09/18/2020
Hero of the Week: Louise Summerhill (died 1991)
Prior to Mass many years ago, I was told that the founder of Birthright International was to be present in the congregation. I got nervous, fearing my stupidity would soon be known internationally. I was much relieved, however, when I met Mrs. Louise Summerhill. She looked like a sweet grandma type who would slip you the fourth cookie after your mom had said no more!
In 1968 this mother of seven with little money and a tiny office began an organization with the simple premise that every baby has a right to be born and every woman has a right to give birth. Her organization would be non-moralistic, non-judgemental, non-picketing, non-lobbying, but would operate with lots of love and lots of common sense. Louise said she had no personal experience of an unplanned pregnancy but, “I think I know what pain and suffering, heartbreak and despair are" (and) "I do know fears of the future.”
Her dream and compassion have blossomed into an international organization. I was ordained the year of the unfortunate Roe v. Wade decision and always wanted to do something to heal the wounds begun by that event. It occurred to me that pro-life groups often concentrated only on the child, and pro-choice groups only on the women. Birthright had a love for both. Its goal has been "to serve the women and by serving the women, to save the baby."
I often attended Birthright conventions and there were present hundreds of loving grandmas who wanted to help both mother and child. Terry Weaver was the local patron saint of Birthright in Atlanta for 45 years. Louise would say it would all be worthwhile if only one woman had been served and one baby born, but there have been millions!! She would say you never know if you saved a president, a prime minister, a bank executive, or a plumber!
For those of us who find ourselves overwhelmed by the political correctness of abortion and infanticide, it is important to remember the words and examples of Saint Maximilian Kolbe. In the death camps, there was little hope of the victory of good over evil, but his advice to the inmates was to respond to the brutality of the guards with "love, the only creative response.”
Zeal for the unborn must be tempered with active love for those in crisis pregnancies. In Matthew 25 Jesus connects the very salvation of our souls by how we treat the least among us. He showed that the least among us are also the unborn, as He Himself became a zygote, an embryo, a fetus for our sake. However, Mary was an u***d mother and Joseph's pain and confusion over the pregnancy remind us that the least among us include those in crisis pregnancies. Birthright does not have the power and money of Planned Parenthood, but thanks to Louise Summerhill's vision, it does have active love and compassion for both mother and child.
Birthright International:
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.birthright.org
Phone: 416-469-4789 -- or even our 24/7 Helpline 1-800-550-4900.
Birthright of Atlanta:
Email: [email protected]
Website: BirthrightOfAtlanta.com
Phone: 770-451-2273
