SHARON O'MALLAN REPLIES TO TROY TORRES

As set out in the previous post, Troy Torres of Kandit News had some harsh words for the Guam Catholic Pro-Life Committee and specifically its Chairman, Sharon O'Mallan. To Kandit's credit, Sharon's response was posted on its website and Facebook Page. We copy it here.

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Kandit is misinformed and misinforming readers on doula issue, pro-life agenda • By Sharon O'Mallan

On Friday Kandit’s Facebook ran a not so friendly discussion about myself and our pro-life group.   I was busy over the weekend, like most people, and also didn’t have a computer to respond.   Let me try and see if I can respond to Troy’s thoughts.

I am currently the Guam Catholic Pro-Life Committee Chairman.  There have been great chairmans before me and surely will be after me as we all serve on limited terms as per our Mission Statement.   It’s actually a very busy job.  We don’t just have meetings but we do a great deal of other things which involve not just abortion, but our main mission is to pray for conversion and change of hearts for people who do not understand the true harm of abortion, the death of a human being and the life long harm done to anyone involved in the abortion.

Our group can be seen out in the streets praying for an end to abortion or burying deceased abandoned babies and deceased unborn babies.  Some of our members assist in the burial of unclaimed adults.  Some of us are involved in food pantries for our brothers and sisters living in the streets or in substandard conditions.  Some of us are involved in bereavement ministries or Faith Formation groups.  We also are involved in Rachel’s Vineyards which offers post-abortion healing retreats for woman and men and families.  We get involved with other Christian groups and work together to help anyone who needs help from before conception to after death.  We hold pro-life conferences which present different wonderful volunteer groups which are out there everyday trying to improve and help and support all our brothers and sisters who need help (no matter what religion or ethnic background or belief they have). 

Troy’s accusations that we have tunnelled and insulated ourselves from the larger and actual pro-life agenda has me confused.  We don’t go out seeking recognition as we truly believe that life is from conception to natural death and beyond.   So the media does not seek us out as we are not what they want to talk about in a positive light since we are pro-life.

Prior to Roe v Wade being overturned in June 2022 our committee discussed the ramifications of that happening.   We all agreed that should Roe v Wade be overturned it would mean a lot of work for pro-life groups in each state and here on Guam.   We did not think anything would be easy.  As suspected, by April of 2023 the start of extreme abortion bills started coming out of the 37th Guam Legislature.

Bill No. 106-37 came out April 2023 by Tom Fisher and Tina Muna-Barnes.  Then Bill No. 111-37 came out in May 2023 by William Parkinson.  Both Bills were almost duplicate of each other and were extreme and harsh abortion bills.  Both bills would make abortion up to birth legal.  It would return partial birth abortions.  Both bills implied that abortion was not legal here on Guam when it is. 

On August 2, 2023 the 9th Circuit of Appeals put out an Opinion which stated that “in-person consultation” was needed before abortion.  This stopped telemedicine abortions which were happening on Guam.   The Opinion also went on to assert that abortion does not involve just one life, but two, the mother and the unborn baby. 

On August 8, 2023, William Parkinson and Tom Fisher put out Bill No. 162-37.   A bill that would change the law in regards to in-person consulting and this would make telemedicine abortions legal on Guam. 

Each time I have had to go and testify against any of these bills, it seemed that the same people were coming out to testify in support of the bills.   Same senators, same faces of supporters, etc.   

Now to the current Doula issue which I believe is what has you Troy all upset about.   In January of 2024 (this year), I was talking to an individual about the upcoming Rachel’s Vineyard retreat which offers post-abortive healing.   I was then informed about abortion doulas who were on the island.   I had never heard of a doula and mentioned it to the committee that there were abortion doulas on the island.   I actually did research on them not only on Guam but in the United States.   The particular group of doulas on island were headed by the Birthworkers of Color Collective which provides “full spectrum doula services”.  In other words, they trained abortion doulas.   I learned all this back in January of 2024.   So when Bill No. 318-37 was introduced to give $400,00.00 to an unregulated and abortion training group, of course I was going to object. 

Is it my fault that the same people supporting this bill are the same people supporting all the other abortion bills?    Only this bill had many more sponsors which I actually tried to talk to the two who you claim are extremely pro-life senators.  But because of the nature of abortion doulas which this group does not deny they do, I cannot sit back and not protest just because they are also adding that they will help women and children.    They claim that the word abortion is never mentioned in the bill, but all news articles and interviews related to the group all openly talk about the hope for better abortion help because of the doulas.   How are we supposed to turn our head and ignore this just because two senators are pro-lifers.   And just because a senator who you, Troy Torres do not like, is Opposing this Bill 318-37, this upsets you.   

Who is not being true to themselves here Troy?   Pretty words, pretty doulas and a pretty picture which are all apart of this doula bill CANNOT hide the ugly truth of what this bill is going to do:  Train Abortion Doulas. 

Another issue Troy is that you claimed that I attacked at least two doulas.  Shame on you Troy.  I sent you on a private text (between you and myself) because you asked where I came up with the idea that they were training abortion doulas.  I sent you on our private conversation, the “quoted” articles and words of the doulas from newspaper articles.  Their words, not mine.  I wasn’t attacking them, I was informing you as to what they said and not me.  You claim that by my attack on these innocent young women is where I lost you as an advocate.   

If you read or heard my testimony opposing this Bill 318-37, I asked that these resources of $400,000 be directed elsewhere to midwife programs, nursing programs, etc where these resources would help a larger variety of people.   Also where a doula is trained in three (3) days versus a certified trained nurse or midwife who receive several years of medical training and be medically certified to assist in all medical needs. 

You also mentioned a couple things which show me where you are truly coming from.   Contrary to what you are saying, we don’t sit around and sing Trump’s name or wear MAGA hats that has made us paranoid and Trumpian politicians.   We are too busy to do those things. 

Then you brought up the story of the woman who died because Georgia law made laws against abortion.   “The rest of the story...”   The poor young mother went to another state to get abortion medication pills because her state has a law banning abortion.   She took the medication and as stated as one of the warnings, sepsis is a possible side effect of taking medication abortion pills.   The babies in the womb died but they didn’t come out.  She developed sepsis and when she went to the hospital the doctors didn’t perform the necessary treatment she needed and her organs were already shutting down and she sadly died.   It made no difference about the laws against abortion.  It all points back to the dangers of abortion medication and medical malpractice on behalf of the hospital.  You said that you are hearing crickets from the pro-life groups because of the deaths, when in fact the media is covering up the true story and the pro-life groups are grieving for the unnecessary deaths. 

And you should note that according to the Committee Report of Bill 318-37, there were 617 people who OPPOSED this bill as there were only 14 people who supported it.   Yet these senators who know that the public voters have voiced opposition to this bill, have now injected it into another Bill 355-37 trying to side-step the voting public thinking they are dumb and uninformed.   Very sad.

While I have had to waste my time and energy on this letter I still have much to do.  We are planning our Life Chain, burying an unclaimed brother/sister, having a Novena to the Unborn Jesus, doing our Prayer Warriors on Wednesday and planning our next Rachel’s Vineyard Retreat in November 2024.   And yes Troy, I still have you on my daily prayer sheet.   Don’t get lost in politics, it will drag you down down down.

Respectfully submitted.

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Sharon O’Mallan is the chairwoman of the Guam Catholic Pro-Life Committee and a resident of Agana Heights

SEN. FISHER MEETS WITH PRESIDENT OF CATHOLIC PRO-LIFE COMMITTEE

The following is an account of a meeting between Catholic Pro-Life Committee President Sharon O'Mallan and Senator Tom Fisher prior to the introduction of the Fisher-Barnes Abortion bill (Bill 106-37). Ms. O'Mallan has given her permission to publish her account. JW has redacted two names that are not relevant to the story.

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I received a copy of the DRAFT proposed legislation with the names of Thomas Fisher, Chris Barnett and Tina Rose Muna Barnes.  At first glance it looks like it is a proposal for a referendum of the Abortion Law PL 20-134.  Upon closer look I noticed that it not only takes a vote BUT proposes a completely new and very abortion law to replace existing laws now.  

 The question is, “Shall the Health Protection Act of 2023, as recited herein and below, be enacted into Guam law?” After reading the new proposed Health Protection Act of 2023, I felt I needed to talk to our new senators to find out where they are in this new legislation and why they are writing it.  I left messages to meet with both Senators Barnett and Fisher.   I was given a meeting date with Tom Fisher for Friday, March 10, 2023 at 11:45a.m.

 On Thursday night March 9, 2023, Senator Chris Barnett calls me up and tells me that he is withdrawing his name on the legislation.   I wish I could take credit for this but he told me that Attorney XXX called him up the other night and gave him information on the draft bill and also an earful…   so he was going to remove his name.  He thought this bill was only a question regarding the referendum and didn’t know about the rest of the language.    

When I start recounting my meeting with Tom Fisher, I suspect I am going to forget some of the details of all that was said since the meeting was about 20 minutes long and I did not take notes or make a recording.  My companion xxx was my support/witness person.  After the meeting she told me that she couldn’t believe how I kept going and going by pressing the issues when he kept getting louder and louder and shouting at some points.  I said, I guess I didn’t realize it at the time even when he started hitting the desk towards the end.  I was trying my hardest to understand him as he constantly wouldn’t let me finish.

This is my summary of the meeting.   Tom Fisher says he wrote the legislation.  I tried to ask him why such an abortion minded bill when he stated that a woman has a right to an abortion and it’s nobody’s business.    I started trying to point out some of the parts of the law saying that if this passes it would replace all the good laws passed to protect both the woman and the baby.   I told him that abortion has never been illegal.   He said that it has been around since “ancient times” and was not a problem then.  I said, before ultrasound we could not really know what happened inside the womb and what happened during an abortion.  Now we know and we cannot go back to “ancient times”

I told him that if this bill passes then Partial Birth Abortion would be legal again.   The act of delivering a baby partially and leaving the head inside the birth canal and then sticking a sharp instrument up his head and scrambling his/her’s brains until he/she painfully dies!  He said, it’s the woman’s choice and it was none of our business.  

I said, your bill would make abortion legal up to right before the baby is born.   He said it’s the woman’s choice and none of our business.  

He questioned me about why I am doing this and I told him that in an abortion someone dies.   A little baby dies.   If the mother changes her mind the next day, it’s too late because she can’t go back and bring her dead baby back to life.   I told him I want to stop this tragedy before the baby dies and the mother is forever suffering from this.   He told me that I should mind my own business and the mother will be fine.

I told him that this law would remove the parents consent rights and minors could have abortion without their knowledge.   He said GOOD because then those parents won’t force their kids to stay pregnant.  He said that if minors want an abortion they should be allowed to have an abortion!

I told him that this law would remove the abortion reporting law.  He said GOOD because it’s none of our business.   I told him that these laws are meant to get statistical information and also for the safety of the woman.   I told him this law provides for Complication Abortion Reporting.   I showed him the 2022 report where there was a complication reported.  He turned around and tried to make it look like the doctor had broken HIPPA laws.   I told him the doctor didn’t break HIPPA law!   He asked me how I knew about the complication?  I told him from the report!!!   How did I get the report?   I said from Public Health!!!   It’s the law!!!  He kept trying to twist it all around saying there was broken HIPPA law from the doctor which I told him I never met and if he reads the report he can see that the doctor was only following the law.  (later on I felt like telling him to do his own FOIA with public health to get the abortion reports!!!.  It was a lot of work to get Abortion Reporting back on track and it is suspected that a lot of doctors are still not reporting. )  

I brought up to him the part of the proposed legislation where he claims that abortion services has been obstructed across the United States and Guam in various ways, including blockages of health care facilities, and associated violence.    I asked him WHAT? WHERE? WHEN? Did this happen on Guam???    He said that YOU PEOPLE HOLDING UP YOUR ROSARIES IN FRONT OF AN ABORTION CLINIC!!!   He said if a woman was coming to get an abortion and came up to the clinic with people holding rosaries and praying, that is VERY INTIMIDATING AND VIOLENT!!!   She would be afraid to proceed and that would delay her abortion.  (Can I mention here at this point he was holding his hand up as if holding a rosary.   Yep… and his voice was elevated.   Yep, us rosary wielding violent people…)  I told him we were praying for conversion and change of heart.   He said…. IT’S NONE OF OUR BUSINESS.

I then tried to bring up that we are trying our hardest to help these women by making sure there are services available to help them.   I also told him that our Catholic Pro-Life Committee is also offering Rachel’s Vineyard Retreats which is post-abortive healing.   He blew up here in a shouted disbelieving laugh-- shouting…. “SO YOU ARE THE ONES BRINGING THAT CRAP HERE!!!”   Then he went into this whole spill about us trying to remind woman of their abortions and dragging them through it again…. Then he BANGED his hand on the table saying “I SHOULD NAME THIS BILL THE MIND YOUR OWN BUSINESS BILL”  

 At different times during the meeting which lasted about 20 minutes, he kept saying that we are very judgmental people.   I kept telling him that we are not.  We are not judging anyone about their abortion, we are trying to stop it before it happens to save the babies life as well as the mother’s well being for the rest of her life.  

Can I add… I told him I now have to add him to my prayer list for his conversion.   He said…”put me on your list!”  with a straight forward sneer on his face.   My long list…