Stolen love letter
by Carla Stream
Lead moderator at JillStanek.com and blogger at Operation Outcry Wisconsin
I had an abortion 23 years ago. I have written love letters to my daughter Aubrey, sometimes around the date of my abortion, September 5th – sometimes because I have to feel what I feel and type it out.
Over the years I have gained perspective. I carry the regret of paying someone to end my daughter’s life.
I do not have to Google “letters from post-abortive mothers” for inspiration, and I do not read what others might have written and shared to see if something might “resonate.” I do not surf the web watching for something that might “speak to me.” I sit in the silence and stillness of my own soul and write from a place of deep longing and love.
My motivations for writing have always been the same:
1) to educate others that abortion hurts women
2) to share that there is help and hope and recovery after abortion
3) to share with other mothers who chose abortion
4) to help these mothers realize in the depths of their being that they are not alone – that someone “gets” it… that someone has felt what they feel.
And to honor the memory of my daughter who should be here… who would be 22 years old.
Sadly, one of my letters was plagiarized last week. Someone stole my words to my daughter. She stole several sentences – including ones that contained my Aubrey’s name – and inserted her son’s name instead.
This letter was published by several news outlets and was shared thousands and thousands of times. I saw it in my Facebook news feed and set aside special time to read it, because a post-abortive mother doesn’t just pop some popcorn and decide to do a little light perusing when reading a love letter from a post-abortive mother to an aborted child.
When I began to read, I immediately felt like I had been punched in the stomach. I knew those words. I knew those phrases. I knew because they came from my soul. And it hurt. It hurt me deeply. And it was wrong. Stealing is wrong.
I am now sharing my letters here, my feelings and thoughts put into words, which have been published on my blog since 2008. These are a legacy of love to a daughter that I one day will meet.
At this time, it feels like the right thing to do to honor my daughter and her memory, to share the journey of regret after abortion, and to stand in the face of an injustice like plagiarism and have the originals.
Below is the full text of the letter to Aubrey from which parts were stolen, followed by links to the rest of my letters and writings to her:
MONDAY, NOVEMBER 24, 2008
My Girl
Dearest Aubrey,
You should be here. You should be 18 years old. Driving, working, studying, babysitting your siblings. Laughing with me. Loving me. I picture you with long, brown hair like your sisters and big, blue eyes. On September 5th, 1990 you died. I was distraught even as you grew. I was distraught before the vacuum suctioned your body from mine. I was distraught after. Regret hardly conveys the depth of my emotion. A grief and a sorrow that consumes me at times. I can hardly bear it because I did not fight for your life. Fight to protect you. Fight for your right to live and grow and be. I did not place your life before my desperate thoughts of self-preservation. I was deceived into thinking you were a clump of cells, tissue, you were nothing, you were not even a baby.
I know what I have done. I carry it. I own it. I live with it. I would give anything to go back there though, and tell them all to go to hell, walk out that abortion mill door and embrace your life.
The grief I feel is hardly as big as the love, Aubrey. The love I have for you knows no bounds. The joy I have in knowing that I will see you one day. The hope I feel in telling others about you.
You are my daughter and I will honor your short life in every way that I can, as long as I live.
I love you, Aubrey,
Mommy
“Aubrey” (2008)
“Love Letter” (2010)
“My daughter” (2011)
“Dearest Aubrey” (2012)
Jill Stanek is a nurse turned speaker, columnist and blogger, a national figure in the effort to protect both preborn and postborn innocent human life.
I looks like Hannah is sincerely sorry for copying your love letter to your child.
It sounds like she was struggling to put words around her own pain, and your own words touched her deeply.
Not at all Del. Not at all.
I am not about to go into the exchange that Hannah and I had.
Let words touch you. Then write your own.
Let me be very clear about one thing.
I could sue. I could pursue legal avenues. My lawyers suggested it. THAT is how very serious plagiarism is.
I am not vindictive. I am not out to destroy anyone. I do not harbor bitterness.
And I do hope one day Hannah realizes and thanks God that it was Carla she stole from and not anyone else. That it was God’s protection over her.
There is grace and forgiveness.
Oh Carla. I’m so sorry that that happened to you. I can’t imagine. Several people I know and love have been plagiarized lately. How horrible.
Love you!!
Thank you LB.
Horrible.
Plagiarizing makes me question the motivation and sincerity of her writing the letter at all. It’s not like she had an assignment due for which she was not prepared. You actively choose to write because you have something of yourself to share. If it is not yours to share, it seems like self-promotion.
So sorry, Carla. Your words are beautiful!
You know, I’m thinking that when you’re really sorry, you don’t use words like “unwise” and “blunder” when what you’re talking about is “wrong” “theft”.
These half – a$$ed apologies irritate me to no end. Have people forgotten how to really admit to wrongdoing? Not just ok, here’s my compulsory mea culpa, but I don’t want to lose too much face with my public since it was just a little unwise blunder, kwim. I think I’d rather see an openly unrepentant person than this obligatory, but false, public “oopsies, but now it’s all good, right?” crap. Of course, what I’d like to see the most is for people to STOP STEALING AND ACTING LIKE IT’S NO BIG DEAL.
In incidents like these, I’ve seen these thieves claim that they “forgot” what they had read and “accidentally” plagiarized. Funny how you remembered the words verbatim, but “forgot” where you read them. Give me a break.
Plaigarism is wrong.
Writing is raw. Every time you put your words out there, you’re infusing them with a part of your soul. Words take time and through to craft and well-written words pierce the spirit – especially words about such a deeply personal topic. Words, though we cannot tough them or taste or feel them, are the most personal possession and when we choose to publish them and share them with the world, they cannot be taken back. Words are like keys to our hearts.
It is one thing to share beautiful writing with others and say something along the lines of “This person has encapsulated what I want to say.”
It is another thing entirely to steal words, touch em up a bit, slap some differences in there, and then pass it off as your own as if you yourself had composed those letters to say those things. That’s why plagiarism is so serious – it’s not just property you’re stealing, but basically you’re robbing another person of a part of themselves. I cannot imagine, Carla.
And your words *are* beautiful. They *are* worth repeating. They *are* touching and true. But no one – NO ONE – should ever steal them from you. It’s sick.
It makes it worse that she didn’t just throw it up on her personal blog or something – she submitted them to *actual* publications!!! That is horrendous and unjust.
Plagiarism is a lot like abortion — that is, we have lost so much respect for other persons that we don’t even realize when we are stealing.
– “You still have all of your pixels when I used copy-and-paste. I didn’t take anything from you.”
– “You and your life is all the same, just because I emptied my womb. I didn’t take anything from you.”
I’m sorry that this is worse than merely the case of a young writer who doesn’t know she is supposed to give proper credit.
I work in a Preschool. Often the kids take each others toys or hit one another or knock down someone’s Lego Tower…
What follows is the “Now Timmy, would you like it if Emmet knocked YOUR tower down?” or “You need to use words and not your fists” followed by the “Tell Alexander that you are sorry”…
One day, as we were going through this whole routine, the accused apoligized to the offended and the offended said “That’s okay”.
The very wise woman that I work with stood up, crossed the room and said
“NO! Alexander, what Mikey did is NOT OKAY”. When someone says they are sorry, you don’t say that’s okay, you say “I forgive you”.
I had never really thought about it. But she was so right.
What this woman did can be forgiven. But it is NOT okay; and I hope she realizes that apologizing does not make it so.
Carla can and will, if she hasn’t already, forgive her. But what she did, is most certainly not “okay”. I agree CT, perfunctory, insincere apologies are not welcome. She was unable to write a heartfelt letter to her child, and I wonder if she was unable to stir up a heartfelt apology for her “blunder”.
Hard to judge her heart, but I’m familiar with Carla’s. And yes, this girl is might lucky it was Carla that she crossed and not someone else.
I am so sorry that this has happened to you, Carla. I am also very happy to hear that you are not going to listen to any lawyers suggestions that you sue. Hannah sounds very truly sorry imo and it sounds like she is already taking a lot of public flack.
I read so much prolife information and have written about so many prolife issues that occasionally I will come across a sentence or verse and will think “Hey, I wrote that last week or last year!” Then I will have to try to remember if I read it somewhere else before that! One of the phrases in question is similar to, “The love I have for you knows no bounds.” With all due respect to you, I have heard this phrase before and not from either your writings or Hannah’s writings.
An English teacher just last week was talking to students about the seriousness of plagiarism in the school I work at. I have also had people copy or taken credit for things I have done and most times there is no way to prove it. The words I was taught as a child often come back to me, “Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.” It still brings out righteous anger and sadness in me though! Anyone who intentionally takes credit for others’ work whether it be writings or a project, obviously has some self-esteem issues, but I don’t know that there was intent on Hannah’s part.
I know it may not ease the pain of being plagiarized but I hope it will ease your pain to know that there are people out here in “internet land” who see that your words are full of so much wisdom!
Hannah’s mother protested to me at Lifesitenews News that her daughter’s important voice ought not be stilled over this.
What voice? She trolled for material to help craft her message. She stole another mother’s voice, and then added her son’s name in Aubrey’s place.
What voice?
I don’t doubt the depth of Hannah’s remorse over her abortion experience. That’s between her and God. However, her writing and speaking are between her and us. In this she has shown contempt toward her audience by lying to them, contempt for Carla, and contempt for a dead child by deleting her name from the loving prose written by her mother. Clearly, Hannah is not quite ready for prime time. She has quite a bit more maturing to do before she’s ready to be with the big girls.
I wish her well.
For Carla, I wish you peace. In the midst of this episode, Aubrey’s name, and her presence have graced many more who might never have been so blessed.
What voice?
“To err is human, to forgive divine.”
Hannah’s voice is still very important!
prime time, big girls?
Are you being for real, Gerard? Is this a competition to you? I have a college-age daughter and I wouldn’t want her publicly brow-beaten if she ever made a similar blunder.
I personally believe Hannah’s heart was in the right place.
Praxedes,
Please trust me on this.
I PERSONALLY engaged with Hannah over it.
One does not go surfing the web for “inspiration” when writing a heartfelt letter to an aborted child. And just happen upon a little blog and just happen to lift some words and just happen to take out a beloved child’s name and replace it with her own. One does not just think that nobody will notice or that this blogger won’t mind. That does not just happen. No blunders. No oopsies. No accidents.
One does not just publicly out another woman half her age by mistake either, Carla. A young woman who knows the same pain of abortion that you do at that.
That does not just happen either. No blunders. No oopsies. No accidents.
I am so happy I have never used my real name on here. Only you and Jill know my real name and from what I see on this thread, I really hope to heck it stays that way.
What does age have to do with it?
I will call an action wrong. I will call it what it is.
My daughter is the subject of that letter. What you call “outing” I call setting the record straight.
PS This is NOT how I meet post abortive women btw. I still can’t wrap my brain around THAT. That a fellow post abortive mom would somehow think this was ok.
Praxedes,
I think what Gerard means is that when “going out there” as a speaker, or writer a person has to have a certain sense of maturity. She has to be able to understand that her words are very powerful. That while she is hurting over her abortions, so are the women that she is speaking to.
At the very least, what she did was so insensitive, that she should probably rethink what she is doing in going public.
I remember when I first started blogging right here on this site. I had no idea what I was doing. I fared pretty well, but I had a LOT of learning to do. ”Prime time” and “big girls”, I think, simply refers to getting her letter picked up by some big news sites. Which means a ton of people read it. But clearly, she is not yet ready for that type of responsibility.
I think she is young, inexperienced, overzealous in her new found Faith and remorse and hasn’t yet learned how to temper herself. This time, tho, she really, really hurt someone.
The fact that she went to google to look for ideas to use in her own personal letter, tells me that this might have been more about looking good, than actually writing from her heart. In fact, I bet if you asked Carla, the letter she wrote was not written specifically to be published. That was probably an afterthought. I’d bet that she wrote that letter some night when she was feeling especially down and needed to release those emotions. But it feels more like Hannah set out to write a letter specifically to publish it. Which is exactly the opposite of how one should write from the heart…you see?
Praxedes, you just do not have the whole story. If you did, I believe you would not be saying the things you’re saying, nor would you be accusing Carla of wrongdoing.
Carla, I’m sorry you’re having to endure abuse – HERE, of all places – for defending your name and your own words. It’s ridiculous. Especially after you tried to handle this privately and peacefully and were basically told to go suck an egg.
Like I told you over email Carla, I can’t imagine if someone took my personal words that I wrote about things painful to me and used them to get attention from websites without properly crediting me. I am sorry that she did this, it was wrong of her and hurtful. I’m glad you chose not to sue though, because I think in a couple months she will begin feeling genuinely regretful and she will remember the mercy you showed her by not pressing charges, and maybe that mercy will teach her something.
I don’t think anyone should judge you for being public about it though, or of you did choose to sue. She was the one who committed a crime, and you have the right to publicly reclaim your words especially since she was attempting to use them to get attention. I love you and hope you will feel better from how she hurt you soon.
And honestly I think the worst thing she did was lift that sentence and replace Aubrey’s name with Luke. That’s like erasing Aubrey’s life and her importance to her mother. Very much not okay.
And I don’t think age is an excuse. She doesn’t look any younger than me, how old is she? You don’t have to be that old to understand stealing someone’s words of love and pain are wrong. I don’t think she should be vilified but Carla has the right to publicly exclaim her hurt and what wrong was done to her.
My voicing my opinion from what I can see here and at Hannah’s blog is now abusive? I can only comment on what I am allowed to see. If there is more to the story, let it out or don’t expect a fair conversation.
From what I am allowed to see, Hannah apologized and asked for forgiveness. She admitted her wrongdoing. Telling a partial story and then indirectly claiming my comments are abusive is confusing to say the least.
HERE, of all places
Does this space belong to one person or a select few? Maybe my voice isn’t welcome here either.
What does age have to do with it?
I guess you’re right. Age isn’t always a factor in maturity.
I will call an action wrong. I will call it what it is .
And so shall I.
Prax, things were said in private between Carla and Hannah that indicates she’s not particularly sorry. I see where you are coming from, but Hannah didn’t want to handle it privately so Carla had to be public to address her very valid grievances.
Which means a ton of people read it.
Shouldn’t this be what we want?
http://pastorerickson.com/?p=2211
Prax, things were said in private between Carla and Hannah that indicates she’s not particularly sorry. I see where you are coming from, but Hannah didn’t want to handle it privately so Carla had to be public to address her very valid grievances.
It must be the select few that are privy to this info. The rest of us will just be called abusive for commenting on half a story. Mature.
I’m done here. I feel like I’m in the middle of the movie Mean Girls.
Who are you accusing of being jealous? Carla? That’s seriously not okay. Carla wasn’t the one who committed the wrong here. Hannah didn’t want to handle things privately, after Carla attempted to address it that way. You’re way off base if you think Carla is doing something wrong by reclaiming her words. She hasn’t said anything mean and cruel, she has said the truth. Her daughters legacy should not be stolen by someone else. Luke deserves his own legacy and loving words from his own mother. Not stolen words from someone else’s.
Prax I have no inside information, I was going off of Kel’s comment. Do not accuse me of something I’m not doing. No one is being mean to you, and I haven’t accused you of anything.
Maybe, we can all learn a deep lesson here … a lesson without ending. The ‘lesson’ comes to. Peter in the gospels. The Resurrected Jesus, asks, ‘Simon Peter, do you love me?’ His wisdom comes not from speaking it once, but three times. There was no doubt at all Peter was deeply, deeply hurt by these words. But were they necessary?
Many years ago, I thought Jesus does the same to each of us: the first is kinda happy like when we enter into our vocation. ‘Do you love me? … a resounding – YES. The second time that Jesus asks “Do you love me?” is not quite so easily answered, like when your spouse or your child dies …. a much squeaky – yes? The third time, is when YOU DIE…. Jesus asks again that same question, ‘Do you love Me?’
The inside scoop in a nutshell: Carla addressed the situation privately asking for an apology and admission of plagiarism. She was refused, and then some. (I already stated this.)
Therefore, publications were alerted, after which time Hannah decided to write a public apology, which you see at the link to The Blaze.
I have watched as Carla has been accused of some pretty awful things on social media once she stated that the plagiarism took place. So the abuse I was referring to was not just her being disbelieved here, but elsewhere. Treated as if she was the one in the wrong for having to go public after being privately rebuffed.
I am shocked that she would be disbelieved on this blog because she has been a commenter and moderator here for so long and people know her character. So to think something like that of her here, on this pro-life blog (which is essentially a “home” for her, in a way) just seems particularly bad.
The only one being “mean” here are those accusing Carla of jealousy and spite. She is the one who was stolen from. Hannah, who bills herself as a published author, writer and speaker – and who should therefore know exactly what plagiarism is – is not the victim here.
“but I don’t know that there was intent on Hannah’s part. ”
You can’t plagiarize verbatim by accident. There is intent by the nature of the act. Maybe there was no intent to hurt Carla, but it’s pretty blatant indifference given the nature of what she stole and the changes she made, deleting Aubrey’s name and replacing it. I’m not post abortive and even the thought of doing that makes me sick. I also maintain that people who are truly remorseful do not choose words that downplay and mitigate their wrongdoing while purporting to admit to it. And all of that is based only on what I can see – I have no insider information. However, Carla has never seemed like the type of person who would intimate the existence of negative facts that didn’t exist. I can’t imagine what you’re thinking to come down harder on her for not letting this girl get away with it than on the girl who actually did something wrong here!
“Maybe there was no intent to hurt Carla, but it’s pretty blatant indifference given the nature of what she stole and the changes she made, deleting Aubrey’s name and replacing it. ”
Exactly. Intent isn’t magic. I could make an joke about some subject, meaning to be funny, not mean or hurtful, and hurt someone by accident. I wouldn’t have intended the hurt, but that doesn’t mean that it didn’t happen. If you do something wrong or hurtful, even if you didn’t intend to cause harm, you need to own it and sincerely apologize. Not refuse to apologize or take responsibility until publicly called out. I don’t think Hannah should be vilified, but it’s perfectly valid to call her out and say that she’s done something wrong and Carla has the right to publicly reclaim her words.
so sorry that this happened to you Carla. God bless you and Aubrey.
Hi Praxedes ~ Check out the side-by-side comparisons on The Blaze link (first one in post). This is clearly not a case of inadvertently pulling out some key phrases to borrow or paraphrasing the ideas. We are talking verbatim – copy and paste.
I know I said I was done here but I have been reading more of Hannah’s writings and thinking about the heartache all around. My apologies about going back on my words of saying I was done here; I was upset and spoke too soon.
For anyone interested, Hannah is 24. About the same age as Aubrey would be now.
I can’t imagine if Aubrey was still with you and she had done something similar, Carla, that you would want someone talking to lawyers and others going on and on about this. After all, as I pointed out, one of the quotes wasn’t either of yours.
Reading the above words about a young woman who has endured so much already (and admitted her faults as well) is truly heartbreaking.
Jack and Kel, a choice was made to go public; it did not have to happen. None of us know Hannah’s intent or sincerity. There seems to me to be a lot of anger and pride going on here imo; it feels like gang mentality and bullying imo.
I did check out the side to side comparisons. I have typed things before that I later realized was something I had heard/read somewhere else.
Jeesh already.
I’m 25 and I know stealing is wrong. I thought when you talked about her age you meant she was like 19, still a kid. But 24? No. 24 isn’t a kid. You’re an adult and should act like one. And if you do something immature you should be held accountable.
Praxedes, you believe in holding people accountable. If someone plagiarized you, and when you privately tried to ask for an apology and they blew you off and refused to take down the plagiarized article, you would want them to be held accountable. I know you would, so don’t deny that.
Being in pain doesn’t mean you can hurt others and not be held accountable, especially when you refuse to apologize when the person you stole from sends you a private message. We ALL have pain, and no one is saying she is evil or should be bullied or punished. But there’s nothing immoral, nothing wrong, with her having to issue a public apology and Carla stating her feelings publicly. Hannah chose to publish someone else’s words as her own. She gained a lot of public attention by using someone else’s words as her own. She had the opportunity to make it right and take it back, and she decided to throw the opportunity to make it right back. So publications were contacted to let them know that they had published plagiarized material.
Hannah republished her letter with Carla’s words taken out. The publications allowed this. She wasn’t punished or harmed at all for her actions. The only thing that happened was that it was made known that the original words were not hers, that she stole them. That was her only consequence, that people now know she stole. I don’t see where you are getting that she’s been punished harshly or bulled by Carla or any of us, because she basically had no consequences at all.
And it’s bullying for you to post little passive-aggressive links to sermons about jealousy. Carla is not jealous. Carla didn’t want her daughter erased and her daughter’s letter stolen.
If anyone is sending Hannah mean emails or bullying her, that’s completely wrong and needs to stop. People should not vilify her. But it’s not bullying to say “that was wrong of her to do to Carla”. Because that’s truthful, honest, and needs to be said. Erasing someone’s dead child’s name is not okay. At all. And blowing off the mother of the dead child when she asks for an apology is even more not okay.
She’s not a kid. She’s a grown woman who considers herself a published writer and a speaker. If you hold yourself to industry standards you certainly can’t expect to get away with plagiarism. I don’t want her punished and people shouldn’t be cruel, but there’s nothing cruel about saying that what she did was very wrong.
I know you would, so don’t deny that.
Telling people that they have hurt you is different than a public whipping. And I have had people take credit for my work but I never used their name on a blog.
She’s not being publicly whipped, no more than it’s publicly whipping to call someone out for supporting abortion, or for hitting their wife, or anything like that. I bear no ill will towards her, I am very sad for Luke and for her. But I don’t think Aubrey deserved to be erased either. Aubrey didn’t need to have her mother’s words erased and someone appropriating that for their own use without permission.
Why are you ignoring the fact that a private attempt was made, and Hannah made the decision to not accept it?
No. 24 isn’t a kid
It is when you are 46.
“and Hannah made the decision to not accept it?”
It doesn’t sound like she was given much of a chance to do so.
It wasn’t just taking credit for work. It was erasing Aubrey. It was taking the love that a mother had for her daughter, and stealing it. That’s a lot different from taking credit for someone’s work. She erased Aubrey’s name. That’s not okay. Plagiarism in itself isn’t okay, but erasing a dead child’s name is even more not okay.
No one was named in Carla’s writing above.
The Blaze published Hannah’s article and her admission of plagiarism. Carla did not submit that to The Blaze. Hannah did.
And there are zero lawyers involved here. Exactly zero. So I have no idea what you’re talking about with your claims that Carla “called her lawyers.” That’s not even slightly true. I have no clue where you got that idea.
Praxedes, private conversations took place literally hours before anything went public. You are just wrong here.
“It is when you are 46.”
Uh, then you must consider me a kid as well, but you don’t have a problem publicly calling me out here on this blog when I mess up. Which is good. If I do something wrong or hurtful I should be told so, and if I do the wrong thing in a public place it’s okay to call me out publicly even if it is embarrassing for me or hurts my feelings. It’s okay to hold people accountable, if they make a bad decision. No one said “Hannah is a bad person and should suffer”. All I personally said is that I hope she learns about mercy from this and understands why this is hurtful.
Gerard: Hannah’s mother protested to me at Lifesitenews News that her daughter’s important voice ought not be stilled over this. What voice? She trolled for material to help craft her message.
That’s right – it wasn’t Hannah’s voice. Hannah’s mom deserves some caustic criticism for defending Hannah’s fakery.
And we need to see transcripts of Hannah’s grades in English and Language Arts.
I find it almost hilarious that it would practically take time stamped Facebook messages posted publicly before Praxedes will believe any wrongdoing on the part of anyone other than Carla.
Unreal.
It was taking the love that a mother had for her daughter, and stealing it.
No one in this world can take the love that I have for my daughter away. I don’t care if they steal every word I have ever written.
I beginning to think I’m not very popular here.
So I have no idea what you’re talking about with your claims that Carla “called her lawyers.”
Carla at 3:20 pm above – “I could sue. I could pursue legal avenues. My lawyers suggested it. “
Maybe she met the lawyers in person rather than calling them. My bad.
I find it almost hilarious that it would practically take time stamped Facebook messages posted publicly before Praxedes will believe any wrongdoing on the part of anyone other than Carla. Unreal.
Have you read my first comments here?
Unreal is right.
Prax I love you. I don’t know why you think disagreeing with you means that you’re unpopular. If disagreement equals dislike than every single person on this blog hates me lol.
Can you see that I am disagreeing with your words, not you as a person?
I was joking, Jack, but I can see that didn’t come through. I think I’m oftentimes the only one I crack up! :)
I quit trying to be popular years ago.
I love you, too, Jackaroo. Sincerely.
Oh my gosh DLPL you’re old. LOL ;) To me. Well I guess not that old. But still.
‘wrung’ through the wringer darling, ‘wrung’ :-)
Oh lol, it’s probably my fault. I don’t understand humor in text very well and I’m too serious sometimes.
I do not understand why you don’t see why Carla is so hurt though. If I lost my child and someone appropriated a love letter I wrote to them, and got it published in major news sites, I would be so hurt. Carla isn’t going out of her way to punish or harm Hannah, she simply wanted to reclaim her words and honor Aubrey’s memory. She didn’t want Aubrey to be erased. Aubrey was aborted but she does not deserve to be erased, her name should not be erased and another child’s name put there instead. I can’t imagine how awful I would feel if that was my child and my love letter being appropriated and plagiarized. Can’t you see how much grieving and hurt Carla’s going through? And when Carla tried to privately talk to Hannah about her plagiarism, not only did Hannah not want to remove the offending passages, she acted as though Carla had done something wrong! And then, she only apologized after the websites started removing her plagiarized material after Carla contacted them.
I’m not vilifying her, I’m sure she’s in a great deal of pain. And I’m sure she really regrets plagiarizing now. But I am not going to tell Carla that she needs to be quiet, and that people that hurt her are allowed to not be held accountable. Carla doesn’t need to be quieted or told to not talk about the wrong that was done to her. That is my opinion on the matter.
Anyway, if you’re going to bill yourself as a writer, you gotta write. It’s the name of the game.
You do know that lawyers work for groups that Carla is already involved with, right? That doesn’t mean she met with lawyers for the express purpose of suing anyone. She isn’t suing. She certainly would have grounds, but she isn’t.
I feel much more emotionally involved here because I learned of everything this weekend in real time and it was painful. So I’m sorry to be so heated about it. I’m just surprised at people who know Carla from here, assuming the worst about her motives. It’s not personal against you, Praxedes, but it is upsetting to me to watch someone trash the character of my dear friend for simply stating the truth. I don’t understand it at all.
Lol LibertyBelle what are you, like two years younger than me? :P
Yeah give or take a few months. lol
I’m joshin ya.
I’m tired of being all heavy. I need to laugh. Watching Dr who did not help. Gahhhhh I was bawling.
I too LibertyBelle, have shed a tear at the end of some episodes of Dr Who.
Speaking my opinion is now “trashing the character” of Carla. Wow. I hope I don’t get sued. See what the lawyers suggest.
I think I’m beginning to know how Hannah feels. . . .
High five, reality!
I’m going through them all with my partner and man, they know how to rip your heart right out.
Where did I say you were trashing her character? :( I’m sorry if you think I’m attacking you or Hannah, I’m really not. I just don’t understand why you think that Hannah is the injured party here. Hannah chose to steal from some one, and when asked to apologize she chose to refuse. We all make mistakes, and I don’t think she’s a bad person, but she did something wrong. It’s okay, Carla forgives her. But forgiveness doesn’t mean that there are no consequences. I’ve done bad things in my life and I got the consequences I deserved. That’s what happens when you choose to do something wrong.
If Hannah had immediately apologized when Carla messaged her I would agree with you, Prax. There would be no need to be public if Hannah had immediately taken down the plagiarized letter and apologized to Carla. But Hannah chose not to do so.
Wow, provoke much? You have really taken this too far.
Jack, Praxedes was talking to me.
Goodnight.
“I’m tired of being all heavy. I need to laugh. Watching Dr who did not help. Gahhhhh I was bawling.”
Lol if it makes you feel better I’ve gotten all choked up at Grey’s Anatomy and Desperate Housewives. MUCH more embarrassing than crying at Dr Who. ;)
Yeah things have been too heavy. I usually just make people mad when I try to be funny though so I err on the somber side now. I don’t joke like I used to.
Haha well lately I’ve been crying at everything. It’s rough. I used to be able to use pregnancy as an excuse but now…. I got nothin.
I need some SNL or something. Or chocolate. Or both! :)
It’s not you – humor does not translate well over text. It’s weird, isn’t it? Film can be hilarious but the same thing written is just…. off. I don’t know. I’m no comedian. But sometimes I just need to laugh. Or dance. that actually always helps!
Oh I didn’t see that part of your comment Kel.
Prax can you please look at your comments and see where you’re being unfair. Insinuating that Carla’s arrogant, a bully, making jokes about lawyers, etc? Don’t you think you’re coming down too hard on someone who has been hurt very badly recently, by the person you are defending. I’m not saying you shouldn’t defend Hannah if you think that’s right, but there’s no need to say untrue and hurtful things about Carla to do so.
And I don’t understand why you are so upset at Carla, or at least I’m perceiving you are. She has barely said anything on this thread. She didn’t insult Hannah or trash her as a person in this blog post. I don’t know what you think she’s done so wrong.
Well LB, I hope you aren’t suffering from post-partum depression. Do you know that it can sometimes last to a year or so after the baby is born?
It’s true that humor and text don’t mix. I think humans get signals from body language and timing when it comes to humor and text is lacking that.
Oh it’s so much deeper than PPD. Part of it is that I’m sensitive. I cried during Tangled (okay I *still* do) and that came out… what? 2010? ish? But hey, maybe I can add PPD to my list of Crap That Is Wrong With LB. It’s a long list. ;) I think I’m going to try counseling.
Oh my gosh it’s so true. Human interaction cannot be replaced by the internet. It’s awesome. But not that awesome.
I don’t like the idea of sitting down and watching multiple episodes of anything LibertyBelle. If I see a show, I see it. If it gets repeated (if?) I’ll watch it then. Otherwise I just miss it. No great loss once you get to my age.
Lol if it makes you feel better I’ve gotten all choked up at Grey’s Anatomy and Desperate Housewives. MUCH more embarrassing than crying at Dr Who. – embarrassing? Embarrassing? You should be ashamed of yourself! (not that I’ve ever watched any more than the promos for those shows)
Body language, yeah.
“Oh it’s so much deeper than PPD. Part of it is that I’m sensitive. I cried during Tangled (okay I *still* do) and that came out… what? 2010? ish? But hey, maybe I can add PPD to my list of Crap That Is Wrong With LB. It’s a long list. I think I’m going to try counseling. ”
Counseling is good. I finally have health insurance so I’ve been seeing a new therapist, I’m hoping it will help me. And lol. I can’t remember actually crying at any movie or tv show I don’t think, but a few choke me up. That stupid Pixar move Up makes me want to cry, it’s way too sad.
“embarrassing? Embarrassing? You should be ashamed of yourself! (not that I’ve ever watched any more than the promos for those shows)”
– Grey’s Anatomy has a lot of really attractive people, and actually a pretty fun plot and characters.
-Desperate Housewives is hilarious.
They are both primetime soaps, basically. Nothing shameful or embarrassing about watching soaps! :)
Carla, I feel so bad for you. This person stole something so precious. You were right to hold her accountable by exposing her wrong doing. I’m 49 next week and this woman is surely an adult at 24.
She has admitted her theft. She can be held accountable.
“for anyone interested, Hannah is 24. About the same age as Aubrey would be now. I can’t imagine if Aubrey was still with you and she had done something similar, Carla, that you would want someone talking to lawyers and others going on and on about this. ”
What….the…..just ….what. Are you kidding? Even if you feel the need to defend this girl, that stoops way too low. Way.
But let’s look at the repercussions. For publicly stealing entire paragraphs of someone’s painful thoughts (in one of the most egregious ways possible), this girl has suffered the HORRIBLE consequence of having to rewrite those paragraphs using different words and admit her theft publicly. *gasp* *horror*. My mother wouldn’t have accepted that kind of half-baked apology when I was 14 let alone 24. I’m not in favor of people sending her bullying emails/messages, but come on. This is not a terrible consequence for plagiarism of this nature.
That’s what I said CT. She didn’t get any consequences, really. All she did was have her mistake be known, and have to rewrite her letter which was republished. I’m no writer, but I am pretty sure that generally when you’re caught out on plagiarism you don’t get to write over the stolen parts and get the new version resubmitted. I think they usually black-list you for that. So, she should be happy that the pro-life movement is forgiving enough that she got a second chance.
And like I said, I’m not vilifying her, I haven’t seen anyone on this thread vilify her. It’s not vilifying to say “that was wrong, this was a hurtful thing to do”. And Carla doesn’t have to be quiet, she is entitled and morally correct in talking about Aubrey and the hurt she feels. She didn’t even mention Hannah in this post. The Blaze article, which Hannah herself was involved in (not Carla) was what named Hannah. I don’t think Hannah should be “punished” or harassed any further, but I won’t allow people to call Carla the one who is doing something wrong here.
One wonders what else Ms. Abbot has borrowed from others to tell ‘her’ story.
Hi Carla. I am truly sorry that this has happened to you and sorry for the pain you have suffered trying to resolve this situation. I will pray for your broken heart to be mended because something intimate and personal that you wrote was stolen from you. God bless you sweet Carla. Please don’t let this take your joy and passion away but it may take time to heal and regroup which is normal btw.
Prax I will pray for you as well to you go back and read some of the things that you wrote and that you will see that you added more pain to Carla’s situation and that you will hopefully one day apologize. I am not jumping on you but what did Carla ever do to you that you would accuse her of such things? I have been here for many years and have never known her to be “petty” or “mean” to anyone even those she disagrees with.
Exactly DLPL. Sorry if I didn’t see that you had said that before. I sort of jumped to the end to comment on that quoted text.
Carla, may God bless you and help you through any hurt this has caused you by having your daughter’s name removed from your writings. You are an inspiration. I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive Hannah if her pain from abortion is real. She obviously made poor judgement in not reaching out to you prior to publishing these writings as her own, Let’s hope that your writing reaches thousands more to read. God uses us in ways and for reasons we do not always see at first. If one pregnant mother reads Carla’s perspective and it gives them perspective to deter them from abortion then her writings about Audrey’s are accomplishing there goal of bringing your memories of Audrey to life and gracing other peoples lives.
I am sorry for you, that your mothers heart has been grieved, through the stealing of the love letters. And yet I’m still more sorry for Aubrey, whose life was stolen through abortion.
I think the focus should be on the loss of her life, and the fight to end all this killing and needless misery caused by abortion. Thanks for all you do to accomplish that. With God’s grace, we will all heal from the tragedy of abortion.
Hi Carla, I’m sorry to hear what happened to you. God will see you through this to becoming an even more amazing woman for the pro-life cause. Thanks for all you do to help women in need. LL <3
I stepped away from this thread yesterday.
Praxedes,
Are you ok? I can’t recall you EVER being this accusatory or angry or this ugly with me. It doesn’t even sound like you to be honest.
I have allowed myself time to think. Time to pray. Time to seek wise counsel. I allowed myself to process and proceed. I allow myself to feel what I feel.
And I wanted to type out my thoughts and my letters in loving memory of my daughter. I am her mom. I am fiercely protective of Aubrey’s short life and her story. Our story. And so there it is. My words, my letters, my poems. From my heart to her.
Injustice demands an action. And my action was to write. To try and TAKE BACK what had been done. Not that I can. I do not have to defend myself. I didn’t do anything wrong.
I will not compare an abortion to the act of plagiarism. Good grief.
I will not entertain for a moment if Aubrey were 24 and had done something like this…..are you kidding??
THANK YOU to all of those that have simply expressed their sorrow at what happened. Thank you for walking beside me through it. I have an immense amount of gratitude to those that went to bat for me. On countless threads on other websites they defended me and my daughter. I received emails and messages and phone calls from those that KNOW and LOVE me and could only imagine how this hurt me. How grateful I am to God for their presence in my life.
Plagiarism is wrong. It should NOT be taken lightly. It shows a lack of integrity and absolutely causes harm. It should be called out for what it is. Stealing. And some are fine with it. Some have blown it off. Some have denounced it.
That I get the opportunity to send a post to Jill and she puts it up? What a blessing.
Please pray for Hannah. Pray for me.
Carla, I’m fine, thank you. Anyone that questions your actions of consulting lawyers has the problem? I feel like you and others here have been very ugly to an apologetic young lady. Are you okay?
Yes, plagiarism is wrong. Let me make myself very clear – I never disagreed with that but this has taken on a life of its own and there is someone else here who is hurting in spite of making a terrible choice, realizing it and apologizing. Your are the older and hopefully wiser woman and could have chosen to do things differently and I am an ogre for pointing that out. Good enough. I don’t feel the need to be popular here.
It appears Hannah’s sin was that her apology wasn’t quick enough and didn’t appear sincere enough.
Lifting you up in prayer Carla.
May God use this situation for His divine purposes, and may He fill your life to overflowing with His peace that surpasses all understanding.
Praying for Hannah too.
“speaking my opinion is now “trashing the character” of Carla. Wow. I hope I don’t get sued. See what the lawyers suggest. I think I’m beginning to know how Hannah feels.”
I’m glad you can take solace in the story of someone else who is also pretending to be a victim. Solidarity.
Carla, I’m so sorry for the pain you must have suffered when you read your own heartfelt and beautiful words to Aubrey stolen and addressed to another aborted child. I can’t even imagine. You’ve devoted your life to helping post-abortive women so something very bad must have transpired between you and Hannah for this situation to be where it is. I’m so sorry.
I wish I had only read Carla’s article and not read the comments here. Some of the ugliness aimed at Hannah make my heart hurt. She’s a sinner, a wrong-doer, a plagiarizer. She’s also a mother in pain. Thank you, Jill Stanek, for posting some words of encouragement in the comments on her blog.
First, Carla I am sorry this happend to you. I am glad that it was resolved and I fully support the steps you took to put this spectacle Hannah created to an end.
People are people. We cannot control what others do or don’t Praxedes , but we can respond and often if things cannot be resolved privately or the other person chooses to put an unexpected twist into a dispute, we must act. Carla was 100 percent correct given the circumstances and Hannah’s inappropriate actions – to resolve the matter the way she did.
CT: that last part of the citation” I think I’m beginning to know how Hannah feels” is absolutely non-sequitur. Did the author of that sentence realize that before composing it????
Lrning,
I don’t know Hannah. Had never heard of her. Until I read her letter and immediately contacted her. THAT is how we met.
And THAT is heartbreaking to me.
Yeah I know people. Some are lawyers. Some called me. Some messaged me. Some said “open and shut case of plagiarism.” I didn’t go that route to sue her. Non issue.
I am done speaking with you now Praxedes. I don’t know what I could possibly say to you.
Sorry for my unclear wording, Carla. I meant something bad must have transpired when you contacted Hannah after discovering her plagiarism. Didn’t mean to imply you had met her before.
Sending you virtual (((hugs)))!
Gotcha.
“I wish I had only read Carla’s article and not read the comments here. Some of the ugliness aimed at Hannah make my heart hurt.”
Okay who is being ugly? Literally all I said was that it’s wrong for who to do such things to Carla. It’s okay to say Hannah did something wrong, it doesn’t mean people are bashing her. I might have gone overboard defending Carla because she’s being maligned, but I truly bear Hannah no ill will and just wish she learns something from the experience. I think she’s immature, not evil.
“Your are the older and hopefully wiser woman and could have chosen to do things differently and I am an ogre for pointing that out. Good enough. I don’t feel the need to be popular here.”
Okay, stop playing the victim here. You’ve chosen to ignore people who try to have a real conversation about the issue and you’ve simply picked a few bits out of people’s comments to make snarky comments about. It’s really frustrating. And you didn’t “simply point out” anything. You have refused to give Carla the benefit of the doubt (linking to sermon’s on jealousy? Can’t you see she’s hurt not jealous?), you have been uncharitable in your interpretations (wondering how arrogant Carla is), and made snarky jokes about being sued. Carla’s been here for years, you’ve known her for years, there’s absolutely no reason for you to say such things about her. You are being unkind and uncharitable. I appreciate you want to protect this “kid” who is hurting, but you don’t get to tear down the actual victim in all this to do so. I’m all for merciful treatment of those who have done wrong, I’m not for punishing their victims while doing so.
And it amazes me how publicly talking about wrongdoings is okay when some people do it, but not okay when others do. Seems hypocritical.
“Let me make myself very clear – I never disagreed with that but this has taken on a life of its own and there is someone else here who is hurting in spite of making a terrible choice, realizing it and apologizing”
For the millionth time Prax. Hannah refused to apologize or take down her plagiarized material until Carla contacted the publications. She refused. Why do you keep ignoring that? Carla would have gotten no apology, and Hannah wouldn’t have taken down her plagiarized materials, unless Carla did what she did.
You’re deliberately interpreting Hannah’s actions as charitably as possible while interpreting Carla’s as uncharitably as possible. It’s seriously not very kind at all.
Prax, I’m not trying to bash on you or make you feel bad or anything like that. I just can’t stand to see my friend, who’s probably one of the kindest people I’ve ever met, being maligned. It’s okay to want to have grace and mercy for Hannah, of course it is. And Carla does pray for Hannah, the wounds are raw right now but she is forgiving her and praying for Hannah even after what Hannah did and how Hannah treated her when she messaged her. And I pray for Hannah too, that her grieving heart be soothed and that she realizes the seriousness of plagiarizing Aubrey’s legacy like she did. No one is saying Hannah is a bad person or needs to be maligned or mistreated.
But you’ve continually made insinuations against Carla that are untrue and hurtful. That’s not a good way to defend Hannah. Actually, the way Carla has been treated during this whole mess is victim blaming and perpetrator excusing. People try this for all kinds of bad behavior and it’s never right. Bad behavior should be clearly called out. And if the person doing the bad behavior refuses good faith efforts to handle things in private, then going public is an okay thing to do. It’s not okay to blame the victim for attempting to get justice. There’s nothing morally wrong with what Carla did, she didn’t call names or ask for cruelty or judgement for Hannah. I will defend her in this because she’s the victim here. Hannah deserves grace and mercy but she is not the victim here.
I honestly don’t see where all of this animosity towards Carla is coming from.
I actually think she handled this situation with a lot of grace and tact, if you want to know the truth. It must be difficult to have such raw words taken from you.
And I do feel bad for Hannah. She is indeed a hurting mother and lord knows I’ve got compassion for her and pray for her and hope that she learns from this situation.
Our primary beef with her is that she is acting immaturely and unprofessionally and that she refused to reconcile privately. It would have been so simple for her to respond to Carla in private and admit wrongdoing and take down her articles. For goodness’ sake, it would have been easy for her to change and then re publish the letter with her own words. No one – absolutely no one – is saying that she does not have a write to voice her grief and love to her unborn child.
But when you pass poignant words as your own – especially on the Internet where things get spread and lost so quickly – that is wrong. I truly do hope that Hannah receives mercy and has a change of heart.
But actions have consequences. And she is very lucky that it was our sweet, gentle, mature Carla and not a psychopath.
“for the millionth time Prax. Hannah refused to apologize or take down her plagiarized material until Carla contacted the publications. She refused. Why do you keep ignoring that?”
That’s a huge part of it. Another huge part is the way she apologized, which is so common in apologies now (especially public apologies). I don’t know exactly how to put it into words. It’s like the person apologizes, but the main thrust of their apology is making themselves out to be the victim for being called out for their own wrongdoing. It’s not just Hannah. This is a trend and it honestly sickens me. Read her statement. A sincere apology would have had a lot more “poor Carla” and a lot less “poor me” (if any- really there shouldn’t be any “poor me” in an apology, but at this point I’d just settle for less of it). When you’re apologizing, you are asking for forgiveness, not going through the motions necessary to demand it. Inevitably, these “apologies” lead to the exact situation we see here. The real victim gets blamed for being too harsh (which boggles the mind in this circumstance – people have educations and careers destroyed for less severe plagiarism than this). Then commenters rush to assure the wrongdoer that what they did really wasn’t all that bad – totally understandable, probably not intentional plagiarism (whatever that is, when you’re quoting paragraphs of text), possibly not even plagiarism at all.
Do I feel for Hannah on some level? Sure. It sucks. She’s in the thick of the time when it sucks the most, which is right after your wrongdoing is exposed. But being caught doing something this wrong is supposed to suck – usually significantly. She is not being mistreated. She should humbly accept the very minor consequences that have come her way, learn a lesson, and keep going with the many good things she seems to be doing. Over time, that will speak more to her character.
LB,
I really don’t believe that a person should be allowed to plagiarize and then take out “the stolen phrases” and be able to republish!! Should it be that easy??
HOW does that speak to the seriousness of plagiarism?
I did hear of one site that took down the letter and will refuse future submissions.
Zero tolerance. I like that.
Thank you CT.
I agree with you about the apology thing CT. I have a tendency to do that self-pitying not-apology sometimes, it’s usually when I’m being stubborn and feeling sorry for myself. It’s not right. I’m not going to make judgments on whether Hannah is truly remorseful or not, but I think when making an apology people should try to choose their words carefully.
“I really don’t believe that a person should be allowed to plagiarize and then take out “the stolen phrases” and be able to republish!!
HOW does that speak to the seriousness of plagiarism? ”
That’s why I don’t get these accusations that anyone is being too harsh on her. Plagiarism usually gets you black-listed at least from the publication that you published plagiarized material in. The pro-life movement, these publications, are being way more kind and forgiving than most industries and movements would be involving a serious issue like plagiarism. That’s the pro-life movement for you, most of us have a lot of grace for post-abortive mothers. But still, I don’t get why people are acting like Carla has tried to ruin Hannah’s life or something, Hannah had very minor consequences compared to most plagiarists.
“I really don’t believe that a person should be allowed to plagiarize and then take out “the stolen phrases” and be able to republish!! HOW does that speak to the seriousness of plagiarism? ”
Agree completely. If you plagiarize in school, you will count your blessings if you just fail the assignment and not the class (and that’s without getting into the possibility of being expelled).
“I have a tendency to do that self-pitying not-apology sometimes”
I do it too. I think we’ve all done it. But it’s becoming the trend to insist that every statement that utters the word “apology” be met with instant forgiveness and acceptance of the sincerity of the apologizer regardless of objective evidence to the contrary. I’m very very suspicious when I see one paragraph devoted to “I’m sorry for this little mistake” and multiple paragraphs devoted to “but…feel sorry for me”. It’s too self-centered to give me any confidence that she really even gets what she did wrong.
Um that’s not what I meant actually. Sorry if it came across wrong!!
I guess what I was trying to say if she wants to be inspired to write her own letter to her son with similar themes, fine. But I guess you’re right in that she can’t re-submit once she’s plagiarized.
If you’ve read my comments earlier, I speak vehemently against plagiarism. I’m not making excuses for what she did.
I just didn’t phrase that one sentence correctly. Sorry!
Wow I really didn’t that comment through….
My brain’s gone on holiday.
To address the “Hannah is just a 24 year-old kid,” stupidity…
When I did my pre-med work at Columbia University there was a plagiarism code. If you got caught, you got expelled…even if you were seventeen and a first semester freshman. It’s that serious, because it shatters the bonds of trust among scholars…
and because it’s predatory…
and because it’s sneaky…
and because it shows contempt for all that is decent in a community of enlightened minds.
On a United States Navy aircraft carrier, the average age of the five-thousand member crew is…19! If one of those crew members were to plagiarize or falsify a report they would be sent to the brig, and quite possibly dishonorably discharged depending on the specific infraction.
In Afghanistan, we have eighteen year-old soldiers who cannot return fire when fired upon, depending on the rules of engagement. They exhibit great restraint under fire with their lives on the line.
So, please spare us the weepy apologias for this woman whose mother’s heart couldn’t find the words to express whatever it was she wanted to say and resorted to pilfering Carla’s letter, admitting she didn’t think it would be noticed, refused to engage in restitution, posted a less-than -forceful apology on her FB page, took down the entire FB page a few hours later, and generally showed more concern about managing her damage control than being forthright from the beginning.
24 is plenty old enough to know right from wrong, and judging from the spin control, Hannah manifested how deeply she understood the consequences of the behavior.
LB
Your brain and mine are somewhere together. Hopefully somewhere warm and sandy and sunny. With umbrelly drinks.
I am sorry if I read your comment wrong. I hope I didn’t sound like I was jumping down your throat.
Maybe that is the issue?
That if you don’t find plagiarism to be a big deal or deserving of punishment as long as someone says “sorry” then I guess I understand this thread a little better.
Yeah I wish that’s where I was. I think my brain’s 3/4 watching the newly mobile offspring trying to consume shoes and books and board games…. *cough*
No it’s cool I just didn’t want to seem like I was defending plagiarism. Because what Hannah did is unequivocally wrong. It’s wrong and her response was wrong.
And amen, Gerard. Age has nothing to do with it. I’m younger than her (oh actually…. I’ll be her age in a few months. Woah when did that happen!?). Anywho. In school it was drilled into us exactly what plagiarism is and why it is wrong. If you’re calling yourself a writer, you know this. You have to know this. It is not a youth thing. It’s a heart thing. This is not ignorance. This is either laziness at best or malice at worst. (I’m willing to give her the benefit of the doubt and say she’s lazy).
Inspiration is one thing; stealing is another.
I guess some people don’t find it to be a big deal; or they think that because you’re hurting you get a free pass on stealing other people’s words; or that being youngish makes you automatically ignorant (I take umbrage at that!); or that she might be inexperienced.
Nope. Nope nope nope. She is submitting her words (Well, your words with her name slapped on em) for publication. It’s stealing; it’s wrong. She knows better.
All of this could have easily been cleared up, as you said, by a simple email to you along the lines of, “Wow your poignant words so accurately express everything my heart is feeling! Can I borrow some phrases?” Or something like that.
Hey folks,
beam-up for a second ::: we have all had a most-wondrous sob while reading Carla’s words to Aubry. The words themselves carry our hearts ‘naturally’ to Carla’s love that lives in such an unlikely situation. And the certainty of its beauty lifts us to say ‘Yes!’ in the zero(‘No’) world of Reality’s.
Now think about it: if I had thought about it there might be no Aubry no Heaven … no God, but because of Carla’s words of love all this not only makes sense: they bring much real joy.
thanks Carla!!! Aubry IS in the Father … Hannah … ??? (maybe some day!)
You’re right John. It is Carla’s “WORDS” that made Aubrey become ‘FLESH” to the rest of us…now where have I heard that before…?
Question: Did the publication of Hannah’s letter (and the subsequent discovery of the plagiarism) do more to help or hurt the overall prolife cause?
How can a poor choice be finally turned to do some good?
I think it helped the pro-life cause Tommy. We are alway accused of falsifying abortion stories and making up statistics and blah blah blah. Well here is proof that we will call people out for lying and falsifying things. We are forgiving, as shown by Hannah being allowed to republish her story with the stolen information taken out, but we didn’t tolerate lying or stealing.