Boston Rallies for Liberty, Opposes Assisted Suicide

Posted by Lou Murray (October 23, 2012 at 5:37 pm)

As a crowd of nearly 200 gathered around Holy Name Rotary in West Roxbury, Massachusetts for the Stand Up Rally on Saturday, October 20, another crowd gathered a mile down the road at the Corrib pub.

At the Corrib, Senators John McCain and Scott Brown took on the tough topics like the cover up of the Benghazi terror attack, and the threat to safety posed through looming cuts to the military budget. But many of those who gathered inside and outside the Corrib to get a glimpse, grab a handshake, or salute these fine Senators might want to hear about the speakers at the Stand Up Rally, who spoke so eloquently about ‘Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.’

At the Stand Up Rally, Father George Carlson opened with a prayer invoking the Holy Spirit to enlighten our minds and fill our hearts to be happy warriors for justice. Carlson is a mighty priest, as he finished his blessing the sun shown so brightly you’d have thought it was August.

Next to the podium came Christina Giordano a Suffolk University law student. She said, “As a women it saddens me greatly that the Obama administration is willing to risk the great charitable work done by Catholic and Evangelical colleges, grade schools, orphanages, and social workers all to score cheap political points through the HHS Mandate.”

The First Amendment was put first so that no law could be enacted which would undermine religious liberty (‘prohibiting the free exercise thereof’). By forcing Christian institutions (and businesses) to provide abortion inducing drugs; sterilization, and contraceptives under the guise of healthcare these institutions are being forced to violate their collective conscience against the right to life from inception to natural death.”

Sister Mary Vincent of the Little Sisters of the Poor spends her days begging. She’s a spry old gal with a slight stoop in her walk, but sure click in her heels. Her order operates on six continents, where they use the alms she is given to help the elderly poor in their last days on earth. Sister Mary Vincent is a powerhouse of plain speaking.

She said, “I’m an American women and a religious sister. Our order has a great vocation. We welcome the poorest of the elderly into our home, not a hospital. They are part of our lives. We try never to let an older resident die alone. As they approach the final hours of their journey home we are blessed to show Christ’s love and tenderness.” “That”, she said, “Is true death with dignity.”

Regla Gonzalez, a Jamaica Plain resident fired up the crowd with her Cuban American hutzpah. She knows the evil an over reaching government can inflict on people. She shared her passion humbly with the crowd.

A taxi, a bus, and an early morning commuter train made sure that Marian Blawie, a Pre-Med student from Holy Cross got to West Roxbury on time. The future Crusader alumnae said, “Neither the HHS Mandate nor Question 2 provides solid conscience protections for doctors like me. I dream of healing and helping people, not doling out abortion inducing drugs and death inducing suicide pills to vulnerable patients and babies who cannot speak. We all come into the world through a pregnancy. How can it be a disease in need of treatment?”

Lastly, Dr. Jane Driver a Brigham & Women’s oncologist and Harvard educator talked about the many pitfalls of the so-called Death with Dignity Bill. Dr. Driver said, “Massachusetts is in danger of becoming the Netherlands of the northeast. How many times do we hear an elderly friend or relative say, ‘I don’t want to be a burden.’ We must not blur the clear distinction between the healer and this proposed facilitator of death. Question 2 has far too many problems like faulty diagnosis, no requirement for counseling, and no requirement for family notification of the impending suicide.” Dr. Driver urged the crowd to protect the elderly and our culture by voting NO on Question 2.

More information about Question 2 can be found online at DoctorsAgainstSuicide.com. I hope my essay will encourage my neighbors of all faiths to get informed. Please find out how your elected politicians stand on these issues and vote accordingly. Remember the old chestnut, “Question 2 is bad for you!” It has never been truer.

Tags: Boston, No on Question 2, Physician Assisted Suicide, Question 2, Religious Freedom, Roslindale, West Roxbury Posted in October Rally Report. Follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.