Sunday, February 10, 2008
FROM THE EMAILBOX
Spirit & Life®
"The words I spoke to you are spirit and life." (Jn 6:63)
Human Life International e-Newsletter
Volume 03, Number 06 | Friday, February 8, 2008
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www.hli.org
Jamaica at the Crossroads
Teach us true respect for all / Stir response to duty's call / Strengthen us the weak to cherish / Give us vision lest we perish.
These inspiring words are from the Jamaican National Anthem. They perfectly encapsulate the kind of commitment to the vulnerable that Jamaica needs to manifest if it is to have a future. The good pro-life people on this island are struggling hard - before abortion gets legalized - to convince their nation that abortion is a deal with the devil that will kill their national soul.
I am writing primarily to ask your prayers for Jamaica right now. Jamaica is a very Christian nation with deep-seated Christian values that often get trampled upon by hedonistic lifestyles that they have learned from their northern neighbors. Their unwed pregnancy rate is high, poverty is endemic, crime and murders are rampant and they always talk about themselves as a Third World Country. However, even though they are a relatively small island lodged in between two huge American continents they are second to none in their love for life. The vast majority of Jamaicans really understand that there is no reason to kill a baby, ever. They call in to radio talk shows and write letters to the editor to let their pro-life opinions be known, and their pro-life heart will save them.
The attempt to legalize abortion in Jamaica, however, is just another page of the abortion playbook. The international abortion lobby works closely with a few well-placed abortion promoters in any country, usually in the medical profession and government. These then set up committees to study the phenomenon of "unsafe abortion" which is nothing more than a euphemism for "illegal" abortion. They grossly exaggerate or skew the numbers of women being harmed and killed by illegal abortionists, and then on the basis of their voluminous reports to government and scare tactics, they push the agenda to legalize abortion claiming that they are the real champions of women.
True to form, in Jamaica, an Abortion Advisory Committee was set up in 2005 to "study" the issue of abortion for a proposed legal reform. The head of this committee is a retired doctor who had been head of Planned Parenthood in Jamaica - just imagine what she will "advise" her government! Predictably, this advisory group submitted a totally pro-abortion report to Parliament last year advocating abortion on demand up to 22 weeks and proceeded to fast track the effort to legalize abortion when a new, more liberal government came into power in October. Now, the situation has reached a critical stage. Parliament has set up a special Select Committee to "debate" the issue and create draft legislation for a vote. This is why Jamaica needs your prayers! The process is very far advanced.
Thankfully, an alliance of churches and concerned civic groups had a press conference at a hotel in Kingston yesterday in which they signaled to the government in no uncertain terms that they will not accept this plan to legalize abortion on demand in Jamaica. It was a magnificent show of solidarity and unity behind the singular purpose of rebuking this immoral effort to kill more babies. The interventions were just marvelous and you can look at the statements of these groups on the new website that has been set up for this purpose, www.defendlifejamaica.com. These people are the conscience of their nation.
The battle for life has only just begun in Jamaica, but the best part of it is that the defenders of life have a fighting chance because they are getting organized now. They are working very hard to keep their people faithful to their founding vision of "respecting all" and "cherishing the weak." Please pray the prayer to the Guardian Angel of Jamaica and keep their valiant efforts in prayer for at least the near future.
Prayer to Guardian Angel of Jamaica
Come to our aid, O Guardian Angel of Jamaica, you who constantly behold the Face of God (Mt 18:10). Offer the prayers of the Jamaican people like incense to the Throne of Grace (Rev 8:4) and ask Almighty God to restrain the lawless one (2 Thes 2:7) in his desire to destroy our children and families. May you come with St. Michael the Archangel to drive out the spirit of abortion from our land and so protect us from all evil. Assist us now in our hour of need!
We ask you this through our Lord Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God forever and ever. Amen.
Sincerely Yours in Christ,
Rev. Thomas J. Euteneuer,
President, Human Life International
