You is kind, you is smart, you is important.

Recently I watched the brilliant film ‘The Help’ (I know it came out some time ago but I’m a bit behind!)

Not only is this a film that passes the Bechdel test (1. the film has to have at least two women in it, who 2. who talk to each other, about 3. something besides a man) but it has heart and integrity by the bucket load.

The story centres around Skeeter a white upper class girl who returns back to her neighbourhood fresh out of university, ready to being her career in journalism and a black maid Aibileen who has been looking after white babies since she was a teenager. Aibileen narrates most of the story showing her perspective on the way the white women leave her to not only clean up after them and their babies but also leave her to be the one who gives the children love and makes them feel special. Aibileen whispers to her little girl Mae Mobly, who is ignored by her own mamma, “You is kind, you is smart, you is important.” 

Aibileen is a woman of courage and love who is unafraid to put herself in positions of danger for others. When Skeeter has an idea for a book which will candidly tell what it is like to be a black maid working in Mississippi Aibileen, although at first cautious, starts to tell her story. This act of courage is highlighted by stories of the Klu Klax clan and racial murder interwoven into the backdrop of the film. The discussion of racial equality is banned by law so Skeeter must meet Aibileen and the other brave women who, inspired by Aibileen start to talk as well, in secret. As they tell their stories the viewer is invited into wonderful vignettes of the lives of these women who talk about extreme suffering with realism and often candid humour. The blend of different characters, Skeeter’s eccentric husband-mad mother, the pantomime-like villain Hilly Holbrook, the angelically chubby Mae Mobly, the weak minded white mothers contrasted with the strong and loving black women and the vulnerable and yet determined young writer Skeeter attempting to find her way in a new world as the old starts to pass away are all woven together with incredible skill and sensitivity. The result is a brilliant film that left me feeling both peaceful and restless for change in our own time.  

Alice X

Pro-woman and Pro-life: Just my cup of tea!

Despite what many feminists may claim being pro-life does not automatically disqualify you from being a feminist. In fact many of the first women to fight for women's suffrage and better education were pro-life.  Mary Wollstonecraft is a case in point. She wrote A Vindication of the Rights of Woman, a cutting edge book in its day that argued that women should receive the same education as men (rather than be trained in husband hunting) because both men and women are creatures of reason and have the same human dignity. She also argued that men and women should share parental responsibility and that abortion was morally wrong. In her own words:

"Women becoming, consequently, weaker, in mind and body, than they ought to be, were one of the grand ends of their being taken into account, that of bearing and nursing children, have not sufficient strength to discharge the first duty of a mother; and sacrificing to lasciviousness the parental affection, that ennobles instinct, either destroy the embryo in the womb, or cast it off when born. Nature in everything demands respect, and those who violate her laws seldom do so with impunity."

Inspired by Wollstonecraft's example we should strive to look for solutions to unwanted pregnancies that respect the woman and the unborn. It shouldn't be either or.

To learn more about pro-life feminism go to:

http://www.feministsforlife.org/index.htm

Alice x

Would Savita have lived if Ireland was a pro-choice country?

On October 28th Savita Halappanavar, a 31 year old dentist who was 17 weeks pregnant, died from septicaemia after doctors failed to induce birth because they detected a heart beat saying that terminations are not allowed in Ireland. Allegedly they gave the excuse, "This is a Catholic country."

However, it should be pointed out that had the doctors induced an early labour to save Savita's life it would have been neither against Irish law nor against Catholic teaching.

Professor John Bonnar, then chairman of the Institute of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, gave this comment at the All Party Oireachtas Committee's Fifth Report on Abortion, saying:

"In current obstetrical practice, rare complications can arise where therapeutic intervention is required at a stage in pregnancy when there will be little or no prospect for the survival of the baby, due to extreme immaturity.

In these exceptional situations failure to intervene may result in the death of both the mother and baby. We consider that there is a fundamental difference between abortion carried out with the intention of taking the life of the baby, for example for social reasons, and the unavoidable death of the baby resulting from essential treatment to protect the life of the mother."

It is this good medical practice that means that Ireland has one of the lowest mortality rates in the world. Unicef rated the lifetime chance of maternal mortality in Ireland as one in 17,800.

Although no one religion should guide the making of law it is important to note that Catholic teaching also permits induced labour in these circumstances.

Pope Pius in 1951 said, “the saving of the life of the future mother … should urgently require a surgical act or other therapeutic treatment which would have as an accessory consequence, in no way desired nor intended, but inevitable, the death of the fetus, such an act could no longer be called a direct attempt on an innocent life. Under these conditions the operation can be lawful, like other similar medical interventions — granted always that a good of high worth is concerned, such as life, and that it is not possible to postpone the operation until after the birth of the child, nor to have recourse to other efficacious remedies.”

Quotes are taken from http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/opinion/2012/1117/1224326702610.html

http://www.independent.ie/opinion/analysis/eils-mulroy-prochoice-side-must-not-hijack-this-terrible-event-3294723.html

http://www.catholicherald.co.uk/commentandblogs/2012/11/15/the-tragic-death-of-savita-halappanavar-should-not-be-exploited-to-sweep-away-irish-abortion-law-under-which-she-could-legally-have-been-saved/#.UKUCuqMlBzk.twitter

ProLife- ProWoman

I had some fun doing some craft today.

It's not very good but I thought it was at least a start!

Alice & I would love to see any of your attempts.

Katie x

Male penguins incubate the egg under their feet in freezing conditions. Whilst doing this the male penguin can loose half their weight keeping the egg warm as they do not eat! What heroes!

Alice X

This looks like good news. Looking after children is a joint responsibility. It is always good when the government invests in family.

The family is the core unit in society; when it is not supported everything else breaks down.

Ubantu- we are all interconnected.

Have look at the BBC and the Guardian for coverage.

Katie x

Today marks the anniversary of the massacre of six Jesuits, their housekeeper and her 15 year old daughter. They were murdered in their home by the Salvadorian army on November 16^th 1989.

Although we don’t intend for our blog to be too solemn, this anniversary speaks deeply to anyone who work towards justice and liberation.

 This drawing of those who died can be found at this website.

Katie x



Intro

A rather fiesty French authoress once wisely said,

 "The joy of a spirit is the measure of its power"

This blog is dedicated to feeding that spirit of joy in the pro-life community and celebrating life in all its glory, wonder and fun!

We hope to inspire and move you to action through reviews, art, craftivism and poetry!

Let's build this culture of life!!!

Alice & Katie x