A LITTLE CHILD WHO MUST BE KILLED

                       By Thomas A. Droleskey

God's Providence is an amazing thing to behold.  Through absolutely
no merit of my own, He has seen fit to shower me with many graces in
the nearly 44 years of my life.  Few of those graces, however, can
equal an experience I had on my summer speaking tour; for I was given
the privilege of holding a little child shortly after his Baptism.
This child, who can be identified neither by name nor by gender, had
survived an abortionist's attempt to kill him two years and one day
prior to his Baptism into the Catholic faith.

I was told the details of the case by a priest-friend of mine who
serves as a diocesan Respect Life director, and who also serves as
the pastor of a college Newman Center.  Not even the facts as he
presented them to me could prepare me for the experience of holding
the little child in my arms.  I was overcome with emotion when
holding the baby (and it is only rarely that I am so overcome). This
little child, whose baptismal innocence makes him so close to God,
bore, on his forehead, the mark of a killer's attempt to execute him.
This little child struggles to breathe, frequently going into all
kinds of seizures.  Yet this child, who might not live more than a
few years, is living testimony to the power of Christian love to
overcome the hatred and indifference of those who are threatened by
the natural fruit of human conjugal love, a little baby.

Baby Doe, as we shall call him, was targeted for execution at an
abortuary in the Midwest.  (As will be discussed shortly, his safety
and the safety of his adoptive parents allow no further
identification.) His biological mother had made an appointment for
the child's execution in July of 1993, choosing an abortionist known
to perform third-trimester abortions "only" in cases when the life of
the mother is in danger and/or when there is the likelihood of a
birth defect.  This man advertises all over the country, attracting
desperate women from many states.  This sad reality has drawn a
number of prayerful, peaceful protesters to his killing center,
making it a focal point in the attempt to restore full legal
protection to all innocent children in the womb.

Those who know the abortionist report that he is a sincere man.  He
believes that he is providing a service to women with "problem"
pregnancies.  He even arranges "closure services" with Protestant
ministers when a woman or a couple request them following an
abortion.  He even tried, albeit unsuccessfully, to arrange in
advance for a Catholic priest to be present to baptize a child after
his "procedure" had been performed.  The abortionist is a true
believer in what he is doing.

Committed to "professional competency", although not trained as an
obstetrician/gynecologist, this particular abortionist takes great
pride in the procedure by which he "terminates" a third-trimester
abortion.  He locates the heart of a child on a sonogram [ultrasound
picture], injecting a lethal poison directly into the heart.  Labor
is induced the next day, and the mother delivers a dead child.  All
very neat.  All very professional.

Baby Doe fooled his would-be assassin.  He turned at the last minute.
The syringe with the lethal poison inside of it was injected into his
forehead and back.  Knowing that he had failed, the abortionist sent
the mother to a local hospital via a taxicab.  She gave birth to the
child on the third day, with the full facts of the case having been
recounted to a nurse.  Mysteriously, the medical records of Baby
Doe's emergency birth have disappeared.  All that remains is the name
of the biological mother, who now denies ever knowing the abortionist
in question.

Within a day of Baby Doe's birth, a young Baptist couple, with
several children of their own, came forward to try to adopt the
little baby, knowing full well that they would be required to offer
constant care to the newborn.  For the poison intended to kill Baby
Doe blinded him, also destroying his pituitary gland and thyroid.
They became Baby Doe's loving parents as a matter of law just 30 days
after his birth.  But that is not the end of the story.  Sadly, it is
only the beginning.

Baby Doe's adoptive mother, who shall be called Mrs. Doe, decided
that she should share this story with her Christian brothers and
sisters.  She went on a radio station in the community where her
child was targeted for execution, naming the abortionist.  He did not
like that one little bit.  Denying everything, the abortionist went
to court and secured a restraining order, barring Mrs. Doe from
naming him or his facility in public presentations.  She was also
barred from telling the public the gender of her child who survived
the abortion.  Although the order has expired, the Doe family
continues to want its terms observed in order to preserve their own
legal options.

Baby Doe has proven to be every bit as much a threat to the
abortionist and his supporters in the midwestern city where these
events have taken place as the Infant Jesus was to King Herod.  Baby
Doe can give a human face to abortion.  Baby Doe can prove that this
abortionist wanted to snuff out the life of a child who just wanted a
chance to be loved, a chance now being offered so selflessly by the
Doe family.  All talk of Baby Doe, therefore, has to be suppressed,
even if harassment and actual violence need to be employed in the
process.  And the Doe family had to endure a great deal of harassing
phone calls during Baby Doe's first year of life.

The situation began to escalate in July of 1994, when Baby Doe
reached his first birthday.  A dead cat was thrown on the Does' front
porch.  Attached to it was a note which read: "Your children are
next." They reported it to the police, only to discover that, with
the exception of a cooperative police captain, the field officers did
not take the case seriously.  The Does got the distinct impression
that they were being treated as "pro-life nuts" by the police
officers, some of whom have been known to moonlight in uniform as
security guards at the abortuary.

The phone calls increased in number and in severity in the past year,
with Mrs. Doe believing that two of the calls were made by the
abortionist, although he did not identify himself.  People stand in
front of their house to take photographs, something that police
report is perfectly legal.  This mild form of harassment pales into
insignificance in comparison to the actual violence that would be
unleashed on Mrs. Doe on a Sunday morning recently.

Mrs. Doe mustered up the courage to join a pro-life prayer group in
front of the killing center in June.  And she brought Baby Doe to a
pro-life picnic, enraging pro-abortion picketers.  This act of
impudence on the part of Mrs.  Doe had to be dealt with in decisive
terms.

It was on that Sunday morning recently when Mrs. Doe, who was tending
her front yard, saw a hooded man get out of a Jeep-type vehicle.  He
beat her up, smashing her face.  (I saw her face while the bruises
were still evident.) She was thrown into a thorny rosebush with the
warning, "We are going to kill [Baby Doe]." Frightened, Mrs. Doe
called the police, who said that they could find no vehicle matching
the description she gave them.

The Catholic pro-life community in this midwestern city, led by that
exemplary priest-friend of mine, has offered a great deal of support
and protection to the Doe family.  So much so that the Does decided
to have their miracle child baptized into the Catholic faith; they
are taking instructions themselves.  It was at this juncture that I
met these courageous people who have offered such love and care to
the child who so frightens the abortionist and his supporters.

"One life," I uttered silently.  "One tiny life threatens so many."

Rarely have I met people who are as courageous and selfless as the
Does, people who are trying to offer the unconditional love of Love
Incarnate to a little baby made in His image and likeness.

The Does' lives are in real physical jeopardy.  They are trying to
sell their home in order to move to a more secure location (friends
are providing round-the-clock protection for them).  Despite a
recent, perfunctory investigation by the federal marshal's office,
the Does have no real hope of getting the protection and the justice
that would be their due in a country governed by the natural law.
They have become targets because of their love.  And Baby Doe's
godmother, an elderly woman, was also attacked recently, and her jaw
was broken in three places.  The attacks are escalating.

Baby Doe radiates a closeness to God that is indescribable.  He is a
victim-survivor of abortion who may have but a short life here on
earth.  It is important that his story be told.  It is important that
we rededicate our efforts to end all abortions, especially as we head
into another presidential election.

More importantly, however, it is absolutely imperative for us to
pray.  For it is prayer which moved the Does to offer love to a child
chosen within the Providence of God to speak for the millions of
victims who have been so brutally dismembered and discarded.  It is
prayer which moves the Does to offer unceasing love and care to the
little baby who they know well could die during one of many trips to
the hospital.  It is prayer, particularly the most perfect prayer,
the Mass, and the Rosary, which will help create the atmosphere
necessary for a conversion of this nation to a respect for life.


This article was taken from the August 10, 1995 issue of "The
Wanderer," 201 Ohio Street, St. Paul, MN 55107, 612-224-5733.
Subscription Price: $35.00 per year; six months $20.00.

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