‘Me, Still Me’

Richard A. Sokerka

No sooner had the ink dried on Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) signing an abortion bill into law, effectively giving license to kill a child up to the moment of birth, than other states followed suit on such insanity.

Last week, Democrats in the Virginia statehouse presented a bill to repeal restrictions on abortion, allowing terminations up until the moment of birth. Democratic Delegate Kathy Tran introduced the Repeal Act, which would allow a doctor to perform an abortion when a woman is dilating, moments before birth. It received support from Gov. Ralph Northam (D), a pediatrician, no less. Thankfully, the rest of the delegates came to their senses, and the measure failed to be voted out of subcommittee.

Similarly, in Rhode Island, Gov. Gina Raimondo, who claims she is Catholic as does Cuomo, vowed in her State of the State address to support the Rhode Island Reproductive Health Care Act, similar to New York’s new law, saying, “Let’s make this the year we codify women’s access to reproductive health care here in Rhode Island.”

The legislation proposed includes eliminating a law enacted in 1973 following the Roe v. Wade that defines human life as commencing “at the instant of conception.”

Raimondo’s spokesman told NBC 10 News, “With women’s healthcare under attack in Washington, it’s more urgent than ever that we take proactive steps to enshrine women’s access to reproductive care here in Rhode Island.”

A hearing on the bill has been scheduled before the House Judiciary Committee, and planning to testify against it are a Catholic family, Nichole Rowley, a mother of two, and her husband, Tyler.

What sparked the Rowleys to be a voice for the voiceless in the womb was a card they received from Gov. Raimondo, on the recent birth of their son. In an email to NBC News 10 in Providence, she wrote, “The card expressed the joy of having children, but the sentiment didn’t make sense coming from Gov. Raimondo. If children are such a special gift, as the card claims, why does she offer those children no rights before they are born?”

Rowley, whose family attends St. Pius V Parish in Providence, said the card references their infant as a “sweet little child” who will “fill our home with joy” and “how concerned the governor is about the health” of their son.

After reading the card, Rowley said she and her husband decided to mail the governor back the card with a card containing two photos: a picture of their son at 12 weeks in the womb and another of him a few hours after birth. The words, “Me, Still me,” were printed above the photos.

“We posted the photos to Facebook and many of our friends followed suit and posted their own “Me, Still me” photos to Facebook and mailed them to the governor,” Rowley wrote. “The feedback and support has been overwhelming. We hope the message resonates with our governor and that others are encouraged to perform the simple act of sending these photos to their pro-abortion legislators using the hashtag #mestillme.”

The couple hopes to launch a “Me, Still me” movement and purchased the website MeStillMe.com.

“I would remind pro-abortion legislators that the basis of human rights is that all innocent human beings have a natural right to life. The logical conclusion is obvious: the unborn are human beings who deserve the right to life and abortion is a human rights violation,” she said.

Her husband, a member of the Servants of Christ for Life, who attended the March for Life in Washington, agrees. “Our nation was founded upon the principle that every human being possesses the right to life, so we continue to plead with our countrymen and elected officials to logically conclude what any reasonable person would conclude — that unborn human beings should be granted that basic human right.”

Thank God for Catholics like the Rowleys whose shining example to stand up courageously for the innocent lives in the womb is what we all need to do.