27Th Sunday Yr a (Pro-Life & Voting)
27th Sunday Yr A (Pro-Life & Voting)
This past Thursday evening I attended an annual dinner sponsored by Kenosha Veritas Society, which works with Wisconsin Right to Life. The keynote speaker was a woman named Melissa Ohden. She related a very compelling story regarding her own birth. Melissa’s mother was a college student when she became pregnant with Melissa 37 years ago. She was not married, but she wanted to give birth to her baby. However, Melissa’s grandmother, who was a nurse, pressured her daughter, Melissa’s mother, to undergo an abortion. A saline or salt solution was used, which was intended to end Melissa’s life in the womb. However, to the amazement of everyone in the Sioux City, Iowa hospital where the procedure was performed, Melissa survived. She was eight months old when born, and weighed but three pounds.
Melissa’s own grandmother, who was a nurse, upon learning that Melissa was born alive, wanted to let her die. But two other nurses at the hospital intervened and fed little Melissa intravenously.
Amazingly, Melissa was born with no disabilities. She was put up for adoption and a loving couple received her into their home. Melissa learned about the story of her birth at about the age of fifteen. After a period of resentment and anger, she found in her heart to forgive her mother and her grandmother for what they had done, and for many years made attempts to contact them, but to no avail. One of the reasons for her failures is that the hospital for many years would not provide her with the records of her birth.
Finally, she received the records, and was able to make contact with her maternal grandparents, and with her own birth mother. She wrote to them, saying that she forgave them for their actions. Her grandmother, who had divorced her grandfather, never responded. Her grandfather has become a friend of Melissa’s own husband, and her daughters.
When Melissa finally made contact with her own birth mother, her mother was both shocked and relieved. You see, her own birth mother had never been told that Melissa survived the abortion. She had carried around great interior pain and anguish for about 30 years, thinking that she had killed her own child.
This first Sunday of October has been designated Respect Life Sunday by the bishops in the United States, ever since the infamous 1973 Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision. That decision overturned every state law in the country, and legalized the killing of unborn children in the womb throughout the full nine months of pregnancy.
Since the Roe v. Wade decision, over 55 million children have been killed within the womb in the United States. To put this number in perspective and give you an idea of the immensity of this ongoing American Holocaust, I got on the Internet and googled the latest population statistics for the state of Wisconsin; they show that there are 5.7 million people in our state. We’ve murdered almost ten times that number of unborn children over the past 41 years!
Back in 1973 and in the years preceding Roe v. Wade, the pro-abortion media and others told us that the unborn child was just a “blob of tissue.” They have stopped putting forth this lie, because it is no longer credible. Everyone knows that human life begins at the moment of conception.
In fact, the medical community has known this ever since the 1850s, when the microscope was invented, and doctors could see that human life begins at conception. In 1857, the American Medical Association appointed a committee on abortion which in 1859 presented its report, urging that the laws throughout the states in this country should change their laws to prohibit abortion from the moment of conception. Prior to this time, most states regarded abortion as a crime only after what was known as “quickening” – when unborn child could be felt moving within the womb. State legislatures responded by changing laws so that abortion was prohibited from conception
For nearly 100 years, until the 1960s, all states fully protected human life within the womb from conception. The founders of the feminist movement, e.g., Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony, condemned abortion. Consider the following quote from an article on abortion in the feminist journal, The Revolution: “The woman is awfully guilty who commits the deed. It will burden her conscience for life; it will burden her soul in death; but oh! Thrice guilty is he who, for selfish gratification, heedless of her prayers, indifferent to her fate, drove her to the desperation which impelled her to the crime.”
I know this to be the truth. For decades I have stood outside abortion mills trying to persuade women to keep their child. And even when they ignore our pleas and enter, I have great compassion for the poor women and girls, who more often than not are being escorted by their boyfriends or their parents. Most women do not choose to kill their unborn babies. They are pressured to do so by those around them, and feel frightened, lonely and abandoned. The loneliness and heartache is compounded after their boyfriends leave them after the abortion, which always happens. Then they come to me, a priest, for forgiveness, but only after carrying around their heartache for five, 10, or sometimes 40 or 50 years.
How do we stop the killing? One way is to return to chastity and purity. If children are conceived within the loving relationship between a husband and wife, the unborn child will be welcomed. Simply put, abortion is a backup for failed contraception. The Supreme Court even admits this: In the 1993 Planned Parenthood v. Casey abortion decision, the court upheld abortion on demand, saying that abortion is necessary “in the event that contraception should fail.”
Yes, we need to return to chastity and purity. But also, you must change our laws. The law is a teacher, and people often equate legality with morality: if it’s legal, it’s okay to do. The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches: “The inalienable rights to life of every innocent, individual human is a constituent element of society and its legislation” (CCC 2273). In our democratic system, laws are passed by the people that we elect to public office.
I’ll use an analogy here. Imagine if the candidate for public office were to go on record supporting a return to slavery for people of African descent, or racial segregation – a return to the old Jim Crow laws. We would never think of voting such a person into office!
The same principle must hold true in regard to abortion, and the dignity and sanctity of human life. Here we are not just talking about enslaving people, or unjustly segregating them; we are talking about murdering innocent children in the womb! Someone who is on record supporting the so-called right of putting unborn children to death by abortion should never be put into public office – rather, they should barred from holding any public office, because abortion, like any form of willful murder, is an intrinsic evil.
While it is true that we can debate about how to best alleviate the suffering of the poor, and political parties can legitimately take different positions on this issue, there is no debate about whether killing innocent children in the womb is right or wrong. It is a grave evil. Period.
I am from Chicago. I’m proud to say that as a college student I worked for Mayor Richard J. Daley. I have relatives and friends who tell me they can never in good conscience vote for someone from the Grand Old Party. I say, fine; while you may not be able to bring yourself to vote for a candidate because of a particular party affiliation, we absolutely cannot vote for any candidates who support the legalized murder of children in the womb, no matter what party they are from: Democrat, Republican, Independent – whatever; because if we do vote for such candidates and they are elected to public office and promote the pro-abortion agenda, the blood of the innocents is on our hands.
This month of October is the month of the Holy Rosary. Let us turn to the Blessed Virgin and ask her to pray for our nation, that people, especially our youth, may embrace chastity and purity. Let us beg her to pray for a change of mind and heart in all those who support abortion. And let us ask the Mother of God to intercede for all those women who are with children in the womb, that they may receive the support and strength they need from those close to them, so they may choose life for their children.
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