I’m done letting anger separate me from pro-life work.

I made a mistake.

When I realized the GOP was going to nominate and elect Trump, I became so disgusted by that conspiracy of gullibility and corruption, I allowed myself to become distanced from pro-life work.

I still donated to pro-life organizations; I still prayed every night for the protection of unborn babies; and I still agonized over my moral responsibility at each and every election. But, while I still challenged readers not to accept the horror of abortion, I wrote less frequently about explicitly pro-life causes. Because of my anger, I stopped engaging with and promoting explicitly pro-life work.

I’m still angry, and justifiably so. I’m angry that there is abortion in the world. I’m angry that it feels necessary to so many people. I’m angry that born and unborn babies, pregnant mothers, and all women aren’t cherished and protected. There is no bond like the bond between mother and child, and it tears me apart when they are dehumanized and brutalized by anyone. Sometimes I’m so angry, I can hardly breathe.

But that was my mistake. Moloch doesn’t care who you’re angry at, as long as your anger keeps you from fighting for innocent lives. So I’m taking a breath. If you’re as angry as I am, I’m inviting you to take a fresh start with me, and see what good we can do.

Last night, at the State of the Union speech, President Trump said some good words:

Let us work together to build a culture that cherishes innocent life.

And let us reaffirm a fundamental truth — all children — born and unborn— are made in the holy image of God.

His speechwriter is absolutely correct. This is what we must work for.

How? For a quick and easy way to push back against laws that would allow for late-term abortions and infanticide, you can use this form to urge your senators to co-sponsor and vote for the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act. This is a good and possibly even a useful thing to do, and I’ll do it today. But it’s not enough, especially when I know the pro-life politicians are only pro-some-lives. Voting for them feels like planting a victory flag in quicksand.

Not everyone feels this way. If you think the Trump presidency has been good for the pro-life movement and has made the world better and safer for babies and their mothers, this post isn’t for you. I know I won’t change your mind, and I’m no longer trying to. I can’t seem talk about it without getting angry and losing focus. So right now, I just want to write about groups doing genuine pro-life work.

One such organization is Immigrant Families Together.

Who do they help? They help innocent life made in the holy image of God. One example (a real person, whose name is protected for her privacy):

A seventeen-year-old girl in Guatemala who was sold to a gang leader. He raped her and got her pregnant, then beat her so badly, the baby died. Then she got pregnant again.

This time, she decided to get out. So she began to walk, with her innocent unborn child inside of her. She crossed a thousand miles to present herself and her unborn baby at a legal port of entry at the U.S. She broke no laws; she followed the protocol. She just wanted to live, and she wanted her baby to live.

But you know what happens when people present themselves at our borders. They are not cherished. They are not treated as if they are made in the holy image of God. They are caught up in our political wrangling, and they suffer, and their children suffer.

Families are still being separated as a matter of course; children are being thrust into foster care and lost track of permanently. Pregnant mothers are miscarrying while they languish in custody. Mothers who wanted life for their children are having their children taken away. They have not done anything immoral by looking for help. They simply want to live, and they want their children to live. Helping them find each other again and live together in peace is pro-life work.

Immigrant Families Together goes right to the people caught in that tangle and helps them in immediate, tangible ways. They are currently helping that Guatemalan woman through her complex legal process so she doesn’t lose another child.

The first woman they helped was Yeni Gonzalez Garcia, whose story is here.  Through the work of IFT, Gonzalez-Garcia has been reunited with her children.

Here is a summary of their work:

  • Raising of bond funds through coordinated crowdfunding and individual giving in order to post bond for parents separated from their children at the US/Mexico Border.
  • Paying bonds and providing pro bono legal representation to fulfill all legal responsibilities while awaiting trial so that they may be with their children.
  • Arranging safe transportation from state of detention to the city where children are currently in foster care.
  • When needed, finding longterm housing in the destination city while they await trial.
  • Connecting parents in cities with resources in order to sustain them during the process of being unified with their children.
  • Working with local organizations and government to expedite the process of achieving full custody of their children while they await trial.
  • We have expanded our services to also include a legal referral services,  AYUDAS and have rapid response response teams to assist recently released detainees and families.

You can donate through their site, or find a Facebook page that’s more local, such as Immigrant Families Together Midwest, Immigrant Families Together – California, Immigrant Families Together East Coast, Immigrant Families Together South.

I would like to routinely highlight the work of organizations doing pro-life work like this. If you work with or know of a group doing this kind of work, drop me a line at simchafisher at gmail dot com.

Anger is only good when it propels you to do good works. Let’s take a breath and start again.

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46 thoughts on “I’m done letting anger separate me from pro-life work.”

  1. Jojo, it’s Simcha’s blog. She’ll just keep ignoring you if you keep up the name calling.

  2. Yeah turning a mother away at the border is cruel. But putting her in asylum waiting to process her for years is much more cruel (our detention centres are horrible). But you need an immigration policy we both agree. I mentioned Obama, Bush, Clinton. I didn’t wave my hands at Obama to single him out, but to say his foreign pro-abotion policy was horrendous and one of the worst and the most recent. Bush senior was a donor of Planned Parenthood. Clinton foundation…well enough said there. It’s almost as though you are applying higher expectations for Trump than his predecessors. This is what I don’t understand. The Black Lives Matter rubbish ignited as much of not more division. American politics is not that difficult to understand. The benchmark changes based on cult of personality it seems rather than policy. I understand that the vitriol is extraordinary during this presidency. Your alternative is not better. You would rather a president to be saying the things his speech writer wrote for him and pray he follows through. Give the guy a chance. Anyway still love your blog and writing.

  3. Simcha, thank you so much for highlighting the work of Immigrant Families Together. It’s difficult to not fall into despair and negativity. Yes, this is prolife work. In the broad sense as well as in the specific sense of saving unborn children. We are grateful for your amplification.

  4. Yes but everything that you mentioned was still true under Obama, under Bush, under Clinton etc…
    You can’t have open borders to any country. The American people elected him because they wanted a wall. That was his platform for being elected. Those women are putting their own lives and childrens lives at risk. Illegal Mexicans were being deported way before Trumps presidency. We have detention centres where I am from, for illegal boat people, which is our biggest immigration problem. If we had open borders those boat people which were coming in droves by sea, would have kept drowning at sea. Sometimes the tough immigration measures are designed to prevent people from danger. There needs to be a legal and safe way to apply to come to America or any country otherwise it creates what you currently have now- dangerous smuggling and illegal aliens with no accountability in the country they live in. As for the unborn, well oh well Obama wasn’t only advancing the pro-choice agenda in the US but also forcing it as international policy outside of the US on the poorest of the poor in Africa. And he managed to escape the vitriol which Trump is receiving. One man couldn’t possibly create the anti-semitism, anti-media violence which you speak of if it hasn’t already existed. Clinton was meant to “save” the Middle East. Look at Israel and Palestinian relations today. The level of hate towards Trump is still unmerited. And call me stupid, but I really and truly don’t get it.

    1. I am not advocating for open borders. He has ordered the deliberate maltreatment of people who legally presented themselves at ports of entry asking for asylum after they fled their own countries in fear of their lives. There is no legal *or* moral case to be made for turning them away and certainly no legal or moral case to be made for torturing them and their children. I agree that the immigration system needs reform. As it is, it’s impossibly slow and expensive.
      You haven’t addressed any of my other specific complaints other than to wave your hands and say “obama,” so I will conclude that, as you say, you don’t understand American politics. I don’t blame you for that, as you are not an American, but I hope you can understand that someone actually living with the real-life consequences of his specific actions does understand what is happening here.

  5. Simcha I love your blog. I’m not American but do read some Conservative American news and blogs because I like to know about politics outside my own country.
    Can I ask you a question – why do you hate Trump? I mean you can hate his hair, his womanising, his occasional, limited vocabulary, but essentially his politics are very aligned with our Faith. In his speech he uttered some pro-life words which our priests are no longer saying. He is outright opposed to anti-Semitic violence. He champioms
    US veterans. He gives former criminals (regardless of race) who have truly reformed, great opportunity. He invited people to his speech from all of these groups I mentioned. He is appointing Judges who are very pro-life. He has turned the tide for the US economy and jobs. He has stood up against China, Iran and North Korea.
    Why do you hate someone who is doing good for your country? All I can say is that the commentary outside of the US is in his favour because we are not bombarded by propoganda from the left. We are hearing his results. And although he has a long way to go in his Presidency, they look promising on all accounts.
    He needs to be given credit for these, whether you personally like the look of him or not.

    1. Oh my goodness, where do I even start. His politics are not aligned with our Faith. No.

      His policies at the border are deliberately (he admitted it was deliberate) cruel and punitive toward vulnerable women and children seeking legal asylum. Children are now permanently separated from their parents and the government says it won’t even try to find them. Mothers have miscarried in custody. He has encouraged xenophobia, racism, and antisemitism countless times. He ran on the promise that he’d elect judges who’d overturn roe v wade, but the judges he has appointed have both said they think roe v wade is settled law. The economic growth in the country benefits mainly the very wealthy. Meanwhile, he shut down the government for a month to try and force funding for his ludicrous, useless vanity wall, meaning people didn’t get paid for an entire month, and the lowest wage earners won’t get back pay.
      His foreign policy is bizarre, incoherent, and dangerous, and consists mainly of him sucking up to dictators without regard to how
      He wants to cut food stamps and other benefits for the poor, eliminate preexisting condition protections from healthcare, and wants to get rid of the subsidized healthcare that covers medical care for people like my daughter who has diabetes. He has reneged on promised student loan forgiveness for people who have worked for years in low income and high risk service jobs. He has routinely encouraged people to see the press as the enemy and has encouraged violence against reporters like my husband, who works in an office similar to the one where several reporters were recently killed by a Trump supporter. To benefit corporations, he’s rolling back environmental regulations that protect our health and safety.
      He’s withdrawn from the global nuclear arms treaty because it benefits Russia, which will likely reopen the arms race.
      And he’s colluded with Russia to affect the election, which is treason.
      That’s just off the top of my head.
      I don’t give a shit about his hair.

      2. Simcha, your work is normally good, but this is mental.

        Trump as anti-Semitic? His daughter is Jewish. He has advanced the most pro-Israel agenda in decades. Our embassy now resides in Jerusalem.

        Trump as deliberately harming children at the border? Honey, you’re not a lawyer. Our asylum laws are complex, but it’s plainly wrong to say that he has no legal case: those seeking asylum are to present themselves at the first safe country. You can’t walk a thousand miles through Mexico from another country to get asylum in America.

        Moral case? Are you completely unaware that sex trafficking arrests have skyrocketed under Trump because of border enforcement? Actually, yes, you are that ignorant and you are running your mouth.

        Racist? Why does Trump have the highest approval rating of any Republican president in decades among black men? Do they need white Catholic mommies to explain to them why they should hate Trump?

        Get away from the keyboard, go to town hall, remove your voter registration, and then listen to people who have some subject matter knowledge.

      3. As for the judges: wow you need to stop writing, stop voting, and stop opening your mouth, ever, if you actually think that Trump is not doing an amazing job on pro-life judges and justices.

        There is a reason why every Supreme Court nominee will describe Roe as settled law. Stare decisis is an important part of our judicial tradition, and frankly, the strategy is not to overturn Roe; it’s to consistently move the lines back until Roe is dead letter.

        I’m sorry that you glom onto any little detail to support your stupid, irrational hate. I’m sorry that you opine about things you don’t understand, from asylum law to sex trafficking to judicial confirmations. Brett Kavanaugh as not pro-life. Wow. Get off your high horse.

  6. Ah the liberal seamless garment nonsense. Genuine pro life work lol. You start at ending abortion, plain and simple. Then there is the five Catholic non negotiables. I wonder if your concern for families extends to the left’s redefinition of marriage that denies a child’s right to a mother and father?

    1. Whence this ‘liberal’ business? Did you mean to comment on a different post? I can’t see what you’re ostensibly replying to anywhere in Simcha’s post. And what’s the source of these ‘five non-negotiables’ you mention?

  8. This lady is outto lunch.
    Immigration is a lesser issue than the taking of innocent human life.
    Trump is the most prolife President probably in history.
    Shun Trump = lady you shun the babies.

  10. Oh, for the love of Pete. The statement about this not being for Trump supporters is because it is specifically for people who are angry about Trump being held up as a good example of a pro-lifer. She is trying to refocus and call us to refocus on what really matters here, and that’s not Trump.

    To respond with anger because she doesn’t like you guy totally misses the point.

    1. I re-read this article…and…yeah. I can read it that way now. The bit about not being for Trump…uh…fans(?) is a reference to the bit about the flag in quicksand, not a ‘you guys are jerks and a lost cause’ attack, which is how I read it the first time (and why I left the comment I did).

      It’s hard not to read anything about Trump defensively lately, one way or the other. That’s not the author’s fault though.

      1. It is very hard not to be defensive these days. We are all primed for the attack, all the time. It’s exhausting and painful.
        Thanks for responding without anger.

  11. GiannaT says it well! Why is your post not for those who think that the Trump administration has been good for unborn babies and their mothers? Is it unfathomable that one can applaud his pro-life stance and at the same time recognize the need for a more humane response at the border? Since I support our president does that mean I am against treating those who come to the US in a civilized and respectful manner? Of course not! You are buying into some strange assumption (pushed by the liberal agenda) that if one supports the president, they are automatically inhumane racists. What a ridiculous and bewildering belief! Simcha, if I remember correctly, you once stated that you voted for Hillary. Does that make you an extreme, far left, pro-choice feminist? I would venture to guess, it does not. Stereotyping someone by the way they vote and assuming to know their heart is a dangerous road to walk down. However, you do exactly that when you assume that any one who supports Trump’s pro-life agenda would not find the information you valuable. I urge you to let go of some of the assumptions you harbor about those who support the president. You undermine your message when you insist that it is only meant for those who think exactly as you do.

  12. Even the most devout of Trump supporters has to admit that literally no where, ever, EXCEPT within isolated, political-gain-seeking speeches (andusually in high-stakes moments undoubtedly written by speechwriters), has Trump said anything about the sacredness of human life. EVER.

    I cannot believe that anyone is that gullible. I just can’t.

    1. Same Corita. I just don’t get how you can be ok with caging babies and still be considered pro-life. Or even the death penalty. I mean, come on!

    2. In the SOTU, last night, President Trump unabashedly did state very clearly a pro-life position for US legislation with no equivocation and no hesitation, in stark contrast to his political opponents and the legislators of the states of NY and VA.

      In the public profession of this position, by the most powerful leader of the free first world, a significant point is made for goodness and truth. It means something, and it has value and import before God and the world.

      Why it is so hard, painful, or roundabout to simply admit same, belies a pride problem, regardless of what one thinks of the man.

    3. That is false. You dont know much about Donald Trump who has been friend to all ages races and creeds for many decades. Dont swallow the democrat talking points.

  13. Dear Simcha
    I recently saw what pro choice can do to an entire nation, my family is Irish but we have lived and raised our many children in England. We honestly had no idea that Catholic Ireland would fall so hard into the abortion world.

    We visited Ireland soon after and the parents of those who voted to allow abortion are horrified. They can’t understand how their reasonable, loving kids are so stupid.

    That is the way evil seeps into the world.

    Stay strong Mrs Fisher, its all we can do. Pray, Protest and Protect all Life.

    I wish you all Gods Blessings for you and yours.

  14. Oh Simcha, your hatred for all things Trump is shining through, again. Look, what are the chances that a billionaire, playboy tycoon and ruthless businessman would stand before all of America and say those words, particularly knowing half the country hates him? I’d say slim to none. How far has our country traveled down this road of genocide to get to the point that it takes a sinner like this to stand up for the innocents that are actually being murdered? Trump doesn’t say or do anything Trump doesn’t want to do or say, in case you haven’t noticed. Speechwriters don’t tell Presidents what to say, Presidents tell the speechwriters what they want to say, and let the speechwriter come up with the best way of saying it. We all know Trump would say it in the worst possible manner, but say it he would.

      1. Exactly. His approval rating is low, he’s under investigation, Congress is not playing ball with him. He needs someone’s approval. Government is a big game or business deal to him. I have zero confidence that he will actually do anything to help the pro-life cause. Talk is cheap. His wall is more important than abortion. He’ll say what he needs to say to get more support for his pet project (and to make sure he gets votes in 2020). I’d bet he’s seduced many women with empty promises.

        Drop the hope for political change in abortion. Support local pro-life efforts and vote for for those measures that make it easier for women not to choose abortion (like affordable healthcare, wage hikes, etc.)

  15. I agree with what you said here.

    I am a little upset that you prefaced your suggestion of a good charity to donate to (and I agree with you that it IS a good one, and a necessary battle to fight) with ‘Trump supporters, this isn’t for you.’

    I didn’t vote for Trump. But I know people who did (one couple in particular) who sponsored a family who arrived here illegally, advocated for them, helped them fight legal battles to stay here, and who are godparents to their daughter born in the U.S. They’re currently sponsoring another woman who arrived here fleeing an abusive situation at her home in Central America with her small daughter (legally this time, on a student visa).

    They see no conflict with the work they’ve done and their support of strengthening the border because of what they’ve heard from these people they’ve helped. They’ve formed an informed opinion, which anyone is free to agree or disagree with.

    They of course aren’t in favor of splitting up families, they’ve done front line work to prevent that! They would probably support this charity.

    Please don’t assume people who disagree with you and see value in Trump are all complicit racists. Please. Please don’t buy into that line. People are more complicated than that.

      1. You’re right. I apologise.

        Would paraphrasing it, ‘If you think Trump has made this country a better place for babies and their mothers, this post isn’t for you’ be fair? I can’t copy paste because my phone is being dumb.

        I really do apologise. It drives me crazy when people misquote me; I should have been more concientious.

        I hope you do see how I could have come away with that message, even if it wasn’t intended. On more careful reading I see that you don’t necessarily meant it the way I took it.

  16. I applaud you for your decision to not let anger keep you from fighting for the pro-life cause. However, did your meaculpa have to include a discreet jab at Donald Trump? Your reference to President Trump’s “good words” were folllowed by your praise of his “speechwriter’s words”. It is not difficult to recognize your unspoken belief that his words and feelings on the matter of abortion are not sincere and are politically motivated. Why are you so reluctant to give the president the benefit of a doubt and take him at his word when he claims to be pro-life? In your recent f/b post, you alluded to your belief that he has paid for abortions. Is this belief you hold (which happens to be unfounded and completely inappropriate —- not to mention sexist as I would hope you would never publicly accuse a woman of obtaining an abortion) the reason you doubt his pro-life identity? If so, what an insult to every woman and man who have ever made the tragic mistake of being involved in an abortion, and then later, recognizing the evil of the act and becoming zealous in their fight for the pro-life cause! Again, I admire you for your acknowledgment of the distraction from pro-life work that your anger has caused but you may benefit from a little hulimity re. the president’s words and actions. If he elects pro-life judges, declares life to be sacred and verbalizes the horror of late term abortion on live tv, isn’t that reason enough to applaud him and not his “speech writer”?

    1. It is a fact that politicians use speechwriters. I don’t blame Simcha at all for wondering, speculating, if Trump really truly is at heart a changed man, a pro-life person, while still pointing out that those words are good words. The speechwriter wrote them, maybe at the behest of Trump, maybe not. He read the speech, perhaps, beforehand, and decided he was okay with saying them…whether because he believed it wholeheartedly OR he felt it’s the politically expedient thing to say, who knows.
      He spoke them. He stated them. Maybe saying those words over and over, as written by his speechwriter, will affect change in his soul. Do I believe Trump is evil incarnate? No. Do I believe that he’s a perfect person? No. He’s flawed, as have all of our presidents been–because they’re human.

      If you truly believe every politician believes every word they speak at a podium, really believes them at their heart’s core, I have some very nice swampland to sell you. In Arizona.

      Simcha’s doing good work here with her blog. It’s a shame that people are jumping on one of her words rather than reading the entire essay and agreeing that there is still work to do. Simcha, thank you for the link about the Born Alive Act–I used it right away to write to my senators. Thank you for all you do to bring Christ to people.

      1. Of course I know that the president had a speech writer —- I highly doubt any politician writes their own speeches! However, assuming that the pro-life message was strategically placed in his speech by a speech writer and did not reflect the president’s beliefs is cynical at best and unkind/uncharitable at its worst. I just find it ironic that instead of simply recognizing her mistake in allowing her anger to dictate her actions, she couldn’t help but sneak in a veiled insult to the president —- thereby, indulging her anger once again! If it were me and I was seemingly incapable of giving someone the benefit of the doubt, I would do some serious soul searching to find the real root of my anger.

    2. Trump gave a good speech.
      His presidency has been a disaster.
      I think that praising his speechwriters is correct.

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