Given the pro-life stance of King Baudouin I,
this story about his nephew, Prince Philippe, the current heir to the Belgian throne, is particularly interesting:
"On the morning of Saturday March 8 [2008], about 15 people, including Sarah Schaper, were praying in front of the Planned Parenthood on E. Madison St. in Seattle. Some of those praying held signs which said, 'God Loves You and Your Baby”, 'Stop Abortion', and 'I Regret My Abortion.' One sign was a picture of Our Lady of Guadalupe.
A Yellow Cab stopped in front of the vigil attendees. A lady got out of the back seat. She asked for permission to take Sarah’s photo. Two men got out of the cab and photographed others in the group.
The lady told Sarah, 'We have a prince.' Prince Philippe, the crown prince of Belgium, introduced himself, took a photo of Sarah and said, “God bless you.”
May God bless Prince Philippe and his family!"
8 comments:
Another reason why Philippe is my favorite current royal heir. Looking at the linked article though, while I admire their zeal in wishing the Prince to take the pro-life message to Europe and the EU, I think they might have an exaggerated idea of the influence of royals these days.
Btw, one of the prompting for my recent post on the late King was a report on a pro-life group from America that went to Belgium. They mentioned praying to King Baudouin and how, unfortunately, aside from those who were good enough to take them in, hardly anyone seemed interested in their message.
Maybe it's an American tendency to overestimate the influence of royals? It seems that some in the US, who are negative about monarchy, tend to assume that kings, by nature, are all-powerful tramplers upon democracy, that having a monarchy is somehow incompatible with a truly free society. Here, perhaps we see the inverse problem- overestimating the influence of royals in a positive direction.
I've also heard discouraging things about the pro-life issue in Belgium. I heard of an American group that went over there, and had very little luck trying to persuade the locals of the pro-life message. Alot of Belgians seemed to have the idea that one's humanity and worthiness of protection by the law depended on one's "usefulness to society", and that the unborn did not fit the bill, so to speak, in this regard. Fortunately, however, there were also at least a few who were already pro-life and very enthusiastic in the cause.
What a nice story! Thank you, Matterhorn.
I think pro-life people ought to learn about the benefits of Planned Parenthood and all the good they do.
Children need to be valued once they are BORN. Their mothers need to be too.
Also, this story seems suspicious, why would Phillipe want his picture taken with a zealot?
Perhaps Philippe doesn't mind going on record for his pro-life views; his uncle Baudouin certainly didn't mind making a public stand. And Philippe is well known anyway to be a socially conservative person. Also, the story doesn't actually say he had his picture taken *with* Sarah, only that he took a picture of her.
Of course mothers should be valued, but why do you think a child should only be valued once he/she is born?
I don't think a child should be only valued once he/she is born.
But I've seen in too many cases the hypocrisy of those who seem to forget about the needs of children once they are born.
People need family planning options to make abortion a rarity. That's why I think it's short-sighted for somebody to picket Planned Parenthood.
I am sorry, I misunderstood you. Certainly, every effort needs to be made to help women and families in crisis situations, so that women do not feel pressured by circumstances into having abortions and so that children are able to grow up in a healthy and happy environment. But I do think that trying to ensure that children at least get a chance to be born is a good start, not only for the children but also for the mothers. I've heard of many women who bitterly regretted their abortions, but never heard of a woman who regretted having her baby. Abortion is a tragedy for all those involved.
Also, there are natural methods of family planning, which do not involve the ethical problems and health risks posed by the artificial methods promoted by PP. Many contraceptive methods can actually cause very early abortions, by preventing an embryo from implanting in the womb, although people are often not aware of this possibility.
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