Author Archives: Mathew Wagner

 

Infanticide. Dictionary.com defines it as “the act of killing an infant”.

It isn’t something we like to think about in “polite” circles. If we do, we consider it something that happens “over there” in “less civilized” countries. After all, we would never kill a baby once he or she has been born…they need our protection and love, right?

The unfortunate and gruesome reality is, infanticide is happening right here in the United States, many times every day, maybe even right in your community.

Consider the case of Kermit Gosnell, the abortion “doctor” who specialized in late-term “abortions”.  Since Gosnell wasn’t a very good doctor, he didn’t want to go through the trouble of killing the baby in utero (an actual abortion).  Instead, he would anesthetize the mother, induce labor, and after the baby was born, kill him or her…..usually by snipping their spinal cord at the base of their neck with a pair of scissors. Make no mistake about it, these were babies who would have survived with the proper care, but Gosnell lied to his victims and killed their babies.

I can hear the naysayers now…Gosnell was a monster, an outlier…those cases do not happen every day!

The unfortunate, and brutal, reality, is that these cases happen more often than you may think. Granted, most abortionists try to make sure the baby is dead before being removed from the womb, either by pulling the child apart limb from limb, as in a dismemberment abortion, or by burning the baby to death with an injection of saline.  However, there are many stories of babies who survived their abortion.  Worse are the stories now coming out of babies who survive the abortion procedure, but the abortionist takes matters into his or her own hands and kills the baby…either by stabbing the baby to death, strangling the baby, or in most cases, cutting the baby’s spinal cord, as Mr. Gosnell did.  In recent Congressional testimony, current and former abortion workers admit that, at best, if a baby is born alive, they will ignore him or her until he or she dies on his or her own.

None of this is to say an abortion is better than infanticide.  In either case, the life of a living human being is ended against his or her will. The larger point is, we need to realize the horrors of all pro-life issues—abortion, infanticide, assisted suicide, and euthanasia and work to help those around us to always choose life

 

Much outrage has been expressed recently over the death of a silverback gorilla at a Cincinnati zoo.  For those unfamiliar with the story, a four year old boy fell into the gorilla’s cage and the gorilla was shot because he was manhandling the child and did not respond to calls from his handlers to leave the boy alone.

Since the event, there has been a great deal of outrage over the decision to shoot the animal instead of tranquilizing it.  Whomever is to blame (and there is probably more than enough to go around), this incident provides an opportunity to share a pro-life message with abortion advocates.

The outrage over the shooting of the gorilla implies that the gorilla’s life had some level of intrinsic value.  The gorilla’s value comes from his species general ability to socialize and empathize.  It is the same intrinsic value that we all have, despite race, gender, intelligence, or any other attribute or quality.  This value is what makes us all equal.

Unfortunately, some don’t recognize that everyone has that intrinsic value.  Abortion advocates would contend that preborn babies don’t have the same value as the rest of the human race, and therefore it is acceptable to kill them if their existence would cause an inconvenience for others.

The death of Harambe is an excellent opportunity to talk about the intrinsic value of all living things.  I would encourage you, when you come across someone outraged over the death of this beautiful animal, talk to them about how their outrage should also be directed to those who callously devalue human life.  Your conversation may be the one to help someone choose life!

When most people think about pro-life issues, their thoughts turn immediately to the issue of abortion. However, at the Pennsylvania Pro-Life Federation we also believe that end of life issues such as euthanasia and assisted suicide are equally important, and we are very active in protecting the Pennsylvania law that prevents assisted suicide. However, recent legislation in New York serves as a reminder that we need to be ever vigilant against assisted suicide in Pennsylvania.

It is important to understand that assisted suicide is really doctor-prescribed suicide. Where assisted suicide has been legalized, there is no assistance. The way it works is a doctor provides his or her patient who has a prognosis of less than 6 months to live with a prescription for a lethal dose of pills. That person then just takes that prescription to their local pharmacist who fills it like any other prescription, puts it in a bag, and wishes them a great day. They then take death home and ingest the pills when they feel like it. There is no oversight…no doctor assisting the patient…there is no assistance at all…just a person who has been given horrible news and a bottle of instant death.

It is also important to understand that the number one reason people give for wanting to commit doctor prescribed suicide is not severe pain as most assisted suicide advocates would have you believe; it is not even a lack of ability to take care of yourself, but it is simply the fear that you will someday not be able to care for yourself anymore. People who are considering suicide don’t need a bunch of pills, what they need is someone to be there for them and help them through a difficult time.

As if doctor prescribed suicide isn’t bad enough, it is only an interim step towards its advocates’ ultimate goal. The main group advocating for these horrible laws is called Compassion and Choices. That all sounds well and good, until you realize that Compassion and Choices is nothing more than the old Hemlock Society rebranded. They are not going to stop with doctor-prescribed suicide, what they really want is euthanasia…the ability for the state to decide that someone’s life isn’t worth continuing and kill them…even if it is against their will. Euthanasia advocates know theirs is not a popular opinion right now, but they also know if they can get people to accept assisted suicide, euthanasia is the next logical step. All you have to do is consider what is going on in Belgium where people are going to other countries for medical care because they are afraid their doctor will decide their life is not worth continuing anymore. Belgians are even wearing bracelets that say “please don’t euthanize me”. If we want to ensure that doesn’t happen in the United States and especially here in Pennsylvania, it starts with preventing assisted suicide laws such as what was recently approved by a New York assembly health committee, and what has been introduced in the Pennsylvania legislature, from becoming law.

To help make sure Pennsylvania does not approve doctor-prescribed suicide, the Pennsylvania Pro-Life Federation has joined a coalition of like-minded organizations such as disability rights groups and others who are scared to death of the implications of assisted suicide and euthanasia. You can learn more about the Pennsylvania Coalition to Stop Doctor-Prescribed Suicide, and sign up for email updates, at noassistedsuicidePA.org.  Help us show people that no matter what their circumstances, there is always a reason to choose life.

The Federation just wrapped up its annual pro-life student essay contest, and as always the entrants were amazing and the judges had a difficult time choosing a winner.  Since I will be on the road all this week on our town hall tour, I thought I’d share the winning essays with you as a sneak peek of what will be featured in the Summer LifeLines magazine.  This essay, written by 12th grader Miguel Mendoza, won 1^st place in the senior high category. Enjoy!

Bald eagles, the enduring symbol of this nation’s spirit, freedom, and pursuit of greatness have received protection by law from those who would wish ill upon this majestic bird. In 1940, the United States passed a strict federal law known as the Bald Eagle Protection Act that focused on guarding not only the national bird, but also the bald eagle’s eggs. If one were to come across those eggs in the wild, it would be considered a serious offense to destroy them. If done so, the penalty would be equivalent to shooting an adult eagle out of the air.

Reverend Tadeusz Pacholczyk, author of The Ethics of Stem Cell Research, states, “By the force of law, we acknowledge the scientific truth that the eagle’s eggs, that is to say, the embryonic eagle inside that egg, is the same creature as the beautiful bird that we witness flying overhead.”  Consequently, this demonstrates the government’s awareness to pass laws that protect not only the adult but also the youngest individual of that species.

This can be applicable to the recent concept of stem-cell research in the field of medical science. Stem-cell research has taken on special attention for its potential health benefits and also for its moral side effects produced by the utilization of human embryos to give way to stem cells. In short, stem cells are an important way for the body’s cells to be restored. They function as unspecialized cells that have the capacity to grow into several specific types of cells, such as a cell that can produce new red blood cells.

The practice of stem-cell research appears to favor the use of embryonic stem cells since those cells have the ability to become any type of body cell. Adult stem cells are also utilized and have the potential to become numerous different cells, but not all. Some scientists hope to cure certain diseases like diabetes using embryonic stem cells.

With guidance from Church doctrine and teachings, I have come to the conclusion that I am in favor of most stem cell research, which normally uses cells from adult tissue, which presents no moral conflict. Nonetheless, a moral problem surfaces when researchers use the early stages of a fertilized egg to harvest stem cells, which ultimately destroys the once living human embryo. Although good results may arise from embryonic stem cell research, it by no means justifies the cruelty in the destruction of innocent human life.

The Church directly opposes any alterations to early human life. The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith’s document, The Gift of Life (Donum Vitae), instructs that, “The human being is to be respected and treated as a person from the moment of conception…” I believe that life is a precious gift that we were given. Although not fully developed, human embryos are alive and therefore possess existence.  Remorsefully, their lack of mouth, eyes, and arms make them vulnerable to the evil works of man. Even though the aim of this research is to produce beneficial outcomes, the immoral means used to arrive at the sought after good does not validate the process. The life of a person should not lend itself as a dispensable commodity on behalf of someone else.

In regards to the bald eagle, people realized how its eggs were as important as the eagle itself, and therefore required protection for its conservation. The bird’s value was noticed and so it was reasonable to protect the bald eagle in all its stages of life. The same notion holds true for humans, who are more valuable than any other species on the planet combined. Unfortunately, human beings do not recognize their own inner beauty and uniqueness. They are willing to protect the embryos of other animals but fail to protect themselves first from what Reverend Pacholczyk describes as the, “dismemberment on the altar of stem cell sacrifice.”

 

 

“It is time to get off the bench and into the game.”

That was the message Matthew Jordan kept hearing that spurred him to get involved in the pro-life movement so long ago “the details of when and how I got started escape me”.  Today Mat is the President Emeritus of the Federation’s York chapter and one of the recipients of our Lifetime Achievement Award to be presented at the 2016 Pennsylvania Pro-Life Federation Celebrate Life Banquet on September 29^th.

Mat’s story is like most. He admits when he started getting involved in the pro-life movement he felt “unprepared and intimidated by the prospect of getting up to speed with all of the information one needed to digest…” I imagine many on the sidelines of the pro-life movement feel the same way. They understand that abortion is a horrible, gruesome process that takes the lives of those most vulnerable among us, but they don’t know what to do about it, or how to get started. They’ve probably heard stories from pro-abortion advocates about “wild-eyed pro-life radicals” and hesitate to get involved with that type of person.  The truth is, pro-life advocates are the salt of the earth, and it’s those who advocate for abortion on demand who are the radicals…out of touch with the population as a whole, not to mention with reality.

Mat humbly says he and the York chapter are still accomplishing, and invites anyone interested to get off the bench and into the game. Whether it’s in York, or anywhere across the Commonwealth, we have chapters that need people to stand up for those who can’t stand up for themselves.  If you are interested in helping in any way, big or small, check out our list of chapters at www.paprolife.org/join-one or give us a call at 717541-0034 or email us at lifelines@paprolife.org and help us remind those around us there’s always a reason to choose life!

I have been pro-life my whole life, but never spent time outside an abortion facility trying to talk to the mothers and workers as they go in.  No good reason I hadn’t…I just hadn’t gotten around to it.  I felt like it was time to experience it for myself to see what it was like.

I’ve often heard these facilities described as dark, cold places…but that description doesn’t really do it justice.  As I walked up, I could almost feel myself becoming sadder…there was an evil presence there that was undeniable.  The building itself was cold and drab, and it felt almost like a black hole sucking the life out of anyone around it.  I know that sounds like hyperbole, but that’s the only way to describe the feeling as I walked up.

I had the honor and privilege of being there with a few great pro-life volunteers.  These women were not the wild-eyed “radicals” that abortion advocates like to portray them as, but rather loving, caring individuals (some of whom have personally experienced the horrors of abortion) who only want to help the women going in.  Generally, as one tried to talk to the women, the rest of us hung back and prayed.  At no time did we do anything to intimidate these women or block their access, unlike the popular narrative of the pro-abortion crowd. We simply tried to show them that the child inside them was not a burden or an inconvenience, but a life that needed protected.

Across the alley from the center parking lot where we were, there is a house owned by a pro-life organization called Undefeated Courage (for more on Undefeated Courage, listen to this interview I recently did with their President, Becky Biter).  This house is a place where sidewalk counselors can sit down with women in privacy, share with them the truth about abortion, and provide for them information about the resources available to them if they choose life. Upstairs they have outfitted the room facing the abortion center as a chapel where people come and pray for those going in to the abortion. What struck me most about the house was its warm, inviting feel…in stark contrast to the cold, heartless building across the street that offered nothing but death and suffering.

I wish I could say for sure we saved a baby’s life by our presence while I was there.  We know there was one man and woman who went in, but didn’t stay very long before leaving, so there is some likelihood they changed their minds, but we don’t know for sure.  As one of the volunteers stated, we’ll know when we get to heaven and meet those we saved.  I can tell you that it was an experience I will never forget, and I will do again soon.  My only regret is that I didn’t do it sooner, and I encourage all who read this to get involved…either by joining sidewalk counselors as I did, helping with a pro-life pregnancy center, or in whatever other way you feel comfortable. Lives are at stake!

When I was in college, I took a debate class, and one of the concepts that was instilled in me during that class, and really throughout all my education on rhetoric and persuasion, was the idea that it was important to understand both sides of an argument.  Therefore, to understand how to best advance the pro-life message, I spend a great deal of time reading article by/about avid abortion advocates such as Cecile Richards, Ilyse Hogue, and others.  I joke sometimes that after reading their opinions I often feel like I need a hazmat shower, but it’s important to understand their arguments to know where they are coming from.

 

The good news is, I also get to read a lot of pro-life writing. I get to soak in stories of babies saved, of abortion facilities closing, and of abortion workers who see the horrors of abortion for what it is and leave.  These life-affirming stories are what keep me going, and are some of the most popular posted to our Facebook page and shared on our Twitter account.

Recently, a book titled We Choose Life was published that compiles and shares many of these stories.  Edited by Dave Sterrett, it is a compilation of the stories of people like Jewels Green, former abortion center worker; abortion survivor Melissa Ohden; Kristan Hawkins of Students for Life; and Kristi Hofferber who was conceived in incest, plus a dozen more.

For those of us who have been called to ending the horrors of abortion, it is easy to get sucked into the dark side of the world in which we live.  Books such as We Choose Life bring light into that culture of death and provide a great opportunity for hope, compassion, and forgiveness.

For those interested, if you pick up the book on Amazon using your Amazon Smiles account, you can designate a portion of the proceeds to go to the Pennsylvania Pro-Life Federation Education Fund…a win-win all around.

A recent report found that the National Association of Community Health Centers authorized AmeriCorps volunteers to transport women to abortion centers and that senior staffers were covering up several instances of “waste, fraud, and abuse.”

While the misconduct supposedly only occurred on a limited scope, this is not the first time AmeriCorps has fallen afoul of the law.  In 2011, AmeriCorps had “volunteers” working at Planned Parenthood centers, and in the past the group has received heat for “mimicking the work of lobbyists and political organizers for agenda-driven community organizations.”.  You would think these violations would make Congress pause before giving AmeriCorps more of our tax dollars, but instead, AmeriCorps received an increase in funding of over 50 million dollars just last year.

This violation is just another example of how the current administration has denied that the government finances the death of those most vulnerable, while at the same time stopping at nothing to force Americans to fund abortions and continue down the dark path of a culture of death.  As prolife advocates, we need to be ever vigilant to seek out these violations, while at the same time helping those who need it most to understand that there’s always a reason to choose life.