Calvo: "Let the Unborn Celebrate Next Christmas"

 

Merry Christmas, my fellow Guamanians,

 

For the past 25 years, I've spent my life the happiest man in the world as the husband of a Sinajana girl with a voice that makes my heart sing. Christine Lujan Sonido Calvo gave me six beautiful children. Over the years, whether I was wheel-barreling construction supplies, or setting up shops in the outer islands… or selling Pepsi, making laws or administering them, the bedrock of my life has been my wife. The foundation of hers was our family.

 

Family has always been the most important part of our lives next to God.

 

When she became First Lady, we wondered what would change about our family, or how our values could be put to use. She really couldn't decide. She's not one to reach for the limelight, or throw out the first baseball, or to go to every gala and ceremony. But, one day, a couple weeks into our stint as First Family, she hosted an event for foster children… and she knew right then and there what her calling as First Lady would be.

 

Christine has worked tirelessly all these months trying to help children without a home know that they are loved. Last week, my beautiful wife coordinated a very successful gala and production of the Broadway musical "Once on This Island." It was a benefit for children most in need. I want to thank everyone who donated and sponsored the event. I especially thank the cast and crew of the production, who are a group of very talented performers who show the real side of Guam's potential.

 

My wife's advocacy for children in need is part of the nature of our marriage, and certainly the character of my administration. For Ray and I, it is our most important duty and responsibility to speak up for the poor, the homeless, the vulnerable, the suffering and the struggling… to be a voice for those who cannot speak or defend themselves.

 

Poverty, my dear people, is what we are fighting. And it's not just a poverty of wealth that is gripping our island. For some, it is the poverty of children who live without parents, or whose families don't have a roof over their heads. For others, it is the poverty of inequality and inaccessibility as they live with disabilities that go ignored. For many, it is the poverty of abuse and neglect. But, for many many more, their lives ended before they were even given a chance to live.

 

There are no accurate numbers on how many babies in America and Guam have died to abortion. Unlike any other type of killing, there's no requirement to file a police report. You can't get the numbers from a court, because no doctor ever goes on trial for killing a child in a womb. It is a crime against humanity… a poverty so great, it rips at the core of who we are as a loving and giving and joyous people.

 

Over the past four years, I have introduced several bills aimed at reducing abortion on the island. Unfortunately, the majority switched, and my anti-abortion bills, along with one bill by the good Senator Dennis Rodriguez, have stalled in the legislature like no other measure has.

 

Senators and members of the Rules Committee, it is beyond me how zoning bills get to the front of the agenda, yet legislation to protect the lives of innocent children have languished for months and years. I beg of you to prioritize your time. Every day that goes by without your action is another day where another child's life is at risk. Please, pass my bills and Senator Rodriguez's bill into law when you go into session this month.

 

This is Christmas… a time when we celebrate the birth of a Child… one who came into this world to save us by dying for us. I impore you, senators, give the unborn the chance to live… to celebrate next Christmas with us… to know what it's like to have a birthday… to be loved, and to live.

 

Merry Christmas, my fellow Guamanians, and God bless you all.