Abandoned

Ph.D. Monica Migliorino Miller

Description

In the Trenches of the Abortion Battle Every day, thousands of children-fragile, innocent, alone-are abandoned. They are brutally snuffed from the world and literally left in the trash . . . and it's all legal. Abandoned: The Untold Stories of the Abortion Wars is the story of those children abandoned by abortion, and it is the story of their courageous defenders. Since 1976, Monica Miller has made it her life's work to defend the unborn: she has counseled pregnant women outside abortion clinics and organized pro-life groups and sit-ins at many of those same clinics. She has blocked abortionists cars, been arrested, and gone to jail. And she has pulled the bodies of thousands of unborn babies out of dumpsters and given them a proper burial.Abandoned: The Untold Stories of the Abortion Wars is the profound, breathtaking, and often daring journey of one woman, but it is much more than that. It is a history of the Pro-Life movement since Roe vs. Wade, a suspenseful, true-life tale of life and death, an insightful look into the unique and terrible horror of abortion, and a plea for the protection of the most helpless and innocent members of the human family.

Sujets

• Philosophie et théologie
• Catholic Church
• Human rights

Informations

• Publié par: St. Benedict Press LLC
• Date de parution: 05 septembre 2012
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781618908025
• Langue: English

Extrait

Copyright © 2012 Monica Migliorino Miller.
All rights reserved. With the exception of short excerpts used in articles and critical review, no part of this work may be reproduced, transmitted, or stored in any form whatsoever, printed or electronic, without the prior written permission of the publisher.
Cover design by Chris Pelicano
Cataloging-in-Publication data on file with the Library of Congress .
ISBN: 978-1-61890-394-5
Published in the United States by
Saint Benedict Press, LLC
PO Box 410487
Charlotte, NC 28241
www.saintbenedictpress.com
Printed and bound in the United States of America .
PRAISE FOR ABANDONED
“Quite simply, this is the best book ever written on abortion. Beautifully written, this is about the consequences of Roe v. Wade , as seen through the eyes of one woman, who tells a clear and compelling story with passion but without fanaticism. On a subject that is often heavy and depressing, this is a hard-hitting yet compassionate and moving book. Honestly, I wouldn’t have thought such a narrative could be done, only now it has been done.”
— Dinesh D’Souza, best-selling author of Ill-liberal Education, What’s So Great About America, What’s So Great About Christianity, and The Enemy at Home.
“ Abandoned is a kind of shocking immersion into the depths of the American battle over abortion. Here is preserved up close and in detail an important historical moment that reveals at once the commitment, the fears, the frustration and the hope of those who oppose abortion and the darkest truth about the practice of abortion itself. This book is unprecedented, provocative and will leave its mark on all who read it.”
—Jill Stanek, nurse, columnist, blogger, and winner of the 2009 Life Prizes Award.
“As a pro-life activist leader who has fought for decades in the battle for the unborn I can honestly say that Miller’s book is one of the most important ever written on the subject of abortion. It is a masterpiece of passion and unique insight. There are few books that can change a person’s life-but this is one of them. Its compelling historical narrative takes you places you have never been, makes you see things you have never seen. As no other book has done, Miller’s true story lays bear what’s at stake in the war over abortion.”
— Joe Scheidler, National Director of The Pro-Life Action League
“ Abandoned grabs you from the very first paragraph and takes you not only deep into the history of the pro-life movement but deep into the harsh, brutal realities of the abortion industry. It’s a must read for anyone interested in a subject that remains the hot button issue of our times. You will not be able to put this book down but you will definitely need to pass it on to as many people as possible.”
— Teresa Tomeo, Syndicated Catholic Talk Show Host and best-selling Catholic Author
“I am involved in every aspect of the pro-life movement on the national level, and it is very clear to me that one of the key educational needs is precisely to help people, starting within the movement, and reaching outside that movement, to understand the history of pro-life work– especially in the area of activism. This book is a unique literary contribution—revealing like no other book, what those opposed to abortion did for life.”
— Father Frank Pavone, National Director of Priests for Life
“Raw. Gritty. Real. Abandoned is to abortion what Uncle Tom’s Cabin was to slavery and Night was to the Nazi Holocaust.”
—Jack Ames, Founder and Director of Defend Life
“Shocking discoveries. Daring rescues. Inspiring stories. Miller’s compelling book has it all. Abandoned chronicles the experiences of one courageous activist who has dedicated her life to protecting innocent children and their mothers. This must-read story provides a deep understanding of the blessings and challenges faced while speaking up for those who cannot speak for themselves and serves as a rallying cry to a new generation of activists. At this pivotal moment in history Monica’s testimony will motivate you-and countless others-to be part of the solution to the abortion crisis.”
—David Bereit, National Director of Forty Days for Life
“A completely compelling story told with a beautiful narrative voice. The reader is treated to an underground of activists that the public rarely sees or hears. The personal tone of the narrative, the vividness of the illustrations, the avoidance of cliché and sloganeering, the empathy for women seeking abortion make this a report that should get wide readership and generate new light on an old familiar issue.”
— Al Kresta, President and CEO, Ave Maria Radio; host of Kresta in the Afternoon
For Joe who helped set me on the path—and for Edmund who came with me.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Author’s Note
Prologue
PART I
RADICAL ACTS
CHAPTER ONE
The Bodies
CHAPTER TWO
Beginning
CHAPTER THREE
Raphael
CHAPTER FOUR
Abortion and the El Train Ads
CHAPTER FIVE
Green Eyes of Hate
CHAPTER SIX
The Nun’s Story
CHAPTER SEVEN
This Poor Youngling
PART II
THE EDGE OF THE WORLD
CHAPTER EIGHT
Bread and Roses
CHAPTER NINE
Ghosts and Zeros
CHAPTER TEN
“The Fetus Incident”
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Secret Ceremony
CHAPTER TWELVE
The Last Work of Mercy
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
The First Kindness
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
The Burial for No One
PART III
A DANGEROUS PERSON
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Selective Prosecution
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
A Dangerous Person
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Our Days of Boldness
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
P.O.C.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
To Marvel at the Fireflies
CHAPTER TWENTY
Requiem
Acknowledgments
Creon has ordered
That none shall bury him or mourn for him;
He must be left to lie unwept, unburied
For hungry birds of prey to swoop and feast
On his poor body.

No one shall say I failed him! I will bury
My brother—and yours too, if you will not.
Antigone , by Sophocles
AUTHOR’S NOTE
E VERYTHING written about in this narrative actually took place. From the years 1979 through 1982 the author kept a diary of her pro-life activity and some conversations in the book are reconstructed from those diary entries, otherwise the author has relied on her memory or the memory of others who have first-hand knowledge of the episodes recounted in this book. In addition, many incidents are historically supported from newspaper articles, official court transcripts or legal documents.
Only one person who appears in this book has asked for anonymity and out of respect for that wish the author has used a pseudonym. The author also took the liberty of not using the true names of the owners of “Pet Haven” cemetery—nor the true name of the cemetery—to spare these persons any further public scandal that involved their business.
Other than these few changes, the author has tried to be as historically faithful as possible to the conversations and episodes as they occurred.
PROLOGUE
THE STORY I HAVE TO TELL
W HEN I was nine years old I made a peace treaty with the animals. I wrote it out on a sheet of wide-ruled notebook paper—the kind of paper used by a grade school student. Attempting to make the lettering as fancy as I could manage and using a ball point pen rather than a pencil, I intended the treaty to be permanent. The treaty was a perpetual commitment that I would never harm an animal as long as I lived. After writing out my pledge, I punctured my finger with a pin and signed the treaty in blood, thinking treaties were signed that way. I rolled it up as if it were composed on the finest parchment and tied a piece of red ribbon around the scroll. I even crumbled the paper slightly to make it look old as most important documents seemed worn in appearance. I placed the sacred document in a cigar box where most of my precious possessions were secretly stowed. Eight months later I lifted the lid of the box, rolled open the scroll and wrote:
I Monica do hereby and on this 10th day of July in the year 1962 re-ratify this treaty for the reason that I killed an animal.
Kind of animal: Snail
Reason: Reproduction
I do from this day forward promise never to harm another animal.
I then signed my name in pen since it seemed to me that the solemnity which attended the first signing in blood could not be repeated.
I had killed a very small snail in my aquarium because, whether it was true or not, a school-girl friend had told me that snails reproduce on their own and soon my whole aquarium would be overrun with them, crowding out the angel fish and gouramis. So that little snail had to go. In my quest to rid the sea world of this menace I forgot all about the treaty only to recall a few days later, to my horror that I had made such a pact and had now shamefully broken it. There was nothing else to do but re-ratify the document and start again.
As I got a bit older I eventually gave up on the treaty, noticing that I swatted flies and mosquitoes and occasionally trampled on ants. The treaty was a lofty ideal but totally impractical in the real world.
However short-lived my official peace treaty with the animals was, it nonetheless indicated an early sensitivity toward living things. Even before composing the treaty, I recall traveling in the car with my parents, stuffed into the backseat with my brothers and sister. Luckily I sat next to the window. We were driving down a residential street when I spied suddenly a wounded bird in someone’s driveway. It seemed to be an odd place for a bird, even a wounded one. I was convinced the bird, which looked like a robin, needed our help and asked my father to stop the car. He didn’t. He was not inclined to do such things and probably thought I was overreacting anyway. As we sped on, I was filled with anxiety and craned my neck to see the bird, hoping to be mistaken—that the bird was just a toy left in the driveway by a child.
Whenever a resident of my aquarium died I held fish funerals for them. One such funeral was held in the middle of the fall, and