I just read about another abortion survivor, 22 year old Claire Culwell. This story came to me from ProLifeBlogs.com and I am reposting it here in part. If you would like to read the entire story, please visit ProLifeBlogs.com.
Putting a Face To What You’re Fighting For By Claire Culwell
A year ago, when I was 21 years old, I met the woman who gave birth to me. I had always dreamed about the day I would meet her, and it NEVER involved the most significant part of it all…learning that I was an ABORTION SURVIVOR. She was 13 years old when she became pregnant with me and the only option she knew of (according to her mother) was abortion. She proceeded to go to an abortion clinic nearby where she had an abortion. A few weeks later she realized she was still pregnant and decided to go to an out-of-state late-term abortion clinic to have a second abortion. During her examination at the late-term abortion clinic, she was told that she had been pregnant with TWINS. One was aborted, and one survived. She was also told that it was too late to have even a late-term abortion. She decided to give me up for adoption when I was born two weeks later. If you ask her now, she will tell you that if she had known the results of abortion vs. adoption, she would have gone straight to the adoption agency instead. Putting me up for adoption (and giving me the best family I can imagine) was a life-changing decision for all of us.
Because of the abortion, I was born 2 ½ months premature and weighed 3 lbs 2 oz. I was on life support and had to stay in the hospital for 2 ½ months until I could be brought home. My hips were dislocated and my feet were turned (because during the abortion, the sac that held my body together was broken) and when I was brought home I had 2 casts on my feet and a harness. I was put in a body cast for 4 months, and I didn’t walk until I was over 2 years old. It still affects me even today.
It’s hard for me to even grasp the fact that I survived and my twin didn’t. I also know that I’ll never know what I’m missing because my twin didn’t make it into this world and what the world’s missing because of ALL the babies that don’t receive the same GIFT of life that you and I have. But it shows me the magnitude of life. Life was not meant to be taken for granted or played around with. Life is the greatest gift you can receive and give. The hard part is that so many of us (myself included) just go about our lives not realizing what a GIFT we’ve been given and forgetting about how many babies are not given this gift and opportunity of LIFE. . .
My birth mother, Tonya, my twin and I were once in the same messy situation as each of the women walking into the clinics across the nation. I hope that you will fight for the babies’ lives with LOVE because love (and grace) are the only reasons that I am here today after an abortion that was supposed to take my life and a second attempted abortion. I encourage you in your fight for the precious gift of life. . .
Let’s lovingly and respectfully continue to fight for life together!
Jill Stanek, columnist for WorldNetDaily.com and Jeff Emmanuel at RedState.com, have made a couple of fascinating observations about the hoopla surrounding the Pam & Tim Tebow Superbowl ad that had liberals in a frenzy leading up to Sunday’s game. I encourage you to read the full article, part of which is printed here:
It all turned out so well, I have a hard time making much of the fact that Focus on the Family’s Tebow ad, billed as pertaining to the pro-life issue, didn’t have anything to do with abortion.
But looking back, Focus never said it would.
In fact, Focus said it wouldn’t. CEO Jim Daly told USA Today on Feb. 5 the ad was “an open discussion on the sanctity of human life – not just the issue of abortion … [with] a bit of humor in it – in fitting with the Super Bowl theme.”
Focus gave exactly what it promised.
People like Jeff Emmanuel at RedState.com commended Focus for PR genius:
The job done by Focus on the Family and the Tebows with their much-publicized Super Bowl advertisement was nothing short of masterful. In fact, I’m not sure that word describes the level of mastery Focus on the Family showed with their domination of the pro-abortion left through last night’s ad and the public relations battles leading up to it. …In one fell swoop, Focus on the Family and the Tebows exposed the real pro-abortion left to a larger audience than, perhaps, had ever seen them in their natural state: as abortion-loving autocrats who despised choice almost as much as (infant) life itself – all without really having to do anything.
I’m finishing up a Karen Kingbury book right now about a fictional high-school couple who, when faced with an unexpected pregnancy, chose abortion. It has really caused me to think about some things. As a pro-life advocate, and as someone who has peacefully protested abortion in various ways since I was a young girl, I think often of the pro-life/pro-choice debate from a political standpoint. As a financial contributor to crisis pregnancy centers, I think often of the good that these centers are doing and want to do everything I can to support those ministries. But as someone who has never faced a pregnancy that I didn’t want, I confess that I too rarely think of the women after their abortion and how they may be suffering and what I can be doing to support them, as a sister in Christ or as one who knows about a “peace that passes all understanding” in Jesus. Kingsbury’s book has helped me to ponder this.
As a culture, we are engaged in a battle for life. . .for the sanctity of life. And there is nothing that will deter me from standing up for those babies and putting my voice to use for them. I will never waiver in my belief that this is not a matter of a woman’s right to her body, but a baby’s right to life. But in addition to this passion of mine, I wonder if the women out there who have had abortions, and are now suffering regret, guilt, and pain as a result, know without a doubt that pro-lifers are also there to comfort and not to condemn. Speaking for myself, I understand that many abortions take place on young, naive, scared girls–ones who may have been deceived about what exactly was growing inside of their womb. Are we getting our message out to these women–the message of Jesus’ love and forgiveness, rather than judgment and condemnation? Are they suffering in silence, missing their child, drowning in guilt?
Today my heart goes out to those young girls or older women who have experienced abortion and are now living in regret. There are post-abortion healing ministries that operate for the very purpose of directing hope and healing to those women. I will pray today that any one that needs that comfort and love will find it through a local crisis pregnancy center, and if you are not yet ready for that step, allow me to share with you something you may not hear everyday, and I’m sure the Enemy tries to deny:
“Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the sinful nature, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful man to be a sin offering” (Romans 8:1-3).
“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light” (Matthew 11:28-30).
“In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace” (Ephesians 1:7).
I pray that every time I fight for that unborn baby’s voice to be heard, I also remember the woman who may have made a regretful choice, and now needs to feel love, from Jesus and others, more than anything.
Ok, it’s official. One of my new favorite commentators is Star Parker, and she delivers another excellent, eye-opening article. In an article entitled, “Outrage over ACORN, but not abortion,” she wrote these observations and truths:
“The ACORN scandal shows that if Congress wants to act, it can. Within weeks of Fox airing videos of a couple posing as a pimp and a prostitute being advised by ACORN ‘community organizers’ on how to evade taxes and set up a prostitution ring, our stalwart Washington legislators voted to cut off federal funds to the organization. But similar publicized abuses at Planned Parenthood — workers agreeing to cover up rape or earmarking funds to abort black babies — all captured on video and audio — produced no similar action in Washington to cut off funds.”
I had not thought of the disparity between how relatively swiftly ACORN was defunded after corruption and illegal activity was exposed there versus how little outrage was shown or action was taken when corruption and illegal activity was exposed at Planned Parenthood.
She then pans out and makes an observation about our culture in general.
“People all over our country are hurting and we are in widespread denial. A great lie has found its way into our national culture — a lie that has deadened our senses — that we can contend with life’s challenges in a morally relative way.”
And with regard to the health care bills. . .
“If we want to insist that a culture of responsibility means taxing one American to pay for another’s abortion we have a long way to go. But this is where we seem to be today. C.S. Lewis said ‘pain is God’s megaphone to a deaf world.’ It appears that even today that megaphone is still not big enough.”
How many of us saw this headline covered on the news? “Report: Anti-Abortion [Pro-Life] Activist Gunned Down Outside Michigan High School” (source). How many blogs have we seen written about it? How many networks have brought us this “breaking news”? How many politicians have come out condemning this vicious and malicious murder?
But how many of us saw this one: “George Tiller Killed: Abortion Doctor Shot at Church” (source) How many saw so much coverage of this particular murder that we knew that those who didn’t see it had to be living under a rock? How many of us saw blogs that were nothing short of hero-worship of Dr. Tiller and slanderous of pro-lifers? Do you have any doubt in your mind that this event (yes, although tragic) was being used by the pro-abortion propagandists?
Need I go on? There is a blatant hypocrisy out there in the media, whether it be on network television, cable television, or print journalism. Abortion is too serious of a subject to be used for political propaganda and most pro-life activists are too civil and too passionate and heartfelt about the sanctity of human life to be treated with such disdain and to be the victims of so much hypocrisy.
Let’s not be shy to make our voices heard in the media and to our representatives and senators. Yes, we are misrepresented and de-emphasized many days, and that may be the way it goes for a long time to come, but let’s not cower or run for cover. Let’s keep standing up for truth, for those innocent babies, and for many of those women who are being used, deceived, and talked into something that will most likely haunt them for decades to come.
Sunday afternoon, George Tiller, the well-known late-term abortion doctor, was gunned down in Wichita, Kansas. As a pro-life advocate who has, from a very early age, stood up for the rights of the unborn in the public arena, I would like to personally condemn this act of murder. The truth in the Word of God is this: “Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: ‘It is mine to avenge, I will repay,’” says the Lord (Romans 12:19).
You will read and hear many “pro-choice” talking points in the next day or two. You will watch as the left-leaning media paints all pro-life advocates with a very broad brush–a brush that is now defined by this one man (Scott Roeder) who took the law into his own hands and committed an act of violence that 99.99% of pro-life proponents will also condemn. You will hear statistics such as how there have been 17 attempted murders on abortion providers since 1977 and 7 murders in that same time. Although those 7 lives that were lost were precious to God, let me draw attention to the number of babies murdered in roughly that same amount of time: 49, 915,603. So as you listen to bloggers (I’ve already read some), media reports (read those too), and talking heads on the news, keep this in perspective. Yes, we adamantly distance ourselves from taking the life of any abortion provider, no matter how heinous his practices, but we also cannot shy away from the good fight of protecting those innocent babies from their own untimely death. Let’s resolve to continue the work, but in a respectable, legal, and non-violent way.
If people really knew the whole truth about abortion, how many of them would still support it?
Over forty million babies have been aborted since Roe v. Wade in 1973 and approximately 93% of those occured for social reasons (not medical problems, rape or incest)(http://www.nrlc.org/abortion/ASMF/asmf3.html). It is estimated that 43% of all women will have an abortion (at least one) by 45 years of age (www.abortionno.org). If what pro-lifers are saying is the truth, isn’t this abysmal and abhorrent infanticide on a mass scale enough to at least give us pause? As a friend of mine said, this is a “modern day sacrifice of the most innocent of human beings to a god of comfort and convenience.”
Those who are not in Christ are spiritually blinded to His Truth (2 Corinthians 4:3-4). I understand the spiritual side of the issue of abortion. But I also understand that there are medical and biological facts. And if we approach this issue logically, I have a difficult time understanding why people that know the facts through and through, still believe choosing abortion is a moral choice.
What causes us to instinctively celebrate with friends and family when they announce that they are pregnant? Is it because they are pregnant with a life?
When Does Life Begin?:
The 30-year old question of when life begins is not a religious one, as pro-choice proponents would like to have you believe. This question can be (and has been) addressed scientifically, and plenty of evidence has shown that life does begin at conception. It just has not been fully accepted by those unwilling to see the truth.
“You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother’s womb. Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous–how well I know it. You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion, as I was woven together in the dark of the womb. You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed” (Psalm 139:13-16).
Wikipediasays “life is a characteristic of organisms that exhibit certain biological processes such as chemical reactions or other events that results in a transformation.” Time Magazinehad a cover story in November of 2002 that addressed the issue of life at conception and detailed biologically what happens to an embryo from conception to birth. This article states that cell division begins within hours of conception. Is that life? National Right to Lifereports that a heart beat is formed somewhere close to 22 days after conception and brain waves at 40 days. Is that life? And yet, abortions usually are not performed until after those days.
So is it biology that determines life? We’ve just seen above how biologically there is life in the cell division, heart beat, and brain waves of an embryo. Is life determined by viability outside the womb? Babies outside the womb can die without caretakers and those on respirators are still filled with life. That is not a valid argument. What about size? Is a child that is 5 years old more alive than one a couple of weeks old? Is it intellect? Is it brain development? Do you see the flimsiness of these arguments?
Why are Planned Parenthood and other pro-choice activists fighting the Ultrasound Bill, that would “require all expectant mothers considering abortion to be shown ultrasounds and hear the heartbeat of their developing child, which is almost non-existent in abortion clinics.” Are they really interested in reducing abortions as they claim, because the simple act of viewing an ultrasound first has been shown to change 80% of women’s mind about abortion (http://www.freemarket.org/Img/November%202008%20Design.pdf). Are they afraid of this bill because they are not really interested in reducing abortions? That would then reduce the millions of dollars that are made each year from this “medical” industry.
Why was Scott Peterson, for example, convicted of two counts of murder when he killed his wife Laci and their unborn child, Conner? The courts have recognized, in such cases, that an unborn child is a life for which we can seek justice.
Right to Choose:
Can we be honest for a minute? What are pro-choice advocates really asking to choose? If we establish that life does begin at conception, then aren’t they asking to be able to choose one life over another? Their convenience over a defenseless baby? Remember, according to statistics cited above, only 7% or less of all the millions of abortions are performed because of the life of the mother or rape and incest. So let’s address the 93%. Do we have a right to take that baby’s innocent life? If we take a baby’s life after he or she is born, then we are put on trial in a court of law for murder. But “it’s our body” women will say. Do we have a right to “choose” our body over that baby’s body–a body with a heartbeat, brain functioning, fingernails, and the ability to feel pain, especially the pain of an abortion? Do we have that right?
Unwanted/Unplanned Pregnancy:
What if the child is “unwanted” or the pregnancy “unplanned”? According to the National Council for Adoption, “there are 450 married couples for each child waiting to be adopted, and millions of qualified singles who could foster parent or adopt as well.” Given those statistics, there is no such thing as an unwanted child. And to turn an unplanned pregnancy into the gift of a lifetime for a couple desperately wanting a child. . .what an incredibly selfless act that will bless others for years and years to come. Many children secretly labeled unwanted or unplanned, or born into less than ideal circumstances, have gone on to become some of the world’s leading figures and incredible defy-the-odds success stories.
Some would ask if an unwanted child then becomes an abused child? Statistics actually show the opposite. Child abuse has been on the dramatic rise since abortion on demand became legal in 1973. Could this have to do with a culture that devalues life and treats it as a disposable commodity?
The Procedures:
This is by far the most disturbing part of this whole debate, and I firmly believe that this is where the greatest myths and lies are perpetuated. Not all women seeking abortions have ultrasounds beforehand. Why is that? We discussed the Ultrasound Bill earlier, but shouldn’t all women see the truth about what they are aborting before subjecting their baby (or themselves, for that matter) to this “procedure”? Planned Parenthood, on their website, admits that an abortion may or may not be preceeded by an ultrasound (and I will not link to them for obvious reasons, but you can find the source if you so desire). I wonder what lengths Planned Parenthood goes to discourage young, vulnerable women considering abortion from obtaining an ultrasound.
If people really knew the procedures for abortion, and had a chance to not only see their baby with an ultrasound, or see an abortion in progress, would humanity really sit by and advocate for this brutality? Well, we have a chance to not be in the dark anymore. If abortion providers and pro-choice advocates are not afraid to support these procedures (even though they are afraid of being honest with the public about them), let’s combat this by being bold enough to know them ourselves, and speak out against them. Check out “The Silent Scream” on YouTube. It is the video that many abortion providers do not want you to see. (Warning: This video is incredibly disturbing and many, if not most, of you will be unable to watch it all the way through).
Let’s begin with the most egregious and inhumane of all the abortion procedures, the partial-birth abortion. This is for women beyond 20 weeks into their pregnancy, and sometimes much later. Here is what a 20 week old baby looks like. In this procedure, the doctor pulls the baby out by his or her legs until only the head remains inside the womb. (If the head isn’t “born,” does this keep it from being called “murder” in their eyes?) “Then the abortionist jams scissors into the back of the baby’s skull and spreads the tips of the scissors apart to enlarge the wound. After removing the scissors, a suction catheter is inserted into the skull and the baby’s brains are sucked out. The collapsed head is then removed from the uterus” (source).
Other procedures include:
Suction Aspiration–the baby is essentially cut into pieces and suctioned out with a vacuum; the patient is at risk for infection if all of the body parts and tissues are not removed properly.
RU 486–the abortion pill that starves the baby to death, causing the “embryonic baby to be expelled from the uterus.”
Dilatation & Evacuation–similar to the D&C except the baby is torn limb from limb and the hardened skull is sometimes crushed before removing.
Salt Poisoning (aka “Saline Amniocentesis”)–some of the baby’s amniotic fluid, allowing him or her to live and breathe, is replaced with a concentrated salt solution causing ”painful burning and deterioration of the baby’s skin” until the baby dies.
The Aftermath:
Despite what many would have you believe, there are side effects to abortion in many cases–physical and emotional. Bleeding, hemorrhage, laceration of the cervix, and infection are among the most common physical complications, but there are also psychological complications such as guit and regret (nrlc). Some studies show upwards of 50% of the women experience this guilt, as seen in the many sources below:
http://prolifeaction.org/providers/everett.htm(Carol Everett is a former abortion provider that is now a strong pro-life advocate because of what she saw. Her story is quite compelling.)
Now What?:
I have nothing but compassion for the majority of women who have had an abortion. As stated earlier, I believe most of them are deceived, without the truth, and taken advantage of during a vulnerable time. And knowing that many will feel guilt, regret, or experience significant physical complications from their abortion, I am not in favor of using our pro-life passion to condemn those already feeling the weight of their decision. God is a God of forgiveness. . .it is not in His nature to deny anyone forgiveness when they seek it and it certainly isn’t in His nature to condemn those who are in Christ. As Christians, we need to remember that this issue, although heated at times, involves children of God (both the babies at risk, the women who are choosing abortion, and even the doctors who provide and perform these abortions). Our approach must always be loving, and never violent, no matter how passionate the protest.
What we can do is speak up, stand on the Truth of God’s Word, and not be passive anymore. Let’s be advocates for these precious children, let’s refuse to allow them to be “sacrificed to a god of convenience,” and let’s get this information out to as many people willing to listen. Then, knowing that we have the power of the God of the universe behind us, let’s pray with fervency that the eyes of those who are blind will be opened and that one day soon we will see an end to these deaths.
I’ll close with God’s Word on the matter, as well as links to ways that you can further educate yourself on abortion and then make your voice heard.
Support Pro-LifeGroups–with your time, talents and treasures; groups such as the National Right to Life (http://www.nrlc.org); or volunteer with a local crisis pregnancy center–to find yours, click here.
Contact Your Elected Officials–let them know how important this issue is to you and your family, especially when there is legislation pending that threatens the right to life (such as now with President Obama). Click here to locate state and local elected officials by zip code.
Encourage Your Church to Speak Up and Get Involved
1 Corinthians 6:19-20 “Don’t you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself, for God bought you with a high price. So you must honor God with your body.”
Proverbs 31:8-9 “Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves; ensure justice for those being crushed. Yes, speak up for the poor and helpless, and see that they get justice.”
Proverbs 24:11-12 “Rescue those who are unjustly sentenced to die; save them as they stagger to their death. Don’t excuse yourself by saying, ‘Look, we didn’t know’.”
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