It is with great joy I share with you the news that since January 1st, five babies have been born to mothers whom FLI’s team has assisted in their most greatest hour of need! Two girls and one boy have been born in the Wellington region and two girls in the Auckland region!
In addition, three babies were saved when their abortion minded mothers contacted our team at Gianna’s Choice Pregnancy Options and Support! Please keep these mothers in your prayers as they continue along their journey and courageously choose life for their babies in difficult circumstances.
Further, just before Christmas, a very special little man, who has been adopted by a fabulous couple, was baptised. My husband and I were blessed to attend his baptism and celebrate the gift of his life with his family and friends!
Yet another mother and baby spent the Christmas period at Colleen and Terry’s home and at our John Paul II Centre for Life in Auckland.
The team is ecstatic! I do hope that you will join us in celebrating these precious lives as well because you too are part of this great work to protect and defend life. Your prayers, efforts, sacrifices and generosity ensure that we can assist practically those mothers who most need our help.
But as I share this great news with you, a terrible tragedy is unfolding.
Shocking global developments regarding induced abortion
As January unfolded many news outlets reported that induced abortion was the leading cause of death globally in 2018. The website Worldometer, which bases its statistics on information obtained from the World Health Organisation (WHO), clocked 41.9 million induced abortions throughout the world during 2018. Breitbart reported that “there were more deaths from abortion in 2018 than all deaths from cancer, malaria, HIV/AIDS, smoking, alcohol and traffic accidents combined.”
Then, on January 22nd – the 46th anniversary of Roe v Wade – New York passed legislation which expanded their abortion law up to birth. The legislation states “Every individual who becomes pregnant has the fundamental right to choose to carry the pregnancy to term, to give birth to a child, or to have an abortion.”
When the Reproductive Health Act passed, cheering and clapping filled the hall as legislators celebrated the passage of the Bill. The same cheering and celebration occurred in the Republic of Ireland last year when the referendum to legalise abortion resulted in a “yes” vote. One Catholic Bishop from Texas, Bishop Strickland, described the New York celebration as “a scene from hell.”
Governor Andrew Cuomo ordered that the One World Trade Centre and various other landmarks in New York City be lit pink to celebrate the passing of the Act. A Catholic, there are many calls for his public excommunication after his vile and very public support for the slaughter of the innocents.
New Zealand’s late term abortion shame
It is often thought that late-term abortion is a tragedy that only happens overseas, such as in Victoria and Queensland, Australia or in the United States. When asked about the legal cut off for abortion in New Zealand, many will say the line is drawn at 20 weeks and there is no reason allowable after that time. Yet, the Crimes Act, 1961, clearly allows for abortion after 20 weeks with no time limit. Specifically the law states an abortion is not unlawful when:
“…in the case of a pregnancy of more than 20 weeks’ gestation, the person doing the act believes that the miscarriage is necessary to save the life of the woman or girl or to prevent serious permanent injury to her physical or mental health.”
This clause is a catch-all phrase which justifies late-term abortion for medical professionals who subscribe to the practice – either implicitly or explicitly.
If there is any doubt, let the statistics tell their own story. Provided by Statistics New Zealand, each one of these sad numbers represent a unique human being with infinite value – a son or daughter, brother, sister or grandchild. Each one is a human infant deserving of love and appropriate care, for no other reason than their existence as a human being demands it. Instead, their lives were ended, possibly through feticide, a process in which lignocaine or potassium chloride is injected straight into the pre-born infant’s heart to cause death.
Over a period of six years (2012 – 2017) a total of 402 pre-born babies were reported to have been aborted at 21 weeks or later.
114 of those babies were 24 weeks or over – the age of viability and when hospitals generally will do all they can do assist a premature baby to live. Many do with excellent outcomes.
In reality, many of these babies are aborted because they are deemed to be a life not worthy of life. Often their death sentence is a pre-natal diagnosis of a disability that may or may not be life-limiting (an unlawful reason for abortion under the current law). A false sense of compassion leads medical professionals and parents to believe that ensuring the child is born dead will lead to the best outcome. Instead of giving hope in what is already a traumatic moment, death is posited as the only reasonable solution.
Being prepared to defend life
The above should cause our hearts to break, compelling us to fall to our knees and beg God for mercy and forgiveness, making acts of reparation for what can only be described as diabolical. We must be willing to transform our own lives, putting all fear aside to do all we can, using our particular gifts, to defend life from its very beginning until its natural end.
Given the grave attack on life through the Labour Government’s push to treat abortion as just another health service, we need to ensure we know what the current situation is in order to effectively combat the proposed abortion law models. These models, suggested by the Law Commission, include abortion up to birth for any reason what so ever if the woman and her health practitioner so decide.
We must also know what help is available in the community to assist mothers and families who may receive an adverse pre-natal diagnosis where abortion is offered as an option. At Family Life International we offer hope and support in these difficult moments by assisting families through our Therese Programme.
No matter what difficulties and sufferings life throws our way – the taking of an innocent human life is never a solution. The great tragedy of abortion is fuelled by indifference, fear, misinformation, false compassion and an erroneous understanding of freedom. It is most certainly a culture of death.
Saint Pope John Paul II understood this and exclaimed that we “counter the culture of death with the culture of love.”
Our love will bring truth to all those we reach. Our love will save lives.
The FLI team look forward to working with you in this year of 2019 to counter the culture of death with a culture of love.
Hi FLI,
In what way can we reach out to women outside Auckland/Wellington? I am a nurse who works in a maternity health service in Bay of Plenty. Midwives & nurses..we have no knowledge of any specialised crisis options. Do u see a way that we can reach women in need, by offering a similar service to you, but without setting up an actual clinic? Or is there a way we can promote yr service to enable women in BOP to access your service? Thankyou