THEN: Saskatoon, Apr. 27, 1974: The following remarks are from a talk given by Dr. Eloise Jones, a practicing psychiatrist. "An abortion has not helped the self-image of any woman I have talked with. I was listening to a women recently who shortly after her abortion claimed it had not affected her, that it was a perfectly justified action. However, I Spring 2discovered she was very frightened lest her teenage daughter discover what she had done and had become increasingly tearful, hostile and unresponsive to her husband."
Dr. Jones cited a study by L.K. Gluckman "Some Unanticipated Complications of Therapeutic Abortion" New Zealand Medical Journal, (August 1971), which found 60% of women who were aborted two years previous were still:
1) ashamed to have a daughter find out about the abortion; 2) would not advise a daughter to abort; 3) wished they had the child; 4) felt the abortion had affected their general health; 5) often had psychosomatic problems masked in physical complaints such as headaches, backaches, inability to sleep, irritability, depression and intestinal upsets.
NOW: Project Rachel, Halifax, 2006: "I am fed up with living this lie." "I have felt an emptiness that has never gone away." "I spent every day living in shame and grieving the loss of my child." "I would not buy new clothes or go to a movie because I felt I didn't deserve it."
Nothing seems to have changed over the past 30-35 years in women's reactions to their abortion choice! But thankfully, women and men who have chosen abortion, for whatever reason, nowadays have the opportunity to choose healing. Project Rachel extends a compassionate, non-judgmental invitation to join us on this healing, hope-filled journey.
Nova Scotians United for Life invites youth from Grades 9 - 12 to participate in a Chastity Brochure Challenge! to produce brochures on chastity that would be eye-catching and informative to their peers. As with our Project Rachel brochures, messages on various topics are sometimes best received when coming from those who are sharing the experiences or similar challenges.
Deadline for entries: May 15, 2006
Entries may be obtained by contacting our office 423-3114 or through several church youth groups. Prizes awarded at the discretion of NSUL.
March 27: Annual General Meeting - Nova Scotians United for Life invites you to attend our AGM, 7pm in the Campbell Room at St. Agnes parish, corner of Mumford and Chebucto Rds. We will have a brief business meeting, yummy 'dessert delights!' and a great guest speaker, Jocelyn Simard who will tell us about the loving ministry for stillborn babies called the "Tiny Shroud". You are most welcome. For more information/directions please call 423-3114.
May 11: March for Life - There is a group planning to bus to Ottawa leaving on May 9 returning on May 13. If you are interested, please contact Herm Wills at h.wills@ns.sympatico.ca or call Campaign Life - 861-1529.
May 18: Mass of Consolation - It will be celebrated this year at St. Vincent de Paul parish, Dartmouth. This Mass is for parents, family members, and friends who are grieving the loss of a dear baby due to miscarriage, stillbirth, ectopic pregnancy or an abortion. Also, once again we want to recognize the heartache that may arise from selflessly placing your child for adoption. A warm welcome awaits each one of you. 423-9955
June: Healing Rock Garden - Keep an eye open for the exact date when we will gather to paint our baby's name on a rock and prayerfully place it in the healing rock garden. 423-9955
This is a book which comprises the insights of 200 women who have experienced rape or incest. The surprising truth: "that most women who become pregnant through sexual assault do not want an abortion!"
Here are some of their testimonies:
"After my daughter was born, it was love at first sight...I know I made the right decision in having her." Nancy
"I think that rape victims with pregnancies are discriminated against because people seem to think you are nuts to have a baby by a man who raped you." Sharon
"They say abortion is the easy way out, the best thing for everyone, but they are wrong. It has been over 15 year, and I still suffer." Rebecca
"The effects of the abortion are much more far-reaching than the effects of the rape in my life." Patricia
"Having lived through rape, and having raised a child 'conceived in rape', I feel personally assaulted and insulted every time I hear that abortion should be legal for rape and incest. I feel that we're being used to further the abortion issue, even though we are not being asked to tell our side of the story." Kathleen David C. Reardon, Julie Makimaa, Amy Sobie, eds., Victims and Victors, (Acorn Books)
A woman who has been raped does not need to be violated/assaulted again by an abortion. Rape is a traumatic life experience, but so is an abortion. The rape is not healed by the subsequent abortion.
As pro-life people, let us choose to be there for a rape victim because she deserves our compassion and support.
Are we ready to walk with her, and God, on this remarkable journey to find hope and peace? Let's ask her 'what can I do for you?, what are your needs?'
An Illinois State law reads that an 'unborn child' is a human being from the time of conception and is, therefore, a legal person.' This State's Wrongful Death Act allows lawsuits to be filed if unborn fetuses are killed in an Accident or Assault. They do not use the "A" word Abortion but it is encouraging that they do recognize the humanity of the child in the womb in certain circumstances. (Associated Press, Feb.6, 2005)
In Canada "a child becomes a human being within the meaning of this Act when it has completely proceeded, in a living state, from the body of its mother whether or not:
a) it has breathed (question: if the baby is not breathing, what do they mean by 'in a living state'?)
b) it has independent circulation, or
c) the navel string is severed." (Canadian Criminal Code)
Garry Breitkreuz (Yorkton-Melville) in a Private Members Bill, Mar. 22/01, asked the Canadian government to address this lack of recognizing the personhood of the Canadian unborn. He noted that the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Children which Canada signed stated: "the child, by reason of his physical and mental immaturity needs special safeguards and care, including appropriate legal protection, before as well as after birth."
A counter argument by Diane Bourgeois (Terrebonne - Blainville, PQ) noted that neither the Canadian Constitution nor the International Convention confer on an embryo the right to life.
Mr. Breitkreuz's bill was defeated.
Abortion would not be acceptable in Canada if we truly believed in
the personhood of the unborn child.
Some studies have shown that pregnant women with periodontal disease - a low-grade infection of the gums - are almost eight times more likely to give birth prematurely or deliver a baby that weighs less than normal.
That could be due to the fact that the body's response to fighting inflammation is similar to the signals a pregnant woman's uterus receives before she goes into labour.
The theory right now is that when you have a ..."severe infection in your mouth, your body releases prostaglandins," said Dr. Hazel Stewart, director of dental services for Toronto Public Health. "And it's that prostaglandins from your mouth that finds its way into the uterus and induces premature labour." Tue, 07 Mar 2006 07:15:54 EST CBC News
Smile - it's good for life:
Remember... a clean house is the sign of a broken computer.
Sharing the Healing Message!
Sincere thanks to several groups who invited us to speak about Project Rachel.
Jan. 17 - Women's Inter Church Council at one of their regular meetings.
Feb. 26 - Colchester Right to Life (Truro) who invited the community to hear about post-abortion healing from several Project Rachel women.
Feb. 28 - RCIA Team at St. Paul's Dart. addressing the sanctity of life.
"a complaining spirit is first a caller, then a guest, and then a master."
(Sept. 16/05, It'.s a New Day guest, Tim Sheets)
David Abrams, President of the Hospice Foundation of America, is emphasizing that we need "to educate the medical community and the general public that hospice is an appropriate care system for non-cancer terminal patients too." Parkinson's and Alzheimer's may be difficult but there are hospice models for these. Also "an important area is integrating services of hospice with long-term care." (2006)
In Memoriam:In loving memory of Edwin Hand, Norman Blinn, Nellie Cornick, and Roy Amero from Reg and Corinne Ware; In loving memory of Garnet Ehler, Zachery Raymond Hall, and Brent Amero from Paul & Jan Clark.
Nova Scotians United for Life asks you to please consider joining our Pro-Life Team (i.e. Board). You would be asked to donate 9 evenings a year
to help NSUL proclaim a positive, peaceful pro-life message.
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