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Calendar For Life 111 East Dunlap Ave #294, Phoenix AZ., 85020 877-570-2450 calendarforlife@ureach.com www.calendarforlife.org

 Respect Life Month􀂮2011 St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church Frisco, TX

I had the honor of hearing this beautiful story at a recent Respect Life event. It was presented by our own parishioner, Susan, and I encourage you to read it and reflect upon it during this month in which we focus on the sanctity of life.􀍶Fr. Larry 

My name is Susan I am the Respect Life Coordinator at St. Francis. My husband Dave and I have been parishioners for over 10 years. We are also the proud parents of three adopted children. Chandler is 6, Bennet is 4 and Dorie Beth is 2. We adopted all three children through Catholic Charities in Dallas as infants. We have an open relationship with all three of our little ones birth moms and their families.  All three women mean the world to us. We have enormous respect for them and the selfless gift they gave us through adoption. 

Each of our three adoption stories are beautiful and I could write a book telling the story of each one, but now I want to tell you the story of our third little miracle, Dorie Beth. I asked her birth mom, Marcella, and she gave me permission to tell it. 

Three years ago Marcella was 32. She was going through a hard time in her life. She was trying desperately to get her life on track, but just couldn’t seem to do it. She has a little boy, Grant, who was about 2 months old at the time. 

Grant has a rare genetic blood disorder, called Glanzmans Thrombasthenia, which is similar to hemophelia, where his blood has trouble clotting. When he gets a cut, his body usually cannot stop bleeding on its own. He must go to the ER and in many cases has to have a platelet transfusion or even a whole blood transfusion. Each tooth that he loses or each skinned knee could truly be a fatal incident. As he gets older, the risk will get worse. 

Marcella found herself pregnant again, from the same birthfather as Grant. The two babies would be less than a year apart in age. 

Marcella was a single mom. She already had her hands full taking care of Grant and since the two have the same biological parents, the likelihood of this child having the same disease was very high. 

Marcella was overwhelmed with all the things going on in her life. She made the painful decision to have an abortion. 

Talking about this step is still really painful for Marcella. She has a hard time even telling the story, but she did tell me that she went to Routh Street abortion clinic. She told me she noticed people outside praying. She went inside and they put her on the table to have the abortion. She said she just started crying and said she couldn’t go through with it. By the grace of God, she realized this child was no different than her Grant, a child. She left the abortion center in tears and went home determined that she was going to place this child for adoption. 

She researched several agencies and was at a loss until her eighth month when she was in the ER with Grant and a nurse told her about Catholic Charities. She started working with them and eventually chose to meet us. We knew going into this adoption that there were a lot of risks. This baby could be born with the same blood disorder as Grant, as well as other potential complications, but we felt a peace to move forward. 

I was able to go to a few doctor appointments with her. The whole family even attended an ultrasound session. It was such a fun time of bonding for all of us. Marcella invited me to be in the delivery room and asked me to cut the cord. That was a first for me! 

Marcella gave birth to a beautiful baby girl, who is completely healthy. Praise be to God! 

We were all so excited to have a new little baby girl in the family. I can still remember Chandler running up and down the hospital aisles passing out pink bubble gum cigars to everyone he saw. 

We named her Dorothy Elizabeth (Dorie Beth). Dorothy, which means “Gift from God,” after my mom who had been praying for this child long before we knew she existed. 

Marcella and I have become very close. We get together about once a month. She looks so forward to seeing Dorie Beth. We love Marcella and consider her and her family extended family. 

Marcella was able to save Dorie Beth’s cord blood and after much testing, the doctors determined that Dorie Beth and Grant are a complete blood match. 

After Christmas, Grant will have a complete bone marrow transplant, where he will undergo chemotherapy to wipe out his bone marrow and Dorie Beth’s cord blood stem cells and possibly bone marrow will be transplanted into him. Grant will be in the hospital for a minimum of two and a half months and will be in isolation at home for six months to a year afterwards, but ultimately, Dorie Beth will save his life. 

If Marcella had gone through with the abortion, not only would she have lost this precious child, she could have lost her little boy, as well. 

God has a plan for each person. This adoption has made all of us better people. I know Dave and I (as well as Chandler and Bennet) are better for having known Marcella, Grant and her family. Marcella is a different person. She’s going to school, living with her grandma and is a wonderful mommy to Grant. She has made a complete life transformation. 

I know it was the hardest decision that our three birth moms ever had to make when they chose adoption. I also know that they would have liked to raise their baby on their own. Instead, they made the most selfless choice possible. They chose to do what was best for their child and place them in a loving family. 

I can’t imagine life without Dorie Beth now. Her two brothers adore her and think she hung the moon.  Dave … he’s in love  with her. She already has him wrapped around her little finger. And to think... we were so close to never knowing her. 

We are just one example of a family that has grown from someone else’s gift of Life.  I don’t know who was outside that day at Routh Street abortion clinic praying for Marcella and Dorie Beth, but I do Know those prayers worked and saved our baby’s life.

A Winning Team:
 There are many reasons why pro-lifers are on the "Winning Team" as outlined in a recent article by Father Frank Pavone, national director of Priests for Life.
 The reasons are:
 1. Young people are joining the pro-life side because they realize that the millions who died by abortion would have been their friends, relatives, sisters, brothers, and spouses.
 2. Many women and men around the world are speaking out how they regret having their child killed by abortion.
 3.There is a growing body of medical, psychological, and sociological evidence that abortion harms women, men, and families.
 4. Abortion clinics are closing because of a shortage of abortionists. More and more doctors are avoiding becoming abortionists because of the stigma attached to it, since abortionists are considered the "losers" of the medical profession.
 5. More people are converting from being pro-choice to pro-life than from pro-life to pro-choice.
 6. The promises of abortion supporters that abortion would improve society by reducing child abuse, and strengthening family life have not come true. It has actually made these problems worse.
 7. Pro-abortion political action committees have been losing most of the political races even though they have outspent pro-life groups by wide margins.
 8. Court decisions are finally swinging to the pro-life side as evidenced by the recent upholding of the law against partial birth abortion.
 9. There has been legislative progress to protect the legal status of unborn children, such as the Born Alive Infants Protection Act and the Unborn Victims of Violence Act.
10. The filth in abortion clinics, falsifying of medical records, sexual abuse of women seeking abortions, failing to report statutory rape of minors, and rampant OSHA violations are resulting in clinics being closed down by state authorities.