Sunday, November 1, 2015

Echoes Down Corridors of History - Part THREE


CONTENT WARNING:
This post contains explicit information and graphic images on the topic of abortion, aborted fetuses and violent activities (bombings, injuries, murder) which may be offensive or traumatic to some.  Reader discretion strongly advised.
If you missed the beginning: Part ONE and Part TWO
Please note that I am a Christian; therefore, the reader can draw their own conclusion as to my position regarding abortion. Nevertheless, the reader should also be aware of the fact that although I am a survivor of a failed abortion (the result of a rape), there was a time that I seriously considered having an abortion myself, at the age of nineteen.  
That being said, I would like it understood that every effort has been made to compose this section in a diplomatic and candid manner. Every effort has been made to present facts about both sides of the abortion issue in a style that is not opinionated, hard-hearted (crass), antagonistic, defamatory or condemnatory.
Abortion Rate Statistics
                
The Guttmacher Institute (formerly tied to Planned Parenthood Federation as a former research affiliate), reports that while the abortion rate has steadily declined in the U.S., their research also reveals a decline in the overall birth rate as well.
Guttmacher attributes the decline to an increased usage of contraceptives such as the pill, IUDs and hormonal implants. Richard Doerflinger wrote an essay for Public Discourse, an online publication for the Witherspoon Institute.
Although he agreed with the Guttmacher report about contraceptives, Doerflinger is convinced that the 4% decline of abortion providers (closing of certain clinics), as well as the enforcement of particular pro-life laws, greatly contributed to the decreased number of abortions.
Duly noted is the fact that while both reports agree on the abortion rate being the lowest in three decades (as of 2011), they disagree in part as to the reasons for the decrease. It is not surprising though, as the Guttmacher Institute writes from a pro-choice perspective.  Doerflinger’s article, which appeared in an online publication for the Witherspoon Institute, writes from a pro-life stance.
Richard M. Doerflinger is the Associate Director of the Secretariat of Pro-Life Activities for the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. In a separate report,  Carole Joffe PhD, a professor and sociologist at the University of California, agrees that anti-abortion education and laws, as well as contraceptive use have most likely contributed to the decrease.
Cheryl Sullenger, a writer for Operation Rescue asserts that incidents of documentation and reports exposing abortion abuses, increased enforcement of existing laws and the retirement of aging abortionists have added to the decline.
However, with more mothers and abortion providers pushing for the right to gender-specific abortions, debates on the issue have escalated exponentially in both Canada and the United States. 
Shweta Krishnan, a writer for the Indian Journal of Medical Ethics (India), wrote that heated debates about eugenic and sex-selective abortions are anticipated due to a clause in the MTP Amendment Bill 2014 that was passed.
Some people believe that the controversy over abortion began in the 60s and 70s when feminists and pro-life activists clashed and began to protest publicly; however, the conflicts began long ago.
In the early 1800s, illegal abortions were being performed by untrained doctors at times with disastrous consequences for the mother, such as serious infections, sterilization (infertility) and even death, most often due to unsanitary conditions and botched procedures by careless, unskilled and often unlicensed people.
The economic conditions during the Great Depression caused a rise in illegal abortions in both the United States and Canada. The use of the drug thaliadomide, as well as the rubella measles epidemic, caused fetal deformity.  It brought the abortion debate back into the political arena in the 60s, which was front page news for the media and a cash cow for various syndicates.
Some examples of early pro-abortion activities in Canada:
● Between 1926-1947, it was reported that an estimated 4,000 to 6,000 Canadian women died as a result of bungled illegal abortions. Activist Ruth Bullock (Vancouver) was known to assist women in getting illegal abortions.
● Dr. Robert McCallum performed abortions from 1948 until his arrest in 1967, which was the same year that the then-Federal Minister of Justice Pierre Trudeau tabled a bill to “ease laws against abortion, divorce, and decriminalize homosexuality and contraception.”
● Dr. Henry Morgentaler secretly began doing abortions in January, 1968. In 1973, Morgentaler publicly announced that he was an abortion practitioner and performed an abortion on W5 TV. He was subsequently charged, but freed ten months into his sentence. In 1976, all charges against Morgentaler were dropped.
● That same year, Morgentaler began training doctors (30) in abortion procedures. In 1983, he opened illegal abortion clinics in Winnipeg and Toronto.  In 1988, the Canadian Medical Association approved a policy that recognized the right to abortions outside of hospitals, along with approval for full Medicare coverage.
● In 1991, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled that a fetus is not a person with legal rights until it is born alive.
● In June, 2005, Dr. Henry Morgentaler was awarded an honourary Doctor of Laws degree at the University of Western Ontario. His speech was followed by two standing ovations.
● In 2008, Morgentaler was named a member of the Order of Canada, and recognized “for his commitment to increased health care options for women, his determined efforts to influence Canadian public policy and his leadership in humanist and civil liberties organizations.”
The statements of doctors who supported abortion were often quoted, such as: [Abortion]…”an act of desperation by women who did not deserve to die in a back alley and who should be dealt with more humanely.”  Locked horns and emotional outbursts were common amongst the speakers, both pro and con.
Reasons that women choose to abort, according to surveys:

● Birth control (contraceptive failed)

● Unwanted pregnancy (incest, rape, inconvenient; unplanned; abusive relationships; father unknown (multiple partners, one-time occurrence); relationship ended; extramarital affairs)

● Financial (borderline or below poverty level; cost of raising a child; lack of steady income; unemployed)

● Status (not in any relationship, unmarried, interruption in education or career)

● Health (drug addiction, alcoholism, chronic illness, endangerment to woman’s health, possible birth defects (usually not known until second trimester), mental illness or mental instability)
● Age (too young or too old)
● Forced (parents, partner or spouse force decision)
There may be other reasons or underlying factors, but these were the most common reasons women choose abortion.
Violence of Extremists
Much to the chagrin of groups on both sides, the issue of abortion has attracted extremists who have, at times, taken matters into their own hands, with deadly consequences.  Death threats, bombings, arson, assaults and shootings have been reported in the past, and new reports say that threats, intimidation and harassment at abortion clinics has increased.

There are extremists on both sides, true, but those who profess to be Christians, (often labeled Christian right or Christianist), have also committed atrocities.  However, true Christians do not promote or condone violence or threats in any way, shape or form.  
Such extreme activists (terrorists) do not represent the majority of Christians any more than ISIS, Al-Qaeda, Hamas, et al represent all Muslims. Yet, some people tend to put both under an umbrella and group them all together.  That is the reality.
Urban Dictionary has three definitions under “Christianist”. The submissions for the online dictionary are contributed by visitors to the site and are not necessarily submissions from experts. Two out of the three definitions:
● A member of the Christian faith who seeks to use a religion of peace and tolerance for political or personal gain. (Jerry Falwell, Pat Robertson-Republicans)
● One who claims to be a follower of Christ and His teachings, but who actively engages in acts and deeds that are contrary to His teachings. (A pastor who calls for the murder of someone whose political beliefs are disagreeable to him (or her) is a Christianist, not a Christian.)
A Christianist is likened to terrorists (extremists) and as such not considered a true Christian, nor can it be said that they follow sound biblical doctrine or beliefs.
Examples of extremism (terrorism):
Reverend Paul Hill (49), a white Presbyterian minister and anti-abortion activist, used a shotgun to kill Dr. John Britton and retired USAF Lt. Col. James Herman Barrett (a volunteer bodyguard and unarmed escort) in December, 1994.
Britton kept a gun for protection. Ironically, his policy was
'first and ask questions later'.

The fatal shots (4) were fired as Barrett exited a truck in the parking lot of a Pensacola, Florida abortion clinic. After reloading, Hill fired on Dr. Britton and June Barrett (wife of James Barrett). Britton was killed; Mrs. Barrett was wounded.

Paul Hill belonged to the Christian right (sometimes called ‘religious right’) militant Army of God, a violent anti-abortion organization formed in the 80s.  Hill was charged with first degree murder and was sentenced to death row.  On September 3, 2003, he was executed by lethal injection at Florida State Prison. 
Excerpt from an exhaustive report posted by the Clark Prosecutor:
Paul Hill, the defiant former minister who called himself pro-life yet gunned down a Pensacola abortion doctor, was put to death peacefully by injection Wednesday night.

To the end, the man who became the first killer of an abortion doctor to be executed in the United States showed no remorse and, in his final words, spurred antiabortion activists to follow his lead.

''If you believe abortion is a lethal force, you should oppose the force and do what you have to do to stop it,'' he said, strapped to the gurney at Florida State Prison, his face without expression.  “May God help you to protect the unborn as you would want to be protected.''  Source:  Clarkprosecutor.org

Other violent anti-abortion incidents:

1983: Augusto Dantas attempted to assault Dr. Morgentaler with gardening shears. The following month a fire was set in the bookstore below his clinic in Toronto, Ontario.

1994: John C. Salvi killed two receptionists at a Planned Parenthood clinic – Brookline, Massachusetts

1993:  Dr. George Tiller was shot by Christianist (Christian Right terrorist) Shelly Shannon. Although shot five times, he survived. He was killed in a separate attack in 2009 by another Christian Right terrorist, Scott Roeder.

1995: Dr. Hugh Short (Hamilton, Ontario) was shot by James Kopp and wounded in the elbow while at home.

2015 (the most recent violent protest): The following link is to a video of the March-for-Women protest that took place in Argentina on Monday October 12, outside the Cathedral of Mar de Plata.

User discretion advised as it contains scenes of violence and partially-clad (bare-breasted) women, along with their clothed supporters as they assault praying men, as well as the police who were guarding the building.  It was posted on Youtube by Life Site News. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T0BsB0BOgGo


Indeed, numerous bombings, assaults, shootings, firebombs etc have taken place over the years in both Canada and the United States
House of Horrors
On the flip side of the coin are horror stories about heartless abortion doctors and staff at various clinics. One such story covers the case of Dr. Kermit Gosnell (74) who murdered infants born live after failed abortion procedures.
The report about the actions and deeds of Kermit Gosnell are so sordid and grim that his clinic, Women’s Medical Society, was dubbed the “House of Horrors”.  
Conor Friedersdorf, staff writer at The Atlantic wrote about Gosnell’s case and the testimonies given. The report contains such morbid details that only snippets will be presented here. You have been forewarned. The link to the original article and a Wikipedia profile are provided if a reader is interested. The Atlantic and Wikipedia
Friedersdorf writes that “an NBC affiliate’s coverage includes testimony as grisly as you’d expect.”  Gosnell was charged with seven counts of first-degree murder for performing full-term abortions in his Philadelphia clinic, and the death of 41 year old Karnamaya Mongar . Testimonies describe cruel beheading (separating the brain from the body), slit necks and snipping spinal cords of fetuses.
It was stated that in over 40 percent of the abortions performed, the fetuses were between 24-30 weeks (seven to seven and a half months) gestational age. Babies were killed once they were brought forth from the womb if they were still alive.
Gosnell’s fee ranged from $1,600 - $3,000 US. Although he performed abortions on any ethnic group, Gosnell was said to be racist mostly toward Asian and African-American mothers. The outcome of his trial was life imprisonment without the possibility of parole. 
Prime Minister Trudeau’s Viewpoint

In May 2014, Life Site News posted an article, written by Pete Baklinkski that was a very informative and in-depth report on the subject of abortion. It not only detailed statements that Liberal leader Justin Trudeau made during interviews, but also included excerpts from representatives of the Catholic church who opposed what Trudeau was saying, taken from sermons (homilies), as well as from their numerous articles or open letters.
Below are excerpts from that thorough report. I will provide the link afterwards. 
Trudeau answered questions regarding gender-specific abortions with carefully selected words in order to divert controversy, but at the same time, he made it clear that he stood for people’s rights and would not take them away through legislature.  He stated that it is his duty to see that legislation respects those rights.
Full Transcript of Trudeau’s pro-sex-selection abortion stance:
MARISSA SEMKIW: A woman comes to you. She says she's pregnant with a girl and she wants to terminate the life of the child because it's a girl. What would you say to her?
JUSTIN TRUDEAU: My position has been very clear. The Liberal Party is the party standing up for people's rights. And the Liberal Party will always be the party of the Charter. So we will continue to stand up for people's rights and not legislate them away.

MARISSA SEMKIW: So to be clear, you wouldn't discourage her from having an abortion because it's a girl?
JUSTIN TRUDEAU: My role as the leader of the Liberal Party is to make sure that Canadian legislation respects peoples’ rights and that's what I will continue to do.
MARISSA SEMKIW: Yesterday you said you were happy with the status quo on abortion. But right now the status quo is that it's perfectly fine to abort a child because it's a girl. Do you have no qualms with that?
JUSTIN TRUDEAU: I will leave discussions like that between a woman and the health professionals that she encounters. I don't think the government should be in the business of legislating away people's rights. And that's why the Liberal Party is steadfast in this position.
(Note:  In a separate interview, at another time, Trudeau had stated that he was against abortion, yet he digressed in that interview by referring to women’s rights. In this day and age, it is called double-speak.
In the olden days, it used to be called, ‘speaking with a fork tongue’, or ‘speaking out both sides of the mouth’.  One cannot have it both ways, or sit on the fence.  One can only sit on a fence for so long. The day comes when they will have to dismount on one side of the fence or the other. BP)
There is a video where a nurse speaks of a time that a child was born alive. The doctor put 15 weeks on the documents, but all attending staff knew the baby was closer to 30 weeks. When the infant (girl) came out crying, the nurse was told to put the baby in a room and leave it.  Read the full story at LifeSiteNews
Where is the love for creation and life itself?  When Trudeau lapsed from Catholicism, did he abandon the fundamental beliefs?  His upset during the campaign in 2011 over the tenets of his faith being questioned makes me wonder if he felt a tug of conviction. He adamantly professed his faith and took offense when scrutinized.
Has he fallen away from the faith? Does he know the Living God of the Bible, or Jesus the Christ? There is no way that a true disciple of Jesus (Yeshua) would condone homosexuality, abortion or same-sex marriage. Yet at the same time, a true disciple of Christ would want to reach out and offer hope.
They would point to the One, the only One who truly understands; who can deliver from bondages and torment; who can heal all sorrows and grievances, who alone can lead to repentance and salvation; who loves and forgives.  Jesus is the way, the truth and the life, and no one comes to the Father except by Him. (see Jn 14:6]
Of course, Trudeau’s faith is between him and God. It is that way for all of us who believe; however, if one is going to make a public confession, do they not know that their faith will be tested?  Our faith will be tried whether we are in the public eye or not.
You Shall Know Them by their Fruit
How many times have we witnessed or heard of someone who seems calm, cool, collected and humble, only to become prideful, arrogant, bitter, short-fused and cruel under stressful conditions, such as in times of calamity or great tribulation? 
How many times have we witnessed or heard of someone who seemed weak and foolish in times of great suffering, only for them to rise up in meekness and strength, not forsaking faith or God? The testing of our faith can surprise even us at how we react or whether we will continue to cleave to and trust God, or not.
Keep pressing on. Keep rising up. Don’t give up. Hold fast to your faith!  God knows where we stand, but we need to know where we stand.  How we think that we will act in any given situation, compared to how we actually do act, may be two different things. 
Trials and tribulations bring it all out and to the surface. We all suffer times of regret, sorrow, grief and pain. The reality and normalcy of that is not being dismissed or taken lightly.
Times of great trial and pain are often how we grow and learn. Yet, what is the outcome? Do we allow bitterness to take root, or do we strive all the more to cling to God in faith and hope, trusting Him for strength, for wisdom, for guidance, for everything, confident that He will see us through and make a way where there seems to be no way?  Our fruit (or lack thereof), whether good or rotten, will be revealed as we walk our walk.
Mr. Trudeau stated that he prayed every night, but perhaps that comment referred to the time of growing up at home, and not at this point in his life. Would the heart of a godly man not be to pray for people?
No one is saying that a politician must do so publicly. In fact, no one has to pray publicly, but sadly, sometimes those that do so only do so for show – to show how “righteous” they are, like the Pharisees. Now please do not misconstrue the meaning of my words. It is fine to pray publicly if the heart is right, but it is not imperative to proving you are a Christian.
Yet, I cannot help but wonder. The leaders who profess a firm belief in God, and particularly Christianity, do they privately pray for wisdom to make the right choices over the nation and the people over which they are to rule?
To attend Pride parades for the LGBT community and lead them to believe in any way, shape or form that God understands and condones homosexuality, and that it is simply an error in genes, is dangerous ground for anyone who claims to follow God and abides in Christ.  One would have to question what ‘god’ they follow.
We all make plans for another day because we simply assume that we have another day, but what if this was your last day?  Many people think this is all there is, this life, here and now. They do not consider there is an eternity. What a sad existence if this world that we now live in was all there is, but it is not.
Justin Trudeau has been put in a position where he can reach out to the lost and warn them, but then again, it is not the way to win popularity. Many, including some of the religious, might want Trudeau crucified (assassinated), if he adamantly stood for Christian morals and values.
Ah, but Trudeau did say that “church and state must be separated”.  Even Solomon, who was considered the wisest in all the lands at the time, made a clear separation between God and politics. In fact, in the end, he departed from God and turned to idols.
Solomon had been given a gift of great wisdom and understanding by God, with which he ruled over Israel as king. He was also instructed not to marry foreign wives because he was told that they would turn Solomon’s heart from the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and cause him to worship their false gods (idols).
When Solomon was offered the daughter of Pharaoh of Egypt, he accepted. She was only one of the wives that he built temples and altars for, so that his wives and concubines could have special places of worship for their gods.
I realize that religion and politics do not mix, or so the adage goes. Perhaps that is why God was not pleased when His people wanted a human ruler over them besides God. God cannot lie; He does not sin. Man does.
We have strayed so far from truth. We do not want to offend people, so we become people pleasers, rather than pleasing God.  Many are accepting everything in the name of unity and love, and compromising with the world in order to keep peace.
Others are rebelling against certain things with such hatred and bitterness that God is pushed even further away. The example that they lead by causes many to despise God, his Son Jesus (Yeshua) and all Christians.
 It takes courage and great love to speak the truth to those that you know will not necessarily receive it, but what if they do?  Some have been led to believe that there are certain sins that a “loving God” will accept.
False prophets and teachers have told damnable lies and deceive the lost and the captive. They present a god of love that accepts everything and even goes against His own word.  Now, because of those lies, we have homosexuals who are ordained ministers, who have been taught that what they do is admissible and acceptable by God. They speak of God’s love, mercy and grace but never about His justice or judgment, never about hell or the second death. deceiving others.
God is love and He is good; this is true. He is a God of mercy and grace, but He is also a holy God, who will never condone sin. When people truly repent and turn from unrighteousness, He is faithful and just to forgive.
The precious blood of Christ Jesus washes us clean. Yes, we are to walk in love, but agape love, the kind of love God has for us, will only speak truth. The narrow way is not a popular path, but it is the right way.
If we do not tell people the truth, then their blood will be on our hands and we will be accountable to God – and saying that we did not want to offend a person will mean nothing come judgment day.  Selah
Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves; [Rom 1:24]
For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature:

And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompence of their error which was meet.  [Rom 1:26, 27]

You shall not lie with mankind, as with womankind: it is abomination. […] 
[Lev 18:22]

The Prime Minister and Abortion
Trudeau announced last spring that no new anti-abortion candidates would be allowed to run for the Liberals in the next federal election. Incumbent Liberal MPs who oppose abortion can re-offer, but must vote in favour of a woman's right to choose if the matter again comes before the House of Commons.

At a speech in Toronto last month, Trudeau said that for Liberals, "the right of a woman to control her body is more important than the right of a legislator to restrict her freedom with their vote."  Excerpt:  Huffington Post - Canada
The following excerpt is from a group against abortion:

“In 1967, the Justice Minister of Canada presented a bill to liberalize Canada's abortion law. It would still be a crime, of course; but the woman could apply for special permission from a therapeutic abortion committee of three doctors at a hospital, who would judge whether her life or health was in danger. The Justice Minister who presented the bill was Pierre Trudeau, destined to become one of Canada's most famous and charismatic prime ministers.
Trudeau (Pierre) not only succeeded in liberalizing Canada's abortion law, his bill also legalized homosexuality and contraception, both of which had been completely illegal up until then. 
When he introduced his bill, Trudeau uttered what is probably his most famous line: "The state has no business in the bedrooms of the nation!"  and "what's done in private between adults doesn't concern the Criminal Code."  Excerpt: ProchoiceActionNetwork-Canada (emphasis mine-BP)
Do you hear the echo down the corridors of history? Pierre Trudeau made the above statements in 1967. The emboldened statement above about the ‘state’ and ‘bedrooms’ is the exact same phrase that his son, now Prime Minister Justin Trudeau echoed publicly - 46 years later.  
At the time, Pierre Trudeau made the statement, Justin was not even born yet, which suggests that he has studied his father’s career and comments closely.
Ah, but wait! Another website states that Pierre Trudeau used the above statement explaining homosexual acts between two consenting adults.
Pierre Trudeau used the expression, "There (sic) no place for the state in the bedrooms of the nation", to respond to reporters and explain that homosexual acts between consenting adults should be legalized and removed from the Criminal Code. The quoted words are attributed to Trudeau have not only turned out to be a lie, but were actually taken from an editorial in The Globe and Mail from Dec. 2, 1967.
[Note* - BP edit: Emphasis is mine. Please note that in the first article, that PM Justin Trudeau takes his father’s statement, which was originally used by Pierre in validating the liberalizing of Canada’s abortion laws and contraceptives; however, Justin used it to reference “gay rights”, which has been renamed (is also known as) the LGBTTQ rights.]
Created by God
Did not He that made me in the womb make him? and did not one fashion us in the womb? [Job 31:15]

As you know not what is the way of the spirit, nor how the bones do grow in the womb of her that is with child: even so you know not the works of God who makes all.  [Eccl 11:5]

Thus saith the LORD, thy redeemer, and He that formed thee from the womb, I am the LORD that makes all things; that stretches forth the heavens alone; that spreads abroad the earth by Myself;  [Is 44:24]

Because He slew me not from the womb; or that my mother might have been my grave, and her womb to be always great with me.  [Jer 20:17]

For You have possessed my reins: You have covered me in my mother's womb.
I will praise You; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvelous are Your
works; and that my soul knows right well.  [Ps 139:13, 14]


And you shall not let any of your seed pass through the fire to Molech, neither
shall you profane the name of your God: I am the LORD.  [Lev 18:21]

To be continued in part FOUR

for His glory
Bonita                             dovesofthevalleys4@gmail.com