This is Dr. John Willke with A Life Issue:  (Listen Now)

Is the human embryo alive at fertilization? 

Well, “alive” means that this being is growing, developing, maturing and replacing its own dying cells.  It means “not being dead”. 

So, yes, of course, the human embryo is alive.  If he wasn’t alive he couldn’t keep growing.  That unique, individual human life begins at fertilization.  Did you know that the developing baby has several extra parts to his body? 

He has his own space capsule, the amniotic sac.  He has his own lifeline, the umbilical cord, and his own root system, the placenta. 

These all develop from the original cells of the baby and belong to him only, not to his mother.  And they’re all discarded after birth when no longer needed.  I’d like you to think about that.  This is Dr. John Willke.  (TOC)

This is Dr. John Willke with A Life Issue: (Listen Now)

Some claim that a fertilized ovum is just a blueprint.  This is an effort to demonstrate that it’s not yet a complete human. 

Consider as an example the blueprint of your home.  It was merely the plan for the builder.  Using this design, the craftsmen brought together many different building materials, assembled them, and ultimately you had a house.  The blueprint, then, could be thrown away. 

But when you were built as a human being it was quite a different story. 

The single cell, who you once were, was not a blueprint, you were, in fact, the entire “house”, in minutea, and all you did was grow up.  The only thing that was added to that single cell was nutrition, oxygen, and, of course, time.  You were then everything you are today.  This is Dr. John Willke.
(TOC)

This is Dr. John Willke with A Life Issue: (Listen Now)

Is the unborn human a person?  To answer that, let’s ask a different question: What do you mean by “person”? 

The dictionary defines “person” in a dozen different ways.  Yellowstone Park is a person.  So is General Motors.  So are you.  The U.S. Supreme Court said, legally, you’re only a person after birth.  But other countries rule you to be a legal person as early as conception, frequently at 3 months, and most of them by 6 months. 

Theologians often define “person” as beginning when the soul is created.  Philosophers give is multiple meanings.  So what to do?  In discussing abortion, I think it’s best to use the very clear words “human life”.  I’d like you to think about that.  This is Dr. John Willke. (TOC)

This is Dr. John Willke with A Life Issue: (Listen Now)

The fetal heart begins to beat at 18 days. 

That means, when the mother’s only four days late missing her first menstrual period, at that time, the tiny heart has already begun to beat.  In another three days it will begin to pump, through a closed circulatory system, a blood type differing from that of the mother. 

How early can your obstetrician let you listen to your baby’s heart?  Well, it varies a bit, but we can almost always find it on our ultrasonic stethoscopes at about the time she’s missing her second period.

My wife and I have lectured in over 60 countries and throughout the U.S. for three decades, and you know what? 

Abortionists never let the mother hear that heartbeat.  I’d like you to think about that.  This is Dr. John Willke. (TOC)

This is Dr. John Willke with A Life Issue: (Listen Now)

Did you know that human brain waves have been recorded as early as 40 days after conception? 

World-wide, in all fields of intellectual discipline, everyone agrees that one of the absolute measures of the end of human life is the ending of human brain waves.  Wouldn’t it be refreshing if all of those same people would also agree that human life begins when you can first record human brain waves? 

Now, we know that life begins at conception, and we want to protect all lives from that beginning.  But, even so, if this simple, proven, scientific fact alone were accepted, and the logical conclusion is drawn from it, three-fourths or more of today’s abortions would be eliminated.  I’d like you to think about that.  This is Dr. John Willke.(TOC)

This is Dr. John Willke with a Life Issue: (Listen Now)

We've all marveled at newborn infants and their strong ability to grasp your little finger, if you place them in the palm of the infant's hand.

The baby will tighten up, hold on to your finger, even making it possible sometimes for you to pull that baby up almost to her feet.

This is a "grasp" reflex, and it's present in the developing baby inside of the mother already at 8 weeks after conception. After the mother has missed her second menstrual period, if you place an instrument in the palm of that baby's hand, she'll grab it and hang on.

And, you know, in order to do this, that hand, muscles and nerves, have to be pretty well developed. But they're all there at 8 weeks. I'd like you to think about that. This is Dr. John Willke.(TOC)

This is Dr. John Willke with a Life Issue: (Listen Now)

Just after a mother has missed her second menstrual period, her developing baby is 8 weeks old.

If, at this age, you stick him with a needle in the palm of his hand, he will pull his tiny hand away. In order to do this, his little body has already had to develop nerve fibers running from the hand to the base of the brain and back.

This same withdrawal reflex that pulled your finger off a hot stove, and made a newborn cry when you stuck her with a pin, these same nerve fibers and their functioning neural reflex is already there at 8 weeks.

Did you feel pain from the burner? Did the infant feel pain from your probe?

If you say yes, then you have to admit that the unborn infant felt pain too. I'd like you to think about that. This is Dr. John Willke.(TOC)

This is Dr. John Willke with a Life Issue: (Listen Now)

When is the human body so well developed it already has fingerprints?

Well, that landmark is passed at 10 weeks after conception inside the womb. At that stage you were so tiny you could have stood on your daddy's little fingernail, but your body was already so perfectly formed that you had fingerprints.

At ten weeks, mother has not yet missed her third period, and yet you were already in every way a tiny, tiny boy or girl. Not many people know the human is so fully formed this early. But, let me tell you, this is a time to remember.

At 10 weeks the structure of the human body is completely formed, even down to such find developmental details as fingerprints and toeprints. I'd like you to think about that. This is Dr. John Willke.(TOC)

This is Dr. John Willke with a Life Issue: (Listen Now)

When you were developing inside of your mother, when did you begin to swallow?

When did your stomach begin to extract nutrients from the build swallowed? And when did you begin to slowly breathe fluid in and out of your lungs?

Well, all of this began at 3 months. Why breathe so early?

In order to develop your lungs and chest so that you could suddenly breathe more rapidly when you came out into the air world. You see, any function that the body of a newborn performs at birth, that little body was performing already inside the mother before birth and often for many months.

At this 3-month stage all of the organ systems had begun to function. No, they weren't mature yet, but all were functioning. I'd like you to think about that. This is Dr. John Willke.(TOC)

This is Dr. John Willke with a Life Issue: (Listen Now)

Can an unborn baby dream? Interesting question, isn't it?

When we sleep as adults, we go slowly through four deepening phases of slumber. One phase is characterized as REM sleep – that's R-E-M. It's during this phase that we experience “rapid eye movement”.

It's during this time of REM sleep that we dream. Using sophisticated ultra-sound techniques, it has been demonstrated that human fetal babies do have REM sleep, and as early as 17 weeks after conception. Since REM sleep is characteristic of dream states after birth, researches have asked if the unborn child also dreams.

Obviously we don't have the answer to this, and perhaps we never will. But, if in fact tiny developing babies do dream, I wonder what they dream about? This is Dr. John Willke.(TOC)

This is Dr. John Willke with a Life Issue: (Listen Now)

There are 40 weeks in a pregnancy. Fifty years ago a baby surviving at 30 weeks was cause for great joy and curiosity.

But now it's almost routine. Twenty-five years ago baby's were surviving as early as 25 weeks but they were rare. Today 30% or more of 25-weekers will make it. And now we have a survivor at 20 weeks, with several at 21.

But, think a minute -- the babies haven't changed. Mothers are making the same king of babies they always did. What has changed is the sophistication of the external life support systems around the baby.

And the wonderful thing is, as that sophistication increases in years ahead, we'll probably be saving them earlier still. This is Dr. John Willke.(TOC)

This is Dr. John Willke with A Life Issue: (Listen Now)

Should an expectant mother keep the baby or place him or her for adoption?  In counseling her, you must think of her future, her emotions and needs, and what she wants to do. 

But we must also continue to gently remind her that there’s another life here, and what is best for this new life she’s brining into the world. 

Can she provide the love, the care, hopefully a father, education, for this little one? 

This is Dr. John Willke with a Life Issue: (Listen Now)

What exactly does it mean when we say that abortion should be allowed for “health reasons”?

Well, the word health has been specifically defined in law by the U.S. Supreme Court in its 1973 Roe vs. Wade and Doe vs. Bolton cases legalizing abortion.

Our courts defined the use of the word and clearly ruled that “health” included “all factors-physical, emotional, psychological, familial, as well as taking into account the woman's age.”

Now this sweeping definition has been observed around the world. Abortion for health means that abortion is allowed, on demand, for social and economic reasons.

In the United States this specific definition of health has permitted abortion until birth in all 50 states. This is Dr. John Willke.(TOC)

This is Dr. John Willke with a Life Issue: (Listen Now)

The U.S. Department of Justice has reported approximately 100,000 assault rapes each year in the United States.

Further polling indicates that there's probably one completed rape not reported for every one that is. So, of those 200,000 forcible rapes, how many result in a pregnancy?

All investigations how that pregnancy from assault rape is extremely rare - - probably about one in a thousand - - certainly no more than one in 500.

In the entire United States, in one year, there are then probably only between 200 and 400 pregnancies from assault rape.

Now, each rape is a tragedy, but the point is that this number is only a tiny fraction of the numbers claimed by pro-abortion people to justify ending a baby's life. This is Dr. John Willke.(TOC)

This is Dr. John Willke with a Life Issue: (Listen Now)

May agree that our nation is to be warmly commended for its concern for the disabled already born......special parking places, leveling curbs, transportation, and other ways to provide special care.

But many of the same people who applaud this progress will agree to killing an unborn child because he's disabled.

If we discover a child to be disabled before birth, many would kill him because he's disabled. But if we have a person who is disable after birth, we go to special lengths to take care of him because he's disabled.

Why don't we treat both of them the same way?

Same person, same disability, same cure?

We're really a bit schizophrenic on this issue, aren't we? I'd like you to think about that. This is Dr. John Wilke. (TOC)

This is Dr. John Willke with a Life Issue: (Listen Now)

How would you feel if you were judged only for your intelligence or beauty?

Well, that's exactly the aim of in vitro fertilization. It attempts to select the healthiest and finest. In first Samuel 16, we recall that God doesn't judge mankind from his appearance or lofty stature.

“No, the Lord has not chosen one of these,” the prophet said, as Jesse lined up his handsome sons. Samuel asks if any were missing. “Yes, the youngest, David, who is tending the sheep.” “Send for him,” Samuel said. And when he came, the Lord said, “”There, anoint him, for this is he.”

And so, today, if we judge at all, it should be of mind and heart, not of mere physical measurements. I'd like you to think about that. This is Dr. John Willke.(TOC)

This is Dr. John Willke with A Life Issue: (Listen Now)

Why do some women suffer more miscarriages after an induced abortion? 

Well, a major reason is injury to the mouth of the womb.  For women who’ve been in labor with their first child it takes 6, 12, 18 hours for the womb to open, as nature slowly stretches it.  But nature does it no harm, and after delivery, it closes tight again. 

In the early months, for an abortion, the abortionist is faced with a long, hard, unripe cervix., and he stretches it open in two or three minutes, frequently tearing some of that “doughnut” muscle, weakening it. 

Then, when a woman becomes pregnant again, sometimes that weakened muscle opens early and the result is a miscarriage, or a premature birth.  It’s just one more reason why we shouldn’t interfere with nature.  This is Dr. John Willke. (TOC)

This is Dr. John Willke with a Life Issue: (Listen Now)

A common argument for aborting a teen pregnancy is that that pregnancy would be dangerous for the young woman.

Now, I'm in no way advocating teen pregnancy, but it is important to know that a teenage girl, bearing and delivering a child, should have no more physical complications than a more mature woman.

In fact, the odds for a normal delivery might even be more favorable. If the girl's body is mature enough to great pregnant, her body is mature enough to carry a baby to term and deliver normally.

There is a question, though. And that question is one of the adequate prenatal care. Is that's not available, she may well have more problems.

The bigger issue is the choice of aborting based on the notion that it's dangerous for a teenager. I'd like you to think about that. This is Dr. John Willke.(TOC)

This is Dr. John Willke with A Life Issue: (Listen Now)

Perhaps 20%, or more, of women who have had abortion experience major psychological problems.  These include guilt feelings, dreams and nightmares, flashbacks, an inability to enjoy holding a baby, loss of ability to enjoy sex with her husband, and many other problems.  She may take refuge in alcohol or drugs in order to avoid the dreams and the feelings of guilt. 

She may have reactions on the anniversary date of the abortion.  Clinical depression is fairly common, and a number of these women attempt suicide.  You may be suffering from this kind of destructive aftermath of an abortion. 

And if you are, by all means, seek help, or if you know someone who’s suffering, reach out with love and tenderness and by all means seek assistance at your local pregnancy help center.  This is Dr. John Willke.(TOC)

This is Dr. John Willke with a Life Issue: (Listen Now)

I'm sure you've head the slogan – “Every child a wanted child”. It's been popularized around the world by Planned Parenthood.

But I suggest we ask them to complete the sentence. And if they did, here's how it would sound:

“Every child a wanted child, and if not wanted, kill.”

Their answer to an unwanted pregnancy is to kill that innocent little one. I'm sure, at a superficial glance, that some people agree, imagining future poverty, violence, suffering and crime.

But who can predict this? Since when does anyone's right to live depend upon someone else wanting them?

Since when do we solve poverty by killing poor people? That's an incredibly evil ethic! I'd like you to think about that. This is Dr. John Willke.(TOC)

This is Dr. John Willke with a Life Issue: (Listen Now)

You've all heard again and again the line - - “An unwanted pregnancy produces an unwanted child.”

But, you know, that's just not true.

Everyone assumed it was true, and many researchers sought to prove it. And there were a good dozen major studies done internationally before abortion was legalized.

But every study came to the same conclusion:

Wanted pregnancies and unwanted pregnancies produced the very same ratio of dearly loved children and of unwanted and neglected children.

Friends, completely aside from the ethic involved, you'd be stupid to kill a baby because it is judged to be an unwanted pregnancy.

With that logic, you'd kill just as many kids, who in the future will be loved and cherished, as you would those less fortunate. I'd like you to think about that. This is Dr. John Willke.(TOC)

This is Dr. John Willke with a Life Issue: (Listen Now)

Does a woman have the right to choose abortion? 

It’s an effective question, to be sure.  But your first response could well be, “Well, what is her choice?” 

When a woman is pregnant, she’s going to have a baby.  I’m a physician, and I’ve never yet examined a woman who was only a little bit pregnant.  This just happens to be a progressive, nine-month procedure.  So what is her choice? 

Her only choice is, how is the baby coming out...alive or dead; in many pieces, or whole? 

And so her choice is a choice to kill...for life or death.  It’s my hope and prayer that she’d made a choice for life.  And we can help her by loving both mother and baby.  I’d like you to think about that.  This is Dr. John Willke.(TOC)

This is Dr. John Willke with a Life Issue: (Listen Now)

You've heard the phrase, “convenience abortions”?

Please – my advice is never say, or even infer, that there's such a thing.

When a woman hears this, she gets angry, turns you off. Even the most blase' woman remembers abortion as a painful decision.

Rather, let her know that you stand with her, not against her...that you understand the agony of her decision...that you want to help her...that perhaps it's time to begin discussing constructive alternatives, like adoption.

And then?

Then it's time to put your arm around her shoulder and tell her you understand, that you want to help. A little one-liner here says it all - - “Why can't we love them both?” You might even change her mind. This is Dr. John Willke.(TOC)

This is Dr. John Willke with a Life Issue: (Listen Now)

Did you know that the former head of abortion surveillance at the U.S. Center for Disease Control suggested in a medical journal article a sliding scale of changes for doing an induced abortion.

He would measure the size of the fetal foot and increase the charge proportionately. He also published another medical journal article on sexually transmitted diseases.

In it he reported that gonorrhea was the most common disease. And the second most common “disease”, according to his analysis was pregnancy.

In that article he discussed how it's “caught” and then gave details on its “cure”.

And the suggested cure for the “disease” or pregnancy? What was that? Well, abortion, of course. I'd like you to think about that. This is Dr. John Willke.(TOC)

This is Dr. John Willke with a Life Issue: (Listen Now)

There was a time when Planned Parenthood did a certain amount of good.

But today the good is far overshadowed by a bad agenda.

It is the best financed, most powerful and most effective force for the destruction of the family and the killing or unborn babies in our nation and throughout the world.

It educates your children to a promiscuous lifestyle, equips them with contraceptives that sooner or later fail, and then kills the babies that have been conceived.

Ten percent of all abortions in the United States are done inside a Planned Parenthood abortion chamber.

This is Dr. John Willke with a Life Issue: (Listen Now)

Margaret Sanger is considered the “patron saint” of Planned Parenthood.

Her personal lifestyle was sexually promiscuous. What of her policies? She said, and I quote: “The most merciful thing a large family can do to one of its infant members is to kill it.”

She also said, “The marriage bed is the most degenerating influence in the social order.”

She wanted to stop the growth of Jews, Catholics, Southern Europeans and blacks.

She said, “We do not want the word to get out that we want to exterminate the Negro population. If we must have welfare, give it to the rich, not the poor.”

Margaret Sanger saw her birth control efforts as a mechanism used by social elitists to keep down numbers of what she saw as the lower echelons of society. She was hardly a saint. This is Dr. John Willke.(TOC)

This is Dr. John Willke with a Life Issue: (Listen Now)

The French abortion pill, RU 486, is not a contraceptive.

It does not prevent pregnancy. It's not used until a woman is at least one week late missing her first period, and by this time the baby is at least 3 weeks old and has a beating heart.

The effect of RU 486?

It prevents this tiny life from getting sufficient hormonal nourishment and thereby directly kills this little one.

Another drug, Methotrexate, is a chemotherapeutic drug, a cellular poison used to kill cancer cells. This dangerous drug is not being used in an attempt to kill this precious little one without also killing the mother.

Both of these are abortion drugs. Neither is a contraceptive. Each one kills a developing baby whose heart has begun to beat. This is Dr. John Willke.(TOC)

This is Dr. John Willke with a Life Issue: (Listen Now)

The purpose of the highly toxic drug, RU 486, is to kill a developing baby.

It is given at the most vital time or organogenesis, that is, when the fingers and toes and heart are being built. In about 5% of the cases it fails to kill, bit it still does serious damage to the tiny developing baby.

If that drug's on the market, there will be women who, having taken the drug and failed to abort, will change their minds and carry to term.

Some didn't understand. Some took the wrong dose. Others were talked out of it.

This is Dr. John Willke with a Life Issue: (Listen Now)

Not long ago the head of the National Organization of Women said that, in 1972, the year before the Roe vs. Wade decision, which legalized abortion, that there were one million illegal abortions in the United States, and 5,000 to 10,000 women died. 

Now we don’t know how many illegal abortions there were, because illegal abortions are not reported, so their numbers are obviously a guess.  We do, however, know how many women died from illegal abortions in 1972.  Official government figures tell us that only 39 women died. 

Now, those were 39 tragedies, but this was less than one per state per year.  Friends, the entire propaganda line of back alley butchery, and zillions of women dying, is one big lie.  This is Dr. John Willke.(TOC)

This is Dr. John Willke with a Life Issue: (Listen Now)

You've heard that, before abortion was legalized, thousands of women died?

Well, here's a quote from the 1960 edition of The American Journal of Public Health.

In it the medical director of Planned Parenthood said, and I quote: “Ninety percent of illegal abortions are being done by physicians. Call them what you will - - abortionists or anything else - - they are physicians trained as such. They must do a pretty good job if the death rate is as low as it is. Abortion, whether therapeutic or illegal, is, in the main, no longer dangerous because it is being well done by physicians.” Unquote.

That quote was not from a pro-lifer, it was from Dr. Mary Calderone, then president of Planned Parenthood who later founded SEICUS, the radical Sex Education & Information Council of the United States. This is Dr. John Willke.(TOC)

Abortion & Slavery
Life Jewels Volume 1 1996

This is Dr. John Willke with A Life Issue: (Listen Now)

I think it’s interesting that the Dred Scott and the Roe vs. Wade decision were both 7-to-2 decisions by the U.S. Supreme Court. 

The one said that black people were not legal persons; the other, that the unborn were not.  Both provided the legal right to choose to keep or to kill their so-called property. 

Abolitionist protested then, pro-lifers now.  The answer by the court has been the same for both.  If you believe slavery is morally offensive, you simply don’t have to own a slave. 

And abortion? 

Well, you don’t have to get an abortion.  You’ve heard people say, don’t force your morality on the mother, she has the right to choose.  But back then, there were plenty of people who said, don’t force your morality on the slave owner, he has the right to choose to own a slave.  Is one different from the other?  This is Dr. John Willke. (TOC)

This is Dr. John Willke with a Life Issue: (Listen Now)

Are all feminists pro-abortion?

Well, there certainly are many solidly good things about today's feminist movement.

Tragically, however, the leadership has been stolen by radical, pro-abortion women. And because of this, the image is that feminists are also pro-abortion.

It wasn't always so.

Without exception, the prime movers of the early feminist years in the United States were women who strongly opposed abortion - - women such as Elizabeth Cady Staton, Susan B. Anthony, Matilda Gage , and many others called abortion child murder.  Those early feminists considered abortion to be the same thing as killing after birth and called it a great social evil.  Isn’t it sad that today’s feminist leaders have betrayed their pioneering sisters? This is Dr. John Willke.(TOC)

This is Dr. John Willke with a Life Issue: (Listen Now)

You’ve heard pro-lifer leaders urging you to write letters to the editor.  Yet, even when you do, few of them are published.  Is it worth continuing to try? 

Absolutely, yes!  The front page of the paper is very popular.  For men, it’s often the sports page.  For many women, it’s the cultural pages.  But for all readers, men and women, it’s Letters to the Editor. 

Yep, they’re read more frequently than the editorials, and they’re read more frequently than the featured columnists, or other parts of the paper oft-times. 

Furthermore, letters to the editor influence the editors, even if they’re not published, and that’s an important thing to do as well.  So, for you who take the time to write, keep it up.  You’re doing a great job.  This is Dr. John Willke. (TOC)

This is Dr. John Willke with A Life Issue: (Listen Now)

When we’re talking about abortion, should we be single-issue voters? 

Well, let me ask you this.  Would you vote for a candidate who had been convicted of a brutal assault rape, convicted of child abuse?  How about someone convicted of stealing money while in office? 

If you answered “No”, it’s undoubtedly because their crimes have disqualified them from holding public office.  And so it is with abortion.  If a candidate is willing to allow the continued killing of almost every third baby conceived in America, and even wants you to pay for it, do you think you should vote from him or her? 

Haven’t those candidates, in fact, disqualified themselves from holding public office?  I’d like you to think about that.  This is Dr. John Willke. (TOC)

This is Dr. John Willke with a Life Issue: (Listen Now)

Depending on how a question is worded, a smart pollster can get almost any answer he or she wants. They could ask, “Do you think that a woman, with her doctor's advice, should be allowed to choose abortion?”

Or how about this: “Do you think that innocent, unborn babies in the womb can be killed for social and economic reason?”

Now, the answer may be quite different, but both questions really asked whether or not abortion should be allowed, and the conclusions drawn can be misleading and misreported.

Don't just read the headlines - - don't just watch evening news. Take a look further along in the article and look at the exact wording of the question - - then study what's going on - - then you can evaluate what this poll really meant, especially when we're dealing with an unborn child's life. This is Dr. John Willke.(TOC)

This is Dr. John Willke with a Life Issue: (Listen Now)

You've heard of the Supreme Court decision, Roe vs. Wade, the one that brought us legal abortion?

“Roe” was Norma McCorvey from Texas. She was the petitioner in that case. Roe (or rather Norma) has changed her mind.

She now opposes abortion and has appeared on a number of public platforms denouncing abortion. She's telling people she's sorry for what she did.

Roe had a companion case, Doe vs. Bolton. “Doe” was Sandra Cayno from Georgia. What of her?

She too has changed her mind...she too has come into the pro-life movement and has also appeared on pro-life panels.

Both Roe and Doe, Norma and Sandra, now speak for the unborn and against abortion.

We need more such converts – more like these two women. This is Dr. John Willke.(TOC)

This is Dr. John Willke with a Life Issue: (Listen Now)

What are the real consequences of the Supreme Court decision, Roe vs. Wade, on abortion?

Well, the decision struck down every state law against abortion. It created a new constitutional “right”, the right of a mother to have her unborn child killed.

All that remains is that is must be done by or with a physician, and the mother must agree. Abortion is allowed until birth if one physician says it's necessary for her “health”.

And “health” was defined by the Court to include “all factors, physical, emotional, psychological, familial, and the woman's age, relevant to the well being of the patient.”

The result? Abortion is legal until birth, in all 50 states, and for social and economic reasons. I'd like you to think about that. This is Dr. John Willke.(TOC)

This is Dr. John Willke with a Life Issue: (Listen Now)

There's no question - - you should be notified of your daughter's possible abortion. Is it the paid counselor at a profit-making abortion chamber who loves her more?

Or is it you?  who carried her for nine months, who nursed her, who watched her take her first steps, who saw her out the door that first day of school, and who's been with her through all of those ups and downs of early childhood and now adolescence.

Who has here best interests at heart - - that paid so-called “counselor” (actually a salesperson) at the abortion place, or you, her parents?

As one who has shared being a parent of six, and now joyfully the grandparent of 17, I know the answer to those questions, and so do you. I'd like you to think about that. This is Dr. John Willke.(TOC)

This is Dr. John Willke with a Life Issue: (Listen Now)

How many violent deaths have occurred over legal abortion? 

Well, on the one hand, there have been almost 35 million tiny lives snuffed out.  On the other side, five abortion workers have been killed.  Does one justify the other?  Never! 

We are people of peace.  The pro-life movement is here to stop violence.  If we were to adopt their evil ethic of violence, by that fact we would destroy the very moral and ethical base of our own movement.  And so, if you are ever tempted to return violence, stop, pray, don’t do it.  Violence has never been stopped by more violence. 

Rather, pray for the abortionists and then help each and every woman who is tempted to use violence against her unborn offspring.  This is Dr. John Willke.(TOC)

This is Dr. John Willke with a Life Issue: (Listen Now)

Do you know how many babies the average woman must bear in her lifetime in order to maintain a stable population and replace those who die?

In a developed country, it's 2.1 babies. In a third world country, because of higher infant mortality, it's more like 2.3.

The United States has been below that replacement level since 1972. So has Canada, Japan, Australia, New Zealand and all of Western Europe except Ireland and Malta.

Except for heavy immigration and the lengthening of the life span of senior citizens, the population of the United States would not only be growing older, as it is, but actually already declining.

Germany, Austria and Western Russia are already burying more people than are being born because of abortion. This is Dr. John Willke.(TOC)

This is Dr. John Willke with a Life Issue: (Listen Now)

I'm a physician. I went into medicine with high ideals. I became a doctor to help and to cure. I'd seen my father uphold these noble ideas, and more recently, our daughter.

Abortion is devastating enough, but now we've added another killer – assisted suicide. Let me be very plain about this. Assisted suicide is euthanasia, and we should call it what it is.

We hear about direct and indirect euthanasia. Voluntary, involuntary and non-voluntary euthanasia. Assisted suicide.

These are all basically the same thing - - they are all euthanasia. And, be very clear about it, euthanasia is when the doctor kills the patient.

That's not why I went into medicine and became a doctor. This is Dr. John Willke.(TOC)

This is Dr. John Willke with a Life Issue: (Listen Now)

Pro-euthanasia literature constantly emphasizes
uncontrollable pain – constant, intractable pain – unrelieved, agonizing pain.

But physical pain, with rare exceptions, can be controlled. What is difficult to remedy is emotional pain and suffering.

This is the patient who is unloved. She's the one who is lonely, abandoned. And when these problems are met, and the patient is once again loved and cared for, usually the request for euthanasia melts away.

If you have a loved one who is in pain, and their pain is not be controlled, my advice is, get another doctor. If your doctor doesn't know how to control pain, get one who does.

The bottom line here is let's kill the pain, not the patient. I'd like you to think about that. This is Dr. John Willke.(TOC)

This is Dr. John Willke with a Life Issue: (Listen Now)

Is American following Holland in legalizing euthanasia?

Recent court cases and agitation in America are leading us down that same path.

Each year 120,000 people die in Holland. A decade ago Dutch doctors killed an occasional patient for extraordinary reasons.

But more recently, over 20,000 have been killed annually by doctors, with almost half of them not asking to be killed. Some were by direct lethal injection, some by removing necessary medication such as insulin from a diabetic.

Others were denied food and water and starved to death, or given super doses of pain medication.

Some were given deadly cocktails to drink.

Will the United States follow that example?

Will it go down that slippery slope by taking the first step and legalizing assisted suicide? This is Dr. John Willke.(TOC)

This is Dr. John Willke with a Life Issue: (Listen Now)

Hippocrates was a pagan physician. He lived before the time of Christ. Prior to his time, the medical practitioner had a dual role.

One was to cure, one was to kill. The great contribution of Hippocrates, which passed into the Christian era and guided the medical profession for the next 2,000 years, was to separate the curing and killing functions of the physician.

“Henceforth,”  he said, “a physician would only cure.” Down through the centuries, the Hippocratic oath, has come to phrase, “primum non nocere”, which means “first, do not harm.”

But today the oath of Hippocrates is no longer sworn by most graduating medical students. With abortion, and now the onrush of euthanasia, some doctors, tragically, have again assumed that old dual role. This is Dr. John Willke.(TOC)

This is Dr. John Willke with a Life Issue: (Listen Now)

When you kill the first patient by euthanasia, you've crossed a bridge. You said that life is not totally sacred, that it has a price tag.

By doing this, you judge that life has only a relative value, and you've made a fatal move, for price tags can be marked down.

Nazi doctors slowly marked them down. Holland has been slowly marking them down. Abortion demonstrates the same thing. Truly the slippery slope is a reality.

Recall William L. Schirer interviewing a Nazi judge condemned to death at the trials of Nuremburg.

Weeping, he said, “How could it have come to this?” Schirer responded, “Herr Judge, it came to this the first time you authorized the killing of innocent life.” I'd like you to think about that. This is Dr. John Willke.(TOC)

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This is Dr. John Willke with A Life Issue: (Listen Now)

Why so much human suffering?  Why a baby born with a severe handicap or an agonizing death due to lengthy illness? 

Well, a mentally retarded resident at a nursing home asked the nurse, “Why does the Lord keep Mrs. Brown alive?  Why doesn’t He take her home?” 

Without waiting for the nurse to answer, she said, “I guess He just wants to find out who the good Samaritans are.” 

Pearls of wisdom are sometimes found in the most unusual places.  We don’t know why God in His infinite wisdom creates some of us different from others, giving us heavy burdens to bear. 

One thing is certain from this story, we often see the best come from those when they’re given a unique pain or burden and they reach out to others.  This is Dr. John Willke. (TOC)

This is Dr. John Willke with A Life Issue: (Listen Now)

Many feel capital punishment is justified, even necessary.  And they find adequate Scriptural justification for such an opinion. 

Others are opposed to capital punishment for a variety of excellent reasons.  But when we talk about taking the life of an unborn baby, I suggest that we discuss the fact that these are not the same. 

Capital punishment is meted out to a rational adult, abortion to a pre-born baby.  Capital punishment is punishment for a capital crime.  With a baby it’s not punishment, there’s certainly been no crime. 

The criminal has been judged guilty by due process of law, the unborn baby is not guilty, there has been no due process. 

Finally, the criminal is killed by the state, abortion is by a private citizen.  I’d like you think about that.  This is Dr. John Willke. (TOC)

This is Dr. John Willke with a Life Issue: (Listen Now)

In this New Year, may I suggest you ask yourself, “What have I done in my own small way to stop the direct killing of almost every third baby conceived in America?"

I speak, of course, of the abortion holocaust.

Ask yourself, in this year ahead, can I do more?

Of equal importance, last year what did I do to help women who had untimely pregnancies?

Did I condemn them? Did I help one or more of them?

Or did I simply ignore these two burning issues? And so, as we look to the year ahead, can each of us do more?

You might not think it's earth shaking, but if each of us does a little bit more, the cumulative effect could be enormous. This is Dr. John Willke.(TOC)

This is Dr. John Willke with a Life Issue: (Listen Now)

Not all anniversaries are a cause for celebration.

January 22 commemorates the U.S. Supreme Court's devastating decision on abortion back in 1973.

It was then that the Court declared abortion legal throughout the entire nine months of pregnancy.

The nation was stunned when our highest court denied the humanity of our precious unborn children and declared them the property of their mother, to be killed at her request.

Yes, this is hardly an anniversary to celebrate.

However, since 1973 there's also been some good news.

We've seen the creation of almost 4,000 women-helping centers to assist those women who have unexpected pregnancies.

In addition, there are almost 3,000 right-to-life groups now active. Now that's worth celebrating. This is Dr. John Willke.(TOC)

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Is your church observing Sanctity of Human Life Sunday?

The U.S. Supreme Court legalized abortion on January 22, 1973.

It's become a tradition since then, on a Sunday near that date, that thousands of Christian churches commemorate Sanctity of Human Life.

Many churches conduct services with a pro-life theme. Prayers for unborn babies and their mothers are offered.

Scriptures are read that tell how our Heavenly Father knew us while we were still in our mothers' wombs.

Compassion and love is stressed for women facing unexpected pregnancies, and congregations often prayerfully plead that God would change the hearts of the abortionists and pro-abortion elected officials. A big question here - - is your church participating? This is Dr. John Willke.(TOC)

This is Dr. John Willke with a Life Issue: (Listen Now)

Valentine's Day make us all feel good! There's just no downside to sending someone a Valentine and saying that you love them.

But, you know, the Valentine heart always symbolizes love and good feelings.

Perhaps you know that we have used that heart for some time now in the pro-life movement. Inside of this Valentine heart is a mother and her newborn baby – a picture of love and tenderness.

And printed within it are the words, “Love Them Both.” I don't think we can say it any more effectively. This truly should be the core message of the pro-life movement.

Abortion involves two people – a mother and her unborn baby – and our response to abortion should simply be this Valentine heart saying, “Love Them Both.” This is Dr. John Willke.(TOC)

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Easter brings the joyous message that Christ has risen.

The apostle Paul tells us that if Christ is not risen, our faith is in vain. We who are Christians believe this as the basic belief of the faith. Along with that is the assurance that life here on earth is but "Act One", and that another greater life awaits.

If there is one theme that repeats itself endlessly in the letters that I constantly receive from aborted women, it's the tender, loving, yearning hope and belief that her innocent little one, whose death she helped to bring about, is sitting on the lap of Jesus, waiting for a reunion someday in heaven.

What a warm, gentle, loving and reassuring thought this may be for you today. And you know what? You're right. This is Dr. John Willke.(TOC)

This is Dr. John Willke with a Life Issue: (Listen Now) 

On Mother's Day we honor all of you, who, through your labor of love, brought a new life into the world

...And, for those who, by the love they bore in their hearts, first gave a child life and then, by placing that child in loving adoptive arms, gave that child a full life.

We honor you on this very special day.

If you're a mother, you know it's more than a 9 to 5 job. It's 24 hours a day. Joy, tears, elation, heartbreak.

The gift of self given in love time and time again. For you who found the courage to love continuously, we can only say “Happy Mother's Day” today and every day. We owe you our thanks - - and our lives. This is Dr. John Willke.(TOC)

This is Dr. John Willke with a Life Issue: (Listen Now)

I have a thought just for you. On Father's Day we honor your essential role in the family. Through thick and thin, your wife and children depend on your guidance and leadership.

Fathers are a precious commodity in today's society where the family has become increasingly fragmented. The world can often be a risky place for children, and you are needed to guide them along the way.

What an awesome job it is to be a father, with its endless responsibilities and challenges. But at the same time, being a dad, giving love and providing for your family is rich with joys and blessings.

Yes, we salute you for being faithful to your most important calling - - fatherhood. Cherish it – embrace it. This is Dr. John Willke.(TOC)

This is Dr. John Willke with a Life Issue: (Listen Now)

As we celebrate the 4th of July, we’re commemorating the Declaration of Independence, not our United States Constitution. 

Now they’re both remarkable documents, but the Constitution can and has been changed – changed by formal amendments—tragically, also in recent years, changed by liberal judges. 

But the Declaration of Independence is the very charter of our nation.  It cannot be changed, and it states clearly that all men are created equal and endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights.  Remember the first one mentioned – the right to “life.” 

So, no matter what a liberal court may attempt to do, the charter of our nation stands tall.  It says that each of us has a right to life, and no President, no Congress, and no judge can take this from us.  I’d like you to think about that.  This is Dr. John Willke. (TOC)

This is Dr. John Willke with a Life Issue: (Listen Now)

Each day we should be thankful.

We should be most thankful for the important gift of life itself. Who gave you life?

Your mother, your father and Almighty God. So while we should be grateful for all of the material goods we have, for our friends, our family, our health, and so many other things, we should be most thankful for the gift of life itself.

For that we thank God. But let's also be thankful to our parents, for each of us realizes that they could have said “no” to life.

But indeed they said “yes,” and because of this, you and I live today as a result of that decision. And so, to God, and to our parents, we offer today a very special thanks. This is Dr. John Willke.(TOC)

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At Christmas we celebrate the joyous event of the birth of Jesus Christ.

This should be a special day for all women who, when faced with the possibility of abortion as a quick fix to problems, chose life rather than death for their baby.

At His birth, Jesus began a human journey which resulted in the triumph of life over death, good over evil, unselfish love over sin.

And just so, those of you, faced with that decision, who have chosen life, have a special reason to celebrate the birthday of your own little one. You can be sure it's a decision you'll never regret, a decision that will bring you manifold grace and untold blessings from Jesus who was born to us on Christmas day. This is Dr. John Willke.(TOC)

There was a time when the safest place for a child was in the mother’s womb.  Alarmingly, that’s no longer true.  Here now with today’s Life Issue is Dr. John C. Willke.

Sometimes the stories I tell you are sorrowful, often they involve the death of a baby and the aftermath in the mother’s life.  Today, I’ve got a story for you that’s just plain ordinary.  One that some of you have experienced.  It’s a story of an ordinary but also very extraordinary young lady.

Jackie McCoskey was a school teacher in Canada.  She became pregnant while teaching in high school.  Her pregnancy was confirmed in the month of February.  Jackie told her classes that she was pregnant when she was about two months along.  She first realized the impact her pregnancy had on her students when the class rebel came up with soda crackers one morning and said, “Ms. McCoskey, I told my mom about your baby and she said that crackers would solve your morning sickness.  The baby needs food.”  She thanked him, and surprised how really concerned he was for the baby.  This teenager hadn’t talked about a glob of cells, no, he had called it her baby.

As the weeks passed more students showed interest, and when she would return from a doctor visit they would ask if the baby was doing all right.  She then brought in pictures of the developmental stages of the baby, like the little ten-week feet, and described to the children the thrill of hearing the baby’s heartbeat.

One day a rewarding comment came from a young female student who prided herself on being liberal and pro-choice.  But after seeing pictures of the developing baby she looked at the teacher and said, “How could anyone have an abortion?”

Five months and complications arose, possibility that she might lose the baby.  The students phoned, the sent cards, prayers, and a tiny rose bush with the greeting: Please take care of "our" baby.  Love, Your Staff and Students.

The problem did pass.

At the end of school in June many students stopped in to say goodbye to the baby.  And they made her promise to come visit after the baby was born in September.  We want to see "our" baby, several students said, after all, he or she’s grown up with us.  Their words all signaled their acknowledgment of life from conception.  No matter what they had been taught in Sex-Ed classes or by TV.  And it seemed that they instinctively all realized that this fragile, tiny, unborn baby was from the beginning a life worth protecting.

On the last day of school her students brought her a collection of toys for the baby.  One of the hard-core feminist girls gave her a sealed card and walked away.  It contained a beautiful little poem that ended up saying: You’ve taught me so many things,not by formal instruction, but by your example.  I want you to know how much I value all of what I’ve learned, and how much I value you. 

P.S. I think you’ll make a wonderful mother.

Jackie’s story is from the Human Life International Reports of March ‘92.  She ends by saying, “We must never forget our secret weapon is the unborn child.  Through our example, we can win this struggle because our message is love, and love will conquer all.”

    And I think we’re all going to say to her, thank you, Jackie McCoskey.

You’ve been listening to Life Issues with Dr. John C. Willke.  For a free transcript of today’s program include today’s date as you write:  Life Issues Institute, PO Box 31066, Cincinnati, Ohio 45231.  Include the call letters of this station, along with today’s date and topic.  Again, write: Life Issues Institute, PO Box 31066, Cincinnati, Ohio 45231.