Happy Mother’s Day... By Heather Mathews for PPSIMMONS

Happy Mother’s Day to all you mother’s and grandmother’s out there!  Surely motherhood is one of God’s greatest gifts to us.  Mankind was told from the very beginning to “be fruitful and multiply” (Genesis 1:28,) and Eve was the “mother of all living” (Genesis 3:20.)  Proverbs declares “My son, hear the instruction of thy father, and forsake not the law of thy mother…”  But perhaps the greatest verses relating to motherhood and womanhood are those of (what some would call overused,) the Proverbs 31 woman:
“…Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price is far above rubies. The heart of her husband doth safely trust in her, so that he shall have no need of spoil.  She will do him good and not evil all the days of her life.  She seeketh wool, and flax, and worketh willingly with her hands. She is like the merchants' ships; she bringeth her food from afar. She riseth also while it is yet night, and giveth meat to her household, and a portion to her maidens. She considereth a field, and buyeth it: with the fruit of her hands she planteth a vineyard. She girdeth her loins with strength, and strengtheneth her arms. She perceiveth that her merchandise is good: her candle goeth not out by night. She layeth her hands to the spindle, and her hands hold the distaff. She stretcheth out her hand to the poor; yea, she reacheth forth her hands to the needy. She is not afraid of the snow for her household: for all her household are clothed with scarlet. She maketh herself coverings of tapestry; her clothing is silk and purple. Her husband is known in the gates, when he sitteth among the elders of the land. She maketh fine linen, and selleth it; and delivereth girdles unto the merchant. Strength and honour are her clothing; and she shall rejoice in time to come. She openeth her mouth with wisdom; and in her tongue is the law of kindness. She looketh well to the ways of her household, and eateth not the bread of idleness. Her children arise up, and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praiseth her. Many daughters have done virtuously, but thou excellest them all. Favour is deceitful, and beauty is vain: but a woman that feareth the Lord, she shall be praised. Give her of the fruit of her hands; and let her own works praise her in the gates.”

Our mothers are blessed creatures: feeding us, clothing us, protecting us from the evils of the world, yet still teaching us how to defend ourselves; and preparing us for adulthood, to be productive members of society, and to fear and serve the Lord.  She is nurturer, doctor, nurse, teacher, cab driver, cook, housekeeper, homework helper, clothing washer, and cheerleader. Sometimes she has the help of a loving husband and father to her children; sometimes, she has to be the sole bread-winner and disciplinarian.  She does it all not because she has to, but because she wants to: she asks for nothing in return, and only wants to see you achieve your potential and become a happy, responsible human being. 

No one can comfort us quite like our mother: when we were floating gently in her womb, we knew we were protected and loved.  When she rocked us as infants and toddlers, we remembered that love.  And when she picked us up from across town at 3 a.m. (when we were supposed to be elsewhere,) we knew she would continue to protect us, regardless of the disappointment she expressed or the punishment she doled out.  We may not realize it while we’re young, but when we are older, we discover something else: she is our best friend. 

So we raise a glass of our favorite (non-alcoholic) beverage, to you, Moms, and we are thankful that you chose to be our mothers: that you chose LIFE.

“…I will bless her, and she shall be a mother…”  Genesis 17:16

…And Bless the Fathers, Too

By Heather Mathews for PPSIMMONS

A lot of us think of pro-life as being primarily a women’s issue, and certainly it is apt to be, as it is particularly draining on a woman’s body and emotions to be carrying that precious cargo inside.  To make the decision to keep a baby when the parents are financially unstable, ill or disabled, or when the father is uninterested or unable to commit to his responsibilities to that child, is likely one of the most difficult decisions that a woman will make.  Many women, even those who have always thought of themselves as pro-life, will find themselves in a spiritual battle and feeling as though they have no one (outside of the life growing within!)  One of the principal factors in the decision to obtain an abortion is the fear of being a single parent (51% in the U.S.)¹ For those (often young) women opting to get an abortion, their partners frequently break off the relationship because of the stress and/or guilt following the procedure.  Yet, for every man not willing to stick around to support their partner and child, there are men that challenge the status quo and impress us with their (sometimes sudden) maturity, insightfulness, and humility, and sometimes even remorse at the lost opportunity of fatherhood:

I was 18 years old, when my high school sweetheart told me that she was pregnant. Her mother was furious, even though she did not know her daughter was pregnant. She just thought the daughter had a pregnancy test. The mother said, "If she is pregnant, she is going to have an abortion." However, my girlfriend never told her mother she was pregnant - at least that I know of. I passed the decision off to my girlfriend, and her friend gave her the money for the abortion. To this day, I still feel regret - tremendous, unrelenting regret. What if I had been man enough to take responsibility? I have had six children of my own. Every time I think of that girlfriend, I think of the other child I have in heaven.²

I recently began to seek out people who were willing to share their pro-life stories with this ministry, and the world, to encourage others to choose life via my Facebook page.  I made up flyers to pass out to local churches, and even posted an ad on a local Craigslist community page.  Within, I think, 20 minutes, I had a brief conversation with a man I’ll call “Paul.”

Paul is a staunch pro-lifer, and in fact had arranged a large pro-life rally at a federal building in California more than 25 years ago called “Walk for Life.”  President Reagan was among the many celebrities in attendance. 

Last September, at the age of 60 (!) Paul found out that his girlfriend was pregnant.  He never thought it could happen, and he (they?) did not want children.  He says, “…what could I do? There was never a question that I had to see this through. She doesn't believe in abortion either.”  They are now engaged to be married and little Silas was born last Wednesday.

Paul doesn’t think that his story has much interest, but I beg to differ.  At an age when most men are empty nesters, preparing for retirement and waiting for the grandkids to stop in for a day-trip, he is just starting out- gleefully- with the all-night diaper and feeding-frenzy, and has 18 more years to look forward to the love and care of his beautiful new son.  In his own words, “He's the most beautiful little boy, in my eyes, that was ever born.”  He is a rare gem.  His fiancée is a very blessed young woman. 

Another inspiring story of an unborn child’s father stepping up to the plate:

“I was 18, just graduated from high school and planning on going to a top Christian college in the fall when I found out I was pregnant. I had big plans and I was going to make them happen. I didn't want my parents or friends to think badly of me. So, I was dead set on abortion. My boyfriend was shocked that I was pregnant, but even more shocked that I had decided on abortion because I had always been a "pro-life" Christian (and a pastor's kid). I hesitate to call myself truly pro-life at that point in my life because it was more of a political belief than a true conviction of how awful abortion really is.

“My boyfriend begged me not to have an abortion. I ended up going to a crisis pregnancy center to humor him. I expected them to be judgmental and condescending, however, there I was treated with more compassion than I had ever imagined. They didn't treat me like I was just a host body to the fetus they were trying to save. One of the nurses said something to me that almost made me change my mind. She said that another girl who had chosen to have her baby said this: "I thought about when I'm 80 and what decision I would be proud of when I look back at my life." Like I said, it *almost* got me to change my mind, but it didn't. I made an appointment at the abortion clinic. I wanted to get in the next day so that I could use my full-time summer job as a cover story for my being gone all day (the abortion clinic was in a town 100 miles from my home town). However, because of a mandatory wait law my state has, I wasn't able to get in until the next week.

“I'm telling you all of this so you can see what led to me ultimately not having an abortion. That week gave my boyfriend the time and the courage to go behind my back and tell my dad what was happening. That led to an outpouring of love, support and forgiveness from my family. Because of that, I now have a beautiful almost 2-year-old. I married my boyfriend, not out of obligation, but out of love. I came to love him even more after seeing his courage and strength to stand up to me and save not only our daughter, but myself as well. I'm now a junior in college, graduating on time and I have a life full of love. Seeing how God watched over me and intervened to prevent me from a life of regret and hurt when I was so willing to seek sin to cover sin has renewed my relationship with Him. That relationship is now the foundation of my marriage and my parenthood. God is so merciful. My life is more complete now than it ever has been…”³

I know that it is Mother’s Day this weekend, but should it not be every day that our mothers are respected, honored, even revered for the sacrifices that were made on our behalf?  Because of our mothers’ decisions to choose LIFE- whether they were married, divorced, widowed, or single, whether rich or poor, ready or not- are we all here fighting for the next generation.  In addition, in a marriage-relationship built around God’s patience, grace, mercy, and love, husband-wife (father-mother) have been inexplicably intertwined and have become “one flesh.”  It takes two, so to speak, to create a family, so ideally, both Mom and Dad need our support and encouragement in the rearing up of Godly children who will be willing to defend the Kingdom.

To the fathers who stuck around, who allowed moms to take on their God-ordained role without having to function also as “dad”: THANK YOU!  And to the mothers, whether you were forced or chose to tackle parenthood alone: we salute you and surely God has blessed YOU for choosing LIFE, and for your hard work and dedication in taking on multiple roles to keep your family strong and healthy.  I can only hope someday that I will have the patience and tenacity you’ve displayed to take on the role of “Supermom.”

¹ http://www.guttmacher.org/pubs/journals/2411798.html

² http://www.abort73.com/testimony/

³ http://www.abort73.com/testimony/birth_stories/

Obama’s Assault on Innocent Life: What Does God Say?

By Heather Mathews for PPSIMMONS

I remember voting for Barack Hussein Obama back in 2008, thinking he was going to be “The Great (Not Quite So) White Hype” and “The Nation’s Messiah.”  I, as most liberals still do, truly believed that he was going to be the one who brought peace and prosperity to this once great nation, and we would all be living in a utopian society with no more poverty or moral unambiguity.  However, as I have learned since coming to know the Lord, that that didn’t make any sense: how could I have moral unambiguity (clear sense of right and wrong) when the “free-thinkers” I associated with made most of their arguments based on moral “grey areas,” what is evil for one person may be good and even blessed for another?  They couldn’t let their yea be yea, nay be nay, without a qualifying statement or an exception, and I had fallen into this trap myself.  Who was to tell me (or anyone else) how to run my life, or how to control what goes on inside my body?  On whose standards was I to rely?  After all, if everyone plays by their own rules, it implies NO standard.  It took learning God’s Holy Word with some assistance from my (now-) husband to understand what He clearly says about right and wrong, and how obviously deluded and brainwashed I had become.

I recently received a letter from Dr. James Dobson’s Family Talk, and while I usually throw these envelopes in the trash without opening them, I felt compelled to open this one.  Inside, among other things, were quotes from Obama and some of his supporters regarding the funding of abortions (or as the left refers to it, “reproductive rights.”)  I hadn’t until now known exactly what was said by our illustrious President, and thought it would be vital to let others (like myself) know how specious his words actually are.

In Mr. Obama’s opening remarks of an address given to a joint session of Congress on September 9^th, 2009, he stated

“…we did not come here just to clean up crises.  We came to build a future.  So tonight, I return to speak to all of you about an issue that is central to that future- and that is the issue of health care.”¹

Sounds noble, right?  Later, he continues,

“And one more misunderstanding I want to clear up- under our plan, no federal dollars will be used to fund abortions, and federal conscience laws will remain in place.”²

So far, he sounds to be a stand-up guy.  But the public seems to have forgotten about a promise “The Anointed One” made while campaigning for election.  Obama had vowed, as his first act as president, to sign the pro-abortion “Freedom of Choice Act.”³ Although Congress never passes the Act, Obama would have signed it if given the chance.  In a speech to participants at a Planned Parenthood Action Fund Conference on July 17^th, 2007, he said this in response to a question during the Q&A session: 

“Well, look, in my mind reproductive care is essential care, basic care, so it is at the center, the heart of the plan I propose… But, essentially, what we are doing is to say that we’re going to set up a public plan that all persons and all women can access if they don’t have health insurance… It’ll be a plan that will provide all essential services, including reproductive services… So that’s going to be absolutely vital.”⁴

A Google search on the words “reproductive services” pulls up, as the first four results, links to affiliated clinics offering abortion services (although in the interest of full disclosure, infertility services did come up further down the list.)  Even Planned Parenthood considers abortion as just another common “reproductive service.”⁵

Considering President Obama’s pre-election speeches, it’s no wonder Rep. Joe Wilson (R-SC) blurted out “You Lie!”⁶ upon hearing his speech in September 2009, although he paid for his outburst via the late-night media’s O-Bots:

Bill Maher:  “What’s so ironic is that the health plan that Joe Wilson so angrily opposes would get him the Prozac he so desperately needs.”⁷

Conan O’Brien:  “One of President Obama’s advisors called Joe Wilson ‘a pimple on the [bottom] of progress’.  Then the advisor stresses that removing a pimple from the [bottom] of progress would be covered by Obama’s health plan.”⁸

Wilson’s own embarrassed party leaders forced him to apologize to the President and his congressional colleagues.

In March 2010, LifeNews’ Steven Ertelt filed a report breaking the news that the Obama Administration was starting to fund abortions:

The Obama administration has officially approved the first instance of taxpayer funded abortions under the new national government-run health care program.  This is the kind of abortion funding the pro-life movement warned about when Congress considered the bill.

The Obama administration will give Pennsylvania $160 million to set up a new “high-risk” insurance program under a provision of the federal health care legislation enacted in March.

It has quietly approved a plan submitted by an appointee of pro-abortion, Governor Edward Rendell, under which the new program will cover any abortion that is legal in Pennsylvania.

The high-risk pool is one of the new programs created by the sweeping health care legislation, Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, President Obama signed into law on March 23.  The law authorizes $5 billion in federal funds for the program, which will cover as many as 400,000 people when it is implemented nationwide.

“The Obama Administration will give Pennsylvania $160 million in federal tax funds, which we’ve discovered will pay for insurance plans that cover any legal abortion,” said Douglas Johnson, legislative director for the National Right to Life Committee.

Johnson told LifeNews.com:  “This is just the first proof of the phoniness of President Obama’s assurances that federal funds would not subsidize abortion- but it will not be the last.”⁹

This means that just six months after Obama promised Congress that federal funds would not be used for abortion, federal funds were authorized for just that.  There was no outcry from the media, and most conservative Christians and politicians remained silent.

A few weeks ago, Secretary of Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced an expansion of Section 1303 of ObamaCare¹⁰:  all employees paying for health insurance would be required to pay surcharges (minimum: $12 per year) for contraceptives and abortion services whether or not they receive or even want them.  Because there was to be no exception or opt-out provision for churches and Christian organizations, and such places objected, Obama announced an “accommodation”: the insurance companies will be required to pay for such services (and the costs will be passed along to their customers- those same customers who did not want to pay for them in the first place!)  Now colleges and universities, even Christian institutions, will be required to provide abortfacient medications!  The insurance companies are not allowed to disclose that this coverage is included and are forbidden from disclosing the abortion surcharge due to a gag rule.^11,12

Back to Obama’s speech to Congress on September 9^th 2009, particularly one point:

“…and federal conscience laws will remain in place.”¹³

Another duplicitous statement by our Commander-in-Chief:  On February 18^th 2011, he cancelled President George W. Bush’s Executive Order guaranteeing that healthcare professionals would not have to violate their beliefs.¹⁴

The abortion components of the healthcare bill will be universally in effect as of January 2013 and everyone will be required to unwittingly support the killing of babies.

As of this past February, Obama also defunded a program to aid in the adoption of frozen embryos, also known as “Snowflake Babies.”  Most will die waiting for adoptive parents.¹⁵

There comes a time when we have to decide when the rule of law is diametrically opposed to the laws of God.  He has made it abundantly clear that He will not look favorably upon those who unrepentantly promote and participate in the ending of innocent lives.  His love of the unborn, in His own words:

Genesis 1:28- And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it…

Exodus 20:13 and Deuteronomy 5:17- Thou shalt not kill.  Repeated by Jesus in Matthew 19:18, notice he mentions that commandment first.

Jeremiah 1:4-5- Then the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations.

Job 31:14-15- What then shall I do when God riseth up? and when he visiteth, what shall I answer him?  Did not he that made me in the womb make him? and did not one fashion us in the womb?

Psalm 127:3- Lo, children are an heritage of the Lord: and the fruit of the womb is his reward.

Psalm 139:13-15- For thou hast possessed my reins: thou hast covered me in my mother's womb.

I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well.  My substance was not hid from thee, when I was made in secret, and curiously wrought in the lowest parts of the earth.

Luke 1:15 states that John the Baptist will be “great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink; and he shall be filled with the Holy Ghost, even from his mother's womb.”

The killing of children is especially condemned by God through the prophets. In the land God gave his people to occupy, foreign nations had the custom of sacrificing some of their children in fire. God told His people that they were not to share in this sin. They did, however, as Psalm 106 relates: "They mingled with the nations and learned their works…They sacrificed their sons and their daughters to demons, and they shed innocent blood, the blood of their sons and their daughters, whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan, desecrating the land with bloodshed" (Psalm 106:35, 37-38).¹⁶

This sin of child-sacrifice, in fact, is mentioned as one of the major reasons that the Kingdom of Israel was destroyed by the Assyrians and the people taken into exile. "They mutilated their sons and daughters by fire…till the Lord, in his great anger against Israel, put them away out of his sight" (2 Kings 17:17-18.)¹⁷ In fact, when babies are aborted they, if not sold and used for medical research¹⁸, or illegally dumped in landfills (whether or not buried,) ¹⁹ are indeed thrown into the fire (cremated as “medical waste.”)²⁰

The Book of Revelation affirms that (unrepentant) murderers cannot enter the kingdom of heaven (Revelation 22:15).²¹

The Bible teaches that human life is different from other types of life, because human beings are made in the very image of God.  It also teaches that children are a blessing, that the child in the womb is truly a human child, who even has a relationship with the Lord.  Scripture repeatedly condemns the killing of the innocent.  God is a God of justice.²² Mr. Obama, you said that you do not want one of your daughters to be “punished with a baby.”²³ Tell me, Mr. President, were YOUR baby daughters a punishment to you?  What is it that makes your daughters “miracles,” versus punishments? ²⁴

Jesus Christ paid special attention to the poor, the despised, and those whom the rest of society considered insignificant.  Scripture teaches us to love, and that life is victorious over death. ²⁵

Abortion is death. Christ came to conquer death, and therefore abortion.²⁶ "I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full" (John 10:10).

"There shall be no more death" (Revelation 21:4).

And the people said “Amen. “ Come, Lord Jesus!

Because we honor justice and the common good, we will not comply with any edict that purports to compel our institutions to participate in abortions, embryo-destructive research, assisted suicide and euthanasia, or any other anti-life act; nor will we bend to any rule purporting to force us to bless immoral sexual relationships, treat them as marriages or the equivalent, or refrain from proclaiming the truth, as we know it, about morality and immorality and marriage and the family.  We will fully and ungrudgingly render to Caesar what is Caesar’s.  But under no circumstances will we render to Caesar what is God’s.  (Sign the Manhattan Declaration here:  http://www.manhattandeclaration.org/the-declaration/read.aspx)

¹ The White House, Office of the Press Secretary, September 9, 2009.  http://www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_office/remarks-by-the-President-to-a-Joint-Session-of-Congress-on-Health-Care/

² Ibid

³ Video of President Obama’s speech to Planned Parenthood at www.fightfoca.com

⁴ Transcript of Obama’s Speech to Planned Parenthood Action Fund, July 17, 2007

http://groups.google.com/group/talk.politics.misc/msg/d79cdf2ea46f4f79

⁵ http://www.plannedparenthood.org/health-topics/abortion-4260.asp

⁶ The White House, Office of the Press Secretary, September 9, 2009.  http://www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_office/remarks-by-the-President-to-a-Joint-Session-of-Congress-on-Health-Care/

⁷ http://www.hbo.com/real-time-with-bill-maher/episodes/0/167-episode/synopsis.html

⁸ http://politicalhumor.about.com/od/healthcare/a/healthcare-reform-jokes_2.htm

⁹ Obama Administration Oks First Tax-Funded Abortions Under Health Care Law, July 13, 2010

http://www.lifenews.com/2010/07/13/nat-6531

¹⁰ Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act; Establishment of Exchanges and Qualified Health Plans; Exchange Standards for Employers, Department of Health and Human Services.  http://www.ofr.gov/OFRUpload/OFRData/2012-06125_Pl.pdf

¹¹ A Statement by U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, January 20, 2012.  http://www.hhs.gov/news/press/2012pres/01/20120120a.html

¹² Free Sterilizations Must Be Offered to All College Women, Says HHS, March 17, 2012.  http://cnsnews.com/news/article/free-sterilizations-must-be-offered-all-college-women-says-hhs

¹³ The White House, Office of the Press Secretary, September 9, 2009.  http://www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_office/remarks-by-the-President-to-a-Joint-Session-of-Congress-on-Health-Care/

¹⁴ Bush Health-Care Measure Reversed, The Wall Street Journal, February 18, 2011.  http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703803904576152722411300728.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

¹⁵ Obama defunds  “snowflake babies” program aids in embryo adoption, March 4, 2012.  http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2012/mar/4/obama-defunds-snowflake-babies/

¹⁶ http://www.priestsforlife.org/brochures/thebible.html

¹⁷ Ibid

¹⁸ Tissues of Aborted Fetuses Used in Medical Research… and Food Testing, The Blaze, March 23, 2012.  http://www.theblaze.com/stories/tissues-of-aborted-fetuses-used-in-medical-research-and-food-testing/

¹⁹ Illinois Medical Waste Company Fined $42K for Improperly Dumping Aborted Remains, FOX Chicago News, February 10, 2012.  http://www.myfoxchicago.com/dpp/news/metro/illinois-medical-waste-company-stericycle-abortion-fetal-fetus-human-remains-landfill-texas-whole-womans-health-20120210

²⁰ Aborted babies thrown out with clinical waste, The Christian Institute, May 19, 2010.  http://www.christian.org.uk/news/aborted-babies-thrown-out-with-clinical-waste/

²¹ http://www.priestsforlife.org/brochures/thebible.html

²² Ibid

²³ http://blogs.cbn.com/thebrodyfile/archive/2008/03/31/obama-says-he-doesnt-want-his-daughters-punished-with-a.aspx

²⁴ Ibid

²⁵ http://www.priestsforlife.org/brochures/thebible.html

²⁶ Ibid

All Bible verses from the King James Version, Bible Gateway.  http://www.biblegateway.com/