What a Father Can Teach a Mother, by Stephanie Gray

On a recent call-in radio program I did with Catholic Answers Radio, the lines were open only to people who support abortion in order to have on-air debate with me; one caller, who was defending abortion, referenced the pregnant woman as a mother. Which led me to ask what a mother is.

The reality is, not all females are mothers.  The term mother doesn't simply imply having two X chromosomes.  Instead, it also implies having offspring.  Which leads to the next important question: What do civil societies expect of mothers in relation to their children?

The obvious answer is that we expect mothers to care for their children, not harm them.  That is why abortion ought to be rejected—it is a brutal betrayal of the nature of a parent-child relationship.

The protective role of parents was brought to light in a powerful story I recently learned about: In June 2019, a father, his 7-year-old son, and the father's friend endured a harrowing, near-death experience.  Maike, Julian, and Stephen went fishing off the Caloundra coast in Australia.  They planned for something they had done before—an overnight trip, sleeping in their little boat, anchored but surrounded by the vast ocean.  In the darkness of the night, their resting bodies awoke to water around them as their boat rapidly sank.  For more than 6 hours, the three souls bobbed amidst the freezing waves, hanging onto two air-filled buckets that just barely kept them afloat.  The documentary of their ordeal, and interviews with each person, reveal just how close to death they were.  What struck me most was the love of the father for his son.

Maike Hohnen did what he could to preserve his son's life, treading water while holding onto his body, which was unconscious for most of the time.  When a helicopter finally arrived, Maike's predominant thought was that his son be taken first.  Rescue crews considered Julian was dead but did CPR.  When he was miraculously brought back to life, they thought he could have brain damage.  But he was perfectly fine. 

Like Maike Hohnen, a woman in a crisis pregnancy may feel like she’s drowning.  She may feel overwhelmed by the waves of life crashing around her, seeming to threaten her very existence.  Abortion tempts her to let go.  But Maike Hohnen demonstrates that love teaches us to hang on.

When Maike, Julian, and Stephen’s boat first capsized, Maike said of his son, “[He] calmed me down. He said, ‘It will be alright, dad.’ He actually pointed towards Caloundra and said, ‘We just have to swim that way, dad.’”

They weren’t able to swim “that way.”  But, as the child predicted, everything was alright.  Because the father knew to hang on.  And therein lies the lesson for the mother in a crisis pregnancy: To hang on.  To realize that she is not alone; that there is the presence of another; that the other is her child; and that her child needs her.  With that insight lies the power to calm her down until rescuers arrive who, by their actions, affirm that her life, and her child’s, is worth fighting for.

Post Script: In an interview, Maike said that if Julian had died in his arms in the ocean, he would have let go and drowned himself because he wouldn’t have wanted to go on living without his son.  His emotional reaction is understandable because his love was so great.  Having said that, it doesn’t mean that such a course of action would have been correct.  And so, there lies another lesson here, which is that our ultimate love must be in Creator and not creature.  Even when our most beloved of relatives depart from this earth, God still has a purpose for we who are left behind.  There are others to love and be loved by, and even when we face excruciating suffering like the loss of a beloved, as Holocaust-survivor and psychiatrist Dr. Viktor Frankl observed, we should seek to find meaning in suffering so as not to despair.

Image source from unsplash.com, Julián Gentilezza

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The Power of a Cry, by Stephanie Gray

When someone cries, how do compassionate people respond?  The cries of another typically elicit a reaction from the hearer to comfort and console those whose tears express what words cannot.

I once met a labor and delivery nurse who told me about a particularly traumatic abortion-related story.*  A patient presented at the hospital the nurse worked at.  The patient was in labor at 25 weeks pregnancy (pregnancy typically goes to 40 weeks).  Earlier that day, she had gone to a late-term abortion clinic where she had Step 1 of a multi-step procedure to induce the death of her pre-born child.  Potassium chloride (KCL) had been inserted into the heart of the baby to bring about a heart attack in the child.  Then, in the following days, the doctors were going to go in and pull that baby’s body parts out piece by piece. 

Since labor had begun unexpectedly, the woman went to a hospital, but it was a hospital that does not do abortions.  When the woman told the medical personnel what she had gone through earlier in the day, she said to them, “I came in for an abortion. I want an abortion. I don’t want this baby.  I want the abortion now.”

The doctors and nurses gathered.  They listened for a heartbeat and, unexpectedly, the KCL had not stopped the baby’s heart.  They discussed the situation and determined that they had a responsibility to resuscitate the baby if the child came out alive.

The woman said, “I don’t want that.  I want an abortion.  Kill my baby!”

The medical team said no; if the baby came out with a heartbeat, they would attempt resuscitation.  The woman continued with her labor.  And when the baby was born, the infant cried.  Upon hearing the cries of her child, the mother screamed, “Save my baby!”

Feeling the child kick had not softened her hard heart.  Hearing the heartbeat had not softened her hard heart.  But hearing the cries of her own flesh and blood had drawn out from within her the instinctive and maternal response to alleviate the suffering of the vulnerable in her midst.

Unfortunately the choice the woman had made earlier in the day had a permanent consequence: Resuscitation did not work, and the baby passed away.

There’s an important lesson here, and that is the power of a cry.  For pre-born children, however, their screams are silent.  We cannot hear, at an audible level, their plea for our aid.  But we who know they exist, we who know their very lives are in jeopardy by legalized abortion, have a responsibility to raise our voices in their place, to make an appeal to the consciences of others to help—not harm—them.

*This story was told by Stephanie at the March for Life in Victoria, BC, in May 2019.

Image source from unsplash.com, Sergiu Vălenaș

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What's Ahead for the Church in 2020? by Stephanie Gray

On January 15, 2020, The Colson Center for Christian Worldview released a symposium on Breakpoint called “What’s Ahead for the Church in 2020?” and it included reflections from various Christian leaders. Below is Stephanie Gray’s submission:

There are many “issues” Christians need to be prepared to address, but there is really one theme at the heart of them all: The Gospel message—or its opposite. The choice facing our world is this: Do we pick selflessness? Or selfishness? Do we trust God as authority? Or do we make ourselves the authority?

In Luke 22:19 Jesus gives us the path to life: “This is my body given for you.” He set the template for us to follow, but tragically we humans constantly find ourselves in a state of rebellion, making choices that essentially declare the opposite: “This is your body given for me.”

That is the mentality that drives the issue I focus much of my time on: Abortion. With some states limiting access to abortion while others are expanding access to it, this conflict is readily seen. Abortion is a selfish expression of “This is your body given for me,” but all of us reading this have experienced the selfless love of our mothers who, when pregnant with us, by carrying to term, essentially communicated, “This is my body given for you.” Their action was surrender, not servitude. And as recipients of this greatest love, we should joyfully pay it forward to others.

Christians need to be equipped to articulate that, even in evil circumstances of someone’s conception, namely rape, abortion does not erase the injustice. Moreover, the worth of the innocent life conceived is not affected by how she or he came to be.

We need to know how to explain that when a pregnant woman’s life is danger, saying that the “road is closed” to having an abortion doesn’t mean there is no “detour ahead”—in other words, it is possible to still help her, but in an ethical manner. And we need to help people see that in the face of a poor prenatal diagnosis, the child with physical and genetic difference should not be viewed as human doing with less than adequate performance abilities, but as a human being to love and be loved by.

Image Source from Unsplash: Alicia Petresc, @alice02

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Courage: When Boldness Faces Fear, by Stephanie Gray

In the first film from Lord of the Rings, Frodo says to the wizard Gandalf, “I wish none of this had ever happened.  I wish the ring had never come to me.”  And Gandalf replies, “So do all who live to see such times.  But that is not for them to decide.  All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us.”

  Speaking to a medical audience of physicians, nurses, and medical students in early November, I used those words to capture the sentiment pro-life medical professionals often feel in this world that is increasingly hostile to a pro-life worldview.  At a time when abortion is widespread, assisted suicide is increasing, and conscience rights are lessening, understandably the pro-life medical professional thinks,

  “I wish none of this had ever happened.”

  And of course, that’s a good wish.  But the reality is—it has happened.  All we have to decide is how we are going to respond.  And now, more than ever, we need pro-life medical professionals to respond with courage, not cowardice.

  The challenge?  Fear.

  Fear can be paralyzing but it doesn’t have to be.  Fear is the tie that actually binds both courage and cowardice.  What separates them, however, is how each responds to fear.  Courage controls fear.  Cowardice is controlled by fear.

  In his Letter from Birmingham Jail, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., remarked, “There was a time when the church was very powerful--in the time when the early Christians rejoiced at being deemed worthy to suffer for what they believed. In those days the church was not merely a thermometer that recorded the ideas and principles of popular opinion; it was a thermostat that transformed the mores of society…”

  Ah.  A thermometer versus a thermostat.  One tells us the temperature.  The other changes it.  The courage we so badly need at a time like this involves being thermostats.  It involves recognizing the temperature needs to change, and being the ones to change it, channeling any fear we feel into energy that drives change forward. 

  What helps us be bold?  What enables us to courageously change the temperature to the level it should be?  In my presentation I focused on 5 things:

  1)     Know your why

2)     Unleash the power of your mind

3)     Study people who said no

4)     Practise what you preach

5)     Be magnetic

  Know Your Why

  Author Simon Sinek has given one of the most popular TED Talks and he speaks about the importance of knowing the reasons behind the positions we hold.  Pro-life medical professionals need to make sure they know not simply what they believe but also why, and be trained to articulate that winsomely, as that will give confidence, and confidence is an ingredient for controlling fear and driving change.  Clicking here and here and here and here are good places to start to know your why.

  Unleash the Power of Your Mind

Have you ever gone car shopping, perhaps for a white Toyota corolla, test driven one, and then the following week noticed white Toyota corollas everywhere you go?  It’s not that Toyota is following you and planting their cars so you buy one.  Instead, what we think about—what we put in our minds—becomes part of our reality.  There aren’t more Toyotas on the road the week after you test drove; instead, the car is in your mind and you are more prone to notice what you had previously ignored.

If the thoughts we put in our head are what we end up noticing, what thoughts are pro-life medical professionals putting in their heads?  If it’s overwhelming fear of losing one’s licence, of possible complaints by patients, etc., then, well, that is more likely to come to fruition.  If, instead, pro-life professionals focus on being the best doctor, etc., to their patients, of having the best bedside manner, of building an excellent rapport with patients, etc., then not only will they experience the good fruits that flow from that, but if there are complaints there will be an army of patients rising up to defend the beloved physician.  Having said that, I’m not saying we should be naïve and unprepared for challenges or critiques that could come.  I’m saying that we should be wise about the present reality, equipped for possible negative outcomes, while not being obsessed or overly focused on them.  It’s the old adage, “Prepare for the worst but hope for the best.”

Study People Who Said “No”

If you were to ask a crowd of people what comes to mind when you say “Tiananmen Square” they will likely recall this photo. The quiet but steady defiance of one man against an army of tanks is an example for us all.  Sometimes to unjust power structures we need to simply stand up and say “No.”  Come what may.  Rosa Parks, the black woman who refused to give up her bus seat in 1955, is another example of the power of saying no.  So is Dr. Halima Bashir. 

She’s a physician from Darfur who wrote the book “Tears of the Desert.” In it she shares her story of witnessing, in an emergency room, the results of genocide.  When asked by media about what she was observing, she spoke.  Several days later, a group of men showed up at the hospital to try to intimidate her into not speaking out again.  Fast forward to when she moved to work in a small village.  One day, people ran to her clinic carrying blood-covered children.  Soldiers had invaded a school and gang-raped children as young as 8.  Dr. Bashir did what she could to respond to what was a scene from hell.  A short while later, as word spread about what happened, UN officials showed up to ask her if the reports of the gang rapes were true.  Dr. Bashir could have been influenced by the intimidation and threats previously directed at her when she spoke up at her other job.  She could have been silent.  But she knew that silence in the face of the injustice was the wrong response.  So she spoke.  But it came with a horrifying personal cost: Dr. Bashir was kidnapped, beaten, tied in a dark room with rats, and gang-raped for days—all because she spoke up; all because she said no to corruption and to cover-up.

Practise What You Preach

What is at the heart of the pro-life message?  What are we asking of women in crisis pregnancies?  What are we asking of patients with illness or disability who don’t know when their life will naturally end?  We are asking them to let go of control.  We are asking them to ride the waves and float into the unknown.  We are asking them to consider the long-term effects of their choices, not just the short-term.  We are asking them to not create a false dilemma where it’s a) or b)—that sometimes c) “none of the above” can be their story.  We are asking them to do the right thing even when it’s hard.  We are asking them to remember that it is better to suffer evil than to do evil. 

And so, for the pro-life medical professional who is scared about speaking out, about the risk to their job, etc., they need to heed those same messages about control, long-term focus, resisting false dilemmas, and doing the right thing.

Be Magnetic

Magnetism is an extraordinary ability, or power, to attract.  Our pro-life professionals may have unpopular positions but if they are known for being experts in their field, and for having compassionate doctor-patient interactions, this will attract people.  Sure, there will be an element of mystery (“I don’t get it; she’s such a great doctor but her view on abortion is so strange”); however, it’s that mystery that will draw people in more.  And we want to draw people in, for it is probing that leads to discovery.

I am reminded of a TV show my mom and I used to watch together, Columbo.   In this mystery series, a homicide detective’s work always leads to a discovery of who committed a crime, but it’s his personality and approach that is magnetic.  He appears simple, and a little odd, but he’s actually quite shrewd.  He asks lots of questions, draws people in, and in doing so, exposes the true criminal.

The person who asks the questions controls the conversation.  When pro-life medical professionals come under fire, they should respond by asking questions of their interrogators, Columbo-style, compelling them to stay in conversation, to think through their claims, and to attempt to defend inconsistencies or problematic positions they hold—which will expose the false worldview for the shaky ground on which it’s built.

Another way to be magnetic is to be real, to not be afraid to show the fullness of your emotions.  Jordan Peterson is an example of this.  Although there are plenty of people who do not like him, he nonetheless has an aura of intrigue, even to his opponents.  He’s an intellectual and academic but he’s known for frequently getting emotional.  In fact, if you search “Jordan Peterson crying” you will get results like this, a 15-minute compilation of his various bouts of weeping. 

When I neared the end of that clip I thought to myself, “What kind of person makes a video like that?”  It seemed like such a strange thing to do.  But the final screen put it all in perspective: “Jordan Peterson gets a lot of unfair and undeserved criticism.  That’s why I created this video, to show that a man that breaks down when talking about the suffering of individuals and the way to overcome it, can’t have any other desire but the deep desire to reduce suffering in the world and to oppose anything that causes its increase….This video is the best way to show to those who oppose Jordan that what they think of him is wrong.  This video has the potential to decrease the amount of criticism he gets, and show that he deeply cares about people.”

It is this blend between the head and the heart, the intellect and the emotion, this fullness of what it means to be human that attracts people to pay attention to him, even when they don’t always agree.  It’s magnetic.

*Image source from Unsplash by Dan LeFebvre.

The Greatest Love, by Stephanie Gray

What would you do if, while waiting for a subway train to arrive, you noticed a seizuring man fall onto the tracks?  To Wesley Autrey the answer was clear: Jump onto the tracks and help him. 

And on January 2, 2007, that’s what he did.  Except Autrey wasn’t just helping a man in need.  He was putting himself in danger.  Because as the fallen man convulsed on the tracks, the lights of an oncoming train flashed before them.

  Autrey couldn’t get the man off the tracks in time.  But rather than abandon him, Autrey laid on top of him, protecting the young man’s flailing body with his lanky frame.  And then train cars came.  Not just one, not just two, but five—five—train cars would roll over the men before coming to a stop.

Miraculously the men survived.  Miraculously they were unharmed.  Miraculously the center space between the tracks that they were squished into, with the thickness of both men’s frames, and the bottom of the train hovering over, was just enough clearing (21-24 inches) for them to be untouched.  Unless you count Autrey’s blue cap.  It did get some grease marks on it.

Much has been said to describe Autrey’s heroic actions.  But I think the most fitting phrase is this:

  “This is my body given for you.”

  In his video “Opposites,” Michael Spielman at the group abort73 begins by pointing out that the opposite of love is hate.  He then uses that as a springboard to ask what the opposite of the greatest love is.  He makes the point that if the greatest love is a willingness to lay down your life for another, then the opposite of that is to lay down another’s life for yourself.

Wesley Autrey didn’t just demonstrate love.  He demonstrated the greatest love.

  Fast forward to Puebla, Mexico, November 10, 2019.  I was participating in a history-making event.  I was one of 8 women debating abortion in front of thousands at La Ciudad de las Ideas (CDI, a festival similar to TED Talks).  The talk would be live-streamed to tens of thousands as well as televised throughout Mexico. 

  In the days prior, I had prayerfully reflected about what I should impart during my segments of the debate. I nestled into a small chapel in Vancouver to ask God what He wanted me to say.

  “Speak, Lord, your servant is listening” (1 Samuel 3:10).

  Of all the ideas that came to mind, two in particular would stand out.  The first was I recalled the message from the “Opposites” video I mentioned above, and how it relates to abortion.  In some way I knew I had to use that. The second was to associate every hearer’s physical body with my message so they would be constantly reminded of the truth proclaimed: For all of the differences between us humans, a “tie that binds” is our bellybuttons, and each time people noticed theirs, I wanted them to be reminded that we all once were in the womb.

  With those ideas percolating I prepared my 60-second conclusion.  It was a profoundly tight window to make my point but I had it rehearsed down to the second.  Except two things happened:

1)     The day before the debate, I was inspired by another presenter, Tal Ben Shahar, a professor who teaches the most popular course at Harvard on positive psychology, which is all about happiness.  He talked about a psych experiment that was done where people were given money and told to buy themselves something and then their mood/happiness was measured afterwards.  Similarly, people were given money and told to donate it to someone/some cause and that group showed longer-lasting happiness. He then used that point to reference something from his first language, which is Hebrew.  He said that his favorite name is “Natan” which is a palindrome that means “to give” and his message was that when you give you receive.  When I heard that I just knew I should reference him (and his well-received talk with the audience) in my closing arguments the following day and use his popular perspective to show how it aligns with a pro-life worldview.  Somehow I needed to add more to my already tight conclusion.

2)     When the time for the debate came, and as it was nearing its end, with no warning the moderator shortened our conclusion from 60 seconds to a mere 30. 

  How do you take such a weighty topic and distill your position down to 30 seconds of expression?  The old adage “say one thing and say it well” was more relevant than ever.  But somehow, in half the time, along with an additional point to make, I was about to say three things.  How was that possible?  All I can think is that I had asked my prayer team to pray “For a supernatural multiplication of the minutes and seconds in the short time-frames we have to speak” and that that prayer was answered.

  As I watched my precious seconds disappear on the counter, I proclaimed,

“Every single one of us, on our bodies, has a bellybutton.  Which is a reminder that every single one of us was once a child in the womb.  We were once weak and vulnerable and our powerful mothers could have decided to dominate and destroy us by saying, ‘This is your body given for me.’  But instead, in an act of love, our mothers said, ‘This is my body given for you.’  It’s what Tal said—‘Natan’—to give is to receive.”

  Before that conclusion, my opponents had lived true to form by espousing their movement’s mantra of “My body, my choice.”  Rather than entirely reject their sentiment, I opted to define it.  When it comes to abortion it is about choice—a choice between two worlds.  A choice between a world where

1)     People use and abuse each other by selfishly demanding, “This is your body given for me” or where

2)     People reverence and honor each other by selflessly offering, “This is my body given for you.”

Of course, these worlds are not new.  Throughout human history there is a dark pattern of sin where people hurt each other.  But over 2,000 years ago, a person who was to grow up to become a Jewish rabbi entered our broken world as a pre-born child.  He, too, would bear on His body a bellybutton.  He would be Son, but He would also be God.  And as God, He would continue to do what the Father had always done for His chosen people: He would continue a pursuit of the creation that was “very good” in order to win their hearts to the home of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.   But the gates to that home needed to be opened because sin had closed them.  The punishment of man’s sin was death, but, instead, this rabbi, Jesus, would take their place.  He, an innocent, would take on the consequence for the guilty.  He would offer, “This is my body given for you.”

  And in that offering would be an invitation—a proposal: To choose the greatest love over its opposite.

  So choose.  But, like Wesley Autrey once did, choose well.

Note: Below is the journal entry where I asked God to let me know what He wanted said.

Debate image source from here.

Should Abuse of the Born be Motivation to Abort the Pre-Born? by Stephanie Gray

After a recent presentation I delivered on abortion, an audience member approached me.  She told me she worked in a daycare where many of her charges come from profoundly broken homes.  She told me nightmare stories, horrifying cases of abuse these children had endured—and were enduring (which she then reported, the authorities would step in, and in some cases after removing children for a time, the little ones would be returned to the dangerous environment with the mistaken belief the kids would be safe, only to find abuse happen again).

I was sickened by what she shared, that such precious, innocent, and vulnerable children could be so horrifically mistreated and that they would be failed by a system that was supposed to help them.

Here was the woman’s point to me: Her first-hand experience convicted her that abortion would be better than what these kids go through, and the trauma they will carry with them for life. 

There is no denying that the brutal realities she observed would impact her feelings.  There is no denying that anyone with a functioning conscience would want to spare children suffering.  There is no denying that when someone is aware of their victimization there is an additional element of horror than when someone is unaware (e.g., being killed in your sleep versus tortured to death while awake).  Here is a question: Is it possible to agree with all that and still not see abortion as a solution to what undoubtedly is a grave problem?

Consider the children this woman cares for: Would we ever say it would be acceptable to kill them now because of their abuse?  To kill them now in order to spare them further abuse?  To kill them now in order to prevent a future filled with memories of past abuse?  Obviously the answer is no—it would not be acceptable to use homicide as a solution to abuse.  In fact, isn’t homicide just another form of abuse? Killing the victim would not be justice for the victim.  It would only further the evil mentality of the abuser that an individual’s life should be mistreated.

Moreover, what if a born child had not yet been abused but we somehow could see into the future that the individual would be abused in, say, 5 years.  Would it be acceptable to kill that child in order to avoid that which had not yet happened?

  Again, the obvious answer is no.

  Correspondingly, since the pre-born child is a living, human being, it would be unethical to kill that individual because of abuse she may experience down the road.  Instead we ought to work to ensure children are born into, or placed in, environments in which they and their parents or guardians thrive in a relationship of love. 

  Critics may respond that that sounds great in theory but it is not the reality for some, like the children in the woman’s daycare.  Correct.  So we need to respond.  We just don’t have to respond with abortion.  What can a non-abortion response look like?

·         It can look like my friends who fostered children.

·         It can look like my friends who adopted 3 little girls from China who had severe cleft palates which required multiple surgeries.

·         It can look like my friends who adopted a set of siblings from the foster care system in their own country.

·         It can look like a couple I met in my travels who adopted two children when their first biological child was only one.  They since adopted two more children, both of whom have Down syndrome and serious heart conditions, all the while giving birth to 4 more children.

·         It can look like an unmarried 28-year-old I met on a recent trip to the US: In the last 4 years she has fostered over 21 children and adopted 2 of them.

·         It can look like a retired couple I met who moved from their farm into a home for pregnant women in order to mentor them in motherhood.

·         It can look like a pastor I recently met who is in his mid-50s.  He and his wife have raised their own biological children and are now fostering—which is leading to adoption—3 young children.

·         It can look like foster father Mohamed Bzeek who takes in terminally ill children.

·         It can look like a mega Church in Texas whose pastor told me he is implementing a program where his church members make it their mission to foster and/or adopt local orphans.

·         It can look like Love Life Charlotte, a beautiful pro-life ministry I learned about in January that is also on a mission to embolden its church members to care for orphans through what they term “Orphan Care Hospitality.”  Whether through fostering or adoption, learn more about what they are doing here and watch this short video about the Malone’s who have welcomed two children into their forever home through this amazing program.

·         It can look like the Lott family who adopted 4 of their 6 children.

·         It can look like my friend Ryan Bomberger’s adopted family.  His mom, once an orphan herself, made a promise to God when she was a young girl that she would be a mommy to those without one.  She grew up, got married, and adopted 10 of their 13 children (Ryan, one of the adopted children, was conceived in rape.   Having now grown up, he has since adopted two children.

Is the abuse of children—pre-born or born—an unspeakable evil?  Yes.  Does it demand a response?  Without a shadow of a doubt.  Can children be rescued and aided without abortion?  The lived experiences of the examples above are living proof of that.

**The photo in this blog is of police officer Ryan Holets and some of his family.  While on duty, Holets encountered an 8-month pregnant heroin addict.  That woman is the very type of individual many would say should have an abortion rather than bring her child into a dangerous environment.  Officer Holets and his wife adopted that little baby, who they named Hope.  Read the incredible story here. And, as described in this article, it says “Holets has been quietly helping Champ [the birth mother] and her partner find the right rehabilitation center and gave them a tablet computer so they can receive photos of Hope over email.  To Holets’s knowledge, the pair, who have not responded to a Post interview request made through Holets, are not clean. It was always his goal from the beginning to help them through rehab.”

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The Secondary Emotion of Anger, by Stephanie Gray

Two unrelated experiences reinforce what a friend of mine in social work told me: Anger is a secondary emotion.

      Over the holidays I watched an incredibly powerful and moving foreign film, “A Man Called Ove.”   Without spoiling key parts, the overall story is this: An old man is angry, isolated, and believes his life is not worth living.  As the film progresses the viewer begins to understand why Ove is as he is.  The unfolding backstory reveals what is under the surface.  This allows one to see Ove with new eyes—to see his goodness and his pain and therefore to empathize with him.  It also allows one to see what we all need for human flourishing—connection. 

  At one of my presentations on abortion an audience member spoke with me afterwards.  She shared that she was in favor of abortion, particularly in the case of rape.  I had addressed the point already in my talk.    I also shared with her the story of my friend Lianna who got pregnant from rape at age 12 and who kept her child.  She was unconvinced and unfortunately our conversation was interrupted. 

  I couldn’t shake the nagging feeling that my message was impenetrable to her heart because of some deep pain.  I was very concerned that she had been raped and/or had an abortion.  She didn’t disclose either to me, but a lifetime of interacting with people and intuition was telling me something bigger was below the surface.  Because I knew she was part of a larger group I approached one of her team leaders with my concern.  The team leader remarked that that young woman had been behaving in a difficult and defiant way.  “That type of behavior is a secondary emotion,” I responded. “Something is triggering her, and I’m concerned it’s a huge trauma.  I really think she was raped or had an abortion.”  We then identified another team leader who had gone through a trauma of her own and approached her with our concern, asking her to find an opportunity to connect with the young woman.  We prayed and it became a waiting game for the opportune moment.

  Sure enough an encounter between the two women happened and sadly the audience member revealed that she had been sexually assaulted, but she expressed how meaningful it was to have someone listen to her and share in her pain.  It became the start of a journey to healing.  Like Ove, her attitude and behavior were a cover for a deep emotional wound.  Like Ove, connection with another soul is what would free her from isolation and give her spirit new life.

  Whether discussing abortion—or any issue in which people respond with anger or an illogical unreasonableness—our approach should not be to dig in our heals and write the person off as stupid or not worth our time, but rather to go gently and seek to understand the root of the person’s passion.  It is worth remembering that of all the words used to describe love in the famous passage of 1 Corinthians 13, the first two are “patient” and “kind.” 

  When you’re next in conversation with someone and if you find yourself struggling to be patient or kind, it can be helpful to step back and say the “Prayer of St. Francis,” which, in the middle, goes, “O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek to be understood as to understand.”

  It is truly eye-opening what seeking to understand can lead to.

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Why Roe is Against Reason, by Stephanie Gray

Have you ever been asked a question where the answer changed your life?  An audience member once told me about a time she applied to work at a chastity missionary organization in America.  During the interview she was asked, “If we don’t accept you for this position, what else would you do?”  Without skipping a beat she answered, “I’d go to Africa and work with the poor.”  Later that day she couldn’t get that question—and her answer—out of her mind.  She realized what her true heart’s desire was, she withdrew her application, and went to Africa to serve the poor.  Just as how answering one question led this young woman down a path very different from her original plan, I believe applying the power of questions to the abortion debate can help those who answer realize that Roe v. Wade, far from being a good legal decision, is actually against reason.

Here are questions we can ask:

1.      From what point are we measuring viability?

When discussing Roe v. Wade, people often talk about viability, some arguing that abortion is acceptable if the child cannot survive outside the womb.  It is generally considered that a pre-born child is viable around 24 weeks.  But consider the label 24 weeks—and what that implies: To get to 24 weeks implies we started counting the passage of time 24 weeks prior.  So what happened then?  Sperm-egg fusion, otherwise known as fertilization.  Since we are counting time from there, that is actually a concession that life does not begin at 24 weeks but rather 24 weeks prior.

2.      If abortion is allowed for a woman’s life after viability, why not bring the child out alive rather than dead?

Abortion supporters will often point out that abortion after viability sometimes “needs” to happen because a pregnant woman will die without an abortion.  Since, at such later stages of pregnancy, the child could survive outside the womb, why kill the child?  Why not remove the living child and place him or her in an incubator? 

3.      Does a negative pregnancy test result ever lead to an abortion?

We know the answer is “obviously not.” So what is it that a positive test is telling a woman?  It is indicating that the pregnant woman’s body is not the only body present; rather, that there is another individual present.  And just who is that individual?  A child.  And not just any child.  Her child.  So a related question we must ask is this: What do civil societies expect of parents?  Don’t we expect parents to care for their offspring, not kill their offspring?

4.      If abortion is about a woman’s right to her own body, when does the right begin?

Several years ago, The Economist magazine had a cover story about 100 million women missing from the world as a result of sex-selective abortion and infanticide.  Isn’t it interesting that abortion is often touted as being pro-female and yet so many females are being destroyed in the womb precisely because their sex chromosomes are xx?  Don’t pre-born females have a right to their bodies?

5.      What is the legal standard when a woman sentenced to death is pregnant?

Every American state in which the death penalty is legal prohibits the execution of pregnant women.    Moreover, the United Nations’ International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights states, “Sentence of death shall not …be carried out on pregnant women.”  People sometimes debate whether guilty individuals should get the death penalty, but people always agree that innocent individuals should not get the death penalty. To withhold capital punishment from a guilty woman for the sole reason that she is pregnant is to make a concession that within her body is an innocent child.

6.      What do abortion procedures and promoters tell us about abortion?

In the National Abortion Federation’s textbook on abortion (“A Clinician’s Guide to Medical and Surgical Abortion”) in chapter 10 (co-authored by abortionist Martin Haskell) it refers to “Fetocidal Techniques.”  What is the meaning of the root word “cide”?  It means to kill.  We do not kill that which is not living.  So to speak of killing the fetus is yet another admission about the pre-born child: Namely, that she is living.

That chapter on D & E abortions after 12 weeks also refers to “some pregnancy elements” such as “the spinal cord and calvarium.”  Spinal cord and calvarium of who?  Clearly not the pregnant woman.  Those are the body parts of the child.  If we acknowledge these major parts of the child, all the more shouldn’t we acknowledge the child to whom they belong?

Next, while Planned Parenthood is known for committing abortions, interestingly even they, several decades ago, made a startling admission:  In a 1952 brochure of theirs on birth control they answered the question, “Is [birth control] abortion?” by saying, “Definitely not…An abortion… kills the life of a baby after it has begun.”

7.      What became of Roe in Roe v. Wade?

Most people are unaware that the very woman, Norma McCorvey, who is represented as the Roe in Roe v. Wade, never had the abortion that brought her case to the Supreme Court to begin with.  Moreover, she later became pro-life and wanted the decision reversed. 

8.      What is the greatest love—and its opposite?

These are questions asked over at abort73.   From a Christian perspective, the greatest love is seen in the person of Jesus Christ: “No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends” (John 15:13) and “This is my body given for you” (Luke 22:19).  Even the non-religious accept this standard; citing, for example, the firefighters who ran into the burning buildings on 9-11.  Their actions were also an example of the greatest love.  If the greatest love says, “This is my body given for you” then the opposite of the greatest love says, “This is your body given for me.”  Whereas motherhood selflessly declares, “This is my body given for you,” its opposite, reflected in abortion, selfishly demands, “This is your body given for me.”

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How to Communicate with a Friend Considering Abortion, by Stephanie Gray

“I’m pregnant, and I want an abortion.”

  How should one react when a friend says those words? 

  I am routinely (and as recently as the day I write this) contacted by friends (and strangers) who have friends who are considering abortion.  “What should I do?” they ask. “What should I say?” they wonder.

  Their concern is the well-being of their friend and her pre-born child; they don’t want her to go ahead with the abortion, but they come for advice because they recognize a noble desire, while necessary, is not sufficient to save a life.  How do they actually achieve their mind-changing goal?  They follow these four steps:

1. Seek to Understand

2. Support Her

3. Inform Her

4. Be Unwavering

  Let’s look at each in more detail, with practical tools to get the message out:

1.     Seek to Understand

  Think through your past to a time when you felt utterly overwhelmed and afraid.  Think about an experience of despair where you felt helpless.  Think about what it’s like to feel panic—to feel trapped—and how that affects your decisions.

  A woman facing an unplanned pregnancy may feel any number of emotions like the above, and anything you say or do is seen through the lens of what she’s feeling.  Rather than start your exchange by jumping onto a soap box, instead, grab a Kleenex box and ask questions that give her a chance to express herself.

  Truly and deeply listen to her—what are her concerns?  People not only need to be heard, they need to feel heard.  This is achieved through affirming truth she’s expressed, and communicating compassion: 

 ·         “There is no denying that is a really difficult situation…” or,

 ·         “That is really tough; I’m sorry for your suffering…” or,

 ·         “If I’m hearing you correctly it sounds like the crisis is overwhelming, and I can imagine it would be…” 

  Notice what you’re not doing here—you’re not saying something false (“I know what it’s like” when you, in fact, don’t know what it’s like); rather, you’re formulating words that acknowledge you understand her feelings are consistent with her crisis.

  From this expression of compassion, you seek to understand by asking questions that will give her a chance to express herself, and to help identify what she’s most concerned about (which you need to know in order to address the problem—you cannot alleviate a problem you do not know exists).

  For example, ask her, “Why do you want an abortion?”

  Her response will likely involve expressing concerns about money, school, lack of support from her partner or family, feelings of inadequacy, or perhaps even pressure to abort.

  What does this show?  She does not desire abortion as an end in and of itself; rather, she sees it as a means to address a problem. Once she identifies the problem, suggest other means to address it, always through the approach of asking questions:

·         “I’m sad for you that your parents said they’d kick you out.  You’re right to be devastated by that.  What if I was to let you live with me? Would that help? [Or, what if I was to connect you to a place where you could live?]”

·         “If I’m hearing you right, it sounds like you don’t have the resources to care for a child.  What if I was to connect you to a centre that will give you the resources you need?”

RESOURCE: An excellent pregnancy help website: http://www.visitationcenterus.org/

 ·         “It sounds like you don’t feel prepared to parent a child right now, and I can understand that.  What do you think about adoption?”

RESOURCES:

adoptionincanada.ca

http://www.theradiancefoundation.org/adoption/

·         “When a person receives a poor prenatal diagnosis, it can be scary to envision a future where the child has a disability.  Have you heard of stories of people who have had positive experiences caring for children with special needs? May I share some of these with you?”

RESOURCES:

https://loveunleasheslife.com/blog/2015/12/18/so-your-child-has-down-syndrome

Everylifecounts.ie

iamviable.com

http://aspecialmotherisborn.blogspot.com/

“Choosing Thomas”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ToNWquoXqJI&t=341s

Questioning is not only important to identify her motivations to abort so you can provide alternatives, but questioning is an important tool to help her explore her “gut” feelings about abortion.  Questions that help her think beyond the present scenario, to imagine a positive situation in the future when she’s pregnant, can help bring to light her own negative feelings about the abortion procedure:

·         “Given that you just said you don’t even love the child’s father, I can understand it would be hard to envision parenting the baby.  Something that’s worth considering is if your scenario was just the opposite—if you were happily married and pregnant with a child you’d tried for so long to be pregnant with, would you ever consider abortion?  [After her answer: Why not?]”

·         “If your parents wouldn’t kick you out of the house, would you be less likely to consider abortion? Why?”

·         “If you had the financial resources you needed to raise another (or this) child, would you want to carry through with the pregnancy? Why do you think that is?”

NOTE: The point of these questions is to draw out of her any instinctive feelings of revulsion toward abortion—if she articulates that she would never kill her child in these scenarios, you can now explore her thoughts that it is a child, and whether the difficulty of her situation changes what the child is.

2.     Support Her

There’s something terrifying about being alone in moments of crisis.  There is something comforting about sharing, even a hard experience, with another soul.

  A true friend will stand by her throughout this unplanned pregnancy.  If she feels abandoned, then she may run to the abortion which she feels will get her “out” of this experience of crisis and “aloneness.”  Knowing she has someone to stand by her through the crisis will make it easier.

  Offer to be with her when she has difficult conversations with her relatives or boyfriend/husband.  Offer to go with her to the doctor.  Time is of the essence in these situations and so is generous, self-less help.  If you have to miss work or school to accompany her to a pro-life doctor the next morning, do it.  Offer to accompany her to a pregnancy help center.  As a friend, it’s important to remember you aren’t a professional.  Correspondingly, remember that professionals aren’t friends, and offering to be present when she gets assistance from them will make her feel more supported than simply giving her a phone number to call.

NOTE: When she gets professional assistance, ensure that the people you recommend for this are 100% pro-life.  Tragically, some individuals and groups that are labeled “Christian” don’t always hold a consistent pro-life ethic, and this requires you be extra vigilant in your recommendations.

  FURTHER NOTE: Get to know your local pro-life doctors and local pregnancy care center staff as soon as possible, before you meet someone in crisis.  The more information you can give to your friend about who works where, what they offer, and how friendly they are, the more likely it will be that she will call or visit.  And remember—offer to accompany her.

  Part of being a support is helping her see goodness in a future that she thinks looks grim.  Being on the outside, you have the chance to paint a picture of hope when she feels despair, to help her consider how short-term gain can bring about long-term pain, whereas short-term pain can bring about long-term gain.

  This message, handed out by pro-life activist Mary Wagner to women going to abortion clinics, speaks important words of hope to women in crisis:

“You were made to love and to be loved.  Your goodness is greater than the difficulties of your situation. Circumstances in life change.  A new life, however tiny, brings the promise of unrepeatable joy.  There is still hope!”

3.     Inform Her

It is possible to communicate truth without love, but it is impossible to communicate love without truth.  Loving your friend therefore means communicating the truth about the abortion she says she wants.

  Certainly how you communicate that truth matters.  You need to be sensitive and should continue to use questions as much as possible, but you nonetheless need to impart some hard truths.  When providing information, you should convey three things:

·         The humanity of her pre-born child,

·         The inhumane nature of abortion, and

·         How abortion can hurt her

Let’s look at each of these in more detail:

The humanity of her pre-born child

A lot of women are unaware of just how rapidly their pre-born children are growing (for example, that a baby’s heartbeat has been detected at 3 weeks, and brainwaves have been detected at 6 weeks).  Ask a question like this:

“May I take you to a site which has amazing scientific facts of your baby’s development?”

RESOURCE: The Endowment for Human Development: http://www.ehd.org/  This is a fetal-maternal health website with prenatal development facts, along with actual video footage and 3D and 4D ultrasound.

Helping her bond with her child is key; two other ways to do this is through giving her a fetal model to hold, which helps her visualize her baby, and encouraging her to give a nickname to her child, for it’s harder to kill someone we’ve named and connected with.

RESOURCE: First-trimester fetal model: Order at www.lifecyclebooks.com (or ask your local pro-life society to give you one) 

The inhumane nature of abortion

Remember, you’re having this conversation with your friend because she said she wants an abortion.  But does she know what abortion actually entails?  It is essential that you convey the facts of the procedure.  You can ask,

“What do you know of the abortion procedure?  I have some knowledge of abortion and I believe you deserve to know what I do. May I share some information with you?”

RESOURCES:

Nucleus Medical Media: http://catalog.nucleusmedicalmedia.com/search?q=abortion&submit=&search_language=-1&search_type=&search_category=

First-Trimester Medical Abortion: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lRDnVSMr5j0

First-Trimester Surgical Abortion: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5THDmys8z30&t=6s

Second-Trimester Surgical Abortion: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jgw4X7Dw_3k

Third-Trimester Induction Abortion: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r5Af8vIym2o

Abortion: Before & After: https://vimeo.com/41433061

  When trying to explain that your motivation to share what you know comes from a place of goodness, you could use this analogy:

“Imagine there’s water with poison in it—whoever drinks it will die. Now imagine you are thirsty and, not knowing the water is poisoned, you drink it.  Would you have knowingly committed suicide?”  She’ll say no.  Then continue, “Now imagine that I know there’s poison in the water and you don’t.  I see you grab the glass and I don’t warn you what’s in it.  You drink it and die.  Have I just been an accomplice to your murder?”  She’ll say yes.  Then connect the dots: “In the same way, I know some pretty shocking things about the abortion procedure, and if I don’t share these things, then I’d be guilty of withholding life-saving information.  That’s not fair to you.” 

Some people have an unfounded fear that using abortion victim imagery could do harm to a woman faced with an unplanned pregnancy. You don’t lose anything by showing her imagery. But you potentially lose something by not showing the pictures: her baby’s life.

Remember all the fears that are motivating your friend to abort? Those fears are very real in her mind; they are immediate problems. If she continues to maintain the idea that her pre-born child is not a baby and that abortion is not an act of violence that will kill that baby, then it will be easier for her to have the abortion than to deal with her problems. Your challenge is to make your friend more horrified of the abortion than she is terrified of her unplanned pregnancy. Pictures do that.

  Admittedly, you need to be discerning in your one-on-one interactions about when to use any material. Be gentle, listen, and when it comes to showing pictures, tell her that you care for her and that you want her to be informed of everything she needs to know about abortion

  Finally, be encouraged that using this information doesn’t just work in theory—it works in practice.  For example, a Los Angeles pregnancy center not only offers to show an abortion video to each client, but they provide a copy of that video for the client to take home.  In 2011, they conducted a survey of all mothers who chose life for their babies at the center after initially contemplating abortion.  80% of their clients who chose life said the video was the number one thing that helped them choose life for their babies. 

  When the women take a copy of the video home with them, it also helps them to convince husbands, boyfriends, parents or other people who might be pressuring them to abort that abortion is a terrible choice.  Showing the abortion video to parents pressuring their teen to abort helps them to understand the profound damage to their daughter (and grandchild) whom they love and want to protect.  It is good to show the video to everyone influencing her decision.  Further, some clients have reported giving their copy of the video to pregnant friends who in turn opted against abortion. 

That is consistent with this post below an abortion video on Youtube:

  “A big thank you goes out to whoever posted this video.  I scheduled an appointment with Planned Parenthood to have this procedure and wanted to learn more because they wouldn't give me any information. I'm calling to cancel right now. I don't want my baby ripped to shreds.”

How abortion can hurt her

Because abortion kills children it hurts women.  It goes against human nature to kill one’s offspring—that is why abortion can adversely affect women emotionally.  It goes against the nature of a woman’s body to unnaturally and prematurely interrupt pregnancy the way abortion does—that is why abortion can adversely affect women physically.  Consider asking your friend,

  “Have you heard about the complication risks of abortion?  May I share what I know with you?”

RESOURCES:

https://www.deveber.org/complications/

abortionbreastcancer.com

afterabortion.org

silentnomoreawareness.org

4.     Be Unwavering

  Remember the earlier comment that being alone in moments of crisis is terrifying?  That is true not only for the unplanned pregnancy, but also for the abortion procedure.  The act of abortion could be, in her mind, a terrifying moment she wishes not to endure alone.  Knowing she’ll be without a friend could be enough to convince her not to do it.  But if you are present, that could make her abortion experience easier to endure. This is why it is essential that if, after your best effort to convince her of abortion’s wrongness, she goes ahead with the procedure, that you not go with her, not drop her off, not pick her up, not facilitate her decision in any way.

  Keep this principle in mind: friends don’t drive friends to abortion clinics.  After all, if your friend was going to beat up her baby brother and you failed in convincing her not to, would you participate in that action, even if only to “be there to support her”?

  If your friend does abort and then realizes at some future point that she made a mistake, and if you had in some way facilitated that abortion, she’ll wonder why you did that when you knew it was wrong. She may even hold you partially responsible, and rightly so. But if you demonstrate integrity through your unwavering views and consistent action, this could be the factor that convinces your friend not to have the abortion—after all, actions speak louder than words.

  Consider how you could explain your refusal to go with her:

  “Because I love you, I can’t go with you.  Because to love you is to desire your good, and I know too much—I can’t erase what I know about abortion and I know it won’t be good for you or your baby.  If I go with you, if I help you get there, then I’d be betraying you.  I’d no longer be guided by what’s best for you, but what’s best for me (namely, just making sure you aren’t mad at me). I love you enough that I’ll endure you being mad at me—even feeling hate towards me—rather than help you do something I fear you’ll regret in the future.”

  Hopefully, though, it won’t come to making that statement.  Because when you seek to understand and communicate truth in love, you can go far in convincing your friend to make a life-affirming choice.

A similar version of this document first appeared at https://www.endthekilling.ca/blog

Present at a Birth, by Stephanie Gray

     I couldn’t have known when I said yes to a speaking commitment 8 months ago, that it would allow for a Divine Appointment that would make one of my dreams come true—a dream I had been waiting for since 2006.  On April 28, 2018, twelve years after writing my dream list in which number 37 was “be present at a birth,” I was the unexpected support person for my friend’s out-of-town—and emergency—caesarean section.  As a quote attributed to Paul Carvel says, “To witness the birth of a child is our best opportunity to experience the meaning of the word miracle.”

     Last August, I agreed to speak in Michigan this past April 24.  Being so close to Windsor, after the event I drove across the border to visit some of my Ontario friends.  As it should happen, my friend’s cousin, also a friend of mine, planned to join us for my last weekend there.  Angie came with her 4 born daughters and her 37-week baby girl in-utero.  She brought her family’s only vehicle, leaving behind in her small town her husband and 4 sons.  The plan was to go to a banquet dinner Friday night and have a girls shopping day Saturday.  But when Angie started having contractions soon after arriving, it seemed like the weekend was not going to go exactly as planned.

     First there was the hospital visit to be checked out.  Then there was the hospital admission.  Then there was the 4am assessment from the doctor that that baby needed to come out, that morning, and by C-section. 

“This is my body given for you” -Luke 22:19

     Journeying with Angie through the process reminded me of Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemani.  Hers was a real suffering: She was in pain; her husband was not there; she wasn’t where she lived; her own doctor was not present; she didn’t want to be cut open; she wanted to try a VBAC.   It wasn’t supposed to happen at this time, in this way.  The prayer of Jesus became her lived experience: “My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will” (Matthew 26:39).  So surgery would happen.  After Angie was prepped, I was brought into the operating room to sit next to her, and for those unaware of how a C-section works, the mother’s arms are stretched out like she’s on a cross.  As she lay there, riddled with anxiety about being aware while being cut open, her experience was once again like Christ’s: “This is my body given for you.”  Angie would do what motherhood has continually called her to do—to be other-focused, to lay down her life.  In short, to love.  But with the impending arrival of her baby, soon a resurrection would follow this type of crucifixion.

     I don’t know what was going through the mind of the Ob/Gyn and his resident as they performed surgery, but if I could have selected a “soundtrack” for them as they cut into the person of Angie to retrieve the person of Mackenzie, it would be these words of Joseph Cardinal Mindszenty:

     “The most important person on earth is a mother.  She cannot claim the honor of having built Notre Dame Cathedral.  She need not.  She has built something more magnificent than any cathedral—a dwelling for an immortal soul, the tiny perfection of her baby's body.  The Angels have not been blessed with such a grace.  They cannot share in God's Creative miracle to bring new Saints to Heaven.  Only a human mother can.  Mothers are closer to God the Creator than any other creatures.  God joins forces with mothers in performing this act of creation.  What on God's good earth is more glorious than this: To be a mother?”

“It’s like watching fire.”

     After I got to cut the cord, I held 6 pounds and 3 ounces of pure goodness up to Angie so she could see her little one.  While the doctors were still working on Angie’s abdomen, she did what she could from her awkward angle to plant tender kisses on Mackenzie and we both just stared in awe.  Then Angie said, “It’s like watching fire.”  Having just come out of a long winter where I had sat in the presence of more fires than usual, I thought about how fire draws one in.  Fire captivates.  It hushes people to silence.  It comforts.  It leaves you in wonder.  On a cold winter evening, in the presence of a fireplace, you’re drawn into the present moment, into what is in front of you, and everything else fades away.  That’s what this silent, tiny, vulnerable little baby did for us.

Reverent Silence

     As the doctors were finishing sewing Angie up, a nurse asked me to bring baby Mackenzie and follow her to the recovery room.  After she helped me get the surgical gown off, she walked away, leaving sweet one and me alone for about 15 minutes.  Blown away with incredulity of all that had just happened, I was tempted to immediately text my 3 best friends from childhood, all of whom are doctors and have regularly experienced what was a first time for me.  But then I thought, “No, the time for communicating with others is for later.  Now is the time to just be with Mackenzie and revel in the gift of her life, in the gift of her presence.”  And so together we simply were.  Me cradling innocence and beauty.  Someone who was unrepeatable and irreplaceable.  Never was before.  Never would be again.  Perfectly unique. 

     Robert Cardinal Sarah once wrote, “Through silence, we return to our heavenly origin, where there is nothing but calm, peace, repose, silent contemplation, and adoration of the radiant face of God.”

     Was this what it was like for Mary cradling baby Jesus?

     Mackenzie breathed gently.  Her one eye opened while the other was sealed shut by the vernix yet to be cleaned off.  At one point she rooted (“Sorry, baby girl, on that front I can’t help you!  Momma’s coming soon!”). 

     As we waited, I prayed. Tracing the sign of the cross on her forehead, praying over her future… that she would always love the Lord… that she would resist temptation to sin… that she would run to the mercy of Christ when she failed…that her earthly journey would ultimately take her to her Heavenly home.

     And then music came to my heart, and so I sang: “Oh Lord my God, when I in awesome wonder, consider all the works Thy hands have made…Then sings my soul, my Savior God to Thee, how great Thou art, how great Thou art.”

Love Doesn’t Divide.  It Multiplies.

     My flight to Vancouver was scheduled for that afternoon, and so a few hours later I found myself on a plane home.  Mackenzie’s birth was to finish my two week work trip which began with debating an abortionist at the University of California, Berkeley, in front of 200 of his students.  As I thought about how my trip began—and how it ended—I wished that those students could experience what I just had, that they could know intimately, personally, the pure gift of life, that they could experience the awe and wonder that comes with pregnancy and birth—if we allow ourselves to see it.  That they could understand that new life isn’t to be feared but instead to be revered.  That they could believe that when a woman becomes a mother she isn’t reduced to the status of slave but is instead lifted to new heights of love. 

     My wish for the students is that they could come to know what Angie texted me today: “Being open to life and being gifted all these babies, I believe is a testament to how God’s love multiplies. When you have one kid, you can’t fathom having enough love for another one—but you do.  And so it is with each subsequent child.  It makes it easy to understand how much God loves me!!! (And you) :).”

     Amen.