July 16, 2008

Pro-life, Pro-Compassion

Blessed Mother Teresa was an amazing woman, and her humanitarian efforts usually garner a lot of adoration from liberal leaning folks. One thing you won't hear them talk about much is her steadfast commitment to the unborn.

"Any country that accepts abortion, is not teaching its people to love, but to use any violence to get what it wants."

Many other beautiful and inspiring quotes from her on abortion can be found here and here.

One of the many things I admire about Blessed Mother Teresa was that she never lost her compassion for the mothers committing the abortions. She spoke frankly against abortion, but also reminded us to come to mothers who have aborted their children with love-
And if we accept that a mother can kill even her own child, how can we tell other people not to kill one another? How do we persuade a woman not to have an abortion? As always, we must persuade her with love, and we remind ourselves that love means to be willing to give until it hurts. Jesus gave even his life to love us.

Abortion is such a heartbreaking act, such an intrinsically evil act, that it can easily stir up disgust and hatred towards the ones committing the act. When I was pro-choice, one of the stumbling blocks to accepting the truth about abortion was the vocally hateful pro-lifers. We don't win any converts when we scream and cuss and (God help us) kill or bomb. We have to meet the evil of abortion with the love of God. We have to come to the mothers who are broken and suffering with love and compassion. How can we ever help them to see that their precious children deserve love and compassion if we show them none? We can do this without compromising and diminishing the truth! We can stand up for the unborn without trampling on the women who have been led to believe that their children are expendable, that their own bodies exist for the pleasure of men, that sex and abortion on demand are "rights" they are entitled to.

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