Wednesday, February 25, 2009

Red Envelope project - Please be a part of it!

Stole this from Tammy over at Time Flies - and absolutely need to be a part of it!

Get a red envelope. (You can buy them at Kinkos, or at party supply stores.)
On the front, address it to:

President Barack Obama
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Ave NW
Washington , D.C. 20500

On the back, write the following message:

“This envelope represents one child who died because of an abortion.It is empty because the life that was taken is now unable to be a part of our world.”

We will mail these on March 31st, 2009.

I wish we could send 50 million red envelopes, one for every child who died [in the U.S.] before having a chance to live. It may seem that those who believe abortion is wrong are in a minority. It may seem like we have no voice and it's shameful to even bring it up. Let us show our President and the world that the voices of those of us who do not believe abortion is acceptable are not silent and must be heard. Together we can change the heart of The President and save the lives of millions of children.

Please forward or link to or copy this post to your own blog.

9 comments:

Denise @ Sunflowers, Chocolate and Little Boys said...

Im with you! I posted about this yesterday. Such a great idea!

Jen said...

Yep! I'm in too! I linked to this on my blog! It's a GREAT cause.

tammy said...

Thanks for posting this!

TheHurt said...

Right. I've just stumbled here and I've been reading your stuff, and I like it. But.. I believe in choice. I used to think I could never get rid of a peanut-sized lump that would become a child, that I could never have an abortion. Until.

I would have a 5-year old now. It'd be here where I am single and not ready to be a mother. It'd be here where I don't have a home of my own and I cannot afford to even feed myself. It'd be here where I could not possibly provide it a good life, and be a good mother to it. It would be here and I'd look into its eyes and not see myself in them. It would be here and every time it would walk past, I'd be reminded of that one night. It'd be a reminder of someone taking my freedom, someone robbing me of the last bit of innocence I had in me. It'd be here just because someone decided that I would be a victim.

We all know that anti-abortionists exist. We've seen the rallies and signs and shout-outs. There are countries where women have to go on boats to have abortions in not-so-sanitary conditions because they're afraid of getting attacked in their own homeland. Why are you doing the red envelope day? To get yourself heard? To change legislation? To change people's minds?

In the end, I believe that everybody has their own opinion. I don't even know why I'm commenting here, maybe it's just to give you my side of the story. I believe in equal rights and choice. Democracy, freedom and peace. Sometimes we're just in a situation where certain things cannot be helped...

Luv Luv

xx

mCat said...

Salean,
THANK YOU for stopping by and leaving your comment! I totally respect the difference of opinions and think that's what makes the world go 'round. And your voice will certainly add some diversity to the majority of folks who are kind enough to read my blog.
I don't know your background or your situation, and can't even suppose to understand what it would be like to be in your shoes. I feel some pain in your words, and believe me, you'll get nothing but love here from the M-cat.
That being said, let me give you some background....my daughter-in-law got pregnant the first time with my son. She freaked out, even though we offered her help, and lied to us. She said she had a miscarriage and then later when confronted admitted she had an abortion. My heart was absolutely BROKEN! I would have taken that child in a heartbeat! I would have PAID her money to have that baby, I would have raised him/her and could have provided a stable, loving, home with supportive grandparents, uncles and extended family. I obviously still struggle with her choice. But it was HER choice. What no one really ever seems to think about is, what rights does the father of the fetus have? My son WANTED that baby. He would have taken him/her. But he has NO VOICE when it comes to this. Interesting that it takes two people to create the life, but only one of them gets the ultimate decision.

What do you know? The very next possible month, she gets pregnant AGAIN with my son.(Admittedly, not the brightest crayons in the box) Instead this time they choose to get married and keep the baby. Hmmmmm, all is well? NOT ON YOUR LIFE!!! Both are drug/alcohol users and lead dangerous lifetstyles. Thank heavens I get to have the grandbaby on many, many days. Do I think she would have been better off to have an abortion the second time? Hell no! I can't imagine life without our chunch. Her life right now is not ideal, but she is loved, safe, growing and maturing right on schedule. To their credit her parents try as hard as they are capable of trying to be good parents.
Now in all honesty and fairness and to complete the whole picture, adoption was going to be their first choice. She knew she wouldn't abort again, but they also knew that being as young as they were, that the odds of their marriage and family life being successful were definitely not in their favor. Instead, we again stepped in, offered help financially and emotionally. I have even put the offer on the table that if at any time, she feels like she just can't do it anymore, I will take the baby and raise her. They got married and tried to make things work.
No go. So life is rocky for all three of them right now, BUT, chunch is a happy, bright, and well adjusted two year old (he-he, if there is such a thing as a well-adjusted two year old).

With this part of my history, perhaps you can understand MY choice for the red envelope. Do I think it will make a difference? Honestly not, but I do get to speak. And that is what this country, our freedoms and our democracy are all about! You get to have your say, I get to have mine, and at the end of the day we can all still get along with different opinions. For the record, while I am fundamentally opposed to abortion, I absolutley understand some situations in which it is appropriate. And I would never be the one to tell someone else when I think it is appropriate or not, that would be up to the individual.

Whew long comment, and I sure hope you make it back to read it.
Know that there is nothing but love from "That's what she said"

Hope you'll come back again!

xoxoxxo
M-Cat

TheHurt said...

Haha, no worries, you're on my G-Reader.. :D

I've seen the Red Envelope on several blogs tonight. And whereas some posts are understanding and such like, most of them unfortunately come across as mean and harsh, saying that abortion is completely wrong and people who do it are basically the scum of the Earth. (for the record, I never classified you in this category)

What your D-I-L did was wrong; lying and taking your son's rights away. There should at least have been a discussion. But in the end, it's the girl who carries the baby and bonds with the baby. And the second kid? (chunch, what the heck? :D have you checked the urban dictionary for that, or is it on purpose? LoL) Not everybody has the blessing of supporting parents. And I feel quite sorry for kids born in situations where there's alcohol and substance abuse, there's going to be more sadness and worry in a kid's life, and today's kids have to go through so much.

In the end, one can't be 100% sure about where they stand before that situation is there, when it's staring you straight in the face. And I'm just so opposed to this red envelope thing because most people haven't been there, don't know what it's like and don't know the pain involved.

Luv Luv

xx

Martha H. said...

All I have to say is that if my mom had chosen to have an abortion 41 years ago and not give an "unwanted" baby up for adoption, we wouldn't have Jeff in our lives now. And he is awesome!

It is hard to say how you will react when faced with this situation. I don't believe that anyone really and truly knows.

I don't begrudge anyone who chooses to abort rather than have the baby and give it up. All I know is that I am so happy that my brother Jeff found our mom last year and is now a wonderful part of our lives.

That's not to say that all adoption stories end so happily. I know that for a fact, but am grateful for my family's situation.

Anonymous said...

What an awesome blog where you can and voice your opinion and not be judged. How rare is that today?

I think you're wonderful chica!

I have a dear dear friend who chose to have an abortion with her first pregnancy, I love her for her honesty to me (that's not something easily told to just anyone)

We don't have the right to judge anyone or their belief's. It is our responsiblity to live our beliefs not just talk them (hence the red envelope).

I think that whatever belief you hold, it should be prayerfully considered.

big squeezes girls

foster mom said...

I am a social worker for the state. I think it is good to support something that you believe in. I work with children that have been sexually molested by their father and become pregnant with their father’s child. I have dealt with girls who have been impregnated by their father and try to give themselves abortion due to they do not want to have a child that reminds them everyday of the bad things their father did to them or explain to their child that they are a product of their father molesting them. I ask you to make a change and ask people to please start adopting children who were not aborted that are in the system or become a foster parent before we go and ask the president to stop abortions. Now I am not saying that abortions are right but I do not want women out their putting themselves in harm or endangering themselves by trying to give themselves abortions. I pray to god that people will also make a stand and start adopting children who were not aborted and are now in state custody. There is no cost and the state pays for the adoption. Or at least become a foster parent to the children who were not aborted. We keep pushing to stop abortions but those same people are not adopting or fostering the children who were not aborted. When you send that red letter to the president, just keep in mind of all the children who were not aborted and are waiting to have a parent adopt them or be a foster parent to them. Just something to keep in mind.