Seeing a group of young adults with special needs receive Communion on Monday morning during a Mass for teens and young adults at the Verizon Center in Washington made the long bus ride to the nation’s capital worthwhile for Lisa Yanzer, 24, of Portland.
“Seeing the kids with special needs at the altar being recognized was really moving,” she said in a telephone interview Monday night.
Yanzer said that Christ’s love for those who “might have been aborted” was evident.
A Wisconsin native, she was part of a group from the Roman Catholic Diocese of Portland that protested Monday on the 29th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, the U.S. Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion. More than 80 Maine Catholics took part in the annual rally and march, according to Yanzer.
The Maine group left Saturday and was expected to return Tuesday.
“I was challenged to take action on something I believe in strongly,” Yanzer said before she left Maine. “I’m hit hard when I think of babies who are aborted because they may have disabilities. They need a voice to speak for them. My plan to participate is more than just adding another face to the crowd — it has opened dialogue with others to talk about why this issue is so important.”
Yanzer is spending a year in Maine as part of the Jesuit Volunteer Corps, based in Baltimore. She is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin Stout and has a bachelor’s degree in special education. As a volunteer, she works at a not-for-profit organization in Portland that provides services for special needs teens and young adults.
The Jesuit Volunteer Corps pays housing, utilities, food and health insurance expenses for volunteers, according to information on its website. Bus transportation to and from work or a bicycle are provided. Volunteers are paid a small stipend for personal expenses.
Sue Bernard, spokeswoman for the diocese, said Sunday that Yanzer spent more than her $100 monthly stipend to pay for the bus trip to and hotel expenses in Washington, D.C.
The Washington Post reported Tuesday that the Catholic Church in the U.S. recently has focused on educating and mobilizing its youth base around pro-life issues. The Mass for teens and young adults was hosted by the Archdiocese of Washington, D.C., the Post said.
“The youth are at the heart of this,” Cardinal Donald W. Wuerl, the archbishop of Washington, said Monday, according to the Post. “They are just so important to us. We try to get them energized with that passion in the morning.”
The “March for Life” has been held every year since 1974, a year after the landmark Supreme Court ruling, according to The Associated Press. It’s consistently one of the largest protests of the year in Washington.
House Speaker John Boehner addressed the group at a rally before participants marched to the U.S. Supreme Court, reminding those gathered on the muddy National Mall that he’s one of 12 children.
“I’m sure it wasn’t easy for our mother to have 12 of us, but I’m glad we’re all here,” the Republican lawmaker said. “I’ve never considered being pro-life a label or a political position. It’s just who I am.”
Several dozen members of Congress addressed the rally and were cheered by participants, many of whom carried signs reading, “I Vote Pro-Life First,” “Defund Planned Parenthood” and “Face It … Abortion Kills a Person.”
A Gallup poll last year showed that 49 percent of respondents identified themselves as “pro-choice,” while 45 percent called themselves “pro-life,” according to the AP. The same survey found that 50 percent of Americans believe abortion should be legal under some circumstances, 27 percent said it should be legal in all cases and 22 percent said it should always be illegal.
The same polls showed that more young people, especially those in the 18- to-34-year-old range, are identifying themselves as anti-abortion, according to the Post.
The unborn child’s right-to-life is more important than the woman’s right-to-kill.
No such thing as an “unborn child,” there is such a thing as a fetus though, is that what you mean?
Nope. I meant exactly what I said; an unborn child. “Fetus” is just a term given to remove the life factor from the baby in order to make people feel less guilty about killing him or her.
Life begins at conception.
ok so 3 hours after conception a zygote can live on its own? Why would a woman carry it around for 9 months then? A fetus, in biological terms, is little more than a parasite. It requires a host in order to live, and often times to the detriment of the host. Think pregnancy diabetes, high blood pressure, etc. So no, life doesn’t begin at conception it begins at birth when it is no longer a parasite. Same thing with being kept alive by machines, life is over and you have returned to being dependent on things other than your own body to live. Abortion should remain as is, living wills should remain, and we should allow doctor assisted suicide. As our comment show, people have very different opinions on what life is, and by having choice, no ones opinion trumps another.
“live on its own”. Interesting. So you believe that if one can’t live on their own, then he or she should be a candidate for elimination. I think there are a lot of elderly, handicapped, mentally disabled, crippled, or babies that would differ. Life is precious. And that includes zygotes and up.
Only God can create life. And only God should be able to take that life. We are not God.
1. Living off machines is why we have living wills, so we can chose to pull the plug because many people do not consider being hooked up to a respirator as living. There are many people who would agree that suffering through the last stages of deadly diseases is not living, that’s why forward thinking states like Oregon have assisted suicide.
2. The Invisible Sky Wizard does not create life, sperm and eggs create life, basic sixth grade biology, but judging by your comments, Sex Ed is something you are also against, so maybe you didn’t learn that.
3. I have no right to tell a woman what she can or can not do with her body. If she does not want to have a child, she has the right to not have it. By removing choice, you are pushing your agenda onto someone else and requiring them to do something with their body, and that is wrong. With choice comes… well choice, those who believe abortion is wrong do not have to have one, but those who believe in abortion can have one.
Cold, uncaring and cruel.
No, your adhesion to 2000 year old dogma that has been proven false over and over again is what is cold uncaring, and cruel. With your dogmatic practices you would require people to die without any dignity. Requiring them to suffer, fade to nothing, and live in pain rather then let them end their lives is cold, uncaring, and cruel. Telling people what they can and can not do with their bodies reeks of an urge to control. Try and use some common sense. Just think about your religion and how little sense it makes. Because of what we know through science, we know that a child can be no darker than its darkest parent. So if you want to cling to your religion, and if we all stem from Adam and Eve, then Adam and Eve were black, hate to break it to you. You also depict a Jewish Middle Eastern carpenter as a white guy… c’mon you know better. I totally get it, you fear death, so this idea of a great reward awaiting you if you follow a set of benign rules set down by the Invisible Sky Wizard comforts you, and that is fine, but when you take and attempt to force those cold, uncaring, and cruel rules onto others, you are in the wrong.
Two things. 1) You don’t have a clue about me or how I think or believe. 2) You don’t have a clue about what you’re talking about.
The horse is dead.
Sir, I have read many of your pots, and I applaud that you hold firm to your beliefs.
“… that has been proven false over and over again…”
Wrong. In fact, current quantum mechanic theory and information theory posit the idea of a sentient one-dimentional object, of which “all this” is a result of that sentient one-dimential object’s thoughts. This is not to mentional much of the historical persons, places, and things mentioned in the bible which have proven to be true, many past-events of which there is archeological evidence of. And if you want to really get your head spinning, the scroll of Isaiah found at the site of the dead sea scrolls pre-dates the birth of Jesus by nearly 170 years, making the prophecies written by Isaiah of Jesus proven to be before His birth. (And it predates any other previously known copy of Isaiah by 1,000 years, which has proven to have remained UNCHANGED except for grammar changes that accurately reflect the changing language itself).
“… and if we all stem from Adam and Eve, …”
Plus, there are some of us who, being Christian, also don’t think that Adam and Eve were the first humans on earth. Reading the first few chapters of Genesis makes it clear that God created humankind on “day six”, rested the seventh day, and then on “day eight” (first day of the next week) created Adam and Eve. So if one day “is as” a thousand years, and a thousand years “is as” one day, then that could have been whenever.
Abortion is wrong, and as I’ve argued with other people on this site and elsewhere before, let me ask you if you’ve ever heard the screams of an unborn child as it is being killed and extracted from the womb? I can say that without a doubt, if you can listen/watch that and still say “It’s more like a parasite than a human” or “it isn’t legally a human yet, it doesn’t have rights” without feeling a little bit guilty, or a slight queasy feeling in the pit of your stomach… You have no soul, and are dead to the world around you.
Bravo.
Ok, so what you are saying is all I have to do is make some vague prophecy that could apply to anyone as long as I get enough people to agree that the prophecy applies to that person, I can start a religion? So Nostradamus, because he was one letter off (Hister instead of Hilter) is completely disregarded (not to mention he had to hide his prophecies in verse because the tolerant, loving christians of the time would have killed him for heresy otherwise) yet Isaiah is some kind of hero? Oh and Nostradamus was also a doctor without fear, he traveled all over Europe treating those afflicted with the black plague. So Prophet, Healer… wow if his mother would have just claimed a virgin birth he would have fit the prophecy of Jesus! Missed it by that much as they say.
Speaking of screaming, I wonder if the Musslim women and children screamed when the crusaders slaughtered them in Christ’s name. Or all the peasants, free thinkers, scientists, and any other person the church didn’t like, how about them, I wonder if they screamed as they were being tortured and murdered in Christ’s name during the Inquisition? You are right, Christians should have been consulted on abortion, after all they have a very long history of killing, and if you are going to do something asking a pro for advice is always a good idea.
Prophecy from the bible isn’t even one letter off, so I don’t understand what you’re trying to get at here… Nostradamus was a spiritual adulturer, getting information from “familiar spirits” and not from God, (which by the way is talked about and is forbidden in the bible). That’s the difference between Michel de Nostredame who studied the occult and Isaiah who was a prophet of God.
But to blame all Christians for the actions other “Christians” is scapegoating. I am no more responsible for the actions of another person anymore than you are. That’s kind of like blaming all African-Americans for the actions of a few people who share the same skin color.
Besides, if you want to get technical, the Crusades had nothing to do with Christianity. Kings’ and lords’ land was threatened, so to use religion to fight back against the Muslim encroachments and making it a “holy war” was a good tactic… A good military tactic of psychological warfare and nothing more. You blame “Christians” for doing the same things that were done to them? I mean, the Muslims did start that whole thing, and made it as far as Spain; but you wouldn’t blame ALL Muslims for that, now would you? I wouldn’t.
Oh and, let’s just throw this out there… Do we blame all Atheists for what Mao did? Or Stalin? Think about it. Stop putting people into groups and see them as individuals. Everyone is responsible for themselves first and foremost.
AND (since comments are now closed, go figure) a reply to you for your comment below:
The different names of God (Yahweh, Emmanuel) are all a part of “I AM”. In the Hebrew the various names of God are commonly taken for a polytheistic view of the bible in error. All it really means are things to describe God at different times, such as “God the angry” and “God the merciful” etc..
And yes, I can truthfully say that the Crusades had NOTHING to do with Christianity. (Side note: The pope and the Catholic church is “MYSTERY BABYLON, THE GREAT” as spoken of in the book of Revelation. Churches in bible prophecy are commonly refered to as women, such as the bride of Christ who is pure and chaste). It was a land-grab, a war of greed, to take back what was lost to the Muslims in their advance towards the west.
Do you not know history? I mean, if God doesn’t exist as you would have me believe, then clearly you can see the absurdity of the claim that the Crusades were a direct result of “Christianity”. I’m sure if the Muslims had attacked a unified conglamorate of nations under papal authority of the holy church of Zeus, we’d be blaming Roman Paganism right now, now wouldn’t we? Such absurd claims.
I beg to differ. You, and every other person who fills those pews silently consents to the dealings of the church. Simply by your presence, and your weekly donations, you are giving your ok to the every rape, and murder that the church has ever commited, or will ever commit.
Well, it’s a good thing I don’t go to church, then. You see, I love God, believe that Jesus is Messiah, and I don’t have to go to church to do that. I read the bible on my own time at home, and study it a lot. The more I see of the world, the more the bible makes sense to me.
But by your reasoning, we, being citizens of the United States, are consenting to every war we have ever been in, because we pay taxes (under the threat of imprisonment). We consent to our government doing evil things, because we do nothing? And then we make excuses like “well I didn’t vote for that guy,” right?
Well what happens to the people who don’t consent, or warn us of doing evil things? They get killed! Jesus who preached love, forgiveness, and caring for those who can’t care for themselves, was put to death for it! Even while on the cross, forgiving them with his dying breath! How could you even equate his actions with that of “Christians” who don’t do the works of Jesus, to people like me? I don’t get it.
So what name are we going with that they got right? Yaweh? Emmanuel? I’ve heard the prophecy of the Chosen One who will bring balance to the Force, if I name my child Anakin do I get to claim him as the living realization of that prophecy?
The fiercest fighting force of the Crusades were the Knights Templar, God’s own army, answerable to no one save the Pope, so don’t tell me the Crusades had nothing to do with Christianity. Of course the tolerant, loving Pope eventually turned on them, had them killed, or tortured until there minds broke. Happy Friday the 13th!
Even if Nostradamus was a “spiritual adulterer” (that phrase is funny beyond anything btw) what gave the Christian’s the right to persecute him had he not hidden his prophesy in verse? I think your Invisible Sky Wizard desires people to come to him/she/it on there own, not forced at the end of a pike.
And finally, I understand I will never have a rational debate with you, after all “rational arguments don’t usually work on religious people. Otherwise there would be no religious people.”
Tell me, what does one do in order to “believe in” abortion? Is it the same “believe in” as the one in the following sentence: I believe in God?
Very good job. But you forgot one thing. The Word of God is as foolishness to the mind of man. Only when man opens his heart to the Word of God does it become real. In the end times, we will see these things come to pass, men will become lovers of themselves, and turn their backs on the word of God.
Oh, I know.
First the woman walks out of her house, maybe gets in her car (walks, takes a bus, cab, etc.) then she walks into a clinic where a doctor removes an unwanted fetus. Cause god forbid she should have to raise her rapists baby, or her father or brother’s baby. Oh wait I guess what you’re saying is that god does want just that. Nothing like having a daily reminder of the worst day of your life, there is a loving god for ya! So see the woman in this example believed in a process. She can believe in that process because its real. The Invisible Sky Wizard on the other hand… not so much.
I never said abortion should be illegal, I just said it’s wrong. I wouldn’t force my wife to raise a child that was hers as a product of rape or incest, nor any woman. You see, the great thing about God is that, even if you’ve had an abortion… He can forgive you. All you have to do, is accept Jesus into your heart as Messiah, admit you were wrong and ask for forgiveness. But most people WILL NOT DO THIS because most people have such big egos that they are “always right” and never want to admit wrongdoing. We would rather lie to others to cover it up, or lie to ourselves to make us feel good about it.
Now that sounds a bit hypocritical, me a Christian, going around telling other people that they’re wrong and that they’re not “always right” and such. But I will not ever say “I’m right.” I can truthfully say “you’re wrong” though, because I didn’t always believe that God existed. So, I may be wrong, but I know that God is always right. I, being a sinner, know another sinner when I see one.
I know how wrong and selfish I was before, making excuses and lies as to why I did the things I did. Now I see that those actions were ignorant, and Satan played upon my ignorance to try and keep me ignorant, because what you don’t know CAN kill you… And death of the soul is final. The good news though is that it is a preventable death, something you can avoid, but it’s a choice you make and only you can make.
Please do not confuse your faith with word’s like “right” and “truth.” I understand that you think your Invisible Sky Wizard is always right, having faith in something doesn’t make it real, true, or right however. Christianity has a well deserved bad reputation. It’s history is full of intolerance, hate, and violence. The Christian Institution I should say, I totally get that you are not responsible directly for the actions of others. You are however responsible if you support these Christian Institutions with your presence in their churches, and your weekly tithe. I tell you what, I will promise to never, ever, go any father than debating this issue, if you promise the same thing. In other words, I promise I’ll never bomb a church if you promise never to bomb an abortion clinic. After all a great man once said, “You will find that many of the truths we cling to depend greatly on our own point of view.”
You should really preface comments like these with “In my opinion…”, because that’s what it is. If my wife, or sister, or daughter was raped resulting in pregnancy they should not be forced to raise the baby because you feel it necessary to cling to an archaic belief system from the bronze age, and also feel it necessary to force others to believe in the same things you do under threat of death or imprisonment.