Michelle Schmidt showing an ultrasound photo of baby in the first trimester
I thank you Lord that I am fearfully and wonderfully made….
This is my favorite line from my favorite Psalm – 139. I love it because it not only sings the praises of life, but illustrates how important each life is to God and how close He is to each one of us – we are His creations, his lovingly crafted works of art, so to speak.
This past weekend, I was privileged to be able to participate in some activities to celebrate and defend the gift of life.
The first took place after an impromptu meeting of my Regnum Christi team this past Friday. We normally take a short hiatus from meetings in the summer, but some of us decided to attend Mass together and afterwards, joined the group from that particular parish who regularly gather to pray at a nearby abortion mill.
When we arrived, we took up signs and our rosaries, but before we could even begin, a young man (let’s call him Thomas) and his two children, a girl of about 4 and a boy of about 7, came up to ask us what we were doing. He began to question us on our motives and the justification for our beliefs. It became apparent he did not believe in God, but only in that which could be verified by his own senses. He said he did not believe the unborn were persons, but referred to them as “blastocysts” and other similar terms. He also questioned our right to protest a practice that he said was the law of the land.
After a spirited, yet charitable discussion with him for about a half hour, one of our group asked his 4-year-old daughter (who her father said had a right to make her own decisions about what she believed) if it was wrong for a mommy to kill the baby growing inside her tummy. The child said yes, because “the mommy would be sad, and the baby would be dead.” Her own father was speechless for a brief moment after that.
We ended our discussion saying we would pray for him (and surprisingly he said he would pray for us, and then added “whatever that means”) and one of our group invited him to come back again the next Friday. Please keep this young man and his family in your prayers as well.
The second activity that was my pleasure to participate in took place the next day. It was the dedication ceremony for the new ultrasound machine at Mother and Unborn Baby (MAUBC) Problem Pregnancy Center in Southfield, Michigan. I have a soft spot in my heart for MAUBC ever since I worked there years ago as the office manager. I remember counseling many abortion-minded young girls about their options and the benefits of choosing life. The most effective tool in convincing them was always the ultrasound, which let them see the actual life growing within them.
When my daughter and I arrived for the event at noon, it was a standing room only crowd. We joined the overflow in the small hallway outside the stuffed conference room. Director of Client Services at MAUBC, Michelle Schmidt, was telling a story about one young couple who had recently come to the center. I couldn’t hear the entire story, and only got bits and pieces, but apparently the girl and her boyfriend had been to an abortion clinic prior to coming to MAUBC, and had an ultrasound performed there as well. I’m not sure what they were actually shown during that clinic visit, but apparently this girl’s pregnancy was far enough along that the baby was easy to see during the MAUBC ultrasound session. As he witnessed the image on the screen, the young man cried out “What is that!” Michelle asked him, “Do you mean your baby?” she said. He answered, “They didn’t show us nothin’ like that.”
Apparently the young man and woman changed their minds that day. Praise God.
For those of you who want to get more involved in the prolife movement yourselves, I am sure, sad as it is to say, there is likely an abortion mill close to you where you could spend some time praying the rosary for the babies that will never come out alive, for the mothers, and for the conversion of the staff.
If you are in the metro Detroit area, MAUBC is in great need of more volunteers, especially for male counselors. Executive Director Peter Riccardo said most of the women they counsel who are abortion-minded are being coerced by the men in their lives, and they are often accompanied by them to the center.
MAUBC also needs more ultrasound technicians willing to volunteer some of their time. (Registered nurses or nurse practitioners can also be training to perform ultrasounds.) As I said before, this specialty is one of the most effective ways to save unborn lives and to lead onto the right path their abortion-minded mothers and fathers.
If you don’t live in the metro-Detroit area, check with you local Catholic diocese or call 1-800-848-LOVE to find a crisis pregnancy center near you.
Mother Mary, the supreme example of one who said yes to Life, pray for us.
