Reclaiming Our Children

Take a break

If you're like me I am sure you are finding things crazy lately with the elections coming up and all of the talk of abortion in the news. It never fails to be a majorally divisive issue.

I will be glad to be away from it the next few days as we have our weekend retreat. All together 16 women will attend. I still find it so amazing that we, the women who have experienced abortion seem to have the least voice in all of this. I liken it to the silence of our children.

As the battle heats up as we approach Tuesday I say take a break. Turn off the news and enjoy the weekend...go for a walk, visit friends, watch a movie in this beautiful time of the beauty of fall.

 

 

Pray for the intention of life and come Tuesday go vote...

 

Say some prayers for those on our retreat and add a chaplet in there for Dr Bernard Nathason who is critically ill. Thanks

 

 

 

"I’m not in this for fame "

I came across a post today by the dad , Aaron Gouveia, who confronted protesters outside a clinic who were yelling things at him as he and his wife went inside. He had just brought her there to terminate their baby who had been given an adverse diagnosis, a girl they had named Alexandra.

I have no doubt the decision and the whole ordeal was heartwrenching, even without the consideration of the protesters. I have heard many stories over the years from other couples who aborted for the same reasons. I am sure the protestors added deeply to an already agonizing event. This dad felt judged when he honestly loved and grieved for his child, and more then anything I am sure he wanted to protect his wife from any more trauma then what they already were experiencing.

I do not know all the circumstances surrounding their abortion. I have no idea what they were told or how much time they had to make their decision. I do know couples are made to feel like "good"parents would abort these babies to save them from suffering.They are often made to feel guilty for even considering bringing these babies into the world.

The couples I have worked with were not given much time..they were pressured to make a quick decision and often, after the termination, did not thaw out for months or years after. Who can imagine planning for a baby and then going through, as Aaron says  in his blog,"hell on earth" .

It is awful that this couple now has this added to an already heartbreaking situation. I do know this man felt he was protecting his wife and he loved their child. He was reacting to what he saw as an affront on his family . Who can blame him.

I wonder if anyone told them about "Be Not Afraid" http://benotafraid.net/

or any other sites for parents who have been in the same situation and give each other support in this heartwrenching time.

I also stricks me that other couples I know wished protestors had been there when they went to the clinic. I guess who is out there and what they say can make all the difference depending on the people involved.

In spite of the fact that Aaron says he is not a religious person, I pray he does not get exploited by people on either side of the abortion issue. Perhaps I myself should not be writing about this, but I do think I am coming from a different perspective, one that has worked with others who made this heartwrenching decision because of an adverse diagnosis.

In full disclosure  I have to say, as all of you know, I believe abortion is always wrong. Yes, the baby may have died, but the logic of killing it instead just makes no sense. Still, I understand how couples can believe they are doing the right thing. It is a tough society with so many mixed messages.

As one of our moms who aborted because of an APD said, "When I hear other couples who gave birth to their baby and then had it die speak, they are at peace. They celebrate the life they had no matter how short. They do not carry the guilt of having taken that life like we do. I do not feel like I deserve to mourn my child". But she does, in fact, she and her husband are some of the nicest people I know.

I read Aarons blog, he sounds very nice, (and logical) as well. He does not want to be made a "hero". "I’m not in this for fame and I gave up on fortune a long time ago". I believe him. I hope he sticks by that. I am sure his wife is very nice as well. I am so sorry for their loss and for all they are going through. I pray they allow themselves the time they need to grieve Alexandra and they do not get caught up in the politics of abortion..her life is worth much more then that.

Here is his blog..

http://www.daddyfiles.com/

 

Our next retreat day for those who aborted because of an Adverse diagnosis is next weekend, Saturday Nov 6th... http://www.postabortionhelp.org/pre-natal/ppnvista09%2010.pdf

 

Abortion is mandatory for childrens health ?

Dr Elizabeth Newhall speaks of the "virtues and positive benefits" of abortion on RAchel MAddow.

It amazes me how the babies are not considered at all or those of us who do not find abortion a "positive Benefit". Talk about a dead soul....

http://www.breitbart.tv/abortion-activist-women-have-abortions-because-they-care-about-motherhood/

 

 

 

Teens and coerced abortion

U.S. Teens Saved From Coerced Abortion

by Danielle Bean Saturday, October 23, 2010 12:28 PM

Lest any of us Americans start feel smug about the fact that it’s only those evil Chinese who coerce abortions in their country, we have this story:

Texas Parents Stopped From Forcing Teenage Daughter to Have Abortion

On two occasions, the teenager’s mother literally dragged her to local abortion facilities, including International Healthcare Solutions and Planned Parenthood of the Texas Capital Region, demanding that her daughter take the live of her unborn child.

Though she refused and the child’s father also does not want the baby killed, her parents continued to insist that they will force her to have the abortion. The court’s order prevents that from happening.

“No one should be allowed to decide that an innocent life—especially one that belongs to someone else—is worthless,” says Stephen Casey of Round Rock, one of the allied attorneys ADF works with in Texas.

He told LifeNews.com in a statement, “The right not to have an abortion is protected by law, and this right isn’t relinquished just because someone else considers the child to be an unwanted burden.”

It doesn’t take an evil government to force women to have abortions against their will. All it takes are horribly misguided parents.

In a different but similar case earlier this month, a young girl, Jane (not her real name) was pressured by her mother into scheduling an abortion against her will. She was saved from tragedy when she communicated via text message with Tara Shaver, a 40 Days for Life volunteer who was praying outside the Planned Parenthood facility.

read the rest here; http://www.ncregister.com/blog/u.s.-teens-saved-from-coerced-abortion/

including my comment as a teen who was coerced....

On another note..do not forget our post abortion retreat for teens on Nov 20th

Choosing to Trust

Ok, I cannot seem to let go. I am very upset today about the show being aired tonight. I know I should not be, it is really nothing new or something that should not be expected, but the thought of the show, “The Assassination of  Dr. Tiller”, being aired tonight at 9pm in place of the Rachel Maddow show, makes me want to cry.

In my work with those who are post abortive I have met a few couples who made the trip to Kansas where Tiller was ready and willing to abort their babies. Baby’s that society deemed unworthy to live. I have heard about the pressures they underwent by the medical community who poured on the guilt for even thinking of bringing the pregnancy to term, and the speedy quest for a decision, not allowing them time to think of what they were really doing, because they were in shock from receiving an adverse prenatal diagnosis. So often they are made to believe being a good parent meant not allowing this child to live. We have a long way to go both as a society and a church, in offering these couples the support they need in this difficult time.

 I have been privileged to stand at the foot of the cross with these couples as they began to look at what had happened and came to the realization of the horror not only of the death of their child but in knowing they participated. It often takes years for them to thaw out from the shock and put together all of the contributing dynamics.

I will never forget the day that one of them said to me “I looked at my daughter after. She was just a baby.”

I consider myself blessed, to have been trusted enough for some of them to share the picture Tiller took of them and their aborted child. In spite of the facts, it is often something they treasure, the only picture they will ever have. It was a common procedure for him to dress up the baby he had just killed and place it in its parents arms for pictures.  It all becomes very personal once you know these wonderful couples, share their excruciating pain, and gaze at their children who you know by name.

 So, tonight, the show will speak of Tillers assassination. God knows it was wrong, all killing is wrong including the innocent life this man took in the so called name of compassion. he is lauded as a hero because so few would do this as if it were an honorable thing to do, kill innocent unborn babies. How is it anyone can  declare him a “hero”? How has his death become more important then the lives of all the babies he has taken in such a horrific way and all the families he has hurt beyond measure?

 I will probably pass on the show tonight. I do not think I will have the stomach to watch knowing the truth of his work which they are sure to proclaim as wonderful. I would prefer to spend the time in prayer, asking for the intercession of the babies for the healing of their parents and for an end to the atrocity of abortion by which thousands are assassinated in our country everyday.

Jesus, I trust in you!

Documentary

So, this is a documentary done by Rachel Maddow called "The Assassination of Dr. Tiller." It will be aired at 9pm tonight. Although I abhor the killing of Dr Tiller I also abhor him looking like a hero. I can bet Ms MAddow did not interview the patients I have worked with . I have seen pictures of Dr Tillers work as he placed unborn babies who he just killed in thier parents arms and took pictures. His warped compassion and the assasination of countless babies I am sure, will not be a focus in this documentary. I think I will pass on this one...Lord, have mercy....

Documentary hints at forces behind murder of abortion doctor

Preview

Monday, October 25, 2010

By Aaron Barnhart, McClatchy Newspapers

Mike Hutmacher/The Wichita Eagle via AP

Dr. George Tiller, enters the courtroom on the first day of his jury trial in March 2009 in Wichita, Kan. Tiller was shot and killed as he entered his church May 31, 2009 in Wichita.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- One of the more chilling scenes in "The Assassination of Dr. Tiller" is captured in grainy courtroom video from March 2009.

There is Dr. George Tiller, the Wichita, Kan., physician, on trial for 19 misdemeanors related to his controversial late-term abortion practice.

And there, in the back of the courtroom, seated next to the leader of anti-abortion group Operation Rescue, is Scott Roeder, the Kansas City man who -- two months after Dr. Tiller was cleared on all 19 charges -- walked into the doctor's church and shot him.

Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/10298/1097565-67.stm#ixzz13NAglpgY

Good Counsel Concert

wonderful concert yesterday in Rye for Good Counsel featuring Eric Genuis and some super talented musicians....if you missed it you can catch it at Stony Point Marian shrine on Nov 16th!

Fr BenedictGroeschel, CFR

Peggy Cleavenberg & Chris Bell

At Peace with Your Unborn

Please pass on the attached information to anyone you know in the New York area who may be interested in attending a Mass for loss of a child due to stillbirth, miscarriage, abortion or any otherpregnancy loss.

No one will be asked the cause of their loss....

Men & Abortion - Collateral Damage

Thanks to Gerard Nadal at "Coming Home" http://gerardnadal.com/ for this article

Abortion Pain is Gender-Blind

by Vicki Thorn 

Men quietly sit in abortion clinic waiting rooms, or they pace around mulling over their decision. Or they don’t go at all. They wait.

More and more people are becoming aware that men are not stoically unaffected by a woman’s choice to keep or abort a child. In fact, these men, who are often in the background as a women chooses to have an abortion or not, experience a sort of collateral damage.

Weeks ago this issue again made its way into the media. The St. Louis River Front Times published an article September 8 that interwove the stories of several fathers who were clearly changed by an abortion. The article, however, also implied that pro-life activists somehow invented the problem that men suffer after abortions.

The article mentioned a sociologist at Drexel University, Arthur Shostak, Ph.D., who wrote the book “Men and Abortion: Lessons, Losses, and Love” in 1984. Shostak’s book was the first of its kind to  describe the experience of men in the abortion clinic. Unfortunately, no one knew what to do with what he shared. Had we listened, perhaps this abortion issue would have unfolded differently.

Dr. Shostak continued this research, and in 1994 wrote an essay that examined the fact that men were made invisible in the process of an abortion. He wrote, “Counseling was available for females; none for any of us waiting room males. They were told about their contraceptive options; we were ignored. They learned about the emotional rollercoaster they might experience; we were left in the dark. We arrived as a couple, and were immediately forced apart: We left as a couple, though none the better for that, thanks to the refusal of the clinic to attach any value to our status as a twosome.”

In 1999, Catherine Coyle, Ph.D. wrote a second book titled Men and Abortion: A Path to Healing that called attention to this issue, and addressed the healing that men need after an abortion.

read the rest here:

http://www.headlinebistro.com/hb/en/columnists/thorn/092410.html

Friar Augustine Mary PA testimony