Difficulties with Defending Life

by Patti Maguire Armstrong | February 28, 2014 4:33 am

Forget parachuting or haunted houses for chills.  If you want scary, try walking into a pro-choice demonstration and saying a few “Our Fathers.”  Last spring, some friends and I crashed a rally advocating for the right to abort babies. I wrote an article about it, “Crashing an Abortion Rally,” and received some nasty comments.  But that was nothing compared to the wall of hate at the rally that was so thick we could feel it.

Recently, I’ve been asked to help pass North Dakota’s Human Life Amendment on this November’s ballot. It aims to assure the right to life for everyone regardless of age, gender, abnormality or infirmity.  It will not automatically end abortion but when prolife legislation is passed, it can prevent a judge from overturning it.

I’m totally in favor of life; I think everyone should have one.  So, even though I hate conflict and I’m sort of afraid of haters, I will do my best to help pass this amendment. We will be fighting against out-of-state special interests.  Having even one state defending all life would be one too many for these folks, (Planned Parenthood and friends.)  They know that as soon as one state outlaws killing, others might get the same smart idea.

You Only Have One Body

Why is defending life so hard?  One reason is that the arguments keep changing.  It used to be that pro-abortionists claimed the baby was just a blob of tissue. Nowadays, thanks to the view provided by ultrasounds, abortion advocates have a new tune.  “It’s my body!” is the battle cry.  I agree completely.  It’s your body. It has always been your body. Even before your mother gave birth to you, it was your body.  It’s your body now and it will always be your body.  But you only have one.  If there is another one, it’s not yours.

And you needed nutrition from the womb before you were born, and still needed nutrition after you were born.  Needing nutrition does not make you a parasite.

The fact that some women don’t feel like becoming mothers has nothing to do with whether a baby has a right to its life.  Since so many women regret their abortions, it’s clear opinions change.  An opinion should not dictate who lives and who dies.

Life is a miracle. No human can create it. No human has the right to destroy it.  Women need love and support but not help killing their babies.

Pro-women vs. Pro-money

Abortion makes money off of women.  They don’t want to stop making money so they keep fighting for new customers. The CEO of Planned Parenthood took in 400k last year, and her company made over a billion dollars, primarily through abortions—thanks to taxpayers, too.  Abortionists do care deeply about women, up until the abortion is over.   Where are they though, when a post-abortive woman needs a shoulder to cry on?  Or she needs medical help when something goes wrong?

It is the prolife side that offers healing.  It is also the crises pregnancy centers  (non-profit, mind you) that help women; even post-abortive women.

It is well documented that getting rid of one so-called problem—the baby—creates other bigger problems.  Short- and long-term risks to the physical and mental health are well documented.  Women are more likely to die from legal abortions than from childbirth too.  Large studies[1] from Finland, Denmark and the U.S. found that maternal mortality rates after abortion were significantly higher than after childbirth and the increased mortality rates persist at least 10 years following abortion.  Also many women become sterile after abortion.  I’ve interviewed some.

For those who scream at us to get our rosaries off their ovaries, and think pro-lifers are a bunch of religious fanatics, they should know that many atheists are radically pro-life; God bless them!  Kathryn Reed is a good example.  She shares her passion for life in this essay[2]. There are many non-religious pro-life groups such as the Atheist and Agnostic Pro-Life League[3] “…because life is all there is and all that matters, and abortion destroys the life of an innocent human being.”

People come up with many reasons for ending lives:  wrong sex, disabled, (as if we don’t all have disabilities; physical, spiritual, or emotional) too old, too sick, to inconvenient, etc.  But like slavery, life cannot be owned; only lived.  We do not even own our own life; we did not create it, we have no right to destroy it.

Every single life is our business because every life is precious and deserving of protection.  And ever piece of legislation related to life, is of concern to all of us.  Please pray daily for every life and for every pro-life battle.

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Follow @PattiArmstrong

Patti Maguire Armstrong and her husband have ten children. She is an award-winning author and was managing editor and co-author of Ascension Press’s Amazing Grace Series. She has appeared on TV and radio stations across the country.  Her latest books, Big Hearted: Inspiring Stories from Everyday Families[4] and children’s book, Dear God, I Don’t Get It[5] are both available now.

To read more, visit Patti’s Catholic News and Inspiration site[6]. Follow her on Facebook at Big Hearted Families[7] and Dear God Books[8].

Looking for a Catholic Speaker? Check out Patti’s speaker page[9] and the rest of the ICL Speaker’s Bureau.

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