'Life Saving' Abortions!

A few weeks back, all news channels carried the headline “‘Life Saving’ Abortions” in their scrolling news ticker, the news flash etc. The breaking news referred to the bill passed in the Irish Parliament allowing abortions in case of threat to the mother’s life - a fallout of the death of Savita Halappanavar. I was taken aback by the news. What shocked me, among other things, was the headline itself – ‘Life Saving’ Abortions. I thought to myself, “Hey, isn’t that an oxymoron!”

I’m not sure how others would define abortion, but any dictionary be it Oxford or Websters or an app on my phone, can’t complete the definition of the word ‘abortion’ without mentioning words like ‘death’, ‘termination’ etc. What implies so clearly from these definitions is that the fetus inside is alive and abortion by definition is killing the fetus. In spite of this being so obvious, people still think and believe that it’s a lump of cells within the womb which doesn’t have any life!

Coming back to the headline, in view of these definitions, our headline now reads “‘Life Saving’ Murders” or “‘Life Saving’ Homicides.”!!! Now you know what I mean when I say that it’s an oxymoron - it contradicts itself! One might still say that even murders while defending oneself is justified to an extent by the law. But isn’t that the case when the person who is being killed is on an offense and trying to kill you and you defend yourself against the aggression. But in case of abortion, the one being killed is an innocent, defenseless baby, whose cries can’t be heard by anyone! The place where he is being killed, is one which is most secure for him and the one who decides to kill him is the one who is privileged with the responsibility to give him life, to love him beyond measures – his mom!

“If a human being is no longer safe in his mother’s womb, where in the world can he be safe?” – Phil Bosmans (Belgian Priest and Writer)

One can say, “Isn’t the life of the mother more important, shouldn’t we do everything to save her life?” Pope Pius XII already answered this question more than half a century ago saying. “….the demand cannot be but this: To use every means to save the life of both the mother and the child.” Sure, there might be instances where the life of mother and also that of the child as well is at risk, but these are rare. We know from the Church teachings that“… if for example, the safety of the life of the future mother, independently of her state of pregnancy, might call for an urgent surgical operation, or any other therapeutic application, which would have as an accessory consequence, in no way desired nor intended, but inevitable, the death of the fetus, such an act could not be called a direct attempt on the innocent life. In these conditions the operation can be lawful, as can other similar medical interventions, provided that it be a matter of great importance, such as life, and that it is not possible to postpone it till the birth of the child, or to have recourse to any other efficacious remedy.” [Article 14 of the Sacred Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith's Declaration on Procured Abortion. Click here]

Here Pope Pius XII was referring to rare and exceptional cases, however how flimsy the definition of ‘life saving’ is as per the new Irish law can be understood from the fact that according to it, if a panel of doctors feel that the mother might commit suicide, the same can be considered life threatening for mother and hence in that case abortion is justified. A simple excuse to abort a child, to end an innocent life. Just because no one has seen the child, heard him speak, felt his embrace, experienced his love and been in his presence, is it right to cut him, chop him, suffocate him, kill him? My apologies for being this graphic, but couldn’t help; that’s the fact anyways. Over the centuries human race has raised voice and fought against inequality and discrimination: whether it is between foreigner settlers and indigenous population, rich and poor, black and white, male and female, high caste and low caste. Now we have come down to a state where we have to raise our voice to ensure equality between different stages of life – between the born and soon-to-be born!

Mother Teresa said, “But I feel that the greatest destroyer of peace today is abortion, because it is a war against the child - a direct killing of the innocent child - murder by the mother herself. And if we accept that a mother can kill even her own child, how can we tell other people not to kill one another? How do we persuade a woman not to have an abortion? As always, we must persuade her with love, and we remind ourselves that love means to be willing to give until it hurts. Jesus gave even his life to love us. So the mother who is thinking of abortion, should be helped to love - that is, to give until it hurts her plans, or her free time, to respect the life of her child. The father of that child, whoever he is, must also give until it hurts. By abortion, the mother does not learn to love, but kills even her own child to solve her problems. And by abortion, the father is told that he does not have to take any responsibility at all for the child he has brought into the world. That father is likely to put other women into the same trouble. So abortion just leads to more abortion. Any country that accepts abortion is not teaching the people to love, but to use any violence to get what they want. That is why the greatest destroyer of love and peace is abortion.” [Reference: http://www.ewtn.com/New_library/breakfast.htm]

The reason one would want to justify abortion can be many, but to defend and bring forth life is just one – Love.

“Love protects all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.” – 1 Corinthians 13:7

Stand for love, Stand for life!

God Bless!

Other Related Posts:  Stand for Life;
                                  99 Balloons.

99 Balloons

My mom’s come over to stay with me. And since she is alone at home most of time, I had to get a TV before she came. So now when I get back home from work I get to watch TV with her.  From watching How I Met Your Mother and The Big Bang Theory alone, now I’m watching good old soap operas which have been going on for years, where in every episode some fight or the other erupts, someone dies, someone looses his/her memory power, mother-in-law and daughter-in-law take their camaraderie to a new level, someone starts plotting against someone else..... Whether it is these soap operas or the sitcoms, the stories just keep going on and on, seasons after seasons, years after years.

Well, today I would like to share with you another story. This is a real life story and unlike our favourite soap operas or sitcoms it doesn’t extend for years. This is the story of Eliot Hartman Mooney. His story lasts for a little more than three months, 99 days to be precise. Before he was born, doctors diagnosed him with Trisomy 18 also known as Edward's syndrome. It occurs roughly in 1 in 6000 births. Majority of the foetus die before birth and the ones who are born live only for a few weeks. His life is chronicled in the video below. Pls have a look.

He lived for 99 days. For those who study, thats a little more than a trimester at University, for those who work, a little more than a financial quarter. Its something that passes by so soon, but for him it was his entire lifetime. I really appreciate his parents who took the decision to have him in the world. Many others in their place would have decided not to. They did, and it changed their lives forever. Though they would have gone through a lot of pain and trouble, I believe they enjoyed and cherish each of those 99 days.

For many, having a foetus with ailment or deformity is a definite reason to abort. For many it is the future burden which makes the choice so obvious, while others may argue why should we let the child suffer his lifetime. Instead of that can’t we just put an end to it before it starts. Well, I guess Eliot’s parents gave them the answer.

Each one of our lives has its ups and downs, high and lows, good times and bad, moments when we feel we are the King of the world as well as the ones where everything seems to fall apart, moments to celebrate and cherish as well as the ones we don’t want to remember. But lets realize that no matter how long or short, how happy or sad, how easy or difficult, how convenient or troublesome, how successful or unsuccessful, it may be, our life is beautiful! And we should do everything to stand for it, to protect it, to nurture it, to save it.

Lets also take a moment to thank our parents who gave us this life, who made a conscious decision to bring us to this world. Had they decided otherwise, we would not have got a chance to see this world. We might have thanked them many times before or might not have done it ever, but today lets thank them for giving us this life. Right now as you read this, many parents around the world are making the other choice.

“This day I call the heavens and the earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Choose life.” (Deuteronomy 30:19)

God Bless!

To Do or Not To Do?

A couple of weeks ago I was reading through my usual cartoon strips in the newspaper, when I came across a funny T-shirt quote. It read, ‘Do not lead me into temptation. I can do it myself!’ I couldn’t stop laughing for some time after reading it. But actually how true it is! We just keep falling into temptations, one after the other. And for some, it is so painful to give-in to temptations. We feel so guilty every time we fall; we curse ourselves and sometimes we even accuse God for giving us such temptations.

A few days ago in a sermon during the Holy Mass, I heard something radically different. The priest asked us to thank God for temptations. I was shocked when I heard that.  “Thank God for temptations?! Why??” Then he went on to explain, telling something that was really an eye-opener for me. He said temptations are not bad, evil, sinister things or situations. Instead they are an opportunity – opportunity to do good or bad. Every time we face a temptation, it gives us an opportunity to either fall for it and do bad or to resist it and do something good. How we look at it depends on us.

His sermon reminded me about one of the most beautiful thing that God gives us – the freedom to choose.  He never forces us to do anything. He says, “Today I am giving you a choice between good and evil, between life and death.” (Deuteronomy 30:15) And He leaves the choice open to us. We can choose either, but what we go through depends on the choices we make. During a major portion of my growing up I made the wrong choices, misused the freedom God so lovingly gave me. And I faced the consequences as well. Each day I was going deeper and deeper into the filth, unable to see goodness in myself, others and in God; unable to experience peace, joy and love; unable to stop myself from destroying whatever good was in me, unable to stop my life from becoming bad to worse. Till one day I met God and decided to follow Him. Decided to choose life. And life has not been the same since then.

“I am now giving you the choice between life and death, between blessing and curse, and I call heaven and earth to witness the choice you make. Choose Life!” (Deuteronomy 30:19) God wants us to choose life, but doesn’t force it upon us. He requests, He pleads us to make the right choice. And He values each decision that we make so much that He calls all the heaven and earth to witness it, still hoping that we make the right choice.

In one of the retreats the preacher asked us a seemingly simple question. “In a fight between a good dog and a bad dog, which dog do you think will win?” Many of us said bad dog and many good. But his answer was a bit different. He said, “The dog whom you feed will win.”  In us also there is a bad dog and a good dog, the human spirit and the Holy Spirit. Who wins depends on whom we feed, depends on the choices we make daily.

So the next time you decide to sleep a little bit more in the morning and miss the Holy Mass, the next time you choose to give reading the Bible a miss since you have other ‘important’ things to do, the next time you are about to open your mouth to speak ill about others, to abuse, to lie; the next time your hands hesitate to help someone, the next time your eyes want to gaze at things you should not, the next time while browsing the net you are about to click on a link, the next time you are going to abuse your own body, the next time you are going to hold that bottle in your hand, the next time you are going to get angry, the next time your mind goes astray, the next time you decide to disrespect your parents or elders, the next time you choose to hold grudge against someone, the next time you are going to do something thinking no one will come to know about it, just pause for a second and ask yourself – To do or not to do?, Should I or should I not? And you will hear a still small voice inside telling you what is right for you, telling you to choose good, telling you to choose Life! The choice is yours. 

The Lord loves you infinitely, unconditionally, eternally. But experiencing His love is your choice. Choose Life! Choose experiencing His Love!

God bless!