Good old SNL! They have Obama’s smugness down pat.
Yet, at the same time they’re laughing at the health care debacle, they can’t or won’t admit what’s really at stake — which is human lives. The unborn, the old, the handicapped and the generally undesirable-because-unproductive are all in danger of death by government deathcare. Some joke.
We’re far from out of the woods yet.
An urgent message from Americans United for Life. President Obama is now trying to ram the abortion-filled Senate Health Care bill through the House. Everyone needs to act now!
AUL has all the other information you need to know here - and will assist you in contacting your Congressional Representative.
This, to me, is really big. I’ve known a few people who not just pro-choice but ardently so; they were also unrelentingly bitter and furious at pro-lifers. I just figured they couldn’t or wouldn’t change.
It seemed that Ashley was one of those. She is a young woman, in her 20’s, who has visited Jill Stanek’s pro-life blog a number of times over the past few months, spewing venom against pro-lifers. (She uses her full name on the site and it’s her real name; you can find to other online information about her, but I’ll use only her first name here). She was unrelenting in her ridicule of the pro-life position. She was also bitter because of what happened when a prolife ob-gyn had refused to do a D and C on her mother after learning that the baby she was carrying hadn’t survived. She told Ashley’s mother to wait to deliver her dead baby naturally but soon she was rushed to the hospital with serious complications that she barely survived. Ashley was convinced that pro-lifers do not care for women, and prefer the fetus, that we constantly put women’s lives at risk, and that we were all anti-woman — in spite of the fact that at least half and probably more of the pro-lifers regularly visiting the site are women!
Several pro-life nurses on the site pointed out that there was no difficulty in conscience for a pro-life ob-gyn in doing a D and C or other form of extraction on a dead baby, but that there is usually no good reason to do a D and C, which does have medical risk and could possibly puncture the uterus and leave scars, while medical complications like those her mother suffered are usually unforeseeable.
Ashley didn’t seem to be affected by all this. In fact, we hadn’t heard from her in a while, but evidently she still kept visiting the blog. She began to read other articles Jill had posted, including many news items about men who had murdered their pregnant girlfriends when they refused to get an abortion. Then there was a discussion about John Edwards, who had tried to get his pregnant mistress to abort. She has begun commenting in shock about this, realizing how much of the time abortion only serves men; wondering “where are feminists” when these things happen? Her tone is now reasonable rather than bitter. She has begun to understand that there are lies behind the pro-abortion position. She isn’t yet in the pro-life camp by any means, but she is much more of a joy to have around. She engages now in reasonable debate and is honestly seeking information. Here is the thread where we learned about her change of heart.
We can rejoice, but we can also pray for “Artemis,” who also regularly visits the site. She is the kind who is much less likely to change. You see, she is one of the first generation of feminists. She has told us that she is from the class of ‘66, making her roughly 62 years old. A dyed-in-the-wool radical who proudly tells us she left the Catholic Church after graduating from a Catholic girls’ academy, and regularly attacks religion in a mocking tone. She also tells us that her mother had an illegal abortion and never regretted it (she’s now in her 90’s), and that she herself had self-aborted with a turkey-baster sometime back in the late 60’s or early 70’s. She is hate-filled, but of course would never describe herself that way. She resists all attempts to tell her that post-abortive guilt may be responsible for her anger, which in the end is really directly against herself. . .
The same with a post-abortive young woman named “Megan,” who has no regrets, she says, — and constantly visits the site to tell us so, over and over again, while launching bitter tirades against us and our beliefs.
The young like Megan can change. In fact, I think it is this generation that will finally realize what is going on, and will rise up and change things. Artemis may be too ideologically set in her ways. But her kind is growing old and will die out.
In the end, they all need our help and prayers because this battle will only be won one heart at a time.
Well, here it is - five whole days after the march - and after a number of computer crashes (I seriously need more memory). I hope to have more of an account shortly.
Update: February 2. There isn’t really much to tell about the March itself. My trip to DC on January 21 went off well, and I got checked into my hotel at 4:00. I made the mistake of lying down for a while. I was desperately tired from getting up so early and wanted to rest before the Mass at the Basilica at 7:00. I should have left to go there at 4:00 instead of an hour later. I would have had to be there at 5:00 just to get seat from which I could see anything.
As it was, I had a number of delays from trying to figure out the D.C. Metro, or subway system, and by the time I arrived at the Basilica at 6:30, the place was packed to overflowing — people were standing five deep in the side aisles; only the central aisle through the nave was partly free - I literally could see nothing by peering in except the fresco on the dome, because everyone was already standing for the entrance procession, which took over half an hour! It included seven U. S. cardinals, 40 bishops and hundreds of priests, deacons and seminarians.
I managed to get the last seat left in the vestibule; many others who came sat on the floor or the choir loft steps. From there I was at least able to listen to the Mass and Cardinal DiNardo’s inspiring homily. But no opportunity to shoot any video. I decided to leave right after receiving Communion, so I could beat the crowd on the Metro. But because I couldn’t readily figure out which subway line I needed to take (that’s because the lines have different names coming and going!) it did me little good. By the time I figured things out, the Basilica crowd had caught up with me. It took me forever for me to find my way home, get something to eat and fall into bed.
Up at 7:00. I had to check out of the hotel, and take everything with me on the March (I had absolutely nothing with me but my video camera, clean top, nightgown, toothbrush and shampoo). At 7:30 I set out to get to the Blogs for Life Conference. It was easy, because the location was near the Mall, just 4 stops from where I was, on the route I’d taken the night before. To me, this was actually the most interesting and fun part of the trip. Many of today’s well-known pro-life faces were there, and there were a number of interesting short talks, as well as a refreshment break, which was very welcome, since I hadn’t stopped for breakfast. Two pro-life Congressmen, Todd Akin and Jim Jordan, took part. I’m only sorry I didn’t have room on the video for all the talks.
At 11:30, we walked right over to the Rally on the Mall, just six blocks away. The crowd was ENORMOUS! People handing out pro-life signs on every street corner. Outside the entrance to the Mall, I took video of people with interesting and diverse signs, including the “Thank you Bart Stupak” guy, and the Secularist for Life guy (who didn’t want to comment for the camera).
At the Rally, I was just on the outskirts (once again, I probably would have had to be there at 9 in the morning to be anywhere near the central action), and the people talking at the microphone came through only faintly on the loudspeakers, so I must have been quite a ways from them as well. Then, as last year, when the time came to start the March, we stood in position for over an hour while the marchers ahead of us proceeded.
To my amazement and delight, I found myself standing next to a group of Franciscans from the northeastern province of the U.S., including New York. They were accompany a group of students from upper New York State’s Franciscan school, St. Bonaventure University. The students (very largely female, Newsweek), told me off-camera about their pro-life efforts, which included making an internet video. They call themselves the “the Pro-Life Nerds.” I hope I got that right, because in addition to enthusiasm, the biggest thing in that crowd was noise!
At last we were off! But because of my back trouble, I had to drop out several times to find a bench or some steps along the route where I could rest, and of course, shoot video and do interviews. I also had to leave by 3:30, though I hadn’t even gotten past the Capitol, much less the Supreme Court. I did make it all the way up there last year. But now I had to find an ATM and a cab to get to the bus station on time. My cab driver was almost pop-eyed with frustration at trying to find an open street because of the March. “What a crazy day!” he said. “It’s crazy every year.” My cab driver the previous afternoon had told me that pro-life was “a very good cause to support”. Wonder what they and other D.C. residents think every year when they come home after dodging the marchers all day, and find hardly any acknowledgment on TV that the event even took place? My driver was a nice guy and got me to the station on time. But the bus was over an hour late — ha!
It seemed like a much longer trip coming back than going. And at last, I was able to watch the replay on EWTN and find out what the rally speakers had actually said. Well, I know now to be early for everything next year.
Enjoy the video, counter-cultural freedom fighters for life!
I just received a letter from Ray Seabeck, dated January 19:
We thank you so much for your generous gift . . . . for Mother Teresa’s missions in Haiti. It will be used to help the sisters rebuild and care for the poor in this terrible mess.
We got word on Friday that all Mother Teresa’s sisters in all of their 9 missions in Haiti are okay and all their people got out safely. Many of their buildings are unsafe and have to be rebuilt, but no lives were lost. . . . in each mission there is a home for the adult dying and a Children’s Home (400 people in each mission).
God bless you for your loving concern for the poor people of Haiti.
This is great news, but these poor people still desperately need help. If you want to help, contact Ray and Lauretta Seabeck at 22 Boyd Hill Rd., Gilford, NH 03249 (603) 524-4740.
