Then a few hours later called them and said he made a mistake and gave another shot to keep labor from occuring.

Then he reversed himself again and labor commenced and a perfectly healthy 20 week old baby was delivered and all they could do was watch him die.

I throw in the Hippocratic Oath and it originally including the part about not helping a mother to kill her baby and how that has been changed recently.

And then I get around to talking about current legislation and stats about how the majority of abortions are done out of convenience and how we must oppose it.

That works pretty well because people relate best to stories. So, next time have a powerful story to share to use as a way of easing into talking about the evil of abortion.

And that ladies and gentlemen, pretty much says it all. The worth of a life, indeed. I never met the child, and he has touched my life forever!

MK

God bless!

She had no compunction about giving HER opinion and didn’t pause to consider whether or not it might put YOU on the defensive. Her beliefs are contrary to yours and yet she felt she had every right to discuss them with you. I figure she already made the topic up for grabs and that gave you tacit permission to comment on it…if she didn’t want to chance hearing a different opinion she probably shouldn’t have shared such an intimate detail with you. Maybe she feels guilty and is constantly looking for approval for her choice. Otherwise why would she feel compelled to tell a perfect stranger this most private part of her life?

Either way, she brought the subject up, not you. So I say feel free to have your say.

Sunnyday is right. Prayer and speech. Better yet, prayer before you even open your mouth.

MK

What I know is that tact and clarity are a good combination when explaining things, especially things that are bound to be met with opposition and criticism. I’m still mastering it myself — combining gentleness and boldness in speaking up about matters that most people (including myself) would rather not dwell on.

But Mary Kay is right about it being our obligation to spread the Good News. Even in cases when we ended up sounding too harsh or impassioned, we know that we fulfilled our obligation as Christians. =)

I have been thinking about the question you posed…

Let me ask you something.
How would you have responded if the woman you were speaking with had used the word “nigger”, or stolen money out of someones purse while you were watching?

I guess it comes down to, do we speak up when we see something wrong even if it’s embarrassing or do we keep quiet and pray that they will eventually see the light?

I have been in these situations, and while it makes me uncomfortable, I have tried to subtly, (yeah right, me subtle) let them know that I am VERY pro-life and it was their choice whether we dropped the subject or took it head on. It usually gets dropped but at least I don’t have to listen to it and condone it.

Once in the grocery store a woman was talking about how she was a Catholic. We discussed parishes or some such topic. I’m thinking I have found a kindred spirit and in the next two sentences she tells me that she is divorced and has had her tubes tied. (We wonder why Europeans think we’re too outspoken) I don’t remember exactly what I said, but I let her know that this wasn’t exactly church teaching. Never saw her again but hey, at least I tried.

My father was recently pronounced dead, which is really a good trick because my mother was feeding him when she told me this.

A week later some guy from the social security department came to prove he was in fact alive…(He suffers from Terry Schiavo syndrome…I’m thinking of writing a book called “I’m Not Dead Yet, Just Don’t Ask Me to Dance”). While he was there I was changing the frame on a picture of the Madonna of Medjugorge.
This prompted him to tell me that he was a Catholic who went to weekly mass, but hadn’t recieved communion in years because he didn’t want to go to confession. I could have let it go, but we had a 20 minute discussion on confession and why he needed to go. I’ll never know for sure, but I bet he goes before Easter.

My son has a gay friend, who recently began attending mass. All was going well until he emailed me that a priest and some of his “Catholic” friends had told him that it was all right to “live” the gay life. Hmmmm….what do I do now….I emailed him and said I would pray for the soul of that priest (If I didn’t hunt him down and shoot him first) as well as his friends. I told him what I tell my six year old. “You are allowed to believe and say whatever you want. This is after all America. And not I nor anyone else can stop you. But you’re wrong.” I told him a few other things he didn’t want to hear and needless to say I haven’t heard from him since. But what choice did I have?

My point is, can we in good conscience stand outside of abortion clinics and preach, can we stand on the street holding up signs of aborted children, can we write newspapers and do interviews, only to chicken out when it’s one on one? I don’t think so. Because even though these people may think that we are the bearers of bad news, we know that we are the bearers of good news…THE GOOD NEWS. And we are obligated, OBLIGATED, to spread it.

So the next time you are in this situation, smile, and inform the other party that you have a different opinion. Then ask her if she would like to hear it. This will either end the conversation, or open a new one. Either way, you will be able to sleep that night.
MK