NOVEMBER 2021 NEWSLETTER

Featured Article:

Adoption - A Heroic Option: by Hannah Blosser

What is a hero? We often think of heroes as super-human beings who fight to save mankind from all sorts of terrible foes. We don’t often think about or consider the heroes we encounter every day. Heroes come in all shapes and sizes, and from all sorts of backgrounds; but all heroes have one thing in common: Their goal is to save lives. We recognize everyday heroes such as firemen and doctors, but there is another type of hero we don’t often consider. These heroes are the mothers who chose life even when they had an unwanted pregnancy, and offered their infants for adoption, so that these children could be raised in loving homes. Although adoption often isn’t promoted in today’s abortion-minded culture, it is a beautiful and heroic option.

When a woman finds out she is pregnant, but doesn’t have the means to support a child, she often panics. Oftentimes, the first option offered to her is to abort her unborn baby, which may seem like the “easiest way out”. But there is another option, namely, adoption. It is estimated that there are “between one and two million couples” waiting to adopt (according to the U.S. Adoption Network). Couples may want to adopt for a number of reasons, whether they are unable to have children, or they feel called to take in another child from a family who cannot support an infant. These couples are so joyful when a woman who cannot support her baby offers to give them the child. Offering a baby for adoption is a beautiful, loving, and heroic act on the part of the mother, who is then choosing life for her son or daughter.

The adoption process can be tricky to navigate at times, but it is well worth it in the end. The mother feels at peace when her child is placed in a loving home, and the child is given the opportunity to live and flourish. When people come to see adoption as an option, the pressure to abort unwanted babies will diminish, as women will see that they can still choose life for their infant. Mothers who give their children up for adoption will forever be seen as heroes who saved the most precious life of all: that of their unborn baby.

Guest Article:

Pro-Life or Pro-Birth?: by Grace Chaffins

“Pro-lifers are just pro-birth!”
For many on the anti-abortion side of the debate, this commonly heard argument can be difficult to respond to. This accusation raises an important question that each of us must answer for ourselves – what does it truly mean to be pro-life?

When I was five years old, my aunt adopted a little boy from Russia. I still remember sitting in the airport terminal, waiting to meet him for the first time. However, the adoption didn’t turn out the way we had initially expected. As it turns out, my cousin has severe special needs that my aunt had not been told about. He will never be able to live on his own, function properly, or even talk. His life will never be “normal.” Does this mean it’s not worth living, as so many abortion advocates have declared when it comes to children with incapacitating disorders?

My family’s story of adoption is just one of millions of other stories, each perfectly unique and beautiful in its own way. These families are all around us, and we interact with them every single day. One such story was of my cousin’s pediatrician, Dr. Michael Geraldi, who – with his wife – adopted 88 children, every one of which had special needs.  To me, they are living proof that each life is worth living, and each life is worth saving. Their children have had a chance at life because of their adoptive parents’ selflessness and love. They have gone on to do wonderful things – running a farm and training rescue dogs as a family. While most of us will probably not live out our pro-life mission by adopting 88 children, we can prove that we are not just “pro-birth” in the way we live our day-to-day lives.

Each time we donate or volunteer at a pregnancy help center, we are not only “pro-birth,” but are supporting children and their mothers in real, tangible ways. As pro-lifers we believe that each child deserves the chance to live, no matter where they come from, what they look like, or what disabilities they might have, and so we stand up for children (both born and unborn). We believe that abortion hurts women and does not improve their lives, no matter what the culture may tell us, so we stand up for women. Being pro-life means so much more than just being anti-abortion. It means we believe that all life has dignity, and as such, deserves to be cherished and given a chance to thrive. While each of us will embrace this call in a different way, it unites us. It reminds us that life is beautiful and that each person is a gift.

Prayers:

An All-Saint's Day Hymn
May we

fight like Joan

serve like Teresa

trust like Faustina.

May we

be as faithful as Joseph

as merry as Thomas

as forthright as Nathaniel.

May we

convert like Augustine

turn to the One

our hearts yearn for.

May welove like Therese

persevere like Edith

praise God like Cecilia.

May we

follow in Wenceslaus' footsteps

melt a frozen world

by our service and love.

And above all, may we be

brave like Mary,

Queen of all saints,

Mother to all and

Perfect follower of Christ.

Amen.

Poem written and submitted by Emily Chaffins

Prayer for Adoptive Families

Dear God our Father,

Please help all parents in their role as a mother or father.

Make them an instrument of your peace and love.

Inspire all parents to provide the best example for their children in their words, actions, and temperament.

Encourage all adoptive families to discuss their unique story, and to always stress the love that brought them together.

Help adoptive parents to be merciful and loving in their thoughts and actions when it comes to a child's birth parents.

Guide all parents' actions to meet the needs of their individual children and give parents the patience they need to build strong, loving, and faithful children.

Amen.

Adapted from the prayer written by Amy Brooks: adopting.com

Pro-Life Quotes:

"There are no unwanted children. Just unfound families." - The National Adoption Center

"How do we persuade a woman not to have an abortion? As always, we must persuade her with love... and we remind ourselves that love means to be willing to give until it hurts." - Mother Teresa

News:

Pro-Life Governor Elected in Virginia

On November 2nd, Governor Glenn Youngkin was elected to the office of Governor of Virginia. He is the first pro-life governor since 2009, and will be serving a state that has had a history of shocking crimes against the dignity of human life. In fact, Virginia’s previous governor, Ralph Northam, has made comments regarding allowing babies who survive botched abortions to “die comfortably”, which adds up to infanticide. The election of Governor Youngkin is a big step toward future pro-life victories in America.

United States Supreme Court Set to Hear Major Abortion Case
Nearly 50 years after Roe v. Wade was passed, the law that established abortion as a legal right will be facing it’s first major challenge. On December 1st, U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in the high-stakes case of Mississippi’s attempt to ban abortions after 15 weeks. State officials pushing this law are calling on the justices to overturn Roe v. Wade. The outcome of this case will have major repercussions on the pro-life future of America.

Creative Corner:

If Only I Had Time

I was indeed small and tiny, yes

But there's so much you never would've guessed

If only I had time

Laughing and playing like other children

I could've helped make our world different

If only I had time

I am someone's son or daughter

Could have been a mother, a father

If only I had time

Am I not just as human, too?

When grown up, I'd be like you

If only I had time

Maybe I would have had the chance

To brave the world with you, hand in hand

If only I had time

They all were firm on calling it "choice"

In these decisions, I had no voice

So I never had the time

Thank you to Rain for submitting this poem!

We are looking for artistic content to fill our Creative Corner! If you have something that you would like to contribute, please email us at hscstudentsforlife@gmail.com.

Upcoming Events:

Saturday, November 6th at 2:00pm EST - Monthly pro-life rosary

Saturday, November 13th at 6:30pm EST - Apologetics Night with Trent Horn

Join us for our apologetics night! We will be watching an exclusive apologetics training video from Trent Horn. Following the video, Mr. Horn will be joining us live for Q&A and to demonstrate several mock dialogues so that we can get hands-on practice answering the hard questions about abortion. We will also have time for breakout room practice. If you would like to be equipped with the knowledge and practice you need to respond to pro-choice arguments with courage, truth, and love, please join us!

RSVP here: https://forms.gle/imw4R6U2ztfqDHCv5

Monday, November 6th at 8:00pm EST - Practical Pro-Life Strategies | Roundtable Discussion for Youth with Moderated Q&A

What practical efforts are being made and what more can be done to declare and defend the sanctity of each human life from conception to natural death? 8th-12th grade youth are invited to join us as we hear from and discuss this topic with three panelists who are actively engaged in various areas of pro-life work in the Heartland. More information and registration here.

Note: This event is not produced or sponsored by HSC Students for Life in any way.

Announcing: Homeschool Connections Students for Life Christmas Party!

https://hscstudentsforlife.wixsite.com/christmasparty

Saturday, December 11 from 4:30pm - 7:00pm
Join us for our Christmas Party! Featuring a virtual escape room, wonderful speakers including Mr. Bill Donaghy from the Theology of the Body Institute and Mr. Phillip Campbell, a virtual tour of the Pregnancy Help Clinic, and an intermission, this event will be a way for us as a community to come together to celebrate life. We will also be able to  do our part in making an impact in the lives of mothers facing crisis pregnancies and their unborn children. While it does not cost anything to attend this event, we ask that you give generously in any amount you are able. All money will go directly to the Pregnancy Help Clinic, which is in the process of opening a new location in Flint, Michigan, and donations will not be used for any other causes. RSVP is required.

Submit Content:

This newsletter relies heavily on the contributions of group members. There are a number of items we are looking for:

1. Creative content We have implemented a segment of the newsletter dedicated to the topically relevant artistic contributions of group members, regardless of medium. If you have anything to share, please send it in. We'll accept most mediums, including (pictures of) paintings, graphic design pieces, songs, videos, poems, etc.
2. Articles We are accepting topically relevant articles from group members. Please note, however, that the newsletter editors reserve the right to modify articles in order to make them suitable for publication. Such modifications may include grammatical corrections and removal of potentially offensive content.
3. Quotes & Literary Passages We are also looking for any topically relevant quotes or literary passages to fill a segment of the newsletter. Anything from a simple sentence spoken by a saint to a paragraph from a book can be accepted.

If you want to submit anything from the above categories, or you simply want to provide feedback or suggestions, please email us at hscstudentsforlife@gmail.com and we will get in touch with you shortly.