Condemnation of Organ Transplant Abuses seen as 'Abominable' The Pope praised the generosity involved in the donation of organs or tissues and condemned the abuses in the transplant and trafficking of organs as he addressed an international congress on organ donation in Rome today. Pope Benedict began his address to the conference entitled, "A Gift for Life. Considerations on Organ Donation." by applauding the great advances of medical science in the realm of issue and organ transplants. Though these measures give hope to people who are suffering, he lamented the problem of a limited availability of organs, as evidenced "in the long waiting lists of many sick people whose only hopes of survival are linked to a minimal supply which in no way corresponds to effective need." Despite the fact that the supply of organs is limited, the Pontiff emphasized that people can only donate, "if the health and identity of the individual are never put at serious risk, and always for morally-valid and proportional reasons. Any logic of buying and selling of organs, or the adoption of discriminatory or utilitarian criteria ... is morally unacceptable," he stressed. The Pope went on to address abuses in the transplant plant of organs and tissues such as organ trafficking, which often affect innocent people such as children. These abuses, he said, "must find the scientific and medical community united in a joint refusal. These are unacceptable practices which must be condemned as abominable." Pope Benedict also strongly criticized the idea of creating human embryos for organ harvesting. "The same ethical principle must be reiterated when it is suggested that human embryos be created and destroyed for therapeutic purposes. The very idea of considering the embryo as 'therapeutic material' contradicts the cultural, civil and ethical foundations upon which the dignity of the person rests." The Holy Father then spoke about the necessity of informed consent being "a precondition of freedom," ensuring "that transplants have the nature of a gift and are not interpreted as acts of coercion or exploitation." He then recalled the dignity of a dead persons reminding the congress that "vital organs must not be removed save from a dead body, which also has a dignity that must be respected. Over recent years science has made further progress in ascertaining the death of a patient. .. In an area such as this, there must be no suspicion of arbitrariness, and where certainty has not been reached the principle of precaution must prevail." The Pope also spoke to organ recipients saying that they "should be aware of the value" of the donation. "They are recipients of a gift that goes beyond its therapeutic benefit. What they receive, in fact, .. [it] is a testimony of love, and this must arouse an equally generous response so as to enhance the culture of giving and gratuity." Transplants, "require all sides to invest every possible effort in formation and information, so as increasingly to awaken consciences to a problem that directly affects the lives of so many people," the Holy Father concluded. 'It is important, then, to avoid prejudices and misunderstandings, to overcome diffidence and fear replacing them with certainties and guarantees, so as to create in all people an ever- greater awareness of the great gift of life." Contact: None Source: Catholic News Agency Source URL: http://www.catholicnewsagency.com Publish Date: November 7, 2008 Click here to link to this article.
Payback Time: What Planned Parenthood Expects from Barack Obama The decades-long love affair between Barack Obama and Planned Parenthood has reached its political fruition. Obama will soon be ensconced in the Oval Office, with all the people who helped put him there lined up outside for goodies. At the head of the line will be Planned Parenthood and other abortion providers. What will they ask for? The three things that they want from a President Obama are more money for their contraception and sterilization programs, an end to any and all restrictions on abortions, and taxpayer funding, including funding for abortion itself. Judging by what Obama has said over the course of the campaign, he will be happy to grant their wishes. First of all, Barack Obama has pledged to pay for abortions with our tax dollars. According to his own web site, he is an original co-sponsor of the "Prevention First Act," which will "increase funding for family planning and comprehensive sex education that teaches both abstinence and safe sex methods. The Act will also end insurance discrimination against contraception, improve awareness about emergency contraception, and provide compassionate assistance to rape victims." What this reasonable-sounding languages disguises, of course, is the ugly reality that the Prevention First Act would actually force insurance companies to fund, doctors to prescribe, and pharmacies to dispense, abortifacient contraceptives. "Providing compassionate assistance to rape victims," when translated into plain English, means forcing you and I to pay for morning after pills and abortions. Second, Obama has also promised - in the strongest possible terms - to sign the radical Freedom of Choice Act (FOCA), which would prohibit the states from "interference with a woman's right to terminate a pregnancy prior to viability or ... after viability where termination is necessary to protect the life or health of the woman." It would also prohibit so-called "discrimination ... in the regulation or provision of benefits, facilities, services, or information." If passed, the Freedom of Choic Act would nullify any and all restrictions on abortion, from parental consent laws, to waiting periods, to informed consent provisions, and the like. All of the hard work of pro-lifers over the past three decades would be swept away. Third, and potentially most damaging in the long run, Obama has pledged to appoint Supreme Court justices based on their friendliness to his agenda, and not their qualifications as impartial arbiters of the law. In Obama's own words, he will surely appoint people of like mind, assuring us that he wants to put "people on the bench who have enough empathy, enough feeling for what ordinary people are going through." So much for the Constitution. As it stands now, the Supreme Court is effectively deadlocked on the Life issues, with Roberts, Alito, Scalia, and Thomas as reliable pro-life votes, and Breyer, Ginsburg, Stevens and Souter equally reliably pro-abortion. With at least two justices getting on in years and another reportedly expressing interest in retiring, the next president may have ample opportunity to appoint more than one judge to the land's highest court. In the face of Obama's expected onslaught against Life what can we do? Those with pro-life convictions must continue to act on those convictions. We must continue to be a presence outside of abortion centers in order to let women know that there is a "choice" beyond abortion. We must continue to help women who come to our crises pregnancy centers with counseling and baby cribs. We must let our remaining friends in the House and Senate know that we expect them, although outnumbered, to stand and fight for Life. Unless the Party of Abortion can muster 60 votes in the Senate, the Freedom of Choice Act will be a dead letter. Finally, we must redouble our efforts to expose the abortion movement for what it is: An anti-child, anti-woman movement that has cost America 50 million lives and counting. Contact: Steven W. Mosher, Colin Mason Source: LifeSiteNews.com, Population Research Institute Source URL: http://www.lifesitenews.com http://www.pop.org Publish Date: November 6, 2008 Click here to link to this article.
Non-Terminal People Increasingly Seeking Assisted Suicide in Switzerland A recent study has revealed that a large number of non-terminally ill men and women are seeking assisted suicide in Switzerland, which has some of the most liberal laws in the world governing the controversial practice. Conservative bioethicists have responded saying they not surprised by the findings, claiming that the roots established by the euthanasia movement have created a slippery slope that will ultimately lead to a universal human “right to die.” Researchers from the University of Zurich and the Zurich University of Applied Sciences examined the cases of 421 people who obtained assisted suicides in Switzerland between 2001 and 2004. The study focused on the two assisted-suicide groups, Dignitas and Exit, who helped 274 and 147 people, respectively, commit suicide. They found that 79 percent of the 274 people with Dignitas and 67 percent of the 147 with Exit were terminally ill; the remaining individuals were not terminally ill when they committed suicide. The study also found that 91 percent of those who died with Dignitas were foreigners, compared to the three percent of foreigners choosing Exit. Susan Fischer, who co-authored the review on assisted suicides in Zurich said, "Being tired of life and in very poor health are becoming more frequent reasons to seek help to commit suicide than in the past." Other experts go one step further, saying that reasons such as suffering or being tired of life are accidentals to the main campaign by the assisted suicide/euthanasia movement, which is focused on establishing a universal human “right to die.” "This is not new, because the right to die movement for a long time had been promoting the concept of euthanasia for those people who are tired of living," said Alex Schadenberg, executive director of the Euthanasia Prevention Coalition, in a LifeSiteNews.com interview. "All it means is that the people at the Dignitas and Exit clinics have fulfilled these ideals by offering death on demand. They have gone where other places are planning to go." Schadenberg related how he witnessed a Dutch speaker at a 2006 right to die conference promoting a universal human right to die. "The Swiss, in their clinics, are fulfilling what the other groups are fighting to achieve. This is not about terminal illness, or suffering. It’s about their final goal which is the universal human right to die." Exit officially rejected the study in a statement. But in an interview with Reuters, Bernhard Sutter of Exit's board admitted that about one third of the people committing suicide with Exit are people not suffering from a fatal disease, but are in a "bad state." "We help only people with fatal diseases or who are very seriously ill. For the last 12 years, the number suffering from fatal diseases has always been the same, between 65 and 75 percent. The rest, maybe a third or less, are very ill," said Sutter. Prominent bioethicist Wesley Smith also addressed the growing assisted suicide trend, alluding to the fact that the umbrella of circumstances in which assisted suicide or euthanasia are permitted will only be broadened as the practice becomes more socially accepted. Anyone pondering the issue rationally, he said, "would realize that once assisted suicide/euthanasia consciousness becomes widely accepted, the categories of the terminated expand. And now, waddya know, a study of assisted suicide in Switzerland shows that an increasing number of the cases have been of people who are not terminally ill." "Expect that trend to continue as the idea that ending life is an acceptable answer to human suffering digs deeper into the world's moral bedrock," finished Smith. In related news, the November fourth vote saw Washington become the second US state allowing legal assisted suicide. Initiative 1000, the Washington "Death with Dignity Act," which allows physicians to prescribe a fatal dose of medication to patients whom a doctor feels is likely to die within six months, passed in the state 59% to 41%. Contact: Tim Waggoner Source: LifeSIteNews.com Source URL: http://www.lifesitenews.com Publish Date: November 6, 2008 Click here to link to this article.
NEWS SHORTS FOR FRIDAY Disclaimer: The linked items below or the websites at which they are located do not necessarily represent the views of The Illinois Federation for Right to Life. They are presented only for your information. Abortion Protester Sues City Officer A party in two failed lawsuits alleging Constitutional violations by the City of York and York City Police officers, abortion protester Luanne C. Ferguson filed another federal suit last week against the city and Officer Troy Bankert. In her complaint filed in U.S. Middle District Court on Oct. 30, two days before the expiration of the two-year statute of limitations, Ferguson claims Bankert used excessive force while arresting her without cause outside Planned Parenthood on South Beaver Street on Nov. 1, 2006. Ferguson, who is representing herself in this suit, claims police action outside Planned Parenthood have "chilled, frustrated and deterred . . . the exercise of her First Amendment activities." http://ydr.inyork.com/ci_10921650?source=rss D.C. Hospital Sues to Remove Boy, 12, >From Life Support The family of a 12-year-old New York boy is entangled in a legal fight with Children's National Medical Center over whether doctors can cease life support because they believe he is brain-dead. The dispute involves Motl Brody of Brooklyn, who was diagnosed with a severe form of brain cancer. The boy has been under the care of the Northwest Washington hospital for about six months. His tumor grew progressively worse, and doctors there pronounced him dead Tuesday night after tests showed no signs of brain activity. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/11/05/AR2008110504602.html?nav=rss_religion First Trial against an US Surgeon for Killing a Patient to Harvest Organs Begins A San Francisco surgeon is undergoing trial for allegedly hastening the death of a terminally ill patient to harvest his vital organs. The case against Hootan Roozrokh is believed to be the first of its kind brought against an American transplant surgeon. Rosa Navarro, the patient’s mother, successfully filed suit against the hospital where the patient died and received $250,000 in compensation. Now the District Attorney’s office is pressing charges against the 34-year-old surgeon for “dependent adult abuse, administering a harmful substance and prescribing controlled substances without a legitimate medical purpose.” Roozrokh is also being charged with giving the 25-year old Ruben Navarro an antiseptic called Betadine, normally administered to an organ donor after death, via feeding tube to the stomach. Some commentators suggest the antiseptic was ultimately responsible for the patient’s death. http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2008/nov/08110607.html Voters Deal Setbacks To Abortion Opponents Divisions between two camps of the anti-abortion movement may have helped doom ballot measures to ban abortion in South Dakota and Colorado and stymied plans to challenge the landmark Roe vs. Wade decision in the voting booth. South Dakota voters rejected their ballot measure 55 percent to 45 percent while Coloradans rejected theirs 73 percent to 27 percent. The South Dakota initiative would have banned abortions except in the case of rape or incest or to protect the health of the pregnant woman. The Colorado measure would have given fertilized human eggs the same rights as human beings with no exceptions. http://www.tennessean.com/article/20081107/NEWS0206/811070427/1001/RSS01 Indiana Boy Latest Neb. 'Child Dumping' Case An 8-year-old Indiana boy was left Thursday at an Omaha hospital, bringing to 28 the number of children left under Nebraska's unique safe-haven law. Todd Landry with the Department of Health and Human Services Division of Children and Family Services said the boy was left late Thursday morning at Bergan Mercy Hospital. The department was still gathering information on the case and offered no other details immediately. Children from Iowa, Georgia and Michigan have been among the children left at hospitals under the Nebraska law. http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2008-11-06-safe-haven_N.htm?csp=34
NEWS SHORTS FOR THURSDAY Disclaimer: The linked items below or the websites at which they are located do not necessarily represent the views of The Illinois Federation for Right to Life. They are presented only for your information. Tiller Helps to Secure Victory for Pro-Abortion District Attorney Notorious abortionist George Tiller of Wichita, Kan., spent more than $100,000 to help re-elect pro-abortion District Attorney Nola Foulston. According to Associated Press reports, Foulston previously blocked 30 criminal charges being brought against Tiller. Tiller's ads attacked Sedgwick County district attorney candidate Mark Schoenhofer. Troy Newman, president of Operation Rescue, said the setback will only energize life advocates. http://www.citizenlink.org/CLNews/A000008602.cfm Archbishop Chaput eager to see Kmiec deliver a pro-life Obama In a genial but critical exchange reproduced on The Witherspoon Institute’s web site Public Discourse, Pepperdine University law professor Doug Kmiec and Archbishop of Denver Charles J. Chaput have exchanged further remarks concerning Kmiec’s advocacy for President-elect Barack Obama. The archbishop told the professor he welcomes a civil dialogue but also called on Kmiec to convince Obama to change his position on life issues. Kmiec, a pro-life Republican, wrote in response to the archbishop’s Oct. 17 address to an ENDOW dinner, titled “Little Murders,” in which the archbishop commented that Kmiec has a “strong record of service to the Church and the nation” but claimed Kmiec and other pro-Obama Catholics “have done a disservice to the Church, confused the natural priorities of Catholic social teaching, undermined the progress pro-lifers have made, and provided an excuse for some Catholics to abandon the abortion issue instead of fighting within their parties and at the ballot box to protect the unborn.” In a public letter to the archbishop dated Nov. 4, Kmiec called the archbishop “as well spoken a defender of the faith as I remember.” However, Kmiec repeated his concern that the archbishop’s approach to the abortion issue “will lead many in parishes around the country to neglect what they can do to build up the culture of life through the promotion of the social gospel in its fullest sense.” http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/new.php?n=14254 54 Percent Of Catholics Voted For Obama Is Barack Obama closing the so-called "God gap"? Pundits on Wednesday were calling the president-elect's national support from 54 percent of Catholics one of the more startling outcomes of the election. It's 2 percent higher than George Bush's Catholic support in 2004. Among Protestant evangelicals, about 25 percent went for Obama, compared to 21 percent for John Kerry in 2004. Obama's strong Catholic support comes despite a flurry of statements from Catholic bishops in the waning days of the campaign, which warned of Obama's loyalty to abortion rights. Evangelical Protestants also have been staunchly anti-abortion and support other social issues such as a federal amendment defining marriage as between a man and a woman, which Obama opposes. http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2008/nov/06/obama-able-to-close-gap-with-catholics/
"I Guess I Should Have Known Better" Along with many, many others, I tried for the better part of two years to figure out what makes now President-elect Barack Obama tick. Or, perhaps better put, to grasp what it is that so many millions of Americans see in a man who, experience-wise, is so thin you would think everyone could see right through him. Syndicated columnist and author Mark Steyn is, in my judgment, the finest opinion writer in North America. Over the weekend he penned a column that captured what I had so inadequately tried to say. As he often does, Steyn begins with a hilarious vignette to make a serious point. "In Tokyo last week," he writes, "over 1,000 people signed a new petition asking the Japanese government to permit marriages between human beings and cartoon characters. 'I am no longer interested in three dimensions. I would even like to become a resident of the two-dimensional world,' explained Taichi Takashita. 'Therefore, at the very least, would it be possible to legally authorize marriage with a two-dimensional character?' "Get back to me on that Tuesday night," Steyn continued. "We'll know by then whether an entire constitutional republic has decided to contract marriage with a two-dimensional character and to attempt to take up residence in the two-dimensional world." While writing tongue-in-cheek, Steyn is making a profoundly insightful observation. Millions of America last night voted for "the two-dimensional Obama --the image, the idea, the 'hope,'" he wrote, but "it will be the three-dimensional Obama –-the real man with the real record--that America will have to live with." Let me offer a few concrete examples. The two-dimensional Obama tells us he is a non-partisan, reach-across-the-political-aisle sort of guy. The three-dimensional Obama is as partisan as pro-abortion Sens. Charles Schumer and Dick Durban, only not as outwardly vicious. The two-dimensional Obama says in a debate, "But there surely is some common ground when both those who believe in choice and those who are opposed to abortion can come together" -- for example, by "helping single mothers if they want to choose to keep the baby." The three dimensional Obama advocates cutting off all federal aid to crisis pregnancy centers (CPCs). The two-dimensional Obama assures the public his goal is to "reduce the number of abortions." The three-dimensional Obama has vowed to Planned Parenthood the first thing he will do as President is sign a bill that is guaranteed to multiple the number of abortions by a huge amount and to throttle any notion of a conscience clause. Waving The "Freedom of Choice Act" before the anti-life set is like promising an addict a lifetime's supply of crack. And, finally, the two-dimensional Obama indignantly says NRLC was "lying" when we asserted that he had voted against a state bill virtually identical to the federal Born-Alive Infants Protection Act, intended to provide care and legal protection to infants who survive abortions. The three-dimensional Obama, while an Illinois state Senator, not only led the opposition to legislation to protect babies who are born alive during abortions, but persisted in his opposition even after Congress had enacted a virtually identical federal bill without a single dissenting vote--and has completely distorted his record every since! My objective is not simply for us to be able to say, "Hey, we told you so." That is pointless. It is rather to equip you to gently but firmly speak to your friends when they wake up from a dream they choose over consciousness. Much sooner than later, tens of millions of people who should have known better will sheepishly look you in the face and ruefully respond, "I guess I should have known better." Contact: Dave Andrusko Source: National Right to Life Source URL: http://www.nrlc.org Publish Date: November 5, 2008 Click here to link to this article.
Death Treat Issued To Operation Rescue In Wake Of Obama Victory Operation Rescue has received a death threat through its web site yesterday from a pro-abortion supporter emboldened by Sen. Barack Obama's victory. The threat has been reported to the Federal Bureau of Investigation. "Even before the last votes were counted, we received this threat. It is an indication that the abortion forces are feeling emboldened and are thinking that, under an Obama administration, they will be able to harm pro-lifers and get away with it," said Operation Rescue President Troy Newman. "When people like this devalue the lives of the pre-born, it is only natural that they would devalue and even despise the lives of others as well." The threat indicated that any act of "anti-abortion terror" would be "ANSWERED IN KIND BY PRO-CHOICE COUNTERTERRORISTS, who will mount violent attacks against right-to-lifers." [Emphasis theirs.] The threat was issued by someone identifying himself as "SoMG" with the IP address of 207.237.113.33. "It's hard to know that is meant by 'anti-abortion terror,'" said Newman. "We have seen abortion clinic employees describe two grandmothers quietly praying on the sidewalk outside abortion clinic as 'anti-abortion terrorism.' In any case, Operation Rescue has a strong and undeniable history of peaceful pro-life activism, which we will proudly continue even in the face of pro-abortion bullying and intimidation. "We are not new to these kinds of threats, and will not succumb to any attempts at intimidation, because the lives of innocent babies hang in the balance every day. We encourage pro-lifers around the nation to stand firm for the cause of life, especially in the face of impending adversity in a potentially hostile political environment. God is our Protector and we must trust in Him." Contact: Troy Newman, Cheryl Sullenger Source: Operation Rescue Source URL: http://www.operationrescue.org Publish Date: November 6, 2008 Click here to link to this article.
Expert finds 65 percent of women who have had abortions have PTSD symptoms Sixty five percent of women who abort suffer symptoms of post-traumatic stress syndrome after undergoing the procedure, according to psychiatrist and member of the Right to Life Committee, Carmen Gómez-Lavín. Gómez-Lavín said the risk of developing clinical depression is 65% greater in women who abort than in those who give birth, according to data published in the Medical Science Monitor by Doctors J.R. Cougle, D.C. Reardon and P.K. Coleman. She pointed out the “paradox” that in Spain 97% of the more than 100,000 annual abortions are practiced for supposedly grave physical or psychological reasons, “when the fact is that all the scientific literature points out significantly and conclusively that the greatest risk for women comes after an abortion,” she added. She also pointed to a comparative study on abortion and cases of diagnosed post-abortion syndrome in women in the United States and Russia, published by V.M. Rue in the Medical Science Monitor in 2004, which showed that 60% of women who undergo an abortion say, “Part of me died,” after the procedure. The same article, Gomez-Lavin said, shows that “64% of pregnant women who underwent an abortion felt pressured to do so. In some cases the coercion became violent and life-threatening.” “52% said they made the decision in haste and 54% were unsure of their decision at the moment of abortion. 67% had not received any previous counseling,” she added. Contact: None Source: Catholic News Agency Source URL: http://www.catholicnewsagency.com Publish Date: November 5, 2008 Click here to link to this article.
Obama administration could radically change U.S. landscape on social issues Barack Obama made history Nov. 4 in many ways, not least of which was giving pro-choicers hope they finally may be able to pass the Freedom of Choice Act, a bill that pro-lifers call the most radical piece of abortion rights legislation ever introduced. Obama's liberal views on abortion flew under the radar during the general election -- overshadowed partially by a struggling economy -- but his positions on those controversial issues could dramatically alter American history, particularly since he has a pro-abortion House and Senate by his side. The last time a Democratic president took office with a Congress of the same party was 1993, when Bill Clinton was sworn in with 57 senators and 258 representatives from his own party. For Obama, it will be at least 56 senators and 251 representatives But pro-family leaders publicly worry that Obama -- at least on social issues -- is more liberal than Clinton was. Richard Land, president of the Southern Baptist Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission, previously called Obama "the most radical pro-abortion candidate to ever be nominated by a major party." During the general election, pro-lifers often pointed to Obama's opposition to a ban on partial-birth abortion as well as his opposition to a bill in the Illinois legislature that would have required doctors to provide medical attention to pre-viable babies who survive abortion. But now that he is president-elect, it is Obama's position on the Freedom of Choice Act that is perhaps most concerning to pro-lifers. Like Clinton did, Obama has promised that he would sign the act, which would overturn virtually every pro-life law on the state and federal level -- such as parental notification laws and partial-birth abortion bans -- and also would ensure that abortion remains legal, even if the Supreme Court someday overturns Roe v. Wade. It likely also would lead to taxpayer funding of abortion under Medicaid and any future government health insurance program. Asked in 2007 at a Planned Parenthood meeting what he would do as president to make sure abortion remains legal, Obama replied that "the first thing I'd do as president is sign" the bill. He is one of 19 co-sponsors of it in the Senate (where it is known as S. 1964). In the House, Speaker Nancy Pelosi isn't listed as a current sponsor, although she does support the bill and has sponsored past versions. The Freedom of Choice Act first was introduced in 1989 and was thought to have had the votes for passage in 1993 when Clinton took office, but pro-lifers successfully killed it. Obama's support of the bill seems to conflict with his own public statements about abortion, such as one in the third presidential debate when he insisted that "there surely is some common ground" where "those who believe in choice and those who are opposed to abortion can come together." He went on to list several options to reach such a goal, including "providing appropriate education" to youth about sex as well as "providing options for adoption" and "helping single mothers" who want to keep the baby. Pro-lifers, though, say Obama actually is opposed to what they view as the most common-sense, common-ground legislation. For instance, according to a questionnaire filled out by his campaign, Obama favors ending federal funding for crisis pregnancy centers. "It's one or the other: Either we're going to see [him] finding coming ground, or we're going to see an effort to pass the Freedom of Choice Act and live up to his campaign promise," Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of the pro-life Susan B. Anthony List, said during a conference call. The Freedom of Choice Act's sponsors acknowledge that it would have a wide-reaching impact. Sen. Barbara Boxer of California, the Senate lead sponsor, said in 2004 that the bill "supersedes any law, regulation or local ordinance that impinges on a woman's right to choose." The National Organization for Women, which also supports the bill, says on its website the bill "would override the Court's decision" in the partial-birth abortion ruling and would "supersede laws that restrict the right to abortion, including laws that prohibit the public funding of abortion." But Obama's position on the Freedom of Choice Act isn't the only issue that concerns pro-family groups and citizens. Obama also could change the national landscape on: -- Embryonic stem cell research. A bill that would drastically increase public funding for embryonic stem cell research seems likely to become law -- perhaps as soon as next year -- with Obama in office. He supports the bill, which President Bush twice vetoed. -- The Supreme Court. At least two of the court's liberal stalwarts -- 88-year-old John Paul Stevens and 75-year-old Ruth Bader Ginsburg -- appear on the verge of retirement. Although replacing the two justices with another pair of liberal justices wouldn't change the ideological makeup of the court, it would give the court's liberal wing two much younger justices and would keep conservatives from reaching one of their long-sought-after-goals: replacing a liberal with a conservative and giving them five solid votes (a majority). Obama provided insight into the types of justices he would appoint when he wrote in his book "Audacity of Hope" that he believes the Constitution "is not a static but rather a living document and must be read in the context of an ever-changing world" -- words that are music to liberals' ears. He also has said he disagreed with the Supreme Court's decision upholding the ban on partial-birth abortion. Obama last year told a meeting of Planned Parenthood -- the nation's largest abortion rights organization -- that "there's a lot at stake in this election." Contact: Michael Foust Source: Baptist Press Source URL: http://www.bpnews.net Publish Date: November 5, 2008 Click here to link to this article.
The 'Pro-Life Good News Story of the Week': Hope of Pregnancy Centers Advances In the wake of the 2008 election results, Care Net President Melinda Delahoyde reported good news among our nation's pregnancy centers. "While legislative efforts to protect the unborn and women from abortion may be limited in future years, the work of pregnancy centers is advancing stronger than ever before and in places where our help is needed most - our nation's inner cities," Delahoyde said. "The 'pro-life good news story of the week' is the movement afoot among urban African American church leaders who want to see abortion statistics reversed in their communities and are opening up local pregnancy centers. Through practical help and emotional support, nine out of ten women who visit a pregnancy center are empowered to carry their pregnancy to term." Former Philadelphia Eagle and "Praying Tailback" Rev. Herbert H. Lusk, II feels strongly about the importance of offering abortion alternatives. "If you don't do anything about abortion, you're not part of the solution, which means that you're part of the problem," he said. "The good news is I am no longer part of the problem." On Nov. 7th in the heart of Philadelphia, where abortion providers greatly outnumber pregnancy centers and nearly 40 percent of the state's abortions occur, Rev. Lusk and his "People for People" community outreach organization will open the doors to The Hope Center, a new pregnancy center on Broad Street. What sets this center apart from various social service agencies is the love of 25 trained volunteers and its free services, which include peer counseling on pregnancy options, material resources, parenting training, mentoring, and post-abortion support to women and men facing unplanned pregnancies and related issues. "The opening of pregnancy centers like The Hope Center is indeed a change to the status quo in cities like Philadelphia, where abortion feels to many like their only option," Delahoyde said. "It's a sign that a culture of compassion instead of hopelessness is emerging in some of the neediest places of our country." Contact: Kristin Hansen Source: Care Net Source URL: http://www.care-net.org Publish Date: November 5, 2008 Click here to link to this article.
Opinion: Life will not go on Barack Obama was elected president despite the fact he supports abortion into the fourth trimester. Either the 63 million people voting for him didn't know about his radical record, which includes abandoning abortion survivors to die, didn't care, or didn't believe it. Meanwhile all three state pro-life initiatives failed Tuesday: the California Abortion Waiting Period and Parental Notification Initiative, the Colorado Equal Rights Amendment (defining personhood as beginning at conception) and the South Dakota Abortion Ban Initiative. And both state anti-life initiatives passed: the Michigan Stem Cell Initiative (allowing human embryo experimentation) and the Washington Death with Dignity Initiative (allowing physician assisted suicide). Altogether, this means we are fooling ourselves if we think the United States is still a Christian nation. Its people just elected a barbarian as president, authorized the killing of both its youngest and sickest, rejected scientific fact that human life begins at conception, blocked parental intervention of abortions of young girls, and voted down the wording of an abortion ban they said only two years ago they would support. America can be called a culture with Christian roots, but its Christian ethos has been significantly eroded. One other thing. Obama's election means Roe v. Wade has been taken off the table for the next 20 or 30 years. Throughout his four- to eight-year tenure, Obama will nominate at least two or three young Supreme Court justices to ensure the majority continues to agree with that decision, forcing the continued legality of abortion on all 50 states for decades. So the holy grail for many pro-lifers is now gone. Just get used to thinking of pro-life strategy without it. For 35 years, the pro-life movement has been doing its best. We educate. We help mothers in crisis pregnancies. We stand along streets with our signs. We try to elect solid pro-life public officials and defeat dastardly pro-aborts. We introduce pro-life legislation and thwart anti-life bills. We go so far as to stand on sidewalks by abortion mill doors begging mothers to reconsider in a last-ditch effort. But the pro-life movement is hobbled. We can get up after being knocked down as we were Tuesday, and we can walk, but we do so with a limp. We have been able to accomplish some things but never as they should be. On our own we'll never be vigorous, muscular, vibrant. The collective Christian church in America must wake up and finally take responsibility for abortion. That's what Election Day 2008 showed. The pro-life movement was actually born of necessity by a void in church teaching, and now the church is almost completely reliant on our para-church organizations and the government to handle the gravest human atrocity in all of history. Find another genocide or catastrophe or war or famine or plague to match 1 billion people systematically killed in just a 20 year span, the number who have been murdered by abortion worldwide just in the past two decades according to the Alan Guttmacher Institute, research arm of Planned Parenthood. The church must stop abdicating responsibility to stop abortion to the pro-life movement and politicians. God's people are commissioned. But since we are uneducated and compromised on the issue of sexual relations and abortion ourselves, it's no wonder our culture is uneducated and compromised. It is your responsibility, pastor and church leaders, to teach your people that abortion is abominable, and before that to teach chaste living. And before that, at the risk of making my Protestant friends flip, to teach that the contraceptive/sterilization mentality, which considers children bad, not blessings, is also a component of the sexual demise of our country. This election may have prompted a turning point on the Catholic front. We had in Obama a pro-abortion presidential candidate set apart from Clinton or Kerry, who both expressed reticence about their abortion support – "safe, legal and rare," and all that. Obama was confident, categorically supporting unfettered abortion for all nine months of pregnancy and beyond. Catholic theologian Dr. Monica Miller thinks Obama's boldness shook U.S. bishops up. "I've been waiting 35 years to see vigorous, uncompromising statements from the bishops on abortion," Monica told me. "With this election, we had a concerted, bold speaking out of almost 100 of 300 U.S. bishops. There have been several bishops' documents going back 20 years or more. These are decent documents, but they can be interpreted in such a way by Catholics who want to justify a vote for a pro-abortion candidate. These bishops' statements sought to close those loopholes. They were saying nothing outweighs the killing of innocent human life by abortion." Yet almost half of all Catholics still voted for Obama, indicating edicts alone won't work. Only consistent church teaching that breaks through deadened consciences on the horror of abortion in conjunction with education on the godly confines of sexual behavior will do. Face it. It is the Christian church's fault that legalized abortion in America – and now infanticide – exists and persists. That was what Election Day 2008 showed. Contact: Jill Stanek Source: WorldNetDaily Source URL: http://www.wnd.com Publish Date: November 6, 2008 Click here to link to this article.
Obama Solidifies Pro-Abortion Agenda with "Attack Dog" Rahm Emanuel for Chief of Staff Pro-Life Movement faces another 100% pro-abortion leader Social conservatives expecting centrist policies in the Obama administration after repeated promises of “reaching across the aisle” may be taken aback now that President-Elect Obama has chosen Rahm Emanuel, D-Ill., as his future Chief of Staff. Emanuel, a former Clinton advisor famous for his tenacious and sometimes rabid demeanor, sports an overwhelmingly liberal and 100% pro-abortion voting record. According to an AP report, House GOP leader John Boehner of Ohio called Emanuel "an ironic choice for a president-elect who has promised to change Washington, make politics more civil, and govern from the center." Like President-Elect Obama, Emanuel has earned a 100% pro-abortion rating from NARAL - an early indication that Obama plans to stock his administration with figures as hostile to pro-life efforts as himself. Emanuel, a formidable man known for his almost coercive tactics as a fundraiser and whom the LA Times called a "political assassin,” will present Obama's opposition with a force to be reckoned with. As an Illinois Congressman, Emanuel has voted against abortion restrictions with the same gusto as Obama, including a vote to strike down the 2003 federal partial-birth abortion ban. That year, he also voted against prohibiting U.S. tax dollars from subsidizing abortions. In 2004, he voted against the Unborn Victims of Violence Act, which nonetheless passed. Another similarity between Obama and Emanuel lies in their support for homosexuality: in both 2004 and 2006 Emanuel voted against the Marriage Protection Amendment. Obama also refused to protect true marriage in his years as a legislator. In 2005, Emanuel voted against parental notification and consent laws regarding abortions for minors. He then voted to protect federal funding of Planned Parenthood in 2007. Throughout his congressional career, Emanuel consistently supported embryonic stem cell research and human cloning. Emanuel first made waves as a Clinton campaign fundraiser, from where he eventually ascended to Director of Finance in the Clinton White House. Emanuel's fiery temper and drive to succeed have become almost legendary. As reported by the Telegraph, Emanuel's associates recall that, as a Clinton advisor, Emanuel once grew so enraged during a discussion of the president's political opponents that he grabbed a steak knife, stood up and began reciting a list of the opponents' names, shouting "Dead! Dead! Dead!" after each, accompanied by a thrust of the knife into the table. In 2005, Emanuel became the "golden boy" of the Democratic Party when as Chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee he helped launch the Democratic Party into a majority in the House in 2006. Having accepted a position of power in the U.S. government frequently equal to or greater than that of the vice presidency, few doubt that Emanuel will make his presence known. "Congressional Republicans respect what he has been able to do," John Feehery, a former employee for several congressmen including House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert, told the L.A. Times. "They think he's a formidable opponent. ... They won't particularly love him, but if he's smart, they will respect him." Contact: Kathleen Gilbert Source: LifeSiteNews.com Source URL: http://www.lifesitenews.com Publish Date: November 6, 2008 Click here to link to this article.
NEWS SHORTS FOR WEDNESDAY Disclaimer: The linked items below or the websites at which they are located do not necessarily represent the views of The Illinois Federation for Right to Life. They are presented only for your information. 'Personhood' Amendment Defeated In A Landslide Colorado won't become the first state to amend its constitution to give fertilized eggs the same rights as human beings, as voters soundly rejected Amendment 48. The so-called Personhood Amendment was failing by a 3-to-1 ratio, and co-author Kristi Burton laid a lot of the blame for its demise at the feet of high-profile officials with strong anti-abortion credentials that refused to endorse it. Burton pointed out that Republican U.S. Senate candidate Bob Schaffer and Colorado Republican Party Chairman Dick Wadhams hurt the amendment’s chances when they “campaigned against this issue” publicly. “That proved to be insurmountable,” she said. http://www.steamboatpilot.com/news/2008/nov/05/personhood_amendment_defeated_landslide/ Colorado, S.Dakota Reject Abortion Ballot Measures Voters in Colorado and South Dakota rejected ballot measures Tuesday that could have led to sweeping bans of abortion, and Washington became only the second state - after Oregon - to offer terminally ill people the option of physician-assisted suicide. For the abortion movement, it was a day of relief and celebration. The Colorado measure, which was defeated soundly, would have defined life as beginning at conception. Its opponents said it could lead to the outlawing of some types of birth control as well as abortion. The South Dakota measure would have banned abortions except in cases of rape, incest and serious health threat to the mother. A tougher version, without the rape and incest exceptions, lost in 2006. Anti-abortion activists thought the modifications would win approval, but the margin of defeat was similar, about 55 percent to 45 percent of the vote. http://www.cleveland.com/news/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/news/1225877422231450.xml&coll=2 Abortion Ballot Measures Lose, Florida, Arizona Stop Sodomite 'Marriage' U.S. voters firmly rejected two state proposals to limit abortion rights on Tuesday, undermining an attempt to force the issue to the U.S. Supreme Court. But results of more than 150 state measures across the nation showed a more complex cultural map than the easy election of Democrat Barack Obama as president might indicate, according to preliminary results. http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20081105/us_nm/us_usa_election_initiatives_report_1 S.Dakota Abortion Ban Rejection Might Leave Supporters With Nowhere To Go For the second election in a row, South Dakota voters rejected by a double-digit margin an attempt to ban abortion in the state. The margin for Initiated Measure 11- a proposed law to criminalize abortion unless done in cases of rape or pregnancy or to safe the life or health of a woman- was 55-45 with 736 of 799 precincts reported early Wednesday. That's slightly closer than the 56-44 margin that rejected a ban without exceptions in the 2006 election. Neither side in the fight, which also included an unsuccessful legislative effort in 2004, gave any indication that Tuesday's vote was the final word. http://www.argusleader.com/article/20081105/NEWS/811050301/1001/rss01 Nebraska's 'Child Dumping' Swells to 27 Nebraska officials say a 15-year-old girl dropped off at a hospital is the 27th child left under Nebraska's unique safe-haven law. Children and family services division director Todd Landry said in a statement Tuesday that the girl was left at a hospital in Omaha by her legal guardian on Monday. Nebraska was the last state to enact a safe-haven law, which is intended to protect unwanted newborns from being abandoned. http://apnews.myway.com/article/20081104/D94881BO0.html
Michigan Voters Approve Embryonic Stem Cell Research by Narrow Margin Yesterday, voters in Michigan narrowly passed Proposition 2, which amends the state constitution to expand the ability of researchers to create embryonic stem cells with human embryos from fertility clinics. The proposition stipulates that the embryos must have been scheduled to be discarded and are not more than 14 days old. Proposition 2 passed by a slim margin of 52 percent to 48 percent. The battle over the issue was often heated, with supporters from both sides of Proposition 2 campaigning heavily in the weeks before Michigan citizens voted on the issue. According to freep.com, both the Yes and No campaigns each spent some $5 million in the effort to garner the majority vote. "This is a great night for the state of Michigan," said Sean Morrison, director of the University of Michigan Center for Stem Cell Biology when it became clear that Proposition 2 would pass. "Clearly the voters saw through the misinformation and fear that the opposition we’re spreading. Critics of embryonic stem cell (ESC) research in the state, however, led by Michigan Right to Life and the Michigan Catholic Conference, argued that there is never any valid reason to destroy innocent human life. In a letter on the issue leading up to the vote, Michigan’s Catholic bishops wrote, “Embryonic stem cell research is intrinsically evil and morally unacceptable as it necessitates the willful destruction of the earliest stage of human life.” Opponents also pointed out that ESC research has an poor track record, with no viable cures to date; attempts at ESC therapies have in the past consistently produced disturbing results, including tumors and immune system rejections. Adult stem cells, on the other hand, have none of the ethical concerns of embryonic stem cells, and have produced cures for spinal cord injuries, heart disease, diabetes and many other diseases as well as having been used in cancer therapies. “This research, which does not involve the destruction of human embryos, must be supported in the public sphere as well as in the medical field, where professionals take an oath to ‘do no harm,’” the Michigan bishops wrote. A disappointed Dave Doyle, spokesman for Michigan Citizens Against Unrestricted Science and Experimentation (MiCAUSE), who hopes that legislators will review the passing of Proposition 2, fears that the legislation will lead to unregulated embryonic stem cell research. "I think that legislative leaders .. need to take a look at this," he said, according to Mlive.com. "Proponents have said this will be highly regulated. We'll have to see. The constitutional amendment doesn't give us comfort that it will be regulated in Michigan." Contact: Tim Waggoner Source: LifeSiteNews.com Source URL: http://www.lifesitenews.com Publish Date: November 5, 2008 Click here to link to this article.
Colorado Personhood Momentum Expands to the National Scene The first campaign to affirm the personhood of pre-born children in US history has now come to an end, but supporters and organizers are looking to spread grassroots personhood amendments to several other States. The Colorado Personhood Amendment was defeated at the ballot box but organizers knew the victory had already been had in pioneering the State by State Personhood effort. "We may not have captured the majority of the votes, but we have caused over half a million people to think and act pro-life by boldly addressing the core of the issue," said Danielle Jock, Volunteer for Amendment 48 A new pro-life organization, Personhood USA, plans to assist local pro-life groups in different states to put personhood amendments on their states ballot by using the petition process. The 17 States that allow citizens to place constitutional amendments on ballots will be the target states. Personhood USA will also help with opinion petitions to encourage politicians to run personhood amendments in other states. During the Colorado Personhood campaign, organizers were contacted by individuals in many different states with excitement and the desire to start personhood efforts in their own state. During the Colorado Personhood campaign, Gerard Wilberforce, Great great grandson of human rights champion William Wilberforce, endorsed the personhood effort and said "that is just the way William would have done it." "Personhood USA will emulate the steadfastness of William Wilberforce, in that we will continue to advocate for the preborn regardless of polls or winning or losing elections. If we fail to get enough votes to affirm personhood, we will use it as a baseline and try again, educating while we do, and keep trying until we succeed!" said Keith Mason, one of the Personhood Amendment organizers. "Personhood has changed the abortion debate. Now we are asking, 'When does human life begin?' The opposition can not and will not answer this question, but we can. And when we answer that question, we win." Contact: Keith Mason Source: Personhood USA Source URL: http://www.personhoodusa.com Publish Date: November 5, 2008 Click here to link to this article.
