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The Ugliness of Abortion Lent All life is Sacred Anniversary of Roe vs Wade January 07 February 07 March 07 April 07 May 07 June 07 July 07 August 07 September 07 October 07 November 07 December 07 January 08 February 08 March 08 April 08 May 08 June 08 July 08 August 08 September 08 October 08
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Wrongful birth’ suit criticized by pro-lifers
By Gail Besse
4/9/2007 The Anchor (www.fallriverdiocese.org/resources.asp) FALL RIVER, Mass. (The Anchor) - The lawsuit brought by a mother whose botched abortion resulted in her daughter being born alive unmasks the real cruelty of the abortion culture, Catholic pro-life advocates agree.
“The heart of the abortion culture is not about the rights of the mother. It’s about making sure the baby is dead,” said Father David Mullen of Bellingham, an executive board member of Massachusetts Citizens for Life. “The idea is sick - that doctors are supposed to kill a child in the womb and be punished if the child isn’t dead.” The case made national news after the Boston Globe first reported it March 7. Although the incredible idea of so-called “wrongful birth” or “wrongful life” lawsuits has grown since the legalization of abortion, previous cases apparently centered on medical problems the babies had. Although pro-lifers and spokesmen for the disabled repudiated such “quality of life” thinking, abortion advocates capitalized on this strategic legal wedge. However, this proposed suit makes no mention of medical problems; rather it states the mother sought an abortion for financial reasons, according to the article. On March 1, Jennifer Raper, 45, of Charlestown, Mass.,filed a complaint in Suffolk Superior Court against Planned Parenthood and two doctors. She had given birth on Dec. 7, 2004 after a failed abortion, and is seeking damages and the cost of raising her 2-year-old daughter. Dr. Allison Bryant, who worked for Planned Parenthood, performed the abortion in April 2004, but it “was not done properly, causing the plaintiff to remain pregnant,” according to the medical malpractice complaint. Raper then went to see Dr. Benjamin Eleonu at Boston Medical Center in July 2004, and he failed to detect the pregnancy even though she was 20 weeks pregnant at the time, the Globe reported. It was only when Raper went to the New England Medical Center emergency room for treatment of pelvic pain in late September that she found out she was pregnant, the suit said. Neither Planned Parenthood nor the doctors being sued for negligence are commenting on the complaint, which must be reviewed by a panel before the court determines if it will go to trial. That process could take about eight months, Raper’s attorney Barry Reed Jr. of Boston said March 27. He and his client are also not commenting. Father Mullen observed, “The parents aren’t thinking about scarring the psyche of this girl for the rest of her life, when she realizes that every time they look at her they see a botched abortion. What they should be thinking is: Thank God the mistake we made didn’t result in the death of our child. Obviously, somebody convinced this mother she might make some money here.” And Planned Parenthood’s pockets do go deep, with much of its money coming from taxpayers. As the nation’s leading abortion chain, it pulled in federal funding of $272 million in 2005, twice what it made from it s 255,000 abortions that year, according to the Family Research Council. Genevieve Kineke of East Greenwich, R.I., author of “The Authentic Catholic Woman,” said in an interview, “Sadly, this is the logical consequence of reducing the human person to a commodity. It follows that if life is not sacred (and even its value is driven by supply and demand) then a child is seen either as a tax break or a tuition bill, as an accessory or even a source of ‘spare parts.’ “We are so dead to the hidden treasures, the joys and even rich sorrows that relationships can provide that we can’t see past the price tag - and even if this woman wins her lawsuit, she will be the poorer for it.” Judie Brown, president of American Life League, commented about Raper, “Lord, how this woman must need our prayers.” In an online article, Brown wrote that we now suffer from a mentality whereby people “see children as problems, pregnancy as an illness almost worse than cancer, and selfless love as a joke.” Since the legalization of abortion in 1973, almost 48 million American children have been killed.(Disgusting isn't it) “That the phrase ‘wrongful birth’ exists and a mother would ever conceive of making a legal case out of wishing her kid was never born does always seem to me a clear sign the end is nigh and Judgment Day won’t be merciful to our national soul,” National Review Online Editor Kathryn Jean Lopez wrote about Raper’s suit. After the case became public, the online pro-life news source LifeSite News summarized some previous “wrongful life” decisions. In 2003, a Canadian doctor was ordered to pay $325,000 to parents whose child he failed to diagnose with Down syndrome before birth, and therefore in time to have her aborted. In 2006, Ohio banned “wrongful life” lawsuits that claimed parents could have aborted their baby had a doctor diagnosed a disability in the unborn child. Father Frank Pavone of Priests for Life applauded lawmakers in a release saying, “The disabled are like everyone else. They’re better off loved, not better off dead.” Also last year, an Italian court ruled such suits were invalid in Italy, saying there could be no such thing as a “right not to be born.” Most recently, the Vatican spokesman to the United Nations at Geneva emphasized the dignity of human life. In a March 23 address to the Human Rights Council, Archbishop Silvano Tomasi said, “The first right of children is that of being born.”
I thought I would blog to let others share what they have given up or pledged to do during Lent. I personally gave up alcohol, which is a feat for an irishman seeing as St Patricks Day is during Lent, and I am going to pray the rosary every day.
Reject abortion, euthanasia, defend family against societal challenges, Benedict urges2/5/2007
Catholic Online (www.catholic.org) VATICAN CITY (Catholic Online) – Reject abortion and euthanasia and all attempts to dispose of life under the guise of human mercy, said Pope Benedict XVI.
In a Feb. 4 remarks delivered before praying the Angelus in the midst of a reported crowd of about 30,000 pilgrims and tourists, the pope spoke out for the sanctity of human life “from conception to natural death” and in defense of the family and traditional marriage. Pope Benedict’s comments were made on the Italian Catholic Church’s observance of Day of Life and beginning of the Week of Life and Family. He called on all gathered at St. Peter’s Square and to all the faithful “to witness to their commitment in favor of life, from conception to natural death” and “to receive the great and mysterious gift of life.” The pope linked threats to the unborn through abortion and to those who are mentally and physically handicapped facing premature termination of life through euthanasia. “Life, which is the work of God, must not be denied to any one, not even the smallest and defenseless newborn, and much less so when he has serious handicaps,” Pope Benedict said. “I urge you not to fall into the deception of thinking that one can dispose of life to the point of legitimizing its interruption with euthanasia, masking it perhaps with a veil of human mercy,” he said, only days after Italian doctor Mario Riccio who disconnected life support of a paralyzed man, Piergiorgio Welby, was cleared of any wrongdoing by a medical panel. He tied his message on life from womb to tomb to role of the family as “the cradle of life and of every vocation.” “The family, based on marriage, constitutes the natural environment for the birth and education of children and, therefore, to ensure the future of the whole of humanity,” he said. The pope pointed to the “profound crisis” and “numerous challenges faced by the family, as a debate rages in Italy in anticipation of the government considering legislation later this month to grant legal status to same-sex couples. He called it “the duty of spouses … of the church and of all public institutions” to support the institution of the family in such ways that “take into account the real needs of spouses, of the elderly and of the new generations.” “It is necessary to defend, protect and value it in its unique and irreplaceable character,” Benedict said of the family. The pope offered a prayer that “our communities may become places of communion and hope, in which is renewed, despite the many difficulties, the great ‘yes’ of authentic love to the reality of the human being and of the family, according to the original plan of God.” “Let us ask the Lord, through the intercession of Mary most holy, that respect will grow for the sacred character of life, that there will be ever greater awareness of genuine family needs, and that the number will increase of those who contribute to bring about in the world the civilization of love,” he prayed. What a great story of a life that was brought into this world, against the advice of others, and this beautiful little girl turned out to be fine. Just one of the many children that were given a chance at life against all odds and were born perfectly healthy. I applaud this family and all others who cherish life and chose to have there children, even though they might have physical or mental handicapps. They don't look at these children as burdens, they look at them as blessings.
EL PASO, Texas (CNS/Rio Grande Catholic) – El Pasoan Sofia Alomia will celebrate her first birthday this January much like any other toddler. However, amid the cake and presents, Sofia's parents, Yvonne and Santiago Alomia, will take time from the joyous celebration to commemorate the millions of babies killed by abortion.
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![]() MOTHER PLAYS WITH DAUGHTER – Yvonne Alomia plays with her daughter Sofia in their home in El Paso, Texas. Sofia will celebrate her first birthday this year on the Jan. 22 anniversary of the Roe v. Wade decision. Her mother Yvonne feels that is significant because during a difficult pregnancy she was frequently advised to have an abortion rather than carry Sofia to term. (CNS/Rio Grande Catholic) Sofia was born Jan. 22, 2006 – the 33rd anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court's Roe v. Wade decision legalizing abortion throughout the nine months of pregnancy. She could be considered a miracle baby not only because of her date of birth but because several doctors, fearing she might have a severe cardiovascular disorder, repeatedly urged her parents throughout the pregnancy to abort her. But Yvonne Alomia refused to consider abortion, despite the repeated urging of doctors, colleagues, friends and her own patients from her optometrist practice. Sofia was born with heart problems. When she was 3 days old she had heart surgery. She is due to have a second surgery after her first birthday and faces additional heart surgeries but her parents are optimistic. "We would not do anything differently," Alomia said, and Sofia's every smile proves that "it has definitely been worth all the trials." During her third month of gestation, Sofia was diagnosed with DiGeorge velo-cardio-facial syndrome; a portion of her 22nd chromosome was missing. It can result in conditions ranging from relatively mild to severe, including cleft palate, Down syndrome, immune deficiencies, kidney abnormalities and cardiovascular diseases. The concern for Sofia was cardiovascular. Two fetal echocardiograms showed no pulmonary arteries from the baby's heart to her lungs, which meant she might die shortly after birth or have a range of critical medical problems affecting her health and life. The doctors said the arteries perhaps existed and maybe were too undeveloped to see, but they also strongly encouraged Alomia to terminate the pregnancy. Alomia and her husband concentrated on what Sofia would need after she was born. Late in the pregnancy, Sofia's heart was enlarged and appeared to fill her chest cavity, making successful heart surgery questionable. Still, Alomia refused to consider aborting her baby but sought advice from doctors, priests and El Paso Bishop Armando X. Ochoa on making a decision regarding extraordinary medical measures, including immediate surgery after birth, which might only cause Sofia pain without increasing her chances of survival. "We just wanted to make the best decision according to the progress that Sofia made or did not make," Alomia said in an interview with The Rio Grande Catholic, El Paso's diocesan newspaper. "We were expecting her to die within hours of birth since no pulmonary arteries were seen and it was the most probable outcome," she said. A Caesarean section was scheduled for Jan. 24, 2006, but during morning Mass Jan. 22 Alomia went into labor and the doctors decided to deliver the baby at 3 p.m. Alomia considers the day and time of Sofia's birth no mere coincidence. She credits the intercession of a neonatal nurse on duty at the El Paso hospital who began praying her Divine Mercy chaplet when Sofia was delivered, who convinced the neonatal doctor to take a second look at the baby and who talked Alomia into surgery for Sofia. Recalling that Jesus died at the age of 33, Alomia stated, "I do not feel that Sofia's birthday being the 33rd anniversary of Roe and the C-section starting at 3 p.m. are coincidences." Alomia feels that her difficult pregnancy was planned by God so she and her husband would "reach out to people who have had abortions and convince them of God's infinite mercy and to let people know it is wrong to abort." Although many people urged Alomia to have the abortion, many others supported her decision to nurture life. "The response was incredible and is still ongoing. The people of El Paso are beautiful people and we are thankful to God for allowing us to be surrounded by them," Alomia said. For others experiencing a difficult pregnancy, Alomia recommended Prenatal Partners for Life (www.prenatalpartnersforlife.org) for assistance and support. Alomia said she would tell those parents: "They are not alone and that God has a special plan for each and every one of us." - - - Copyright (c) 2006 Catholic News Service/U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops
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