Abortion attempt survivor. Voice for the voiceless.

March 26, 2010

My Dearest Olivia,

I can’t believe that I am writing you another birthday letter already….this past year has just flown by, mostly because we’ve been having so much fun with you! We are celebrating your birthday early this year (April 3^rd) because your Grandpa Norman will be here from Texas, and you will be busy traveling to pro-life events with me and Grandma Terry over your birthday, so I am writing this letter to you a little early this year, too.  As of today, it is one month till your 2^nd birthday!

Last year, on the night before your first birthday, I rocked you to sleep and cried and cried as I held you in my arms (Heck, I’ll probably do that every year until you finally tell me that I can’t anymore J).  Certainly, a little part of me was sad that your first year of life went SO FAST, and you were no longer my little baby, but even more so, I was crying tears of gratitude and love.  I have always wanted to be a mother, and I thought that I knew what motherhood was all about, but nothing prepared me for just how intensely I would love you.

You will see from the pictures of your first birthday that it was a very blessed, beautiful day! Your Grandma Terry, Grandpa Don, Great-Grandpa Don, Grandma Linda, Aunt Nadine, Great-Great Aunt Vicki, Grandpa Ron and April all attended.  We had cake and ice cream, grilled out, had lots of salads and special foods that were your favorites.  Our theme was “Birthday Princess.”  All in all, you had a great time, and even enjoyed opening your gifts! This was the first time ever that Great-Grandpa Don and Great –Great Aunt Vicki met all of our family.  It was a special day, indeed.  The day capped off with you having to be thrown in the tub to get all of the ooey-gooey frosting from cake and cookies off of you, but it was sure worth it!

This year, the theme for your party is Dora the Explorer.  You will grow up and grow out of it, but for about the past year now, you’ve had an obsession with Dora J.  You have two Dora plush blankets that you drag and carry everywhere with you, and you now have a Dora bedspread, sheets, and pillowcase in your room.  You sing the song to the show, and know all of the characters.  You can even speak Spanish like her.  Mommy got a small cake for the rest of us this year, but you get your very own individual Dora cake covered in purple frosting.  I can’t wait to decorate for your party….I know that you are going to be crazy about it!

I don’t know just where to begin this year…..very rarely am I without words, but when it comes to you, you move me beyond words.  Ah, here I am crying already as I write this….I love you, I love you, I love you! I love you more and more every day!  You continue to amaze your father and me, and certainly everyone around you.  We still get the same response any time we go somewhere with you-“Oh, look at her, she’s so beautiful!” But now people are also just as awe-struck by how smart you are.  Whether you are putting 4 and 5 year old boys in their place at the mall food court by counting to ten in Spanish when they only could count to three or you are singing your ABC’s in a stall in the church bathroom, you really impress people!

At this time last year, you babbled a lot, and you said momma and dada, made lots of gestures, did the motions to songs like itsy-bitsy spider and the wheels on the bus, and followed directions quite well for your age.  You weren’t yet walking, but just a few days after your first birthday, you started to.

Flash forward to now, and you are no longer our little baby, but our very big girl! You don’t just walk, you run, jump, kick, throw, climb, you name it.  You have the most extensive vocabulary of any 23 month old I’ve ever known.  There doesn’t seem to be a word that you don’t know or can’t repeat (and you’ve repeated a couple of interesting words, sweetheart, thanks to your parents who haven’t always watched their mouths!).  You are great at reading books and making up the stories to them, or filling in the story accurately as I ask you to tell me what happens next in them.   You are a whiz at flashcards, and you are also one heck of a good singer! Whether you are just singing the tune of a song, making up words to your own creative work, or singing your favorite songs (The Barney song, Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star, Baa-Baa Black Sheep and the theme songs to Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Dora and Superwhy are just a few), you usually wake up singing in the morning and go to be singing at night!

You still are not the best sleeper, but you’ve made a lot of progress this past year.  We changed your bed to a toddler bed in August this past year, and it really made a world of difference.  You started to sleep more soundly, and for the most part, stay sleeping in your room all night.  You do love to come creeping into our room around 3 or 4 in the morning to snuggle, but we don’t mind! You still get up pretty darn early (most of the year has been between 4:30 and 5:30, never past 7:00, and often you like to throw “parties” in the middle of the night for a few hours that I wish that you wouldn’t invite me to so often J).

You’ve had an amazing year, learning and growing SO MUCH! At the same time, though, it was a rough year in other areas.  In June of 2009, you contracted MRSA, had quick surgery on it (we’ll talk about those scars on your hind-end some day), and was hospitalized for five days.  It was a very tough time, but you were such a trooper! (Your favorite part of your hospital stay, besides having Grandma Terry and Mommy at your beck and call, had to be jumping on your enclosed hospital bed J).

You stayed home to recuperate for a couple more weeks at home, but not long after you started back at daycare, you contracted hand, foot and mouth disease.  UGH! This was even harder on you than the MRSA, and Mommy was ready to quit her job to keep you home and safe from the hazards of daycare! Once again, though, you were a wonderful girl, healed well, and loved going back to daycare.

Speaking of daycare, this past year you progressed developmentally through two different rooms—Brandi and Lauren’s, and then Bailey and Jenny’s, before being moved to Hailey and Ranae’s room, which is where you still are now.  Overall, I know that you really like daycare, especially learning lots of new things and playing with your friends (you even have a boyfriend, Brett—it’s so cute how you say his name and giggle about him!), but you’ve had your moments there J.  You went through a couple of stages where you were biting other kids pretty regularly (your favorite places to bite were their heads and ears J), but it was usually because you were teething and your teeth hurt.  You also liked to bite when you were “too” anything—too tired, too thirsty, too hungry, too overstimulated, etc.

Right now, you are still working on cutting your two year molars, but you’ve been coping pretty well with it.  And all things considering, you’ve been pretty darn healthy since the whole MRSA/Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease episode.  You just recently lost one of the tubes that was put in your ear, and just got a slight infection in it, but all in all, you’ve had a much healthier year than your first.

This year was also a big year for you and our entire family in terms of our involvement in the pro-life movement and our presence on both the national and international fronts.  By the time you are old enough to start reading these letters that I write you each year, you will already know our whole story about why we are active in the life movement, and how abortion affected all of our lives.  I hope that you can look back on your childhood and see that you are a very important person in this work, and that this was our calling from the Lord.  Just as it was my calling to be saved from it, you were called to be my daughter, to help bear witness, and ultimately change the hearts and minds of millions of people.

During this past year, you had the opportunity to go to Washington D.C. with Mommy, Grandma Linda and Aunt Gladys for a few days while I spoke at a large event there.  We all had a wonderful time, and the attendees of the event were awed by your presence.  Lots of people from around the world, including Poland, China, Greece and South Africa took your picture! (Yes, you’ve been famous almost since birth J).

You then got to travel to Indiana and Texas with Mommy and Grandma Linda for another couple of pro-life events that I spoke at. (The one in Indiana was at this really beautiful mansion…I spoke in front of a baby grand piano….that will probably never happen again!).  Overall, you were a really good girl, and getting to have you with me when I am out traveling and speaking makes it all worthwhile.  (Plus I can’t stand being away from you!)

At the end of this April, over your birthday, in fact, you will once again be traveling with Mommy and this time Grandma Terry, to pro-life events in Indiana and Tennessee, and we will even be spending some time with Uncle Troy in Kentucky !  Later this year, you will be going to Australia with Mommy and Daddy to meet some amazing pro-lifers down there and speak at events across the continent (I can’t wait for you to see kangaroos and koala bears!!)

The 700 Club (a Christian tv program) will be coming up to our house sometime this year, too, to film us and share our story on their television program.  We are all so excited about this and feel so blessed about this huge opportunity to share our message with the world (yep, once again, you are famous as a very young girl!).

There are so many things that I want to say to you, but this letter just won’t do it justice.  You are still, and will always be, the light of my life.  You are still a mommy’s girl, but over the past year, your relationship with your daddy has really blossomed.  You love to goof around with him “downstairs” (that’s what you call the family room downstairs at our current house).  The two of you listen to music and watch music videos for what seems like hours, and you like to watch him play video games, and dig through all of the computer related stuff that he keeps down there.  You are also crazy about all of your “Meemaws” and “Bampas”  (Grandmas and Grandpas).  There have been quite a few times that you’ve sat and cried because you missed them, and you always seem to spot “Bampas” out in public…..it’s cute but sad to me at the same time, because I know that you would love to see them even more often than you do now (which is usually every couple of weeks).  One of your favorite things to do at bedtime is to look at the pictures of family that we have hanging on your bed, name who it is, and then tell them goodnight J.

As much as you are a mommy’s girl, when there is a Meemaw or a Bampa around, Mommy suddenly becomes invisible! That’s okay, though.  I am more than willing to share you with them, because I know that you will always be my girl, and I will always be your mommy! You really are the greatest blessing that I have ever received, Olivia, and I hope that I will always reflect that to you in my love and care for you.

Happy 2^nd birthday, sweetpea! Daddy, Patches and I love you immensely!

Love,

Mommy

It’s amazing….I went to bed last night thinking that I was “okay” with the passing of the healthcare legislation, only in the sense that I knew that this was just the beginning, and there are many battlefronts yet ahead for it.  Of course, I was also thinking about how the Lord will surely not fail us in this time of uncertainty.  Then, not surprisingly, it hit me like a ton of bricks this morning as I dropped Olivia off at daycare and had some time alone to myself on my long drive to work today…..I am leaving my fate in the hands of a President who has thus far made it blatantly clear that he is NOT pro-life, nowhere close to it.  And despite my belief in a power much greater than him, I got angry and scared, and I cried.  And I cried, and I cried, and I cried (to the trucker who saw me sobbing hysterically on the Interstate today, my apologies….I bet my driving scared the heck out of you).

Like always, though, my anger and my sadness washed away pretty quickly, and I felt full of passion and strength, and I knew the Lord was filling me with the Holy Spirit and sending the message that the passage of the healthcare bill and whether or not it provides funding for abortions WILL NOT get me down, it WILL NOT slow me down, it WILL NOT quiet my voice.  On the contrary, I feel like the battle lines have been even more deeply drawn, and I have been called to fight.

Then, tonight, I read my scripture for the day, and it was from Ephesians 6:  10-11:

The Armor of God

^“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. ¹Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.”

Looking back on this morning, it all makes sense.  I felt like I was being called to battle by the Lord, and felt as if He was wrapping himself around me when I felt such despair.  And certainly, He was….He was wrapping me in His armor to prepare me for the battles that lie ahead for me.

And then, because the Lord does such an awesome job of sending me multiple messages like I’ve often asked Him to when I am unsure of His plans for me, I came across this article from the National Right to Life committee from earlier in the day entitled:  “This will not stand.  The fight has just begun.”  Oh, the Lord is good at sending me the not-so-subtle hints.  Not only am I called to bear witness to His grace and the true reality of abortion, but I am called to fight for the rights of my unborn brothers and sisters and not be silenced by fear or threat of retaliation.  If I ever doubted for a second in the past if I was ready to take this fight for life on, head on, I don’t anymore.  I know that we have a war waging in this world on the value and dignity of human life, and I am ready to fight for the rights of the millions of unborn children just like me, and all of those whose lives they could have touched.

This Will Not Stand. The Fight Has Just Begun
Part One of Four By Dave Andrusko

Lots to read today. Part Two is a brilliant examination of the rationing components of ObamaCare. Part Three is an Alert which lays out the basics of what happened yesterday in the House of Representatives. Part Four is a statement from the Christian Medical Association. Please send me your comments at daveandrusko@gmail.com.  And don’t forget to visit our newest information source www.nationalrighttolifenews.org.

Last night the House of Representatives’ lamentably voted 219 to 212 in favor of ObamaCare. The outcome–including the underhanded manner in which it happened and the names of all those who voted in favor–is seared into our memories.

The regrettable basics are straightforward. All 219 votes in favor were cast by Democrats. Of the opposing (pro-life) votes, 178 were cast by Republicans and 34 by Democrats.

You have to hand it–sort of–to President Barack Obama, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. They could not have dragged this lemon of a bill over the finish line if they were not as wedded to their anti-life views as we are married to finding life-affirming solutions for both mother and child.

A few weeks ago it looked like this abortion of a bill was stalled. When other Democrats looked at the massive opposition and asked why they should throw themselves under the bus, Pelosi, in particular, never wavered. (It helps brace you spine when, like Pelosi, you represent a congressional district that will never vote you out.)

Their tactics were a witch’s brew of deception, misdirection, out-and-out lies, enforced by political muscle. But blithefully free of conscience, this did not even give them reason to pause. Collectively, they did what they needed to do to win and never looked back.

Now it’s up to Americans who disagree with commandeering control over one-sixth of the American economy, and in the process multiplying the number of dead babies, to prove that Obama/Reid/Pelosi ought to have been more careful what they asked for.

Let me offer a few quotes to put what follows in context.

“The executive order promised by President Obama was issued for political effect. It changes nothing. It does not correct any of the serious pro-abortion provisions in the bill. The president cannot amend a bill by issuing an order, and the federal courts will enforce what the law says.’
– National Right to Life, March 21.

“President Obama is set to begin an immediate public relations blitz aimed at turning around Americans’ opinion of the health-care bill.”
– From “Obama plans blitz to boost public opinion of health-care effort” in this morning’s Washington Post.

“Yes, With Trepidation”
– Headline of a Friday Washington Post editorial endorsing House passage of a massive health care restructuring bill strongly opposed by the National Right to Right.

“The final numbers for Congress before passing the health care proposal showed that just 11% believe the legislature is doing a good or an excellent job.”
– Rasmussen Reports, March 22

What do these four representative quotes tell us?

First, the genius of ObamaCare proponents was to understand that if they could not coerce wavering Democrats into line, they had to find a quasi-plausible cover story. It was like watching somebody go up into the attic, open up a trunk and pull one shirt/pants/dress after another. Eventually, they found rhetorical garments that fit the need of hesitant Democrats who felt exposed.

The last fig leaf was the worst: that Obama would sign an executive order after the bill was law “affirming prohibitions in current law and in the health legislation against taxpayer money going to abortions,” as the Associated Press described it. In announcing the agreement Sunday, which brought several pivotal votes over to the “yes” column, Rep. Bart Stupak offered a very unfortunate and completely inaccurate assessment: “Make no doubt about it,” he said. “There will be no public funds for abortion.”

As if an executive order could trump statutory law�.As if Obama, joined at the hip to the Abortion Establishment, would stand over like sentinel, watching how the law played out to ensure that public funds AREN’T used for abortion. Such an assurance was/is as misguided as it was/is wrong

Second, Obama will be on the hustings, we are told, persuading the people that ObamaCare is the greatest thing since sliced bread, probably better. As further protection we’ve been told that the American public supposedly has the attention span of a gnat. By the time November rolls around, the public will be concerned with something else.

Of course if you are Democrat who has voted for a massively expensive, intrusive health care castle built on sand, you have to believe, or at least hope, this is true. It is–unfortunately for them–180 degrees off. If anything, the debate will grow fiercer, as we will see over the next month.

Third, publications such as the Washington Post and the New York Times ran interference for Obama/Reid/Pelosi.

But not only did they block below the knees, they were repeatedly guilty of unsportsmanlike conduct.

It’s bad enough that the Democratic leadership threaten to run primary challengers against reluctant Democrats or to make sure their financial contribution dry up. But what’s worse is the conduct of so many established media outlets.

Opponents of ObamaCare were attacked so fiercely it almost gave demagoguery a bad name. Their arguments were either dismissed using guilt by association (you can always find somebody who will say or do something stupid), caricatured, or treated as if was beneath their dignity even to respond. But even if you were half-awake when you read last Friday’s Post editorial, you couldn’t miss that the writer was likely trying to talk himself/herself into believing what they were writing.

“Yes, with trepidation” was the headline. “Yes, even though 90% of the evidence in this editorial demands a ‘no’” would have been much more accurate.

Finally, the prestige of Congress, never high to begin with, has tanked. There’s an old joke that “Law and sausage are two things you do not want to see being made.” In fact, if Democracy is going to flourish, we must see how laws are made.

And in the case of ObamaCare, not only did the Republican Party kept from seeing what was going on until the final hours, so was the American public. Over the next few weeks the details of what was hidden away in this 2,000+page monstrosity will gradually see the light of day. It will not be a pretty sight.

Keep coming back to TN&V over the next weeks; to our new outlet www.nationalrighttolifenews.org; to http://nrlactioncenter.com; to http://nrlactioncenter.com and to National Right to Life News. We will keep you constantly updated.

Let me conclude with what you already know: The fight has only begun. This will not stand. If you agree, write me at daveandrusko@gmail.com.

I know it’s been shared all over the place, but as an abortion attempt survivor, I just think it bears sharing over and over again and repeating…..

Statement by the National Right to Life Committee
on abortion “deal” on health care legislation

WASHINGTON — (Sunday, March 21, 2010, 6 PM EDT) –  In response to today’s announcement regarding an agreement between Rep. Bart Stupak (D-Mi.) and President Obama on the pending health care bill (H.R. 3590), the following statement was issued by the National Right to Life Committee (NRLC), the federation of right-to-life organizations in the 50 states:

The National Right to Life Committee (NRLC) remains strongly opposed to the Senate-passed health bill (H.R. 3590).  A lawmaker who votes for this bill is voting to require federal agencies to subsidize and administer health plans that will pay for elective abortion, and voting to undermine longstanding pro-life policies in other ways as well.  Pro-life citizens nationwide know that this is a pro-abortion bill.  Pro-life citizens know, and they will be reminded again and again, which lawmakers deserve their gratitude for voting against this pro-abortion legislation.

The executive order promised by President Obama was issued for political effect.  It changes nothing.  It does not correct any of the serious pro-abortion provisions in the bill.  The president cannot amend a bill by issuing an order, and the federal courts will enforce what the law says.

To elaborate:  The order does not truly correct any of the seven objectionable pro-abortion provisions described in NRLC’s March 19 letter to the House of Representatives, which is posted here:  www.nrlc.org/AHC/NRLCToHouseOnHealthBill.pdf.

Regarding Community Health Centers (CHCs), NRLC has documented the problem created by H.R. 3590 here:  www.nrlc.org/AHC/NRLCMemoCommHealth.html.

Prof. Robert Destro, a professor of law and former dean of the Columbus School of Law at the Catholic University of America, and an expert on abortion-related litigation, has sent lawmakers a letter explaining why the bill opens the door to direct federal funding of abortion in Community Health Centers:  www.nrlc.org/ahc/DestroLetterToStupakOnCommHealthCenters.pdf.

Prof. Destro clearly explains why it is the statutory language that will govern.

Regarding the new program to provide tax credits to purchase private insurance, the executive order merely tinkers with the formalities of a bookkeeping scheme under which federal subsidies will pay for plans that cover elective abortion — a break from the longstanding principles of the Hyde Amendment.

The order does nothing at all to mitigate the other abortion-related problems described in the NRLC letter, dealing with bill provisions that create dangerous regulatory mandate authorities, revise Indian health programs, and create pools of directly appropriated funds that are not covered by existing restrictions on funding of abortion.  Nor can the order correct the omission from the pending legislation of the necessary conscience-protection language that had been included in House-passed health care legislation last November (the “Weldon language”).

For additional information regarding the abortion-related components of the legislation, and NRLC’s assessment of the gravity of these issues, please refer to the March 19 letter linked above, and other materials posted on the NRLC website at www.nrlc.org/AHC/Index.html.

For interviews on this issue, please call the NRLC Communications Department at (202) 626-8825.

www.nrlc.org/AHC/Index.html

I’m sure most of you have read this article already today, or one similar to it, updating us on the House’s healthcare vote tomorrow.  I have so many things I want to say about the pending healthcare vote, but truthfully, it’s all pretty much been said.  I came across a great quote today, however, that I thought was really fitting for the current state of political affairs here in the U.S. and this pending vote tomorrow:

“The 7 modern sins: politics without principles, pleasures without conscience, wealth without work, knowledge without character, industry without morality, science without humanity, worship without sacrifice”– Canon Frederic Donaldson.

My final words for the night go out to Rep. Bart Stupak.  Mr. Stupak, God bless you! I have no doubt that taking a stand and keeping your stance on the healthcare bill has been a “living hell” for you.  Please know that no matter how the vote goes tomorrow, you have shown an commitment and love to children like me that is seldom seen in Washington.  I have no doubt that you have left a legacy, and you have had a positive impact on the world.

Breakdown: Pelosi’s 11th-Hour Pitch for Pro-Life Dem Votes Crumbles

By Kathleen Gilbert

Updated 2:52 pm EST

WASHINGTON, D.C., March 20, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) – A desperate compromise attempt by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to snatch up the votes of pro-life Democrats led by Rep. Bart Stupak (D-MI) appears to have disintegrated under intense pressure from pro-abortion lobbyists, various sources report Saturday.

The dramatic bid reportedly fell apart one day before the House’s final vote on the Senate health care bill scheduled for Sunday.

Capitol Hill sources reported Friday that Stupak was in dialogue with Pelosi over allowing a vote on the Stupak language, which would bar federal funding of abortion after the pattern of the Hyde amendment, in a vote “tie-barred” to the health bill vote.

Stupak seemed to be giving Speaker Pelosi an offer she couldn’t refuse: her nail-biting search for 216 votes – the minimum needed for the bill’s passage – has so far come up just short, according to various whip counts. Even should she sway all the “undecideds” to her side, she would reportedly have only 214 votes if she is unable to peel any more off the small band of pro-life Democrats held together by Stupak.

Yet, a furious cadre of pro-abortion women descended upon the Speaker’s office Friday evening to inform her that as many as 40-55 “yes” votes would jump ship should she abandon the abortion funding embedded in the bill. When the House voted in the Stupak language last year, pro-aborts had reluctantly agreed – but vowed to ensure the language would be removed for a final vote.

“We are holding firm this time,” Rep. Diana Degette, D-CO, told reporters Friday. “If Mr. Stupak and a few members along with the Republicans decide to use this to take health care down, that loss of health care will be in their hands.”

A press conference Stupak and his group had scheduled for Saturday morning was abruptly postponed, although no reason was given. Stupak spokesperson Michelle Begnoche said later that “discussions are continuing,” according to Politico.

UPDATE (2:01pm EST): Pelosi has confirmed that there will be no separate vote for abortion language. National Review Online reports, however, that Pelosi continues to meet with members of the Stupak band, specifically Reps. Driehaus (D-OH) and Dahlkemper (D-Penn.), who said they were “still working on” the issue. Meanwhile, according to NRO, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer says he is working on an executive order involving “Stupak-like” language to appease the group.

UPDATE 2 (2:52pm EST): Politico reports that the House will abandon the controversial “deem and pass” solution, and will instead vote on the actual Senate health care bill Sunday.

FireDogLake.com listed eleven “undecideds”: Brian Baird (D – WA), Jim Matheson (D-UT), Glenn Nye (D-VA), John Tanner (D-TN), Melissa Bean (D-IL), Chris Carney (D-PA), Bill Foster (D-IL), Paul Kanjorski (D-PA), Solomon Ortiz (D-TX), Earl Pomeroy (D-ND), Zack Space (D-OH), Mike Michaud (D-ME). Bill Owens (D-NY) has come out as a “yes” vote, it was reported Saturday morning.

Currently, there are 11 confirmed members of Stupak’s band – which, under unrelenting pressure, has reportedly seen many leave and others join the ranks in recent days. They are: Bart Stupak (D-Mich.), Marion Berry (D-Ark.), Sanford Bishop (D-GA), Jerry Costello (D-Ill.), Kathy Dahlkemper (D-Penn.), Joe Donnelly (D-Ind.), Steve Driehaus (D-OH), Marcy Kaptur (D-OH), Dan Lipinski (D-Ill.), Alan Mollohan (D-WV), Nick Rahall (D-WV).

Earlier this week, Stupak said that he was undergoing a “living hell” over his opposition to the abortion-expanding bill, and complained of lobbyists threatening to take out “ethics complaints” against him should he not switch his vote.

Visit http://stoptheabortionmandate.com/ or the NRLC website for information on contacting U.S. lawmakers.