Brophy Prep Roundup
PHOENIX, 1994
By Ira Boudway
Murdering the Unborn
Every day, four thousand four hundred people in America are legally killed.
Fr. Frank Pavone knows this is wrong and is doing everything in his power to
stop it. Fr. Pavone is the National Director of Priests for Life. This
organization of priests is dedicated to stopping abortion. On Friday, October
28, Fr. Pavone came to the Brophy chapel from his headquarters in New York, to
speak to some Brophy classes about the evils of abortion. His talk was both
frightening and inspiring.
Fr. Pavone first established -- by quoting abortion doctors, judges. and
pro-choice demonstrators -- that both sides of this issue recognize that
abortion is the killing of a baby. It was frightening to hear a judge refer to
an abortion as a "legal execution." It is horrifying to know that some people
recognize abortion as murder and still condone it. Scariest of all was hearing
an abortion doctor’s words about the sensations that run through his hands as he
removes the contents from an unborn child's head.
After shocking his audience with the reality of abortion for the Unborn
child, Fr. Pavone revealed the reality of abortion for the mother. He spoke of
the ruthless lies told by abortion clinics in order to make more money. Women
are told the abortion is not painful, that their baby is only tissue. They do
not know that their child already has arms and legs and already sucks his thumb,
and the doctors are not about to tell them. Fr. Pavone knows about these lies
from former clinic
workers who could no longer stand the lies. The women are also unaware of
the physical danger to themselves. Fr. Pavone held up a list of the women who
have died as a direct result of the abortion operation. Legal abortion is not
much safer for women than illegal abortion. When was the last time you saw a
story about a women dying during an abortion on the news? There are also women
whose uteruses are lacerated while the baby is scraped from within them. These
women are not aware of the situation and often face complications, the death
their baby, or even their own death next time they try to birth a baby. Besides
the physical dangers to the women are the psychological traumas they often
experience. Fr. Pavone spoke of a women who told him she has nightmares three
times a week about her aborted baby pointing his finger at her and accusing her
for his death.
When Fr. Pavone finished frightening his audience with the realities of
abortion for the child and the mother, he inspired them with a generous promise.
Fr. Pavone, after explaining the many options for a mother besides abortion,
including adoption and bringing the child to one of many help centers around the
nation, promised that he personally would take and find support for any newborn
child. He had the names, address and phone number on handouts at the chapel and
sincerely pleaded that anyone who knows of a mother thinking of abortion call
him, and he will take the child. Certainly Fr. Pavone is walking the walk and
not just talking the talk.
The apparent devotion and powerful speaking of Fr. Pavone had a very real
affect on many students including myself who heard him speak. As Dominic
Brunetti ('96) put it, "I used to be pro-life. Now I am really pro-life."
Some students had question about abortion for the Father which he willingly
answered. They wanted to know if he thought abortion was wrong even in
cases of rape, incest and danger
to the life of the mother. Fr. Pavone explained that killing a child is always
wrong and that unwanted children who are the products of rape or incest can be
taken care of in the same way as other unwanted children. He also explained that
the great majority of abortions are not performed for such reasons. In cases of
danger to the life of the mother, Fr. Pavone explained that, due to medical
advancements this almost never happens, and that when it does it must be the
goal of the doctor to save as many lives as possible
Fr. Pavone finished his speech by letting his audience know that if they are
as disgusted by abortion as he is, there are things they call do about it. If
you are disgusted by abortion, you can pray for an end to it, vote against
people who support it, write letters to people in power, and take part in
sidewalk
pickets and other things.
If you would like to start a group of Brophy students that does such things,
please speak to me.
-- Ira Boudway
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