If you know of a pregnancy that is unwanted by the parents, see How Lives Can Be Saved.
Spreading the Pro-Life Message Outside the Hazra Metro
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On December 10 Viswakamal joined with pro-life feminists of other organizations to spread the pro-life message.
Several pro-life activists – mostly women, one of them a man – spoke. Swagata Banerjee appealed to all mothers of children not yet born – that is, all pregnant women – not to kill the little embryos inside them. Apart from the right those children have, like everyone else, to live their lives free from violence, she pointed out the great loss we will all suffer if we kill off the next generation. We don’t know what possibilities lie among those throbbing expressions of human life that are inside the woman.
Let them see the light of the earth and become fully manifested and prove their abilities, she said. They may even become a great person like Einstein, we don’t know.
Many also believe that we get a chance for human life only through many rebirths. So let’s not spoil someone’s chance, if that is the reality.
So we appeal to all the people of this locality not to get involved in any way in the deaths of the unborn, for which they may greatly repent when later they think about what they have done. Please spread this message also to your near and dear ones – Do not do such things.
There is a Bengali proverb: think twice before you do something. I would say rather you think a hundred times, a thousand times. If you think enough, you will surely never take a wrong decision like that. It is one of our highest moral duties not only to spare the lives, but also to actively protect the lives, of unborn children. If because of your pregnancy you find difficulties and face problems, then you must contact us at 9875506705, or by email at viswakamal.ws@gmail.com We will spare no effort to do whatever we can. All our people are always at your service.
Other speakers besides Swagata were Sunanda Saha, Shrabani Basak, and Hitangshu.
Good Response in Thakurpukur
On May 3 at the Vivekananda Sporting Club in Khudirampalli, Thakurpukur, twenty club members attended a Viswakamal seminar and watched a screening of the It’s a Girl! film. The members were moved by the film and by the presentations of Swagata and Hitangshu, as well as that of Sandip Balmiki. When the pro-life message is clearly presented, hardly anyone can argue with it, and Khudirampalli too is now on board.
Viswakamal Visits Christian Group
Today, Good Friday for Christians, members of Viswakamal responded to an invitation from Mother Mission School, run by Bengali Christian Network, situated at Thakurpukur near Bagpota. The VK representatives spoke and showed the film It’s a Girl! The film documents the horror of abortion and infanticide against unborn and newborn girls in India and China. Proponents of legal abortion often claim that legal abortion safeguards women’s rights, but in India abortion claims the lives of almost 80 lakhs of small, defenseless, unborn women every year. How is this women’s rights?
The program was hosted by Mr. Mondal, who is the director of the school. Viswakamal members Swagata Banerjee, and her husband, each addressed the gathering of thirty. Sandip Balmiki also spoke on behalf of Viswakamal. In an interlude, Shreya Naskar sang two beautiful and uplifting songs. In addition to It’s a Girl!, much of which is in English, and has English subtitles, a short Hindi fictional film was shown. It brought out the fallacy of thinking that killing an unborn child is any different from killing a born child.
The audience were moved by the presentation and became ready to join in the fight against abortion.
Combining Pro-Life Outreach with Sanitizer Distribution
Today Viswakamal volunteers did pro-life outreach and at the same time distributed hand sanitizer in Shyambazar. The public appreciated both.
“It’s a Girl” Seminar in Behala
At the Sishu Bitan School in Behala Sarsuna, Kolkata, on November 22, around twenty persons gathered for a seminar on abortion.
Viswakamal activist Hitangshu opened the meeting. Dr. Prankrishna Mukherjee, the guest of honour, explained some medical and sociological aspects of abortion.
WhatsApp Video 2020-11-23 at 07.07.16 Prankrishna, Sailen [the video at this link is temporarily malfunctioning, but the others in this post are functioning]
Then Sailen Modak was introduced. He spoke about the activities and efforts of Viswakamal that he has been seeing over the last seven years – not only activities in different parts of West Bengal, but also activities by people living in Bihar, Jharkhand, Assam, etc., who have come in contact with Viswakamal and have taken an oath to make people aware of the inhumane tendency of abortion sometimes hidden within them, and to appeal to them to become more humane. Their different activities include postering, leafleting, small-gathering seminars, and sometimes taking their leaflets door to door. Viswakamal members stand always at the side of pregnant women who are either confused or under pressure of circumstances.
Pranati Pal said that before joining Viswakamal, she had already done similar work while with another NGO. They had gone door to door to convince people that abortion is wrong and should be considered a crime. It adversely affects the health of the mother also. If people are confused about what to do or not to do, they should contact Viswakamal. We will maintain confidentiality, and if necessary place the baby once it is born.
Viswakamal activist Swagata then spoke about the mother instinct. Many women, perhaps most, desire to raise a family under ideal marital and economic circumstances, but a true mother is one who has a fierce determination to care for whatever children she may have, born or unborn, even under adverse circumstances. She concluded by declaring that Viswakamal is ready to help with unwanted pregnancies.
WhatsApp Video 2020-11-23 at 07.07.16 Swagata
The YouTube documentary “It’s A Girl” bares the reality of the sex-selective abortion and infanticide, together called “gendercide”, that target girls in India and China. In those two countries, parents have long preferred boys over girls, but before the invention of ultrasound, the sex was not known till birth. Some parents would kill girls after birth, but to do so they would have to see the face of the child they were killing, which would cause them extreme guilt. So the rate of such infanticide was never more than 4%. With the invention of ultrasound, however, it became possible to determine the sex (gender) of the child while it was still in the womb, when the killing could be done invisibly. Parents somehow feel less guilt about such killings. The parents do not have to see what they’re doing. So at present, up to 30% of girls are killed in certain parts of India.
The documentary is half about India and half about China. We watched most of the portion about India. Then it was explained, however, that even if we successfully change the mentality that leads to sex-selective abortion (gendercide), that will not save most of the unborn girls who are aborted. To save most of them, we must greatly reduce the number of abortions overall, regardless of gender.
WhatsApp Video 2020-11-24 at 15.35.42-cropped
Two members of the audience asked some good questions, and Viswakamal people replied on the basis of their thinking and experience.
Showing of “It’s a Girl”
Yesterday March 7 in Shyambazar, Kolkata, fifteen members and supporters of Viswakamal gathered to raise public awareness about the reality of abortion. Members took turns speaking until dark began to fall, through their loudspeakers reaching thousands in the rush-hour crowd, and at the same time distributing leaflets to all who passed their table.
Swagata and Ujjwal speak up for the helpless
Once dark began to fall, we set up a screen and began to show the YouTube documentary “It’s A Girl”. The film bares the reality of the sex-selection abortion and infanticide, together called “gendercide”, that target girls in India and China. We showed the first half of the film, related to India. Though we had hoped that some of the busy passers-by would stop and watch the grim and riveting film, few did. But the Viswakamal members and supporters, at least, left with a good education about this depraved practice, and energized to put a stop to it.
Hitangshu and Swagata add running commentary as "It's a Girl" is shown
Returning to Missionaries of Charity
On December 15 a Viswakamal team once again visited Missionaries of Charity. The audience there consisted of about 150 women. We first gave a performance of spiritual songs. Kakali Ghosh then presented a video, adding some commentary of her own, and Ujjwal Ghosh gave a talk.
The video explained fetal development. A grasp of fetal development helps people to understand that even an embryo consisting of only a few cells, or of only one cell, is no less human than the rest of our human family. A tiny embryo is a human whose form and behaviour is just as a human’s form and behaviour should be at its particular stage of development. If its form and behaviour were different, it would not be what a human being should be at that particular stage.
Sex That Is Safe, Healthy, and Responsible
Here we will not discuss the morality or immorality of pre-marital sex. Some pre-marital sex will always occur. When it occurs, it can and should be healthy, and responsible, and as safe as possible.
Safe: In pre-marital sex, the chance of disease (including HIV) can never be completely eliminated, but it can be greatly minimized.
Healthy: In order to be healthy, it must not only be safe from disease, but must also involve self-control and avoid excessive indulgence.
Responsible: Anyone who indulges in pre-marital sex must take precautions to avoid conception of an unborn child. If an unborn child does result, they must be prepared to make big sacrifices to give it a healthy and happy life.
Now let’s say a little more about “safe, healthy, and responsible.”
Safe: Outside of a faithful marriage or other faithful monogamous relationship, condoms should always be used. However, condoms are not foolproof against HIV and other sexually-transmitted diseases (STD’s). If one is promiscuous (has multiple sexual partners), the risk of infection increases.
Healthy: Traditional medical schools of India, including ayurveda and yoga, have taught that sexual intercourse and masturbation, if indulged in too frequently, are harmful to the health of both men and women. The conventional medical community is sceptical about such harm, yet many experienced coaches of sports teams prohibit their players from having sex before games. Muhammad Ali, perhaps the greatest boxer of all time, used to abstain from sex for six weeks before a fight.
And another problem with the conventional, Western, view: what ayurveda and yoga teach is that too much sex will adversely affect the concentration power of the mind, even before all that sex affects the physical body – and Western sources seem to have studied only possible effects on the body, and seem to have made no attempt to study possible effects on the mind.
If you do decide to have sex, try having it no more than four times a month and see if you experience a high energy level.
Responsible: Unless the woman has passed menopause or has had her uterus removed, it is always possible that sex may result in an unborn child. An unborn child deserves our love and protection just as much as any child. Anyone who indulges in pre-marital sex should try their best to avoid conception, but if an unborn child does result, it is the most helpless member of our human family, and we must be prepared to make big sacrifices for it. We will find that when we live for a child, and not for ourselves, we actually become happier than we have ever been.
Techniques for avoiding conception consist of natural family planning (NFP) and various kinds of contraception. Techniques of contraception include condoms, vasectomies for men, hormonal contraceptives (pills) for women, and various techniques involving a woman’s internal organs, such as intra-uterine devices (IUD’s). Only NFP and condoms are free from side-effects, and people should educate themselves about the side-effects of other techniques.
Speaking at Missionaries of Charity
Among the many poor people to whom the Missionaries of Charity provides free healthcare, some are women of childbearing age. From time to time a group of those women gather at the MOC’s Shishu Bhavan (on AJC Bose Road near the main “Mother House”, which was formerly the headquarters of Mother Teresa), and the sisters give a presentation about abortion. The present head of the Shishu Bhavan is Sister Andrea, originally from Germany. Viswakamal was invited to such an event on the 8th of December, and Viswakamal secretary Ujjwal Ghosh and others gave talks to the group.
Street-Corner Event in Shyambazar
Once again, on July 1 in Shyambazar, Viswakamal members brought the pro-life message to Kolkatans.
Swagata Banerjee speaks for those who cannot speak for themselves