On the 22nd of October 2016 I attended a one-day conference hosted by the Catholic Medical Association. The conference was entitled, " ".
When I arrived, I was greeted by Dr Josephine Treloar and her husband, Dr Adrian Treloar (who spoke at our Youth Conference in 2015). I then spotted Dr Philip Howard who spoke at our Youth Conference in 2016. A good sign, to say the least!
There were four talks throughout the day:
- The vision of St John Paul II's encyclical Evangelium Vitae by Fr Stephen Wang, Catholic chaplain to London University
- We will win with love by Dr Adrian Trealoar and Dr Josephine Treloar
- What is man that you should keep him in mind? (by Anon.)
- Staying legal, staying true - The GP minefield by Dr Mike Delany, GP
All the talks were excellent and though not a medical professional, I found them to be very useful and relevant to me.
Using the plight of disabled children
I found all the talks to be insightful but the best of them was, I believe, the talk given by a midwife who wished to remain anonymous. She was speaking specifically about babies who have life-limiting conditions, which as we all know, is a huge topic in places like Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. In these places, it is being used as a way to introduce abortion-on-demand by the back door. What is truly shameful about this is that they use the weakest of unborn children, those who will die before or soon after birth, to justify the slaughter of all unborn children. They are not honest enough to admit that they desire widespread, state-sponsored killing for their own selfish reasons, and so they use the plight of disabled children and their frightened parents instead, painting it as an act of mercy.
She spoke at length about Jerome Lejeune and his work to identify Down's Syndrome and to help those born with this chromosomal disorder. Hearing her speak about his work and the work of others renewed in me the feeling that we can never do too much for those children who are in danger of a horrendous death, either through abortion or child euthanasia.
To finish her presentation ÂÂÂshe showed us this video about Elliott, a baby boy who was diagnosed with Trisomy 18 before birth. The message contained in this video was a fitting end to the day in that it summed up what I felt was the strongest message of the conference: that, as Drs Adrian and Josephine Treloar pointed out, we will win with love.
I felt reinvigorated after leaving this conference hosted by the Catholic Medical Association. As the SPUC Youth officer, I would encourage young people connected with the medical field, both Catholic and non-Catholic alike, to support them, attend their events, seek out their help and to read what they have to offer through the Catholic Medical Quarterly.