Ahead of Saturday’s canonization of Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta, March for Life President Jeanne Manini had an op-ed published in the Washington Times on Mother Teresa’s life and legacy.

Canonizing Mother Teresa for her exaltation of life

Hillary’s encounter for a future saint didn’t quench her passion for abortion

“Please don’t kill the child. I want the child. Please give me the child. I am willing to accept any child who would be aborted and to give that child to a married couple who will love the child and be loved by the child.”

These moving words from Mother Teresa’s speech at the National Prayer Breakfast in 1997, a few months before her death, epitomized the deeply personal empathy the world came to admire her for during her lifetime. As we prepare to celebrate her canonization however, it is almost impossible to ignore the contrast between her message of love and life and a political culture that asks Americans to revel in abortion.

“I wanted a family but it was the wrong time,” said Ilyse Hogue, president of NARAL Pro-Choice America as she joyfully spoke to the Democratic National convention floor before a national audience in July. Rather than pleas for consideration and mercy, we are now subject to mainstream politics that asks women to “shout” their abortions as a normal and even positive action.

It has been said that the Holy Spirit raises up certain public saints, with a particular gift for a specific moment in history. Against the backdrop of having lost 57 million Americans to abortion since it was legalized in the United States, living in a culture where HBO runs a series aimed at normalizing abortion, and facing a presidential candidate who once said abortion should be safe, legal and rare now advocating abortion on demand at any time in pregnancy paid for by taxpayer dollars, our “shout your abortion” world needs the antidote of Mother Teresa’s gift of love and human dignity more than ever.

Blessed Teresa of Calcutta understood the inherent dignity of the human person in a profound way. She saw Christ in every person she encountered — from the president of the United States to the addicted, sick, elderly person dying in one of the shelters she founded. She had the habit of pausing whenever she greeted anyone because she was greeting Christ in the person first. Her heart ached for the poor. She sought to satiate what she believed was God’s thirst by loving the poor. Interestingly this saint wasn’t known for being “nice” — certainly not politically correct — but rather for being radically faithful to God and her call to love the poorest of the poor, even when that meant conflict and challenge. She did not mince words and was single-focused in her mission.http://m.washingtontimes.com/news/2016/aug/31/canonizing-mother-teresa-for-her-exaltation-of-lif/

>>>> Click HERE to read the rest of the op-ed.

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE August 16, 2016

CONTACT: Brendan Bradley Shirley & Banister Public Affairs 703-739-5920/800-536-5920 bbradley@sbpublicaffairs.com

Political Normalization of Abortion at Odds with Universal Message of Love

ALEXANDRIA, VA – On September 4, 2016, Blessed Mother Teresa will become an official canonized saint of the Catholic church, “St. Teresa of Calcutta” in ceremony led by Pope Francis in St. Peter’s Square in the Vatican.

“Mother Teresa is one of my personal heroes. I am incredibly blessed to have had the opportunity to volunteer in Calcutta with her sisters, and on one occasion to have met Mother Teresa,” said Jeanne Mancini, President of the March for Life Education and Defense Fund. “Against the backdrop of having lost 57 million Americans to abortion since it was legalized in the United States, and living in a culture where one of our presidential candidates now advocates for abortion on demand at any time in pregnancy, paid for by taxpayer dollars, the world is in desperate need of Mother Teresa’s message of love and respect for human dignity more than ever.”

“On September 4th, Blessed Teresa of Calcutta will be officially declared a saint in the Catholic church. A few months later, American voters will elect a new president. So many of us long for a better environment, culture of life, a culture of love — but are confused about how to bring that about amidst such a confusing and difficult political and cultural season. We can begin by taking our cue from this remarkably brave and loving woman, Mother Teresa of Calcutta and her profound understanding and radical living out of the truth about the inherent dignity of the human person.”

Background information: In 1997, Mother Teresa spoke at the National Prayer Breakfast. With Hillary Clinton in attendance as First Lady, Mother Teresa shared the following remarks with the crowd: “Please don’t kill the child. I want the child. Please give me the child. I am willing to accept any child who would be aborted and to give that child to a married couple who will love the child and be loved by the child.” Mother Teresa also took the opportunity to speak one on one with Mrs. Clinton about why she was wrong on abortion. Unfortunately, since that time, the Democratic Party’s stance has only moved further in the pro-abortion direction.

Jeanne Mancini, President of the March for Life Education and Defense Fund, is available for comment on this story.

To schedule an interview, please contact Brendan Bradley with Shirley & Banister Public Affairs

at (703) 739-5920 or  bbradley@sbpublicaffairs.com.

 

 

March for Life President Jeanne Mancini had an op-ed published in the Daily Caller regarding the radical abortion platform adopted by the Democrat Party.

The Democratic Party’s Radical New Abortion Stance Could Cost Hillary The Election.

“I wanted a family but it was the wrong time,” proclaimed Ilyse Hogue, president of NARAL Pro-Choice America as she joyfully “shouted her abortion” at the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia a few weeks ago. As the dust settles after the DNC and we race towards November 8th, it’s critical for independent pro-life Americans to review the newly adopted radical stance on abortion in the same party’s platform, which includes seeking unlimited taxpayer funding of abortion by eliminating the Hyde Amendment.

More than 57 million lives that have been lost and hurt because of abortion in the United States since it was legalized in 1973. To quote Carl Anderson, current head of the Knights of Columbus, “what political issue could possibly outweigh this human devastation?”

https://youtu.be/-c2EJoyp5Mo

Viewers watching the Democratic Convention in late July likely noticed that what once was considered the social justice party is now more aptly called the abortion party. The DNC schedule featured Cecile Richards, head of Planned Parenthood, the nation’s largest abortion provider, and Hollywood abortion advocates including Tony Goldwyn and Elizabeth Banks. These speakers and others sought to normalize and de-stigmatize abortion, and adopt a party platform that advocates abortion moving from “safe, legal and rare” to “unlimited, without apology, and paid for by tax dollars.”

The Democratic Party would have done well to pay attention to a major opinion poll released the week of their convention. Marist Polling is relied on by groups including NBC News, the Wall Street Journal and McClatchy Corporation.  The July 18th Marist poll revealed that the strong majority of Americans want restrictions on abortion, including 78% of Americans who would essentially limit the procedure to the first three months of pregnancy. Additionally, the American people are at odds with the recent Supreme Court Decision in Whole Women’s Health, 78% of Americans believe abortion clinics should meet the same standards as other surgery centers, and 70% percent of Americans want doctors who perform abortions to be required to have hospital admitting privileges. Last, 62% of Americans oppose taxpayer funding of abortions (i.e., they support the Hyde Amendment).

In short, the Marist Poll showed that when it comes to issues of abortion policy, the Democratic Platform is totally out of touch with mainstream America.

Perhaps the most egregious aspect of the platform is eliminating the prohibition on taxpayer funding of abortion known as the Hyde Amendment. Named for Congressman Henry Hyde of Illinois, originally passed in 1976, the Amendment is annually included in the appropriations bill for the U.S. Departments of Labor and Health and Human Services. It prohibits use of taxpayer funds for abortion for Medicaid recipients, thereby reducing the incidence of abortion by a staggering 20-35% every year.

Until this summer the Hyde Amendment was considered an uncontroversial, bipartisan, popular public policy. Even Democratic Vice Presidential candidate Tim Kaine was known to support the Hyde Amendment – until being named to the 2016 ticket, after which his stance became confusing at best. Perhaps emboldened by the recent death of Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia and the ensuing abortion-related court decisions issued in late June, Democrats have moved into a full court press mode on abortion policy and ending the Hyde Amendment is a top priority, despite the fact that this is not appealing to mainstream American voters.

What’s an independent pro-lifer to do?

In contrast, the 2016 Republican Party had adopted one of the most pro-life platforms ever written in our nation’s history.  Included is a commitment to appoint pro-life justices to the Supreme Court; a promise to defend and protect conscience rights for pro-lifers who are appallingly being forced to cooperate in abortion; and even a section on defunding our nation’s largest abortion provider.

This November, will Americans vote to increase the rate of abortion (and its often unspoken wounds) by an enormous 20-35% every year? Will they vote to continue to try normalize the termination of innocent life because “we had three kids, that was enough,” to quote Cecile Richards as she explained her abortion. I pray not. For those working through real issues of conscience this election, the human devastation of abortion and its cultural consequences cannot be ignored.

Jeanne Mancini was has served as President of the March for Life Education and Defense Fund since 2012, directing the small non-profit organization committed to restoring a culture of life in the United States, most notably through the annual March for Life in Washington, D.C., held on the anniversary of Roe v. Wade.

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE August 16, 2016

CONTACT: Brendan Bradley Shirley & Banister Public Affairs 703-739-5920/800-536-5920 bbradley@sbpublicaffairs.com

 

Washington, D.C. – Last Friday, HBO Documentary Films released Abortion: Stories Women Tell in six U.S. cities. The film aims to shed “new light on the contentious issue with a focus not on the debate, but rather on the women themselves.”

“The production and promotion behind Abortion: Stories Women Tell is a disturbing attempt to glamourize abortion into the mainstream of American culture,” said Jeanne Mancini, President of the March for Life Education and Defense Fund. “In reality, when a woman is facing an unexpected pregnancy she might believe that abortion will ‘erase’ the life of her growing child and thereby solve her problems. But the truth is that once life is conceived it can’t be erased, only taken, and because of this countless women profoundly regret choosing abortion. Abortion advocates have moved steadily away from the mantra ‘safe, legal and rare’ to ‘unlimited, without apology, and paid for by tax dollars.’ Women will bear the emotional and physical costs of this calculated effort to try to normalize a sad, violent, and un-natural procedure. Hopefully viewers will walk away with that in mind, but equally pitting the reality of that suffering against ‘positive’ abortion stories is a dubious muddling of the truth.”

The March for Life in Washington, D.C., began as a small demonstration on January 22, 1974, the first anniversary of the now-infamous Supreme Court decisions in Roe v. Wade and Doe v. Bolton and rapidly grew to be the largest pro-life event in the world.  The peaceful demonstration that has followed on this somber anniversary every year since is a witness to the truth concerning the greatest human rights violation of our time, abortion.

Jeanne Mancini, President of the March for Life Education & Defense Fund is available for commentary. For more information, please contact Brendan Bradley at bbradley@SBPublicAffairs.com or (703) 739-5920.

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