Monday, September 15, 2008

What are we really doing about abortion?

"Please don't kill the child. I want the child. Please give me the child. I am willing to accept any child who would be aborted, and to give that child to a married couple who will love the child, and be loved by the child. From our children's home in Calcutta alone, we have saved over 3,000 children from abortions. These children have brought such love and joy to their adopting parents, and have grown up so full of love and joy!" -Mother Teresa

"But I feel that the greatest destroyer of peace today is abortion, because it is a war against the child - a direct killing of the innocent child - murder by the mother herself. And if we accept that a mother can kill even her own child, how can we tell other people not to kill one another? How do we persuade a woman not to have an abortion? As always, we must persuade her with love, and we remind ourselves that love means to be willing to give until it hurts. Jesus gave even his life to love us. So the mother who is thinking of abortion, should be helped to love - that is, to give until it hurts her plans, or her free time, to respect the life of her child. The father of that child, whoever he is, must also give until it hurts. By abortion, the mother does not learn to love, but kills even her own child to solve her problems. And by abortion, the father is told that he does not have to take any responsibility at all for the child he has brought into the world. That father is likely to put other women into the same trouble. So abortion just leads to more abortion. Any country that accepts abortion is not teaching the people to love, but to use any violence to get what they want. That is why the greatest destroyer of love and peace is abortion. " -Mother Teresa

I was recently confronted with a situation where a refugee woman was thinking seriously, thanks to the more than willing medical establishment, to choose to abort her child. In fact, a man who said he was from Planned Parenthood even came to the woman's home when she had not shown up for a follow up appointment....I guess they REALLY want your business these days! Of course when called, Plan Parenthood denied that they sent anyone to the house of a refugee woman. When I found out this woman was going to have her child killed, I had to make a choice...would I be willing to step up and offer to take that child? I had to wrestle with all the issue that a baby presents surrounding our personal world and the changes that a baby would require.

It's easy to pontificate and pound the pulpit from a distance...its quite another thing to actually do something about the problem. I think the issue of abortion gets reduced by our inaction, to a mere ideological debate. Until the pro-life platform becomes more than words and votes, our arguments seem weak and close to hypocrisy.

Thankfully, the refugee had a change of heart and has decided to keep the baby.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Can a man be both pro-choice and pro-life? I think they are right, it is their choice. Just like it is any man's choice to kill a fully grown man for any reason. But choice doesn't make it right. I think the pro-choice camp want to avoid that discussion as much as they can, holding on to the arguement that nobody can tell them what to do.

It's easy to tell someone that their child is a consequence of their actions and they must face it whether they want to or not, but a child can't be just a consequence. It deserves more than that. The mother should take it more seriously than that, whether they keep the child or have it adopted.

Melissa said...

I think part of the key to making any difference is somehow convincing the mother to go through the 9 months of pregnancy. It is not just a quick decision to kill it or not... we think that would be an easy choice for her if it was just whether or not to take a life but did not involve any self sacrifice. We have to show her ... convince her...or whatever that it is worth the "discomfort" of 9 months of carrying the child and then delivering the child and all the physical, social and economic repercussion that it entails. That is NO excuse but it is a reality and I think those are the issues that make abortion so difficult for the pregnant mother and make it so seemingly easy for her to chose to abort life instead of save it.

MaryMGlynn said...

Well Melissa is right in one fact here, is the woman has to get over being selfish. I was 17 when I was pregnant with my first born. I was a teen and abortion was pushed in your face and still is by doctors hard core. Its never given as an "options", they make you feel sleezy and make you feel bad when your at the Dr.s office you are sneared at and nurses snear like "how dare you be pregnant" and even churches can be this way to young girls. Not everyone goes out to get pregnant, it happens just like it did with me. But I did not ever see my baby as a choice. My baby was my flesh and blood. However many girls are pressured which is horrible and a horrible feeling when you have no support behind you.
Then you have the girls who go get pregnant knowing they have abortion to fall back on, I had a cousin who had many, many abortions and she used abortion like a birth control. She was like 12 years old and up when she started having them. She didn't blink an eye. Abortion is satans perfect crime of humanity and accepted legally. Its one of the ten commandments on what not to do. I also wonder if the verse applies on those who kill or help vote this kind of action in office "the miles stone around the neck verse" don't get me wrong I know once can be forgiven upon repentance and belief in Jesus Christ. I just think its a terrible, terrible silent cry of our future and its children.

And to Justin you cannot be pro-life and pro-choice. With this issue you either believe in death or you do not. (sorry)

Sorry Eric didn't mean to take over the blog. Abortion is one of my passions. Here is a wonderful website with many questions and answers on abortion http://epm.org

Anonymous said...

Hey, Justin...
A guy can be pro-life and pro-choice by WEARING A CONDOM. That way when you are ready to pro-create LIFE, you can make the CHOICE to father a child.
Get it??
LeeElla

Mel said...

I LOVE this picture of Mother Teresa! It perfectly compliments the post and illustrates her heart of love for children. In her gentle, humble way, she so profoundly impacted the world for the glory of God, it would be hard to imagine what the world would be like without her influence. I pray that her message of love and the value of human life will be spread far and wide.