Archived Newsletter from Lutherans for Life of Illinois

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Spring 2004
TABLE OF CONTENTS New National Lutherans For Life President LFL National Director Dr. J. Lamb Meets Students Six High School Essay Winners Featured in This Issue - What is the Difference? - The Life Issue of Embryo Adoption - God Doesn't Send Spam - Abortion: Robbing Motherhood, Destroying Life - Pro-choice or God's choice? - War Against the Child Gift Acknowledgements >> Support National Lutherans For Life >> Support Lutherans For Life of Illinois
NEWS FLASH! DIANE SCHROEDER NEW LFL NATIONAL PRESIDENT Former LFL of Illinois State President, Diane Schroeder, was elected National President at the Board of Directors Meeting in February. Diane is a resident of Lombard, Illinois. She was the first Illinois State President and served in that capacity until three years ago. Diane is involved with the LFL Word of Hope, formerly Healing Hearts, and is taking on the challenges of this new position. We know she is admirably suited for the position and look forward to the coming months. Linda Bartlett continues to write and speak for LFL. back
LFL National Director Dr. J. Lamb Meets Students Growing numbers of young people are answering polls showing they are pro-life. Visits such as the one Dr. Lamb had with students from St. John's and Trinity Lutheran Schools of Mattoon and Stewardson are a big reason for this swelling pro-life tide. Dr. Lamb kicked off National Lutheran Schools Week in Mattoon with a dinner appearance on Saturday, March 5, three church services on Sunday and another lecture at Eastern Illinois University Sunday evening. On Monday morning he met with groups of preschoolers to eighth graders. There were two hundred seventy-five children from the two schools who took part in the day's program. back
Six High School Essay Winners Featured in This Issue Since it is the purpose of Lutherans For Life to educate people so abortion becomes "unthinkable," it is fitting that you should have the chance to read the top six essays in the LFL High School Essay Contest. All six have won $100 prizes for excellence. The $1,000 scholarship went to Danielle Smith, a senior from Lutheran High School in Springfield, IL. back
What is the Difference? Christ LHC Buckley, IL "No, because you won't come back." This is what the abortionist told 17-year-old Janet when she started having second thoughts about having an abortion and asked if she could come back another day. Moments later the anesthesia took effect. When she woke up, her baby was gone . . . dead. (Several Sources Foundation) It is legal to take the life of a pre-born baby, but it is not legal to take the life of a newborn. What is the difference? More importantly, what does God's Word say is right? Some would say there is a difference in size. A pre-born baby can be much smaller in size than a newborn, yet some newborns are smaller than others. There are also adults of all sizes: big, little, tall, short, fa and thin. Those smaller in size are not less human or less entitled to life than larger people. Arnold Schwarzenegger is larger than Mother Theresa was, but this does not make him any more valuable. It is not the size of a human that determines his or her right to life. People may argue that it is okay to abort babies because they are not fully developed. Though there is undoubtedly a significant difference in the level of development between a pre-born baby and a newborn, that difference is also evident between a two-year-old child and a ten-year-old child. Does the ten-year-old child have more of a right to life? There are many people who are mentally slow or who have learning disabilities, yet they all have the same right to life. The fact that a pre-born baby is less developed than a newborn does not give us the right to kill it! Also, the location of a pre-born baby is not the same as that of a newborn. In the same way, different people live in different parts of the world. Someone living in Africa, the United Kingdom, or The United States does not have any more right to life than anyone else because of where he or she lives. Likewise, someone living in government housing has just as much right to life and freedom as does the President living in the White House. In the same way, our laws and leaders should protect a baby living in a mother's womb. However, many people think that no pre-born baby is human until it is capable of living outside the mother's womb. Yet, there are people everywhere, not just babies, who are dependent on others for life. Many people need pace makers, insulin, blood pressure medication, and many other such supports to survive. President Franklin D. Roosevelt needed his wheelchair and other assistance for daily life, yet he led our country through World War II. He showed that being dependent on others did not deny his right to life. So what is the difference between a pre-born baby and a newborn? There is no more difference than between one adult and another. God's Word makes it clear that a pre-born baby is a human being. As the Psalmist, David, said, "For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb" (Psalm 139:13). God clearly gives us the answer of whether to stand pro-life or pro-choice in Deuteronomy, "This day I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live . . ." (Deuteronomy 30: 19). Works Cited The Holy Bible, N.I.V. International Bible Society, Colorado Springs, CO 1973, 1978, 1984. Several Sources Foundation, 2003, 22/ 2/ '04 back
The Life Issue of Embryo Adoption Lutheran H.S. Springfield, IL Every time I receive a pice of junk mail, aluminum can, or empty milk gallon jug, I do my best to recycle the materials instead of wasting them. Every can I recycle is one less can that will end up in a land fill and one less mess for others to clean up. I also know that by recycling I save energy that would have had to go into making the product. I feel good about saving even the least amount of pollution that would have been caused by my wasting. The sad truth is that America has more problems than pollution. Human beings are being frozen and destroyed simply because they are no longer "wanted" by their parents, and not protected by their country. The people I'm referring to are the 100,000 frozen embryos that are currently about to be wasted like the other embryos that have come before them (Smalley 53). Thankfully a small movement is coming into mainstream America. Embryo adoption is a relatively new procedure that is growing in popularity among infertile couples. Embryo adoption, in short, is where an embryo is gestated and implanted into a woman (Cooper, and Glazer 337). The main difference that sets apart embryo adoption and other fertility procedures is that the parents will have no genetic link between themselves and the child. Unlike traditional adoption, embryo recipient need to go through no legal processes in order to obtain the child; instead of adopting the child after birth, it is adopted in it embryonic stage (337). It is completely private and allows the parents to explain to the child about his or her genetic history on their ow terms (Rosenberg, and Epstein 311-312). The only restriction faced by the recipients is to find a clinic they trust and a donor willing to give an embryo for the procedure. Embryo adoption is used on a much smaller scale than other fertility treatments, but it is growing steadily. Snowflakes Embryo Adoption Program of the Christian Adoption and Family Services Organization is the first company to start matching embryos with infertile women. Although the practice of embryo adoption has been used earlier by clinics, it has not made headlines the way Snowflakes did when they matched the first embryo with an infertile couple in 1997 (Smalley 53). Snowflakes uses the same tactics for pairing up embryos and parents it uses for traditional adoptions, even matching the recipient to the donors based on personality and ethnicity, as well as other factors (53). The users of embryo adoption are mostly all within the Christian community. In an effort to increase the popularity of embryo adoption, President Bush granted one million dollars in a national awareness program to help promote the procedure (53). With its success and the encouragement of President Bush, embryo adoption is growing more widely used. If you were told that a program has been created to save lives while at the same time allowing infertile couples to become pregnant and give birth to adopted children, you probably would imagine that America would be ecstatic. But in reality the idea of embryo adoption is being fought by the never satisfied "Pro Choice" movement. From even the use of the name embryo adoption comes controversy on the moral and political levels (Smalley 53). Adoption is a term used for a child to legally be taken into another home to be raised as the new parents' own. The use of adoption implies that the embryo is a child and has legal rights. Pro-choice proponents prefer to use embryo donation or creation instead of adoption. They fear that the widespread use of adoption may sway the public into viewing embryos as human beings with the same rights as babies. If that were to happen, abortions would be considered murders, and laws might change involving the practice of abortion (Smalley 53). Exodus Chapter 20 verse 13 clearly states: "You shall not murder." God knows that no matter what we call the unborn, it is still wrong to kill them. Embryo adoption was originally started for the moral and religious reason that embryos are a human life. Jeremiah Chapter 1 verse 5a clearly shows God's creative work in us before birth: "before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart." Lori Maze, the director of Snowflakes, explains it: "We operated from the premise that these embryos are life, and we believe that life begins at conception" (Smalley 53). If this is true, then the 100,000 or more embryos that are frozen are human beings. These "extra" embryos that are adopted are saved from their destruction and while at the same time helping infertile couples start a family. I feel that embryos are children, the idea of freezing or simply throwing them away is sickening. With embryo adoption, extra embryos from the in vitro fertilization procedure can now have a home. The embryologists that feel that life begins at conception look at pregnancy as just another developmental stage of human growth. (Weise 17). Even though the embryos cannot speak for themselves, they are still human lives. The humanizing element of embryo adoption is also a weapon the Pro-Life movement can use to prove that an embryo is truly a human life. For every embryo that is adopted I feel another life is saved from destruction. Works Cited Cooper, Susan L., and Ellen Sarasohn Glazer, Beyond Infertility, New York, NY: Lexington Books, 1994 Exodus, Chapter 20, v 13, Int. Version Jeremiah, Chapter 1 v 5, NIV Rosenburg, Helane S., and Yakov M. Epstein, Getting Pregnant. Warner Books, '93,'01 Smalley, Suzanne, "A New Baby Debate: As pro lifers adopt embryos, critics raise questions." Newsweek 24 March '03:53. Weise, Robert. Playing God: Redesigning Life Faith on the Edge Series. St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House: 2002 back
God Doesn't Send Spam Mt. Pulaski H S Mt. Pulaski, IL In this day in age, the value and respect for human life is becoming less than what it should be. Every day, women willingly kill their unborn children by deciding to have abortions. In the United States in 1992, over 1.3 million unborn children were killed. (Gutmacher) This decision might seem right for the moment, but the Word of God says otherwise. "Praise be to God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight." (Ephesians 1: 3-4 NIV) With these powerful words from the Bible, even the strongest opposition can be broken. In these modern days of computers and e-mail, many businesses and individuals communicate by sending mass e-mails called spam. This spam usually consists of advertisements or unwanted information that no one cares about and deletes. God is the opposite. Whenever he sends someone into the world, they are not meaningless or unwanted, but loved. God has a plan for everyone that He creates. God doesn't send spam. Whenever we speak about abortion, one must consider the moment at which life begins. Pro-choice activists argue that life begins whenever a child is born. Christians, on the other hand, know that life begins from conception as is stated, "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations." (Jeremiah 1:5 NIV). This passage from Jeremiah tells that God has a plan for everyone even before they are "Formed in the womb." The Bible also states, "Listen to me, you islands; hear this, you distant nations; Before I was born the LORD called me; from my birth he ha made mention of my name." (Isisah 49:1 NIV) In these passages, God's Words express to the readers that he has a special plan for everyone that he creates. The work and creation of God is incomprehensible to us. Humans should not destroy what God has worked to create. The work of God is man, but the work of man is sin. As Christians in America, we need to act on this darkening situation. We need to get the Word of God to the public so that they understand that what they are doing is wrong. Once we have established this base, we will have a point from which to go forward. We need to support organizations such as crisis pregnancy centers that will support and help women who have an unplanned pregnancy. This support will show the public that we care about others and the sanctity of human life. We need to pray for ourselves and those around us that we will stand firm in the faith of God and do his will. God says, "Call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you will honor me." (Psalm 50:15 NIV) Prayer is our direct connection to God and we need to utilize this link. Last of all, we need to preach and practice forgiveness to those who have already had abortions. After having abortions, many women feel as if they have no place to go. They feel upset with themselves because they realize that they have done something against the will of God. This is when we need to tell them that God has forgiven their sins and they are forgiven by us also. By working to accomplish these goals and forgiving others as we have been forgiven, we will certainly make an impact on the public of America and make a bright future for the lives of many to come. Works Cited Guttmacher. "The Value of One: The Sanctity of Human Life," 3 February, 2004. back
Abortion: Robbing Motherhood, Destroying Life Lutheran H.S. Springfield, IL Though it might not sound like fun, I enjoy my job as a waitress at Steak 'n Shake. It has outdone all my other part time jobs in categories such as how interesting the work is, the amount of money earned, and, most importantly, the people I get to work with. Many of the waitresses are single women in their twenties working long hours to feed their kids. When I worked during the day in the summer, several of the girls I worked with were raising babies alone. Anna, in her mid-twenties, had an adorable one-year-old son. Her mom helped her out with baby sitting, but Anna was always struggling to earn the much needed money for herself and her son. About a month after I started working there, Anna discovered she was pregnant again. I remember one slow day we were discussing having babies, and I asked her if it was as painful as I thought. She scared me a little when she responded without hesitation a most definite yes. She went on to say it was like imagining the worst pain I could fathom and multiplying it by about a hundred. But as I was getting pretty scared about the whole thing, she looked down and held her stomach. As though she was looking at the unborn baby inside her, she told me that every ounce of pain was forgotten when the baby was placed in her arms. She told me that before her son was born, she had never really seen herself as a mother; she wasn't sure she could do it. When she held her son for the first time, however, it just came to her. So many women today are scared of the uncertainty of having a baby, they aren't sure they can do it mentally, physically or financially. Our society jumps in and declares they have a way out, a way to escape responsibility for their actions. And so many women take the bait; whether it be out of fear, pressure form others, or simply because they don't understand the process that is done to them. Many are ignorant of the facts, procedures and effects of abortion. We need to get the information out to these women so that they will know what abortion is all about before they make that irreversible decision. Abortion destroys life. Life begins at conception. I learned this form the Bible years ago in clear passages like Psalms 139:13-16, which declares, "For You created my inmost being; You knit me together in my mother's womb [...]" (NIV) But for many people, Scripture holds little authority, and they instead put their trust in what man can understand in the realm of science. Because this is the case, we are fortunate in the twenty-first century to be able to prove prenatal life scientifically. In his book, Hand of God, Bernard N. Nathanson, MD., a former abortionist and cofounder of NARAL (National Abortion and Reproductive Rights Action League), quoted himself from an article he had written in 1974 for The New England Medical Journal as saying, "There is no longer serious doubt in my mind that human life exists within the womb from the very onset of pregnancy [...] (126). They Dayton Right to Life Society exposed much information about prenatal life in its pamphlet, "Just the Facts." "Just the Facts" described the development of life by saying: Just eighteen days after conception, the baby's heart is beating . . . At six weeks, brain waves can be measured . . . At eight weeks, the stomach, liver, kidneys and brain are functioning. Fingerprints have formed . . . (1) At eleven weeks, the baby is completely formed and functions like a newborn baby, with his or her own cycle of sleeping and waking, capable of dreaming and experiencing pain. (1) The technology of sonograms is able to show an unborn baby inside the womb looking like and exhibiting all the behaviors of a newborn baby (Richard 2). Dr. Nathanson was so greatly affected by what he discovered about prenatal life through ultrasound that he stopped performing any kind of abortion and is now an activist for the Pro-Life movement. He wrote in his book, The Hand of God, "Ultrasound opened up a new world. For the first tie, we could really see the human fetus, measure it, observe it, watch it, and indeed bond with it and love it" (125). He went on to discuss the tremendous impact ultrasound pictures make on anyone who sees them. Nathanson gave an example of this when he noted an article published in the New England Journal of Medicine about a study in which ten pregnant women in an abortion clinic were shown the ultrasound pictures before the abortion. Only one of the ten women went through with the intended abortion (126). Though more people of the younger generations are leaning to the conservative side, the majority of young people today stand somewhere in the middle of the abortion issue, claiming it is not a black and white subject (Tumulty and Novak 40). Many feel it is allowable only in circumstances of rape, incest, or when a child could be born with a handicap (40). The idea that an unborn child can be disregarded as a human life and terminated because he or she might be handicapped is appalling. In a society that prides itself in being socially accepting and indiscriminate of others, abortion of handicapped children seems a disgracing contradiction of values. But whatever the reasoning, the rate of abortions is dropping (38). In a country where 1.3 million abortions are performed each year, even a small step in the right direction can save hundreds of thousands of lives. As for those 1.3 million lives we continue to lose a year, God has called on us to fight for the right to life. We all know it is happening, yet it can be so easy to ignore. Proverbs 21:13 tells us, "If a man shuts his ears to the cry of the poor, he too will cry out and not be answered" (Prov. 21:13, NIV). Unborn children don't put up much of a fight, so their cries for help often go unheard. But if we do our part, their voices can be heard in the words of protesters marching for life, the campaigns of pro-life politicians, and the messages brought by Christian newspaper and magazine articles. God has given us all a command: "rescue those being led away to death, hold back those staggering toward slaughter" (Prov. 24:11, NIV). We can't wait until tomorrow to speak out against abortion; by then it will already be too late for thousands of unborn babies. Works Cited Dayton Right to Life Soc.P: Just the Facts 1990 Nathanson, Bernard, MD., The Hand of God Washington, D.C. Regency Pub., Inc., 1996 Richard, Shari: Lifestyles of the Young and Amazing. Jefferson City: Easton Pub. Co. '92 Proverbs The Bible NIV, 1991 Psalms The Bible NIV, 1991 Tumulty, Karen, and Viveca Novak. "Under the Radar." Time 27 Jan 2003 38-41 back
Pro-choice or God's choice? Christ L.H.S. Buckley, IL "In the beginning . . . God said, 'Let us make man in our image' . . . So God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him, male and female He created them" (Genesis 1:1, 26-27). Through His very own divine, holy word, God formed mankind as the last and most valued of His creations on earth. He loved and cared for us so deeply that He chose to fashion us in His own image, providing each of us with an eternal spirit. It is through this eternal spirit that mankind is set part from all other living creatures. Along with the blessings He provides anew each day, our Lord Savior has given us specific laws to abide by. Included among these commandments is "You shall not murder" (Exodus 20:13), and yet each day 126,000 babies' lives are ended abruptly through a process know as abortion (Abortion Statistics). They claim that is should be a mother's choice whether or not to give birth to a child, but clearly this is not God's choice. According to His plan, God Himself lovingly chose to breath life into man and thereby makes us living beings, gifts sent from Heaven above. It is written, "The Lord God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being" (Geneisi 2:7). This undoubtedly places a special value upon the life of every human being, whether born or unborn, that God alone has the choice to take away. In the same sense, He not only chose to create each of us unique, but He also chose to make each of us one of His very own children. "How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called the children of God!" (1 John 3:1). From the very beginning, our Heavenly Father has chosen a plan for each of us. Although unborn babies have not yet had a chance to choose their own hopes and dreams, God has already chosen to love them nonetheless and has designed a purpose for them. "For you created me in my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb . . . I am fearfully and wonderfully made . . . all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be." (Psalm 139: 13-14; 16). How is it anyone's right to place oneself superior to the Lord God Almighty and make the choice to end the life of His very own children? God's message in the Bible is clear. No person has the right or choice to intentionally take the life of another, including a baby in the mother's womb. Our Lord holds a special place in His heart for all children, both the born and the unborn, and He expects us to protect them from harm. Jesus says, "Let the little children come to me . . . for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these" (Matthew 19:14). Just as Jesus rebuked His disciples from prohibiting the little children from coming to Him, He reproves us from making selfish choices and taking babies' lives from them. In fifty-four of the world's countries, accounting for sixty-one percent of the world's population, abortion is legal. In addition, there are approximately 46,000,000 abortions conducted each year (Abortion Statistics). Even though the Bible directs us to obey our governments and leaders, our responsibility to follow the law always ends when it is contrary to God's Law. God clearly commands of us, "Do not put an innocent . . . person to death, for I will not acquit the guilty." (Exodus 23:7). The shedding of innocent blood, including that of unborn children, has never been nor ever will be an acceptable "choice" in the eyes of our Lord God. Above all else, "We must obey God rather than men" (Acts 5:29), for His choice is better than our own selfish choices. Still, there are many out there who believe that is should be the woman's choice to have an abortion. Whose choice is it really, whether or not a baby shall have the opportunity to live? The pregnant mother may choose abortion because she wants to rid herself of an unwanted pregnancy, the result of her very own choices. The abortionists and the abortion clinics have chosen abortion because they desire the profit involved. But, the unborn baby is never given a choice. We are all here today becouse our mothers chose life. It is now our choice, through the will of the Lord God alone, to continue living. Why take the choice of life away from an unborn baby, merely because he or she does not yet have the ability to speak? Through love, God chose to create this new life, and never for one moment does He stop loving His child. Again Jesus says, "I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven" (Matthew 18"3). Therefore, we should treat all children in the same manner our Heavenly Father treats us -- with love, compassion, understanding, and the choice of life. "I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live and that you may love the Lord your God, listen to His voice and hold fast to Him. For the Lord is your life" (Deuteronomy 30: 19-20), and God's choice is the only choice. Works Cited The Bible: New International Version, Colorado Springs: International Bible Society, 1984. Abortion Statistics: 26 February 2004. back
War Against the Child Christ L.H.S. Buckley, IL Over 36,458,656 abortions in the Unted States have been performed from 1973 to 1997, and many more thousand since then. Almost 40 million of God's children have been murdered, and no one is being held accountable. In this war, people are killing innocent babies, children whose lives have been planned out and blessed by God, even before birth. Abortion survivors have joined in the fight to end abortion today. Growing up, Amy was told by her father that her mother had attemtped to abort her three times by a "salting out procedure" none of which worked. When she read her medical documents, she could not comprehend how anyone could do this. Thankfully, she survived with no physical deformities and is now fulfilling the life God intended her to live (An Abortion Survivor's Story). Audrey is yet another abortion survivor who is blessed to be alive. Her mother, already raising five children, became pregnant at the age of 39. She was encouraged by a "friend" to abort the child and even shared with her a self-abortion method. On her oldest son's birthday, she decided to perform the abortion. As she lay there with her dead son in her hands, she knew what she had done was wrong, and that no one could tell her that her lifeless baby had not been a real person. A couple of months later, she was still having stomach pains and felt pregnant. She went to the doctor and found out that she had had twins and that Audrey was still alive (The Abortion Survivors). Today, both of these women are contributing to the fight against abortion. They tell their stories and show that they are real people, as they were at the time of conception. Every day, abortion survivors are reminded that someone thought that they did not matter. Their own parents attempted to murder them, and then forgot they existed. One survivor spoke about his feelings years later: "If my mother could have aborted me, what is my life worth?" (Ten Differnt Types of "Abortion Survivors", 18). Every day these people live with a sense of insignificance and guilt. Yet, they were the fortunate ones; they were given another chance. Over 40,000,000 other children were not so fortunate. They will never receive the gift of life; they will never have the chance to fulfill the plans God had for them. How can someone say that there is not life inside the womb? It is not a "potential" person; it is a person with infinite potential. Within the first hours of conception, the baby's eye color is being established, along with the baby's hair color and sex. God says in Jeremiah: "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart" Jeremiah 1:5). Before we were even conceived, God knew us and had a plan for our lives. God shows the excitement that John the Baptist felt inside Elizabeth's womb when he heard the news of Jesus: "As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy" (Luke 1:44). People say this is a rare occurance, but how does that make sense? There are only select children that have the right to live? There are only certain unborn children who have souls? No. The truth is that this is just another example that proves the unborn child is alive, it has a soul, and it has a right to lvie. God clearly shows us the value of the life and soul of an unborn child. How can people say that there is nothing wrong with killing a life that cannot defend itself? How can we promote peace among the world, when we can kill our own children? Mother Theresa once said: "But I feel that the greatest destroyer of peace today is abortion, because it is a war against the child -- a direct killing of the innocent child -- murder by the mother herself. And if we accept that a mother can kill even her own child, how can we tell other people not to kill one another?" Abortion kills an innocent life that God created for a purpose, and when life cannot fight for itself, God fights for it and so should we. Works Cited An Abortion Survivor's Story, AbortionFacts.com 20 Feb 2004 Ten Different Types of "Abortion Survivors" National Right to Life, 20 February 2004 The Abortion Survivors, Priests for Life, 18 February 2004 The Holy Bible, NIV, Cornerstone Bible Pub.
Gift Acknowledgements LFL of Illinois would like to Gratefully Acknowledge the Following for Their Recent Gifts: Timothy and Gail Zillman, Wheaton Diana Karlen, Alton St. John's Lutheran Church, Chatham Fellowship of Faith Lutheran Church, Eureka Lillian Srivastava, Chicago Immanuel Lutheran School, Belvidere
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