The Trip and some Interview

Folks, the trip was fantastic! God sure is a great artist, isn't He? I'll fill you in more (with some pics) in a later post.

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And now for the interview that you have heard so much about:
Risking mucking up the issue of birth control even more than I already have, I interviewed John Barnett, the Director of Outreach at the Coalition for Life in Bryan, Tx, for his story and p.o.v. on the Pro-Life Movement in general and birth control in specific. Here is Part I of his interview:


How long have you been actively involved in the Pro-Life movement, and to what extent has your involvement been?

I was nearly aborted due to my family's financial constraints. I was conceived ten years after my brother, and my parents also had a fourteen year old daughter of who to take care. Miraculously, I survived the abortion-friendly years of the early eighties. My mother felt guilty for considering abortion for that brief moment, so she found solace in going in front of an abortion clinic with her very large, but healthy, Baby John to show other women exactly what abortion would take from them.

In high school, I found myself straying from God's Word and began living immorally. Finding myself ill-prepared to be a father, and fearful of the shame of my exposed sin, I selfishly supported my girlfriend in obtaining an abortion. It took me some years to face what I had done, but when I confessed my sin before Christ Jesus, He covered me with His blood and washed away my sin. Now I still miss my child and have anniversary depression each year, but God has used my experience to proclaim His glory. My testimony has helped me relate to those who end up where I was back then, and helps me let them know that those who pray and counsel outside the clinic aren't just a bunch of holier-than-thous, toting rosaries and bibles.

I had never heard of the Brazos Valley Coalition for Life until the fall of 2004, when then Young Conservatives of Texas--A&M Chapter--Chairman Hank Balch invited David Arabie to speak about 40 Days for Life at the first meeting of the semester. 40 Days was a program of intense prayer, presence, and publicity put on by BVCL. The meat of the program was a 24-hour prayer vigil outside the Planned Parenthood abortion facility in Bryan, TX. I started coming out in the evenings, and soon was an insomnia-stricken member of "The Night Crew." I was full of curiosity and incessantly bugged Programs Coordinator Marilisa Carney and Executive Director David Bereit with my questions about the ministry. Finding their answers more than acceptable, I dove into doing as much as I could as a volunteer. I was trained as a sidewalk counselor and began speaking to clients as they entered the abortion facility on E. 29 th St., sharing with them alternatives to abortion and Planned Parenthood.


Has your involvement in the Pro-Life movement affected your faith? If so, in what ways?


Work in this ministry certainly has strengthened my faith. First of all, when you spends so much time in front of the clinic conscious of the great evils that occur inside, you have no choice but to fall on your knees before Almighty God and cry out for an end to the injustice. Prayer in any environment always draws one near to God, but being physically in front of the abortion mill reminds me how weak we are without Christ, while proclaiming how strong He is when his children humble themselves and pray. Seeing women turn around on an abortion day is definitely one of the most powerful early rewards we can receive in this ministry. Thanking God for the lives saved before our eyes comes easily when week after week, we see dozens of healthy preborn children enter Planned Parenthood comfortably inside their mother's womb, only to witness the same women sick and broken leaving with empty wombs and wounded hearts. God is awesome and when something great happens, we claim no glory for ourselves. At the same time, God is awesome and when something horrible happens, we know that we've been faithful, and He will continue to be awesome and singularly worthy of our praise.


What, if any, changes have you undergone throughout your time as a Pro-Lifer?

Educated in public schools, I never really got to honestly discuss the issue of abortion. It was always just listed as a solution to unwanted pregnancy. Being a Christian, I've always known abortion is murder and morally wrong, but the so called "hard cases" had me stumped. Most liberal politicians will say they personally oppose abortion, but will vote 100% in line with radical pro-aborts, while most conservative politicians say they oppose abortion in all cases except rape, incest, life of the mother, etc. As a conservative who didn't want to be viewed as heartless (how could you make a rape victim carry the offspring of her attacker?), I accepted the latter doctrine. As I was finishing up high school, and beginning college, I read a lot of non-fiction literature, mainly written by Evangelical Christians (If I could only recommend one, it would be Randy Alcorn's ProLife answers to ProChoice Arguments). After honestly contemplating the ramifications of legalized abortion in any of these cases (life of the mother exception explanation to follow)I realized that I had to oppose all surgical, chemical, and medical abortions.


Rape and Incest. Practically speaking, those who accept this exception do so out of an appeal to emotions and sensationalism, while this is understandable, scientifically speaking, the child that results from rape is still a child; indistinguishable from one conceived in a loving marriage. While those who would legalize abortion for everyone to protect the "rights" of women who are raped do so with good intentions, they are simply wrong. If a woman is raped, she is the victim of a man's criminal act. He should be punished severely, and the woman should not have to suffer his presence ever again. However, just as a preborn child is not a "part of the mother's body," she is neither part of the father, nor conscious of his crime. Abortion does not heal the pain and scars of rape, but adds to them. If my father robs a bank, our justice system would not send me to jail just because I remind society of my father. I have a friend [I can give you his name if you'd like to contact him directly. I just don't feel justified in telling his story for him] whose 14-year-old mother was raped then gave him up for adoption. He is married now and is awaiting his first child's September birth. Would you say he has less of a right to life because of the circumstances of his conception? The murder of an innocent party does not punish the perpetrator, but is another crime in and of itself.



Health / Life of the Mother. This is the most misunderstood of the "hard cases." This exception is the one that expanded legal limits to permit any abortion (including partial-birth abortion) for any reason. In most cases where the mother's life is truly in danger, where efforts to save her life would likely inadvertently also cause harm or death to the child growing inside her, one cannot call such efforts an intention abortion for the sake of convenience. The most common occurrence where this would be allowed would be in the case of ectopic or tubal pregnancy, where the newly fertilized egg (fully human and unique individual) fails to implant properly in the uterus, but implants in the fallopian tube, where his chances of survival are close to nil and the danger to the very life of the mother is quite real, procedures to preserve the mother's life are not targeted at the innocent child, but his demise would be an unpleasant side effect. In these cases, both woman and doctor can be assured that they have acted in a pro-life manner. The problem arises when one includes a very liberal definition of "health." In many cases, abortion has been permitted for the vainest reasons. The avoidance of morning sickness and the ability to look "good" in a swimsuit for the upcoming summer are two actual cases where the "health of the mother" was the rationale for ripping an innocent child from the safety of the womb.



Disabled or Disfigured Child. How can it love to bring a child who will be deformed, insulted, and rejected by society into such a hateful world? Even if these offense adjectives were accurate, it wouldn't make killing the child before her birth anymore merciful than killing all disabled people living outside the womb.

Prenatal diagnoses are not always correct, and the methods used to obtain them arguably cause more damage than they prevent. It has been estimated that there is a 1.5% chance of miscarriage as a result of amniocentesis.

The value of a person is not determined by his health or "normality." One can point to many "normal" people who aren't exactly the best social assets. I'm sure someone reading this can point to a "special" person who has touched his/her life in a tremendously beneficial way. Disability is not a crime; certainly not a capital one.

There are several families waiting to adopt that have specifically requested children with Down's syndrome or other "horrible" conditions. It's amazing how God takes care of the least by placing in the hearts of others a desire to care for them when their own mothers would reject them.

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More to come from Mr. Barnett...
And I'll reply to some arguments made by Edmund...