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| On
April 24, 1996, Sarah Smith gave the following
speech at an international pro-life conference
in Rome. The conference was called, "A Congress
for Life." It was organized to celebrate the first
anniversary of Pope John Paul II's encyclical
letter Evangelium Vitae - The Gospel of Life.
The conference was held at the Legionaries of
Christ seminary in Rome and was attended by approximately
500 men and women including; pro-life leaders,
political leaders, media representatives, priests
and seminarians. Following is the speech given
by Sarah Smith: |
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| "My
name is Sarah Smith and I wish to thank you all,
your eminencies, and all of the wonderful Legionaries
of Christ for allowing us to be with you today.
I did not know of the abortion until I was 12
years old. I grew up feeling that I was the same
as my friends, except for having numerous surgeries
and physical complications. The only difference
I felt was an incredible loneliness and a knowledge
that something was missing. I never felt whole.
I battled with severe depression and found myself
dying of anorexia nervosa at age 12, when my mother
knew it was time to tell me the truth. |
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| She
sat next to me and took my hand and looked me
in the eyes and said, "Sarah, you are a twin.
I aborted your twin brother and tried to abort
you. Please know I did not know what I was doing
and I pray someday you are able to forgive me.
I love you and need you to know that you are a
welcome part of our family." |
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At
that moment I knew what I had been missing all
my life and that I was called to something much
greater than I had knowledge of. Immediately
I felt the overwhelming pain of the knowledge
that I should be dead. As I stand before you
today I am painfully aware that this is only
possible because my twin brother took a scalpel
for me, and I stand in his place and memory,
giving him honor and a face.
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We
have become bombarded with statistics in our
fight for life. Thirty-two million babies are
killed in the United States alone. Yet every
one had a face, a life, a creator who loved
them and created them in His image. As you look
at me today, you realize that I am no different
than you, yet I stand before you today a representative
of the dead -- a representative of the innocent
lives who today may lose their lives. Who will
speak for them?
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| The
words of Christ are clear - "What you have done
to the least of these you have done unto me."
You and I are called and commissioned to care
for these little ones just as we would care for
Jesus Himself. To walk away and say this is not
my problem is to walk away from Jesus Himself.
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| Many
people upon finding out about the abortion ask
me how did I feel, or to what can I compare this
to. The only thing I can compare my life to is
that of an innocent Jew being made to walk down
the streets of Germany naked in front of many
people and into a room he knows he will never
come out of. In my case, unfortunately, the people
leading me into that room are my mother and father.
Yet the people looking on at the sidelines are
people like you. And I ask you today, will you
speak up or will you silently look away as another
person who needs your help is led to their death?
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| I
have forgiven my parents long ago as I remember
the words Jesus spoke as he hung bleeding and
bruised from the cross, "Forgive them Father for
they know not what they do." His words pertain
to the sins of abortion. Most men and women who
involve themselves with abortion don't know what
they're doing, as were my parents. |
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| Many
women who demand the right to an abortion say,
"It's my body, it's my choice." Let me make one
thing very clear to you today - my mother's choice
was my death sentence. It is not only a woman's
body we are discussing in an abortion. It is the
entire flesh and blood of someone just like me.
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| Then
we have the issue of medical personnel stating
it is just tissue. For anyone who has ever studied
biology, you know better. Before any woman even
knows she is pregnant her child already has a
beating heart at 20 days. Show me one piece of
tissue or cancer you believe must be cut out with
a beating heart. Show me a liver or kidney that
has it's own blood type. That child is perfect
from it's first day. All it needs is time, oxygen
and nutrition. |
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| Another
startling fact is that in medical journals it
states the fetus is capable of feeling pain at
8 weeks of gestation. In America, the vast majority
of abortions are performed between 10 to 12 weeks,
well after the child can feel the entire procedure.
So don't tell me abortion is a simple procedure
that expels a piece of tissue and doesn't hurt
anybody. I was there. I was less then an inch
away from my innocent twin brother when his body
was ripped apart, and he felt the entire thing.
We were 14 to 16 weeks along in the second trimester.
That was how my life was meant to end. |
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| Yet
I was spared to stand before you today and tell
you on behalf of those who have no voice that
if you remain silent, in my country alone a person
just like you and me will die every 20 seconds
of every day. We have been commissioned by Jesus
to speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves
and we have also been commissioned by the Holy
Father, who I had the privilege of meeting a few
hours ago. |
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| As
I told him my story he looked at me so intensely
as if to say, "Speak the message! Proclaim the
Truth!" And then he kissed me and gave me a blessing
to go and speak about life. And that is what he
says to all of you as he blesses and kisses us
with his Encyclical. Preach the gospel - the good
news of life. What is the greatest gift of all?
When Jesus outstretched His arms and said, "This
is my body given up for you". Imagine if Jesus
had been selfish with His body and not given so
freely of His life to you and me. Where would
we be today? We would be nothing. The gift of
a mother's body for 9 months of her life is one
of the most beautiful gifts of all time. We must
fight to protect it. |
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| As
I stand here alone knowing I have my brother as
a precious guardian angel who is with me always,
I know my life is a gift. And today I wish to
give it back to you, the people and to the church,
as a symbol of the consuming power of God's redemption
and of His life and truth. You and I as a church
represent life, and together we will extend that
life into a hurting and dying world. We will give
them the truth of life and we shall never be silent.
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| I
love you and God bless you." |
