Last week at the ND Right to Life Convention we heard from David Bereit founder of 40 Days for Life. He was realistic and encouraging. He told about the amazing way in which God worked to found that organization and just how much promise there is for North Dakotans to end abortion in this state...perhaps even be the first state in the nation to do so! Please continue to pray for the end of abortion, that the hearts of those participating would be changed, and sign up at www.40daysforlifend.com to participate on site.

A letter from John Trandem:

"I am so excited to see all of our flags displayed Downtown Fargo nearly 100 strong! We started out with a goal of 50 flags, which soon became 70, and after doing a physical count of the mounts on the poles downtown, has now grown to 100! Broadway will be rife with white and blue flags, proclaiming our message to all!

My plan is to put the flags up this coming Sunday, October 24th. I have about 6 volunteers already, but could use 6 or so more. It wouldn't hurt if you could also bring an aluminum step-ladder 8 to 10 feet tall. We have two, but it would go much more quickly with additional ladders. We will be walking the sidewalk with them, so lighter is better! Other items which could come in handy would be wagons (to carry the flags). I am hoping to have 4 crews who could start on 4th Ave N and work the two sides of the street, two going North and two going South. If we have ample volunteers, we should be able to wrap the job up in a couple hours.

We will also need to gather the following Sunday to take the flags down, as part of the agreement with the DCP was to not abuse the opportunity by leaving the flags up past the week agreed upon.

If you can help, please message me back so I can put you on the list!

We will meet at the old depot parking lot (east side of Bdwy on 4th Ave N) just before noon on Sunday. Please include your cell phone numbers so I can call you that day if needed.

Mine is: 701-729-6839

One more detail! We are still a little bit short on donations, (about $200). So if you haven't donated and would like to, or know anyone who would like to buy a flag in honor of a child, grandchild, family member, or friend, every penny counts! Individual flags are $18, and we hope to use them every year from here on out!

Thank you for all your prayers and support!

Blessings, John Trandem"

Going Strong

Since the school kickoff so much has been happening in North Dakota for the pro-life cause. It is an exciting time to be alive.

A current project by John Trandem with Citizens United to End Abortion (facebook group) is raising money for flags to hang downtown for a "Celebrate Life" week. Not only to celebrate the life that begins with conception but all life! From youngsters to moms & dads and grandmas and grandpas.

Last Wednesday, September 23rd, 40 Days for Life began their non-stop prayer vigil outside the Red River Women's Clinic, the only provider for abortion in our state. Since they need volunteers around the clock to stand outside and peacefully prayer, please consider donating even an hour of your time toward that end by calling 701-356-7979 or signing up on their website: 40daysforlifend.com. This project is ongoing until October 31st. What a fantastic way to represent life.

On Saturday, September 25th, First Choice Clinic of Fargo sponsored a Life Walk. It was picked up in several locations across the state including, Devil's Lake, Rugby, & Bismarck. Couples, famlies, moms with strollers, wagons, and kids participated in the Walk for Life at many parks including Lindenwood in Fargo.

Also on Saturday the Hankinson Teens for Life group participated in the town's celebration of Oktoberfest. They raised money for the pro-life cause by face-painting, pumpkin painting (a real hit) and selling homemade cookies, caramels, bumper stickers, and baby hands and feet pins. They were excited about their turnout.

On Sunday, September 26th, over 800 participants joined Bp. Samuel Aquila in a Walk with Christ for Life. They stopped in front of the Red River Women's Clinic for prayer.

Please keep all involved in these workings in your thoughts and prayers as we work toward the end of abortion not only in the physical sense but also in the hearts and minds of our citizens.

North Dakota Abortion Statistics from 2007

Though these reports may not be entirely accurate and are a few years old, it is still visible who they are targeting...for me it confirms just how many around me are hurting...that we have indeed made a difference in this state as the numbers take a plunge, that there is hope for the future and that now, more than ever, the lives of so many babies need to be saved and the hearts of so many mother's are in need of change.

Total Induced Abortions in ND: 1,235

Abortions Per Year** 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 483 833 2,554 3,076 3,028 2,872 2,826 2,664 2,562 2,221 1,761 1,723 1,602 1,493 1,406 1,301 1,334 1,291 1,219 1,242 1,345 1,341 1,216 1,219 1,354 1,357 1,231 1,298 1,235 **Reporting was not required before 1979. Abortions by Age of Preborn 0-5 Weeks 6-9 Weeks 10-12 Weeks 13-15 Weeks 16 Weeks or more 48 772 315 100 2 Previous Abortions 0 1 2 3 4+ 829 256 115 24 11 Reported Complications None Infection Retained Product of Conception 1,296 1 1 By ND County of Residence Out of State Burleigh Cass Dickey Grand Forks McKenzie Morton Mountrail Ramsey Richland Rolette Sioux Stark Stutsman Towner Traill Walsh Ward Williams 503 71 284 6 124 7 23 12 7 13 6 8 18 26 6 9 6 90 16

Woman's Education Less than HS diploma HS diploma Some College College Graduate Post Graduate Study Not Stated 201 373 466 135 41 19 Age of Woman Under 15 15 to 19 20 to 24 25 to 29 30 to 34 35 to 39 40+ 5 218 472 278 142 87 33 Marital Status Not Married Married Not Stated 1,053 175 7 Race of Mother White Native American Black Other/Asian Not stated 1,001 149 39 31 15 Woman's Place of Residence North Dakota Minnesota South Dakota Other States Other Countries 795 385 50 4 1 Living Children of Women Having Abortions None 1 2 3 4 5 or more 547 306 239 83 39 21 By Governor's Planning Region Region I [Divide, Williams, McKenzie] 23 Region II [Burke, Mountrail, Renville, Bottineau, Pierce, McHenry, Ward] 111 Region III [Rolette, Towner, Cavalier, Ramsey, Eddy, Benson] 28 Region IV [Pembina, Walsh, Nelson, Grand Forks] 139 Region V [Cass, Richland, Ransom, Sargent, Steele, Traill] 312 Region VI [Barnes, Griggs, LaMoure, Dickey, Stutsman, Kidder, Logan, McIntosh, Wells, Foster] 49 Region VII [Burleigh, Emmons, Morton, Sioux, Grant, Oliver, Mercer, McLean, Sheridan] 111 Region VIII [Adams, Bowman, Golden Valley, Billings, Stark, Hettinger, Slope] 23 Out of State 439

A Good Source

Although National Geographic, as far as I am aware, has not taken a stand on any particular life issue they have come out with an amazing DVD on the biology of Prenatal Development. It is 42 minutes in length and goes into great detail of just factual development of the child in utero in all 38 weeks of pregnancy. A great source that is from a scientific approach and is unbiased. Click here to see a short video summery or visit their store to purchase. If you have further questions on this resource or others, feel free to contact me.

This past weekend, Thursday through Saturday, I spent in Pittsburgh, PA at the National Right to Life Convention. What a great way to spend time surrounded by such loving people from all across the United States standing for such a tremendous cause. There were so many aspects of the convention which I found a blessing, not only the fellowship and commonality but the sheer vastness of knowledge. Meeting phenomenal speakers from Fr. Frank Pavone, Bobby Schildler, Brian Johnston, Lori Kehoe, Oliva Gans…the list goes on and on. They touched on every aspect of our fight for life from the bitter reality of what our country has endorsed to the beautiful love of Christ and His forgiveness and the steadfast reminder that what we do and how we act is so important because while we work lives are at stake. And just how important it is that we remain active and steadfast in this battle and return the opposition with love.

It was uplifting to see fellow young people eager and ready to do what they know is right...and heartening to have wise elders to steady the impulsive and guide with wisdom. I look forward to sharing and using the information I learned and this experience with others but most importantly for the glory of God and His will to be accomplished.

Last week at a state Right to Life meeting I was pleased to have met Devyn Nelson; a truly outstanding individual passionate for life. This past year he served as vice-president of NDSU Collegians for Life and in his year of service has become aware and formulated a plan for how we need to participate and act in the future.

Devyn sees a lot of passion but a general lack of direction. He also sees the need and support to fund-raise and rehabilitate great ideas and further awareness and understanding of pro-life issues. Finally, there is a severe lack of membership - not a lack of pro-life people but the word about pro-life groups needs to get out.

College campuses are teaming with minds, souls, and bodies of energetic young people; directed and geared in the right direction the influence for good they are capable of accomplishing is only a matter of history about to happen.

And from Devyn we have a proposal:

"I would like to create a group to connect all of the pro-life groups on college campuses across the state; a group that will serve as a resource for each of the collegiate pro-life groups. I would like this group to be able to work with individual campus pro-life groups to find ways to grow their membership; to help the individual groups to expand their vision and their influence. I want to help these groups not only learn how to fundraise, but for the newly created group to fundraise itself. I would like it to have a fund that can be tapped into by these individual groups in order to bring in speakers that can really make a difference on a student body. I would like it to be able to help organize lobby days at the state Capitol; showing our lawmakers what the future leaders of this great state believe about the issue. I would like to see our state send a group of students for the March for Life in Washington, D.C. every year, and possibly attend the Students for Life of America National Convention."

Devyn is full of energy and passion and is ready to release it across the entire state into the minds and hands of others as we continue the fight for life. Let it be your mind and your hands and we unite in this common purpose.

Devyn is attending the National Right to Life convention in Pittsburgh at the end of this month followed by six weeks at the National Right to Life Academy in Washington D.C.

Intro on the Truth about Stem Cells:

Back in March of 2009, our president, Barack Obama, signed an executive order that would require the killing of human embryos! Maybe you haven’t heard of this and maybe you have heard it said that Stem Cells are saving lives. This is true, stem cells are saving lives, but never has anyone been saved by embryonic stem cells. Adult stem cells have been used to save many lives and have helped with the cure of 70 diseases. Meanwhile, the embryonic stem cells which they say they are using to “save lives” are actually only doing two things: they are killing countless precious babies and are allowing scientists to play around.

Does it really make sense to take the life of a baby when the end result is absolutely nothing? This shreds the dignity of human life. Life is so precious. The reason it is so devastating when a loved one dies is because you can never bring them back. You cannot compare life with anything else. If you lose money, books, papers…they might be hard to replace but life, life is irreplaceable.

So besides killing babies and just letting scientists mess around, embryonic cells actually have a tendency to cause tumors! And the last time I checked, that would not be a plus to any disease.

The next time you hear someone defend stem cell research…

-ask them if they are talking about Adult or Embryonic research. Did they know there was even a difference? You have to watch their phrasing!

-ask them if they’ve ever researched the topic at all. Many scientists are very open with admitting that, nope, all the embryos they’ve been working on haven’t done anything. The adult stem cells can do incredible things…but they already have proved that so…they are just going to continue trying to make embryonic stem cells prove something while they kill thousands of babies in the process?

As Pro-lifers, we are not against stem cell research! We love it! We promote it.

But our method of using Adult Stem Cells…doesn’t kill any babies. In fact, it doesn’t kill anyone. In other words, it’s family friendly. It’s user friendly. It’s ethically friendly. It’s even health friendly.

Do we need to come up with more reasons for using Adult Stem Cells verses Embryonic to prove our point? How many more lives are going to be stifled before these victims of so called “science” are recognized?

Apple - iPad App - Hello Baby

Though we do not support everything that Pampers does, it is always exciting to see positively pro-life messages being spread, even though their intent is more than likely for commercial reasons they are certainly doing no harm in promoting this.

Overpopulation Myths:

There have been several articles in the Fargo Forum of late directly related to abortion and I felt led to respond to some of them. I'm not sure that this will be published yet but I'd like to share anyway. - Lydia Benton

"In response to Dudley Wells’ letter, published, Tuesday May 11, he replies to another’s claim that God would always vote against abortion by saying, “but Jesus Christ taught us that what is more important is not strict adherence to church doctrine, but what is in one’s heart, and as the prayer book says, ‘His property is always to have mercy.’” Mr. Wells is right, God’s property is always to have mercy but His mercy does not include acting outside of His own statutes. Supporting a woman's choice to have an abortion is never, in any case, an act of mercy. It is not merciful to the baby, mother, or anyone else involved. It is horribly painful to the baby, as a fetus can feel pain at 8 weeks. The process is not only physically searing to the mother, but as more evidence proves, it often has life-long psychological effects that conflict with relationships, work, and self, which can cause serious bouts of depression and self destruction. Aside from the horrifying and sad effects upon those involved remains the deeper fact that abortion is immoral and ungodly. Science has proven that life begins at conception and ending a life through abortion is taking that life; killing that child. Abortion is never an act of mercy or compassion and stating otherwise constitutes a mockery of God as He is benevolent, righteous, and incapable of sin.

Christ did not teach that what was in one’s heart was more important than church doctrine. If Mr. Wells is referring to Christ chastising the Pharisees, then Christ was criticizing not the law, but how stale their faith was. They could follow the law to the letter, but were incapable of sincere worship; they had no passion, vitality, or faith in their worship.

Mr. Wells also suggests that abortion is the only method available for women for the “trials of birthing and to limit the size of their families” in much of the world. I completely disagree with the language presented as it makes children out to be burdens and women victims. Pregnancy is not a plague. It is impossible for women to become pregnant without involving a male. Unfortunately, what is so often presented as a solution ends up turning into a story of grief and sadness. As many have discovered, an abortion does indeed end the life growing within them, but their problems will multiply.

Overpopulation is a myth. There are 1.4 million children killed every year by abortion in this country. Over four thousand each day, twelve every five minutes, one every twenty-five seconds. One in four pregnancies end in abortion. Oddly enough…our world is so overpopulated that humans only occupy 3 percent of the earth’s surface. Our world is so overpopulated that the entire world population could each be allotted 1250 square feet in the state of Texas. Here are the numbers: 7,438,152,268,800 square feet in Texas, divided by the world population of 5,860,000,000, equals 1269 square feet per person. America is not meeting the amount of births necessary to even maintain our population nor are many European counties, and as a result, the quality of life is not rising, but suffering further, as there are not enough young people to take on the necessary work and responsibilities as the aged retire. Even if we were suffering from overpopulation, would we really want to live in a society where our standard of living was bought with the blood of the innocent?

Mr. Wells' letter illustrates his lack of knowledge in many areas; most troubling among them is his mischaracterization of the word of our Lord and Savior. His attitude toward innocent life is offensive and unfortunately, pervasive. I hope he will take the time to reconcile his views with the facts and change his witness as a Christian."

Between the Dreaming and the ComingTrue…..

FirstChoice Clinic Makes its Way West!

As I stood watching the people file into the church, all I could manage was a smile and a silent prayer of gratitude. Could it be that it was less than two months ago that we gathered to watch the simulcast of the FirstChoice Clinic fundraiser in Mandan? FirstChoice Clinic West (FCCW) was just a dream alive in the hearts of those who organized and attended the event. The common thread bringing them together was the basic belief that a FirstChoice Clinic would be a welcome addition to the “First Response” resources available for families facing an unplanned pregnancy. The educational and follow-up strategies to equip the larger community to engage in the process would follow.

More than once, I found myself having to close my eyes in order to clear my head. Why? It seemed like a dream coming true! At the end of the day, April 27, 2010, I heard a man say, “Is this a done deal? Sure looks like it to me!” Of course he was referring to the “dream” of the establishment of a FirstChoice Clinic satellite which would serve western North Dakota. The date marked the first “official” meeting to announce the progress of and vision for this effort.

A clinic like FirstChoice is far more than a resource for women and families facing an unplanned pregnancy. After listening to Pauline Economon, the key presenter at the luncheon and Director of FirstChoice Clinic since 2001, I would describe it as a very unique and special presence in the community. Beyond the obvious professionalism, expertise and dedication, Pauline and George Economon and the staff of FCC exude a passion and respect for the sanctity of human life nothing short of extraordinary. Factor in the testimony of the clients who have benefited from their services, it seems almost supernatural. It is a labor of love and compassion which rests soundly on faith in the Lord of life.

Their work has not been without its challenges. Building a culture of life in our world is a battle. For instance, federal funding for the “Make a Sound Choice” abstinence based education program will be terminated later this year. Despite the positive results of this program and others like it, the current administration in Washington made an executive decision which could force over 50 schools in ND and MN to either find alternative funding or discontinue the program. It’s just one more wake-up call -- a reminder to be involved in the fight to uphold traditional family values in order to preserve them for future generations.

The communities of Bismarck/Mandan and the surrounding areas were well represented at the meeting. Many physicians, nurses, and other health care professionals, business leaders and clergy were present to gain information, offer insight and even to pledge their support. FirstChoice Clinic has built a superb network of like-minded people in the communities they serve. Volunteers on the advisory committee for the FirstChoice Clinic West are committed to following their example.

At this juncture, the Economons are working with others around the state associated with FirstChoice Clinic who share their passion to serve the cause of life. The tasks at hand are to secure a location, build an advisory committee and eventually hire a Director for FCCW. More details will follow as progress is made.

Of the champions for life in recent history, few would rival the man who coined the phrase the “Gospel of Life.” The good news about life as he articulates it is worth sharing.

“Even in the midst of difficulties and uncertainties, every person sincerely open to truth and goodness can, by the light of reason and the hidden action of grace, come to recognize in the natural law written in the heart (cf. Romans 2:14-15) the sacred value of human life from its very beginning until its end, and can affirm the right of every human being to have this primary good respected to the highest degree. Upon the recognition of this right every human community and the political community itself are founded.”^[i]

The following sonnet is my attempt to communicate the mission of FirstChoice

Choose Life

You’re scared and can’t conceive of going home

With news of a conception you had dreamed

Would happen in another time; not some

Nightmarish version of a movie scene.

Blinded by the shame exposure brings

And deafened to the sound of reason’s voice

Emotional responses threatening

To lead you down the path of “Only Choice”

But underneath the pounding of your heart

The soft and metered rhythm of new life

Becomes a messenger sent to impart

A hope transforming darkness into light

Awaiting are the possibilities

Available to those who choose to see

Demineth2010

Gift of Life Conference

Havilah Benton, 16-year-old, with the Hankinson Teens for Life, shares her reflections after attending the Gift of Life Conference in Hankinson, ND …

Havilah writes:

Yesterday, my sister, Lydia (one of the administrators for this group), and I were blessed to volunteer for, as well as attend, the two thousand and ten annual, Donum Vitae ~ Gift of Life ~ Conference in Hankinson, ND.

This year’s hosted speaker was a wonderful lady by the name of Janet E. Smith. Dr. Smith has held the Father Michal J. McGiveny Chair of Life Ethics at Sacred Heart major Seminary in Detroit since 2001. Her teaching career began in 1975. A world traveler, speaker, and author - she has published several pamphlets, an audio series on Sexual Common Sense, and co-edited Why Humanae Vitae Was Right: A Reader; she has co-authored with Christopher Kaczor, Life Issues, Medical Choices, Questions and Answers for Catholics, and had her own book, Right to Privacy, published by Ignasius Press in 2008, as well as having published numerous articles on ethical and bioethical issues.

Professor Smith's scheduled program entitled, Recovering Common Sense in an Over-Sexualized Culture, consisted of three main parts: 1) The Right to Privacy: How Judicial Decisions Prove the Thesis of Pope John Paul II's Encyclical, The Gospel of Life, 2) Hormones "R" Us: The Mystery of Hormonal Attraction, and 3) The Family: A Path to Holiness.

Although the entire conference was brilliantly organized; much gratitude to the Hankinson convent nuns, Right to Life groups, local advertisers, promoters, etc. Prof. Smith truly shone, as she is articulate, educated, humorous and captivating in every way. She presented a compelling message as taught by the Church, backed scientifically, and most of all, in line with a loving Creator -- a viewpoint on the positive aspects of applying Natural Family Planning vs. (unnatural) Contraception to ones' life.

In the first segment of yesterday's event, Dr. Smith made important connections between contraception being legalized in 1965, to Roe vs. Wade and abortion (on demand) being legalized just eight short years later, in 1973. Contraceptives are most often used for what; to have the ability to engage in sexual intercourse, consequence free and without hindrance of the possibility of becoming impregnated. It is common knowledge that contraceptives fail; In fact, 50% of women going to abortion clinics were using a contraceptive when they got pregnant. A failed contraceptive means, not so much that something went 'wrong' -- dehumanizing language -- but rather, that something went right, (i.e. a conceived child). If consumers of contraceptives are given the means to reduce their chances of becoming pregnant during sexual intercourse, and said contraceptive fails, this does not mean that the consumer's desire to not be pregnant decreases, but rather, increases; hence abortion on demand. Dr. Smith adds to this, stating, "Once you allow abortion it is hard not to allow anything else."

We live in a society where we demand our 'rights', without knowing what it even means to have rights. We are working against ourselves when we support having human rights -- contraceptives, abortion -- while in our very words and actions we are removing the rights, or even the possibility, of another human being.

Objective rights exist independently of our private opinion. Throughout the decades, crimes (abortion, pornography, contraception) have changed from being Recognized Crimes, into Legal Rights, into Fundamental Human Rights, and currently, into Obligations. If we allow society to delegate basic human rights, we are also allowing it take them away. We are deceiving ourselves into accepting a false, distorted view of freedom: doing whatever I want, whenever I want, when actually, real freedom is having the freedom to do what is good. "We have forgotten that is is far more important to do God's will rather than our own will", said Dr. Smith, wrapping up the first segment of yesterday's event.

Dr. Smith continued in the next segment to explain the scientifically backed, widely polled pros of Natural Family Planning vs. the cons of Contraception. Chemical contraceptives and IUD's are abortifaicients, as they break down the lining of the woman's uterus, causing virtually no place for the human embryo to attach, thus the fertilized egg dies within twenty-four hours, killing a baby in the very first stages of his life. Along with that high risk are many others, attacking a woman's health; involving ingestion of synthetic hormones, and severe side effects: Cysts, migraines, strokes, irritability, increased propensity to depression, weight gain, and reduced sexual desire to name a few. There is also greater incidence to sexually transmitted diseases (because of greater sexual activity outside of marriage) and are unreliable for preventing pregnancy. Contraceptives have also been proven to cause psychological stress as well. The woman can feel as though she is being treated as a sexual object. Spiritually speaking, the use of contraceptives isn't health; it is suggesting the attitude of man's ultimate authority, shutting God out His creative arena, and acting as if fertility is a defect and a burden. On the contrary, the Church in their promotion of Natural Family Planning is purporting being cooperators and co-creators with God, while respecting the truth of sexuality and the language of the body.

In a response to an accusation that the Church teaching that Natural Family Planning was the only way to morally (within marriage) engage in sexual acts, Dr. Janet Smith states, "For, after all, the Catholic Church does not teach that couples must have as many children as they can. The Church teaches responsible parenthood . . . Natural methods of family planning do not dump large doses of harmful synthetic hormones into the delicate female reproductive system or as, vasectomies do, threaten male health. Natural methods, which do require loving communication between the spouses and mutual responsibility, nearly always result in happier, more stable marriages. . . The Church knows that there is an enormous difference between saying "I want to have sex with you" and "I am willing to have children with you.” First, (the meaning of contraceptive sex) diminishes the true and deep meaning of the sexual act and turns what is profound and meaningful into something trivialized and casual. The second bespeaks of a lifetime committed to another with all the lovely entanglements that children bring."

In closing, I'd like to say that one need not be Roman Catholic to take upon oneself this loving, Christian, healthy perspective. I believe this applies to all people/Christians, Roman Catholic and Protestant alike. Dr. Smith was a joy to be around and a wellspring of knowledge. I would recommend, to anyone, attending a conference of hers and further exploring the facts surrounding Contraception and how being educated on it, and holding an opinion of Why or Why Not is important.

In Him,
Havilah Benton

Suffering caused by abortion recognized on Good Friday

Tanya Watterud

The faithful filled the sidewalk, leaving an open path for passerby, as they gathered outside the state of North Dakota’s only abortion facility on Good Friday, April 2, to pray the Stations of the Cross. The crowd included more than 250 people of all ages, joining in the responses as Bishop Samuel Aquila moved in prayer down the sidewalk, focusing on each Station depicted in photographs held by participants.

“That was probably the largest number of participants I have seen in the seven years that Bishop Aquila has been offering Stations of the Cross at the abortion facility,” Rachelle Sauvageau, director of the diocesan Respect Life Office, said.

“A lot of people would say the pro-life movement is dead, but I don’t think so,” said Jed Hillmer of Holy Spirit parish in Fargo. He and his wife, Annika, brought their three children, Gustav, 3, Berit, 2 and Ingrid, 8 months, to the Stations. Hillmer, who has prayed the Rosary outside the Red River Women’s Clinic abortion facility in Fargo, but had never attended the Stations there, said he had “always been raised adamantly pro-life across the board.” He hopes to pass that on to his children by “being a good example to them, taking them to events like this as they grow up.” He said he wants to instill in them the importance of participating in pro-life events to witness to the dignity of all human life.

After the Stations were prayed, nine-year-old Alexis Coles from St. Thomas Aquinas Newman Center in Grand Forks said, “It made me feel good that everybody wants to try to help the babies.” She was there with her parents, Stacey and Destin Coles, and siblings, Drew, 7, Evan, 5 and Abigail, 2.

Child’s questions prompts public pro-life work

Roxane B. Salonen

The keynote speaker for this year’s FirstChoice Clinic fundraising banquet, Kay Cole James, said she was led into the center of the pro-life scene in the early 1980s by her young son.

“It all started with a simple question,” James said to the 800 guests who had come to hear her speak March 1 at Fargo Holiday Inn’s Great Hall. “‘Mom, what is this?’ That simple question changed the James family forever.”

James had been volunteering at a local Birthright clinic and had inadvertently left a few posters showing graphic images of aborted fetuses out in the open in her bedroom.

After doing her best to explain the horror of abortion – a legal procedure that kills innocent babies in the womb – to her 8-year-old, another question emerged: “Mommy, why don’t you make them stop?”

Not long afterward, James was asked by the National Right to Life Committee to debate the abortion issue with a representative of Planned Parenthood on national television. She balked, but her son persisted. “Mom, you said that if God gave you a chance, you would do something to stop it. Will you do it?”

James did, and, along with her husband, Charles, has been involved in the movement for three decades now, including as founders of Black Americans for Life.

With her perspective in hand, James took the crowd back in history to how the abortion debate has changed over time. “Back then, the question was, ‘Is this life?’ Science and technology have now caught up with that,” she said.

“Then the debate was, ‘Well, maybe it’s life, but it’s not necessarily human life,’” she said, to which she responded, “Alright then, why not leave it alone, see if it grows into a carrot or something?”

Later, the proclamation, “We reserve the right to terminate our pregnancy,” took center stage. To this, James came back with, “Well what woman doesn’t want her pregnancy to terminate at some point? Give it nine months and, rest assured, it will terminate!”

She also touched on the debate over viability, saying she questions whether children are ever truly viable – able to live on their own. “We had to sell our house just to get our 30-year-old son out of the basement!”

James concluded by saying, “In a free and civil society, there are some things about which there should not be a choice.” She likened the common argument, “I’m personally opposed but I wouldn’t deny that right to someone else,” to the slavery question of old, saying if that mentality had been allowed to prevail, she and her relatives would still be in a field somewhere picking cotton.

“We are Christ’s ambassadors in a foreign land,” James said. “We are his representatives here on earth...If the Lord’s going to show the world love and compassion, He’ll do it through our arms.”

Though a sold-out event, this year’s banquet included 50 more people than usual, thanks to technology. Mentioning a group that had come from Devil’s Lake by bus, Executive Director Pauline Economon also welcomed “the good people gathered in Mandan at the Seven Seas Hotel attending our live simulcast.” With that, she noted FirstChoice Clinic’s hopes to expand to Western North Dakota.

Economon reported that, in response to a White House request, Congress recently pulled funding for abstinence-centered programs, despite important studies showing their effectiveness, making the clinic’s plea for financial support more urgent than ever.

She said the “Make A Sound Choice” school-based abstinence-centered program has been a tremendous success, and welcomed several of its leaders to the podium to share their stories of how the program has created positive changes in area schools.

The evening also included a testimonial talk by former FirstChoice Clinic client Stephanie Malby, who recounted the fear and loneliness she experienced after she became pregnant in college, many miles from her support network. Malby said that through the loving guidance of the staff at FirstChoice Clinic, she chose life for her baby, Wyatt, and has never regretted it.

“I want women to know that an unplanned pregnancy does not mean that life is over,” Malby said. “For me, it was an unexpected turn, but the beauty that God has brought into my life as a result is something that I will be eternally grateful for!”

For more information on FirstChoice Clinic, visit www.firstchoiceclinic.com or call (701) 237-5902. Salonen, Fargo, is a free-lance writer, author, and one of several hosts for Real Presence Live, which airs Mondays from 9 to 11 a.m. on AM 1370 and AM 1280.