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.