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A pastor called one day asking for my help. He had a woman sitting in his office crying uncontrollably as she rocked a picture of her aborted baby; a child who some had said would be better off dead because he had Down Syndrome. The picture was given to her as a reminder of why she had to abort. But the unexpected happened; when she looked at the picture, all she saw was her baby. Her uncontrollable cries came from the depths of her soul knowing that her child was no more.

The realization that “I killed my own child” can only be consoled by the mercy of our loving God. One woman who had previously aborted told us, “If you haven’t lived it, you could never imagine how horrific it is!”

Many of these second victims of abortion, our “walking wounded,” sit in the pews of our churches every Sunday waiting for one word, one sign that they still belong, that there is a way back to hope and healing.  

These victims, once healed, become on fire with the Truth. They become the prophets that then give their lives to save the lives of others.

Archbishop Charles J. Chaput, now in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, once said, “We need to be so convinced of the truths of our faith that we are on fire to live by these truths, to love by these truths, and to defend these truths, even to the point of our own discomfort and suffering.”

Are we convinced of the truths of our faith? Do we speak up to defend the lives of each and every child with the knowledge that he or she is the “supreme gift” from our Creator?

Recently, we saw many people become outraged when a jury acquitted Casey Anthony.  The common cry was that no one can take the life of an innocent child and just walk away from it.

The question we are then compelled to ask is this: “Where is the outrage for the 4,000 innocent children whose lives are brutally ended every day by legal abortion in our country? Why are we not hearing people’s voices crying out for the lives of these children?”

Abortion continues to be legal in our country because many Americans believe the lie that these are not real children; and this lie is perpetuated primarily through deceptive language - by not calling it a baby, and by not calling it killing.

The public’s reaction to the death of Caylee Anthony shows how we react once we definitively acknowledge that it was indeed a real child who was killed. We refuse to admit the irony of our excitement and joy upon seeing an ultrasound of a child that we “want,” of a child that we “planned,” versus the despair of finding out one is pregnant with an unwanted child. Today, doctors routinely do ultrasounds very early in the pregnancy, around the eighth week. At this point, you can see the baby already kicking and doing somersaults – yet this is the peak of when most abortions are performed. When what we see in an ultrasound image is a child we want, there is no need for deceptive language. It is only when plans are made for the child’s destruction that the language changes and the truth gets hidden.

In an effort to convey the truth about life, two Respect Life pregnancy care centers in the Archdiocese of Miami — South Dade and Hollywood — are now equipped with ultrasound machines. With this technology, we hope to save many lives - both of mothers and their children.  

Archbishop Chaput said: “We are ambassadors of the living God to a world that is on the verge of forgetting him. . . . Let us preach Jesus Christ with all the energy of our lives. And let us support each other – whatever the cost– so that when we make our accounting to the Lord, we will be numbered among the faithful and courageous, and not the cowardly or the evasive, or those who compromised until there was nothing left of their convictions; or those who were silent when they should have spoken the right word at the right time.”

May the Lord bless our efforts so that we may live our lives on fire with His truth. 

Comments from readers

Maria - 10/20/2011 05:30 AM
Dear Joan,
Thank you for this article, but most of all, thank you for everything you've worked to defend human life and to protect this ministry in our Archdiocese. You are a gift for all of us!
Know of my constant prayers for you.
Joanne Miceli-Bogash - 10/19/2011 11:14 AM
Beautifully put. Thank you for stressing that "language" disguises the truth of abortion. I recall the Scott Pederson trial in California some years ago -- where it was decided that 2 lives had been taken, not one. Abortion proponents and pro choice groups were furious that an unborn child was elevated to the status of an actual life. What an "unplanned" event that turned out to be!
Deacon Mike Plummer - 10/19/2011 10:07 AM
Joan, Excellent write-up about a truth that must be told over and over again. Archbishop Chaput is an outstanding voice for the truth of life and the incredible gift that is given to us in each and every human life. Here are four things I try to keep in mind when I address life issues: Every life has it's own value and dignity which cannot be abridged by any human power; every life is a gift from God, even when it may seem to be otherwise; every life has a right to the full protection of the law; every child is totally innocent or the circumstances of his or her conception.
Jose Espinal - 10/18/2011 02:04 PM
Thank you Joan for this article.
I remember you shared this with us at the Respect Life workshop I attended at St. Agatha.
God bless you and God bless our Repect Life ministry.
Jose Espinal, Miami Fl.
Joan Crown - 10/18/2011 01:49 PM
Thank you Mari for all your support to this ministry.

I would like to make one correction to the article. The two centers who now have ultrasound are our Sunset Center and our N. Broward Center in Margate.
We have just hired two ultrasound technicians and hope to be up and running in a couple of weeks.
MARI - 10/17/2011 11:43 PM
Beautiful article, Joan, and so true. People have to start owning up to the fact that a woman is carrying a baby, that whenever an abortion is done, it is a life that is being destroyed. God Bless You for the many years you have devoted your life to defend the unborn!

Mari

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