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(LifeSiteNews) — Is there a greater joy for a young couple than to know that they’re parents? For them to see the positive pregnancy test and learn that there’s a baby growing within the mother’s womb? Children are truly the greatest gift of God, regardless of what the anti-life lobby would have us believe. From conception until natural death, every human being is entitled to his or her God-given right to life, no matter their size, age, or sex. This is why we strive to protect those who are most vulnerable and most discriminated against — the innocent children in the wombs of their mothers.

We live in an age and time where you could go to jail, as in the U.K., for simply praying outside of an abortion center — but you would be celebrated for brutally killing your own child in the womb. Abortion is truly from Satan, who is from the beginning a deceiver and murderer. And Satan leaves no room for doubt regarding this, as we see the Satanic Temple fighting in American courts for its “religious right to abortion,” its marketing of their abortion ritual, and its latest abortion temple.

Those supporting abortion require no reason to advocate for the murder of children. However, they’re quick to do so and call it “mercy” when it is known that the baby in the womb suffers from any kind of medical difficulty. Children in the womb who are diagnosed with illnesses and disabilities are massacred without a second thought, and their parents are lauded for “sparing their children a life of misery” by having their children hacked to pieces at the hands of an abortionist. Studies have indicated that these diagnoses are often incorrect. But, of course, disability and illness can never be a reason to kill children.

The true act of mercy and love is to let the child live. When we love someone, we want to spend as much time with them as possible. That is why if we hear of a loved one being diagnosed with a life-threatening disease, with only a few days to live, we’d rush to be with them and spend time with them, rather than killing them the very same day. Wouldn’t this apply to children in the womb as well? Even if the child is to die in the womb or be unable to survive life outside the womb, choosing to kill them is unacceptable and inhuman.

But when faced with these situations in real life, there can be tremendous pressure and confusion. My guest today is a young mother who is carrying conjoined twins who share a heart and other organs. She has been pressured by people to kill her children through abortion. But as a powerful pro-life witness, she has rejected these suggestions and decided to instead fight against abortion and share the humanity of her babies.

Before we get to Nicole, my next guest, I wanted to say a word about emergency baptisms that apply in cases like this.

In cases of urgent necessity, and specifically with cases of children under the age of seven, canon law requires that they be baptized without delay (CIC 867 §2). When there is danger of the baby dying, there is no requirement that the parents be present, that they be practicing Catholics, or even married in the Church. The Church teaches that in life-and-death situations in which a priest or deacon is not available, anyone — including Catholics, non-Catholics, non-Christians, and non-theists — may baptize, so long as they do so in the correct manner and with the correct intention (to baptize).

The Rite of Baptism says, “All lay persons, since they belong to the priestly people, and especially parents and, by reason of their work, catechists, obstetricians, … nurses of the sick, as well as physicians and surgeons, should know the proper method of baptizing in cases of necessity” (17).

In the case of necessity (e.g., the danger of death), the person who baptizes pours water three times over the candidate’s head, or immerses the candidate three times in water, while simultaneously pronouncing the baptismal formula: “N., I baptize you in the name of the Father (the minister pours water or immerses the first time), and of the Son (the minister pours water or immerses a second time), and of the Holy Spirit (the minister pours water or immerses a third time).” A lay person who administers an emergency baptism must at least have the intention to do what the Church does when baptizing. It is also desirable that, as far as possible, one or two witnesses to the baptism be present.

The rules are fairly simple. This used to be known by all doctors and nurses, in all hospitals. But this is no longer the case very often. So you should know it. Spread this truth. Spread the word around about the need to baptize, especially in the cases of emergencies. Now to our guest, Nicole LeBlanc. This is The John-Henry Westen Show.

The John-Henry Westen Show is available by video on the show’s YouTube channel and right here on my LifeSite blog.

You can send me feedback, or ideas for show topics by emailing [email protected].

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John-Henry is the co-founder, CEO and editor-in-chief of LifeSiteNews.com. He and his wife Dianne have eight children and they live in the Ottawa Valley in Ontario, Canada.

He has spoken at conferences and retreats, and appeared on radio and television throughout the world. John-Henry founded the Rome Life Forum, an annual strategy meeting for life, faith and family leaders worldwide. He is a board member of the John Paul II Academy for Human Life and the Family. He is a consultant to Canada’s largest pro-life organization Campaign Life Coalition, and serves on the executive of the Ontario branch of the organization. He has run three times for political office in the province of Ontario representing the Family Coalition Party.

John-Henry earned an MA from the University of Toronto in School and Child Clinical Psychology and an Honours BA from York University in Psychology.

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