NEWSLETTER  --  Spring 2007  --  Issue 36

Our prayers, for those who perform abortions, are meaningless

if we continue to use derogatory terms when referring to these persons.

A sincere thank you!... to all who made the Mission of Love pro-life conference such a success.

On March 31, DalAlive and NSUL hosted an afternoon of pro-life presentations at the Dal Student Union Building.

We want to express our sincere gratitude to those who gave talks on:

Post-abortion healing: 3 women from Project Rachel — their healing journey.
Chastity: Bill Davenport from the Valley Care Pregnancy Ctr.— the WAIT program
L’Arche: John O’Donnell, Nancy Gilbert and Tom Clancey — all life is sacred.
Adoption: Terry told of choosing adoption for her son over 20 years ago and about their happy reunion years later.

We would be remiss if we did not salute the 2 students from DalAlive who so enthusiastically worked with several of the NSUL Board Members

to make this event happen. Thanks heaps to Nicole and Julie!!

“Feeling Safe in the Womb,
Feeling Safe in the Room”

Nova Scotians United for Life, with the Project Rachel team, introduced “Feeling Safe” at the Mission of Love pro-life conference March 31.

We want the baby within the womb to feel safe so we will continue to proclaim the personhood of each unborn baby from the moment of conception.
The woman who is apprehensively facing a crisis pregnancy, we want her to feel safe in making this fragile life decision by directing her to Birthright or the Crisis Pregnancy Ctr. closest to her.
The Project Rachel women, we want them to feel safe as they share such a dark secret with truthfulness and humility.
Those in the room who have come to hear the various presentations, we want them to feel safe especially if they do not share our pro-life beliefs. We will greet them warmly and address their concerns with gentleness.

Our “Feeling Safe” focus at these events hopefully will indicate, through our words and works, our deep respect for each person.

Upcoming Events!

Mass of Consolation
Thursday, May 10, 7pm
St. Vincent de Paul Parish, Dartmouth, NS

If you have lost a child due to a miscarriage, abortion, stillbirth, ectopic pregnancy or in vitro fertilization, the Mass of Consolation offers you, the parents and family members, the opportunity to bring the pain of your loss to the Lord and to express the love you have for your dear child who died unborn. Our invitation also is extended to parents who may be experiencing heartache having placed their child for adoption. A warm welcome awaits you! 423-9955, projectrachel.ca

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Healing Rock Garden
Saturday, June 16, 9:30am
St. Vincent de Paul Parish, Dartmouth, NS

Please join us to paint your deceased unborn baby’s name on a rock to be placed in the healing rock garden. If you are not able to attend, but would like your child’s name included, we would be so pleased to do it for you. Just give us a call or email us your baby’s name and how you would like to have it signed — perhaps something like ‘Love always—Mom and Dad.’

Choosing our words...

As pro-life persons, what messages are we trying to convey? Perhaps more importantly is “What messages do we want other people to receive?”

What we intend to convey from a pro-life perspective, and what those who don’t share our beliefs hear, are sometimes very different. When we hear the terms ‘battle, fight, win’ on tv or radio in reference to a labor issue, most likely we will expect to see or hear aggressive tactics by one or both sides. Their words usually affirm their anger and action.

Thus if we use these words in describing our pro-life efforts, what have we accomplished? The listeners hear our anger and frustration and usually react to that.

But do they get the message?

We realize the word abortion is highly charged, but are we willing as pro-life people to de-charge it? Our words can express anger or respect, confrontation or compassion.

We have a choice to make.

Are we prepared to trust that God has already won every situation and all he has called us to do is to love unconditionally? Imagine if our ‘battle’ cry was no longer ‘stop abortion’ but rather ‘start caring.’

“How can we help you?”

“Helping you Choose Life”

“Have you heard? - information on the abortion breast cancer link”

“Your Life is Precious”

“Safely Sharing your abortion Secret”

“Support for pregnant women”

“Dads can help moms choose life ”

Birth announcements: Margo and Mike Burke happily welcome  their 12th grandchild, Nuala Catherine Burke, April 3/07, 8lbs, 10oz.

In Memory of:
- Doris M. Hatcher and Reginald Conrad from Corinne and Reg Ware
- Mary Code from the Kelleys, Besseys, Brays, O’Gallaghers, Ardleys, Stones, Casselmans, Wallers, MacNeils.

Personal Reflections:

The following is from a woman we met recently. Here is her ‘first time’ impression of Project Rachel.

It was an amazing experience and only the tip of the iceberg I am sure. You would not believe what a difference I have been feeling since you told me to name and claim my child and that I am a mother.

There have been a couple of times over the past week when the word mother came up and I beamed with joy knowing that I am and always will be a mother and that my child is keeping God company until I arrive.

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This is from a woman who journeyed with us in 2003 and is now a compassionate facilitator with PR. She wrote this to the Project Rachel team in April, 2007.

While standing at the baptism font with my husband and my two beautiful babies, I was struck by the glory and the mercy that is the Lord. How great a love he has for us all...when I renewed my own baptismal prayers I was overcome with a sense of great love, a peace that I thought I would never find.
Thank you again for listening to God's call. Because of the wonderful ladies at Project Rachel, I am able to rejoice again in the love of Jesus Christ, our Lord.

Health Notes for you and your baby

Newborn Screening: The blood from a single pin prick of a baby’s heel can be used to screen for a wide range of rare metabolic genetic diseases of which there are at least 3000!
“In 2000, Nova Scotia became the first province in Canada to test for MCADD. This is a rare, inherited metabolic disease in which a missing enzyme prevents a certain class of fatty acids from being converted into energy. This disease can be managed by simple dietary measures—adhering to a low-fat, high carbohydrate diet.”
Interestingly enough the number of diseases that can be detected at birth have raised an ethical debate in Canada’s medical community. For instance, some parents may not want to know if their child has a condition for which there is little or no treatment.
For further info on what babies are screened for please check out www.savebabiescanada.org and www.cord.ca

[“Newborn Screening”, Canadian Living (May 2006)]

Abortion: THEN — personhood upheld; NOW — personhood denied
In 1803, due to the increased medical knowledge of the baby in the womb, Lord Attenborough’s Act stated that abortion was a crime because of the intent to destroy the “lives of his Majesty’s subjects”.
In 1861 Offenses Against the Person Act reiterated that the woman as well as the doctor could be held accountable whether the abortion occurred before or after quickening.
In 1988 the ‘security of the person’ for the woman was confirmed by the Supreme Court, but not so for the unborn child. The 1988 Law Reform Commission “Crimes against the Foetus” stated it would be a crime to harm a child in the womb, except for abortion which could be lawfully performed at any time in the pregnancy if the unborn has a “lethal defect.

Who you gonna call....?

If your group is looking for an inspirational speaker, call us! 423-3114 or 423-9955

Smile, it’s good for Life: A young boy, with a propensity to ‘test’ the durability of toys, when he noticed a half moon one evening, asked “Who broke it?”

We count on your Sobey's Tapes!