Another Brave Pro-Lifer Speaks Up in DBQ

In the Sunday 6 Feb 2011 TH the following letter appeared. Naturally the same people showed up with the same tired attacks on her & the whole Right to Life movement. I will let you read the letter, then add a few comments about the attacks.

Abortion decisions full of guilt and regret
FROM KIRSTEN LILLEGARD 194 CONCORD ST.

In a Jan. 16 opinion piece, Dr. Jill Meadows makes a case for telemedicine abortions. She claims that women should make their own choices and that abortion opponents should not "impose (their) own beliefs on someone else."
I would argue that every time a doctor performs an abortion, that person radically imposes his or her own beliefs on the entire human community, which loses one of its members through the doctor's actions.
I have taught college-level English for 15 years and during that time have received many abortion papers written by young women suffering from guilt and regret. Each of these women had been, as Dr. Meadows puts it, allowed "to make her own decision about what (was) best for her personal circumstances." Clearly, each one had made the wrong decision relative to her psyche and moral beliefs.
My students' emotional suffering was not atypical. A mounting body of research shows that women who have abortions are at increased risk for depression, addiction and suicidal tendencies.
Raising a child you can't afford or don't have time for, or giving a child up for adoption -- these are harrowing choices. But they still allow for hope. There can be no hope with abortion.
If Dr. Meadows really cared about women, if she trusted their intelligence, she would not pretend to offer a "fix" for a situation that has no easy fix.
Abortion destroys lives, pre-born and born. Dubuque residents are right to oppose Planned Parenthood.

_______________

NOTE: Kirsten Lillegard is listed as an Adjunct English Faculty at the University of DBQ website.

As I promised, some comments about the attacks in the comment section below the letter.

1 of the expected comments was this: "Another piece of propaganda from the DCRTL newletter machine... "If Dr. Meadows really cared about women, if she trusted their intelligence, she would not pretend to offer a "fix" for a situation that has no easy fix." The same could be said about these idiotic letters that litter this DCRTL newsletter posing as a newspaper." (emphasis mine) This is an attack on the TH for printing them.

However, what the person fails to mention & I pointed out, is these people attacking the letters don't have the courage to write a letter & sign their name to it.

Here is my response to that attack: "Not surprized to see this surface again. The only reason why there have been so many pro-life letters is that we have the courage to write them & sign our names to them. I repeat what i said before, it is clear to me that those of you who are pro-abort are cowards. It is easy to hide behind an anonymous name & take potshots at us for standing up for what we believe it. If you really wanted to defend your side instead of merely attacking us start writing letters as well, or are you unwilling to take the heat they would generate?"

Another person made the following claim: "I've been searching for studies/statistics that would indicate how many fathers, of aborted fetuses, really wanted the baby. I can't find anything. Just as RTL states that very few abortions are the result of rape, I question if there really exist many men who don't want the abortion to take place."

Given that when I went through training for the DCRTL Speakers Bureau several years ago, men regretting abortion &/or wanting the child was my subnject. So I had to respond to that. In addition to putting up links to groups for people who regret the abortion, including some aimed specifically to men (Men & Abortion Network & Fatherhood Forever Foundation, there are others specifically for men that I have linked at the right as well), I wrote: "Erin, to answer your question, funny but several years ago when I did a talk on that very subject of fathers regretting abortions, I came accross several studies. 1 of those studies was done by a pro-abort male who went with his girlfriend to support her when she had an abortion. He was shocked at his feelings as he waited for her to come out of the room where the abortion took place. I highly doubt you really did search the internet since they ARE there. Why don't you check out the fatherhood related links I provided. Also, I can personally name 1 friend who is a movie producer that is very actively speaking out about how his child, that he wanted, was aborted against his will. As an aside, the mother of his child was forced into having it by her father. Jason Jones is his name. You might remember his award winning movie he co-produced, Bella."

I won't even go into the hatefilled garbage Sparkydog spewed. The writer is so hatefilled & vitriolic. I fill sorry for him(her?) & pray for him to be converted.

These comments are similar to comments I have seen elsewhere. These people attack pro-lifers & usually hide behind anonymity to do so. If things follow true to form, I fully expect at least 1 letter sent to me in the mail attacking me for what I said. It, or they, will be unsigned of course. They always have been. I don't expect anything different this time either.

I write this to point out that we should expect attacks for standing up for the truth. The "culture of death" is demonic in origin. & it doesn't want the light of God's truth to shine on its deeds. The fact that most of those who attack us hide in the dark of anonymity is another proof of the source of the attacks. In last Sunday's Gospel Jesus called us to be the "salt of the Earth" & the "light of the world". We are to let our light shine. We must. & Jesus told us what to expect as well. "Blessed are ye when they shall revile you, and persecute you, and speak all that is evil against you, untruly, for my sake:" (Mattew 5:11)

I know that some day I will have to stand before God & give an accounting for my actions. We all will. & even though I will be trusting in God's mercy for where I have way too often falled short & had to repent, I don't want to stand before God & all those murdered by abortion & have to explain why I was silent to avoid a little discomfort. I won't. I can't.