In January 2019, New York State passed its own RHA (Reproductive Health Act). Amidst hoots, hollers, and the Freedom Tower illuminated in pink in celebration, the “devout” Catholic governor of N.Y, signed the bill into law. Today, to the delight of many, infanticide is legal in N.Y. State.
Many people in our supposed civilized society have moved into a different universe. They have embraced the legal execution of our most vulnerable children (babies are children). We have moved from killing them at or just after conception to killing them born full-term and breathing on their own. No matter the size, kill them if you wish, no problem.
These tiny people are just like us, only smaller
As the parents of a daughter who was stillborn on September 6, 1978, my wife and I were fully aware of the LIFE that we had lost. Loretta (who passed away from cancer in 2003) almost died that day in a valiant attempt to get to a Catholic hospital so her baby would be baptized. That is a story for another time, but we both understood the insanity of treating tiny people in-utero as nothing more than “products of conception” or “blobs of tissue.” They are no such thing. They are people, just like us – only a lot smaller.
Our two-pound daughter was named Theresa Mary, and she is buried with my parents in Gate of Heaven Cemetery outside New York City. She was a person who lived and died. And her mother, who never saw her or held her was willing to die for her, unseen and unheard. Loretta’s actions exemplify what respecting God-given life is all about. It is the ultimate act of love and unselfishness. Secularism does not understand this. It never will.
Many people accept the undeniable truth that life is a precious gift from God. This belief is backed by science. Life is life, no matter how big and no matter how small. No life belongs to another, and the fact that a child needs a mother’s womb to grow changes nothing. That child is unique and special with its own DNA, character, and personality. That little person has as much right to live as do any of us, no matter what age.
63 million lives snuffed out
We live with the infamous Supreme Court ruling of Roe v. Wade passed in 1973. Since then, over 63 million little lives have been snuffed out under the guise of “reproductive rights.” No one has ever taken away a woman’s right to reproduce. The fact that seven men voted for a law that allows a woman to destroy her child does not make it right. Far from it, it has allowed for an ongoing abomination.
What is so astonishing is that so many folks do not see anything wrong with participating in a holocaust that has claimed more than 60 million lives. Most of these people seem to be no different than anyone else. They work, pay their bills, mow their lawns, and celebrate Thanksgiving and the Fourth of July. Yes, and some of them go to church and pray too.
I do NOT understand this. What have we wrought?
Having laid out those thoughts, I now go back to an article at Catholic Online from 2017. It is about a former “champion of abortion,” Stojan Adasevic. Throughout 26 years, this man performed 48,000 abortions, sometimes as many as 35 a day. Then, miraculously, he became the most important and influential pro-life leader in Serbia.
He thought he would go mad
What happened to him is well worth paying attention to. Adasevic’s conversion slowly came about following a recurring dream of children running away from him.
In Adasevic’s recurring dream of children playing and laughing, but then running away when they saw him, there was also a man dressed in black and white. When Adasevic finally approached him in the dream and asked who he was, the man said he was Thomas Aquinas. Adasevic said the man then told him all the children he saw were those who he had killed.
Upon finally understanding this, Adasevic resolved not to perform any more abortions
But it was an experience he had while performing what would be his final abortion that really made an impression on him.
Adasevic described what happened during that termination procedure:
“As I pull out the mess, thinking it will be bone fragments, I lay it on the cloth. I look and I see a human heart, contracting and expanding and beating, beating, beating.
“I thought I would go mad. I can see the heartbeat is slowing, ever more slowly, and more slowly still, until it finally stops completely. Nobody could have seen what I had seen with my very own eyes, and be more convinced than I was – I had killed a human being.”
Adasevic and his family received severe punishments from the Communist regime following his decision to stop performing abortions. Undaunted, he returned to the Orthodox faith of his childhood and became a student of St. Thomas Aquinas. Suffice it to say that Stojan Adasevic has told his story throughout Europe.
The master of lies and deception is waging war
It is now November 2021. The following is a link to abortion laws by state. It will take you to a September 1, 2021 article in U.S. News & World Report: LINK.
In the war being waged by Satan, the master of lies and deception, his influence has been so significant and the deception so pronounced that it has taken many years of flowing graces from God for light to begin to enter the darkness. We must continue to pray as hard as we can until this scourge against human life is stopped.
Two major cases (one from Texas and one from Mississippi) dealing with abortion are scheduled to be heard in the United States Supreme Court. Let us pray every day for the sanctity of life to be upheld. Prayer is the most potent weapon we have, and we MUST defend the smallest of the small.
Human rights are not a privilege conferred by the government. They are every human being’s entitlement by virtue of his humanity. – Mother Teresa
16 thoughts on “INFANTICIDE has only one meaning: the act of killing an infant”
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I’ve responded to Larry above, but I think you are continuing to miss my point (while kind of making it yourself). The main reason is financial, but the financial reasoning goes well beyond the actual pregnancy. The pregnancy is the cheap part of raising a child. Have you seen how much daycare costs? Imagine trying to pay for daycare as a single parent with a low-paying job. It is literally impossible in many cases. And this pushes them to abortion. The crisis pregnancy centers are a drop in the bucket.
And also, “problematic” entails a lot of reasons, but not all of them are purely selfish. I commented to Kathleen that the shame and ostracizing the Catholic community likes to give to those who get pregnant out of wedlock is repugnant. If we are a pro-life community, we shouldn’t be doing that. There was a story about a priest in the KC area who told a parishioner to get an abortion quietly because it would bring shame and scandal on the parish and her family. That is the type of attitude that needs to stop in the Catholic church. We need to acknowledge where people are and support them. We really, really need to stop worrying about image in many ways. Our concern about image is what paradoxically led to a number of problems in the church. When something bad happens or is done (unwed pregnancy, sexual abuse, etc), acknowledge it, and provide the support to get through it. Don’t try to hide the bad thing and pretend it never happened. That is scandal.
This was meant as a response to Gene. Sorry for getting it in the wrong place!
Grateful for the above post by Kyle , which does help to bring compassion for all involved and thank God that there is more help such as through pregnancy aid centers and hope they also help to bring the truth as to how sins against life has its price far beyond what is seen from the short sighted fix – even as far as affecting the climate , as mentioned by Pope Emer. Benedict – ‘ internal deserts bring on the external ones ..’
Glad to also recall with gratitude , the goodness of a parish priest in our midst in the recent past – an unmarried girl and pregancy , the priest with the grieving and compasionate heart of a Father got involved , arranged adoption ; word got out in the community and the murmurings –
the priest too got wind of it ; all it took was one homily , with the firm , protective and wounded heart of a father – ‘ stop the murmurings – it is not going to be tolerated in this parish ‘ ; true , without some one mentioning same , some including me may not have to come to know what was meant ; the tone of scorn and mockery
in some is what grieved and brought the righteous anger in the priest . All got the message ; he continued to show the compassionate support for the parents of the girl , who in turn remained as the silent and even heroic witness of His healing and mercy in what could have been a destructive occasion . That lesson also seems to be in line with the fire that moves the heart of the Holy Father in his compassion for the weak yet making him an object of misunderstandings as well . His words – ‘ hiring a hit man ‘ is to touch hearts , since the focus is often only on the ‘ woman ‘ ; including both parents being important to bring delievrance and blessing on the family as a whole .
Blessings !
Kyle, what exactly is your point? It sounds like you are saying, ‘Ya abortion is evil, but given all the problems unwed mothers face, can we really blame them for choosing abortion?” (This is a fallacious argument known as an Appeal to Pity.) It also sounds like you are saying pro-lifers need to find better arguments to make their case because the arguments we are using are ineffective. If so I challenge YOU to come up with better ones. Become part of the solution instead of just criticizing.
Note too, however, that you are also using three fallacious arguments to back up your position that the Church is too worried about “image.” 1) You say “the shame and ostracizing the Catholic community likes to give to those who get pregnant out of wedlock is repugnant.” This is Generalizing from a Sample. Yes there are “some” Catholics who might shame and ostracize unwed mothers, but this does not mean it is true of the Catholic Church as a whole. My experience in this is actually the opposite of yours, but that does not mean my sample is “more true” than yours. Both samples are true but neither can be used to form a conclusion. 2) Your KC priest example is called Generalizing from Exceptional Cases. You are using an atypical case to form a conclusion. This is such a weak argument that it cannot even be considered an argument. And 3), dismissing pregnancy counseling centers, and help provided by parishes and Catholic Services because, in your opinion, they are “a drop in the bucket” is called an Impervious Argument. You are saying my opinion here is immune to criticism, when, in fact, that claim alone makes it not rationally credible.
Gene, I think I’ve clearly laid out my stance and my path forward for fixing the problem – compassion and understanding. And we can turn that into policies that actually reduce abortions. Many European countries have abortion rates that are half ours. The main drivers behind this are policies that make it easier to choose life. Strategically, you aren’t going to get lasting change by screaming that abortion is wrong while ignoring the underlying problem that abortion is attempting to “solve”.
And on the other stuff, there is no point arguing. I’m quite confident we could watch the same interaction and come to different conclusions about what is right and wrong – compassionate and cruel.
Listening to a documentary on the life of Audrey Hepburn, I was stunned to hear her say these words: “You deny childhood, you deny life. They can’t speak for themselves, so we must.” She was talking about children who were hungry, starving, malnourished, and without medical care. But how spot on about each unborn child. Larry P, you are the voice of these children. God bless you. Guy, Texas
The tragedy at the ‘music fest ‘ can help to bring more light into the choice of despair , the portals for same , ironically , as seen in the mad rush , to feel connected in the crowd , yet stomped to death with no one around to help ..
glad that the exorcists recognise the pattern – in the evil images that can be comparable to the above in the article ( and thank God for the marvel of ultrasound that can help bring the truth )
https://dailycaller.com/2021/11/10/astroworld-exorcist-satanic-influence-travis-scott/
and a related one on connections with evil –
https://spiritdailyblog.com/commentary/an-endless-list
As people of The Word , sounds and music to have effects in our lives ; the carnal excitements in such that make persons live for its addictive effects with the quick highs , to leave personsever more needy for same , thus empty and alone – desperatly willing to trade off God given potentials , for the quick and cheap dishes that come with a price . That price is the foolish choice to deprive the heart of the music of The Spirit that brings order and goodness , dignity and empathy , the great good of being persons / children who love , with praise and gratitude to God , with all of heaven – the essential Bread that we need .. and the more one falls into the rip currents , more difficult to pull off against the ‘death spirits ‘ ..
Our Lord has foreseen our times and brings the help through The Mother –
http://www.preghiereagesuemaria.it/DV-inglese/THE%20BLESSED%20VIRGIN%20MARY%20IN%20THE%20KINGDOM%20OF%20THE%20DIVINE%20WILL%20%20FINAL%20EDITION%202014.pdf
The early days meditations on The Mother as in the endearing mention of sending forth waves of love and adoration ( as well as tears seeing our trials ) to the Trinity , on behalf of each of us ;
our Lord too , shedding tears for our salvation from the moment of Incarnation , as oceans of love and empathy .. we are invited to bring The Love in their empathy for us in their sufferings , to recieve the graces in turn , to ward off our fear of sufferings , in the enemy lies of being alone and unwanted , instead to trust that we are in the Oceans of Oneness in The Spirit with all in Him ..
The offering up of the love in The Two Hearts , to be blessed in return , to thus be the preventive against impulsive choices from fear of being alone and helpless ..
to trust that when God allows life with its trials and tears and all too , it is given as the remedy to bring true Life , of more Oneness with all , in His Divine Will as
The SunRise – our Holy Father too seems well aware and intending the same good into our lives and times , in his call for the upcoming Synod as well ..
Our families , children on up can be helped to take in that lesson , to avoid the enemy traps , to trust how much power and goodness God can bring into our lives , in hiddeness and quiet as at every Holy Mass , the Rosay prayers – in The Spirit that moves this earth at 18 miles a second ..
may we never miss out on His gentle whisper in our families and in The Church ..
FIAT !
Hi Kyle, I have this one question. Why are 70% of pregnant women who have an ultrasound during their pregnancy’s, shocked at seeing a real living baby on the screen which happens to be inside them. Why do these 70% change their minds and have their BABY? With all the sex education in schools etc they had no idea, thinking inside them was clumps of cells or whatever else they may have been told. How come so many of these pro-choice people do NOT follow the science that show an individual begins at conception and once the sperm fertilizes the egg an individual with his or her own DNA begins to LIVE. It is all a question of size. It is all about denial.
Hi Larry, I’m not sure where you got that number, but it might not be fully accurate. A study in WI showed that mandated ultrasound viewing had only a small impact on whether a woman chose to continue their pregnancy. Pre-mandate 8.7% of women change their minds and chose against abortion while with the addition of mandated ultrasound viewing 11.2% chose against abortion. So there was an increase but it was small. I have a strong feeling that the 70% number was strongly influenced by only selecting women who chose to view an ultrasound because they were already very unsure about whether they wanted to have an abortion.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5528259/
And I agree that science says the baby is a separate human life. Anyone that says the baby is just a clump of cells or is part of the mother is being disingenuous. Many pro-choice individuals however do acknowledge that it is a separate human being, but they claim the mother has no legal or moral duty to let the child use her body to survive. They say we don’t as a society force any individual to care for others outside of the womb where the only need is financial (i.e. homeless), so why would we make someone care for a child where the need is financial as well as medical. I don’t think that is a good argument, but we can’t pretend the entire other side is claiming the baby is just a clump of cells. Most pro-choice people I have spoken with will acknowledge that the baby is a life (even while calling it a clump of cells – we’re all clumps of cells technically), but that doesn’t change their mind. In the people I’ve talked to, it’s not typically denial. This is why I’m so set on trying to alleviate the concerns that make people think abortion is necessary. Until we do that, this stalemate will continue. Both sides have been a bit disingenuous in my opinion. When it comes to abortion, the pro-choice side transforms into libertarians focused on individual freedom and the pro-life side turns into social justice warriors focused on making sure the most vulnerable among us are protected by the government – until they exit the womb.
Kyle: In too many parishes today never a word is said about abortion. Poor teaching, or no teaching. As lay Catholics we have a responsibility to get the word out. I think using this article might help. I don’t agree with your statement that every Catholic has heard, or knows, how evil abortion is. All things are possible with God. We do what we can, God will do the rest. Let’s pray for our president and other leaders in Washington that they will see the light and respond.
That is surprising, but I certainly don’t have experience in all Catholic dioceses. Reading the news (not Catholic news even), I feel like it is pretty obvious where the church stands. I think many Catholics disagree with one another about whether abortion is evil, but I’m not sure it’s a knowledge gap. I think they’re all going about solving a big, multi-faceted problem in different ways. And sadly, both sides only talk about their side of the problem while ignoring the other. One side says forcing someone to have a kid can ruin a person’s life economically and socially (true), while the other says abortion kills a child (true). We really need to work on both sides of this equation.
On a separate note, I can’t count the number of fellow Catholics I’ve talked to that have been shamed or effectively ostracized after becoming pregnant out of wedlock. That is one of the saddest parts of all of this for a church that claims to be pro-life. We socially shame people into secret abortion. I heard these stories from people I am very close to as well as at my engaged encounter weekend years ago. We need to change that. We need to celebrate those who choose life (and choose against sin) rather than shame them for any prior sins.
Dear Larry – It cannot be mere coincidence that presently on the Catholic Stand homepage we have this fine and insightful article by you and “We Must All Stand Before The Judgment Seat Of God” by Maurice Williams. Going back over a dozen years, I have been publishing a plethora of things with this message: “A Catholic with a well-formed conscience [as defined by Holy Mother Church] commits a mortal sin by voting for any Democrat at any level of government.” Of late the vehement and often vitriolic pushback on this has ebbed or disappeared. By their evil fruits everyone now knows them. What that cardinal so long ago said – the Democrat party is becoming the Party Of Death – is now clear to all.
Kathleen: ditto and ditto.
Larry, Thank you.
Guy, Texas
This article should be read by all Catholics who support abortion. Our Catholic leaders in Washington, D.C. starting with Joe Biden and Nancy Pelosi. All members of Congress and Supreme Court who are Catholics. I am focused here on Catholics. We have been blessed by God in the Catholic Church with Holy Mass and the Sacraments. With Holy Scripture read at every Mass. We have much to answer for when we are silent about this holocaust that is taking place in our land.
Do you think reading this will help change anyone’s mind? Especially a Catholic? I could be wrong, but I feel like every Catholic has heard the argument that unborn children are human lives and must be protected from the devil who is trying to trick people into killing them. This argument gets dismissed incredibly quickly because of the second part. The reasons that people choose abortion are always attributed selfishness or temptations of the devil. Until we understand and acknowledge the real reasons women choose abortion, we won’t be changing any minds. I’m pro-life but the argument being made in this piece rings incredibly hollow to me, and I understand why it infuriates pro-choice individuals and hardens their pro-choice position.
Kyle, I’m glad to hear you are pro-life, but you have used the “Until we understand and acknowledge the real reasons women choose abortion, we won’t be changing any minds” reason for criticizing CS articles on the evil that is abortion at least twice now. I’m not sure how you arrived at this conclusion because such a conclusion is nonsense. Everyone knows the reasons. They are not a mystery. (Do a Google search on “reasons why women get an abortion” and you’ll get 141,000 results. The top two reasons are financial and that having a baby now would be problematic in various ways [i.e., selfishness].) There are also over 2,000 pregnancy centers in the U.S. that were set up with the sole purpose of acknowledging the difficulties some pregnant women face and helping them through counseling and even with material assistance. Many Catholic parishes also provide counseling and various kinds of assistance to mothers-to-be, married or unmarried, as does Catholic Services.
Larry Peterson’s article also cites a key underlying reason for abortion – far too many women think (as Adasevic did) that the baby that is growing inside of them is just a blob of tissue so it is okay to rid themselves of an inconvenient blob of tissue. If more women understood that abortion really is infanticide instead of listening to the lies of the devil maybe they would not be so quick to murder their babies. And be sure to Read Larry’s response to you above.