Who are we shutting out?

While not every woman who uses contraception would have an abortion or even necessarily supports the pro-choice movement, it became clear that, on a society-wide level, the widespread acceptance of contraception makes people feel like abortion is necessary. When women are told to go ahead and participate in the act that creates babies, even if they are certain that they are in no position to have a child, babies become the enemy, and women begin to feel like the only way they can have real control over their bodies is through the services of their local abortion facility.

But that was only the beginning.

The more I studied the Theology of the Body and took a look at human sexuality through the lens of millenia-old Christian teaching, the more the problems of contraceptive culture came into relief. I noticed that with abstinence-based methods of child spacing like Natural Family Planning, there remains a mental and physical openness to the potential for new life. Couples may try to avoid pregnancy, and may even be able to do so with a high degree of accuracy, but there is always an acceptance that new life could be created, an ever-present understanding that an inherent part of this most sacred of human acts is a willingness to care for any new family members God may give you through it. And, because it involves abstinence, there is an inherent element of personal sacrifice. You live daily with the reminder that life isn't about doing whatever you want, whenever you want.

In contrast, I began to see that contraception tempts us to value human life according to how it impacts us. Contraceptive culture tells us that we're entitled to the pleasurable aspects of sexuality, even if we reject any new life that could be created. It tells married couples that we can and should exercise complete control over our fertility so that we only add children to our families when we are one-hundred percent certain that we want them  -- in other words, to value other human beings according to how they impact our own lives. Columnist Mark Steyn summed up this mindset well when he wrote in a 2006 article:

One consequence of abortion is that, in designating new life a matter of "choice," it made it easier to make judgments about which lives are worth it and which aren't...But it's foolish to think you can raise entire populations to make self-interested judgments about who lives and who doesn't and expect them to remain confined to three trimesters. The "right to choose" is now being extended beyond the womb: the step from convenience conception to convenience euthanasia is a short one, and the step from convenience euthanasia to compulsory euthanasia shorter still.

Though he was speaking specifically about abortion, this mentality of "convenience conception" is rooted in the acceptance of contraception. And we only need to look at history to see where this line of thinking goes: Any time a society accepts it as true that it is okay to value other human beings according to how much we want to deal with them, there will always be death. At a minimum, it leads to spiritual death, when people begin to live their lives closed to deep connections with other humans, but there is usually also bodily death, as those who cramp the lifestyles of those who are more powerful are gotten out of the way once and for all. And thus we end up in a "culture of death."

Read more: http://www.ncregister.com/blog/jennifer-fulwiler/why-do-we-call-it-a-culture-of-death#ixzz1tJ2Dv400

Ms. Nomer

But what is “reproductive justice”? To help answer that question, perhaps we should first ask: Who is guilty of the injustice? For Fluke, it’s her school that “creates untenable burdens that impede our academic success.” But of course it’s unfair to say that an institution, by not covering the cost of some product, implicitly creates burdens for its female students. My employer, by not covering my preferred allergy medicine, doesn’t create my burden of allergies. My allergy problems are internal to myself. They are, so to speak, natural problems I live with, ones I cannot label as someone else’s fault. Unless I were futilely to blame, say, God or nature.

But I would argue that underneath it all, advocates of “reproductive justice” do blame nature. Nature is the true obstacle to these women’s idea of justice.

Fluke might not put it this way, but radical feminists who cling to terms like “reproductive justice” and “reproductive freedom” are really trying to beat the cards that nature dealt them. They want sexual license outside the scope of what nature provides as the healthiest course—sex with one person for a lifetime. They object to the reality that sex can naturally lead to babies, creating burdens that research shows they’d be best suited to bear with the help of a husband. Underneath sexual liberationists’ wish to overthrow patriarchal traditions of marriage and religious institutions’ principles of sexual ethics, there seems to be a wish to overthrow the most stubborn foundation of all—nature herself.

 http://www.thepublicdiscourse.com/2012/04/5242

What speaks louder?

Ms. Johnson had worked for Planned Parenthood for years, eventually becoming director of the clinic.  One day, while helping during an ultrasound-guided abortion, she witnessed the end of life.  Witnessing it with her own eyes was the day of her conversion.  She quit her job and joined the Coalition for Life.  It’s an amazing and emotional story.  But what struck me most was that the Coalition for Life had, for years, loved and prayed for her.  It was this love and these prayers that guided her eventual change of heart.  Had they been angry, violently standing up for what was right, she likely would have shut them out.  But their love in the face of her opposition was remarkable.  True charity.

Charity doesn’t mean you don’t stand up for what is right.  But we must be wise in the words we choose and the way we choose to say them.  Those Coalition for Life volunteers praying at the abortion clinic— just praying, not debating, or arguing, or accusing— spoke clearly.  They spoke not just opposition to abortion, but also love for all that walked through the clinic doors—love for the unborn child, women in crisis pregnancies, as well as and those that worked at the clinic.  This surely is what Christ was speaking of in his call to love and prayer.

So here is Christ’s challenge to us all:  Pray for those who persecute us.  Say I love you anyway and will be there if you need help.  Can we demonstrate the love of Christ in such a way that, in spite of opposition, our actions stop people in their tracks and make them wonder at our love?  What feeds this love, what motivates this love?  I have a feeling that this love will inspire more conversions of heart than anything else we can do.

http://www.crisismagazine.com/2012/charity-in-the-face-of-oposition

Forgiveness

Learn more about this sculpture at LifeSite News.

Looking forward

"How long, Father, before we see an end to this great tragedy and have respect for life?"

We can recall in Psalms 13 and 14 the plea of the psalmist and the difficulties he faced. He too wondered how long, but within his lamentation was a deep and profound trust in the power of the Almighty. We can also keep in mind the words of Saint Paul, whose words of encouragement can strengthen us when we feel overwhelmed by the immensity of the forces arrayed against life: "Faith is the realization of what is hoped for and evidence of things not seen" (Hebrews 11:1). Our strength comes from our trust in the One who can and will bring about victory, so our faith cannot be something merely emotional or secondary if it is what Pope Benedict XVI calls "performative" in our lives - if it is to truly motivate our action along with hope and love.

The days of Lent remind us of the sacrificial offering of Jesus, the innocent Lamb led to the slaughter, who laid down His life for us and all who would follow Him. He taught us to embrace the crosses of our life and not to be afraid. He taught us to let our light shine and never turn back once we have placed our hand upon the plow. We may confront an overwhelming foe as Moses and King David did, but we remember Pharaoh and Goliath's fate. By lifting a wooden staff, and with a single stone, two great and mighty forces were defeated. Our strength does not originate in our abilities alone but in the mighty power of God at work in us.

As we face the ever-growing obstacles of the Culture of Death and the powerful forces that support it, let us remember the heart of the Easter message and the power Our Lord offers us in His name. We do not know the day when life will once again be protected from conception until natural death, but we know that it will be.

- from Human Life Intl.

Nationally recognized

We made it!

Day 40 reminds me of Augustine's famous advice: "Pray
as though everything depends on God; work as though
everything depends on you."

You have done just that. We've seen faithful
volunteers in 258 cities pray, fast, do community
outreach and hold peaceful vigils in front of 258
of the most hopeless places in our world.

Your prayers have brought one thing in particular to
the public right-of-way ... HOPE.

Hope is what the abortion industry is afraid of. Hope
is what makes women scheduled to have abortions turn
around. Hope is what leads abortion workers out of
that industry. Hope is what transforms our world.

It is amazing what can happen when you go to the
sidewalks and let the love of Christ be present in
places that thrive on hopelessness.

This could not be done without your faith, courage
and selflessness.

Let me be the first to say thank you for your efforts
these past 40 days. Your prayers sent a clear message.
Here's a great example from this campaign.


------------------------------

------------------------
AUBURN HILLS, MICHIGAN
------------------------------------------------------

When Seth Peters heard that Planned Parenthood was
planning a 17,000 square foot abortion center in
Auburn Hills, "minutes away from my parents' house,
where I had been lovingly raised and where I still
call home, I was heartbroken and angry."

He signed up to bring a 40 Days for Life vigil to the
proposed location -- joining other community voices
speaking out against the abortion chain’s plans. He
received support from many local sources.

Adjacent property owners had previously filed suit,
noting that deed restrictions would not permit an
abortion facility there. Planned Parenthood may be
tied up in court -- but not about to give up.

"Planned Parenthood is hungry for this site," Seth
said, noting that it sits near a low-income
neighborhood, a college campus and a wealthy suburb
-- all prime targets for abortion.

He pushed ahead with vigil plans, even though a number
of people didn't see the need for prayer at a place
where abortions are not currently taking place. "That
is unfortunate," he said, "because it's a bit like
waiting until the hurricane hits before you board up
your windows."

Planned Parenthood got tired of waiting. They bought
an empty medical building in nearby Ferndale and plan
to open an office there tomorrow. That facility will
not offer abortions, but will refer women to other
locations that do.

"You can see how effective prayerful vigilance has
been thus far in keeping Planned Parenthood at bay
in Auburn Hills," Seth said. "The fact that they have
shifted to Ferndale can be considered a victory."

At the very least, he said, "this campaign was about
planting seeds and praying that abortion will end at
this Auburn Hills location before it ever has a chance
to begin."

Clearly, there’s a lot of work to be done ... and a lot
of praying to be done. But I know that with God's help,
we are witnessing the beginning of the end of abortion.