In defense of life in India against abortion and euthanasia
I strongly believe that God has a purpose and plan for each and every person. Nothing happens for nothing. The purpose of my life was to be a teacher and I thoroughly enjoyed teaching for over 4 decades. I was happily married, had two sons, and my life revolved around these three men.
About the year 1985, in my early forties, I became a victim of pollution. Constant and severe episodes of breathlessness made me a patient of bronchial asthma. Often I was hospitalized during the severe attacks I suffered. This shattered my dreams and wrecked my life, which was smooth sailing until this time. I felt depressed. To add to this I was widowed at the age of 48. Soon after, my young sons left home to pursue higher education. My asthmatic condition only worsened, and I was unable to teach. I finally decided to opt for voluntary retirement, with no plan in mind of what I would do, or how to continue with my life.
I suddenly felt abandoned and thrown to the winds. One day, during a harrowing episode when I struggled for breath, I cried, “Lord, have mercy on me”. I felt like I was drowning on land as I gasped for a breath of air. Amidst my struggle, I heard a gentle voice whisper, “Fear not . . . Come . . . follow me,” (Mt, 19: 21).
The powerful call kept ringing in my ears. Sensing it was the Spirit of the Lord, I answered; “Where Lord, follow you where?
Show me the way Lord”.
My breathing gradually abated. Slowly a peace came over me, and silently I submitted and surrendered to the Lord.
I whispered, “Do with me as you please Lord, not my will but Thy will be done”. From thence onwards, I let the Lord take charge of my life.
How did I get into the prolife ministry?
I knew nothing about prolife. But strangely, God led me to meet an octogenarian gentleman, Kevin Fernandes by name, who shared with me his agony and pain over the horrible plight of the unborn child. The issue was close to his heart. Since I was free, he requested me to attend the awareness programs for high school and college students conducted by his team. I watched the documentary films,’ The Silent Scream’ and ‘The Eclipse of Reason’. I was shell-shocked to learn of how the horrific killing of the unborn child took place. I wondered how inhuman a mother could be to kill her mute, innocent, defenseless baby. Abortion, I thought prevailed only in the West, but realized that in India, the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act of 1971, had unleashed this silent violence on our society too, resulting in thousands of abortions.
An inner voice whispered a missionary challenge to me to go and teach people that abortion is ‘killing’, ‘murder in the womb’, and against ‘the law of God’. A child is a precious gift of God; no one has the right to take away its life. I felt very unworthy. How much and what did I know about abortion, to teach it? My specialized forte was Asian, European and World History. No, I cannot teach people about abortion. Who would listen to me? But then, how can I be silent in the face of such an evil?
I recalled Lois McMaster Bujol who wrote: “The dead cannot cry out for justice; it is the duty of the living to do so for them.”
My prayers and deep faith in God assured me that when God ordains, He sustains. This is ‘a vocation within a vocation’. So it simply means that I must return to teaching. But then! How about my asthmatic condition? The thought made me feel weak and powerless. I opened my Bible; my eyes fell upon 2 Cor. 12:9. I read, “My grace is sufficient for you for my power is made perfect in weakness.” I suddenly felt recharged; indeed, I was God’s chosen one. Yes! God doesn’t call the qualified, He, qualifies the called.
To my surprise, one day Cardinal Simon Pimenta called me to his office. He expressed his distress over the ‘Culture of Death’ prevalent in the world of today and especially in our city and Archdiocese. He requested me to start the Prolife Ministry. This for me was the call of God which I humbly accepted saying; “I will try my best”. And so the Diocesan Human Life Committee was born in 1997.
In 1998, I attended the World Prolife Conference at Toronto, and there met Father Paul Marx, OCB, who is the Founder of Human Life International. He blessed me and said: “Dr. Pinto, you are our only hope for India.” I felt commissioned; it confirmed that God had placed this burden on my heart. I am His Prolife messenger, and my mission is to preach ‘The Gospel of Life which is at the heart of Jesus’ message.’
Sadly, however, I soon realized that nobody wanted to hear anything about Prolife. The sixties and the seventies had already devastated the ‘culture of life’ that prevailed. No one wants to know the truth like, ‘life begins at conception’, ‘abortion is killing of the unborn child’, and ‘contraception is a sin’. Not every married couple wishes to practice Natural Family Planning, when easy options are freely available. Scientists want to play God and support mercy killing and cloning.
The fact of the matter is, we live in a media-saturated culture where reality, truth and values scarcely matter. Love, sex and sexuality are projected everywhere - nothing is sacred anymore. People want the pleasure of sex not the consequences, and so we prolifers had to face criticism, cynicism and ridicule. We were challenged to argue in favor of the Pope and the teachings of the Catholic Church. But my faith, trust and obedience to the Word of God kept me convicted and committed to the mission. Despite all odds, I patiently persevered in this ministry.
Twelve years later, our Archdiocese celebrates Prolife Day every year on March 25th, publishes quarterly Newsletters, has established ‘Memorials to the Unborn Child,’ and creates awareness on various human life issues. With a sense of pride but in all modesty, I can say we have impacted not only our diocese, but have been a shining beacon to some dioceses in the country.
This ministry has changed my life and me. I am happy I had the courage to answer the call and give it my all.
Well, what can you do to be prolife? First, begin at home. Every family has a variety of struggles. Do you have parents, grandparents or elderly members in the family, give them a little of your time, understanding, and sympathy to ease their hardships and alleviate their fears. Put yourself in their place. Discourage feelings of uselessness and add to the enjoyment of their life.
If some family members have addictions or if there is disharmony in the home due to broken relationships, you could show love and appreciation for any small thing that they do. You could counter feelings of regret over their failures and shortcomings by your understanding, advising, and counseling.
There may be a special needs child in the neighborhood. You can teach, play and spend time with it, and also provide the parents of the child with an opportunity for some recreation time.
Suppose a pregnant teenager confides in you of her anxiety and fears, empathize, counsel, and be a strong support to her. Pray for, and with her.
Finally, you can become a prolife volunteer of the Human Life Committee, by giving off your time or taking the initiative to reach out to others. Help to dry the tears of the broken hearted, feel their afflictions, listen with a loving heart and let their heartaches be your heartaches. Help to make peoples’ hopes and dreams your hopes and dreams. To be prolife all you need is to base your life on the foundation of ‘Respect for the God-given dignity of the human person . . . that is our divine inheritance.’
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