Forcing “Family Planning” on the World

In Africa, one child in every 20 will die of malaria before the age of 5.  That comes out to 2,000 children every day.  And this is all because of a very preventable and treatable disease. In 2008, our country promised to send 1 billion dollars  every year to help to eradicate this scourge. In actuality, we have sent just over half that amount.

By contrast, our country has been able to send $716 million to Africa for “family planning.” Boxes of condoms arrive on a regular basis, along with contraceptives (including RU 486, the abortion drug.) Sometimes the people do not even know how to properly use these medications, and they are therefore misused. There was one case where a women almost died from an infected IUD that had been implanted without her knowledge.

I have dealt before in this blog with the whole area of the myth of overpopulation. From the evidence I have read, I believe that poverty does not result from too many people but, rather, from governmental systems that either don’t know how to properly distribute resources or will not do so. In many African countries an abundance of food sits rotting in storage because corrupt governments will not hand it out to those in need. 

Malaria is primarily spread by infected mosquitos. It is my understanding that it had almost been wiped out by the early 1960′s through the use of the chemical DDT. However, at the same time, environmental concerns arose from the use of the spray.  It was banned from use in the United States in 1972 and from world use in 2004. However,  when malaria began to skyrocket, limited usage of DDT was allowed once again. (There are some who argue that DDT use would have saved millions of children world-wide and others who claim that DDT loses its effectiveness to kill mosquitos over time. I am not knowledgable enough to discern the truth in this matter. Fortunately, that is not the point of this blog.)

It seems to me that the left is always hypersensitive to respecting other cultures and their traditions except in the area of population control. For several decades now, we have been bombarded with the belief that our world was in danger from too many people and that emergency measures needed to be taken to stop the growth. Families with more than two children were frowned upon. (Good thing some of us are immune to frowns!) The message was: women all over the world better get on the pill or our planet is doomed!

Now, I believe that more than one thing can be true at the same time (thank you, Steve Peterson!) It is evident that too many children are being born to single mothers. I can find many statistics to back me up on that. Men and women born into fatherless families fill our prisons and tend to have a greater failure rate in school and finding jobs. However, that problem will not be solved by more contraceptives or abortions. The only cure (no matter how realistic it may seem) is to save sex for marriage and to raise children with a mother and a father.

Likewise, tossing condoms and hoisting more abortions upon the world will not solve poverty.  The answers to solving that are complex and nearly impossible, unless we could somehow figure out a way to eradicate the world of evil and greed (and I am not talking about American capitalists- but that is a subject for someone else’s blog, not mine! However, for the record, I think capitalism has saved more people world-wide than all other economic systems combined.)

Getting back to the subject at hand, I think one very positive, life-saving thing our country can do right now is to take the funds being given to Planned Parenthood and others for spreading the deadly propaganda of “family planning,” and increase the money invested in solving the treatable condition of malaria. At www.pop.org, the Population Research Institute has some incredibly informative videos which make this very case. It will also open your eyes to the lies behind the myth of overpopulation.

The battleground for life spreads all over the world. Too often, death masquerades as an angel of life and spreads lies about “saving the planet”, when the aim is actually destruction of the innocent. Darkness must be revealed before we can fight it. Thank you, Population Research Institute, for bringing these things to the forefront!

Keeping it true!  Barb

Proof That Parental Involvement Makes a Big Difference in Teenage Abortions

“If I get an abortion, do my parents need to know?” Many teens believe that if they can just slink away and get rid of their “pregnancy” without anyone knowing, that their “problem” can just disappear. The truth is that they are facing a major decision concerning the life and death of their unborn child: a decision which should never be faced alone.

It makes me very angry when I read about girls taken out of their high schools and driven to the abortion clinic without their parents knowing a thing. Who exactly do these school officials think is going to take care of her when she is crying in the middle of the night, or, even worse, she starts to hemorrhage?  The legal age to leave home in most states is 18. Why is that? It is because until that point a child needs her parents to take care of her. If a major procedure like abortion, which impacts a young woman emotionally, spiritually, and physically, can be done without the parents even knowing, it strips away any means they have of caring for her in the ways that she desperately needs.

What about parents that might get angry and kick her out of the home when they find out their daughter is pregnant? Or would force her to go to the abortion clinic against her will? These cases do exist; but in my work I have discovered that the great majority of parents may be temporarily upset, but it doesn’t take them long to surround their daughter with love and support.  The girls that survive this season the best are those who do so with the help of their family.

At least 40 states have either a parental notification or parental consent law. In Nebraska, parents have to at least be notified before their minor daughter has an abortion. I believe the Unicameral is considering making it necessary for parents to give their permission before the procedure can take place. In the case of abusive parents, a girl can receive a judicial bypass to receive the abortion without her parents knowledge or permission.

A study was just released which gives clear-cut evidence that parental involvement laws reduce the abortion rate by at least 15%. (In some states, the number of abortions were cut in half once the law was instituted.) The author of the new study, Michael New, Ph.D., received the data for this research from the Centers for Disease Control and the Guttmacher Institute (both vocally pro-abortion institutions.) This backs up years of anecdotal evidence that has been seen in many states after these laws have come into effect.

As I mentioned at the beginning of this blog, at the AAA Center for Pregnancy Counseling, we see many teens who just want to “take care of things” without their parents knowledge. Once we explain that their parents will have to be informed of the abortion before they can receive one, it can change everything. We encourage girls to talk to their parents and get them involved. We tell them they will need their family’s support in the days ahead.  Once they realize they cannot keep things hidden, most turn away from abortion and begin to consider adoption or parenting.

A few months ago, a mother and daughter came to us. The woman was afraid that her 16-year-old was pregnant (and it turned out that she was.) While the daughter was talking with the nurse, the mother poured her heart out to one of our staff members. It turned out that she also got pregnant at 16. She never told her mother and had an abortion all alone.  She was still haunted by the pain and isolation this caused her, and she was determined to be there for her child.  The big lesson she learned was that in difficult times like that, a girl needs her mother.

Pro-abortion groups continue to fight laws which ensure parental involvement. They claim these laws don’t work. However, I suspect that they wouldn’t be struggling quite so hard against them if they really felt that was the truth. They know these laws are effective and that is why they want them outlawed.

As I have mentioned time and time again, it is the enemy of our souls that is behind the killing of unborn children. He knows that if young girls feel isolated and scared they will be driven by despair to destroy their babies. Satan hates the family unit and desires to annihilate it, as well as many lives as possible. We need to continue to fight for the right to protect our children!

Keeping it true!  Barb

The Ethics of Using Aborted Babies in Stem Cell Research

Even though it was many years ago, I remember the horror I felt when I first read about the experimentation that the Nazi’s conducted on their Jewish prisoners in World War II. They justified starving people to death or exposing them to freezing temperatures by rationalizing that if they were going to die anyway, their deaths ought to benefit others.   However, the fact that living human beings were being tortured and slaughtered as guinea pigs was totally unacceptable.  (If I remember correctly, the results for those barbaric experiments were discounted for scientific purposes.

I was reminded of those awful tests by an article I read this morning. A California-based company, named StemCells, Inc., announced last week that they were starting some new clinical trails using stem cells from aborted babies to treat paralysis. Neither the article or any information on their website went into detail on how these were going to be obtained. However, facts on how cells must be collected for such testing raise some disturbing questions.

From what I understand, stem cells must be collected within a short period of time after death: after five minutes they begin to deteriorate and they are useless after an hour. In fact, they are much more effective when taken from living cells.  Therefore, StemCells, Inc. almost certainly has a contract with abortion providers to supply them with the stem cells that they need. In addition, one would imagine that the mother of the aborted child would have to give informed consent.

Dr. Bernard Nathanson did research which pointed out that the type of abortion done is usually changed if the baby is going to be donated for scientific research. A prostaglandin abortion (prostaglandin is a chemical hormone which induces violent and premature labor) is often used in cases like this, since there is a greater chance the baby will be born alive (even though the risk to the mother increases.) A whole, living child would be of great advantage in the collection of usable stem cells.

Does the thought of this horrify anyone else?  Obviously, this is the result of an intricately developed scheme. The abortions would have to be done under specific conditions. So, I wonder: are either the abortionist or the mother paid extra for their services? Is the abortion “sold” to the woman under the pretence that “greater good” will come because of her child’s death? Is she offered a reduced cost on the “procedure”, or perhaps a small payment for her child’s cells? This opens up a whole new disturbing dimension to the abortion debate.It smells very unethical, but ethics never seem to matter much in the bloody business of abortion.

This doesn’t even touch on the whole debate if embryonic stem cell research is even safe. I have dealt with that in previous blogs. Embryonic stem cells are attractive to companies because they can be rapidly multiplied in the lab.  Stem cells taken from aborted children can be grown quickly and applied to the area that needs treatment. The problem is that the cells are hard to control and often continue to multiply even when placed in a host. The development of large tumors has been a deadly side effect.

The fact remains that there has not been one successful test done with embryonic stem cells. All the positive and glowing reports you hear about in the news are with adult stem cells.  If you find that confusing, I believe the confusion has been deliberate. The mainstream press wants you to think it is embryonic research that is successful, rather than adult stem cells, so that billions will continue to pour into this futile, destructive funnel.

The cannibalization of human life needs to end! There needs to be an investigation to discover the bloody details linking  abortion and stem cell research! It would be bad enough if they were hauling dead bodies from regular abortions into the labs- but that is clearly not the case!  These killings are done expressly for research. The potential for misuse (organ harvesting, women getting pregnant to sell their unborn child, etc.) is too horrible to contemplate.

Adult stem cell research is the only kind that makes sense. For one, it is the only one which has had any kind of success. Two, it is less dangerous to the patient. And, three, it does not call for the destruction of innocent human life. This is a drum I will continue to beat!  Please join me.

Keeping it true!  Barb

Where Have All the Children Gone?

Do you remember that song from the 1960′s? Well I guess you don’t unless you are as old as me. It was a kind of hippy song about flowers and children disappearing in the age of war. Today, I wouldn’t be surprised to see it modified to include verses such as, “where have all the polar bears gone?” However, I don’t tackle subjects such as global warming in this blog. (Which brings a sigh of relief to both you and I!)

However, as I touched on yesterday, there is a segment of our population which has been disappearing at an alarming rate: African-American unborn children. Normally I don’t take on the same subject two days in a row, but my husband found an interesting article that I could not pass by. The title was: “Black Populations Fall in Major Cities” and it appeared in yesterday’s USA Today.

The declines are primarily happening in cities that have long been black strongholds. Among them: Chicago, Oakland, Atlanta, Cleveland and St. Louis. In fact, in 20 out of 25 cities that exceed 250,000 in population and at least 20% black population, the numbers have either declined or the rate of increase has slowed considerably.

Now, please keep in mind the fact I gave you yesterday that 16 million black children have been aborted since 1973! That is more than 1 out of every 3 African-Americans alive today. In the year 2000, black women accounted for 17% of the live births in America, but had 36% of the abortions! It is estimated by some that over half the black children don’t make it to birth! The womb of a black mother is a dangerous place to be!

What reasons did USA Today give for this decrease in population? Well, I can tell you one thing: abortion was never mentioned. However, the article ends with an interesting statement: “the drop can be partially attributed to a declining black fertility rate and the aging of the black population.”

A declining black fertility rate? It can be argued, and the case clearly made, that this isn’t because black women are no longer able to conceive. They can and they do, however those babies often never make it alive from the womb. And, since a couple of generations of young people are missing, the population is getting increasingly older.

I’ve made the point many times that we don’t have a population problem in this nation. Instead, we are facing a crisis of too many people hitting retirement age without enough young people entering the work force. Why? Because over 50 million of our citizens, our beautiful young people of all races and colors, are missing.  

Articles such as the one in USA Today can give whatever reasons they want. They can say that black families are moving to the suburbs or to warmer climates in the south.  They can claim that crowded metropolitan areas are losing more citizens of all types, and both of those things may be true.

However, the fact remains that all over this country we continue to lose men and women that we need to sustain ourselves for the future. And, blacks are losing their’s at a much higher rate than whites or Hispanics. Regardless, every loss is a tragedy. 

Sadly, most of us don’t want to know where the children have gone. It is an ugly, ugly story, and I have vowed to fight it until the day I die. Will you join me?

Keeping it true!  Barb

TooManyAborted.com: Are Black Children Being Targeted For Abortion?

Billboards have been appearing all over the country with the same message: black children are being targeted for abortion. Two organizations, Heroic Media and the Radiance Foundation (organizations dedicated to pro-life issues and improving urban life) have sponsored the billboards. Just recently, NARAL (the National Abortion Rights Action League) announced their intention to strike back by pressuring the advertising companies to take the messages down.

The irony here is that I have not heard anyone counter the claims these billboards make. Removing the messages will not change the fact that the black abortion rate is three times that of white babies and twice the rate of all races combined. Georgia has numbers that are pretty typical of statistics nationwide. In that state, African-Americans comprise 30% of the population, but have 57.4% of the abortions.

A former Planned Parenthood board member from California, Dr. La Verne Tolbert, claims that black children are targeted for abortions. She said, “In California, children are targeted for abortions through school-based clinics and school-linked clinics, which are family planning clinics on or near school grounds. Girls are taken off campus to a Planned Parenthood clinic, where abortions are performed without parental consent or notification.”

In a previous blog that I did on the founder of Planned Parenthood, Margaret Sanger (published on 1/3/2011), I pointed out that her goal was to greatly reduce the number of children born to the poor and minorities. Her exact quote was that “the unfit, the feeble-minded, and the inferior races must be suppressed through birth control in order for Western civilization to survive.”  As soon as they were able, Planned Parenthood added abortion to their ways of eradicating those deemed less worthy.

I know that this sounds like an outlandish and overly harsh statement. However, Maafa 21, a compelling video presentation that was released last year, documents the historic and present-day strategies of Planned Parenthood in a way which shocked me to my core. I would challenge all of you to watch it- especially those that think positively of the organization (or those who think that I am severely over-reacting.)

Returning  to the billboards, the  NARAL Texas director, Sara Cleveland, has made it clear that not only are they attempting to remove the advertising, but also to attack pregnancy centers. She claims that “CPC’s exist to emotionally manipulate women. They distribute medically inaccurate information. Instead we should fund family planning centers that actually prevent unwanted pregnancies.”

Like who, Ms. Cleveland? Even though Planned Parenthood has received millions in taxpayer’s money, the rate of unintended pregnancies in our country has remained the same since 1995. Recent statistics show than an increase in contraceptive use does not affect the rate either. Am I the only one who thinks that the pregnancy rate and skyrocketing rates of STD’s are not going to decrease until we start to encourage our children to return sex to the safe confines of marriage?

However, I digress! The issue here is the slaughter of black children. They can tear down all the billboards, but it doesn’t change the facts that 80% of all Planned Parenthoods are located in minority communities and over 50% of pregnancies to African-American women are aborted. This is an appalling travesty which should concern everyone, no matter what their opinion is on abortion. 

Since 1973, about 16 million African-American babies have been aborted. At present, there are only about 36 million members of the black community in the United States. That means that a staggering 36% of them have been lost!  How can we allow this holocaust to continue?

Keeping it true!  Barb

“Silent No More”: Giving Post-Aborted Women Healing and a Voice!

Jennifer O’Neill was a young, wildly successful actress in the early 1970′s. It seemed like everything was going her way. The hit movie, “Summer of ’42″ had catapulted her into a mega-star category. However, her personal life had taken a turn for the worse.

Jennifer had just struggled through the loss of her first marriage and was engaged to a second man when she discovered she was pregnant. Personally, she was thrilled. However, her fiance was not and he insisted that she abort.

In desperation, Jennifer turned to her family and friends for support. Sadly, they agreed with her fiance. They argued that the child wasn’t a baby yet anyway,  just a clump of cells. Surrounded by voices urging abortion, she gave in. The aftermath: years of depression and guilt, plus physical scarring and 9 miscarriages. Jennifer finally found healing when she gave her life to Jesus at the age of 38.  (You can find more of Jennifer’s story at www.jenniferoneill.com.)

I first became aware of Jennifer’s story many years ago. I am still deeply moved when I read of her anguish at finding herself happily pregnant, only to discover that everyone who loved her wanted her to get rid of her child. With no support and fearing she would lose her future husband, she gave in, only to have her life fall apart as a result.

Jennifer O’Neill said the abortion activists she debates tell women that the procedure is like going to a dentist and having a tooth pulled. “Experience overrides theory,” she tells crowds.  “Someone who would say such a thing hasn’t had that experience.”

I admire Jennifer for many reasons, but the primary one is that has remained steadfast in the battle. It has been twenty years since she found the Lord and revealed her story to the world. And, she is still very active in speaking out against abortion to this day.  She is one of several prominent women active in an organization called the Silent No More Awareness Campaign, which ministers to women struggling from past abortions.

Based on a best-selling book by David C. Reardon (which I highly recommend!) the group gives a voice to the formerly silent and suffering victims of abortion: the women who are coerced and deceived into making the choice to have their own children destroyed.  They travel all over the country, speaking to groups and appearing as witnesses for pro-life legislation. They are one voice which is difficult to dismiss since experience is a hard thing to deny.

At the AAA Center for Pregnancy Counseling, we see women hurting from past abortions all the time. For some, their lives are spiraling out of control: chemical and alcohol dependency and reckless promiscuity dulling their pain. Others cannot keep a job or maintain a normal life. We provide one-on-one and group counseling for those that desire help. However, we’ve discovered that unless they are willing to accept the fact that they are lost and in need of a Savior (Jesus) there is little we can do for them.

Dr. Alveda King is another one of the women that is actively involved with “Silent No More.” I’ve shared her story in a previous blog (Abortion and Planned Parenthood: Involved in Black Genocide 10/14/2010) Alveda is the niece of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Just like Jennifer O’Neill, she struggled  through the trauma of abortion (in her case there were 2) in the early 1970′s. She also lived with serious regret for many years, finally finding peace and healing in Jesus.

Today Dr. King sees the pro-life movement as a continuation of the civil rights struggle. She is greatly disturbed (as we all should be) by the outrageously high numbers of black children that are aborted every year.  As part of the “Silent No More” movement she is helping hurting women to find healing, as well as a voice.

Post-aborted women are everywhere! They fill our churches and our neighborhoods. You can probably find several among your circle of friends. If you know of anyone (maybe yourself) who is in need of healing from a past abortion, point them our way. We would love to help! We can be reached at 402-390-9700.

Keeping it true!  Barb

Will Women Suffer if Planned Parenthood Loses Federal Funding?

Things are really heating up in Washington! Of course, with a predominantly conservative House of Representatives and a liberal Senate, it is a volatile mix. The battle of Planned Parenthood funding is rising to a fevered pitch.

Those of you who have read this blog for a while know where I stand on the issue of Planned Parenthood. In short, I believe, as the Bible states, that this organization is  “like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of dead men’s bones and everything unclean.” (Matthew 23:27) They have painted themselves as a wholesome organization which just wants to help women with health issues.

In fact, they are built upon an evil foundation. From the beginning, they have been dedicated to genocide and the sterilization of minorities. Even today they are committed to the modern-day extermination of the poor through abortion. Yes, they provide a lot of other services to women, such as breast exams and std testing and treatment, but as far as I see it, abortion and contraception lie at the core of their purpose for existence.

Over the last few years, exposees, primarily by an organization called Live Action, have shown Planned Parenthood for who they really are. Time after time their workers have been caught advising very young girls to lie about their age or about the age of the person who has impregnated them instead of contacting child protective services (as both the law and common decency mandate!) In Ohio, they were successfully sued for turning their heads while an adult soccer coach brought one of his 14-year-old team members to abort a child he fathered and ignoring her pleas for help.

Earlier this year, case after case after case showed staff members at Planned Parenthoods all over the country amicably chatting with a so-called pimp and prostitute about how to get their underaged girls “serviced” without contacting authorities. No concern whatsoever was demonstrated for these underaged sex slaves. In fact, the only concern shown seemed to be how they could make lots of money off this obvious cash cow.

In the midst of this horror show, the mainstream press did not say a thing. Nor did the liberals in Congress respond to this obvious abuse of children. Instead, 19 Democrats, led by Senator Harry Reid, are declaring that there is no way they will allow the defunding of Planned Parenthood. In fact, all indicators are that they will allow the government to shut down before they will ever allow such a thing to take place!

The hue and cry are that poor women need Planned Parenthood and would be without any type of necessary care if the organization did not receive federal funding. Now, I have never had the impression that Planned Parenthood was a champion to the poor. Women come to us for pregnancy tests and ultrasounds because we are free and Planned Parenthood is not.  We have heard the same for all kinds of testing that they do.

Their abortions certainly are not free. Women have told us very clearly that abortions cannot be obtained without the cash in hand. In her book, Unplanned, former Planned Parenthood director, Abby Johnson, discusses the rising emphasis that was placed on increasing the numbers of abortions (and even the desire to do later and later procedures) because they are clearly the bread and butter of the organization. Like I said, death is their foundation and their core.

At the AAA Center for Pregnancy Counseling, the bulk of our patients are low-income women. Almost all of them need referrals for their medical care. Even if Planned Parenthood didn’t do abortions, we would never send our patients there. In Omaha, there are other clinics that are less expensive and will provide better care. I can’t help but think that this is true of most communities. And, if not, then that is where the millions in government funds need to go.

Will women suffer if Planned Parenthood loses the government funds? The answer is an emphatic, huge NO!! I wish I could say that Planned Parenthood would be in danger if the government funds dried up, but since their assets are estimated at $92 million, I don’t think that would be true. Plus there seem to be an abundance of deceived individuals that would continue to pour out the funds they need.

How can we continue to pour our tax dollars into their corrupt, value decrepit organization? They epitomize the statement, “rotten to the core.” Pregnancy Centers in New York now have to post that they don’t do abortions. If there was justice in this world, Planned Parenthood would have to post: “Beware! Our founder believed in exterminating the black community and we still revere her as a great woman. We will not protect children or sex slaves. Abandon hope all unborn that enter here!”

Continue to pray for the defunding of Planned Parenthood. Call your representatives (although I don’t hold out much hope from Senator Nelson!) Stay posted and I promise to keep you updated!

Keeping it true!  Barb

Relationship and Abstinence Education: Taking Back the Schools!

Two weeks ago, I watched an episode of the hit show Glee. The focus of the program was sex eduction. Academy Award winning actress, Gwyneth Paltrow played a substitute teacher whose assignment was teaching the sex-ed class.

Okay, I am usually alarmed by the underlying messages on television, but this one did not even pretend to be subtle! Ms. Paltrow’s character openly ridiculed anyone who made a pretense of abstinence. The “Virginity Club” was represented as a group of hypocritical, up-tight, conniving women.  The episode screamed: sex ( hetero or homosexual) is awesome and all normal people are having it as much as they can. And, those who aren’t sexually active either have mental hang-ups or are losers who would jump into the next bed available  if only they could.  (Oh, yes, to their credit, there was a small segment on how it all needs to be done for love. Of course, marriage was not mentioned, except for one neurotic messed up couple)

Now, I would like to think this was just television and not reality, but then I came across some information on a “Sex Ed Conference” which just took place in Somerset, New Jersey. I didn’t want to read any editorial comments on the gathering, so I downloaded the conference program from the internet. (you can find it yourself at: www.sexedconference.com/conferenceprogram.pdf. )

The advertising in the program alone were disturbing. It starts out on the 1st page with an ad from the American Institute of Bisexuality.  Page 9 had glowing comments for a book called, “The Guide to Getting it On,” and page 10 offered the instructional manual, “Because It Feels Good, A Woman’s Guide fo Sexual Pleasure and Satisfaction.”  Page 17 offered the educators a wide array of sexual lubricants and page 20 had a wider assortment of “Adult products.”  Ironically, one of the workshops was entitled, “We teach who we are.”  Unfortunately, that is all too true! 

Some of the more disturbing workshops were as follows:

-Don’t Forget about the Good Stuff! Incorporating positive messages about Sexual Pleasure into Sexuality Education! The description for this session reads: “Sex ed often focuses on reducing the negative consequences of sexual behavior (hmmm…. should it?) but does not always address how sexual activity can feel good! (why is it I think that young people already get that part?)

-Left out? Introducing LGBTQ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and whatever Q is) inclusivity in Sex Education.

-Helping Adolescents Define, Create, and Maintain Sexually Healthy Relationships (In other words, teens will be having sexual relationships, so let’s make sure they are healthy!)

-A Workshop on Anal Health and Sexual Safety

-Numerous workshops were offered on teaching handicapped students (physically and mentally) how to have safe sex.

Teachers from New Jersey had the $250 fee for attending paid by their school districts. They also received continuing education credits.  I was left with the impression that this group comprised the mainstream of sexual education instructors in that state.

Yet another session offered to “teach step-by-step directions for using celebrity gossip magazines to teach media literacy…” In my opinion, they should have saved all their money on speaker’s fees and just used these magazines along with re-runs of all the teen shows  on television as their curriculum. After all, both they and this conference convey the same dangerous and irresponsible messages! Listening to them, our impressionable children are brainwashed to believe that sex is great and abstinence is for losers (and, oh,  by the way, please use a condom!)

I’m sorry, but I see too many young girls everyday whose lives have been ruined by sex outside of marriage! They are riddled with diseases and terrified they might be pregnant. Beyond that, they have been used as sexual objects by a generation of young men who think that sex with whoever they want is a right, and have never been taught to take responsibility for their actions.

In response to all this, the AAA Center for Pregnancy Counseling has a team of speakers that goes into most of the area middle and high schools to share about the value of keeping sex inside the safe confines of marriage. At present, we speak to 8th and 11th graders, encouraging young people to respect themselves (and their future spouse) enough to say no until after they say, “I do.”

This team has been very effective; however, in the midst of the huge barrage of media (television, music, and movies) that scream the opposite message, we realize we need to be there during every grade, 6-12, sharing this life-giving message year after year. No child can hear too often that they were made for a special purpose and that their future is too wonderful to throw away on temporary pleasures. Young girls need to hear that sex is not love and that no one who really loves you will want to jeopardize your future. Boys need to hear from godly, responsible men how to face their responsibilities and become good husbands and fathers.

We were given enough money at our latest banquet to purchase the curriculum and hire the speakers needed to reach every grade in the Omaha area (6-12.) However, we need your help. What can you do?

1. If you have a child in any of the area middle or high schools, call your principle and tell them you would like our team to be able to speak to the students. Especially if Planned Parenthood is there, we should be as well. (Actually, this is exactly the way we first gained entrance to Millard Schools. One parent’s call made all the difference.)

2. We need more speakers, primarily men! If you feel like you would love to speak to young people about respecting themselves and the value of saving sex for marriage (or if you know someone who would) please call us at 402-390-9700.

3. Please pray! Like every aspect of the work we do, this is a spiritual battle. The enemy wants to destroy the lives of our youth! He hates families and healthy relationships. However, we serve a mighty God, and He is at work to see that lives, families and marriages are restored!

Keeping it true!  Barb

Whenever a Child Dies, Someone Should Mourn!

Last night we found out that a woman we’d been working with for quite some time aborted her 18-week-old baby. At the AAA Center for Pregnancy Counseling, we see over a thousand women a year for pregnancy tests and ultrasounds. You would think we would have grown hardened to the realities of our work, but we are not: we still grieve anytime a child is lost.

We face all types of situations.  A young woman comes in and shares her story: sometimes it is happy, but most often it is filled with pain, betrayal, and heartbreak. She is young and still in school and isn’t sure she can have a baby right now. Or, she is older and her boyfriend will leave her if she has the baby. Her parents might be threatening to kick her out, or she is not sure how she will pay the rent. On and on the stories go.

And then comes the ultrasound. Suddenly that which was just a “problem” has been transformed into a baby; and not just any baby, but her baby. The tiny heart is beating and the sound of it is the most wonderful thing in the world. By 8 or 9 weeks, we see little arms and legs swimming around in their watery world. It is amazing, and our team falls in love right along with the mothers.

The little person we just lost was around 14 weeks when his mother came to us. She was my patient, so I remember her well. Annie (or so I’ll call her) also had her 3-year-old daughter along and you could tell she thought the world of that little girl. However, Annie was back in college now and this pregnancy had taken her completely by surprise.

As much as Annie talked about needing to abort, all of her actions seemed to say differently. She said she loved God and that faith was very important to her. When I prayed for her, she had tears in her eyes. She just kept saying, “this is so hard!”

During the ultrasound, she was shocked at the size of her baby. Every body part was clearly recognizable. The strong spine made a clear snake-like arc. We could even pick out the facial features. Some of the baby’s antics made Annie smile, but mostly she remained quiet. It was hard to tell what was on her mind.  After dressing, she left so fast we were not able to give her the paperwork she needed, so we sent it in the mail.

We continued to try to stay in touch with Annie. Occasionally we connected by phone, and she would tell us that she was still not clear what she intended to do. Finally, last night, over a month after her first appointment, we discovered that Annie aborted at 18 weeks. Her beautiful, playful, perfect son or daughter was dead.

We may never know the reasons that Annie finally made that fateful appointment with Dr. Carhart.  Did her boyfriend threaten to leave? Maybe her family and friends told her she would be stupid to throw away her chances for an education and a better future for another child. A handful of women choose abortion because it is what they want to do, but mostly they do it because others in their life have convinced them that they don’t  have a choice.

Many of us wept last night when we found out this baby was dead. We cried for Annie because a late-term abortion like this is a horrible thing to go through. It usually takes 2 or 3 days, and every method used is barbaric. (If you would like a description, please click here.) We also know that there will be a day, sooner or later, when she will have to face the devastation of what she has done. Abortion exacts its toll upon all women who choose it, in one way or another. We have assured Annie that we will be here if she needs us.

Mostly, we are in mourning for this little child whose life was cut short in such a horrible way. In our minds, we see him or her swimming carefree, sucking a tiny thumb and just needing a safe place to grow until large enough to live on their own. This death was wrong and cruel and no woman should have to make that kind of deadly choice. We  mourn this inestimable loss and recognize that a unique, irreplaceable person, formed in God’s image, was wrongly taken from us.

It is for Annie and her child and all the other innocent victims just like them that we will continue our fight. Right now, as the result of a miraculously successful banquet, we have made plans to more than double the appointment times we have available. Soon we will more than double our advertising campaign as well.

The AAA Center for Pregnancy Counseling is committed to ending the need for abortion in the Greater Omaha Community. We are praying for a day in which we will never have to grieve for another lost child or women who have been lied to and betrayed.  In response, we will find every opportunity we can to open our doors and reach those who need it.

We can use your help. In order to continue, we are in need of volunteers. If you are interested, please call our office at 402-390-9700. And, also, please pray for us! This is a spiritual battle and the tide will only turn if we are all willing to enter in.

Keeping it true!  Barb

When is a Person a Person? (The Danger of Ignoring God’s Definitions!)

The little girl pictured here is 18-months-old. She looks like she is very bright, and probably is talking up a storm. That age is delightful: they are learning all kinds of things, but haven’t yet reached the terrible twos, where everything is “mine!” or “no!” (although I must admit that as the grandmother of a two-year-old, I find that pretty delightful too!)

Many years ago, I remember reading a quotation, from a so-called educated man, who stated that parents should be able to wait until after birth to be able to “abort” their children, so that they could see if that baby was going to have a substantial “quality of life” or not. Similarly, last week at a debate at Dalhousie University in Nova Scotia, Dr. Mark Mercer (ironically, the chairperson of philosophy at St. Mary’s University) argued that a baby should not qualify as a person until it is 18 months old.

Actually, Dr. Mercer agreed with the pro-life speaker that the unborn are human beings. However, he argued that the notion of whether someone was a “human being” was not a “morally relevant concept.” According to him, as people we are not special simply because of our “species membership,” but we must earn our right to be worthy of life. To the best of my understanding, we do this by becoming rational, aware, and intelligent people.

Now, I would really like to ask this man some questions. For one, on what basis is this criteria for personhood set? Who gets to set the standards? And would they be the same for all people? Is it possible that some would never be able to reach an acceptable level? For instance, would certain mentally or physically handicapped individuals always fall short?

Actually, when I really think about it, I find that I respect Dr. Mercer’s opinion more than I do most pro-abortion proponents. At the very least, he shows more consistency. He recognizes that life in the womb is indeed human. In fact, he pointed out that he can’t understand the number of abortions since there are so many people willing to adopt. I think the question becomes: if God’s definitions for life and its intrinsic worth are rejected, on what basis are new standards set?

As a believer, I firmly believe that life begins at conception. When the egg and sperm come together, a new and unique individual is created by God. That person has inestimable worth because God gives it to them, not because of anything they will ever do. A baby born with a brain defect that can do no more than lay in a crib and be changed and fed all its short life is just as valuable as a scientist who finds a cure for cancer.

Whenever we change these God-given standards is when we run into trouble. In order to justify abortion, people had to convince themselves and others that life does not actually begin at conception, but at some random point (because nothing else really makes sense!) So, is it when the heart starts beating at around 5 weeks? Or, when the baby can live outside the womb (which keeps getting younger and younger.) At birth? After a few days? At 18 months? When a person can pass an intelligence test?  You get my point.

We are already at a point where we have determined that certain people are not worthy of life. It is almost a miracle when a baby with Down’s Syndrome makes it to birth. That can also be said for any number of “birth defects.” In fact, many doctors recommend abortion if there is even a hint of a problem.

I would imagine that the Dr. Mercer’s of the world are going to be far more criticized than the abortion proponents (and rightfully so!) We prefer it when death can be kept hidden. Fortunately, continual advances in ultrasound is making that more difficult all the time. Life in the womb is far too fascinating to keep secret. And, when things hidden in darkness are brought to the light, the truth is revealed. Suddenly we realize that it is children, not blobs of tissue, that are being aborted!

We also need to carefully keep an eye on changing definitions for the end of life.  “Brain death” seems to be an ever evolving term. I have seen videos of so-called “brain-dead” individuals with their eyes open, responding  to family members.

Terms like “quality of life” scare me as well. Especially as the huge generation of “baby boomers” begin to age and present more of a financial burden to society, I am afraid the temptation will increase to rid ourselves of senior citizens that society considers worthless.

God’s definitions for life and worth are the only ones which will keep us from plummeting further into a dangerous abyss. Life begins at conception and ends when the heart ceases to beat. And, all life has great worth because God says it does, not because of anything we do or say. Anything less than this is not only untrue, it is dangerous!

Keeping it true!  Barb