FACTS FOR LIFE
A Canadian High School Students Pro-Life Newspaper
"Assisting and Encouraging Canadian Students in the Facts For Life"

Picture by University of Minnisota, Bell Institute of Pathology

OCTOBER 1997 ISSUE

This Unborn Baby is just 6-7 weeks of age after conception.

• Often before she even knows she is pregnant, this is her child.
• All vital organs are present
• The baby is perfectly developed with fingers, feet and toes
• The first movement of body, arms and legs occur
• Sex can be determined
• The buds of mild teeth appear
• Brain waves can now be detected

The line most often used by women who have regretted having an abortion is “Why didn’t anyone tell me”.

“They said that it was only a blob of tissue. Give me a break.....I guess I didn’t really want to know the truth. But as a student, I should have wanted to know the facts so that I could look at both sides of the issue. Why didn’t I at least listen to the pro-life side?”

 These are words often used by women who have had an abortion and now have begun to realize that they have made a terrible mistake.

 The pain and loss of abortion affects everyone of us, even if we are not directly involved. Imagine for a moment the tragic loss over the past 30 years in Canada, in your town or city, or in your own classroom... estimated at over 1,750,000 children’s lives ended! That’s greater than the population of over 1,900 average high schools. Their only ‘crime’ was that their mother was not ready to accept them. Perhaps one of these would have been a great athlete at school, a very talented musician, or ...even your best friend.

 Abortion is an issue that affects us, our community, and our very future as a caring and compassionate society. We all pay dearly for the pain and suffering that it leaves in its wake, not only for the loss of the children but for the pain borne by their mothers as well.

The intent of this newspaper is to give you the facts... the truth about abortion and other life threatening issues and what you and your school might do to help yourself or a friend when faced with an unexpected pregnancy.

 Twice every school year this newsletter will be published with information written especially for students.

Sun, 25 May 1997
To:  priests@priestsforlifecanada.com
From: Marisa, Ontario, Canada
 

I just visited your web site, and was very happy to see such a wonderful page.
In 1995 I was pregnant with my first child, and due to many complications my doctor suggested that I "terminate the pregnancy", in other words, kill my baby.  I refused.  My whole pregnancy was a nightmare, and the doctors kept telling me that my baby would die inside of me.

I had an emergency c-section at 31 weeks gestation, and my daughter Victoria was only 1 lb, 3 oz.  She had chromosomal triploidy, which means that she had 3 sets of every chromosome.  This condition is extremely rare, and virtually unheard of in liveborns. It is incompatible with life.

A priest baptized her two hours after she was born (we had called him before the scheduled c-section). Our precious angel died when she was 5 days old.  We had the opportunity to hold her, kiss her, and love her.  She died in my arms.

Her name was so fitting for her.  The doctors didn't think she would make it as far as she did, but she was born, baptized, and her mother and father held her.  She was  victorious. Our sweet Victoria died  peacefully, and now she is in Heaven.

Thank you for fighting the good fight.  I was always against abortion before this happened, and now I have more to say about it.

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1. WHEN DOES HUMAN LIFE BEGIN?

FOR CLASS DISCUSSION: When would you say human life begins? When would God say that human life begins?

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2. YOUR LIFE OR MINE: Given the choice of saving her own life or that of her preborn baby, Yoland Yvette Simpson never hesitated - she chose to save the life of her daughter, Diamond Latrice Simpson. Yolanda had breast cancer and could have received chemotherapy and radiation, but that would have harmed her preborn baby. She could have aborted the child, received the cancer treatment and allowed her baby to grow and be born without being exposed to chemotherapy drugs. Yolanda chose to carry the child and fight the cancer pain without treatment. When her doctors decided that her body was too unstable to carry the child any longer, they delivered Diamond by Caesarean section. The baby was delivered 11 weeks early, but will make it. Yolanda died on June 1, 1997.

(from communique, American Life League, July 25, 1997)

FOR CLASS DISCUSSION: What would you have done in this situation if you had been the mother of the child. What would you have done if you were the father? ————————————————————————

3. THE DOCTOR’S OATH: For the past 2500 years, those starting the medical profession  have taken an oath of proper conduct called the Hippocratic oath, named after Hippocrates, a Greek physician. A new version has been presented to the British Medical Association for approval. The original oath said, “I will give no deadly medicine to anyone if asked, nor suggest any such counsel; and in like manner I will not give to a woman a pessary (device or drug) to produce abortion.” The oath has been revised in the new version to read, “I recognize the special value of human life but I also know that the prolongation of human life is not the only aim of health care. Where abortion is permitted, I agree that it should take place only within an ethical and legal framework.”

FOR CLASS DISCUSSION: What are the exact changes in this code of conduct for medical people and why do you think these changes are being suggested?

The purpose of this column is to allow our young students the opportunity to ask questions concerning pro-life issues and sexuality.

 Recently I had to give a one-hour talk to 150 high-schoolers on the subject of abortion. I did a little agonizing over the problem of how much to say and even more importantly over how to say it. After a lot of thought, I concluded that these are intelligent people who deserve the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth.

 So I waded in, holding nothing back and speaking the truth about the contraception mentality, the brutality of abortion procedures and the cover up about the aftermath of abortion for the women who had abortions and the men who encouraged or condoned it.

 The result was astounding. During the question period afterwards, these youngsters asked the most intelligent, pertinent and pointed questions I have received at any lecture. They came at me from all sides with courage and without embarrassment for the ‘delicate’ subject under discussion. And when the allotted question time was over, I was soon surrounded by a group who wished to continue the dialogue long into the evening. It was a wonderful experience and one I shall not forget.

 It was the cynical Pontius Pilate who asked Jesus “What is truth?” and he had no idea that Truth itself was standing right there in front of him.  Jesus gave a divine guarantee that the Church would never be able to preach anything else but the truth in matters of faith and morals. The Pope can certainly be wrong about who will win the World Series. He is entitled to his own opinions on worldly matters but when it comes to a solemn papal statement on a moral issue or on the dogmas as taught to us by God, he cannot be wrong. Therefore all of us have the Truth if we want it. The problem is we have to be humble enough to accept it. The problem therefore is not “What is truth?” The problem is “Am I willing to embrace it?”

 It is impossible for most of us to become expert moral theologians or experts in medical ethics. Therefore we need to be able to turn to an authority.   So, as I answer your questions, I shall be relying on the teachings of the Roman Catholic Church in addition to medical and psychological observations. The former is infallible. The latter two are always subject to change in the light of clinical research. As this is the first issue of the ‘Facts for Life’ newspaper, I have listed one important question and answer to get us started, but please send me yours and we’ll do our best to get them answered.

Q. HOW IS AN ABORTION PERFORMED?

A. There are 7 methods of termination of pregnancy, all  of which ignore scientific fact and assume that the  baby can feel no pain. Please be aware that the  following descriptions can be graphical.
 

1. DILATION AND CURETTAGE (D. & C.)

 A surgical steel curette is inserted into the womb. It is then used to scrape the placenta off the wall of the uterus. Apart from the injury which the baby suffers from the tearing action of the curette, which is inevitable since the surgery is performed without the abortionist being able to see what he/she is doing, the baby dies from shut down of his or her circulation. This is not unlike a major heart attack in an adult.

2. SUCTION

 This is the most widely used technique. The baby is literally sucked into a vacuum cleaner. The baby’s fragile body is distorted and deformed by the violence of the suction force and dies, if not by trauma, then certainly from the shut down of his blood supply.

3. SALINE SALT INJECTION

 This is injected into the baby’s amniotic sac. The baby swallows the saline and is slowly poisoned. It takes 45 minutes to one hour for the baby to die.

4. DILATION AND EVACUATION (D. & E.)

 This method is used when the baby is too big to be suctioned. The cervix is dilated, and the baby is dismembered, without anesthetic, and removed in pieces. This is a cruel butchery performed on a baby capable of feeling the slightest pain.

5. HYSTEROTOMY

 This, in effect, is a Caesarean Section, performed, not to save a baby’s life, but to terminate it. The baby is killed while in the womb, then extracted.

6. CHEMICAL ABORTION (RU486)

 This is otherwise known as ‘the morning-after pill’. This is nothing more or less than a fatal poison, no different from taking strychnine or cyanide.

7. PARTIAL BIRTH ABORTION

 This refers to the killing of a baby in the last three months of a nine-month pregnancy. With today’s incubator technology, these babies can be kept alive and grow normally outside of the womb. The procedure is blatantly brutal. The cervix is dilated. The baby is turned, delivered feet first and then killed by the surgeon. The now dead baby is delivered whole or in pieces.

 These are the revolting ‘medical facts’. Of course, there is nothing medical about it all, because nothing is being treated. Nothing is being healed. The end result is 100% fetal mortality rate. The end result is death.

 It seems very strange to me that when we put down a pet, we do it humanely. Yet when we ‘put down’ our very own babies we do nothing to prevent dreadful pain and suffering.

       Your friend,
      Deacon Dr. Bob
      Priests for Life, Canada Board Member

Doing effective, fun pro-life activities in your school is much easier if you have an official club. The advantages are: you can put a club name on posters, you’ll attract new members, you get your picture in the year book, you can ask the school or students council for funds, you can sponsor speakers and other events and it is much easier and more fun to work with others.

Here’s the steps to starting  a pro-life club in your school:

• Educate yourself - read up, talk to your community pro-life group. Get a group of friends together.
• Get permission from your principal.
• Get a teacher advisor for your club.
• Advertise, Advertise, Advertise.
• Hold a meeting - do something funky to attract interest.
• Make a plan of your pro-life activities for the year.

And here’s some ideas on what you and your school can do:

• Put up posters.
• Wear pro-life symbols i.e. precious feet pins.
• Invite guest speakers.
• Help your community pro-life group.
• Make sure your library has pro-life information.
• Make sure your guidance counsellor and school chaplain has information on Birthright, support for pregnant students and Post Abortion Syndrome.
• Write to your Provincial Students Pro-Life Group for more information (check with your local pro-life group or Priests for Life for location).
• Send a petition to government.
• Hold a Lenten Season Starve-A-Thon.
• Hold a Pro-Life Week.
• Encourage classroom pro-life projects.
• Hold a dance and have lots of fun.

Of course you know what sex is all about. But do you really know the Facts for Life? Do you know the amazing facts about the first nine months of your life?

Take this short quiz to find out. We’ll have more questions in our next edition .... coming in the Spring.

Question 1.

Your heart first started beating when:

A. When your mom was 6 months pregnant
B. When your mom was 9 weeks pregnant
C. When your mom was 21 days pregnant
D. When you first laid eyes on your true love

THE RIGHT ANSWER

Question 2.

If you kept growing all 9 months as fast as you did during your second month, you would have been born as big as:

A. Your mama
B. A big Mac (Truck that is)
C. Seven two-ton tunas

THE RIGHT ANSWER

Question 3.

How old were you when you had all your fingers

A. When your mom was 8 weeks pregnant
B. When your mom was 35 days pregnant
C. When you began to count, thank God

THE RIGHT ANSWER
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ANSWERS TO QUIZ

Answer #1.

C. When your mom was only 21 days pregnant, your own heart was already beating...and has been beating ever since.

BACK TO QUESTION 1

Answer #2.

C. WOW, talk about big... if you kept growing at the same pace that you did in your second month on earth, your mama would have been in terrible pain when you were born. Fourteen tons is quite a baby.

BACK TO QUESTION 2

Answer #3.

B. At only 35 days, you had all your fingers and toes. Quite an accomplishment for a 35 day old.

BACK TO QUESTION 3

 It is unavoidable. It is necessary. It is essential. In these years of growing, learning and training you are being prepared to ‘stand on your own two feet’. You are the hope of the future. At some point you will have to make your own decisions. You must choose between two worlds. Will it be order or chaos? Will it be life or death? There is no sidestepping, no evading, no procrastinating that will help. In what direction are you going to go? The decision is yours to make. The consequences will be yours to bear.

 Scripture can help you in discernment. “ I set before you life and death, blessing and cursing ... “choose life that both you and your seed may live.” (DT 30:19). Will you be among those who defend life? Will you be among those who live the truth, who choose to build a “civilization of love and a culture of life” as challenged by Pope John Paul II.

 At present the most dangerous place for a human is in the womb of his/her mother. The slippery slope agenda began with massive birth control propaganda that led to a contraceptive mentality, abortion, sterilization, euthanasia, and experimentation with human beings in reproductive technology and eugenics.

 Faith teaches us there is no escaping the cross roads of the two kingdoms. We are faced with a choice between heaven (JN 17:24) and hell. (Matt 10:28) We are faced with a choice between living the law of holiness, (EPH 1:4) or the law of iniquity. (Gen 8:21) We must choose to be guided by either the will of the Holy Spirit, (Gal 5:6) or the will of the flesh. (JN 3:6)

 We can see the cross roads with our own eyes. Some are truthful; others are proud. Some are chaste; others are impure. Some are peaceful; others are quarrelsome. Some practice abstinence; others are given to excess. Some are generous; others are miserly.

 There are sign posts. The way to the land of light is the way of love, service, obedience, prayer, chastity and peace. The way to darkness is the way of hate, unbelief, selfishness, greed, lust, war and sin.

 One road leads to a land of eternal love, peace and joy. The other road leads to a land of eternal hate, misery and suffering.

· When they came to kill Jesus, Peter did not speak up.
· When they come to kill the unborn, will you speak up?
· When they come to kill the handicapped, will you speak up?
· When they come to kill the elderly, will you speak up?
· When they come to kill Christians, will you speak up?

“At the cross roads wisdom takes her stand.” (Prv 8:2)

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