ROE VS WADE: IS THIS A HUMAN

Tell me this isn't a human! This is the famous picture of the child holding the Dr.'s finger. My sister, Linda, her husband Chuck and their 3 oldest went to Washington for the Right to Life rally. As usual the media will down play it. Below is what my pastor, Fr.Dennis wrote in our bulletin this past Sunday:

During the Christmas season, right after the Celebration of the Birth of our Savior, Jesus, the Church gives us a sobering Feast Day, commemorating The Slaughter of the Innocents. Through our modern sensibilities, we have often turned Christmas and the Incarnation into a cute story. There are certainly very warm and emotional aspects of the Christmas season, but the Gospel writers also remind us that almost immediately after Jesus’ birth, and certainly at the very outset of His earthly ministry, Jesus confronted the power of evil. Things have not really changed much for the Church, even today.
The Coming of our Savior into the world, is not so much a sweet, lovely story. It’s more like D-Day. Once Satan realized that God had invaded planet earth, he let loose a vicious counterattack. And where did Evil strike? It attacked life in its most vulnerable form. The very first assault of Satan after the birth of Christ is against society’s weakest members—infants. He attacked the “least of these.” Even today, the Enemy’s mode of attack hasn’t changed much. We’re painfully aware of the slaughter of the unborn, and the devaluation of the elderly, the poor, the disabled, and the prisoner.
But the good news is our Savior has come. He has established the beach-head. It’s not in Normandy or somewhere in Europe, but in the Church, the Church that needs to stand up and take action. If we do this, and do not give up, we will have the victory. Whatever is of value and worth fighting for is worth fighting for!
As this New Year begins, we mustn’t be deceived. There is a real battle with real casualties. We remember that we wage war not against flesh and blood, “but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” We shouldn’t be surprised at setbacks and assaults upon us. Of course the Enemy won’t go down without a fight. But remember, the Kingdom of Heaven has been forcefully advancing, and once more, we know who has won the war already – it’s just a matter of time till the story is brought to completion.
The Battlefield for Life: During this month of January we will watch the first African American president be inaugurated on January 20th. On one level it is wonderful to see that we have come so far as to see a man who, if he was living 40 years ago, would have most likely had his civil rights threatened. There is still a lot of bigotry out there – but we have come a long way!
However, on another level, it is discouraging to see that a man who has come from a cultural background whose ancestors struggled to obtain their most basic civil rights would be so pro-abortion, in fact, the most pro-abortion president we have ever had. We need to really pray! There are several things we as Americans need to be concerned about with this new administration.
Learn about the Freedom of Choice Act: President-elect Obama has made a promise to Planned Parenthood last year they expect him to keep. “The first thing I’d do as President is sign the Freedom of Choice Act. That’s the first thing I’d do.” The Freedom of Choice Act (FOCA) would eliminate every restriction on abortion nationwide. According to a recent article by Tom McCloskey, FOCA would harm women and remove freedoms, and reported by the Family Research Council, if FOCA was passed it would automatically overturn:
- State abortion reporting requirements in all 50 states
- Forty-four states’ laws concerning parental involvement
- Forty states’ laws on restricting later-term abortions
- Forty-six states’ conscience protection laws for individual
health care providers
- Twenty-seven states’ conscience protection laws for
institutions
- Thirty-eight states’ bans on partial-birth abortions
- Thirty-three states’ laws on requiring counseling before
an abortion
- Sixteen states’ laws concerning ultrasounds before an
abortion
There is evidence of a very significant reduction of reported abortions, particularly among teens, through the passage of parental involvement laws and the use of ultrasounds. The August, 2008, report of the Alan Guttmacher Institute notes the greatest decline in abortions over the last 30 years is among teens, attributable in large part to the above restrictions, as well as a later initiation of sexual activity. It must be concluded that chastity formation or abstinence education has a positive effect on lowering these rates, as well as enriching the lives of our young men and women.
FOCA will do away with state laws on parental involvement, on partial birth abortion, and on all other protections. FOCA will compel taxpayer funding of abortions. FOCA will force faith-based hospitals and healthcare facilities to perform abortions. Mr. Obama believes this legislation will "end the culture wars." To him, "ending the culture wars" means eradicating every state and federal law on abortion, laws that the majority of Americans support. The time to Fight FOCA is now. With Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid in charge of Congress, we can expect a fight over FOCA to begin as soon as the next Congress begins.
When a candidate pledges to provide “comprehensive sex education” to school children and promises to promote – or to “sign immediately upon taking office” - the Freedom of Choice Act, Catholics and all people of good will have cause to question the sincerity of the candidate’s determination to reduce abortions, when these already existing limits have caused a decrease of more than 100,000 abortions each year.
What can we do to defend life?
1. Pray!!!!
Prayer for an end to Abortion
God and Father of Life,
You have created every human person,
And have opened the way for each to have eternal life.
We live in the shadow of death.
Tens of millions of your children have been killed
thanks to the Roe vs. Wade decision legalizing abortion. Father, have mercy on us.
Heal our land, and accept our offering of prayer and penance.
In your love for us, turn back the scourge of abortion.
May each of us exult in hearts full of hope, and hands full of mercy
And work together to build a culture of life.
We pray through Christ our Lord. Amen.