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I'm interested how forum members might respond to the accusation that we pro-life people are really only pro-birth; i.e., an attempt to dismiss the entire pro-life movement by suggesting that we lose interest in the issues facing mother and child as soon as the baby is born. Any thoughts on this? Thanks.
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pro-life people are really only pro-birth; i.e., an attempt to dismiss the entire pro-life movement by suggesting that we lose interest in the issues facing mother and child as soon as the baby is born. This is purely propaganda; it's comparable to us saying that pro-abortion people believe that the only good pregnacy is an aborted one. Both thoughts are false and hatefilled. Most organized pro-life groups also conduct or contribute to diaper and maternity clothing drives. For many years our chapter's biggest expenditure was for such help.
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I'm going to play the devil's advocate here, but wouldn't pro-life entail a more of a seamless garment approach?
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I belong to a group that would answer that by the help, training, and support they offer women who is faced with a life that seems out of control.
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I'm interested how forum members might respond to the accusation that we pro-life people are really only pro-birth; i.e., an attempt to dismiss the entire pro-life movement by suggesting that we lose interest in the issues facing mother and child as soon as the baby is born. Any thoughts on this? Thanks. This is a purposeful attempt to mislead and split pro-lifers. One aspect of the logic they are using is that unless we in the pro-life community support the redistribution of wealth to provide taxpayer funds for the raising of the children who are not aborted then we really can’t claim to be pro-life because we want the baby to be born but we don’t want any part of raising it. This is, of course, false, since pro-lifers are very active in helping mothers in need (and keeping state involvement to a minimum is not a life issue). What the pro-abortion supporters forget is the idea of being responsible for one’s action. If one chooses to engage in activity that leads to the creation of human life then one is responsible for that human life. We are obliged as Christians to help them but it would be wrong to take over their task (unless one chooses to give the wonderful gift of adoption). I'm going to play the devil's advocate here, but wouldn't pro-life entail a more of a seamless garment approach? One needs to specifically define what one means. A seamless garment approach (a theology mostly abandoned by the Church because it is problematic, and any use of it must be carefully stated) would teach that one must certainly help care for all children but that the primary responsibility of raising children falls to the parents. A seamless garment approach would not, for example, include being against the death penalty since the Church discerns between innocent human life (the taking of which is immoral) and non-innocent human life (people can freely choose to commit acts for which can cause the state to execute them).
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sielos:
Christ is in our midst!!
I'm pro-life and I have had the privilege to supervise the end-of-life of an elderly uncle some years ago. I used my medical Power of attorney to override his advanced directive which said he didn't want feeding or hydration. What he meant was if were in a coma following some catastrophic event, he didn't want extraordinary methods used. However, he had a stroke that only took away his ability to swallow and the doctors thought they'd just let him starve to death. Needless to say, I intervened and told them this was not extraordinary under the circumstances--he lived for 8 months quite comfortably with a feeding tube and hydration; very lucid and quite able to speak, talk to the chaplain, pray, and otherwise enjoy some more months of life.
That's pro-life--being concerned for the youngest, the oldest, and the most vulnerable in our society, and being willing to advocate for them in the strongest possible terms.
Bob
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I'm interested how forum members might respond to the accusation that we pro-life people are really only pro-birth; i.e., an attempt to dismiss the entire pro-life movement by suggesting that we lose interest in the issues facing mother and child as soon as the baby is born. Any thoughts on this? Thanks. It's a willfully ignorant position, that deliberately refuses to pay any attention to the relevant facts. Significant effort goes into helping unwed mothers, for example. But acknowledging such things would be letting facts get in the way of propoganda. I've seen this in the trenches, and there's just no support for the pro-abortion stereotypes.
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After working professionally for 18 years with adults with mental and physical disabilities, currently a volunteer for the Assiciation for Retarded Citizens, and a lifetime nephew of two handicapped uncles I feel that the Right to Life and their political lobby basically overlooks these most vulnurable individuals.
Thank heaven there are some religious orders and institutes (L'Arche communities,) plus various devoted individuals (who typically work for peanuts) willing to help handicapped people. Society at large, including we workers for the Kingdom of Heaven keep dropping the ball.
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Dear Stefan,
Ideally, if there were unlimited resources and volunteers I'm sure the pro-life movement would be more involved. Since this is not our situation our focus is on the most endangered and the most vulnerable. It is the unborn and the physically helpless elderly who most need advocates as their very life is endangered.
Children and adults with mental and physical handicaps do indeed need special attention but, unlike the endangered unborn human persons, they receive a great amount of private, public and taxpayer funding and hundreds of thousands of volunteers, with numerous public fund drives. For example the greatest percentage of education funding increases has been granted to special education.
We are compassionate and sympathetic to your cause. Right now at this very moment there are groups in the medical and public field who are encourage pregnant women to have exams which will find "defective" unborn babies and encourage those mothers to kill these innocents. Surely you will agree that ARC should naturally be allied with the pro-life cause to end this legal war against the most vulnerable.
Thank you for your professional efforts; most of us in the pro-life field are unpaid.
May God reward your good work for your "neighbor", Fr Deacon Paul
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