The Anchoress

In the mail today I received a copy of the most recent newsletter for the Sister of Life, which - while not yet online - contains a profile of a pro-life family that had been urged repeatedly to abort an infant that various tests and sonar-grams had marked as “hopeless.”

In “Fighting for Claire,” we read about two parents, already blessed with two children, whose third pregnancy - in which the baby was diagnosed with encephalocele (a portion of the brain being outside the skull - found them fighting the Tide of Termination which blows so fiercely from both the “well-meaning, compassionate” types and from the lawsuit-bitten within the medical community:

There was, at the base of Claire’s head, a small sac that was surgically removed two months after her birth. Whether Claire’s story is a miracle worked by God in the womb of her mother or whether the multitude of specialists simply got confused by the sight of the sac and offered a severe misdiagnosis, we may never know. But Mimi and Tito know that they chose the good in the face of trial - loving and accepting their child regardless of any medical condition -and that will have eternal rewards.

I often wonder about this idea of “terminating” a child who seems to have problems in the womb. We hear all the arguments; “the child will have such a stressful effect on your lives…” (goodness, even our healthy children stress us out) or “think of how this will effect your other children…” (you mean they may learn that life has its difficulties and the world doesn’t revolve around them?). We hear, “how heartbreaking to carry a child to term, only to lose it…” (but if you give birth to a child and lose him or her, you’ve still had a chance to hold her, kiss him, say “we love you,” before it’s all over. You get emotional and enter the world, you get to respond to love. Your baby might die. Your baby might live, and some will say you and your child are then a drain on the rest of the world, where - increasingly - only the perfectly healthy (of any age) are considered worthy of life, are worthy of good-wishes, are worthy of the planet’s resources. There is a very troubling mindset out there that says, in essence, “how dare you be so inconsiderate as to risk bringing an imperfect child into the world, a child who will make the rest of us feel uncomfortable, who might require something of the rest of us.” That is the mindset of the unworthy narcissist, and it is not at all surprising to see it so prevalent in this generation.

If your “questionable” baby is allowed to live, you’re going to love it - and that means love grows in the world, which is problematic for the Culture of Death and the Thing it serves. A long time ago, I wrote:

Think of it. Little Isabella, still a question mark in the womb (her parents did not want to be told her gender early) was already loved by her parents, and by all of the prospective grandparents, aunts, uncles…but then she arrived, and with her came to all of them a love that hadn’t existed in the world before, but exists now, in our world, and feels as real and intense and palpable as something that has existed before time. The love between Isabella and her Mama in that photo didn’t exist in the world before her birth. Now, the parents are awestruck with it, they’ve discovered something greater than themselves in this Love - it is a Love so complete, so unconditional and all-encompassing, that they would die for it.

One looks at picture of Isabella and her love-struck Mama, and one understands why abortion is such a triumph for the dark side. Every time a babe is aborted, this love is denied, is not allowed to Come. It cannot be Brought Forth. God is shut out.
[...]
God bless little Isabella, and her parents and family. She brings the Light. She brings the Love. She brings God.

This particular newsletter by the Sisters of Life is overflowing with stories of mothers who have - in difficult or adverse circumstances - chosen life, and of their beautiful babies, and of the grace that has flowed unto them all. It’s not online yet, but it will be soon.

Speaking of which, in calling the sisters to get permission to tell this story, I spoke with one delightful sister who hopes to update their site but - although a graphic designer before entering religion - is not sufficiently familiar with Mac’s “Dreamweaver” program to really do the job. If any generous reader of mine knows the program and would be interested in giving the sisters a hand (remember, they’re vowed to poverty) please email me about it!

See also: Zeke lived 1/2 hour; the love lives on

Related:
RIghtwing Nuthouse: Eco-Nannies Decry Large Families
Vanderleun on Babies born alive during abortion in England
Cuture of Death: Mankind is a Virus.
Malkin: Save the Planet; Blame the Children!
Where your treasure is (on urging the old to die, already!)
Where your treasure is, Part II
When a woman chooses not to abort
Hillary’s “Common Ground” begins to shift under its own false weight
The Church of Good Health, Body, Mind, Spirit…Body, Body, Body
Got a cleft palate? You should just die, then
Mass Euthanasia in Britain?
I have set before you life and death
Better to live briefly and beloved…
Terminating Two to avoid Costco
Let’s do the timewarp agaaain!
Slouching Toward Bethlehem
The Holiness of BE-ing