The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly. John 10:10
"Has US abstinence policy failed?" shouts the headline on a BBC news report. It reads:
"US lawmakers are investigating whether to cut government funding for health education programmes that promote sexual abstinence until marriage. The move follows a report earlier this year from America's leading health agency, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which revealed one in four teenage girls has a sexually transmitted disease."
Indeed, that is a significant amount of STDs among teenagers. The article continues and sites:
"This national programme which has wasted $1.5bn (£750m) of tax money is a failure and our teens are paying the price," says Cecile Richards, president of Planned Parenthood. "We've been wasting money on programmes that don't work and we're seeing the consequences every single day."
It reads as though the president of Planned Parenthood is actually blaming the abstinence programs for the increasing number of STDs among teenagers! I am sure she is not, but she certainly is trying to give the impression that abstinence programs are a waste of time. Thankfully, the Heritage Foundation have done their homework on the issue of the impact of abstinence programs and it is very encouraging news. Read more about their findings here.
As adoption advocates, we aim to see truths about not only adoption, but also about all issues concerning God's heart for life. We must continue to uphold and teach God's will for us as individuals and in our relationships. If abstinence before marriage were so well taught, understood and embraced that there was not a need for crisis pregnancy centers and teaching about parenting choices, then... praise God! Praise Him, indeed.
Sunday, April 27, 2008
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
Letter to My Son
Unmarried women face many fears when they discover they are pregnant and they are not prepared. Some are immediately tempted to abort because fears of the future for their children are so great they cannot fathom any other alternative. What is she to do? Where is she to turn for answers?
I would like us to consider a woman from many generations past who faced some very similar fears: the mother of Moses. Let’s remember that when Moses was born, the ruling Pharaoh demanded that all male Hebrew babies be killed. Moses’ mother must have harbored very real fears and concerns for her baby’s future. As she held her infant son I can imagine she wondered, “Do I attempt to hide him any longer? If I’m discovered they will surely murder him. Perhaps I should end his life before they do...What am I to do? Where do I turn to for answers?”
Moses’ mother was not paralyzed by her own fears. She took time to think, to pray, to make a plan, and then to act. She deliberately put her trust in Yahweh. He would take care of her son.
Here is a letter she might have written to her tiny boy* :
* taken from Birthmothers
By equipping pregnancy counselors Act of Life helps today’s women see that they, too, can overcome their fears. They too, can take time to think, to pray, to make a plan, and then to act. Adoption just might be the right choice for her and her baby. Please pray with us as we continue to advance adoption awareness so that all women will be given the opportunity to fully explore adoption as a way to create homes for their children.
I would like us to consider a woman from many generations past who faced some very similar fears: the mother of Moses. Let’s remember that when Moses was born, the ruling Pharaoh demanded that all male Hebrew babies be killed. Moses’ mother must have harbored very real fears and concerns for her baby’s future. As she held her infant son I can imagine she wondered, “Do I attempt to hide him any longer? If I’m discovered they will surely murder him. Perhaps I should end his life before they do...What am I to do? Where do I turn to for answers?”
Moses’ mother was not paralyzed by her own fears. She took time to think, to pray, to make a plan, and then to act. She deliberately put her trust in Yahweh. He would take care of her son.
Here is a letter she might have written to her tiny boy* :
My precious son Moses,
How deeply I love you! Yet the Pharaoh said all Hebrew baby boys must be thrown in the Nile and drowned. I could only hide you for three months. To save your life, I carefully wove a basket big enough for you, waterproofing it so it would not sink. I sobbed as I hid you away among the Nile's reeds. But I knew this was the best choice for you. Your sister watched as the princess found you there! God's hand is upon you, my son. As you grow up, please understand that I allowed another family to raise you so that you might have a special life - one I could not give you because of circumstances.
With all my loving heart and soul,
Your mother
* taken from Birthmothers
By equipping pregnancy counselors Act of Life helps today’s women see that they, too, can overcome their fears. They too, can take time to think, to pray, to make a plan, and then to act. Adoption just might be the right choice for her and her baby. Please pray with us as we continue to advance adoption awareness so that all women will be given the opportunity to fully explore adoption as a way to create homes for their children.
Wednesday, April 2, 2008
Flushing a Newborn Baby Down a Toilet?
My friends, if ever there was a time we need to advance adoption awareness in our society it is now.
Earlier today, a 14 year old teen delivered a baby in the restroom at her junior high school in Baytown, Texas, a suburb of Houston. Overwhelmed and not sure what her next step was, she attempted to flush her seconds old baby down the toilet. As a result of this desperate action her baby died. Now she finds herself in the midst of a homicide investigation.
Inconceivable, irrational, and insane are just a few words that come to mind.
As bizarre as this seems, she is not the first to have attempted this. Last summer, a 20 year old woman delivered a baby in a McDonald’s restroom in Kansas City, MO, and tried to flush her baby down the toilet as well.
How could Act of Life have benefited these mothers and their precious babies? The answer: education.
Are you aware that Texas has a law called the Baby Moses Law? According to the non-profit group called Baby Moses Dallas, “Of the over 100 babies who are abandoned each year in Texas, about 16 will be found dead.” This is alarming. However, there is a solution. The Baby Moses Law provides a responsible alternative to mothers and fathers who might otherwise abandon or harm their newborn child. The law states that a parent may leave an unharmed infant, up to 60 days old, at any hospital or fire station with “no questions asked” and will not face charges of abuse, neglect or abandonment.
Had the young teen in Baytown, Texas, known about the Baby Moses law perhaps her baby would be alive tonight.
Act of Life includes instruction on the Baby Moses law in our adoption training seminars. We regularly ensure that pregnancy counselors are aware of the law and understand the importance of explaining it to their clients. Act of Life also recognizes the desperate need to get adoption tools, resources, and information inside our school classrooms.
Will you help us advance adoption awareness at such a critical time? In doing so you will help save lives and create families.
Lives are at stake,
Julie
Earlier today, a 14 year old teen delivered a baby in the restroom at her junior high school in Baytown, Texas, a suburb of Houston. Overwhelmed and not sure what her next step was, she attempted to flush her seconds old baby down the toilet. As a result of this desperate action her baby died. Now she finds herself in the midst of a homicide investigation.
Inconceivable, irrational, and insane are just a few words that come to mind.
As bizarre as this seems, she is not the first to have attempted this. Last summer, a 20 year old woman delivered a baby in a McDonald’s restroom in Kansas City, MO, and tried to flush her baby down the toilet as well.
How could Act of Life have benefited these mothers and their precious babies? The answer: education.
Are you aware that Texas has a law called the Baby Moses Law? According to the non-profit group called Baby Moses Dallas, “Of the over 100 babies who are abandoned each year in Texas, about 16 will be found dead.” This is alarming. However, there is a solution. The Baby Moses Law provides a responsible alternative to mothers and fathers who might otherwise abandon or harm their newborn child. The law states that a parent may leave an unharmed infant, up to 60 days old, at any hospital or fire station with “no questions asked” and will not face charges of abuse, neglect or abandonment.
Had the young teen in Baytown, Texas, known about the Baby Moses law perhaps her baby would be alive tonight.
Act of Life includes instruction on the Baby Moses law in our adoption training seminars. We regularly ensure that pregnancy counselors are aware of the law and understand the importance of explaining it to their clients. Act of Life also recognizes the desperate need to get adoption tools, resources, and information inside our school classrooms.
Will you help us advance adoption awareness at such a critical time? In doing so you will help save lives and create families.
Lives are at stake,
Julie
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