman). http://www.feministsforlife.org/
On March 22, 2012, my computer froze up while typing up this blog entry. I gave up on it and ended up watching "Tilly" while my family was out. I highly recommend "Tilly". It's only 41 minutes long (it's a VHS that I got free with my order from Heritage House 76). Included with the story is a discussion panel interview as well as an interview with the author. I haven't completed the whole video but the actual production of "Tilly" is very beautiful. It is different from "October Baby" in a slight different subject matter. To point it out here would give too much away. See how careful I am???
Recently my husband and I attended the fundraiser banquet for our local pregnancy resource center. My husband counted that this was our 8th year to attend! Every year, we have had a wonderful keynote speaker and have been able to invite several people from our church to see what our prc is doing. It's an eye-opener for many to see so many pro-lifers in one room. Well, I would say most attendees are very pro-life. The majority are there for the reason of supporting the center.
Some, may be there for the first time invited as guests who have no idea what the center does and may come out of curiosity. Some may be there because it's good to be there for election purposes. Some may be there because they were dragged there. No matter if the motive isn't in allegiance to helping the event, the main thing is they heard, maybe for the first time, a message of life. They see the pro-life community banded together. Like God's message of the Gospel, it plants seeds deep and at a later time, will mature. I AM praying for one in particular to really embrace the pro-life message.
Our keynote speaker this year was Governor Mike Huckabee. Again, I won't give spoilers in case he comes to YOUR event. He told a particularly powerful account of taking his (then) 11-year old daughter to Yad Vashem, the Holocaust Memorial in Israel. I understood his concern and vacillation to expose someone that young to something so horrific. I have faced a similar concern in the past in raising my children. We don't want our children too insulated so that they are only into themselves. However, we are saddened when they realize how much evil, and the depth of it, is in the world. It's only my opinion, but I think he handled that very well.
The former governor of Arkansas shared, with humor, his background in careers and callings. He spent time in advertising but then became a minister. It was the pro-life issues that pressed upon him to become involved in politics. Many politicians only become "pro-life" when it's politically expedient. Congressman Tom Tancredo once said, "I trust those conversions when they happen on the road to Damascus and not on the road to Des Moines". Amen to THAT!
Please, please, go see "October Baby" if it's in your area!!! If it's not, then maybe go find a showing in another city. :) If that is not feasible, then just wait for it on dvd. Share the link with others you know who may be able to to go see it. Urge family, friends and acquaintances! Pray it stays in the theaters a long time and that word-of-mouth keeps this movie spreading.
Our country is turning the tide for pro-life in the first time since 1996. We are now seeing a change in attitude and it's with the youth now. They are picking up the baton and running with it. Most are recognizing that there IS a baby in the womb (thanks to technology) and it's not a "blob of cells". They ARE recognizing that most of their generation is missing. They do see that their mothers and grandmothers who bought into the lie of "choice" were affected emotionally and mentally. They see the truth and as a result are willing to do something about it. Thanks to Lila Rose http://www.liveaction.org/
and many youths getting involved in pro-life groups and clubs that engage high schools and universities, the issue of abortion is forefront. Hearts are changing and minds are searching for more information.
I'll just add this. One of the people who saw "October Baby" with us went home afterwards and spent a couple of hours on the internet researching. That is just the kind of thing that the abortion industry does not want! Multiply that with how many people will view this film (who may be new to pro-life or even this specific pro-life subject) and then pray for that curiosity and impact. The abortion industry thrives on ignorance and deception. This film will knock down some walls of ignorance and deception.
Psalm 73:21-23
Thus my heart was grieved, And I was vexed in my mind. I was so foolish ignorant; I was like a beast before You.
Nevertheless, I am continually with You; You hold me by my right hand.
Welcome!
Friday, March 23, 2012
Wednesday, March 21, 2012
Hearts Changing
Reading a testimony of those who saw "180". So many hearts changed!!
“We both voted for a pro-choice president the last election. After watching this documentary he said to me in tears that he was wrong. We have had our minds changed about who we vote for.”
“We both voted for a pro-choice president the last election. After watching this documentary he said to me in tears that he was wrong. We have had our minds changed about who we vote for.”
Have You Seen It?
“While making the video I was amazed at how quickly people did a complete 180 after this connection was pointed out to them in a particularly effective way. They changed from being adamantly pro-abortion to being pro-life in a matter of seconds.”
33 Minutes
Comfort opens his project with 14 people who do not know the identity of Hitler – lead naturally to a discussion of abortion, which Comfort describes as a horror worse in numbers than the Holocaust.
Tuesday, March 13, 2012
Mom and Dad Chose Joy!
Jeremiah 32:17 'Ah, Lord God! Behold, You have made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and outstretched arm. There is nothing too hard for You"
This is the story of Kristal Dahlager. I was mistaken in sharing with many friends that she was a third year medical student. She is a third year law student.
"God's Unmistaken Creation"
http://www.frcblog.com/2012/01/life-after-prenatal-diagnosis/ If the story doesn't start with Kristal's story, it's at the 340:2 mark with Dr. Nadal's introduction. It looks like if you click on this link it starts at 342 (I recommend backing it up to the introduction by Dr. Nadal). Kristal's testimony is about 10 minutes.
Jeremiah 32:26-27 "Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah, saying, “Behold, I am the Lord, the God of all flesh. Is there anything too hard for Me?
So the place for euthanasia, I believe, is for the completely hopeless defective: nature’s mistake; something we hustle out of sight, which should never have been seen at all. These should be relieved the burden of living, because for them the burden of living at no time can produce any good thing at all. . . . For us to allow them to continue such a living is sheer sentimentality, and cruel too; we deny them as much solace as we give our stricken horse. Here we may most kindly kill, and have no fear of error.
...to release the soul from its misshapen body which only defeats in this world the soul’s powers and gifts is surely to exchange, on that soul’s behalf, bondage for freedom."
"It must be made clear to anyone suffering from an incurable disease that the useless dissipation of costly medications drawn from the public store cannot be justified. Parents who have seen the difficult life of a crippled or feeble-minded child must be convinced that, though they may have a moral obligation to care for the unfortunate creature, the broader public should not be obligated...to assume the enormous costs that long-term institutionalization might entail."
Pamphlet published by Dr. Heilig, representative of the Nazi Physicians' League. From: Robert N. Proctor, Racial Hygeine: Medicine Under the Nazis, Harvard University Press, Cambridge, 1989, p. 183
Interesting that we are expected to pay for every female of child-bearing age their contraceptives and abortions, but anyone who is in need of real help (of which these souls have no control) for various physical and mental challenges should be cast aside (and I get called a "heartless conservative"). And when you read all the stories that are out there of babies with Down Syndrome being aborted or the pressure parents face to abort their babies, you can see we never left the twisted mindset of the eugenics driving the Holocaust. And it IS important to note that Foster Kennedy was an American and Germany did look to the United States for its eugenic program ideas. Just look up the case Buck vs. Bell.
It would be very easy to share all of the quotes by the eugenicists (both past and present), but that will be for another time. The point of this blog is hope. The point is that Mr. and Mrs. Dahlager chose to trust in Him. They chose life and joy. They were blessed because they leaned on His ways and timing. They knew God was good.
Ephesians 10:2 "For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them."
You are His workmanship, Kristal Dahlager is His workmanship and all of those babies (over 3,500 a day) are His workmanship. As my friend Anna often says of which I wholeheartedly agree, "God doesn't make mistakes". You are not a mistake. Those babies aren't mistakes. God opens the womb and He closes the womb and He is not surprised by any child's conception ("HOW did THAT one get through?").
I hope you enjoyed Kristal's testimony. It deeply touched me and spurred me to a greater passion for those parents and those babies with poor prenatal diagnoses. NONE of the physician's diagnoses came true about Baby Kristal. None. They didn't even want to be her medical advocate after she was born. Kristal's story isn't the only one because I have heard countless others. I will share them here frequently. I am certain there would be enough for a book.
I'll close with:
Psalm 27:13-14
"I would have lost heart, unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait on the Lord; Be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart; Wait, I say, on the Lord!"
This is the story of Kristal Dahlager. I was mistaken in sharing with many friends that she was a third year medical student. She is a third year law student.
"God's Unmistaken Creation"
http://www.frcblog.com/2012/01/life-after-prenatal-diagnosis/ If the story doesn't start with Kristal's story, it's at the 340:2 mark with Dr. Nadal's introduction. It looks like if you click on this link it starts at 342 (I recommend backing it up to the introduction by Dr. Nadal). Kristal's testimony is about 10 minutes.
Jeremiah 32:26-27 "Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah, saying, “Behold, I am the Lord, the God of all flesh. Is there anything too hard for Me?
I looked up the doctor's quote that Miss Dahlager shared in her talk and it was a doctor of neurology in the 1940's. His name was Robert Foster Kennedy. He believed in death for severely retarded children over the age of 5, believed in sterilization and castration.
"But I am in favor of euthanasia for those hopeless ones who should never have been born – Nature’s mistakes....So the place for euthanasia, I believe, is for the completely hopeless defective: nature’s mistake; something we hustle out of sight, which should never have been seen at all. These should be relieved the burden of living, because for them the burden of living at no time can produce any good thing at all. . . . For us to allow them to continue such a living is sheer sentimentality, and cruel too; we deny them as much solace as we give our stricken horse. Here we may most kindly kill, and have no fear of error.
...to release the soul from its misshapen body which only defeats in this world the soul’s powers and gifts is surely to exchange, on that soul’s behalf, bondage for freedom."
- Kennedy, F. The problem of social control of the congenital defective: education, sterilization, euthanasia. Am J Psychiatry 1942;99:13-16.
"It must be made clear to anyone suffering from an incurable disease that the useless dissipation of costly medications drawn from the public store cannot be justified. Parents who have seen the difficult life of a crippled or feeble-minded child must be convinced that, though they may have a moral obligation to care for the unfortunate creature, the broader public should not be obligated...to assume the enormous costs that long-term institutionalization might entail."
Pamphlet published by Dr. Heilig, representative of the Nazi Physicians' League. From: Robert N. Proctor, Racial Hygeine: Medicine Under the Nazis, Harvard University Press, Cambridge, 1989, p. 183
Interesting that we are expected to pay for every female of child-bearing age their contraceptives and abortions, but anyone who is in need of real help (of which these souls have no control) for various physical and mental challenges should be cast aside (and I get called a "heartless conservative"). And when you read all the stories that are out there of babies with Down Syndrome being aborted or the pressure parents face to abort their babies, you can see we never left the twisted mindset of the eugenics driving the Holocaust. And it IS important to note that Foster Kennedy was an American and Germany did look to the United States for its eugenic program ideas. Just look up the case Buck vs. Bell.
It would be very easy to share all of the quotes by the eugenicists (both past and present), but that will be for another time. The point of this blog is hope. The point is that Mr. and Mrs. Dahlager chose to trust in Him. They chose life and joy. They were blessed because they leaned on His ways and timing. They knew God was good.
Ephesians 10:2 "For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them."
You are His workmanship, Kristal Dahlager is His workmanship and all of those babies (over 3,500 a day) are His workmanship. As my friend Anna often says of which I wholeheartedly agree, "God doesn't make mistakes". You are not a mistake. Those babies aren't mistakes. God opens the womb and He closes the womb and He is not surprised by any child's conception ("HOW did THAT one get through?").
I hope you enjoyed Kristal's testimony. It deeply touched me and spurred me to a greater passion for those parents and those babies with poor prenatal diagnoses. NONE of the physician's diagnoses came true about Baby Kristal. None. They didn't even want to be her medical advocate after she was born. Kristal's story isn't the only one because I have heard countless others. I will share them here frequently. I am certain there would be enough for a book.
I'll close with:
Psalm 27:13-14
"I would have lost heart, unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait on the Lord; Be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart; Wait, I say, on the Lord!"
Wednesday, February 29, 2012
Choosing Joy
In my pro-life journey, there has been a series of markers. I went from pro-"choice" (euphemism) to believing in protecting the unborn baby. Then I went from believing that there were exceptions (i.e. rape and incest) in protecting that unborn baby to a belief that all unborn life needs protection. Then there's the subject of "health" (abortionist's language and loophole) and the life of the mother when it comes to health issues in the pregnancy (and/or mom/baby). Then, I went from not having any sympathy for the woman who had an abortion to an overwhelming desire for seeing them obtain healing and forgiveness from God. Soon, I went from the ignorance of the men involved in abortion to recognizing that they too, need healing and forgiveness.
The journey has gone onward. It has involved praying for abortionists and their workers to leave the business. It has been learning about the existence of price lists for babies' organs and unregulated abortion mills with their unlicensed or untrained staff. It has been about researching the difference between adult stem cells and embryonic stem cells. The more I learn the more I realize how much I don't know and there is so much out there to know.
Some of it is so shocking---we know there is evil and we know the depths of depravity a person will plunge but when we face it, it still knocks the wind out of us. Sometimes it's just so heart-wrenching we just think it can't get any sadder than that situation. There is so much hard-heartedness and ignorance and selfishness. We see it all the time but it's always in our minds not to get desensitized or not to get jaded when we face the horrific accounts.
It's not that anything is new of late. Sometimes subjects get a new focus. Maybe there's a detailed amount of information shared that wasn't on the radar or available before. Sometimes it's just a series of stories that just flood forth. Over the last few months, there have been many accounts of problem pregnancies. So far, NONE of the stories I have read have shown the medical community in a caring and informative light. If it weren't for a few doctors and nurses I know who are unabashedly pro-life, I would have very little trust in most medical staff based on these reports.
Below is a story (one of hundreds), that shares how parents received news of possible trouble for the baby. If you don't have time to go to the link, the synopsis is (as you can surmise from context), the baby was given virtually little chance in living past the birth. The doctors suggested abortion. The parents refused. This seems to be the formula for most stories. The only difference is the parents' reaction. Some parents DO take the doctors' suggestion of abortion.
http://www.lifesitenews.com/news/choosing-joy-baby-abby-was-given-a-slim-chance-of-survival-but-abortion-was
I love the part of the story where the parents share how the Chris Tomlin song "Our God" pertains to their situation.
The stories I have read fortunately have the common thread in those stories where they choose to ignore the advice to abort....they have a dependence on God and a recognition that He knows what is best. The parents ultimately recognize that no matter how everything will turn out, God is not going to leave them nor forsake them. They recognize that this baby is a blessing! Others "see" this baby with human eyes and they see this baby is "imperfect" What is perfection in the human race? We are all sinners at conception so there we are all imperfect and deserving of death.
Hebrews 11:1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
I can see how most parents would be scared. They are given no hope. The truth is coldly or brutally told much of the time. They see the person in a white coat with a stethoscope and there still seems to be that Dr. Marcus Welby "aura", thinking that not only do they know everything about medicine but strangely they also think that this man can predict every detail of what will happen to this child's life if allowed to be born.
Case in point, Dr. Gerard Nadal spoke at a Family Research Council conference called "Medical Advances in Prenatal Diagnoses". He told of a first-year medical student who shared that of a discussion that took place in his class. A student asked, "What would do you do if the amnio came up positive for Trisomy 21-Down Syndrome?" The professor answered, "You would counsel the mother to get an abortion! Why wouldn't you?" The med student asked then, "What if the mother doesn't want to have an abortion?" The professor told the student, "Well, you tell that mother that the day that kid is born, her life is over!"
The medical students are not being taught surgical interventions, no medical therapeutics, different therapies (physical, occupational, speech), special education to offer any hope to the parents. As Dr. Nadal went on to point out, the baby is a patient too. Death is not a treatment option for a sick baby! He suggests the parents should challenge the doctor’s assertion of “Why would you make your baby suffer?” with “What are YOU going to do to alleviate the suffering in my baby? How are you going to do to restore function to my child?” He says that if all that is offered the pregnant woman is abortion, than that is not choice. That is aggressive eugenics. http://www.frc.org/eventregistration/first-annual-conference-on-medical-advances-in-prenatal-diagnoses
I will make sure this link to the conference is available in the blog entry. I encourage you to tune in to as much as you can. I think it’s time we educate ourselves and others on this subject. To me, it seems that there are a bunch of doctors who need to go back to school and also to receive a lesson of William Wilberforce’s The Reformation of Manners (but that’s not just doctors…that’s just about everybody these days).
There ARE good doctors out there, I am aware. There was a good discussion on Jill Stanek's blog recently asking the question, "Is your OB-GYN pro-life and does it matter?" In reading many of the replies, it restored some hope that there were doctors who were pro-life and it offered links on how to find a pro-life doctor in your area. What we really need now though is a groundswell of pro-life patients teaching their doctors what it means to depend on God instead of an amniocentesis. I am happy to hear that many parents refuse the amnio and tell the medical world, "Why? It won't mean anything if we find out anything wrong". I guess litigation is one area of concern for doctors. Obstetrics has always been a high-risk specialty with high malpractice insurance but my main suspicion is that we have a generation bathed in secular humanist schools starting from preschool through medical residency.
There’s a website called Be Not Afraid http://www.benotafraid.net/ . It is a huge blessing which should be shared with everyone….parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, medical professionals, adoption agencies, therapy groups, crisis pregnancy centers, even stores and departments that sell baby items. It has so many helpful resources to get practical information. The best part are the stories shared by parents. I tried to describe an overview of this but it’s best you go and see for yourself! Go read the stories of inspiration (okay…well maybe later? I don’t want to distract).
And I also came across another website about Perinatal Hospice. http://www.perinatalhospice.org/
Several articles grabbed me http://www.cmaj.ca/content/183/5/E267.full and http://www.juns.nursing.arizona.edu/articles/Fall%202006/horning.htm
You can get a pretty good picture of how care for a baby and his parents should go after you view this video. This is Christ-like treatment of everyone involved.
http://www.youtube.com/embed/tY7mq1g9pGk"
These links just aren’t for people who face a problem in the pregnancy situation. These resources are vital for families, friends and caregivers. It may be helpful to gain more understanding in order to minister to those in situations such as these. I am sure some readers here may have experienced a hurtful remark in this kind of situation. Or may have been experienced a time of difficulty in thinking of the right thing to say to someone going through a miscarriage or a death of a baby/child. It’s hard even for anyone whose lost a loved one, but so many new parents hear “well, you could always have another child” which isn’t what you hear with the death of someone older. Also we have a some generations who have been indoctrinated to dehumanize with language such as "clump of cells" , "Blob of tissue", and one I detest in particular, "vegetative" . A human is NOT a vegetable.
I love the story of how Rick Santorum and his wife, Karen decided they needed to find a doctor who would help their child LIVE and not be focused on preparing for her death. Their daughter, Bella, who was born with Trisomy 18, wasn't expected to live very long. She kept surprising everyone and she is going to be 4 years old in May.
I think now is a good time too, to bring up those groups that truly help in researching these kinds of syndromes. I’ll pose the question which may seem rather obvious at first:
You have two groups of charities that claim to help children in physical and mental challenges. The first group says they are all for eradicating disabilities and defective genes. They pour donations into scientific labs and events that appear to help children. They accept donations from walks, banquets and little jars by the cash register to fight these syndromes. However, Group 1 has ties to the abortion industry. They have the ideology of stamping out defects because they do so at the embryonic level—destruction of human life nonetheless.. They have ties to Planned Parenthood and provide grants to scientists who have performed grisly experiments involving aborted babies. Donations to Group 1 goes to both “saving” and killing children in the name of helping children.
Group 2 goes into research of helping disabilities but no money goes to abortion nor to any embryonic destruction. Group 2 has an ideology of life and the dignity of those who face physical and mental challenges. There is no involvement with Planned Parenthood, grisly experiments with aborted babies nor any industry that endorses destruction or diminishment of life.
Here’s the question…..which would you support? Hmmmmmm! The title of this blog is “I am Pro-Life….Now What? (oh yeah, with the subtitle “On an agenda for life”).
Here’s the “now what”:
The link for Group 2 is called The Michael Fund. http://www.michaelfund.org/ I love their four-fold mission. HUAH!!!! J
I will add another blog soon about this subject as there is one story that must be shared and lack of time and space forbids me to include it now. In the meantime, this Scripture came to mind.....Mary's obedience and trust in the Lord. She faced the unknown, uncharted territory, and a future that would bring scrutiny from a critical public who would not understand the situation. The thing to remember here is the Great Physician attended at the birth (no midwife available) !! :)
Luke 1
38 Then Mary said, “Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.
The journey has gone onward. It has involved praying for abortionists and their workers to leave the business. It has been learning about the existence of price lists for babies' organs and unregulated abortion mills with their unlicensed or untrained staff. It has been about researching the difference between adult stem cells and embryonic stem cells. The more I learn the more I realize how much I don't know and there is so much out there to know.
Some of it is so shocking---we know there is evil and we know the depths of depravity a person will plunge but when we face it, it still knocks the wind out of us. Sometimes it's just so heart-wrenching we just think it can't get any sadder than that situation. There is so much hard-heartedness and ignorance and selfishness. We see it all the time but it's always in our minds not to get desensitized or not to get jaded when we face the horrific accounts.
It's not that anything is new of late. Sometimes subjects get a new focus. Maybe there's a detailed amount of information shared that wasn't on the radar or available before. Sometimes it's just a series of stories that just flood forth. Over the last few months, there have been many accounts of problem pregnancies. So far, NONE of the stories I have read have shown the medical community in a caring and informative light. If it weren't for a few doctors and nurses I know who are unabashedly pro-life, I would have very little trust in most medical staff based on these reports.
Below is a story (one of hundreds), that shares how parents received news of possible trouble for the baby. If you don't have time to go to the link, the synopsis is (as you can surmise from context), the baby was given virtually little chance in living past the birth. The doctors suggested abortion. The parents refused. This seems to be the formula for most stories. The only difference is the parents' reaction. Some parents DO take the doctors' suggestion of abortion.
http://www.lifesitenews.com/news/choosing-joy-baby-abby-was-given-a-slim-chance-of-survival-but-abortion-was
I love the part of the story where the parents share how the Chris Tomlin song "Our God" pertains to their situation.
Our God is Healer, Awesome in Power, Our God! Our God!
And if our God is for us, then who could ever stop us.
And if our God is with us, then what could stand against.”
And if our God is for us, then who could ever stop us.
And if our God is with us, then what could stand against.”
The stories I have read fortunately have the common thread in those stories where they choose to ignore the advice to abort....they have a dependence on God and a recognition that He knows what is best. The parents ultimately recognize that no matter how everything will turn out, God is not going to leave them nor forsake them. They recognize that this baby is a blessing! Others "see" this baby with human eyes and they see this baby is "imperfect" What is perfection in the human race? We are all sinners at conception so there we are all imperfect and deserving of death.
Hebrews 11:1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
I can see how most parents would be scared. They are given no hope. The truth is coldly or brutally told much of the time. They see the person in a white coat with a stethoscope and there still seems to be that Dr. Marcus Welby "aura", thinking that not only do they know everything about medicine but strangely they also think that this man can predict every detail of what will happen to this child's life if allowed to be born.
Case in point, Dr. Gerard Nadal spoke at a Family Research Council conference called "Medical Advances in Prenatal Diagnoses". He told of a first-year medical student who shared that of a discussion that took place in his class. A student asked, "What would do you do if the amnio came up positive for Trisomy 21-Down Syndrome?" The professor answered, "You would counsel the mother to get an abortion! Why wouldn't you?" The med student asked then, "What if the mother doesn't want to have an abortion?" The professor told the student, "Well, you tell that mother that the day that kid is born, her life is over!"
The medical students are not being taught surgical interventions, no medical therapeutics, different therapies (physical, occupational, speech), special education to offer any hope to the parents. As Dr. Nadal went on to point out, the baby is a patient too. Death is not a treatment option for a sick baby! He suggests the parents should challenge the doctor’s assertion of “Why would you make your baby suffer?” with “What are YOU going to do to alleviate the suffering in my baby? How are you going to do to restore function to my child?” He says that if all that is offered the pregnant woman is abortion, than that is not choice. That is aggressive eugenics. http://www.frc.org/eventregistration/first-annual-conference-on-medical-advances-in-prenatal-diagnoses
I will make sure this link to the conference is available in the blog entry. I encourage you to tune in to as much as you can. I think it’s time we educate ourselves and others on this subject. To me, it seems that there are a bunch of doctors who need to go back to school and also to receive a lesson of William Wilberforce’s The Reformation of Manners (but that’s not just doctors…that’s just about everybody these days).
There ARE good doctors out there, I am aware. There was a good discussion on Jill Stanek's blog recently asking the question, "Is your OB-GYN pro-life and does it matter?" In reading many of the replies, it restored some hope that there were doctors who were pro-life and it offered links on how to find a pro-life doctor in your area. What we really need now though is a groundswell of pro-life patients teaching their doctors what it means to depend on God instead of an amniocentesis. I am happy to hear that many parents refuse the amnio and tell the medical world, "Why? It won't mean anything if we find out anything wrong". I guess litigation is one area of concern for doctors. Obstetrics has always been a high-risk specialty with high malpractice insurance but my main suspicion is that we have a generation bathed in secular humanist schools starting from preschool through medical residency.
There’s a website called Be Not Afraid http://www.benotafraid.net/ . It is a huge blessing which should be shared with everyone….parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, medical professionals, adoption agencies, therapy groups, crisis pregnancy centers, even stores and departments that sell baby items. It has so many helpful resources to get practical information. The best part are the stories shared by parents. I tried to describe an overview of this but it’s best you go and see for yourself! Go read the stories of inspiration (okay…well maybe later? I don’t want to distract).
And I also came across another website about Perinatal Hospice. http://www.perinatalhospice.org/
Several articles grabbed me http://www.cmaj.ca/content/183/5/E267.full and http://www.juns.nursing.arizona.edu/articles/Fall%202006/horning.htm
You can get a pretty good picture of how care for a baby and his parents should go after you view this video. This is Christ-like treatment of everyone involved.
http://www.youtube.com/embed/tY7mq1g9pGk"
These links just aren’t for people who face a problem in the pregnancy situation. These resources are vital for families, friends and caregivers. It may be helpful to gain more understanding in order to minister to those in situations such as these. I am sure some readers here may have experienced a hurtful remark in this kind of situation. Or may have been experienced a time of difficulty in thinking of the right thing to say to someone going through a miscarriage or a death of a baby/child. It’s hard even for anyone whose lost a loved one, but so many new parents hear “well, you could always have another child” which isn’t what you hear with the death of someone older. Also we have a some generations who have been indoctrinated to dehumanize with language such as "clump of cells" , "Blob of tissue", and one I detest in particular, "vegetative" . A human is NOT a vegetable.
I love the story of how Rick Santorum and his wife, Karen decided they needed to find a doctor who would help their child LIVE and not be focused on preparing for her death. Their daughter, Bella, who was born with Trisomy 18, wasn't expected to live very long. She kept surprising everyone and she is going to be 4 years old in May.
I think now is a good time too, to bring up those groups that truly help in researching these kinds of syndromes. I’ll pose the question which may seem rather obvious at first:
You have two groups of charities that claim to help children in physical and mental challenges. The first group says they are all for eradicating disabilities and defective genes. They pour donations into scientific labs and events that appear to help children. They accept donations from walks, banquets and little jars by the cash register to fight these syndromes. However, Group 1 has ties to the abortion industry. They have the ideology of stamping out defects because they do so at the embryonic level—destruction of human life nonetheless.. They have ties to Planned Parenthood and provide grants to scientists who have performed grisly experiments involving aborted babies. Donations to Group 1 goes to both “saving” and killing children in the name of helping children.
Group 2 goes into research of helping disabilities but no money goes to abortion nor to any embryonic destruction. Group 2 has an ideology of life and the dignity of those who face physical and mental challenges. There is no involvement with Planned Parenthood, grisly experiments with aborted babies nor any industry that endorses destruction or diminishment of life.
Here’s the question…..which would you support? Hmmmmmm! The title of this blog is “I am Pro-Life….Now What? (oh yeah, with the subtitle “On an agenda for life”).
Here’s the “now what”:
The link for Group 2 is called The Michael Fund. http://www.michaelfund.org/ I love their four-fold mission. HUAH!!!! J
I will add another blog soon about this subject as there is one story that must be shared and lack of time and space forbids me to include it now. In the meantime, this Scripture came to mind.....Mary's obedience and trust in the Lord. She faced the unknown, uncharted territory, and a future that would bring scrutiny from a critical public who would not understand the situation. The thing to remember here is the Great Physician attended at the birth (no midwife available) !! :)
Luke 1
38 Then Mary said, “Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.
And Mary said:
“My soul magnifies the Lord,
47 And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior.
48 For He has regarded the lowly state of His maidservant;
For behold, henceforth all generations will call me blessed.
49 For He who is mighty has done great things for me,
And holy is His name.
50 And His mercy is on those who fear Him
From generation to generation.
51 He has shown strength with His arm;
He has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.
52 He has put down the mighty from their thrones,
And exalted the lowly.
53 He has filled the hungry with good things,
And the rich He has sent away empty.
54 He has helped His servant Israel,
In remembrance of His mercy,
55 As He spoke to our fathers,
To Abraham and to his seed forever.”
47 And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior.
48 For He has regarded the lowly state of His maidservant;
For behold, henceforth all generations will call me blessed.
49 For He who is mighty has done great things for me,
And holy is His name.
50 And His mercy is on those who fear Him
From generation to generation.
51 He has shown strength with His arm;
He has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.
52 He has put down the mighty from their thrones,
And exalted the lowly.
53 He has filled the hungry with good things,
And the rich He has sent away empty.
54 He has helped His servant Israel,
In remembrance of His mercy,
55 As He spoke to our fathers,
To Abraham and to his seed forever.”
Wednesday, February 15, 2012
Breaking News
Today, a major abortionist in Atlanta, Georgia was arrested for Medicaid fraud.
Here's the story:
http://bound4life.com/blog/2011/12/20/breaking-news-major-atlanta-abortion-doctor-arrested-for-medicaid-fraud
Also, in Lufkin, Texas, more Medicaid fraud has been discovered.
http://lufkindailynews.com/news/local/article_2ca03240-5506-11e1-938b-001871e3ce6c.html
Now is a good time to introduce to you all the new website
http://abortiondocs.org/
This website will record all the documents that have been collected about individual abortionists and their establishments. Please take time to check it out when you can. They are still uploading documents so if it looks like they don't have any records, keep checking back. Abortions are greatly underreported (if reported at all). The pro-lifers that record ambulances and other violent and threatening episodes will post things on YouTube and different social networks. However, many of these incidences of botched abortions or deaths are reported. Shame paralyzes the victims/families of victims from reporting many of these macabre happenings. We have seen the Public Health and other state departments turn their heads the other way.
Many abortion facilities have not seen any regulatory visits in15 to 17 years. So anything goes in those places. Fortunately, some of these places are shutting down such as the Lincolnwood and Rockford, Illinois mills now that awareness has been raised due to the Kermit Gosnell House of Horrors (and Steven Chase Brigham's mill).
Another website http://abortionsafety.com/donors.php (now edited...sorry about that) has not been set in operation yet but when it is, they will also warn the public of the abortionists and places that have harmed their consumers. I encourage you to check it out.
Please keep praying for these places to shut down and for these abortionists and their workers to be exposed and meet with justice. Prayers are answered but not always in the ways we would expect!! It's interesting that some of the worst abortionists (which is kind of like putting them in the same class of dictator....Stalin, Hitler, Lenin, Mao, Pol Pot, Castro, etc...which is the worst?) have been caught in things like illegal prescription rings and fraud but not caught on actual killing of their clients and the babies.
Check out The Daniel 5:25 Project Chttp://www.operationrescue.org/archives/project-daniel-525-numbering-the-days-of-legal-abortion/ Consider praying for a specific abortionist to end doing abortions, that they would accept Christ and be a vocal and vociferous pro-life warrior. Pray for a specific abortion facility to be exposed and shut down permanently. I have personally printed this list out and I check off all the ones that are permanently shut down.
1 Thessalonians 5:17-18
"Pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.
Here's the story:
http://bound4life.com/blog/2011/12/20/breaking-news-major-atlanta-abortion-doctor-arrested-for-medicaid-fraud
Also, in Lufkin, Texas, more Medicaid fraud has been discovered.
http://lufkindailynews.com/news/local/article_2ca03240-5506-11e1-938b-001871e3ce6c.html
Now is a good time to introduce to you all the new website
http://abortiondocs.org/
This website will record all the documents that have been collected about individual abortionists and their establishments. Please take time to check it out when you can. They are still uploading documents so if it looks like they don't have any records, keep checking back. Abortions are greatly underreported (if reported at all). The pro-lifers that record ambulances and other violent and threatening episodes will post things on YouTube and different social networks. However, many of these incidences of botched abortions or deaths are reported. Shame paralyzes the victims/families of victims from reporting many of these macabre happenings. We have seen the Public Health and other state departments turn their heads the other way.
Many abortion facilities have not seen any regulatory visits in15 to 17 years. So anything goes in those places. Fortunately, some of these places are shutting down such as the Lincolnwood and Rockford, Illinois mills now that awareness has been raised due to the Kermit Gosnell House of Horrors (and Steven Chase Brigham's mill).
Another website http://abortionsafety.com/donors.php (now edited...sorry about that) has not been set in operation yet but when it is, they will also warn the public of the abortionists and places that have harmed their consumers. I encourage you to check it out.
Please keep praying for these places to shut down and for these abortionists and their workers to be exposed and meet with justice. Prayers are answered but not always in the ways we would expect!! It's interesting that some of the worst abortionists (which is kind of like putting them in the same class of dictator....Stalin, Hitler, Lenin, Mao, Pol Pot, Castro, etc...which is the worst?) have been caught in things like illegal prescription rings and fraud but not caught on actual killing of their clients and the babies.
Check out The Daniel 5:25 Project Chttp://www.operationrescue.org/archives/project-daniel-525-numbering-the-days-of-legal-abortion/ Consider praying for a specific abortionist to end doing abortions, that they would accept Christ and be a vocal and vociferous pro-life warrior. Pray for a specific abortion facility to be exposed and shut down permanently. I have personally printed this list out and I check off all the ones that are permanently shut down.
1 Thessalonians 5:17-18
"Pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.
Psalm 34:15-18
New King James Version (NKJV)
15 The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous,
And His ears are open to their cry.
16 The face of the Lord is against those who do evil,
To cut off the remembrance of them from the earth.
And His ears are open to their cry.
16 The face of the Lord is against those who do evil,
To cut off the remembrance of them from the earth.
17 The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears,And delivers them out of all their troubles.
18 The Lord is near to those who have a broken heart,
And saves such as have a contrite spirit.
18 The Lord is near to those who have a broken heart,
And saves such as have a contrite spirit.
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