NATURAL MARRIAGE, A TIMELESS INSTITUTION

WORTH PRESERVING

SEPTEMBER 2016

Alliance for Life International, P.O. Box 1314, Lake Forest, CA 92609-1314 Phone: 949-340-7332

LIFEWATCH A QUARTERLY PUBLICATION OF ALLIANCE FOR LIFE

INTERNATIONAL

During the month of August, Norah, ALI

counselor and teen educator, received two new

clients in our Kampala office. Both are pregnant

and without support. This is when our services

really make a difference. One is 16 year old and

10 weeks pregnant; the other is 24 year old and

already at 7 months. Counseling, prayer,

support, close monitoring and baby clothing

help the new mother form attachment to her

child and carry on with hope. The son or

daughter is almost always welcome when born,

and often much earlier, because the mother has

time to adjust. We are so thankful for your

continued financial support which enables us

to save and change lives for the better. Please

add your prayers to the mix. They are essential

to our work.

We have one mother who is now in school to

become a hairdresser. She is supported by a

donor through our Adopt-A-Mom program. Her

child is thriving and is now 7 months old. They

live with family and her cousin cares for the

child while mom is in school. Norah is a

wonderful teen (Cont. p. 3)

In the last issues of LifeWatch, we have examined

the data on cohabitation and found that it is fraught

with complications but especially harmful to

children living under these non-marital unions.

Then we looked at the marriage premium and

discovered the many benefits it offers to

heterosexual couples and their biological children.

Marriage is the gold standard. But sadly, it is

declining. Even though the US population

increased by 100 million since 1970, the total

number to two-parent families with children has

remained the same at 25 million [1].

There are several factors explaining the lack in

family formation:

the rise in divorce which is directly

attributable to no-fault divorce laws coming

to fore in the early 1970s. Divorce rates

account for one dissolution for every two

marriages established since 1975 [2].

a marked fall in marriage rates: 53%

decline since 1970 [3].

a pronounced rise in cohabitation: from

523,000 unwed couples in 1970 to 7.5

million in 2010, a 13-fold increase [4].

The State has interest in protecting marriage for it

is the institution responsible for caring and bringing

children to maturity, a role which requires the

complementarity of both husband and wife. It is

based on the realities that a man and a woman are

needed to reproduce and that children require the

dedicated attention of mothers and fathers, who

are truly irreplaceable in their lives [5].

What is traditional marriage, this millenary

institution established by God and talked about in

Genesis, the very first book of the Bible? Right

after God created Woman, he instituted marriage:

“Therefore, a man shall leave his father and

mother and be joined to his wife, and (cont. p.2)

ARTICLES IN THIS ISSUE ARE FROM OUR PRESIDENT, LOUISE ALLARD

AN UPDATE FROM UGANDA

The St. Raphael Teaching Hospital

Team, Kibaale 2016

was very special and may lead to

introducing the method to

another African country. Please

pray. We will keep you posted.

This time, we were three

representatives from WOOMB, two

from Canada. We held a workshop

entitled: Women’s Empowerment

through Fertility Awareness

Using the Billings Ovulation

Method. Louise’s part focused on

teaching the BOM in Uganda, a

five year overview. It was well

received and attended by 40

people who expressed great

interest.

NATURAL MARRIAGE… CON’T FROM P.1

Alliance for Life International, P.O. Box 1314, Lake Forest, CA 92609-1314 Email: allianceforlife@comline.com

they shall become one flesh [6].

Another perspective on traditional marriage

comes from Pitirim Sorokin, a Harvard marriage

sociologist and historian who is perhaps the first

to observe the trends of the sexual revolution, and

this very early on in the 1950s [7]. He saw its

destructive influence on marriage which was

being increasingly referred to as “an institution

established mainly or only for the satisfaction of

the sex drive [8].

His definition of marriage was otherwise. In his

seminal book, The American Sex Revolution

published in 1956, Sorokin defines marriage as

an “all-embracing union” [9], “the most vital, the

most intimate, and the most complete unification

of body, mind, and spirit into one socially

approved, indivisible ‘we” [10]. For a man and a

woman, marriage represents the “social evidence”

of their “physical, mental, emotional, spiritual, and

civic maturity [11].” Sorokin affirms that marriage

is responsible for transforming a boy into a

“husband-father” and a girl into a “wife-mother”

[12]. The sexual marital embrace confirms the

couple’s “responsibilities” and “privileges” [13]

toward children, whether conceived or not,

because through their physical union the marriage

is ordered toward the procreation of children [14].

It is this institution that represents the gold

standard in terms of achieving the greatest good

for the spouses, their children, and society. But

how do we preserve it since signs of troubles are

everywhere? First, let’s have a look at how

legal divorce is granted (cont. p. 3)

legal divorce is Cont. p. 3

LIFEWATCH

The St. Raphael Teaching Hospital

Project: an Update

Louise, our President, is planning her next

trip to Uganda from Sept. 13 to Oct. 12.

She will visit with the staff at the

Pregnancy Resource Center and look at

ways to improve our services. One major

way we do this is by encouraging learning

and networking with other organizations.

Her main focus will be on advancing the

St. Raphael Project through:

meetings with team members,

partners, our architect Philip and

his crew of engineers

developing an operational budget

for our facility, and medical

equipment list for the hospital

networking and gathering support

for the project

developing a presence through

social media

Please pray for our Hospital Project: that

we will have exceptional designs, highly

functional and beautiful while remaining

affordable; become a Founding Partner.

Please do not become discouraged because

this is a “big project”. It is not too big for

God to accomplish through us and it is not

too big to do the job it is supposed to do.

And God is always on time! So we give

Him ALL the praise! Thank you for your

support! Nurses, think about joining us in

Feb 2017. There are opportunities to serve.

Alliance for Life International, P.O. Box 1314, Lake Forest, CA 92609-1314 WEBSITE: allianceforlifeint.org

in the US. Our system is based on No-Fault

Divorce. Before the rise of No-Fault Divorce

in the 1970s, the spouse who wanted a divorce

had to prove that his/her partner was guilty of

a grave offense such as adultery or physical

abuse. Only then could a divorce be granted.

This all changed with the No-Fault Divorce

legislation. In that system, the one requesting

the divorce does not need to prove anything.

He/she has only to attest that their marriage

should be dissolute because of “irreconcilable

differences” [15].

Is this standard too low, isn’t divorce too

easily obtained that way? The Bible is a good

source to evaluate this since marriage was

instituted by God. Jesus addresses the issue

when asked by some religious leaders “Should

a man be allowed to divorce his wife?” Jesus

referred them back to what Moses said about

divorce. “Well, he permitted it” they replied.

“He said a man merely has to write his wife an

official letter of divorce and send her away.”

But Jesus responded, “He wrote those

instructions only as a concession to your hard-

hearted wickedness. But God’s plan was seen

from the beginning of creation for “He made

them male and female.” This explains why a

man leaves his father and mother and is joined

to his wife,’ and the two are united into one.’

Since they are no longer two but one, let no

one separates them, for God has joined them

together [16]. In the next issue, we will

evaluate ways to preserve natural marriage.

AN UPDATE FROM UGANDA, CONT. FROM P.1

sexuality educator. She continues to teach in

schools once a week. Every month, several

hundred students hear her uncompromising

message that sexual relationships belong to

marriage; they are encouraged and equipped to

remain or recover their chastity, and to make a

commitment to their studies and career path.

Some are already involved and realize, may be for

the first time, the possible consequences of their

actions. Students are even asking for Norah’s

office address with the intent to seek further

counseling.

Emily, our full-time Billings Ovulation Method

Teacher, has taught the BOM to 20 women during

the month of August. She is utilizing the media

such as radio to spread the message. She also

attends meetings at the Ministry of Health to let

them know about the Billings Life Centre, a

division of WOOMB, and to disseminate the

knowledge of the BOM. She is a wonderful

addition to our staff. We are planning a BOM

Teacher Training in Kisoro from Sept. 26-28.

NATURAL MARRIAGE … CONT. FROM P. 2

(CONT. FROM P.2)

SEPTEMBER 2016

What is marriage as originally

intended by God?

Marriage as an “all-embracing union”

“the most vital, the most intimate, and

the most complete unification of body,

mind, and spirit into one socially

approved, indivisible ‘we”. For a man

and a woman, marriage represents the

“social evidence” of their “physical,

mental, emotional, spiritual, and civic

maturity.”

Pitirim Sorokin

Harvard sociologist, 1956

LIFEWATCH A QUARTERLY PUBLICATION OF ALLIANCE FOR LIFE

INTERNATIONAL

OUR DONORS SAVE LIVES AROUND THE

WORLD – THANK YOU - THANK YOU!

Alliance for Life International, a 501 (c) (3)

organization, would like to acknowledge our donors

for the last three months. Their gifts are tax-

deductible as allowed by law. Our EIN: 33-0819422

Anne, Bill, Billings Life Centre, Carolyn, Eithne,

Glenn, Joy, Kathy, Lisa, Marilyn, Robert C., Robert

M., Dr. Sergio, Dr. Stephen, St Martin de Porres…

Running out of space to acknowledge all of you!

Thank you for your faithfulness and support!

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Alliance for Life International Trusting God With Life

September 2016

Shipping Address 555 Street Address City, State 55555

LIFEWATCH

Alliance for Life International P.O. Box 1314

Lake Forest, CA 92609-1314

www.allianceforlifeint.org

Alliance for Life international is a Catholic Christian, non-profit educational and charitable organization committed to assist and encourage

States in building cultures of life in which preborn children are welcome and the lives of those who are vulnerable are protected. The lack of essential medical care in developing

countries represents a great imbalance which offends human dignity. It leads us to cooperate with leaders to bring modern medical care in

Uganda.

Executive Board Louise Allard, RN, BSN, MA in International

Human Rights, Founder/President/CEO Dennis Rasmussen, JD, Secretary

Sergio Stone, OB/GYN, Vice-Pres/Treasurer

Advisory Board Father Sy Nguyen, St. Martin de Porres Church

Bruce A. Sonnenberg, Founder/ Pres., He Intends Victory, Eithne Keegan. RN, BSN

James Wale, Wale Advisory Group