Jacqueline Kelly –
The first step in God’s holy design was to create the world. With this great act of God, the history of the world and of mankind began.
We are on earth to learn to know God, to love and serve Him, and so one day to live with Him forever. God formed man from the dust of the earth, and then breathed into him the breath of life. The most precious gift which God gave to the first of mankind was the grace-life. Besides their bodily life, all men were to inherit from Adam the grace-life and the special gifts of Paradise.
Genesis shows God breathing His life into humans. “The Lord God … breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.” [Gen 2:7] We are created in the image of God, endowed with His life-giving breath.
Human life is the basis of all goods, and is the necessary source and condition of every human activity and of all society. Most people regard life as something sacred and hold that no one may dispose of it at will, but believers see in life something greater, namely a gift of God’s love, which they are called upon to preserve and make fruitful.
The sacredness of life has been part of our Judeo-Christian faith. But not only of our faith. It is part of perhaps every faith. In the Bible, all life, especially human life, is regarded as sacred. The words which God addressed to Cain when he killed Abel are so powerful: “The voice of thy brother’s blood is crying to me from the earth” [Gen 4:10] The Book of Wisdom affirms so beautifully: “Death was never of God’s fashioning; not for his pleasure does life cease to be; what meant his creation, but that all created things should exist. No breed has he created on earth but for its thriving; none carries in itself the seeds of its own destruction”. [Wis 1:14]
Today, December 28, the Church honours the memory of the little children who were massacred by order of King Herod. Feeling greatly threatened by the very existence of the new-born King, Herod awaited, with great anxiety, the return of the Magi. Realizing that he waited in vain, he became furious, and gave orders that all the male children aged two years and under that age in Bethlehem and its neighbourhood, should be killed. [Mat 2:16] He thought that, in this way, the child Jesus would perish. Hardly had the Holy Family departed from Bethlehem, when the men Herod had chosen to execute his cruel order, suddenly rushed into town, dragged the infants from the arms of their mothers and massacred them all. Throughout Bethlehem, was heard the piteous cry of the bereaved mothers mourning and bewailing the loss of their innocent babies that were so cruelly put to death by the tyrant. [Mat 2:8]
Herod was known to have been such a cruel king that Emperor Augustus has said that he would much rather be Herod’s pig than his son, because he refused to eat pork even as he slew his own offspring. In 35 B.C. Herod had his brother-in-law drowned in the pool of Jericho; in 34 B.C. he killed his brother, Joseph; in 29 B.C. he killed his wife, Mariamne and a few months later, her mother, Alexandra. In 25 B.C. he killed yet another brother-in-law, Costobar; he killed two of his sons named Alexander and Aristobulus as well. Finally, in 4 B.C. barely four days before he died, he had yet another son named Antipater killed.
Before all these atrocities of Herod, the massacre of the innocents had left many a parent inconsolable. But the Church venerates them as martyrs. The shedding of blood was for them like a baptism that earned them the life of the Spirit, the divine life. There is no certainty as regards the exact number of infants killed. Likewise, there is no certainty as to the exact date when the Feast of the Holy Innocents was first observed. However, it is first mentioned in 485A.D. In medieval England, it was known as “Childermas”, i.e Children’s Mass.
Dreadful as this act of Herod was, it helps draw attention to even more heinous crimes being committed worldwide today. Closely linked to contraception is the scourge of abortion. The mother’s womb that should have been the most secure place for a baby, has become a tomb. So many are sacrificed each year through abortion- a bigger number each year than were killed in the entire world war.
The lives of millions and billions of the unborn are being snuffed out within the supposedly safe confines of the womb itself. As Mother Teresa has often said, “……the greatest destroyer of peace in the world today is abortion.” Turning her fond gaze on these unfortunate modern-day innocents, Mother Church tells us: “……From the moment of its conception life must be guarded with the greatest care, while abortion and infanticide are unspeakable crimes.” [Gaudium et Spes No.51].
Abortion and Contraception, however, are not the only enemies of life. We could think of so many other attacks against life. In ancient times, euthanasia meant an easy death without severe suffering. Today, one no longer thinks of this original meaning of the word, but rather of some intervention of medicine whereby the sufferings of sickness or of the final agony are reduced, sometimes also with the danger of suppressing life prematurely. Ultimately, the word euthanasia is used in a more particular sense to mean “mercy killing”, for the purpose of putting an end to extreme suffering, or saving abnormal babies, the mentally ill or the incurably sick from the prolongation, perhaps for many years, of a miserable life, which could impose too heavy a burden on their families or on society. Disrespect for life is embodied in the second-class place assigned to women in society with the continuous discrimination against the girl child. The crimes taking place in our own city and country reveal a callous attitude towards the ill, elderly and lonely. We can see the growing rate of suicide or violence even among the young. On the international front, we have wars with its tremendous toll on life and its tragic consequences on those who are left alive.
According to Eunice Kennedy Shriver, the leniency towards abortion laws is an attack on the institution of motherhood. It is a very “respectable” attack. It wears gloves. It is heard in the best circles.
“Abortion Trauma” is guilt, shame and depression and can last for five years or more. New research has shown that foetuses as young as 28 weeks appear to cry when disturbed.
1st week – Fertilized egg enters the womb of the mother, a new life begins to develop.
2nd week – A new life starts to receive nourishment from the mother.
3rd to 4th week – Eyes, spinal cord, brain, lungs, stomach, liver and kidneys are forming. Heart begins to pump!
4th week – Head is forming- backbone is complete-spinal cord closed-arms and legs forming- heart is pumping away!
5th week – Chest and abdomen formed and separated from head. Eyes have retina and lens and ears are forming. Hands and legs with fingers and toes are also forming.
6th week – All organs are present, head is complete – face, mouth and tongue formed – brain is complete. Baby responds to tickling.
8th week – Junior has all his fingers and toes complete – even his fingerprints are the same now as they will be when he is eighty years old!
11th to 12th week – All body systems are working – nerves and muscles synchronized – arms and legs move. Fingernails are appearing. Junior now weighs one ounce.
At 3 months – Junior is already formed – he has only to grow. But his mother and her doctor are already discussing how to kill him.
How are babies murdered by their own mothers?
There are different ways. All are cruel and inhuman.
Which way will junior go?
Either way he will suffer!
1.Suction Aspiration
The baby comes out in little pieces! Like a vacuum cleaner cleaning up dirt.
Used in most [90%] abortions during the first twelve weeks of pregnancy. A powerful suction tube is inserted into the womb through the dilated cervix. The developing baby is dismembered and is sucked into a container. These body parts are usually recognizable as arms, legs, head, etc.
- Dilation and Curettage [D&C]
The cervix is dilated or stretched to permit insertion of a loop-shaped steel knife in order to scrape the wall of the uterus. The abortionist cuts the baby apart into pieces and scrapes out the pieces as also the placenta. Bleeding is profuse until the womb is scraped completely empty.
- Dilation and Evacuation [D&E]
This method is similar to the D & C and is used up to 18 weeks gestation. [Instead of a loop-shaped knife] A grasping forcep is inserted into the womb to grasp part of the baby. The developing baby already has calcified bones and the part must therefore be twisted and torn away. This process is repeated until the body is totally dismembered. Sometimes, the head is too large and must be crushed in order to remove it. Bleeding is profuse.
- Salt Poisoning
A concentrated salt solution is injected into the amniotic sac. In effect, the baby is pickled alive. The baby breathes and swallows the solution, and usually dies one to two hours later from salt poisoning. The mother goes into labour after about 24 hours, delivering a dead and shrivelled baby. This technique can be used right up to the very end of pregnancy- the baby is burned to death.
- Prostaglandin Abortion
Prostaglandins are hormones that induce labour and may be injected into the amniotic sac so as to bring about premature birth of a child usually too young to survive. Salt or another toxin is often injected first to kill the baby before birth.
- Hysterotomy
Similar to a Caesarean Section, in this method the abdomen and womb are opened surgically, the baby is lifted out and the cord is clamped. The baby often struggles quietly before dying.
Aborted babies at 13 weeks old will struggle for life after an abortion from 2 to 3 hours.
The babies are used for experiments or else they are burned, drowned in water or thrown in dustbins. Since there are 1.5 million abortions every year, there is an abundant source of foetuses for commercial use. Babies are sold by the bag.
Some women say “I have a right to my own body” – This is not true- God has the first right over our bodies. No woman has a right to interfere with a life God has created. No woman has a right over her baby’s body. The baby is another person- a separate human being.
We identify with Adam and Eve as human beings. We recognize that we are fashioned from the dust of the earth. Yet God does something wonderful for us by breathing into us the breath of life. Without God’s first breath we could never have come to exist. Without God’s continuing breath to sustain us each moment of our lives we can never continue to live. Yet, in spite of such total dependence on God we decide to oppose His plan and set ourselves against Him. Yes, man did come, but with him came the heavy burden of pride. He believed that he could rule over the earth without his Creator. Through the centuries we have seen how far man has gone especially when he wanders away from his God.
Who is to decide what is good for humanity? Is it the God who made us human beings or the creature who has been created?
We men and women clearly overstep our limits in making the radical decision that our rules are better than God’s rules, and our ways better than His. A deeper consciousness, understanding and inner conversion of heart is vital for all of us. Only then can we really appreciate what it means for us to live, love and grow in relationship with other people and the planet on which we live.
Letter from an aborted child to her mother and her father:
“My dearest mother, I love you even if you did not allow me to be born and come to light. Our God has loved me unconditionally, since he is the one who gave me life in your womb as a result of the love you and dad have shared.
Yes, I want to thank you both, because you gave me the possibility of receiving a soul from my God and My Lord. How grateful I am to you! Thanks to you for I too can dwell in Heaven. Yes, Heaven!
Dear Mom and Dad, I am aware of the fact that you were both distracted by then, and were not thinking of me. But the Creator, who plans everything well, had made you His collaborators so that I could have a place in Heaven.
Let me whisper something to you, my dear mom and dad. When we meet along the paths of Heaven, do not turn away because, above all, I forgive you.
Then …..then I know why you did not allow me to be born and come to light.
Maybe your marriage was not in order and you didn’t know what was the last name you could give me.
Maybe because you had already given a place to my brother or sister, and so there was no room left for me.
Maybe my arrival might cause my mother to lose her job, and then you would all suffer from financial problems.
Perhaps you were scared people would call me an illegitimate child.
Perhaps you got rid of me following the trail left by the law in favour of abortion as a free choice.
Maybe you complied with that kind of genetic science experimentation which allows abortion to take place.
Maybe my arrival was unexpected and would have ruined your plans.
Maybe you did not believe that I would have a place in Heaven like all the other creatures.
Perhaps my birth would have been a trouble to you.
Maybe – but I don’t think so – because you hated me.
Maybe a friend of yours has suggested to have an abortion.
Maybe because you, my dear mother, were raped by my father, then, to conceal that violence, you decided not to give me birth.
Perhaps when the doctor informed you about my birth, he himself suggested what the law could allow you: undergo an abortion.
Perhaps the doctor told you that the embryo you were carrying in your womb did not have a real life and soul; so, you, my dear mother, just got rid of me with no scruples.
Maybe you were afraid to make me suffer from starving, as those children in poor countries, and so you took my life.
Maybe my presence would have interfered with your vacation plans and spoiled your holidays.
Maybe the birth control method taught by the Church didn’t work, then you saw me as an intruder.
Perhaps because my older brothers would have been jealous because of me.
Perhaps you were not so young and then you thought I could not make it.
Maybe your heart was full of selfishness, there was no room for me.
Anyhow, with all these “maybe”, I forgive you just the same. When we meet again the afterlife, as I already told you, do not turn away, but let us look into each other’s eyes and hug. Let us give thanks to the Lord who has done everything good, since He gave us an immortal soul that lives forever.
However, I must tell you something more important, very important. If you ever encounter again one of those “maybe’ mentioned earlier, please never do it again; the abortion, I mean. Do not put yourselves in the Creator’ place, because He and only He, has the right to give life or take it away!
Yes, life is the aim of the entire creation and the ultimate proof of God’s Love. Do not struggle against God, because man is the purpose of His Love and Creation. Sooner of later you will be defeated.
Let’s make a promise of never doing it again. Welcome the event of a new born. Accept the will of God with all your heart, because He said: “Be fertile, multiply ….” [Gen 1:22]. He is the unique Creator of life; you think you can take it, but the soul remains a witness who accuses the murderer.
Do not become offenders because of this horrible crime, never again. Instead, do welcome such a precious gift as life. Accept it as the most beautiful thing the Creator could ever entrust you with. And be proud of being chosen by God to be His collaborators in creation.”
– Gaetano Gagliano