Students for life learning about the negative effects of abortion

Students for lifelearning about the negative effects of abortion Rachel McNamara, OCT Religion Part 2

What is Abortion? • An abortion is when the pregnancy is ended so that it does not result in the birth of a child. Sometimes this is called ‘termination of pregnancy’. • The pregnancy is removed from the womb, either by taking pills (medical abortion) which involves taking medicines to cause a miscarriage or by surgery (surgical abortion) where the pregnancy is removed from the womb. SEE

A Gift Of God? • I knew you before you were born…. SEE

Effects of Abortion…. • Physical • Emotional • Social • Societal…. SEE

Against Abortion because… • What is the Fuss? SEE

Why Women Choose Abortion SEE PRCH & Guttmacher @ 2005 Sources: Torres and Forrest, 1988 (1987)

What Scripture Has to Say… • The Call of Jeremiah (Jeremiah 1:4-8) • 4 The word of the Lord came to me, saying, • 5 “Before I formed you in the womb I knewyou, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.” • 6 “Alas, Sovereign Lord,” I said, “I do not know how to speak; I am too young.” • 7 But the Lord said to me, “Do not say, ‘I am too young.’ You must go to everyone I send you to and say whatever I command you. 8 Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you and will rescue you,” declares the Lord. JUDGE

What the Church Has to Say…(Catechism of the Catholic Church) • Abortion • 2270Human life must be respected and protected absolutely from the moment of conception. From the first moment of his existence, a human being must be recognized as having the rights of a person -- among which is the inviolable right of every innocent being to life. • Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you. • My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately wrought in the depths of the earth . • 2271Since the first century the Church has affirmed the moral evil of every procured abortion. This teaching has not changed and remains unchangeable. Direct abortion, that is to say, abortion willed either as an end or a means, is gravely contrary to the moral law: • You shall not kill the embryo by abortion and shall not cause the newborn to perish . • God, the Lord of life, has entrusted to men the noble mission of safeguarding life, and men must carry it out in a manner worthy of themselves. Life must be protected with the utmost care from the moment of conception: abortion and infanticide are abominable crimes. JUDGE

What a Pope Had To Say… • To claim the right to abortion, infanticide and euthanasia, and to recognize that right in law, means to attribute to human freedom a perverse and evil significance: that of an absolute power over others and against others. This is the death of true freedom: "Truly, truly, I say to you, every one who commits sin is a slave to sin" (Jn 8:34). The Gospel of Life, #20, John Paul II, 1995 JUDGE

What the Bishops Have to Say… • Abortion and euthanasia have become preeminent threats to human dignity because they directly attack life itself, the most fundamental human good and the condition for all others. They are committed against those who are weakest and most defenseless, those who are genuinely "the poorest of the poor." They are endorsed increasingly without the veil of euphemism, as supporters of abortion and euthanasia freely concede these are killing even as they promote them. Sadly, they are practiced in those communities which ordinarily provide a safe haven for the weak -- the family and the healing professions. Such direct attacks on human life, once crimes, are today legitimized by governments sworn to protect the weak and marginalized. Living the Gospel of Life: A Challenge to American Catholics, U.S. Bishops, 1998 JUDGE

Life Night • A lock in focusing on pro-life issues • Create pledge sheets for participants (just like a run-a-thon) to collect money for pro-life organizations • Have a guest speaker to speak out about the side-effects associated to abortion • Display the baby-model for participants to see the real size of the child through the stages of fetal development ACT

March for Life • Attend the National March for Life in May in Ottawa • Have prayer sessions prior to the March for Life to pray and learn about the pro-life movement ACT

Baby Shower • Create a school wide baby shower • Have students bring in items that are needed for newborns and their mothers • Donate all items and monies to a local pro-life organization or a local women’s shelter that assists new mothers ACT

Baby Bottle Campaign • Hand out baby bottles to studentson Mothers’ Day and collect them on Fathers’ Day • Encourage students to fill the baby bottle with their loose change • On the side of the baby bottle, write different facts (like a warning label on cigarettes) ACT

Resources (used in Presentation) • Priests for Life www.priestsforlife.org • http://www.bpas.org/bpasyoungpeople/what-is-abortion • Abortion in Canada abortionincanada.ca • Notable Quotes http://www.osjspm.org/document.doc?id=34

Students for life learning about the negative effects of abortion