Text of Steve Karlen's speech at January 8 Rally

My friends, what a blessing it is to stand united with you this morning to witness against this culture of death in our nation, our state, our city and this very building.

Over the past few months, the Vigil for Life team has asked a lot of you. We’ve asked for you to pray, to fast, to stand witness outside of Planned Parenthood. We’ve asked you to volunteer, to sacrifice your time and give of your talent. And now—when we need you more than ever, when the stakes are higher than ever—you show up in greater numbers than ever to tell UW and Meriter that we do not want this fine medical facility turned into a death camp! Last night as I prepared to speak to you, I realized this is classic preaching to the choir. It’s a work day. It’s a school day. It’s the middle of winter, and you were given less than 48 hours notice that this event would be happening. Yet you’ve come. God Bless you!

As Bishop Morlino might say, I’ve got three points that I’d like to make this morning:

First, I’d like to update you on the latest developments. Exactly two days ago, Matt Bowman of the Alliance Defense Funds raised some serious question for Meriter and UW Officials. Yet this morning, these critical questions have yet to be answered. How will the University abide by a multitude of laws prohibiting public money from financing abortion? In a hastily constructed statement to the media, UW spokesperson Lisa Brunette has said that insurance and patient fees will cover these so-called services. Do not be misled. This institution is a joint venture with the public UW. The abortionist is an employee of that public UW. And her salary is paid by that public UW.

How will the Madison Surgery Center abide by conscience protection laws to ensure that faithful Christians are not coerced into participating even indirectly in killing the pre-born? That same hastily written statement said essentially no more than “Uh, just trust us. Our Lawyer said it was ok.”

In response to allegations that the University could use this facility as a cheap way to harvest nearly-fully formed organs from preborn babies for research purposes, Ms. Brunette said that this could happen quote “only after review by a faculty committee.”

As though that’s supposed to make us feel better about it! I recently learned that there is a market for fetal organs. With a little investigation, you can find price lists for various body parts. Ms. Brunette, allow me to make a suggestion for your price list: Sell every brain, every pancreas, every arm and every other body part for a flat rate of 30 pieces of silver!

If the UW Hospitals and Clinics intended to be forthcoming and transparent as we should expect from a public institution, we’d have answers by now. But still we wait. Shame on you UW, and shame on you Meriter!

Secondly, I ask you to continue this fight with me, wherever it will take us. When this fight for the pre-born goes to the Capitol, let us go there. When this fight goes to the courts, let us go there. When this fight goes to this facility and to Planned Parenthood, let us go there. When it comes to our neighborhoods, our workplaces, even our own families, let us go there.

But wherever this battle for souls goes, let us go first to our knees.

Because it is only with the armor of God, as St. Paul says, that we have the strength and courage to take a stand for life.

Ephesians 6: “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground.”

My friends, that day of evil has arrived. So let us petition our God and Savior for the spiritual fortitude to reach out to the unwed mother and the child within her, to give the extra dollar, to spend an extra half hour in prayer. Millions of tiny little boys and girls depend on our actions, but perish at our inaction. So let us receive His grace to stand firm against the gates of hell that one day we may be welcomed in at the Gates of Heaven.

Third, I seek to encourage you. Right now, we are an angry people. But we are first and foremost a joyful people. Our victory is and has been in hand for nearly 2,000 years. Alleluia!

We are a people of faith, of hope, and of love. So let us stand witness today to the love we have for our God, for each other, for the pre-born babies, for the parents facing crisis pregnancies, for the post-abortive, and in a very special way for abortionists like Dennis Christiansen and Caryn Dutton.

Our Lord told us “Do not fear those who kill the body but are unable to kill the soul; but rather fear him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.”

Indeed, these abortionists have become very skilled at destroying the body. They’ve made careers of it. But in doing so, they’ve caused incredible damage to their own souls and the souls of their victims. So let us always pray for their conversion in love and charity.

Regardless of what decisions are made here at this facility, let us remain hopeful. It may be easy to get discouraged by recent events, but such trials are a part of every movement for justice in the world.

This fight over abortion is THE civil rights battle of our generation. Yet history is on our side. We know that one day abortion will be in children’s textbooks alongside racism and slavery, genocide and apartheid.

So take heart. For one shining day, whether in this life or the next, abortion will be merely another historical relic of man’s shocking capacity for cruelty toward his fellow man. And on that day, we will rest peacefully knowing that we were the Lord’s humble instruments who ran the good race and fought the good fight.

I close today with words of encouragement from Teresa of Avila:

Let nothing disturb you
Let nothing frighten you
All things pass away
God never changes
Patience obtains all things.
He who has GodFinds he lacks nothing
God alone suffices.

Praise be to God the Father. Praise be to Jesus Christ the Risen Lord. Praise be to the Holy Spirit in whom and through whom all our good deeds are done. Thank you and God bless you.

BREAKING NEWS: Vigil for Life Action Alert for Thursday, January 8 at 8 a.m.

Madison Vigil for Life News Release
January 6, 2009—For Immediate Release
Contact Vigil for Life Communications: 608-445-2063

Today we were saddened to learn of secret plans to perform late-term abortions at the Madison Surgery Center, a clinic jointly operated by the University of Wisconsin Hospitals and Clinics and Meriter Hospital.

Pro-lifers across Wisconsin are invited to help stop this transformation of a legitimate health facility into a death camp. Vigil for Life will meet outside the Madison Surgery Center (1 S. Park Street, Madison, WI 53715) at 8:00 a.m. this Thursday, January 8 for a demonstration against these grisly plans. Together, we will stand and declare that we will not accept the destruction of pre-born life.

The demonstration is scheduled to last an hour, but participants are invited to stand witness and pray as long as they would like.

According to the Alliance Defense Fund, the Madison Surgery Center plan would likely illegally force unwilling employees to participate in the killing and dismembering of pre-born babies. Additionally troubling is UWHC researchers’ history of experimenting on body parts harvested from second-trimester abortions performed nearby.

Interestingly, the revelation of these secret plans comes on Epiphany, the Christian holiday commemorating the Wise Men’s visit to the infant Jesus. Shortly after the Wise Men’s visit, King Herod began his Slaughter of the Innocents, killing all of the babies in Bethlehem.

Here are three other ways pro-lifers can help stop this latest development in the modern-day slaughter of innocents:

Pray! Please pray regularly for a quick end to these plans and an end to all abortion.
Spread the word. Please share this information with all your pro-life friends, family and acquaintances from around the state.

Make your voice heard! We urge you to call the officials behind these plans:

Donna Katen-Bahensky, President and CEO of UW Hospital and Clinics
608-263-6400

Jeffrey Grossman, M.D., President and CEO of the UW Medical Foundation
608-608-263-7013

James L. Woodward, President and CEO of Meriter Hospital
608-417-6000

Please contact Steve Karlen at 608-445-2063 with any questions.

Merry Christmas, everybody! As we celebrate the birth of Christ and another year winds down, we'd like to take this moment to thank you for your wonderful service to our Lord and to the least of His people: the pre-born babies. We have asked a lot of you these last few months, and you've answered the call every time.

From 40 Days for life to rallies, to special events, to our continuing presence outside of Planned Parenthood, you have sacrified your time, talent, and energy to prevent the sacrifice of babies. It has been an absolute blessing for us to be able to serve with such faithful, committed people as yourselves. We pray for you and for your families and ask that you continue to stand and kneel with us in the year ahead. God bless you! That said, there is a lot of exciting pro-life news in the Madison area this month. Please read on for all the details, including some major BREAKING NEWS!


BREAKING NEWS
A MAJOR pro-life event will be held around the downtown area on Thursday, January 8 at 8:00 a.m. Unfortunately, at this time we are not able to disclose exactly what and where this event will be, but please trust us: It will be crucial to the pro-life movement in Madison.

We will be able to deliver all the details on Tuesday in a special Vigil for Life email. Until then, we ask that if you are able, please block off the 8:00 a.m. hour to attend this event. Certainly, many of you will be working or otherwise engaged. If this is the case, please let your pro-life friends and family members know. And please pray for the success of the event. If you are scheduled to pray outside Planned Parenthood on Thursdays per the continuing presence at the East Side facility, we invite you to feel free to attend this event in lieu of your scheduled hours.

Again, we will provide more information on this as soon as we are able.

Vigil for Life Expands Presence Outside Planned Parenthood
Our prayerful presence changes hearts and minds through the Holy Spirit. This knowledge challenges us to continue our loving witness outside of Planned Parenthood. We need your help to stand outside in the cold when the clinic is open and especially when abortions are happening. We need your weekly, monthly or one-time commitment to spend an hour in prayerful vigil on Thursdays and Fridays, 7AM-6PM. Our goal is not constant, 24-hour vigil but a year-round commitment to prayerful presence. Please respond to this e-mail with the commitment you can make. As you know, each day, thousands of unborn babies die. So, each day, you and I have the opportunity to do something about it. We kicked off these Thursday and Friday vigils beginning Thursday, December 4, 2008 in conjunction with our anticipation of the Incarnation of Jesus as a helpless child on Christmas morning. Now that we have celebrated the birth of Christ, we seek to continue defending children from this modern day slaughter of the innocents.

Saturday, January 3 Guest Speaker: Safe Place for Newborns' Terry Walsh
As the economy worsens, more women will feel the strain of an unplanned pregnancy. We really need to get the word out more that there is a last safety-net option -- not a quick abortion. Terry Walsh of Safe Place for Newborns joins us to share how we can help mothers choose life in tough financial times. See her speak at 9:00 am at Holy Redeemer, 120 W. Johnson.

Our Lady of Hope Clinic to Bring Pro-Life Family Practice to Madison
Our Lady of Hope Clinic, a 100 percent pro-life family practice clinic, will open its doors in Madison in April. Dr. Michael Kloess and Dr. Anne Johnson will provide primary care to benefactors and uninsured people in the Madison community. However, there is still a great need for pro-life families and individuals to become benefactors, donors, promoters, or to regularly offer prayers. Small group informational meetings are currently being held with free snacks and beverages. Please contact Steve Karlen by phone, 608-445-2063, or by e-mail sjkarlen@ourladyofhopeclinic.com. You may also visit the Web Site, www.ourladyofhopeclinic.org. You are also invited to attend the following scheduled presentations:

-Sunday, January 4, 2009, 9:30 a.m. (Following the 8:30 Mass) at St. James Parish (downstairs)1128 St. James Court, Madison, WI 53715-Tuesday, January 13, 2009, 7:00 p.m. at Schoenstatt5901 Cottage Grove Road, Madison, WI 53718
-Sunday, January 18, 2009, 8:30 a.m. (following the 7:30 Mass) at Sacred Hearts Parish
221 Columbus Street - Sun Prairie, WI 53590
-Sunday, January 18, 2009, 11:30 a.m. (following the 10:30 Mass) at St. Joseph Parish
590 S. Saint Joseph Circle - Edgerton, WI 53534

Silent No More Wisconsin: Post-Abortive Women to Deliver Testimonies at Capitol
Testimonies of mothers and fathers that have lost their children to the choice of abortion. Come, listen and support our precious brothers and sisters giving their personal stories. Wednesday, January 28, 2009, 12:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. www.silentnomoreawareness.org

Care Net Seeks Male Mentors for Men Facing Crisis Pregnancies
While a great deal of time, effort and attention is rightly given to women facing crisis pregnancies, sometimes men can be forgotten. That's why Care Net seeks volunteers for their man-to-man ministry. It is a commitment that involves being trained in meeting men who are accompanying their pregnant partners/spouses to the Elizabeth House and assisting them in thinking through their situation and praying that they see choosing life as a beautiful option. For more information on volunteering for this life-affirming project, contact Cassie Mott at cassiem@carenetdane.org.

All men who are governed by Christian charity and love, willing to go through some formal training at Care Net, and have some aptitude for relating to men, are encouraged to apply.

Men of Christ Conference, Jan 10, 2009
www.MenofChrist.net

YOUTH 2000 Mar 20-22, 2009
A high school and young adult retreat, led by the Franciscan Friars and Sisters of the Renewal and the Community of St. John, will take place at the Bishop O'Connor Catholic Pastoral Center. More info: www.madisondiocese.org:80/Ministry/EvangelizationandCatechesis/YouthMinistry/Youth2000/tabid/1129/Default.aspx

Respect Life Retreat: Mar 27-28, 2009 (Date change)
Fr. Samuel Martin of the Diocese of LaCrosse will be our retreat master during our Lenten Journey focusing our attention to how we can continue to protect the innocent (conception to natural death), building a Culture of Life! The flyer will be posted on our new upcoming website. Please ask for more details.

To have your event or announcement listed in our monthly email, contact Steve and Laura Karlen at vigilforlife@gmail.com.

A Light in the Darkness

Uraguay's president has just shocked the South American country by vetoing a bill that would liberalize abortion law. Here's his statement:

There is a consensus that abortion is a social evil which must be avoided. Nonetheless, in those countries where abortion has been liberalised, it has increased. In the United States, in the first ten years, they tripled, and the figure has been maintained. It has become customary. The same thing happened in Spain.

Laws cannot ignore the reality of the existence of human life in its gestational stage, just as science reveals it. Biology has evolved greatly. Revolutionary discoveries, such as IVF or sequencing the human genome, show that from the moment of conception there is a new human life, a new being. So much so, that in modern legal systems, including our own, DNA has become the acid test of determining the identity of persons, independent of their age, even if the body is destroyed, or when practically nothing is left of the human being, and even after a long time. The true degree of civilisation of a nation is measured by how the neediest are protected.

Therefore we must protect the weakest amongst us. Because the criterion is not the value of the subject with respect to how others respond to him, or his usefulness, but the value which exists due to his mere existence…

Pro-Life Health Care coming to Madison

Here's the latest from Our Lady of Hope Clinic:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

CONTACT: Steve Karlen
Our Lady of Hope Clinic Inc.
608-445-2063
sjkarlen@ourladyofhopeclinic.com
http://www.ourladyofhopeclinic.org/

Our Lady of Hope Clinic Engages Development Consultant

Madison, WI, Nov. 19, 2008. Our Lady of Hope Clinic has recruited the services of development consultant Steve Karlen.

Karlen has previously worked in medical development in Chicago, and has been active in pro-life work in Madison. He will promote the Our Lady of Hope Clinic and secure benefactors as the clinic prepares to open in April 2009.

Our Lady of Hope Clinic is a non-profit, pro-life family medicine clinic founded with a mission of caring for the needy, supporting marital chastity, encouraging the use of Natural Family Planning and providing compassionate hospice care at the end of natural life. Upon opening, the clinic will provide free outpatient services to the uninsured, as well as to those who support the clinic as benefactors.

The clinic services will be funded by benefactors who support the Our Lady of Hope Clinic with an annual contribution. In exchange for their support, benefactors receive top-quality, personalized Catholic health care from their private physician at the clinic.

For additional information on becoming a benefactor or making a tax-deductible donation to Our Lady of Hope Clinic, contact Steve Karlen at sjkarlen@ourladyofhopeclinic.com or 608-445-2063 or visit ourladyofhopeclinic.org.

--END--

The Nightmare: An Abortion Testimony

By Julie Worzella

The nightmare was the same: holding a lifeless baby boy, burned, chest and head sunk in, about 10 inches long. Each time I woke up only to find that it was not just a nightmare but a replay of what had happened months earlier.

I’m Julie Worzella a co-founder and Executive Director of Destiny Point Women’s Restoration Home. This is a part my story that helps to drive a passion within me to see hurting women in Wisconsin not only become survivors but overcomers and conquerors of their purpose, plans, dreams and visions that were instilled within them long before they were even born. A passion to see “hope” restored for their lives and the lives of their children and families.

I received a call about a person close to me; “Kari” was in the hospital. The baby had a defect, and would not live long after he was born. I considered myself pro-life, but wasn’t sure whether it was better for the baby to terminate the pregnancy or for him to die soon after. During the hour and a half ride to the hospital, I found myself crying and praying. Praying the best I knew how (I did not know the Lord very well). Praying for “Kari”, for the baby, and for myself.

When I got there I found “Kari”, alone, having strong aggressive contractions. Several hours ago they injected her with a strong saline solution to kill the baby and then they induced labor. They had to induce her a second time because her body was not ready to give up that baby. After “Kari” had become totally exhausted from hours of violent contractions they sedated her. When she awoke, I was hoping I would hear a little cry from that little boy, and if he was to die after he was born, hoping to hold him until that time would come.

But my hopes disappeared when “Kari” came out of the bathroom; she said the baby was in the toilet. Nothing in my life has prepared me for what I would see that day. I ran in and scooped him out and wrapped his lifeless body in a towel. Even though he was only 16 weeks old, he had everything that a full term baby had right down to his eyelashes and fingernails. As the doctor had suspected some of his internal organs were growing outside his body.

Among the perfect features on a newborn baby was the destruction of the “termination.” His skin was burnt and his chest and head were sunk in. I found out later through research that this deadly mixture of saline solution and the violent contractions was guaranteed to accomplish the results of an abortion. The saline solution burns the baby inside and out, while the violent contractions crush the soft bone of the head and ribcage. Even though it was legal and was described “the best thing to do,” that little guy died a violent death, and in turn a part of “Kari” died that day. And she has not yet recovered.

“Kari” was abused as a child and struggled with her own self-worth, but since the abortion, she has become addicted to alcohol, committed adultery, and recently divorced. She is searching to fill a void in her life and a way to ease the pain. Hope was lost for that child and in turn hope for her own future. It took me years of pain and questioning the Lord, “Why was I there Lord, even though I helped “Kari” through the labor, the baby died, and died a violent death, and “Kari’s” pain was steadily getting worse? What good could possibly come from this?”

The pain of scooping my own 12 week old son out of the toilet after I had miscarried 13 years earlier had come back to mix with the pain of “Kari’s” child. And to top it off, approximately three months after abortion, a photograph of Samuel Armas came out. A surgeon was performing surgery on Samuel while he was still in the uterus! Little Samuel's hand reached out of the uterus and grabbed the surgeon’s finger! Praise God for little Samuel, but too late for “Kari’s” baby. BUT GOD! Yes but God will make all things work together for good….

It is not my heart to condemn anyone that has or may terminate her pregnancy. These women (and men) are hurting enough. And neither does God wish to condemn them. He extends His grace, mercy and forgiveness for our mistakes, failures and sin through His son Jesus for those who believe (Romans 4:25).

What the Lord wants is for us is to walk with Him, see what He sees, rejoice when He rejoices, and weep when He weeps. “Kari’s” baby boy did not die in vain. For the Lord has not only given me a passion to help women through their traumas such as abortion, addiction and abuse, but He also given me a voice to help others see what God sees everyday, and in some small way feel a part of the pain he must feel witnessing 4,000 violent abortions a day, most preformed out of convenience or as a form of birth control. All done because a loss of hope for that child’s future. Mankind is the Lord’s precious creation. He formed us and blew His Breath into us (Genesis 2:7) and made us in His image (Genesis 1:26).

Even those babies with defects, are created by Him. They are not a mistake. Nothing else that He has ever created received this kind of love and care, not His plants or animals. God’s Word said that He does not change. He is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow (Hebrews 13:8). Human life, babies, adults, elderly, you and I are still as precious to Him today as it was when He first created Adam and Eve.

We have been bombarded with campaign ads, promises and sometimes misleading information. Our responsibility as Christians and Catholics is to search out the truth and the candidate’s past voting records on Legislation and bills cannot tell a lie. One of the candidates was the only member of the Senate who voted three times against legislation--that would provide medical care to a baby surviving an abortion which puts him to the left of all Senators. His opposition to banning partial-birth abortion in which the baby is delivered all the way except for the head and then killed, places him 17 out of 47 Democratic Senators.

At July 2007’s Planned Parenthood conference, he promised: "The first thing I will do as President is sign the Freedom of Choice Act." This law, if passed and signed, will strike down every current restriction on abortion within all 50 states including parental notification and restrictions on Partial Birth Abortion. Despite the downplaying of the abortion issue, most Americans want restrictions on abortion and the one candidate’s 100% pro-abortion voting record goes against our beliefs.

Women like “Kari” are waiting for our help. If you find it in your heart to give please send it to 6983 Grotto Ave, Rudolph WI 54475. Our website is www.destinypoint.org. God Bless You!

Forty Days for Life Madison Election Resource Center

Dear Friends,

It is the expressed policy of 40 Days for Life Madison not to endorse any political candidates. Our aim is to end abortion through peaceful prayer.

Yet we cannot close our eyes to political and social evils that arise in the world. And, as we've mentioned before, one of the nominees for president intends to advance policies so wicked that we cannot remain silent. These proposals would cause unimaginable harm to our efforts to promote a respect for life and a respect for family.

We do not suggest any particular candidate for any office. But we do feel that you should know
some crucial facts before casting your ballot.

God Bless,
The 40 Days for Life Madison Team

The Freedom of Choice Act

Madison Catholic Herald Column

The Born Alive Infant Protection Act

Bella Star Eduardo Verástegui's election video (Graphic)



A touching video on the Born Alive Infant Protection Act (Graphic):

Make photo slide shows at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Abortion Survivor Gianna Jessen's Born Alive Infant Protection Act Video:



Gianna Jessen Video 2



Never Find Out video: