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Published: November 17, 2009
When Abortion Isn't a Choice
Chinese Efficiency
Editor: the following story appeared in the Washington Post on November 11.
One of the few incontrovertible assertions one can reasonably make is that no one supports forced abortion.
Yet, coerced abortions, as well as involuntary sterilizations, are commonplace in China, Beijing's protestations notwithstanding. While the Chinese Communist Party insists that abortions are voluntary under the nation's one-child policy, electronic documentation recently smuggled out of the country tells a different story.
Congressional members of the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission heard some of that story Tuesday, two days before President Obama was slated to leave for Asia, including China, to discuss economic issues. Among evidence provided by two human rights organizations, ChinaAid and Women's Rights Without Frontiers, were tales of pregnant women essentially being hunted down and forced to submit to surgery or induced labor.
 Reggie Littlejohn, founder and president of the Frontiers group, told the commission that China's one-child policy "causes more violence against women and girls than any other official policy on Earth."
I met Littlejohn for breakfast the day before the hearing. A petite wife and mother -- as well as a Yale-educated lawyer -- Littlejohn gave up her intellectual property practice in San Francisco after a life-altering illness to become a full-time activist for Chinese women. She is remarkably buoyant, considering the knowledge she has absorbed. Action, she says, is her way of coping with the unconscionable.
Here's the question Littlejohn insists we consider: What really happens to a woman who doesn't have a "birth permit" and has an "out of plan" pregnancy?
The answer is simple and brutal: A woman pregnant without permission has to surrender her unborn child to government enforcers, no matter what the stage of fetal development.
Late-term abortions are problematic, but the Chinese are nothing if not efficient.
For the entire story, click here.
Posted Tuesday, November 17, 2009 4:50 AM By daphne de Rutte
This would be probable under proposed health care reform in our country. Unconscionable
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Posted Tuesday, November 17, 2009 5:59 AM By ted
How about a pro-life boycott of WAL-MART? That company owns many, many factories in China, paying slave wages, and all the while making the demonstrably evil Chinese government stronger.
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Posted Tuesday, November 17, 2009 8:23 AM By Maryanne Leonard
As I have shared in this forum before, I am the victim of both a rape and a forced abortion, both of which happened in the 1960's in the San Francisco Bay area. My understanding from research I've done is that forced abortion in America is extremely rare but not unheard of. If anyone knows of another instance of forced abortion in the United States, either in modern times or prior, I would very much appreciate your sharing in this forum what you know of it. Thank you.
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Posted Tuesday, November 17, 2009 8:45 AM By John F. Maguire
Acutely relevant here is the work of Congressman Christopher Smith. Congressman Smith has drawn our attention to the fact -- this fact we never should have forgotten -- that: "Forced abortion...was properly ruled a crime against humanity at the Nazi War Crime Tribunals that were held in Nuremberg."
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Posted Tuesday, November 17, 2009 8:55 AM By JLS
The late great K-Mart was brought down by a boycott.
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Posted Tuesday, November 17, 2009 8:58 AM By JLS
Maryanne L., there likely must be some organizations that would have data bases for what you are looking into. Have you contacted anyone from Rachel's Vineyard? Info tends to float through the conversations of people who are organized, and you might find leads or even a data base by visiting them.
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Posted Tuesday, November 17, 2009 9:02 AM By JLS
Also, Maryanne, contact Population Research Institute. Its president, Steven Moser, is the researcher who broke the news of China's forced abortion policy back in the mid 80s. PRI was founded by legendary Fr. Paul Marx who also founded Human Life International.
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Posted Tuesday, November 17, 2009 11:24 AM By Abeca Christian
Can you imagine what a helpless feeling it would be for these women? Being forced to have an abortion? May our Lord hear their cry's and avenge them. ted you are right about Wal -Mart. Also Walmart pays love wages and no benefits leaving us dry in our government system, with our taxes paying for their employee's medical bills. Walmart is so big, they can afford to pay better pay and with great benefits but they refuse to. They even shut down mom and pop places. When Walmart first started, it started out with all American made products now, it is not.
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Posted Tuesday, November 17, 2009 11:38 AM By WOODY GUIDRY
MARYANNE, not the same (but akin to your agony of at least 40 years ago) was my neighbor's case as a new resident in Granada Hills, California. She appeared on the "Queen For A Day" show. She WON because she had to make the agonizing choice between staying alive to care for a large and young family-or die because of carrying yet another child until birth. She chose to have her cancerous womb removed which aborted the baby-and the sympathy she generated was the winning factor. That happened about 50 years ago. Could we expect that kind of concern from anybody today?
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Posted Tuesday, November 17, 2009 7:19 PM By Mark from PA
I was aware of this but to hear it again, is heartbreaking. It is hard to imagine how this women are forced to suffer and as the article stated, some women have died from these forced abortions. Maryanne, I suppose you know how these women feel as you suffered this also. It is a real tragedy that human life has so little value in China. Life is cheap there, especially for women and baby girls.
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Posted Wednesday, November 18, 2009 7:19 AM By Maryanne Leonard
Thank you, everybody. I will follow through on your suggestions. God bless you all.
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Posted Wednesday, November 18, 2009 12:56 PM By Anne T.
Woody Guidry, the Church allows the woman's tube to be taken out in case of an etopic pregnancy since both the child and the mother will die if the tube is not taken out with the baby. In that case the child dies, of course, since it would anyway, and it is not even considered an abortion by Church teaching. In the case you mention, I would ask Judy Brown of the American Life League, who has contact with a wonderful pro-life doctor, what can be done in such cases. She has a forum on the EWTN website. Also, the Pope John II Institute could tell you. I am sure they have contact information online. The problem is too many doctors nowdays have not been trained or do not care to try to save both the mother and the child. They too often take the easy way out of aborting the child. I know recently a woman was told she would die if she did not abort her child because of some disease or complications she had. She chose to save the child. The doctors birthed her baby, and with the stem-cells from the umbilical cord saved the woman because the stem-cells were compatible with her body chemistry. Talk about a miracle!
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Posted Wednesday, November 18, 2009 3:21 PM By Mark from PA
Maryanne, sadly I think that forced abortion is more common in the US than anyone realizes. Many women are pressured by husband and boyfriends to abort. Some are forced by their parents. Many women don't want to have abortions and then suffer because of it. This happened to you and I believe that it happens to many women. It is doubly tragic because many women's groups look the other way and will do nothing to help such women because they are "pro-choice." But sadly it wasn't the choice of many women. It was a forced choice. I know a friend of my wife's telling me that when she was young she because pregnant and her boyfriend wanted to force her to have an abortion. When she refused, he beat her senseless and when she was unconscious he stomped up and down on top of her. She was found in a pool of blood and her child was killed. Thank God she healed and later married another man and had children.
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Posted Wednesday, November 18, 2009 6:37 PM By Mark from PA
I believe in the sanctity of life and the dignity of all persons. We are all God's children. As Catholic Christians, we are all brothers and sisters in Christ. It saddens me when some here deny the dignity of others and feel that some are not deserving of respect.
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Posted Wednesday, November 18, 2009 8:17 PM By WOODY GUIDRY
ANNE T., thanks, especially for the info on umbilical cord stem cells-the use of which was undreamed of in the 1960's. Umbilical cord cell use, as well as adult stem cells which have been made "pluripotent" should really end research on cells harvested from human embryoes. I have no real chance to counsel in such soul-searing situations as you and I have talked about, but rare cases like this still occur-is information readily available?
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Posted Thursday, November 19, 2009 4:58 PM By 1abqdad
When I was at Stanford for grad school, we had an event that caused me to be eternally disgusted with the institution. A PhD candidate SAW the "population police" kidnap married women in the middle of the night to FORCE abortions on them! (They "claim" that they are NOT forced...come ON!!!) Anyway, this compassionate person gave support to these victims by helping them to escape the murder of their children! When the school found out that they were actually helping to save babies, they recalled the candidate AND denied him his degree!!! The hypocrites at Stanford claimed to be concerned about the oppressed...but ONLY if they were NOT being oppressed by liberal communists!!!. So, oppression is only "bad" if it applies to the liberal's agenda, NOT if it conflicts with their murderous causes!
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Posted Thursday, November 19, 2009 8:37 PM By JLS
1abqdad, I know whom you are referring to. I read his paper on the circumstances in 1986 (thereabouts), and advocate his organization which was founded by a still living legend of a priest. I'm not sure why you're not mentioning his name. He is, btw, a convert to Catholicism. And I think he never bothered to obtain that PhD ... but in his case there probably is no need; he has achieved a great deal more for others. NDU should have brought him in for the keynote speech and given him all those accolades that they wasted on Obama.
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Posted Thursday, November 19, 2009 10:33 PM By Anne T.
Woody Guidry, the information is readily available to people who go to those websites and make contact. There should also be a telephone number on the John Paul II Institute website or other contact information. The problem is a lot of the doctors in many areas now are not pro-life but do abortions. Calling the American Life League by cell phone or the John Paul II Institute should get you to a person who could give one the name of a good doctor. Also calling such places as the Center for Life at O'Connor Hospital in San Jose, California, should get a woman such help. Other Catholic Hospitals should have such centers too. My fear about the government Healthcare Plan is if they take out the conscience clause for doctors and try to force all of them to perform abortions, women will not be able to get such help as this where they try to save both the mother and child's life. I will try to get some numbers for you.
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Posted Thursday, November 19, 2009 10:51 PM By JLS
What about the dignity of Jesus, PA? Do you see any gaggle of sodomites following Him along with the Apostles?
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Posted Thursday, November 19, 2009 11:05 PM By Anne T.
Woody Guidry, I need to make a correction. It is the Pope Paul VI Institude that deals with fertility and should be able to help. Their telephone is 402-390-6600. I do not know for sure if the Pope John Paul II Institude would be able to help as I mentioned it before this by mistake. The American Life League telephone number is 540-659-4171. Judy Brown contacts Dr. Anthony Dardano, a friend and colleague of hers, who is mentioned online. Also, the telephone number for the Center for Life at O'Connor Hospital in San Jose, California, is 408-947-2727. All these telephone numbers are on the websites for each of this places.
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Posted Saturday, November 21, 2009 5:19 PM By Mark from PA
Well, Anne, you should be happy to know that I get newsletters and voting guides from our state Human Life group. We had many elections for judges and I voted according to the pro-life guide. Our county only had 16% voter turnout. Our children are precious and deserve a chance at life.
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Posted Saturday, November 21, 2009 6:23 PM By Anne T.
Well, good for you Mark from Pa, on your pro-life voting.
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