Illinois Right to Life Committee
Christmas message includes the unborn
Below is a copy of the response that I sent by email to Jesse Jackson regarding his December 20, 2005 article "Messiah's message lost in shuffle" that appeared in the Chicago Sun-Times.
----- Original Message ----- Subject: Messiah's message lost in shuffle
-- Let us all remember the true spirit of Christmas this year. Protect the babies in the dawn of life. Since you support the "right to abortion", what magic occurs at birth that instructs you to treasure "the poorest child of a homeless couple" when you defend abortion providers who would advise that same couple to get an abortion because they certainly have no means to bring a child into this world? (I have provided a testimony below that specifically addresses this point.) Are not unborn children among the "least of these" that need to be treated with respect rather than killed because of the inconvenience they present to their parents? If we are instructed to "protect babies in the dawn of life", does not that dawn of life begin before birth? Did not the "fetus" John the Baptist jump in his mother's womb because of the presence of the "fetus" Jesus when Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting? You are certainly correct that the Messiah's message is lost in the shuffle, but it will remain lost until respect for life in the womb is restored, because there is no magic that happens at birth to instruct humans to treat the "least of these" differently after birth when they are viewed as disposable before birth. Let us again have a Merry Christmas that includes babies in the womb. That is where Jesus was when Joseph and Mary were "forced by an oppressive government to leave their home to travel far to be counted in the census." In today's world the "solution" would be to abort him to make that trip less difficult. The question to be asked is not "Why do Pro-Lifers care so much about the fetus, but refuse to support welfare programs to feed them once they are born?" but rather the question that you must answer is: How can you seriously expect people to treasure and protect children and the "least of these" when you support their mothers' "right" to have them killed before birth because they are inconvenient, the innocent result of rape, or have been detected to have deformities or other serious health issues? Merry Christmas, Bill Beckman
From One Mom to Another: Keep Your Baby - A Personal, True Story By Fatima Boutaleb [ http://www.lifesite.net/ldn/2005/dec/051221a.html ] Originally published in the September 2005 Interim newspaperThis is a story that happened to me while I was pregnant with my twins. It happened while I was studying computers at a private institute. My husband wasnt working at the time. We had three kids together. We had been in Canada for three years. It was very hard for us to start a new life in Canada, coming from another country with different ways of life, different traditions and culture. Anyway, the real reason for this story is to send a message to any family or a single mum: if you have faith, be strong when it comes to take a decision in regards to your family. Or else before making any decision, talk to somebody who has your own values. Dont be afraid, because there is always hope. Maybe your story is different from mine, but I think the main thing we have in common is that at a certain point of life, we were desperate and needed help. Please, all women and teenagers out there, instead of killing, or I should say ending, a pregnancy or a life, think twice. This little human being inside you is just waiting for a chance to be out there and to help you get back your joy, happiness and a smile. I know that sometimes, as women, we think that all the doors are shut and there is no hope, but later on, when time goes by and you get older and wiser, you will recognize that either you made the mistake of your life or else that the child, who is now grown up, is a blessing from God. This is a message to all of you. Stop. While I am writing, I have tears coming down because today, I am blessed with wonderful twin boys. My life has never been filled with as much joy as now. So, here goes my story. I have been through what you are going through. As I started to say before, I was taking a computer course to enhance my skills to get a job when I got pregnant. The pregnancy was a difficult one and in the early stages, I was quite sick. The guidance officer at the school noticed my studies were suffering. He called me in his office and when I told him I was pregnant, that my husband was out of work and that we already had three children, he said that the only way to be happy was to end the pregnancy and then all my problems will go away: I would no longer be sick, the money we were getting from unemployment would be enough and all our other problems would be solved. But that was all lies. If you cant solve your problems, it is not because you are pregnant. There are so many things going on in your life, but having a baby is not going to make them worse. It sounds like I am exaggerating, but believe me, the reality is that the baby you are carrying today may be the prime minister tomorrow or a prophet or a minister or a priest. We never know. The guidance person gave me a phone number to attend a clinic for counseling. I made an appointment and when I arrived, a lady at the clinic advised me that having an abortion will end all my problems. She also said that an abortion was fast and easy, that what I would feel would be mild compared to the sickness and discomfort of a pregnancy. I said that I thought I had come to a place where I could get help with my present situation and with the financial problems we were having at the time, not to a place where they were advocating abortion. In fact, I learned at this time it was an abortion clinic. The doctors wife was quite annoyed with me and the doctor was quite angry with me. They were looking at me as if I had dollar signs written all over me. They were so cold, as if ending a life meant nothing to them. So I left. While I was waiting, I had time to observe what was going on. Not one of those who had undergone the abortion came out with a smile on her face; in fact, they all came out crying. Those who had someone with them had a hug, but it seemed that it could not erase the horror of what they had done because they were still crying. This was in contrast to the smiling faces of the employees. In spite of the fact that my pregnancy was very difficult I had high blood pressure and pregnancy- induced diabetes the birth, which all the nurses and the doctors in attendance were expecting to be a C-section, was normal. The babies, though born at 34 weeks, were in the best of health. One social worker came to see me after the babies were born and offered me something more helpful. She told me, I am here today to see how you are doing, and when she saw my little angels she added: I actually have found a nice place for your babies. So I asked her who would be the lucky person who was going to take care of my babies better than I. She said, You know, its only my brother. Oh really, so your brother will take care of my babies better than I? I looked at her face and said, Do you see how I look now? She said, Oh you look gorgeous! Am I? I asked, then explained, Thats because I am blessed with two wonderful babies. Now, can you please excuse me? I have so many things to do. I am a busy mum now and I dont have any time for you. In conclusion, I would like to add that the blessings that these babies brought are continuing. I met a couple who are helping find a job for my husband and who are offering us moral support. I attribute this to the blessing God sent me with the babies. Please, you women and young adults who find yourselves in an impossible position because you are pregnant, try to find social workers who are not biased against babies and who believe in life. There are too many out there who have only one solution: get rid of the baby. Do not take that for an answer. Do not let them push you into a decision you do not want.
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