"I am extremely grateful to and proud of Cardinal Ouellet for speaking up to defend the lives of those of us conceived in rape," says Deborah Morlani, a wife, mother of five children, pro-life speaker, Catholic writer, registered nurse and grad student working on her Master of Theology degree.
Cardinal Marc Ouellet, the archbishop of Quebec City and primate of Canada, has endured condemnation and vilification from the mainstream press, abortion advocates, and Quebec and federal politicians, after he explained Christian teaching on abortion at a pro-life conference hosted by Quebec Life Coalition this past Sunday.
The cardinal, when asked by reporters about abortion in the case of rape, said that rather than helping the victim of rape, an abortion actually adds a second victim – the unborn child. "The child is not responsible for how he was conceived, it is the aggressor who is responsible. We can see him (the child) as another victim."
Morlani has responded to the backlash against the cardinal, relating how she was conceived when her mother was 16 years old and was sexually assaulted while on a date, and how grateful she is that her mother chose life.
"When she found out she was pregnant there was no doubt in her mind that I was her little baby and she was going to keep me and ensure that no one hurt me like she was hurt. She always felt very protective of my life while I was growing in her womb and throughout my childhood," Deborah explained.
"My Mom made a doll named Suzie for me shortly after I was born and I still have her to this day. This little 12" handmade cotton doll has meant a lot to me over the years; she reminds me that I was a baby worth loving no matter how I was conceived. She reminds me that all babies are worth loving, no exceptions."
Morlani told LifeSiteNews.com that one of her "missions" in life "is to defend the lives of babies, like me, who were conceived in rape and to work toward ending the discrimination and hatred aimed toward us."
She said she questions why "some people hate those of us conceived in rape so much that they would condemn us to death simply because of how we were conceived?
"It is cruel, hateful, and discriminatory. We are not criminals; we are innocent human beings who deserve a chance at life just like everyone else."
Morlani expressed her concern that "some people still cling to the idea that certain human beings' lives are worthless simply because of how they were conceived."
"Talk about taking us back to the middle ages," she remarked. "Such ignorance, hate, and discrimination deserves to be left in the past for good. All innocent human beings - including those of us conceived in rape - deserve to be treated with dignity and respect from the moment of fertilization no matter what their race, religion, gender, or how they were conceived, whether born or preborn."
Morlani said, in reference to the cardinal's remarks, that, "The fact that the Catholic Church defends the lives of all preborn babies, no exceptions, has always made me proud to be Catholic."
Campaign Life Coalition (CLC), Canada's largest pro-life organization, has launched a petition in support of Cardinal Ouellet, in response to the attack by the mainstream press on the Cardinal because of his stand for life.
CLC is encouraging pro-lifers to pass on the link to the petition to as many of their friends and family as possible. The petition allows signers to include a message that they would like to send to the cardinal.
The organization said that it will run the petition until it gathers a sizable number of signatures and messages, which it will then pass on to the cardinal.
Contact: Thaddeus M. Baklinski
Source: LifeSiteNews.com
Publish Date: May 20, 2010
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