I like this man, he has principles.
http://www.lifenews.com/2013/06/06/b...acks-abortion/
Baltimore Ravens Player Skips White House Visit Because Obama Backs Abortion
by Steven Ertelt | Washington, DC | LifeNews.com | 6/6/13 1:50 PM
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Baltimore Ravens offensive lineman Matt Birk is pro-life — so when it came time for the Ravens to visit President Barack Obama for the annual congratulations to the Super Bowl winners, he decided not to go.
The pro-life NFL player explained his decision:
“I wasn’t there,” Birk told The Power Trip. “I would say this, I would say that I have great respect for the office of the Presidency but about five or six weeks ago, our president made a comment in a speech and he said, ‘God bless Planned Parenthood.’”
Birk, who also took a public stance during the recent gay rights movements that swung through our country last year, is a very open and public Catholic and claims that he took offense to these comments that were made by President Obama. So much so, that he declined a once in a lifetime opportunity to meet and be honored by the President at the White House.
“Planned Parenthood performs about 330,000 abortions a year,” Birk explained. “I am Catholic, I am active in the Pro-Life movement and I just felt like I couldn’t deal with that. I couldn’t endorse that in any way.”
Planned Parenthood is one of the nations leading sexual and reproductive health care providers. Their stances on birth control, abortion and the morning after pill have often pinned the in a head on clash with many Catholic and Conservative Christian groups across the nation.
“I’m very confused by [the President's] statement,” Birk questioned. “For God to bless a place where they’re ending 330,000 lives a year? I just chose not to attend.”
Birk is a longtime pro-life advocate who has a thoughtful position against abortion and a family story to share.
Birk grew up in St. Paul Minnesota, where Planned Parenthood did abortions for decades and then the godfather of one of Birk’s five children opened a pregnancy center across the street from the abortion facility. Adrianna, Birk’s wife, volunteered at the center, and eventually the Planned Parenthood abortion clinic closed.Birk was a featured speaker at the Maryland March for Life previously and he said his Catholic faith and being a father are two of the big reasons he is pro-life and he shared how he was overwhelmed to hold his first child.“It was unbelievable the love that I felt for her,” he said in a prior interview, “and any parent knows exactly what I’m talking about. At that point, you know it’s not a choice. Life is a gift that’s given to us. We are supposed to accept it. It’s not our choice whether we decide a baby lives or not.”Birk said participating in the March for Life is “one of the coolest things I’ve done.”“It seems like our society and media want to push pro-lifers to the side and hope that we would shut our mouths and go away quietly,” said Birk. “Let’s not do that.”
“We all need saving,” he said, “and there’s one thing that can save us all, and that’s prayer,” he added.
“I don’t think I’m a superstar by any means,” Birk said, “but I’m glad (for) the platform that football allows me. I’m glad to use it to support causes that I passionately believe in and this is one of them. For me, it comes down to what’s right and what’s wrong – what’s God’s will and what’s not.
Good Man!
