The Heart of a Mother

"Any country that accepts abortion is not teaching its people to love, but to use any violence to get what they want. This is why the greatest destroyer of love and peace is abortion. Please don't kill the child. I want the child. Please give me the child. I am willing to accept any child who would be aborted and to give that child to a married couple who will love the child and be loved by the child."

Those words were spoken by Mother Teresa at the National Prayer Breakfast in Washington DC on February 3, 1994. Picture for a moment this little seemingly fragile woman stepping up to the podium before some of the world's most powerful people, including Bill Clinton, the President of the United States. Without hesitation or trepidation, she delivered one of the most moving and effective pro-life speeches ever recorded. This humble woman - who for years worked tirelessly and quietly to care for the poor and needy living in the slums of Calcutta - stood in front of most powerful people in the world and fiercely defended the most powerless people in the world, unborn children.

Mother Teresa's defense of the unborn did not simply feature the familiar pro-life messages and themes. She took it a step further - she offered a personal, practical solution. She summarized that solution in four short sentences, "Please don't kill the child. I want the child. Please give me the child. I am willing to accept any child who would be aborted and to give that child to a married couple who will love the child and be loved by the child." Is there a more appropriate, compelling, and challenging pro-life message than that?

That challenge remains appropriate and compelling today, perhaps more so than ever, both for society in general and pro-lifers in particular. How many of us would be willing to echo Mother Teresa's words and possess the same heart for the safety and well-being of the child, mother, and families? How many of us have a heart that is golden enough to unapologetically, unequivocally, and uncompromisingly proclaim the following to any woman facing a crisis pregnancy: I am willing to do whatever it takes to help you avoid making a horrible mistake of abortion, while at the same time offering you hope, saving the life of your child, and bringing joy to another family.

Most importantly, how many of us are willing back up our words and the desire of our hearts with our actions? As the saying goes, "action speaks louder than words." Or to put it another way: your walk talks like your talk talks, but your walk talks much louder than your talk talks. Mother Teresa, among many others who have gone before us, was a person whose walk talked much louder than her talk. Yet on one early February morning, in the most powerful city of the most powerful nation, in a room packed with the most powerful people, Mother Teresa spoke her words softly. But her message was heard loud and clear, penetrating and cutting the heart of the matter. And in the process she revealed her heart and exposed where our hearts should be - aligned with hers in the unabashed desire to help every mother and potential mother to do the right thing, to give life to the unborn child, hope for herself, and joy to another family.