respect for life

many years ago i remember a patient telling me that she chose our clinic because she could tell that we respected her and knew that we would therefore respect the life within her.  it was very important to her that she have trust in the clinic she chose because she felt that, given her life circumstances, returning her baby to god was the kindest, most maternal thing she could do for it.  i assured her that her feeling was correct, that we in fact do all we can to honor the life that women are unable to continue and we encourage them to find their own way to make peace with the pregnancy (whether it be a baby or a "pre-baby" to them), figure out how to forgive themselves and also to continue working through any religious or spiritual issues if they have them.  we show all patients the section of the clinic where the brochures and handouts are kept and encourage them to take all they want home with them.  in addition to the independently produced brochures, there are the publications of RELIGIOUS COALITION FOR REPRODUCTIVE CHOICE and CATHOLICS FOR FREE CHOICE.  a while back,  we interviewed many priests, ministers and rabbis to determine how we might refer women for pastoral counseling or, if the women preferred, to share some of the messages of hope that we have collected from various clergy. we are glad to be able to pass on those messages of hope and love that come from god via his clergy from various religions. 

our clinic is the kind of place where women can ask, as one did today, if we would bless and baptise her baby.  i was able to do that for her.  honoring her pregnancy as she herself chooses is part of what we hope to do for each woman.  using water (she had planned to bring holy water with her but had at the last minute forgotten it) and saying the words i know from my catholic upbringing, i did as she asked.  she had a name in mind for the baby, one that could work for either gender and i gave it that name. 

we want to be a clinic that respects life, that honors women's choices. the two are compatible.  believe me!

lou

Comments

[Shane]

I don't know if I've ever seen an an abortion supporter openly admit that a fetus is a living person. If it is OK for a mother to kill an unborn person because she can't care fo it, why can't it be Ok for a mother to kill a 3-month old (post birth) baby for the same reasons? What's the difference?

[Ron Sullivan]

The above post recognizes the life of the unborn

No it doesn't. It recognizes that following a patient's request will often make the patient feel better. Whether that request is for something that actually has an effect doesn't matter. I've hung Miraculous Medals over preemies' warmers and I know perfectly well that that was as superstitious as the stuff my Romany patients' grandmas insisted their families go out and do so they'd recover, or clearing the room so the shaman could divine why the kid with the head injury wasn't recovering. I didn't do any of that because I thought, e.g., that Coyote is the One True God and would answer prayers. I did it for people's peace of mind. Somehow I managed never to tell anyone that their unprovable beliefs were going to make them crazy, either, or that someday they would feel exactly the way I would in their place.

[Kevin]

When the Pope talks about the evil of Relativism, you people are a perfect example. An abortion clinic having a "respect for the life" within a woman? You people are sick and morally lost. I was an "illegitimate" child born to a 26 y/o who was already raising 4 children and living on welfare. I thank God every day that I was born in 1963 rather than 1973 or later. Every person has worth in this world and every real Catholic knows that. A mother who kills her child before it is born, regardless of the circumstances, is not doing the "kindest, most maternal thing." No, the mother is placing her needs ahead of the unborn baby's. And the fact that you "blessed" and "baptized" the unborn child before you killed it, is not only disrespectful to Catholics and our faith, but it is disrespectful to God. I'm sure that the Blessed Virgin Mary weeps and prays for you daily. I know I do.

[linda Shown]

Great! You respect life by baptizing the babies you kill! Never got that out of the Bible or the Catholic religion.

[Nora]

This whole blog is a parody right? Inspired, no doubt by the Screwtape Letters of C.S. Lewis where an experienced demon is writing to a younger demon about how to lead souls straight to hell. One of the most important things for the young tempter to learn is to make him lose his soul very gently and comfortably, so that he won't be jarred back into his senses.

If this is a parody, it is the most effective anti-abortion site I have ever seen.

A close second would be the site with Nick Canon's rap song in which he visualizes himself talking to his mother in an abortion clinic. His mother very nearly aborted him, and his song shows him now going back and imaging himself trying to convince her to let him live. I'd be interested to know whether the music video provided on his web site is something you would wish to link to? You can view the video here: http://www.nickcannonmusic.com/index_main.html

[David J]

I have long straddled a fence on abortion. This astounding post has finally made me pro-life. I had always assumed that the folks who did abotions and opted for them did not consider the fetus to be human. Now we have two folks who recognize this humanity in thought and actions, and then kill it.

What's so horrible here is that this writer sees fit to maintain his/her sing-song narrative through it all, as if it all made perfect sense and was beautiful even.

[Jack]

This is the most disgusting thing I have read in some time.

[Leah]

Also, just for clarification, one cannot baptize someone who is already dead (that is what the Catholic Church teaches, as well as all other Christian faiths. The Mormons are another ball of wax). If there was the chance that the baby was still alive at the time, than it's possible to baptize him or her.

But for all the children who are aborted, and all others who die without being baptized - we commend them to God and trust in His mercy.

[Josephine]

On topic.. this woman is going to have problems later. It is really a contradictory action. Like woman who want to know if the baby will hurt. It spells "later psycological disturbances" to anyone not making a killing off her decision.

[Josephine]

Cat,

I was one of those who was born into poverty. Hell I was starved as an infant. Raped before I was four and then ever year after that it continued. I was on walfare and have been beaten with willow wisps tied together and soaked in water. Ive had to have stitches because of that. I have been through foster care throughout my childhood and my first foster home I was in at 15 I was raped the first night there and then went on to fulfill everyones expectations of me and got pregnant when I was barely 17. To borrow word from someone on another blog. I would rather my mother beat me than kill me. MMk

[Christina]

Every time I encounter the "Sure, we'll baptize your baby while we kill it," it's every bit as revolting as it was the first time I encountered it. How is it respecting the woman's religious beliefs to steer her to psuedo-religious organizations that lie about the tenets of the woman's faith in order to salve her conscience while she's doing something she knows in her heart is wrong? After all, if she didn't think it was killing a baby, she'd not be asking to have it baptized. And if she's asking to get it baptized, she knows it's one of "the least of these" that Jesus admonished us never to harm. She may temporarily salve her conscience but she can't change the fact that what she's doing is totally contrary to every tenet of her faith.

Of course, this message is entirely lost on the kinds of people who actually think they can spash water on a fetus they've just shredded and thereby fool God into thinking that they're honoring Him.

[Soren K]

I think the point is that it was not lou's feelings that mattered but the womans. She wanted the abortion and the baptism. Why should lou deny the baptism just because his feelings on the subject were different?

/Soren

[kisanri]

I thought it was, "be baptize or get killed" It never ocurrede to me that you could do both! Now, how sick is that!

[Ace]

This is astounding. Forgive me if I don't understand what is being said here but it seems to me that this post accepts the idea that the "aborted tissue" is really a baby, a human life, with a soul--for baptism is meaningless unless a soul is involved. That being the case, we can contend that abortion is murder. That this woman murdered a person. A person with a soul, a child. An innocent human was put to death in a most violent way. Pro-choice? Since when is murdering children a valid, legal choice? It isn't. The above post recognizes the life of the unborn and takes that life willingly. Finally, someone on the Pro-Choice side admitted that abortion is the taking of a human life and it is murder.

[cat]

I am glad to see that there are people who run clinics like yours...people who honour the women and the choices those women make regarding their bodies and their futures. Some people may not understand (like the previous commentor) that one can have respect for life and a need for an abortion and that the two are not mutually exclusive. Birthing children in poverty and raising them without proper food or care is, sadly, a reality for many women. Having an abortion is, in a very real way, a very mature and motherly thing to do under such circumstances...choosing a path that is difficult and painful (an abortion) but for the greater good for the current family is a very spiritual process. Allowing women to recognise that fact is truely beautiful!

Thank you for your blog! I wish you all the best.

[Steve G.]

How is pretending to baptize a dead baby respecting life? Respecting death, maybe, but respecting life? The cognitive dissonance of this statement is mind boggling.