How to Instill a Strong Pro-life Conviction in Our Movement’s Future Leaders

Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these (Luke 18:16).” 

By Susanne Maynes
National Right to Life

You believe in the sacredness of every human life from conception until natural death. You uphold the life-affirming cause with your time, your finances, and your prayers. You’ll do so as long as you breathe.

How can you ensure that the message you believe in so strongly gets deeply rooted in the next generation? How can you feel confident this vital work to which you have put your hands will carry on?

Perhaps you are currently raising children, or influencing your nieces and nephews or grandchildren. Perhaps you have a place to speak into the lives of kids at your local church or in your community.

Your example of passion and commitment to the cause of life speaks volumes to children. With that, you can also teach practical principles which lay a solid foundation for an unshakable pro-life conviction in young hearts and minds.

It may help to remember that the pro-life message is bigger than rescuing babies from being killed in the womb.

Yes, our mission and our focus is to prevent the tragedy of abortion by providing hope, help, and compassion to those distressed by an unplanned pregnancy. However, there is an overarching truth which makes the life-affirming message so vital and relevant.

Every human being is created in God’s image and is loved and valued by Him.

Though God cares about His whole creation, human beings enjoy a status with the Creator which no other creature shares.

This fundamental truth lays the foundation for the “why” of upholding the cause of life. At least two related principles are grounded upon this foundation:

1. We are commanded in Scripture to protect the weak, oppressed, and marginalized among us.

“Rescue the weak and the needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked.” – Psalm 82:4
Who is more weak and needy—more vulnerable—than the preborn child? As I’ve said elsewhere, we must teach children that God’s concern is for those who cannot speak for themselves

2. We are admonished to trust God with the timing of each person’s life.

“My times are in your hands; deliver me from the hands of my enemies, from those who pursue me.” – Psalm 31:15

Yes, some children are conceived as the result of far-from-ideal circumstances. Sometimes a new life even begins as the result of something as traumatic and tragic as rape or incest.

Here is where we must trust God’s sovereignty. Only He is capable of taking mankind’s sinful choices and bringing beauty from ashes. Though human behavior often brings regret, no human being is a mistake in God’s eyes.

So how can we help children understand how much God values human beings? Consider the following questions from the perspective of a third or fourth grader:

Am I loved and accepted?  Do I matter?  Can I make a difference in the world?

Grasping the truth that human beings are created in God’s image is the best starting point for a child to embrace a healthy sense of self-image. It’s part of understanding the deep, high, long, wide love of God for every one of us.

Understanding imago Dei also helps us understand and accept our uniqueness and our purpose. Each of us matters. Before He created Earth, God decided on the good works He wants each one of us to accomplish while He fashions us into His masterpieces (Ephesians 2:10).

As for whether or not kids can make a difference in the world, Jesus himself made it clear that children lead the way when it comes to entering His kingdom (Matthew 18:1-5; 10). In addition, Paul admonished young Timothy:

“Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity.” – I Timothy 4:12

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Ohio Abortionist Surrenders License In Lieu of Revocation for Prescription Violations

By Cheryl Sullenger
Operation Rescue

Columbus, Ohio – Ohio abortionist Harley Blank has had his medical license permanently retired and voluntarily surrendered effective November 14, 2018, according to documents released by the Ohio Medical Board.

The documents further stated that Blank’s decision to surrender his license was “in lieu of formal disciplinary proceedings.”

Blank, an ObGyn admitted that he violated provisions of the Ohio Administrative Code related to prescribing controlled substances to men without keeping charts or patient records on them.

Blank added that it was also his desire to surrender his license after fifty years of practice.

Blank worked as an abortionist at Founder’s Women’s Health Care in Columbus, Ohio.

In 2015, Operation Rescue filed a formal complaint against Blank for failing to maintain medical malpractice insurance as required by law, and for patient care standard violations related to a misdiagnosis of an ectopic pregnancy.

Continue reading to learn more and view the surrender agreement!

 

Operation Rescue is one of the leading pro-life Christian activist organizations in the nation and has become a strong voice for the pro-life movement in America. Operation Rescue is now headquartered in a former abortion clinic that it bought and closed in 2006. From there, Operation Rescue launches its innovative new strategies across the nation, exposing and closing abortion clinics through peaceful, legal means. Its activities are on the cutting edge of the abortion issue, taking direct action to stop abortion and ultimately restore legal personhood to the pre-born in obedience to biblical mandates. For more information or to make a donation to help them with their work, please use this link. 

 

Voices for Life is an e-publication dedicated to informing and educating the public on pro-life and pro-family issues. To read our Mission Statement, use this link.  Follow us on Facebook, Google, and Pinterest.  Help us spread the pro-life message by sharing our articles on your favorite social networks.

Pregnant, need help or know someone who does?  

National Hotline: Call 1-800-712-HELP or Text 'HELPLINE' to 313131.

In Southeast Penna:  Call the Community Women's Center at  215-826-8090

If you or someone you know is suffering after abortion, confidential non-judgmental help is available.  Call Project Rachel's national toll-free number 888-456-HOPE (4673) or visit hopeafterabortion.org.  

One Planned Parenthood Affiliate Now Makes Over $100 Million Killing Babies in Abortions

Planned Parenthood executives continue to grow rich while killing the babies of the poor minorities.  

By Jim Sedlak
Life News

For the first time in the history of Planned Parenthood Federation of America, one of its 56 affiliates documented that its annual income surpassed $100 million.

The affiliate is Planned Parenthood Mar Monte, headquartered in San Jose, California. In its latest official document (Federal Form 990) filed with the federal government, PPMM reported that in the fiscal year, July 1, 2016, to June 30, 2017, it had a total income of $109.7 million.

Planned Parenthood Mar Monte operates a total of 35 facilities—34 in California and one in Nevada. The Nevada facility does not do surgical or medical abortions. In California, PPMM commits surgical plus medical abortions at eight of its facilities and just medical abortions at an additional 18 facilities.

Unlike most other states, taxpayers in California pay for most abortions in the state. Thus, these 26 abortion facilities run by PPMM committed 17,884 abortions and receive a great deal of taxpayer money. PPMM records show that it only takes in $8.9 million from direct payments from customers at its clinics, but it receives a whopping $70.4 million from taxpayers.

According to PPMM’s Form 990, Section VII (Statement of Revenue), it received taxpayer funds from the following government programs:

Medi-Cal Managed Care $32,139,923
California Family PACT $26,254,924
Medi-Cal/Medicaid $ 6,599,037
Other government grants $ 5,451,157

Total Taxpayer Money $70,445,041

If this sounds outrageous, remember that PPMM is only one of seven PP affiliates in California. They all tap into these government programs.

To put the final insult on all of this, in the year that Planned Parenthood received this $70.4 million in taxpayer money, it reported “excess income” of $15.5 million—even after paying its top six employees $1.3 million in salaries. This means it actually didn’t need all that taxpayer money. So, did it return what it didn’t use?

Of course not! PPMM simply added the $15.5 million to what is has accumulated from excess income over the years and reported it ended the year with $37 million in cash and another $71 million in other assets.

Yet, this Planned Parenthood affiliate, along with the other 55 across the country, continually cries poverty and predicts total collapse of women’s healthcare if taxpayers open their eyes and understand that Planned Parenthood is a scam. As our PP CEO Report(see additional article in this Wednesday STOPP Report) shows, Planned Parenthood executives continue to grow rich while killing the babies of the poor minorities.

LifeNews Note: Jim Sedlak is executive director of American Life League, founder of STOPP International, and host of a live weekly talk show on the Radio Maria Network.

Website: Life News

Insider Look: Ten Things You May Not Know About the Kermit Gosnell Murder Case

By Cheryl Sullenger
Operation Rescue

Philadelphia, PA – The release of the new movie “Gosnell: The Trial of America’s Biggest Serial Killer,” was a big success and has again brought to light the story of Kermit Gosnell’s murder trial and the depraved conduct at his West Philadelphia “House of Horrors” abortion facility.

I followed that case from the initial raid on his Women’s Medical Society in February 2010, and personally attended Gosnell’s trial in the spring of 2013. I told the story in my book last year, and offer you an insider look at ten important things you may not know about the Gosnell case.

1. Gosnell was originally charged with a shocking 395 criminal counts.

In addition to being charged with the First Degree Murder for several babies who were born alive, Gosnell was also charged with Third Degree Murder in the death of Karnamaya Mongar. He faced 33 counts of illegal late-term abortions and a whopping 310 counts of informed consent violations. Gosnell was charged also with several counts of solicitation of murder, conspiracy, drug violations, fraud, obstruction, tampering with evidence, and operating a corrupt organization. Details of all the charges can be found in the Grand Jury’s Presentment.

2. Gosnell was not charged with the deaths of every baby he murdered. Some murder charges were dismissed before they got to the jury.

When police raided Gosnell’s ramshackle clinic, they discovered the bodies of 47 babies that had been packed in limeade containers and cat food cans then shoved into a freezer. Witnesses said that others had been ground in a garbage disposal, or flushed down the toilet until the plumbing clogged.

But even though prosecutors believed that Gosnell had murdered hundreds of babies that were born alive during abortions by stabbing them in the back of the neck with scissors and “snipping” their spinal cords, he was only charged with the murder of seven. Those were Baby Boy A, Baby Boy B, Baby C, Baby D, Baby E, Baby F, and Baby G.

During the trial, Judge Jeffery P. Minehart dismissed the murder counts related to Baby Boy B, Baby G, and Baby F. This was because there was insufficient evidence that these babies were born alive. A photo of Baby Boy B, who was estimated to be 28 weeks gestation, was included in the Grand Jury Report and tragically represented the grisly reality of the “snippings” that Gosnell used to end the lives of so many innocent children. It is unfortunate that his murder was never considered by the jury.

Gosnell was charged with five counts of Abuse of Corpse for the bizarre practice of dismembering aborted babies and keeping their feet in specimen jars on display in his abortion facility. No good explanation for this macabre practice was ever given in court. During the proceedings the defense objected during a discussion of these “trophies” and the prosecution offered to present the dismembered feet to the court. However, they were never entered into evidence. The reason these charges were dismissed remain unknown.

3. The “good” abortionist in the film was actually Charles David Benjamin, an abortionist who works for Planned Parenthood in Philadelphia.

Abortionist Charles David Benjamin was presented as an abortion expert over the objections of Gosnell’s attorney Jack McMahon.

Benjamin, a stocky, balding middle-aged man, stated that he is a Doctor of Osteopathy who trains residents as part of his staff duties at Albert Einstein hospital in Philadelphia. 

He was employed at the time by Planned Parenthood in Philadelphia. He admitted to having done 40,000 abortions over his 30 years in practice. He also stated that there had once been a patient death in his practice, although he said it was the fault of another doctor.

Benjamin testified he reviewed patient charts and discussed the drug digoxin, which is administered in late-term abortion cases to stop the baby’s heart in the womb before the extraction begins. This is to avoid any possibility of a baby being born alive. He said that the doses of digoxin that were administered to women at Gosnell’s abortion facility as noted in patient charts was 500 times therecommended amount. 

However, there was also evidence that no digoxin was used at all. The inference was that information in the charts was fabricated, and that Gosnell lied about the digoxin in the charts in case his true practice of murdering living babies was ever questioned.

4. Powerful closing arguments were made by experienced murder prosecutor Ed Cameron that brought lead prosecutor Joanne Pescatore to tears in the courtroom.

Assistant District Attorney Ed Cameron had a great deal of experience prosecuting murder cases. Even though he was not the lead prosecutor in the Gosnell case, it was he that delivered the powerful closing arguments that sealed Gosnell’s conviction.

The defense had tried to portray the babies as merely “fetuses” that were not fully human, but Cameron debunked that notion as he made an impassioned argument for the humanity of those children.

Continue reading here

Voices for Life is an e-publication dedicated to informing and educating the public on pro-life and pro-family issues. To read our Mission Statement, use this link.  Follow us on Facebook, Google, and Pinterest.  Help us spread the pro-life message by sharing our articles on your favorite social networks.

Pregnant, need help or know someone who does?  

National Hotline: Call 1-800-712-HELP or Text 'HELPLINE' to 313131.

In Southeast Penna:  Call the Community Women's Center at  215-826-8090

If you or someone you know is suffering after abortion, confidential non-judgmental help is available. Call Project Rachel's national toll-free number 888-456-HOPE (4673) or visit hopeafterabortion.org.  

Average Planned Parenthood Abortion Clinic CEO Makes Over $250,000 to Kill Babies

One More Reason to Defund Planned Parenthood

By Jim Sedlak
Life News

We have completed our most recent review of the compensation paid to the top executive of each of the 56 affiliates of Planned Parenthood, along with its executive staff in New York City. All data for this report is from June 2017 or earlier. 

In June 2017, Planned Parenthood Federation of America consisted of its headquarters operation and 56 individual corporations scattered across the United States. Each of the 56 affiliates is separately incorporated, has its own board of directors, its own CEO, and files a separate Federal Form 990, which summarizes its financial data.

The results of our review show that some executives took pay cuts, but most saw increases to their already inflated salaries.

In summary, the report documents:

• The average compensation for a CEO at a Planned Parenthood affiliate rose from $237,999 in 2015 to $255,523 in 2017 (a 7.4 percent increase).

• The total compensation paid to all affiliate CEOs increased from $13.3 million in 2015 to $14.3 million in 2017.

• The average compensation to top executives at Planned Parenthood Federation of America headquarters went from $389,514 in 2015 to $394,893 in 2017.This increase at national headquarters would have been more, but PPFA CEO Cecile Richards saw her compensation reduced from $957,952 in 2015 to $744,833 in 2017. 

• If we take Richards’ compensation out of the calculation, the remaining top executives’ average compensation went from $337,838 in 2015 to $365,731 in 2017 (a 7.5 percent increase).

It continues to be interesting that the highest paid CEOs are not from the largest affiliates. For instance, Planned Parenthood Mar Monte is PPFA’s largest affiliate, but its CEO, Linda Williams, ranks eighth ($403,814) in the list of highest paid executives. The highest paid of affiliate CEOs, Darrah Johnson of Planned Parenthood of Pacific Southwest ($523,677), actually works for the third largest affiliate.

The CEO report shows that, at Planned Parenthood, operating a supposed “non-profit” organization that supposedly provides health care to the poor, can be a very lucrative occupation. According to latest reports, anyone earning over $421,926 a year is in the top 1% of the population.

By that criterion, six of the Planned Parenthood CEOs are in the top one percent income bracket. If we add PPFA headquarters staff, then eight of the non-profit’s management qualify for top one percent status.

Finally, the top 10 percent of wage earners receive at least $170,500 a year. That means that the 13 highest paid corporate staff and 41 of the 56 CEOs are in the top 10 percent.

It is very, very profitable being in the leadership of the largest abortion chain in the nation!

See the entire 2018 REPORT ON PLANNED PARENTHOOD CEO COMPENSATION.

LifeNews Note: Jim Sedlak is executive director of American Life League and founder of STOPP International.

Website: Life News

Pro-Life Club Challenges in Court University’s $17,500 ‘Security Fee’ to Run Campus Event

Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms
Life Site News

The Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms appeared before the Court of Appeal of Alberta in Edmonton on Wednesday November 28 on behalf of Amberlee Nicol, Cameron Wilson, and the student club UAlberta Pro-Life. 

Their court application challenged the University of Alberta decision to impose a $17,500 “security fee” as a condition of peaceful expression on campus. In the case of UAlberta Pro-Life v. University of Alberta, the students also challenged the University’s decision to condone violations of the Code of Student Behaviour directed against the pro-life club in March of 2015.

The Court of Appeal is being asked to overturn the ruling of the lower court, which upheld the University of Alberta’s behaviour in relation to two separate incidents.

The first decision concerns the University’s choice to condone violations of the Code of Student Behaviour by students who, in March of 2015, physically obstructed and blockaded a display on campus that was authorized by the University. The Code of Student Behaviour expressly prohibits disruption, obstruction and inappropriate behaviour. In its filed Brief, the University argues that a loud, unruly, physically disruptive mob should be entitled to shut down campus events, as long as the mob is non-violent. 

The U of A is defending its decision not to discipline any of the students who blockaded the display. The Code states that its purpose is upholding the freedom to speak, study, learn, write and publish, in the pursuit of truth. The Code states that for these freedoms to exist, “it is essential to maintain an atmosphere in which the safety, the security, and the inherent dignity of each member of the community are recognized.”

The U of A maintains that students who physically obstructed a stationary display with sheets and banners, making it nearly impossible for a campus club to express its opinions, were legitimately exercising their own freedom of expression. However, in March of 2015, campus security repeatedly told the blockaders that they were violating the Code. Further, then-president Indira Samarasekera issued a public statement that the suppression of unpopular views would not be tolerated.

The U of A argues that freedom of expression encompasses all behaviour short of violence. But the University’s own Code bans not only violence, but inappropriate behaviour, such as disrupting classes and obstructing university-related functions. The Code serves to curtail “behaviours which if left unchecked would, to an unacceptable degree, infringe upon the freedoms described above and thus threaten the proper functioning of the University.”

The second decision being challenged by the students is the University’s demand that the students pay a $17,500 security fee if the students want to set up a display again in the future.

Continue reading here

Niger Shuts Down Marie Stopes Facilities for Committing Illegal Abortions

By Calvin Freiburger
Life Site News

The government of Niger has shut down two facilities run by the UK-based Marie Stopes International (MSI) for committing abortions in defiance of a 2006 pro-life law.

Currently, Niger only permits abortions deemed necessary to save a mother’s life, but a government inquiry determined that MSI locations in the capital of Niamey and city of Maradi had been engaged in "manual vacuum aspiration [abortions] for a fee of 30,000 CFA francs (46 euros/$52)," the Daily Mail reports.

"We have decided to close this charity on grounds of a 2006 law which bans abortions," Nigerian Health Minister Idi Illiassou said Tuesday. "Our inquiries have shown that this non-governmental organization is enabling the voluntary interruption of pregnancy," something MSI’s agreement with the government "does not authorize."

The health ministry also says it will pursue legal action against people involved in the illegal abortions, and that police are currently looking for MSI’s Nigerian "accomplices," who have fled.

MSI has not yet commented on the situation, but its "Where We Work" page for Niger suggests it only provides contraception in the country (contraception is regularly framed as an alternative to abortion, but several methods actually function by killing already-conceived embryonic humans).

Niger’s move follows a decision by the Kenyan government earlier this month ordering Marie Stopes to "immediately cease and desist offering any form of abortion services in all its facilities within the republic." The move was a response to suspicions that MSI was trying to get around the country’s pro-life laws with advertising hinting at its willingness to commit abortions. The pro-life group CitizenGo Africa is still working to drive MSI out of Kenya entirely.

Marie Stopes was forced to close hundreds of locations across Africa this year as a result of U.S. President Donald Trump reinstating and expanding the Mexico City Policy, now called Protecting Life in Global Health Assistance, which bans foreign aid money to any entities that commit or promote abortions.

Website: Life Site News

Four Lies Planned Parenthood Tells People About Abortion

By Laura Hollis
Life News

The new head of Planned Parenthood, Dr. Leana Wen, stated in a recent interview that she intends to expand the organization’s services and reach. If by “expand” she means services other than abortion, then more power to her. But that is hard to square with Planned Parenthood’s status as the single largest provider of abortion in the United States. It performed nearly 330,000 abortions in 2016. Abortion is also its biggest moneymaker.

It is ironic but telling that the new head of Planned Parenthood is a physician. Abortion is one of the rare exceptions in the medical field where advancements in scientific knowledge have done little to change the debate. When Roe v. Wade was decided in 1973, there was no ultrasound technology to reveal the essential humanity of the child in utero. There was no fetal surgery to correct physical defects like spina bifida while a baby is still in the womb. And yet despite what we have learned in the past four and a half decades, abortion remains, in large part, an American institution built on a foundation of lies and promoted with a web of euphemisms.

Some of the most common include:

1. “It isn’t really a human being.”

This is usually commingled with other misstatements or grievous misunderstandings, like “It’s just a fetus”; “It cannot live on its own”; “The Supreme Court already decided this.”

“Fetus” is simply Latin for “offspring.” The fact that a child not yet born cannot survive on its own makes it no different from a newborn — or, for that matter, an even older child. Many adults — ill, suffering with disabilities or elderly — similarly cannot live on their own. They are undeniably human, nevertheless.

2. “Children should be wanted.”

A recent Planned Parenthood ad features a slo-mo video of a beautiful baby girl. The baby’s adorable giggles are heard as she smiles at the camera and a music box lullaby plays in the background. Interspersed with the video are three written taglines: “She deserves to be loved”; “She deserves to be wanted”; “She deserves to be … a choice.”

The message generated outrage: This beautiful child should be able to be killed unless she was planned. But all human beings have inherent worth, whether their parents “planned” them or not. And even if birth parents do not want their child, millions of Americans desperately want to adopt — yes, even children with disabilities. Every child is “wanted” by someone.

3. “Pro-lifers only care about babies until they are born.”

This trope gets trotted out when abortion advocates want to attack the motives or draw attention away from the concern of pro-life activists. But it is untrue. Pro-life pregnancy centers provide resources for women and their babies both before and after the children are born.

4.“Making abortion illegal will only lead to back-alley abortions.”

It is not widely known — although it should be — that the numbers of illegal abortions cited by NARAL Pro-Choice America and other abortion advocacy groups were inflated. Dr. Bernard Nathanson was one of the founders of NARAL who performed over 60,000 abortions before seeing ultrasound. Nathanson later admitted that the oft-cited “5,000 to 10,000 deaths from illegal abortions annually” statistic is a complete fabrication.

There is no doubt that women did die from illegal abortions. But they die today from legal abortions — another inconvenient fact that the pro-choice crowd glosses over.

There is talk that the current 5-4 majority in the U.S. Supreme Court will overturn Roe v. Wade. But even if that occurs, states will be able to pass laws permitting abortions.

Ultimately, the problem is not a lack of laws but a lack of love. No law can make a woman love her child. No law removes the fear so many pregnant women feel with the prospect of an unplanned pregnancy, and what that may entail. The resolution of those issues rests with us, not our legislators or judges.

Website: Life News

Voices for Life is an e-publication dedicated to informing and educating the public on pro-life and pro-family issues. To read our Mission Statement, use this link.  Follow us on Facebook, Google, and Pinterest.  Help us spread the pro-life message by sharing our articles on your favorite social networks.

Pregnant, need help or know someone who does?  

National Hotline: Call 1-800-712-HELP or Text 'HELPLINE' to 313131.
In Southeast Penna:  Call the Community Women's Center at  215-826-8090

If you or someone you know is suffering after abortion, confidential non-judgmental help is available.  

Call Project Rachel's national toll-free number 888-456-HOPE (4673) or visit hopeafterabortion.org.  

Fear Said I Would Be Alone When I Got Pregnant. Love Proved the Opposite.

What right did I have to make the decision to end another person’s life? I had talked to women that had – and they had such heartbreaking stories to tell. 

By Caterina J
Live Action News

I was just a few weeks shy of my 20th birthday when I found out I was pregnant.

“Congratulations! I am so excited for you!” my sister quietly said, tears in her eyes. I leaned against the wall of the CVS bathroom and took a shuddering breath, looking at those two telltale pink lines on the pregnancy test, trying to convince myself it was a dream or some kind of hallucination. The room seemed to spin around me, and I felt as though the wind had been knocked out of me. Excited??? No, I didn’t feel my sister’s excitement. “Promise me you won’t tell anyone,” I begged.

Like most 19 year olds, I wasn’t planning on getting pregnant. Maybe someday in the future… when I’m financially independent, married, and have already had my fun and travelled the world – then I can think about it. But right now? Hell no.

READ: An unplanned pregnancy changed this drug-addicted mom’s life for the better

2017 was supposed to be the year I got my sh*t together. 2016 had been too crazy. I had attempted suicide, dropped out of college, moved across the country for treatment for 7 months, and finally conquered an eating disorder that had ravaged my life since my early teens. 2017 seemed off to a great start – I was happy and healthy for the first time, and planning on going back to college. I had a new job, a new boyfriend, and things were finally getting on track.

But now this? a baby? What was I supposed to do with a baby?

Friends and family members all reacted differently.

“What are you going to do?”

“That’s amazing. You are a badass.”

“That’s a huge responsibility.”

“Whatever you decide to do – I support you.”

“If I were you, I wouldn’t have the baby.”

It seemed like an impossible situation.

I wasn’t old enough to have a child. I didn’t have a degree. I didn’t have enough money. I didn’t have my own home. I wasn’t married. How dare I bring a child into this world without knowing for sure that I could take care of him? It wasn’t the right time. I wasn’t ready.

Photo via thelifesource.org

READ: How my unplanned pregnancy at 39 taught me the power of faith over fear

Yet I knew I would regret having an abortion. What right did I have to make the decision to end another person’s life? I had talked to women that had – and they had such heartbreaking stories to tell. Stories of regret, of feeling powerless, of being afraid.

I was so afraid.

Much of my life, I had made decisions in fear, and it had gotten me nowhere. Fear of others’ opinions had turned me into an actress, pretending to be someone I was not. Fear of feeling my emotions had caused me to find any excuse to numb myself. Fear of hurting others’ feelings had kept me spiraling in codependent and unhealthy relationships. Fear of life itself had consumed me, and I had spent so much time running from reality.

I had learned over time that decisions made in fear are the decisions we regret.

This time, I had to make a decision out of love. Love for myself and love for the tiny human growing inside me.

Continue reading here

Voices for Life is an e-publication dedicated to informing and educating the public on pro-life and pro-family issues. To read our Mission Statement, use this link.  Follow us on Facebook, Google, and Pinterest.  Help us spread the pro-life message by sharing our articles on your favorite social networks.

Pregnant, need help or know someone who does?  

National Hotline: Call 1-800-712-HELP or Text 'HELPLINE' to 313131.

In Southeast Penna:  Call the Community Women's Center at  215-826-8090

If you or someone you know is suffering after abortion, confidential non-judgmental help is available.  Call Project Rachel's national toll-free number 888-456-HOPE (4673) or visit hopeafterabortion.org.  

‘The Miraculous Journey’: Artist Unveils Massive Pro-Life Sculptures Outside Hospital

“The Miraculous Journey” depicts a fetus growing in the womb, before the series comes to fruition in the form of a 14-meter (46-foot) newborn baby. 

By Will Maule
Faithwire

A series of enormous sculptures created by acclaimed British artist Damien Hirst have been unveiled outside Qatar’s new $8 billion hospital. The pieces, erected beside the Sidra medicine hospital in Doha, show the development of an unborn baby from conception to birth.

“The Miraculous Journey” depicts a fetus growing in the womb, before the series comes to fruition in the form of a 14-meter (46-foot) newborn baby. The astonishing sculptures, which have been covered up since their initial unveiling in 2013, have sparked controversy across the Muslim-majority nation.

View image on Twitter

Eric The Red@millerman14

Damien Hirst uterus sculptures greet hospital guests in Doha

4:40 AM - Nov 19, 2018

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“You know culturally, it’s the first naked sculpture in the Middle East… It’s very brave,” Hirst said of his work, according to Doha News. “I suppose the cultural differences are a bit difficult. You know in England, there wouldn’t be a problem with a naked baby, you see the embryo and the egg and sperm.”

Concerned about the potential fallout, officials reportedly rushed to arrange for a young boy to recite a passage out of the Koran which addresses the formation of life.

“We are not expecting everyone to like them,” said Qatari art specialist Layla Ibrahim Bacha, according to the Guardian. “We are not expecting everyone to understand them. This is why they are there to actually create this element of debate, this element of thinking.”

Despite reservations from some, Bacha said that the art installation perfectly reflects the hospital’s mission to provide women and children with a high standard of care.

“I think it’s perfect for the location, as you can see a lot of people are taking pictures, I think it’s becoming iconic,” she added.

Hirst has become well-known for his thought-provoking sculptural pieces.

“Hirst’s work investigates and challenges contemporary belief systems, and dissects the tensions and uncertainties at the heart of human experience,” reads his biography.

sobore@sobore

“The Miraculous Journey”, these sculptures sit outside the Sidra Medical Centre in Doha, Qatar, dedicated to women and children. #travel

7:50 AM - Nov 20, 2018

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“Art’s about life and it can’t really be about anything else,” he notes on his website. “There isn’t anything else.”

Website: Faithwire

Condom Fashion Show, Planned Parenthood Swag at Utah College Outrages Pro-Life Students

By Leonardo Blair
Christian Post

Activist students at Westminster College, a private liberal arts school in Salt Lake City, Utah, riled some students and pro-life advocates when they held a “Condom Fashion Show” featuring outfits partially made from condoms and swag promoting abortion giant Planned Parenthood.

“I’m fine with whatever sort of events clubs and organizations plan on doing," Westminster College student Ryan Kruger told Campus Reform. "However, a condom fashion show just seems like a little much. We could be spending our time doing something more productive, but that is just my two cents.

"The event was hosted by Students United for Reproductive Freedom, a group that was criticized by Pro-Life Utah for promoting “dangerous sex practices” to youth.

“Students United for Reproductive Freedom at Westminster College (which partners with [and is] partly funded by #PlannedParenthoodUtah) hosted a Condom Fashion show. These organizations push dangerous sex practices on young people,” the organization noted in a tweet about the Nov. 14. event.

A flyer for Westminster College's condom fashion show. | (Photo: Facebook)

The student group insists on the college’s website that they are simply fighting for abortion rights.

“We are a student group at Westminster College working to involve students to become empowered in their reproductive health choices and local government. Working in conjunction with the Planned Parenthood Action Council, we believe in the fundamental rights of every individual, throughout the world, to manage his or her fertility, regardless of the individual’s income, marital status, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender, age, national origin, disability, or residence,” a description says.

At the Nov. 14 condom fashion show, however, the group reportedly hosted performances by drag artists, Terra Flesh and Harlot, who consider themselves part of the “drag community." SURF also reportedly held a raffle to give out “Planned Parenthood swag” and sex toys.

Maggie Regier, 21, vice president of Westminster’s student government, Associated Students of Westminster, gave a presentation about various sexual pleasure zones, noting that “nipples are for everyone," “buttholes might be magic," and “the clitoris is key.”

Pro-Life Utah Community Outreach Coordinator Katherine Bright told Campus Reform that they were working to counter the work of such groups on campus with more Students for Life Clubs.

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