A Team Effort Saves Three Lives

On a cold and dreary November night last year, I got a phone call from my friend "John." "My sister ‘Alice’ is pregnant... and is considering an abortion." We discussed how he could talk to his sister and convince her that abortion is unthinkable. John was in the army and deployed in Iraq so I didn't hear anything for months. Then I got a phone call from John.

Alice didn't get an abortion, but recently she had been diagnosed with a dangerous high-risk pregnancy. Alice had triplets, but one of them was underdeveloped and leeching nutrients from the other two. Alice's doctor advised that she either abort the smallest child or undergo a risky surgery that could save all three kids. More likely though, all three would die. Doing nothing could leave all three kids dead, too.

John needed some advice. I didn't know of a doctor to whom I could refer Alice, but I knew getting a second opinion was wise. I’ve heard that many doctors recommend abortion in high-risk pregnancies to avoid lawsuits. Steve Wagner, JFA's Director of Training, gave me the names and numbers of some excellent pro-life physicians. I gave them to John.

I received a call from John in Iraq a month later. The youngest child's blood flow began to reverse and an emergency C-section was performed on Alice. Unbelievably, all three kids lived! The youngest, Caleb, was only 13 ounces. All three boys needed oxygen and other special treatment but there was a good chance that they were going to pull through. Caleb had more severe problems: His skin was underdeveloped and too fragile to hold his blood so he needed constant transfusions. Several of you answered my plea and donated blood. Caleb also had two broken arms, a broken leg, and broken ribs because of a deficiency in calcium, but he was a fighter and pulled through.

Months later, my sister saw a blog post by Bryan Lopez linked on her friend’s Facebook wall. No one in our family had ever met the Lopez family before. Bryan's family had adopted three little boys who were all premature. I read the story and knew that these were the same boys. I contacted Bryan and he gave me permission to share the rest of the story.

Bryan and his wife Sherry were already trying to adopt from Ethiopia. One day Sherry called Bryan and told him of three little boys who were being given up for adoption. After hearing the story, they felt an instant tug for the boys but worried that they wouldn’t be able to adopt them. Bryan wrote: “…we thought for sure the adoption agency would tell us ‘no’ because of the fact that we have three little ones at home already. But alas after much time of prayer and conversation we decided to call the agency and tell them that we were interested…”

Bryan got a call back that night. The agent said “I have been thinking all day about a family that could handle this, a mom who would give these boys the love and attention that they need, and I kept thinking about you guys.”

It took some work and sacrifice, but Bryan and Sherry were able to adopt all three boys. To date, only one of the boys can live without oxygen treatment, but they’re all mostly healthy and doing well. I'll even be able to meet the boys in December!

These three boys are now in a loving home, blessing their new family. Why are the boys doing so well? Because of a team effort from people who cared enough to help save three lives. If you pray for me or financially support me, you’ve partnered with me. Thank you. If you donated blood for Caleb or asked friends to do so, thank you. And if you, like the Lopez's, have sacrificed your time and money to adopt a child into your family, THANK YOU.

Blessings,

Matt McKinley

What About Back-Alley Abortions?

"Making abortion illegal won't make it stop. Women will just get unsafe back-alley abortions and then the mom will die,” she said. I was talking to “Amy” at Colorado State University. This was the fourth time Amy protested the Justice For All Exhibit by displaying graphic pictures and drawings of women getting illegal abortions.

Amy and I in front of the exhibit she created. Signs included "Pro-Life That's a Lie! You Don't Care if Women Die!" and "Life and Liberty for Women."

I knew it would be a mistake to debate how many women would die if abortion were made illegal. Although it’s difficult to know how many women died from illegal abortions before Roe v. Wade, some did. It’s not unreasonable to think the same thing would happen again. So I said, “I think it’s tragic that some women who are struggling would feel like an illegal abortion is their only option, and it’s sad many women don’t know about resources available to help them .” Then I asked Amy if she thought legal abortion kills an innocent human being or not. Amy said she didn’t care if abortion did, because women shouldn’t be forced into back-alley abortions. Amy despised what we do, and I knew finding additional common ground was going to be difficult, but I gave it a try:

“Amy, I actually agree with you that abortion shouldn’t be made illegal if the unborn isn’t a valuable human being. But if the unborn is a valuable human being, then we can’t make it legal to kill him, even if people will do it anyways in unsafe situations.”

Amy didn’t follow what I was saying, so I explained it like this: “Amy, are you familiar with surgeries known as female genital mutilation in which the surgeon completely removes, or makes a small nick on, the clitoris of a young girl?”

Amy said she was.

I said “Even though female genital mutilation is illegal, deep-set religious and cultural beliefs drive some people in America to have the surgery performed on their daughters anyway. The surgery could be unsafe and cause an infection. The American Academy of Pediatrics actually made it legal for their doctors to perform ritual nicks until an overwhelming publicity backlash forced them to change their policy. Do you think female genital mutilation should be legal since it’s going to happen anyway?”

Amy said,“Of course female genital mutilation shouldn’t be legal, but that’s different. With abortion, real women will die and be harmed because of stupid laws banning a woman’s right to choose.”

The example I gave of female genital mutilation illustrates that even though people will do things that are illegal, we shouldn’t make them legal if they harm another human being. Amy didn’t agree, so I eventually shook her hand and left. How is it possible that I gave good responses to her arguments but I didn’t make progress? The problem was that Amy didn’t think unborn children are valuable human beings, and she was completely close-minded on that idea, so it makes sense that to her illegal abortions are different. For Amy, back-alley abortions only harm the mother and not the child.

The back-alley abortion argument is not a good one. Pro-choice philosopher Mary Anne Warren said in 1973: The fact that restricting access to abortion has tragic side effects does not, in itself, show that the restrictions are unjustified, since murder is wrong regardless of the consequences of forbidding it.

Another problem with the argument is that it assumes women will be forced into back-alleys. But is anyone forcing her? Pro-lifers certainly aren't dragging women into back-alleys; in fact, they're doing the opposite. Most towns have pregnancy resource centers that offer help for pregnant mothers, providing a better, tangible alternative. Heartbeat International (www.heartbeatinternational.org) is an organization which helps men and women find those centers in their community.

Even though Amy was close-minded, all was not lost! Later in the day I spoke to two students who had read Amy’s exhibit, but were much more open-minded than Amy. Because of your financial support, I was able to make a convincing pro-life argument that changed their minds. Thank you!

Blessings,

Video Report from Oklahoma University

There is a lot of focus on the protesters that almost everyone agreed were just annoying, but as I mentioned earlier we were able to talk to thousands of students. Bailey is just one of the hundreds of people that we trained to compassionately talk to students on campus, and then in their lives after we leave.


Still, the irony of the kazoo wielding pro-choice student's statement is baffling.

I'm pro-life jacket... wait, what?

Our outreach at Oklahoma University Nov 1 and 2 was very successful. We trained hundreds of people and many of them came on campus with us, applying what they learned in our pro-life seminar with real people on campus.

There were protesters who mainly just made a bunch of noise without contributing anything to the debate. One of the protesters made half a dozen signs, including the sign I'm holding in the picture below, along with the other visible sign.

When asked what it meant, she just said it was a funny pun. There was no argument behind it, she just thought it was clever. I'm glad she let me hold it :)

This was another awesome sign:

Back from OU

I just got back from Oklahoma University where we had a very eventful time. Hundreds of students stopped by and spoke to us amid the constant clamor of noisy pro-choice protesters blowing kazoos non-stop, along with other antics. I hope (no promises) to be able to post a video report of the trip soon.

In the meantime, here is an opinion article co-written by a pro-choice atheist and a pro-life Christian about the display and the pro-choice advocates.

Abortion - From Dialogue to Debate?

Justice For All's training seminar is titled "Abortion: From Debate to Dialogue."

So is the subject of my August newsletter confusing? Dialogue to Debate? Not at all! Click here to read how my wife took a unique twist on our training program and changed hearts.

Is True Common Ground Possible?

Have you ever experienced this? Someone brings up abortion and the discussion is short and awkward. Both people quickly share their beliefs and feel that if they proceed they'll alienate each other. What's missing? Click here to find out in my latest newsletter.



Previously...
In May I discussed abortion with an unlikely person. Click here to read who it was.

In my April newsletter I wrote about those who are often forgotten in the abortion debate: Fathers.

Video report from GA and TN in March

When does life begin?

Back in October I was moderating the open mic when Reza, the Medical Students for Choice Vice President, asked me when I thought life begins. In the video I respond and also challenge him on his definition. Comment with what you think.