For Women Facing Unplanned Pregnancies, Maternity Homes Offer Hope

By Felecia Langdon
Live Action News

My name is Charmaine Davis and I grew up in a chronically dysfunctional home. Instead of being loved and guided, I raised myself. My upbringing left me yearning for direction, love, and fulfillment. I was 18 when I began a serious relationship and moved in with a 32-year-old man. I wanted a home, and that’s what he gave me -well that and a child. 

After facing an unplanned pregnancy, I soon learned that he didn’t care about me at all. He was a jealous, sexually and physically violent drug addict, who would accuse me of cheating that never happened and kept me isolated from any support systems I did have. Due to my upbringing, I was blind to his indiscretions, living a life all too familiar.

When I finally woke to the abuse, I realized I didn’t want the cycle to continue with my daughter. I was determined to make a better life for her than the cards I had been dealt growing up. I opted to leave, and he gave me money to have an abortion. Not wanting to alert him to my plans to keep my preborn child, I took the money.

Feeling scared, alone, and unequipped, I found my way to a crisis pregnancy center and was introduced to what a maternity home is. I was referred to Breath of Life Ministries – a pregnancy shelter, maternity home, and adoption agency in Austin, Texas.

When I met with staff members at Sarah’s House, the maternity home of Breath of Life Ministries, they talked with me about what I wanted for myself and my child. They accepted me, and I moved in soon after. I was welcomed into a beautiful home that had a Christian mother and father. I was astounded at the stark difference between how I was raised and how they treated me. They were firm, but loving, and modeled what God intended the family unit to look like.

I went back to school and attended counseling while I was at Sarah’s House. The couple taught us all the things an adult should know such as cooking, cleaning, and other life skills. I also learned a lot about God and gave my life to Jesus while I was there, later getting baptized. 

They encouraged and supported me through it all. I received my college certificate for Certified Nursing Assistant while I was at the maternity home. Close to my departure, they helped me find employment in my field and housing. I left with my daughter, Eva, 6 weeks after having her, feeling equipped as a woman, mother, and person.
I am now a registered nurse, mother of three precious blessings from God, and daughter of the redeeming King. I don’t know where I would be without Breath of Life. 

To those of you who have a troubling past and present and have found yourself pregnant, I encourage you to find a crisis pregnancy

center in your area who can help you get connected to resources for parenting and adoption. Abortion is not the way out of the life you’ve known, it only further compounds underlying issues, further tightening the chains! Embracing life is what will free you! You can do this! The cycle can break with you!

Pregnancy centers and maternity homes are a vital component of the pro-life movement. Breath of Life Ministries, like all pregnancy resource centers, relies on donations to stay afloat. Breath of Life is currently struggling under the pressure of paying rent and other bills and they need urgent help or will face having to close their doors to women and babies.
Feleica Langdon is the founder of Life Defenders.

Website: Live Action 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.  

Life Inside a Christmas Drama

By Maria Gallagher, Legislative Director
Pennsylvania Pro-Life Federation 


He sought to tell the story of a miserly old man whose hatred of all things Christmas had reduced him to a shadow.

The writer chose to educate his disagreeable main character by having him encounter the ghosts of past, present, and future.

Much of the author’s prose centered on regret, with lines such as “No rest, no peace. Incessant torture of remorse.”

A ghost informs the protagonist, “I wear the chain I forged in life. I made it link by link, and yard by yard; I girded it on of my own free will, and of my own free will I wore it.”

If the classic Christmas Carol were to be revised for our times, Ebenezer’s greed and selfishness might have led him to be a participant in the culture of death—making his money from the misery of abortion, even coercing the love of his life to have one.

And this line from the classic work might have taken on new meaning, “No space of regret can make amends for one life’s opportunity missed.” And so too would this one: “For it is good to be children sometimes, and never better than at Christmas, when its mighty Founder was a child himself.”

Haunted by his past, burdened by his present, and fearful of his future, Scrooge might repent of his past involvement in abortion and dedicate himself to rebuilding a culture of life.

Healed of his desperation, he would recognize that, “There is nothing in the world so irresistibly contagious as laughter and good humor.” And he would come to understand that nothing is more worthy of protection and reverence than the life of a child and his mother.

May God indeed bless tiny Tim, and all other preborn babies, this Christmas.

STOP Pro-Abortion "Internships" at Catholic Campus. Protest Now.

from TFP Student Action

Fordham University in New York City – a Catholic institution – currently features Planned Parenthood on its web site under "internships and job opportunities" for students.

Other anti-family advocacy groups listed by the university include the National Organization for Women (NOW-NYC), Amnesty International, and GLAAD.

Sign your petition to remove these pro-abortion listings. Your instant protest will go to the president of the university, Fr. Joseph M. McShane, SJ, urging him to remove every pro-abortion group listed by the Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies department.

How can a Catholic university encourage students to connect with Planned Parenthood and other pro-abortion groups?

Speak up. Don't remain silent. Let your voice be heard.

Join this peaceful protest now. Share this page with your friends.

Contact information (please be firm yet polite):
Fr. Joseph M. McShane, SJ
President, Fordham University
441 East Fordham Road
Bronx, NY 10458
Phone: 718-817-3000
Email: president@fordham.edu


Use this link to sign the petition today!

 

TFP Student Action is a project of the American Society for the Defense of Tradition, Family and Property. Founded in 1973, the American TFP was formed to resist, in the realm of ideas, the liberal, socialist and communist trends of the times and proudly affirm the positive values of tradition, family and private property. The American TFP was inspired by the work of the Brazilian intellectual and man of action Prof. Plinio Corrêa de Oliveira.  For more information, please use this link. 

If ACLU Wins This Case, My Family’s Adoption Story Could Be Impossible

"Every single child, both born and unborn, has inherent dignity."

By Lauren Konkol
Life News

Five international adoptions from China, Guatemala, and South Korea—in addition to my four biological siblings—have made me the oldest of 10 children.

As National Adoption Awareness Month has come and gone, I’ve reflected even more than usual on the incredible blessing I am grateful to call my family.

Each of my siblings has a unique story—one filled with countless challenges and moments of suffering, but also many more of great joy, laughter, and love.

But they all have one thing in common. Their addition into our family was made possible through the gift of adoption, specifically through Christian adoption agencies. But an ongoing court case in Michigan has posed a new threat to the very existence of families like mine.

In Dumont et al. v. Lyon, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has sued the state of Michigan’s Department of Health and Human Services over a 2015 state adoption law that allows private adoption agencies, like the ones my family used, to freely exercise their religious beliefs in the way they choose to operate their agencies.

This is not a case about hindering a couple’s choice to adopt, nor is it a case about the establishment of religion. Rather, it is a case about religious liberty, and whether the government should partner with faith-based groups to provide adoptive services to families while allowing them to simultaneously maintain their religious views. Even more so, it is a case about how these agencies envision children flourishing in family structures.

In addition to Michigan, six other states—Alabama, Mississippi, North Dakota, South Dakota, Texas, and Virginia—have enacted similar legislation to protect these adoption agencies from closure.

Additionally, Congress is currently considering the Child Welfare Provider Inclusion Act, which would implement protections for these faith-based agencies at the federal level. But if this law is overturned, and these agencies are forced to close, countless children will suffer in incomprehensible ways.

The plight of over 400,000 children in foster care in the U.S. (13,000 in the Michigan foster care system alone) and 110,000 waiting to be adopted warrants a resounding call to gladly welcome children into our families.

Life News story continues

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.  

Pennsylvania Action Alert! Call Now to Pass Ban on Brutal Dismemberment Abortions!

from Maria Gallagher, Legislative Director

Pennsylvania Pro-Life Federation

Please call your state representative in the PA House and urge him or her to support Senate Bill 3, which would ban the brutal practice of dismemberment abortions in PA.

During horrific dismemberment abortions, babies are torn limb by limb from their mothers’ wombs. This practice should not be tolerated in a civilized society.

The bill would also change the abortion limit in Pennsylvania from six months to five months gestation. It has already passed the state Senate, and is awaiting action in the House.


If you don’t know who your state representative is, or you need contact information, please use this link. 

Thank you for making these critical calls and sending these important emails!

 

The Pennsylvania Pro-Life Federation, Inc., is committed to promoting the dignity and value of human life from conception to natural death and to restoring legal protection for preborn children. Through legislation, political action, education and other legal means, we proclaim the truth about abortion, infanticide, and euthanasia.  For more information or to find out how you can become involved, please use this link.  

Thousands Circle North Carolina’s Busiest Abortion Clinic as Anti-Choice Group Marches On

The number of protesters were more than enough to drop the clinic's full Saturday roster to less than half of the typical number of patients it sees—showing exactly what sort of impact a large presence can have outside a clinic, regardless of whether that presence is openly hostile.

by Robin Marty
Rewire

For the previous 39 weeks, Love Life Charlotte (LLC)—a local anti-choice group whose mission is “uniting and mobilizing the church to create a culture of love and life that will bring an end to abortion in Charlotte”—has conducted Saturday “prayer walks” at the busiest abortion clinic in North Carolina. On week 40, for its final event, shuttles were arranged to bring as many as 7,000 followers to march a 1.5-mile path looping A Preferred Women’s Health Center.

According to LLC, nearly 4,000 attendees ultimately arrived on Saturday to gather for music and prayer at a site up the street from APWHC, followed by a half hour procession down the street to the clinic and back up again. Charlotte police put the number at closer to 1,500. Regardless, it was more than enough to drop the clinic’s full Saturday roster to less than half of the typical number of patients it sees—showing exactly what sort of impact a large presence can have outside a clinic, regardless of whether that presence is openly hostile.


Continue reading this Rewire article in full here

LOVE LIFE CHARLOTTE IS UNITING AND MOBILIZING THE CHURCH TO CREATE A CULTURE OF LOVE AND LIFE THAT WILL BRING AN END TO ABORTION IN CHARLOTTE.  For more information, please use this link. 

Football Star With Unborn Twin With Anencephaly Rejects Abortion. “BOTH Our Babies are Beautiful and Precious”

By Society for the Protection of Unborn Children
Life News

Australian football star Gary Rohan and his wife Amie have spoken out about their reaction when they found out that one of their unborn twins has anencephaly, and is not expected to survive after birth.

The Sydney Swans star announced their pregnancy on Instagram, sharing a beautiful photo of Mrs Rohan cradling her baby bump, with the caption: “Amie and I are over the moon to share with you all that we have been blessed twice over.”

A heartbreaking diagnosis

“Sadly, one of our beautiful bubs has been diagnosed with anencephaly,” he continued. “Anencephaly is a condition where part of the brain, skull and scalp never develops. Our brain is very sensitive, so to live our brain must have cushion and protection. Since our brain tells our heart to beat, our lungs to breathe, our legs to move and so on, these babies live from a few moments to a few hours after birth. Babies born with anencephaly are not compatible with life.”

Although groups such as Every Life Counts in Ireland have campaigned against terms such as “incompatible with life” as being “hurtful, medically meaningless and misleading”, it is true that anencephaly is a life-limiting condition, and babies who have it rarely survive more than a few hours after birth.
Choosing life

The days after receiving the news that one of her twins, who she nicknames “Baby B” was likely to die at birth were the “hardest I’ve ever had.” Mrs Rohan told news.com.au. They also had to decide how to proceed with the pregnancy. As Mrs Rohan explains: “Baby B is alive and it can grow to a full term but with twins with anencephaly, most parents don’t carry to full term. They choose to abort.”

But, she said: “Our specialist gave us all the options, but I said this is the journey I’ve been given and this is the situation I’ve been put in and I’m more than happy to carry the baby to full term. He said that choice is very common, and he’s delivered many pregnancies like ours.” 

Indeed, Prof John Wyatt told the SPUC National Conference that in his long experience of caring for sick babies, the outcomes for parents who choose to give birth to a baby with a life-limiting condition and receive palliative care are better than those who abort.

Life News story continues

Another Puff Piece About a Man Who Aborts Babies “At Any Stage of a Pregnancy”

Leroy Carhart, Late Term Abortionist

By Dave Andrusko
National Right to Life

Any story about late-term (and I do mean late term) abortionist LeRoy Carhart is really thinly disguised propaganda in service of justifying abortions so far along in pregnancy it makes even most abortionists blanch.

The justification for Alexandra Svokos to write a piece about Carhart for EliteDaily is to burnish Carhart’s self-described reputation as a pro-woman champion whose noble work was made more difficult when pro-lifers “forced” him to close his Germantown Reproductive Health Services in Germantown, Maryland in August. (That is not true, by the way, as we’ll discuss momentarily.)

Didn’t he successfully challenge a Nebraska state law? Why was he aborting babies into the third trimester in suburban Maryland, you might ask? Because Nebraska subsequently passed the first pain-capable unborn child protection act and Carhart lost a lucrative source of money.

Hold that thought.

The most interesting notion in Svokos’s piece (besides recycling the meme of Carhart as martyr selflessly working to “serve women”) is this gem from Chelsea Souder, a spokesperson for Carhart’s new abortion clinic which he opened in October down the road a piece in Bethesda, Maryland.

“Everything that all the anti-abortion extremists do actually drives us harder into our work, essentially. It kind of has the opposite effect, I think, of what they are going for when it comes to trying to intimidate and threaten and harass abortion providers. It’s not going to stop us.”

What is the “work” that pro-lifers are “driv[ing] Carhart’s crew to work “harder” at? To quote Svokos, “He is one of just four doctors in the country who provides abortions at any stage of a pregnancy.”

And for that noble enterprise, “he has been continuously targeted.”
You can read the entire flattering profile here so let me end by returning to money and Carhart.

In her first paragraph Svokos tells us that the abortion clinic where Carhart worked “was forced to close” when a prolife group that “protested the clinic and ran a crisis pregnancy center across the parking lot, bought the space.”

But as we reported at the time, using a pro-abortion source (a rabidly pro-abortion columnist for the Washington Post), it was about money. Todd Stave owned the Germantown clinic.

National Right to Life article continues

4th Annual Peace in the Womb Christmas Caroling to be Held at the PP in Norristown, Pa on Dec 16th

The 4th Annual Peace in the Womb Christmas Caroling will be held on the following:

 Saturday, December 16, 2017

 10:00 am - 11:00 am

 Norristown Planned Parenthood

1221 Powell St.

Norristown, Pa. (map)

“Oh come, oh come, Emmanuel, and ransom captive Israel.

That mourns in lowly exile here until the Son of God appear…”

This Advent hymn truly captures, with both words and its fittingly wandering tune, the sense of longing that is at the root of the season. After centuries of waiting, the people of God are about to experience a miracle and have their lives changed, irrevocably and forever.

Christmas is when we celebrate the hope and joy that enter the world with the birth of a child. But abortion denies hope and destroys joy, by killing a child before birth.

Women who get abortions at Christmas time suffer a special kind of pain, as they begin to associate all the trappings of the season with the day they made that horrible choice.

Please consider being a voice for the voiceless during this blessed Christmas season at the abortion mill in or near your neighborhood.

Please dress warm and invite your family and friends. Parking available on side streets and at the free parking garage. 

  

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.  

Pro-Choice Conservative Tomi Lahren to Speak at Liberty University Convocation

By Michael Gryboski
Christian Post

Liberty University has announced that pro-choice conservative Tomi Lahren will be among the list of notable people giving a convocation speech next month at the prominent evangelical school.

In a statement posted to Twitter on Monday, Liberty announced that the popular Fox News pundit will be speaking to students on Dec. 4.

Other announced speakers for December include former Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice and former Trump Campaign manager Corey Lewandowski.

"[Lahren] is one of the youngest political commentators on television and is best known for her 'Final Thoughts' segment, where she weighs in on current issues and events. Lahren's segments have been viewed more than 580 million times on Facebook," Liberty said Monday.

In March, Lahren garnered controversy when she told the hosts of "The View" that she believed it was hypocritical to support limited government yet oppose abortion.

"I'm someone that is for limited government, so I can't sit here and be a hypocrite and say I'm for limited government, but I think that the government should decide what women do with their bodies," Lahren asserted, adding, "stay out of my guns, and you can stay out of my body as well."

The remarks led to The Blaze, a conservative online publication run by Glenn Beck, to suspend Lahren.

Beck swiftly denounced Lahren's comments.

"The founders were really, really clear. The preamble of the Constitution clearly states to secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity. Well, who are our posterity, if not our unborn children and grandchildren and great-grandchildren," Beck said.

"Our descendants and future generation, that's who the Constitution is securing the blessings of liberty for. Not just us."

In response to the suspension, Lahren sued The Blaze, with the two parties reaching a settlement in May whose details were not disclosed.

The announced convocation schedule has garnered some negative feedback, with one Washington Examiner columnist asking the University to uninvite Lahren.

Christian Post article continues