Showing posts with label Roe v Wade. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Roe v Wade. Show all posts
Wednesday, July 22, 2015

What It Means to Have a BIRTHday, by Rebecca Kiessling

Today is my birthday.  I'm not at all ashamed to tell my age because it's very relevant.  I was born July 22, 1969 -- exactly 10 months before the hearing date in Texas in Roe v Wade, and exactly 3-1/2 years to the U.S. Supreme Court decision legalizing abortion throughout the U.S..

I was conceived when my birthmother was abducted at knifepoint by a serial rapist.  She went to two illegal "back-alley" abortions, and I was almost aborted.  That was my life-changing, near-death experience.  When we met when I was 19, even though she was very happy to meet me, my birthmom was pro-choice, and told me she absolutely would have aborted me if it had been legal, and that it should have been her right.  Six years later, she completely changed her mind on the issue, and now, we are BOTH thankful that we were both spared the horror of abortion.

Many people will say to me, "I'm so glad your mother chose life."  But she didn't.  She chose abortion.  Pro-life legislators, activists and voters chose life for me, and they are my heroes!  I owe my birth to the law being there to protect me.  I was lucky -- I was protected.  Legality matters.

In the mid-1960's, there were efforts to legalize abortion in cases of rape all over the country.  Norma McCorvey (Jane Roe from Roe v Wade) even lied, claiming she was gang-raped, in order to try to obtain an abortion in Texas.  But I'm from Michigan, where there has never been a rape-exception in any laws.  This is why I have a birthday to celebrate!

I'm so blessed to have people say many profound things to me as a travel around the world sharing my story.  I get to hear things which many people don't get to hear in everyday life -- things like, "I'm so glad you were born!"  I'm so very grateful for those words, but I believe that everyone deserves to hear them like I do, so I make a point of it -- whenever someone shares their personal story with me, or whenever I see it's someone's birthday on Facebook, or when someone tells me it's their birthday, I make a point of telling them, "Happy birthday -- I'm so glad you were born!"  I'm amazed at how moved they are -- many responding with "Wow, thanx so much!  No one has EVER said that to me before." 

We need to be saying these words to one another.  There are many who are hurting from our abortion culture who have bought the lie that their lives don't really matter.  So please, take the time to tell others that you are so glad they were born.

Two years ago, on my birthday, my birthmother called to wish me Happy Birthday and to tell me that
my biological grandmother had died earlier in the day.  I was born on her wedding anniversary, and she died on my birthday.  We had both been to visit her a few weeks before.  I got her to smile and to laugh by singing to her, "You Are My Sunshine."  Please understand that God gave me the gift of voice for speaking only!  So you can understand why anyone would laugh.

My birthmother and I had a long heart-to-heart.  I told her that I had just arrived the night before to visit my in-laws in Massachusetts, but that I would fly home to be with her.  At the end of our conversation, we were about to hang up when she stopped me:  "Rebecca, Rebecca!"  Then her voice broke, "I just want to say, I'm so glad I had you!"  That was the best birthday gift ever! 

This morning, I wrote this poem to share on Facebook, and I'd like to share it here as well:

Today I was born!
I could have been torn
from my mom's womb,
her body my tomb.
But I have a birth
because others saw my worth.
See, I was protected
instead of dissected.
Today, I can celebrate
instead of having hate
for her rapist and
the abortion man.
So when you say,
"Happy birthday,"
please be aware
of why I am here,
and that others are yet neglected
when they should be protected.
 
This is the link to where you can share the poem on Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/102194079817633/photos/a.164949103542130.26757.102194079817633/887640131273020/?type=1&theater
 
Bio:  Rebecca Kiessling is an international pro-life speaker, blogger, attorney, as well as wife and mother.  She's the founder and president of Save The 1, co-founder of Hope After Rape Conception, and co-founder of Embryo Defense.
 
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Thursday, February 19, 2015

New Mexico’s Late-Term Abortion Bill is Fatally Flawed by Rebecca Kiessling

New Mexico is currently the late-term capitol of America, so understandably, with a new Republican majority in the House, pro-life legislators and activists are making a push to get late-term abortion banned in New Mexico.  Although New Mexico also has a pro-life Republican Governor – Susana Martinez, it still has a solidly Democrat-controlled Senate (25-17.)  Accordingly, this legislation is not expected to pass the Senate, and so, is a “message bill.”

But what message is being sent?  Let’s take a closer look at the legislation, HB 390.  First of all, the definition of abortion jumped out at me as being grossly ill-defined –” 2A. ‘abortion’ means the intentional termination of the pregnancy of a female by a person who knows the female is pregnant. “  This definition would encompass any induction of labor, including a c-section, where a baby is born healthy.  If you take a look at Merriam-Webster’s definition of abortion, it is much more clearly defined:  “the termination of a pregnancy after, accompanied by, resulting in, or closely followed by the death of the embryo or fetus.”
Now let’s take a look at the exceptions in the bill under subsection 5B, in which a physician is allowed to perform a late-term abortion on a viable unborn child over 20 weeks gestationally:    
               (1) the physician has determined that in the physician's opinion the late-term abortion is necessary to preserve the life or health of the pregnant woman; provided, however, that the physician shall take all reasonable steps to preserve the life and health of the fetus; or
                (2) the pregnant woman asserts that the pregnancy resulted from sexual abuse, rape or incest.
Most pro-life activists see the “health of the mother” language and instantly recognize that this language is code for abortion on demand, for any reason.  Even Congress’ flawed Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act, did not have a health of the mother exception, but a very limited life of the mother exception, specifically excluding psychological or emotional conditions.   In Doe v Bolton – the companion case to Roe v Wade, the U.S. Supreme Court defined “health of the mother” as follows:  “that the medical judgment may be exercised in the light of all factors - physical, emotional, psychological, familial, and the woman's age - relevant to the well-being of the patient.  All these factors may relate to health.”  This is why the “health of the mother” exception has lead to abortion through all nine months of pregnancy, for any reason.  Pro-choice activists know this, but apparently, New Mexico legislators are unaware.
The second exception is, of course, one which personally offends members of Save The 1, given that most of us were either conceived in rape or are mothers from rape.   Why do we deserve the death penalty for the crimes of our biological fathers?  Rapists don’t even get the death penalty – see Coker v Georgia (1977) and in Kennedy v Louisiana (2008), the U.S. Supreme Court said it’s “cruel and unusual punishment” even for child molesters.  So how does the innocent child deserve the death penalty for his crime?
Again, the flawed rape-exception Pain-Capable bill in Congress even had some level of standards which passed muster for many pro-life activists – that the rape had to be reported.  When some female Republicans threatened to block the bill unless that reporting requirement was removed, that was enough for pro-life activists to retreat because even those who would compromise on the rape exception, were unwilling to compromise on the reporting requirement.  This bill doesn’t even have a reporting requirement, which again means abortion on demand for any reason.  After all, Roe v Wade was founded on a false claim of rape.
Lastly, this mediocre bill sets the penalty for intentionally killing a 20-week+ unborn child at $5,000, 1 year license suspension and 18 months in jail, since it would only be a fourth degree felony.   In footnote 54 of the U.S. Supreme Court’s opinion in Roe v Wade,  the Court pointed out that the state’s whole argument for personhood of the unborn child is undermined by exceptions, by excluding the mother as a principal (as this bill does,) and by the penalty for the abortion being “significantly less than the maximum penalty for murder.”  As the Roe Court put it:  “If the fetus is a person, may the penalties be different?”
So before pro-life activists in New Mexico go jumping on the band wagon, please stop and ask yourselves, “What kind of message are we sending?”
BIO:  Rebecca Kiessling is a wife, mother of 5 , attorney and international pro-life speaker, sharing her story of having been conceived in rape and nearly aborted at two back-alley abortions, but legally protected in Michigan pre-Roe v Wade.  She’s the founder and President of Save The 1, and co-founder of Hope After Rape Conception.

 
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