A federal advisory panel voted unanimously Thursday that federal drug regulators should approve a medicine that could help prevent pregnancy if taken as late as five days after unprotected sex. The pill, called ella, sprang from government labs and appears to be more effective than Plan B, a morning-after pill now available over the counter to women 18 and older that gradually loses efficacy after intercourse and can be taken, at latest, three days after sex. Ella, by contrast, works just as well on the fifth day as the first after sex. Ella blocks the effects of progesterone, a female hormone that spurs ovulation. It is a chemical relative to RU-486, the abortion pill, and some mystery remains over exactly how it works. That mystery spurred a fierce debate outside of the committee about whether it should be considered an abortion drug, a debate that prompted the posting of several uniformed police officers around the meeting room.
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Michigan Bill Demands Abortionists Give Women Best Ultrasound Images
Sen. Wayne Kuipers
A Michigan Senate Judiciary Committee is considering a bill to tighten up the state's informed consent laws. The bill would mandate that mothers seeking an abortion receive high quality images of their unborn babies from the best ultrasound equipment available at the abortion facility.
Sen. Wayne Kuipers (R-Holland) believes abortionists may be using out-of-date ultrasound equipment to comply with the letter of the law, while ignoring its intent: to provide women considering abortion with the best quality images of their unborn baby, before making an irreversible decision.
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University pro-life group leader calls for Irish resistance to abortion
University of Ireland
Maria Mahoney, of the National University of Ireland (NUI) Galway Life Society, in a letter to the Irish Independent today, has said everything that needs to be said about the international anti-life political pressures on Ireland right now and about the case against legalizing abortion. Maria writes:
Poll after poll confirms that women who 'chose' abortion felt that they had no choice.
In reaction to this fear and panic, it is vital to respond with love for the gifts of motherhood and human life.
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Barrier Method: How a 42-Inch Fence Is Threatening Our Nation's Unborn
Rev. Patrick Mahoney
On Tuesday, June 8, the Rev. Patrick Mahoney arrived at Planned Parenthood with the intention of going to jail over a fence. Two months earlier, the District had granted the organization a permit to build a 42-inch-high "wrought iron steel fence" around the front lawn of its clinic at 1108 16th St. NW. When Mahoney learned of the construction, he notified police, press, and fellow activists; marched onto the lawn; and knelt to pray in hopes of getting handcuffed. The new barrier, equipped with signs reading, "Private Property. No Trespassing. Violators Will be Prosecuted," is meant to keep the anti-choicers at a distance. But it also provides an opportunity for Mahoney to pursue his second-favorite activity involving the property in front of the clinic: litigation. Before Mahoney staged his public prayer, he brought in his go-to attorney, James Henderson of the American Center for Law & Justice. Henderson investigated the issue with city officials and uncovered city maps indicating that the 40 feet between Planned Parenthood's doorway and the 16th Street sidewalk is zoned as "public space."
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Sight Restored to Blinded Patients using Their Own Adult Stem Cells
Italian scientists report that they have restored sight to patients blinded by chemical burns using the patient's own adult stem cells. The team treated 112 patients blinded in one or both eyes; some of whom had been blind for years. Adult stem cells were taken from the edge of a patient's eye and cultured on fibrin, then the cell layers transplanted onto the damaged eyes. The adult stem cells produced healthy corneas and functioning eyes. Some patients regained sight within two months, while for others with deeper injuries the process took a year before vision was restored. Patients were followed up to ten years after the transplant. After a single transplant, 69% of patients regained vision; in some cases a second transplant occurred, with a total success in 77% of patients and partial vision restoration in 13% of patients. The long-term restoration was an especially encouraging success of the study.
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