*Please note that this journal contains information about abortion and the subject may be sensitive for some. This past weekend, my husband and I enjoyed a rare treat: a trip to the movie theater. It has been several years since we’ve gone to the cinema and several weeks since we had a date sans our loving, rambunctious toddler. While we were excited to spend time together, we both had trepidations about our movie selection. We had decided to see Gosnell: The Trial of America's Biggest Serial Killer. If you have not heard about the movie, don’t feel badly. It is a film that the mainstream media has largely (if not completely) ignored. Gosnell is about “the shocking true story of the investigation and trial of [abortionist] Dr. Kermit Gosnell - his 30 year killing spree and the political and media establishment that tried to cover it up.” GosnellMovie.com Everyone should see this movie and regardless if you are pro-life or pro-choice, you should do so with an open mind. Why? Not just because it is an excellent film and deserves as much recognition as possible. But, because while the events that the film details are chilling and the nature of the violent crimes that Gosnell committed are horrific, the children and women that were his victims deserve to have their story told. The film powerfully details the atrocities committed by Gosnell without gore or any overly graphic or sensational scenes. Also, as George Santayana once said: “those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it” and Winston Churchill quoted Santayana and stated: “those who fail to learn from history are condemned to repeat it.” Now, I am saying it: we need to ensure that something like this never, ever, ever happens again. Background on Gosnell Since 1979, Kermit Gosnell ran an abortion clinic called the Women's Medical Society in West Philadelphia. Within that clinic, Gosnell, who was not a licensed obstetrician or gynecologist, committed various, illegal and horrific acts until 2010 and was arrested in 2011. In 2013, Gosnell was convicted of murdering three infants who were born alive during attempted abortion procedures and one woman during an abortion procedure. He murdered many, many more babies and perhaps even more women for three decades. Not only that but, "the medical practice by which [Gosnell] carried out this business was a filthy fraud in which he overdosed his patients with dangerous drugs, spread venereal disease among them with infected instruments, perforated their wombs and bowels - and, on at least two occasions, caused their deaths." * So why didn’t any patient, employee or anyone else try to stop him? They tried. Even the National Abortion Federation (NAF) deemed Gosnell’s clinic as “the worst abortion clinic she had ever inspected” but “never told anyone in authority about all the horrible, dangerous things she had seen.” * In fact, according to the grand jury, The Pennsylvania Department of Health has records as far back as the 1980s documenting Gosnell’s dangerous practices. “Several oversight agencies stumbled upon and should have shut down Kermit Gosnell long ago. But none of them did.” * Wait, what?! So how was this monster finally stopped? It wasn’t until 2010 that Gosnell was “originally investigated for illegal prescription drug sales.”* As the film details, a raid by Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) and local Pennsylvania law enforcement revealed crimes they could not have expected within the [abortion] clinic.”* The reason no one came forward to charge Gosnell before the illegal prescription drug sale investigation and subsequent raid is that no one was willing to be viewed as interfering with a “women’s reproductive rights.” In my opinion and that of others, even though many agencies knew about the various illegal practices within the abortion clinic, no one said anything because it was not “politically correct.” So instead, the very laws and agencies that are established to protect women and babies turned their heads and allowed this monster to continue these crimes. While I am proudly pro-life and long for the day when no child is aborted and all children can be treasured and valued as the miracle and blessings that they are so that they can live life to their fullest potential, if I saw this movie 10 years ago, when I was proudly pro-choice, I can’t say that I would continue to be so. Every person who vows to be pro-life should see this movie. I also challenge every pro-choice advocate to see this movie and I also suggest those who pledge themselves to be Switzerland, or neutral, as neither pro-life nor pro-choice, to watch the film. You should see this movie even if it makes you uncomfortable and even if it pops the bubble you’ve cocooned yourself inside of never thinking about abortion. Yes, abortion is a hot topic, and controversial, but there is a reason for that. Slavery and the Jim Crow laws were controversial. “An abortion is a procedure to end a pregnancy. It uses medicine or surgery to remove the embryo or fetus (aka baby) and placenta from the uterus.”* Controversial? Yes. Should we pretend it does not exist? No. History Can Repeat Itself As I watched this film, while 18 weeks pregnant, I asked myself: could this or something like this be happening at other abortion clinics in the world? In the United States? In Rhode Island? Before you shake your head and say “no, you’re just a hormonal, pregnant woman; there is no way,” remember that Gosnell was finally shut down only in 2010, which is less than 10 years ago. The truth is that it could very well be happening elsewhere. The truth is that since 2017, Planned Parenthood Abortion Clinics in Pennsylvania have failed 14 health inspections.* The truth is that in 2018, Planned Parenthood sued the State of Indiana for its new law requiring annual inspections of abortion clinics. * The truth is that many perceive abortion to be a “controversial, hot topic” and want to avoid it as much as possible. Let’s remember that is the very reason that Gosnell was able to carry on his horrific crimes for three decades. Will citizens of the United States allow so-called “women’s rights to choose” or “women’s reproductive rights” to overshadow both a mother’s and child’s right to life? Have you seen the Gosnell film? Please share your thoughts on the movie with us on Facebook! Don't forget to click "like" and share our page! As always, thank you for reading. God bless you and may the Blessed Virgin Mary be with you always! Find a theater near you: gosnellmovie.com/theaters Sources:
“Gosnell | The Trial of America's Biggest Serial Killer.” Gosnell | The Trial of America's Biggest Serial Killer, www.gosnellmovie.com/. Friedersdorf, Conor. “Why Dr. Kermit Gosnell's Trial Should Be a Front-Page Story.” The Atlantic, Atlantic Media Company, 17 July 2013, www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2013/04/why-dr-kermit-gosnells-trial-should-be-a-front-page-story/274944/. “Abortion | Medical Abortion.” MedlinePlus, U.S. National Library of Medicine, 6 Mar. 2018, medlineplus.gov/abortion.html. “Planned Parenthood Abortion Clinics Have Failed 14 Pennsylvania Health Inspections Since 2017.” LifeNews.com, 7 June 2018, www.lifenews.com/2018/06/05/planned-parenthood-abortion-clinics-have-failed-14-pennsylvania-health-inspections-since-2017/. Caralle, Katelyn. “Planned Parenthood Sues Indiana over Law Requiring Annual Inspections of Abortion Clinics.” Washington Examiner, 24 Apr. 2018, www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/planned-parenthood-sues-indiana-over-law-requiring-annual-inspections-of-abortion-clinics.
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My son is in a stage of his toddlerhood where he wants to hear stories, repeatedly! One story is how our cat hated our dog when they first met almost 9 years ago and how she would wage war on him any chance she got. Another story is how our dog ran around our house on the day we closed and before we moved all our furniture in. He also loves hearing how my mom had to clean up rotten watermelon off my grandparent's kitchen table when they went to Block Island for a week and forgot to take it with them. His favorite story ever is how a few years ago, our dog jumped into the tub while I was showering because there was a thunderstorm outside. (Yes, I know it can be dangerous to shower during a storm, but it started after I got into the shower.) Our son wants to hear these stories ALL DAY LONG. He also wants to hear new stories from present-day as well and will demand that we repeat things over and over again. Our little love listens intently to daddy when he comes home from work and demands that daddy not only look ONLY at him while telling us about his day, but will demand that daddy repeat various parts of his story. In order to combat this onslaught of demands which I KNOW is totally normal and a good sign of brain development (according to his pediatrician), I came up with an idea. I've started to talk about bible stories and tell them to my husband in front of my son. When my son first started hearing them, he stuck to them like a moth to a flame and now constantly wants to hear the same bible story over and over again. ![]() While it can still be maddening to repeat the same story over and over again, at least he is learning about Jesus and the Blessed Virgin Mary. Here are some of his favorite bible stories to hear again and again and again and again...(you get the picture!)
What are some stories, bible or not, that your child loves or loved to hear on repeat? Share with us on Facebook! Don't forget to click "like" and share our page! As always, thank you for reading. God bless you and may the Blessed Virgin Mary be with you always! If you follow us on social media, you may have noticed my inactivity as of late. More likely, however, you probably didn't even realize said inactivity because who do I think I am. Regardless, for those who are interested in hearing about this pregnancy with sweet baby number two, continue on! As of October 4, 2018, I am 15 weeks pregnant and the baby is the size of an APPLE! It has been such a delight to share these fruit comparisons with our toddler who (for now) loves to hear all about the baby and especially likes to hear what a great big brother he will be. One of our favorite weekly activities is to take a picture with the corresponding fruit of how big the baby is measuring during our trips to the grocery store. Seeing the fruit comparisons each week reminds me of just how miraculous each child is and makes me think of Luke 13: 18-19. "[Jesus] said, “What is the kingdom of God like? To what can I compare it? It is like a mustard seed that a person took and planted in the garden. When it was fully grown, it became a large bush and ‘the birds of the sky dwelt in its branches." The baby starts as small as a mustard seed and, God willing, develops and continues to grow strong. While I am finally in the second trimester, looking back, the first trimester was rough. I had unending nausea and "morning sickness" that paradoxically lasted all day. The nausea was coupled with soul-crushing exhaustion that caused me to fall asleep promptly at 8:00 PM each night. When I was pregnant with our little love three years ago, I had some nausea and felt tired but experienced nothing like I did this time around. Needless to say, I was extremely excited for the second trimester and prayed that these symptoms would subside. ![]() While I know that these symptoms pale in comparison to many of the other symptoms I could have experienced, I still looked to the Blessed Virgin Mary, Saint Anne, Saint Gerard and Saint Gianna (to name a few) for some strength. This prayer for expectant mothers has been one of my favorites to pray during this pregnancy. Luckily, my prayers were answered and the nausea and exhaustion have subsided. What took their place instead is carpal tunnel syndrome. "Wait, what? You've got to be kidding me!" That was my first reaction when my husband searched online and explained the probable cause of the sudden pain in my hand, wrist and forearm. My doctor confirmed his "Dr. Google" findings the next day. Yes, carpal tunnel syndrome can be common in pregnancy and while it typically occurs later in pregnancy, it can occur earlier as well. Yay! A wrist splint, ice and daily stretches have helped the pain subside and I am certainly more aware of how I am using my hands throughout the day. It has also caused me to scale back a bit in my journaling and social meda-ing (if that is even a word.) While I am not swollen and even though I have not gained a lot of weight, I am trying to ease the symptoms by limiting my sodium intake and drinking more water. While we are unsure if the baby is a boy or a girl as of right now, we will be finding out within the coming weeks and are excited to call the baby by name instead of "baby" or our "newest little love." We plan (for now) on having a small gender reveal gathering and plan on bringing our son to the ultrasound to see his little brother or sister again. He went with us to the first ultrasound at 9 weeks and since then has told us the baby is "MY BABY!" and loves to point out the ultrasound photo on the refrigerator. Overall, this pregnancy has been significantly different than my previous pregnancy. Unlike last pregnancy, we declined all genetic testing, I have a new OBGYN doctor and I will be delivering this baby at Kent Hospital instead of Women and Infants Hospital. Earlier this year, and before I was pregnant, I found out that Women and Infants Hospital performs abortions. The moment I found out I changed doctor immediately as my former OBGYN only delivered babies at Women and Infants.
Our son is excited that his nonna (grandmother in Italian) will have to get a car seat for her car so that he can visit the baby once the little miracle is born. Actually, our son's real excitement in grandma having a car seat in her car was explained by him exclaiming: "Nonna, we go get food!" Toddlers! As always, thank you for reading. God bless you and may the Blessed Virgin Mary be with you always! Please remember to like and share our Facebook page. |
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October 2020
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