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News and commentary from the Pro-Life Action League
News and commentary from the Pro-Life Action League
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Missy Smith
Way back in 1992 a young man from Southern Indiana called our office to see if we had some graphic pictures of aborted babies he could use as part of his campaign for the U.S. Congress.
Young Mike Bailey had first thought of running for state office, but then he found out that if he ran for Federal office he could put on any ad campaign he wanted, excluding only materials that were pornographic. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) found this to be a federal candidate’s right, which persists today. [Continue reading ...]
Those who promote a “right to abortion” claim it is necessary to prevent women from being harmed by undergoing illegal abortions or that it’s necessary to improve women’s status in society.
Many politicians claim to be “personally pro-life” but argue that abortion needs to remain legal so the women who are going to choose it are at least safe.
These arguments assume that abortion is safe and does help women. Which it doesn’t. In fact, it does just the opposite.
Despite the legalization of abortion, women continue to be scarred, sterilized, and even killed by botched abortions. According to Life Dynamics’ Blackmun Wall, at least 347 women have died from “safe and legal” abortions in America. (Also visit the Cemetery of Choice.)
Candidates often show themselves in their ads with their smiling spouses and children. They claim to support “family,” based on an often arbitrary and weakened definition of the word. Unfortunately, when we don’t define a family as a mother, father, and—as God wills—children, numerous problems arise.
According to data from the Census Bureau and the National Center for Health Statistics (see Chart 3), the percentage of out of wedlock births has skyrocketed since abortion was legalized in America. This is no coincidence in timing, according to research cited by Dr. Thomas Strahan in his essay published in Consistently Opposing Killing: [Continue reading ...]
September 5, 1992—13-year-old Deanna Bell dies while undergoing an abortion at the Albany abortion clinic in Chicago’s northwest side. Sidewalk counselors Fr. Steve Lesnewski and Tim Murphy see the ambulance arrive and call League Director Joe Scheidler, who rushes over with a camera. They alert the media and 11 reporters cover the story of her death.
Ann Scheidler holds a 3rd trimester abortion sign on the corner of Adams and Wacker downtown Chicago [Photo by Sam Scheidler]
During our Face the Truth Tour last week, as I stood along Adams Street near Union Station in downtown Chicago holding a “Choice” sign, a woman stopped to talk with me. She thanked me for being there and said that people need to see what abortion is. She told me that if abortion had not been available, she would have a 37-year old son today.
The woman told me her whole story. She was a teenager and doing drugs, and had already broken up with her boyfriend when she discovered she was pregnant. This was 1973—the first year abortion was legal throughout the United States.
I was pregnant in 1973 too. Fortunately my situation was pretty ideal. I was married and happy to be expecting my fourth child. I’d like to think that I would never have considered abortion, but we just don’t know what we might do if circumstances were different. [Continue reading ...]
Babies this old (22 weeks) are regularly killed at the abortion clinic near our office. Today one of those babies was spared.
I didn’t expect today to turn out like it has. I woke up this morning expecting today to be like any other. But it wasn’t. Today was a blessing sent by God to cheer me and pro-lifers reading this everywhere.
John, Urszula, and I usually go to the clinic for an hour on Friday mornings. But John’s on vacation and Urszula had an errand to run and didn’t know how long that would take. So I thought, maybe we’ll just skip this week. It won’t really matter.
Urszula’s guardian angel had other plans, though, and she just didn’t feel right skipping prayer for an errand that could wait another day or two. So we met at the clinic to pray the Rosary.
The thing is, there were other prayer warriors and counselors standing closer to the door that likely would have helped her, but if I hadn’t shown up, I wouldn’t have received this blessing today that God wanted me to have.
While standing in the alley, near the parking lot of Family Planning Associates Albany Medical-Surgical Center, a visibly pregnant young woman, “Mary,” came over to us.
She needed help. She was nearly in tears.
The Avon Walk for Breast Cancer will be coming to Chicago on June 5 and 6. While I believe the cause is a good one, they are going about it all wrong and they’re hurting their efforts to eliminate the disease.
Avon hopes to raise money to find a cure for breast cancer, but ignores a major cause of breast cancer: abortion.
Not only do they not warn people of the risk, but Avon has joined with UNIFEM to promote “women’s issues.” This phrase, like “women’s health” or “reproductive rights,” has become a code word for the promotion of a universal right to abortion. (I was reminded of this when I heard how UNIFEM planned to help Haiti after the earthquake.) [Continue reading ...]
Today is my birthday.
I don’t tell you this simply to draw attention to myself (though gifts are always appreciated!), but rather I want to let you know what has caught my attention the last few weeks: May 14.
Because today is a Friday lots of things are happening. Promoters are hyping the exciting things that will be taking place on May 14—concerts, movies, speakers, parties. My ears perk up a bit when I hear that, and I smile because—for me—May 14 has a positive association.
This happy thought led me to an unhappy one: there are people out there who do not associate May 14 with happy things. There are many, many people out there who hear a date and cringe, or cry, or get angry. [Continue reading ...]
A photo of a baby born at 22 weeks gestation and given the proper care.
God have mercy on our fallen world. Stories like this must make the angels weep.
A priest in Italy went to the closet where babies who survived abortion are left to die a day after a baby boy was placed there to pray for the child.
He expected that this child, who was delivered at 22-weeks gestation would be dead. What he found was a live baby. He immediately called to have the baby taken to the intensive care unit of another hospital nearby. The baby died the next day.
Indeed He is risen!
During this Easter Week, we take special consolation in the celebration of Jesus’ Resurrection from the dead. Not only is it the central event of our faith life, but it also provides us with great encouragement in our ongoing battle against abortion.
By conquering death, Jesus has also conquered abortion. As a result, we know that the outcome of the struggle that we carry on — this seemingly endless conflict between life and death — has already been decided.
We have, so to speak, been allowed to read the book’s final chapter before we actually get to it. We know that in the end, Life will be victorious.
From time to time, all of us need to remind ourselves of this, lest we lose heart.