The Gift of Life!

"Hand of Hope." A picture began circulating in November. It should be 'The Picture of the Year,' or perhaps, 'Picture of the Decade.' It won't be. In fact,unless you obtained a copy of the US paper which published it, you probably would never have seen it. The picture is that of a 21-week-old unborn baby named Samuel Alexander Armas, who is being operated on by surgeon named Joseph Bruner. The baby was diagnosed with spina bifida and would not survive if removed from his mother's womb. Little Samuel's mother! , Julie Armas, is an obstetrics nurse in Atlanta . She knew of Dr Bruner's remarkable surgical procedure. Practicing at Vanderbilt Univ Med Ctr in Nashville , he performs these special operations while the baby is still in the womb. During the procedure, the doctor removes the uterus via C-section and makes a small incision to operate on the baby. As Dr Bruner completed the surgery on Samuel, the little guy reached his tiny, but fully developed hand through the incision and firmly grasped the surgeon's finger. Dr Bruner was reported as saying that when his finger was grasped, it was the most emotional moment of his life, and that for an instant during the procedure he was just frozen, totally immobile. The photograph captures this amazing event with perfect clarity The editors titled the picture, 'Hand of Hope.' The text explaining the picture begins, 'The tiny hand of 21-week-old fetus Samuel Alexander Armas emerges from the mother's uterus to grasp the finger of Dr Joseph Bruner as if thanking the doctor for the gift of life.' Little Samuel's mother said they 'wept for days' when they saw the picture. She said, 'The photo reminds us pregnancy isn't about disability or an illness, it's about a little person.'Samuel was born in perfect health, the operation 100percent successful. Now see the actual picture again, and it is awesome.... incredible.... and hey, pass it on. The world needs to see this one!

"IS IT REALLY A BABY OR ‘JUST A BLOB OF TISSUE’?"

Years ago scientists did not know. Now, however, with ultrasound and other methods, they can actually "see" the unborn baby inside of the mother’s womb. Doctors can now open the womb, do surgery on an unborn baby, and close up the womb for the pregnancy to continue normally. One now famous photo shows an unborn baby 21 weeks old reaching out of the womb and grabbing the finger of the surgeon. The surgery was completed and the baby was born healthy months later. There is now no question that it is a living, growing, feeling human being long before birth.

"WILL MY BABY FEEL PAIN DURING ABORTION?"

In the past few years, medical research has shown thatunborn babies can feel pain. Dr. H. M. Liley, the leading authority on the study of babies before birth, stated, "When doctors first began invading the sanctuary of the womb, they did not know that the unborn baby would react to painin the same fashion as a child would. But they soon learned that he would."

Many women in this world have suffered both physically and emotionally from their abortions. They will always regret their decisions. Below, two women share their experiences with you hoping you won’t make the same mistake they did.

"When I returned home I had very heavy bleeding and severe cramps for two days. I was so afraid something was wrong that I called Planned Parenthood who referred me for my abortion. They said I was OK without suggesting an exam. At my after-school job at a dime store, I went to the restroom. It was then I found my baby on my sanitary pad. He had arms and legs with tiny hands and feet. I could make out his little nose and a dark spot that I know was his eye. Even after 10 years, it’s still hard for me to think about it."

Kathy Barlett, Waco, Tx

"Planned Parenthood suggested only an abortion. No other options were ever discussed. They never said the word ‘baby’ – only ‘fetus’. You can’t imagine my shock and horror when I saw my dismembered baby after my ‘nice and easy’ abortion. They deceived me. I’ve suffered severe emotional problems."

Karen Sullivan-Ables Taylor, Az