Monday, January 30, 2012

California Pro-Lifers Try Again for Parental Notice on Abortion

My Most recent article on www.LifeNews.com

Signatures are currently being gathered to put Parental Notification on the 2012 November ballot for the fourth time in California. In 2008 Parental Notification’s Proposition 4 lost by a very small percentage, 52% to 48%. Parental notification proponents are back this year in full force, but this time they have something that changes the game . . .
Continue reading on Life News


For the Dignity of the Born and Unborn,

Timmerie

Friday, January 27, 2012

Come and follow Me, and I will give you peace.


Guest blog by 18 year old Sarah Durling
It was January 22 2011, the day of the Walk for Life West Coast! That was the day that started it all. About a week before the walk, I started doubting that Campus Life Tours was my calling. After the Walk for Life, a few friends and I went to mass at St. Dominic’s Catholic Church in San Francisco. I knew I had a doubtful heart at the time, so I asked the Lord, “Am I really supposed to go on Campus Life Tours? What do you want me to do?” Then I said that famous line, “Lord, please use me.” We stood to listen to the Gospel and I could not believe my ears! The reading was from Matthew,
“As he was walking along the Sea of Galilee he watched two brothers, Simon now known as Peter, and his brother Andrew, casting a net into the sea. They were fishermen. He said to them, “Come after me and I will make you fishers of men.” They immediately abandoned their nets and became his followers.” ~ Matthew 4:18-20 ~
Then the priest gave his homily, “If you feel that doing pro-life work for your whole life is what God wants, or if you have this burning desire to save babies from abortion, that is what God is calling you to do!” When the priest said that, I immediately knelt down in thanksgiving! Now I know that is what God wanted me to do! Now I have a handful of pro-life missionary groups lined up including Campus Life Tours.

When I went to the Survivor’s camp after deciding to join Campus Life Tours, something happened to me that I would never forget. Our camp was standing on Venice Beach in the middle of huge crowds and walkways with signs of aborted children to show the truth to our peers. I was standing in front of a lady’s booth, and after a while, she started to get fed up with me. She came up to me and said, “I am sorry, but I cannot have you in front of my booth. I am trying to eat my lunch and I cannot eat with your picture facing toward me. Can you please move?” I had not gotten permission to move so I told her “No.” She obviously did not like that answer. “No, you HAVE to move.” Then she tried to take my sign from me. I pulled it out of her hands and said, “I am not moving from this spot unless I am told by my leader.” Then the unthinkable happened. She tried to push me and my sign over!

I stood there no matter how hard she pushed on my sign. God was definitely there helping me! Since she could not push me over, she retreated to her booth and just glared at me. Eventually, a few friends came over and stood with me after I called a leader and said that someone tried to push me over. A few minutes later, I heard some people yelling a little ways away from me and my sign. I looked over just in time to see a young woman from a shop behind us kick a sign in! She turned around after she broke the sign and yelled, “Who’s next?!?” Oh no…that would be me. I tried to keep my mind off of what the woman had just said, so I was engaged in conversations with people walking by asking them what they thought of the pictures. Then the lady that tried to take my sign away from me came up to me shaking her prayer book in my and my friend’s faces yelling, “These are prayers from the bible! You should read them!” In my mind I was screaming, “I do!” But it never came out because I did not want to ruin my video.

Then, as one Survivor tried to reason with her, another Survivor came and stood back to back with me. Oh what is happening now? I looked behind me when I heard some yelling from the lady who broke our sign earlier! She was in my friend’s face yelling at him when he intercepted her as she tried to jump on me from behind! Thank goodness he was there or else my nose might have been broken from this mad woman. The woman continued to yell, not even an inch from his face! “Touch me! Touch me! Touch me mother trucker!” She yelled that over and over again. Then she finally backed off. The thought came to my mind, “Could anything else happen?” But I stupidly jinxed myself and lo and behold! A man came from behind some palm trees carrying a plastic chair that had something on it. It was pretty much dripping with whatever was on the chair, and he was bringing it over to me! A couple of girls screamed when he walked passed them and I immediately knew that it was not going to be pleasant. He walked up to me and my sign and shoved the chair slowly against my sign – the chair was covered in a swarm of bees! In my mind, I started totally freaking out by that time. My friend and fellow Survivor said calmly, “No matter what you do to us, we are not going to move.” 

Then the man who put the chair in front of my sign simply picked up the chair again and walked off. For about three seconds, I kept telling myself not to cry. The adrenaline was running through me at five hundred miles per hour! Then unexpectedly, a hand was placed on my shoulder! “Oh this is going to be my doom!” I thought. When I turned around to “face my doom”, I turned to find an old man. He looked so kind, his eyes were kind, so I figured he would not hit me. He looked at me with those kind eyes as he said this,
“I am so proud of you child. I do not think that I would have been able to be that brave in your situation. I know for sure that God will save you and your friends a special place in Heaven and you will receive your crown in His kingdom. Remember this, Rescue those who are being dragged to death, and to those tottering to execution withdraw not.” 
Then as fast as he appeared, he disappeared! Then I broke down and cried. Was this the Lord who just appeared to me? He quoted my favorite verse in the Bible perfectly and with such love! I could not believe it. Then another friend came to my aide and escorted me away from the commotion. I do not know for sure if God just appeared to me, or if it was an angel sent from heaven, but what I do know is that day changed the little spit of fire in my soul into a roaring fire that cannot be quenched!

Now I am on Campus Life Tours and it is everything that I expected! I love it so much, and I feel like I have another family in Southern California. A very large family filled with brothers and sisters who are all fighting for the same thing. While I was on tour last semester, I experienced something that I had not experience before. I know it may sound very crazy, but I felt the devil’s presence. I know it sounds like all voodoo and stuff like that, but when I was in front of 'Woman’s Health Specialists' in Sacramento of all places, I felt something wrong there – very wrong.

We went out in the middle of the night to chalk all over the sidewalk in front of this horrific clinic and as I was chalking, something happened that was really hard to explain at first. I was chalking as fast as I could, chalking things like “Your baby has a heartbeat at only twenty-one days” and loving messages all over the sidewalk. Then my piece of chalk fell out of my hand, but this did not feel like it just fell out, it felt like it was pulled out of my hand! Like I said, it sounds crazy, but it did happen. It happened a few more times, and every time the chalk was pulled out of my hand, I would scratch my knuckles. By the end of the night, my knuckles were pretty skinned up and they definitely hurt. I think that the devil will test us in millions of ways through our lifetime and we must not let him succeed ever! There were times where I would feel like giving up, but I could not let the devil win! I had to keep strong no matter what happened, and no matter what questions or insults were thrown at me.

When we went to Sacramento State University, John Ficker, who works with Project Truth, brought a woman over to me. “Sarah, this young lady does not want to hear us men talk about our views because we would not understand.” I shook the woman’s hand introducing myself with a friendly smile. Instead of saying ‘nice to meet you’ or anything like that, she asked me, “How old are you sweetie?” I cringed at the thought of her calling me sweetie, it makes me feel like I am eight years old. “Eighteen, what does that have to do with our conversation?” She looked at John with disbelief,

“You brought me to an eighteen year old?” John tried to calm her down as she was coming to her boiling point, “Well we have some older women here as well if you would like to talk to one of them,” she pretty much just brushed him off. “I did not know s*** when I was eighteen. What could she possibly know?” John came to my defense, “Whoa, you are just going to wave her off just because of how old she is? I think that this eighteen year old is smarter than you.” She scoffed at the comment, “Oh yeah?” John then said, “Alright let us have a contest to see if this eighteen year old is smarter than this…oh how old are you?” She made herself look all high and mighty and said, “Thirty.” All I was thinking was, “Oh this is one of those brick walls…”

John continued, “Alright let us see who is smarter. At what age does a fetus, embryo, whatever you want to call it, when does her heart start beating?” The woman looked like it was the easiest question and prepared herself to win our little contest. “Eighteen weeks of course!” WHAT? Four months? John made a buzzer noise and declared her the loser of our contest and asked me for the correct answer, “Eighteen to twenty-one DAYS.” The lady stared at me with a cold stare that could rip you apart, but with my Lord, I stood strong.

After a million of the usual questions, she finally blurted out, “Would you give your life to save these fetuses?!?!” Without even a second thought I told her calmly, “Yes, of course I would if that means that they will live.” She threw up her hands, “I can’t talk to you anymore! You are driving me crazy!” I wish I could have talked to her a little while longer, but I had already put a crack in the brick wall and maybe she will look at that crack later. That is what I hope.

Like I said before, you will be tested. I was asked if I would give up my life to save babies! Of course I would, but if someone asked you that question, what would you have answered? Will you follow me and give up semesters and summers of your life to go save babies? The one important question is – What will you do to serve your Lord?

“If anyone serves me, he must follow me; and where I am, there will my servant be also. If anyone serves me, the Father will honor him.”~ John 12:26 ~


For Life and for the Little Ones,


Wednesday, January 25, 2012

A Civil Rights Legacy: “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” Dr. Martin Luther King


Guest blog by 16 year old Maddie Lopez
It was the beginning of the second semester, and we all had just gotten back from Christmas break. I sat there in my fourth period class – U.S. History. It was the worst class to have in the middle of the day, especially with the teacher I ended up with. It was hard to focus because my brain was still in “break mode”, and it keeps wandering from one random topic to the next.

Suddenly, breaking my spontaneous train of thought, my teacher announced that we would be continuing the section on the Civil Rights Movement. I had never been truly interested much in the distant occurrences from hundreds and hundreds of years ago, but Civil Rights was recent, within the past century. He had my full attention.

The movie commenced, and my attention was grasped instantly. The whole time I was paralleling it with modern day injustices, and it made the movie much more interesting. The footage being shown on the screen was astounding, and it was extremely difficult to believe what I was seeing. It was weird – I couldn’t think of a time that I had ever voluntarily wanted to learn anything in my history class before.

The images flashed by, as we all watched Martin Luther King Jr campaign for nonviolent tactics in achieving equal rights for those within the black community. I observed as justice became a mere word in the vocabulary of a society that refused to protect the most basic rights of its own citizens. I was torn apart as I watched helplessly as stubborn governors would not allow peaceful marches to take place, as brutal policemen unleashed their dogs on black citizens, and as merciless firemen aimed high-pressure fire hoses at harmless protesters.

I could not look away, even though my heart was crying out for someone to make it all stop. I felt the beat of my heart pounding inside my chest, something I thought only happened to characters in dramatically written novels. You may ask me, why is it that big of a deal? The black community got their equal rights, and it’s not like it is happening anymore… right? Well yes, that is true. However, my heart is broken over a different injustice.

My heart is broken over another injustice, a violent encroachment on the rights of our unborn children, here in America and throughout the world. Each day, more than 3,000 children are barbarically ripped or burned from the comfort of their mother’s nurturing womb, and thrown in the trash. The most precious of all gifts is being treated like worthless garbage. And to be honest, I am fed up. I remember my teacher said something that really struck me. It was along the lines of, "Well, this was not even that long ago. Aren't you glad that this is not happening in our world today?" I couldn't help but disagree. The inconsistencies that have popped up in classroom conversations never cease to amaze me.

While watching the Civil Rights activists lobby for their basic, inalienable rights, I paralleled it with the work the pro-life movement has been doing. I asked the same questions: how could anyone do this? How can they be so ignorant of what they are inflicting upon these people? The abolition of slavery was inevitable, as was the end of segregation. We look at the segregation of whites and blacks as something so strange, and so obviously wrong. One day, will this also be true of abortion? When will our culture open its eyes?

Sitting there, I felt an anger swell up inside of me, ripping me to pieces. However, that anger that I feel over this is not uncontrollable, but a righteous anger, a deep unquenchable fire, converted into an undeniable passion to bring about a change in what our culture accepts as “normal”. The anger I feel is a rage against injustice, just as Jesus was righteously angry with the merchants who had turned the temple, into a marketplace. They had disrespected a place of worship, and cheapened the value of a place that deserved that utmost respect.

I left class that day with a renewed passion. I know that the abortion industry is bent on destroying the life of the most innocent and vulnerable among us, violating the dignity of all people. I learned, as Dr. King put it, that “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” The brutal act of abortion, this plague upon our society, has claimed 50 million lives too many, and I call upon anyone and everyone to take a stand for your unborn brothers and sisters. If not for them, then do it for the women who are exploited, because in a time of need, they felt abandoned and alone.

Pope Benedict XVI once wrote, “Each of us has a mission, each of us is called to change the world, to work for a culture forged by love and respect for the dignity of each human person.” Do not be afraid to put yourself out there, to go do something to help stop the atrocity of abortion. You may feel you are too young, too quiet, too old, too weak, too shy or even too short, but God does not care! He calls the weak and the unequipped, so that He can make them strong, and so that He can prepare them for the battle.

Do not let your heart be hardened, but let your heart break over the pain caused to the families of this nation. Keep that desire, and hold on to that passion, because it is not the dry information or statistics that will change the hearts of the people (although I will not overlook it as a potential possibility), but it is your love and compassion for them. The great part is, you are capable of love and compassion; therefore you can change hearts, and that is what makes all the difference. Christ is waiting for you to answer the call. What are you waiting for?


For Life,

Maddie



Maddie Lopez is 16 years old and a junior at Carondelet High School. She attends Saint Francis of Assisi Catholic Church, and loves babies.

Sunday, January 22, 2012

Revolution

We are fast approaching 40 years of Nationalized Abortion, as this Sunday, January 22, marks the 39th anniversary of the Roe v. Wade and Doe v. Bolton, Supreme Court decisions, which respectively repealed any state restrictions of abortion and granted women the right to abortion through their entire 9 months of pregnancy. In that time over 50,000,000 young lives have been snuffed out. The majority of those lives were ended not because the mother’s life was in danger or because the mother had been the victim of rape or incest (not that either of those reasons justify the killing of innocent human life). 49,500,000 of those lives were either burned or hacked to death because their existence was not convenient. In 1973 there was a revolution to claim control of women’s bodies, of women’s destinies, and there was no lie too large or sacrifice too small in order to secure a woman’s right to destroy the unborn child in her womb.

When something is repeated often enough it becomes a social norm. In 1973 the mass statistic that 5,000-10,000 women died annually due to unsafe and illegal abortions, had long been held true. This number was so a part of the revolution’s mantra that Dr. Bernard Nathanson, formerly of the National Association for the Repeal of Abortion Laws (NARAL), in order to advance the revolution, testified before the Supreme Court, as an expert witness, that indeed between 5,000-10,000 lives were lost annually to illegal abortions. However, the reality was that in 1972, and Dr. Nathanson knew it as he perjured himself before the Supreme Court, 39 women had died from illegal abortions across the United States. Dr. Nathanson would later come to see that his participation in the abortion revolution had been a great error in judgement, and he would spend the rest of his life in reparation for the debt that he said he would never be able to fully repay. (Thank God for Jesus).

In these almost 40 years of legalized abortion, has the world become a better place? Have the lives of women improved? Over these 40 years (roughly my age, but please don’t tell my children) I have witnessed a downward spiral of the respect for all human life in all of its conditions. When the Supreme Court made it possible for women and men to objectify their unborn children, it opened a flood gate of utilitarian behavior. Now, more than ever, people are valued for their usefulness and productivity, and disregarded and diminished if they are not capable of such positive output. Our social fabric/marriages have been devastated by families that kill their own, and by cheating spouses that take care of dirty little accidents. Women and children are living in poverty by the millions because so many no longer think it necessary to love and care for their neighbor; because if you don’t have to care for the child in your womb, who do you have to care for? I’ve witnessed elementary aged children robbed of their childhood, wearing bracelets indicating sexual favors for the asking.

What does all of this have to do with the abortion revolution? It is a revolution based on the devaluing of human life, and when the millions of people that have been born since 1973 know that they were nothing but a choice, something to be discarded if they were not valuable enough to their landlord, than what value do you think those millions of people place on each other and on themselves? America has recently suffered a financial downgrade which effects how the world perceives us, and how they value our financial relationships. Well, America’s abortion revolution has devalued each and every one of its most precious resources, it’s citizenry, by downgrading post-1973 Americans to choices. As a result we all tend to look at each other as choices. I will love you, I will help you, I will feed you, I will clothe you if you are a worthwhile choice. We must not be surprised when we hear of murders, killings, of wars, or of hatred...If a mother can kill her own child, what is left but for us to kill each other? - Mother Teresa

While we may or may not be able to overturn Roe and while we may or may not ever see a Human Life Amendment, we can choose life. We can affirm life in all of its stages. We can love and respect our neighbor, no matter their situation in life. I live my life in service to God and the unborn, and that includes working to affirm life politically, spiritually, and socially. However, I know that it is most important that the revolution I seek be a revolution of the soul. There would be no more abortion or devaluing of human life if we all made individual choices to love our neighbors (including those in the womb).

A Revolution for Life begins with me and begins with you. Live a life in service and love of others. Never let it be said that, “I had an abortion because I didn’t have a choice.” Be a loving resource for your fellow man... begin a revoution!


Louisa Millington

Louisa Millington is a proud mom of four children and has been married to her husband Tim for 21 years. She has spent her adult life in service to Life & Dignity issues. In 1994, with her husband and a small group of people from the Lake Arrowhead area, Louisa opened Veronica's Maternity Home. Hundreds of children have been born out of Veronica's Home and hundreds of women have changed their lives through the housing, education, life training, and love provided by Veronica's Home. In 1996 Louisa began to work with the Respect Life Office of the Diocese of San Bernardino and since then has been fortunate to work on legislative issues and projects on a local, state and national level. She considers herself blessed to have had so many opportunities to serve and equally blessed by the friends and acquaintances she has made along the way.

Wednesday, January 18, 2012

Calling All Youth at Walk for Life

Meet at the yellow balloons outside the Cathedral after mass (details for mass below) for a youth rally procession to civic center plaza. 


Rally at Civic Center: college and high school students are invited to meet at the yellow balloons and be part of leading the Walk for Life as the future of the pro-life movement.

Join ranks at the front of the Walk for Life West Coast leading tens of thousands in the pro-life movement. After Mass meet Timmerie Millington in front of the Cathedral to process together to Civic Center Plaza. Once there we will lead you to the designated Youth Rally section to lead the Walk for Life.


Saturday, January 21, 2012


9:30 a.m. Catholic Mass at St. Mary's Cathedral
11:00 a.m. Info Fair  at Civic Center Plaza
12:30 p.m. Rally at Civic Center Plaza
1:30 p.m. Walk to Justin Herman Plaza

Rally Speakers include:

   Lori Hoye
   Dr. Vansen Wong
   Rev. Clenard Childress
   Jacquie Stalnaker

Please share with others!

ProLife Presidential Forum

"In the Catholic tradition, responsible citizenship is a virtue; participation in the political process is a moral obligation.”
-- Faithful Citizenship, A Catholic Call to Political Responsibility

I challenge you as a Catholic to take up your role as members of the body of Christ and to answer the Unites States Catholic Conference of Bishop’s call to Faithful Citizenship by being informed on where the current GOP presidential candidates stand on pro-life issues. Join tonights Presidential ProLife Forum moderated by Liva Action's Lila Rose.

January 18 at 6:45 p.m. Eastern Standard Time

Watch the live stream online by Personhood USA!

After the forum I ask you to please share your though by commenting!


For the Dignity of the Born and Unborn,

Timmerie


Monday, January 16, 2012

Roe v Wade Events


"Will we march only to the music of time, or will we, risking criticism and abuse, march to the soul-saving music of eternity?"  
~ Martin Luther King, Jr., Strength to Love, 1963 ~

It's hard to believe that January 22nd marks the 39th anniversary of a supreme court decision that changed our country forever. This decision made it a private right to legally kill your unborn child in the womb through all nine months of a woman's pregnancy. Roe v Wade = 55,000,000 children dead today. 55,000,000 who never took their first breath and whose children we will never meet. That number does not even include chemical abortions which are extremely common; nor does it include the many abortions that aren't required to be reported in various states.

In six days our country will mourn the loss of these children, pray for those who have been affected by abortion, and pray for an end to abortion. We will walk in prayerful solidarity for the lives that are missing. Many will never know an aunt, uncle, brother, sister, cousin, or perhaps best friend. What are you going to do to mourn this great loss and tell the world this is enough and you are pro-life? 1/3 of my generation has been aborted and I must say enough is enough!


Walk for Life -- San Francisco, CA

The 8th Walk for Life will be on January 21, 2012

*50,000 participated in 2011

March for Life -- Washington D.C.

The 39th March for Life will be on January 23, 2012
*200,000 participated in 2011

Who will stand up and say no if we don't?

Are you scared to say you're pro-life? They're not. Why not join them? Visit the links above for event details.

"We did not hesitate to call our movement an army. But it was a special army, with no supplies but its sincerity, no uniform but its determination, no arsenal except its faith, no currency but its conscience." 
~ Martin Luther King, Jr., Why We Can't Wait, 1963 ~


For the Dignity of the Born and Unborn,

Timmerie


Saturday, January 14, 2012

Inside Out

Black vs White

With horror we read in the Old Testament of the Bible about different periods in time where live children were killed under the rule of Pharaohs, kings, and various dictators. We look upon the people of ancient history with disgust for their audacious actions in mandating any form of killing innocent children.

Killing of him wrong?
Moses was placed in a basket and set into the river for an Egyptian woman to find, so that he would not fall prey to Pharaohs orders, “Every son that is born to the Hebrews you shall cast into the Nile, but you shall let every daughter live." (Ex 1:22) Think of all that Moses did (led the enslaved Israelites out of Egypt, led them to the promised land, brought them the ten commandments from God, and more). Now imagine if Moses was tossed into the Nile river like all the other Hebrew baby boys.

In Matthew 2 we read of Jesus’ birth and how in an effort to kill baby Jesus, because Herod knew He was the messiah and felt threatened by Him, Herod ordered all male children in Bethlehem and in the region to be killed. Which would be why the Holy Family fled to Egypt following Jesus’ birth. After realizing what the loss from the death of baby Moses would have been, what would have happened if baby Jesus was killed with all the other male boys?

Killing of him okay?
My Cousin Suzie's Baby Gregory
Moses helped guide the Israelite people back to God. Jesus atoned for the sins of the world so that we can gain eternal life with Him in heaven. This all would have never happened if these great men were killed as babies. We look with disgust on history for barbaric men seeking to kill babies and children. However today, we look at the killing of these children in the womb as something that is a choice, necessary, common and a right. Our culture’s reasons for killing the unborn in the womb are no different than the sinful reasons of old: greed, power, vanity, pride, etc. The only difference between the slaughtering of old and abortion today is the latter is done inside the womb for NO ONE to see how horrific it really is.

Inside of the womb or outside of the womb, these children are being killed throughout history. As a young person, will you speak the truth and stand against the slaughter of children in the womb the same way you look with disgust on the killing of the Hebrew children in Egypt in the Old and New Testaments?

Challenge your thinking and the thoughts of others to see the truth. So is it difficult to label abortion as a moral wrong, or is the issue of abortion black and white?


For the Dignity of the Born and Unborn,

Timmerie

Tuesday, January 10, 2012

So, You Want to Elect A President

This is a guest blog by Louisa Millington

The country is watching as state by state we search for the next President of the United States. Often times, without much coordinated thought, we struggle to apply the candidates positions, life styles, and record to our own value system. And while at times, each of the candidates messages tend to resonate with what we know, what we think we know, or what the culture tells us we know, perhaps now is the time for us to re-evaluate and establish our schematic for what we believe to be right for us as individuals and for the common good of our Nation. At this point in the race I’m advocating for Rick Santorum. While many of the candidates embrace the basic principles that I apply to moral decision making, Senator Santorum best embodies those principles on a whole. Allow me to explain.

As a Catholic, I employ a particular framework in making moral choices, and indeed choosing the next President of the United States is a moral choice. You may or may not find this framework applicable to your individual circumstance, or perhaps you will. Either way, I offer it to you the reader, and then ask you to at least work on developing your own basic criteria for making political choices that affect you, your families, your neighbors and your communities. If somehow the culture has placed it into your stream of consciousness that religion has no place in politics, I challenge you to find where in any of our founding documents the notion that people of faith have no business bringing their moral schematics to the political arena. The much maligned 1st Amendment to the Constitution states that, "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof." This in no way precludes the inclusion of religious thought or moral application in the public arena.

First let’s lay out three basic sets of principles and then apply them to four particular issues where the Church is most vocal. The first basic principle is that man is made in the likeness and image of God, and in so has inherent dignity that can never be stripped from him. The second and third basic principle are the two great Commandments, "'Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with thy whole heart, and with thy whole soul, and with thy whole mind.'...And ...'Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.'" The four issues that I will apply them to are: Reverence for Life, Human Dignity, Family Life & Marriage, and Religious Liberty.

Reverence for Life


Human Life is the most fundamental of all human rights; without the basic right to human life, there is no other right that we can afford a human being. Respect and Reverence for human life is the foundational issue. It is imperative that any politician that represents an electorate respects and defends all human life from conception to natural death. Over the past century science and biotechnology have grown in leaps and bounds creating whole sets of ethical dilemmas to challenge our ever developing culture. At times it can be difficult to see the forest for the trees, and it is at precisely those times that we have to apply the basic moral framework of respecting and protecting life, in all of its stages. This means that we do not directly end life in order to advance the life or lifestyle of another, as in the case of abortion, embryonic stem cell research, cloning, and euthanasia. While on the surface those issues may seem to make some logical sense, there are a whole host of effects and moral wrongs that result such as the post abortion suffering of women and men that have chosen abortion, the slippery slope of killing the elderly, poor and disabled out of a sense of convenience or compassion, and objectifying our brothers and sisters as things to be used for the satisfaction of others; thereby stripping them of their dignity. Some of these issues, such as abortion and euthanasia, have been legalized in our country, and when “when an action is made legal there develops an assumption that it is moral”, thereby creating the infamous slippery slope. The slope has become so slippery that over 50 million lives have been lost to abortion in the United States since the Roe v Wade, Supreme Court Decision. The idea that we would end a life to advance our own is as anti-American a sentiment as any I can think of. When declaring our independence from a tyrannical England, our founders immortalized the words “ We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” America can not afford a morality that devalues human life; otherwise, we rob our Nation of its greatest resource. It is critical that our next President be a person that will Defend Life in all of its stages.

Human Dignity

The issue of Human Dignity includes a variety of sub issues from human trafficking, housing, access to food, health care, fair working wages, employment, discrimination... While people of good faith may differ on how to approach these challenges, it is important that our leadership develops and supports systems that will provide security and safety for all. I think we can agree that in the area of human trafficking our political leaders are fairly unanimous in their approach. I also think that another area of agreement (all name calling aside) our leadership is an agreement that discrimination is wrong and should not be tolerated in a civilized society. However, I know there are broad definitions of discrimination that now exist, and I will touch on those while addressing some of the other four issues. With regard to employment, wages, health care and food security, while our brothers and sisters in the democrat party believe that providing a whole range of social services will ensure security and safety, most conservative and libertarian minded people believe that the best way to provide security and safety is by establishing an economic environment of opportunity. In the Papal Encyclical, Rerum Novarum, Pope Leo XIII cautioned well intended people to not fall prey to the Utopian ideal of socialism which ultimately robs man of his dignity by stripping him of both his rights and his responsibilities and abdicating those rights and responsibilities to the state. Pope Leo spoke to the symbiotic relationship of capital and labor and their mutual obligations to one another; he spoke of the evils of anyone or anything that attempted to create animus between the two (think modern day unions). He also spoke of unbridled capitalism and the need to temper capitalism with charity. Pope John Paul II in 1991 marked the 100 year anniversary of Rerum Novarum by writing a companion piece; he recognized the wisdom and relevance of this amazing document in today’s world. I believe it to be the most teaching and inspiring document to the morality of labor and capital ever written. While I do think there should be some temporary safety nets for the poor, hungry, sick, and unemployed, I also think it has been very wrongheaded of us to establish “entitlement programs” that, while established with good intent, have crippled generations of people and robbed them or their dignity. It also robs every day citizens of their duty to care for others and hands off that duty to the state. Today economic security is quite uncertain for our nation as we have incrementally bought into the Utopian ideal of a social welfare system. This issue is so fundamental at this point in our Nation’s history, that electing a leader that will support a just economic environment may just determine the survival of this Great Country.

Family Life & Marriage


Marriage is a thousands of years old institution that involves one man and one woman. While beating the drums of discrimination, many have heaved the name of bigot at those that would dare to defend the eons old definition. Because of the heavy handed approach of many, including those in government that desire to change the definition of marriage, many Catholics, and non-Catholic Christians and their institutions, have themselves been treated with hatred and discrimination. Many of our Catholic Charitable services have been prevented from operating or receiving funding in states where they previously provided much needed services to the poor, the elderly, the disable, the crippled.... As Catholics, we believe that marriage is instituted by God and is a lifelong and exclusive relationship between one man and one woman. We believe that the nature of this relationship is both life giving and love giving. And, that while men and women were created equal they are also different in that they are complimentary (or made for each other). This fundamental relationship is the foundation of society and is the underpinning from which our first communities are upheld. The attack on families from our government institutions (whether through economic policies or social policies) has resulted in a weakening of the building blocks of our society. We have a welfare system that encourages single parenthood in order to receive benefits. We have a tax system that penalizes marriage. While at the same time, the number one indicator of poverty is single parenthood. Rick Santorum stated that he had a two step plan to eliminate poverty,"Number one, graduate from high school. Number two, get married. Before you have children.” Please, Mr. next President, defend families and the institution of marriage. Perform your civic and Presidential duty by defending the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), which is the law of the land.

Religious Liberty


“The First Amendment is a guarantee that government will mind its own limited, secular, non-religious business, so that the people can enjoy their natural right to religious liberty” (Auxiliary Bishop Thomas J. Curry). While we live in a pluralistic society under a constitution that guarantees religious freedoms, over the past few decades those religious freedoms have been eroded, from the banning of prayer in public schools (please tell me how prayer in school establishes a National Church), the violation of the conscience rights of health care workers and health care providers, to the closing of charitable institutions such as Catholic Charities because Catholic Charities does not recognize gay marriage, and does not place children with unmarried couples. This overreach of power is malicious in its nature and discriminatory in its scope. Daily, Christians are humiliated and belittled publicly, in print, and in all forms of media. This same type of bigotry, if perpetrated on “favored” protected groups, would land the perpetrators in jail and/or in prison. Pope John Paul II in his address to diplomats in 2005 said, "At the very heart of human freedom is the right to religious freedom, since it deals with man’s most fundamental relationship: his relationship with God." Our President is Constitutionally bound to protect our religious liberty.

These basic issues of Reverence for Life, Human Dignity, Marriage & Family, and Religious Liberty are among the core issues that affect the basis of our culture. How our leaders treat each of these issues can be measured and viewed through the lenses of dignity and love of neighbor. Rick Santorum, in a “gotcha moment” during the NBC GOP Presidential debate, was asked how he would react if one of his sons announced he was gay. Santorum responded, “I’d love him just as much as I did the second before he told me.” That is how we are called to respond to those we disagree with. And understand, because I disagree with you, because I will not give in to your demands, does not mean I do not love you. As I stated above, all of the candidates seeking the GOP nomination embrace the cores principles for some of the issues I mentioned above; however, I am throwing my hat in the Santorum 2012 ring. His past, his present, and his promise for the future most closely fit the moral framework that I use to choose my political leaders. I believe that we are at a precipice, and we have the opportunity to choose a President in Rick Santorum, that will not be mediocre, will not be good, but that has the capacity to be GREAT.

Again, please take the time to develop your moral framework for choosing public leaders; you’re welcome to mine if you’d like, but do form and inform your conscience and choices.


God Bless America

Louisa Millington


Louisa Millington is a proud mom of four children and has been married to her husband Tim for 21 years. She has spent her adult life in service to Life & Dignity issues. In 1994, with her husband and a small group of people from the Lake Arrowhead area, Louisa opened Veronica's Maternity Home. Hundreds of children have been born out of Veronica's Home and hundreds of women have changed their lives through the housing, education, life training, and love provided by Veronica's Home. In 1996 Louisa began to work with the Respect Life Office of the Diocese of San Bernardino and since then has been fortunate to work on legislative issues and projects on a local, state and national level. She considers herself blessed to have had so many opportunities to serve and equally blessed by the friends and acquaintances she has made along the way.

Monday, January 9, 2012

Give 40 Days to Save a Life

Would you say yes to doing something if you knew it would save a life?

Nearly two years ago to the day, at a Mass marking the anniversary of the Supreme Court decision of Roe v Wade, I was asked to run a 40 Days for Life campaign for the fall of 2010. I was 17 years old, actively pro-life and had recently moved to San Diego to attend John Paul the Great Catholic University. I was introduced to a gentleman named Gene minutes prior, and right away I was asked if I would head up a 40 Days for Life campaign that would consist of a 40 day long prayerful presence outside of the busiest abortion clinic in all of San Diego. I prayed about it and told Gene, “yes” thinking that it couldn't be too hard, but more importantly knowing I needed to do something.

Some of the San Diego Campaign Leaders
Gene, Shawn (National 40DFL), Timmerie, Elena
Fast forward about 6 months. I had to leave school in San Diego and move back home. It was one of those unexpected experiences where I had to trust that it was part of God’s plan for me. Well, within a couple weeks of returning home I received a call from Gene, it was time to sign up for the fall 40 Days for Life campaign. I then lived over two hours away from the location, but I knew that it needed to be done. Lives were being lost by the dozens in that abortion clinic every week. I knew because I would spend every Saturday morning praying outside of that abortion clinic off of Miramar Road. I wept as one after another, women walked in to allow the lives of their innocent babies to be ended.

To make this long story very short, I ran a 40 Days for Life campaign from 2+ hours away using my cell phone and a laptop computer. I prayed, called, emailed, prayed some more, and kept moving forward. I drove back and forth to San Diego for the cast the vision meetings, kick off event, midway rally, and a closing celebration. While it was difficult at times and extremely exhausting as I sat in front of my computer and on the phone throughout the campaign coordinating for the constant presence of as least two people outside of the abortion clinic praying, my life was blessed.

Not only were 10 lives saved during those 40 days but hundreds of people of different religious backgrounds in the community came together with a common goal -- to pray for an end to abortion. Hundreds of men, women, and children prayed in front of an abortion clinic for the very first time, and many of those people now pray in front of the abortion clinic and sidewalk counsel regularly.

10 lives were saved, 10 families will not morn the loss of an innocent child, hundreds of people like you and me will continue to pray for an end to abortion, and a community stands together in faith.

To see this happen in a community and be apart of it was an honor and a blessing. When it wasn’t easy or I was exhausted I would pray and let the Lord guide the campaign because it was his work and I was just His instrument. The people who gave their time in prayer and assisted and supported me in making the campaign happen are heroes for the unborn. They said yes to God’s call to protect the most innocent and helpless in our society -- the unborn.

I share my experience with you because I want you to know that there was nothing special about me running that campaign, all I did was say yes and prayerfully allow the Lord to guide me. This being said, I ask you to please consider running a 40 Days for Life campaign during lent from February 22 - April 1. You cannot do it alone but with God anything is possible!

Last week I moved back to San Diego and am going to school again. Tomorrow January 10th is the deadline to sign up for a 40 Days for Life Campaign. I may not be able to run this campaign while working and attending school, but I am going to make sure that it happens and find a team to do so. Last night, I spoke with Trippy, the lady who ran the fall 2011 40 Days for Life campaign at my same location, and Trippy said to me “That FPA (Family Planning Associates) is close to closing!” This abortion clinic went from being the busiest San Diego abortion clinic in the fall of 2010 with women and teens coming all the way from Mexico to today being closed on random days with business significantly reduced. This is because of the power of prayer and a community that is giving their time to pray and sidewalk counsel for each baby’s life that is at risk of being lost. I plan to amp things up even more as we go into this spring campaign because we are shutting down that abortion clinic!

Will you say yes to doing something to save a life?

Your age and your background does not matter. If I could do it at 17 from two hours away, ANYONE CAN DO IT!

Sign up to run a 40 Days for Life Campaign this spring! Assist those who may already be running a campaign at your chosen location!


What have 40 Days for Life Campaigns done across the world?

  • 5,045 babies now alive that would have otherwise been aborted
  • 61 abortion workers have left their jobs and the abortion industry
  • 19 abortion clinics have shut down completely

These are just what the numbers we know of!


For the Dignity of the Born and Unborn,

Timmerie