Anna Zaborska and Cardinal Antonelli Promote Rights and Dignity of Life within the Human Family
At the initiative of Dr Anna Záborská, Member of the European Parliament for Slovakia (KDH), and Carlo Casini (UDC-MEP for Italy), more than 50 pro-life and pro-family leaders from Germany, Austria, France, United Kingdom, Spain, Slovakia, Italy, Croatia, Belgium, Switzerland, Romania and Poland met in Strasbourg last week during the European Parliament Plenary Session to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
Leaders have been gathered by FEFA (European Forum for Human Rights and the Family) with the special involvement of the Italian Movimento Per la Vita and the Familiokratos-Coalition.
http://www.christiannewswire.com/news/885159017.html
December 22, 2008
Slovakia police hinder pro-life protest
Complaint filed after Slovakia police hinder pro-life protest
The Center for Bioethical Reform in Slovakia has filed a complaint with the Constitutional Court of the Slovak Republic alleging that the Slovak Ministry of the Interior and the Police Corps committed serious free speech violations against them.
According to the complaint, police in the city of Kosice on October 16 forced pro-life activists at the University of Kosice to remove the display of twelve large frame-mounted billboards, a press release from the Center for Bioethical Reform (CBR) Europe reports. The billboards showed aborted children juxtaposed with images of other genocides including the holocaust and the Soviet gulag.
The police, who threatened immediate confiscation of the billboards, reportedly outnumbered the activists three to one.
The display is part of the project Stop Genocide, which has toured Slovakian universities and music festivals since the summer. The exhibition reportedly had full municipal council permission at the time of the police action.
http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/new.php?n=14675
The Center for Bioethical Reform in Slovakia has filed a complaint with the Constitutional Court of the Slovak Republic alleging that the Slovak Ministry of the Interior and the Police Corps committed serious free speech violations against them.
According to the complaint, police in the city of Kosice on October 16 forced pro-life activists at the University of Kosice to remove the display of twelve large frame-mounted billboards, a press release from the Center for Bioethical Reform (CBR) Europe reports. The billboards showed aborted children juxtaposed with images of other genocides including the holocaust and the Soviet gulag.
The police, who threatened immediate confiscation of the billboards, reportedly outnumbered the activists three to one.
The display is part of the project Stop Genocide, which has toured Slovakian universities and music festivals since the summer. The exhibition reportedly had full municipal council permission at the time of the police action.
http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/new.php?n=14675
Bott Radio Donates Political Advertising Revenue to Crisis Pregnancy Centers
Bott Radio Network Donates Political Advertising Revenue to Local Crisis Pregnancy Centers
During the recent election campaign, Senator Barack Obama pledged his support to Planned Parenthood for the "Freedom of Choice" Act, which would deal a devastating blow to the rights of the unborn. Senator Obama then purchased advertising on Christian radio stations across the nation, including several Bott Radio Network stations. BRN broadcast the paid political advertisements as required by federal government regulations. But according to BRN Executive Vice President Rich Bott, "Rather than benefiting from the Obama advertising, which amounted to several thousands of dollars, BRN is donating that income to local pro-life organizations in the communities where the advertising was purchased."
http://www.christiannewswire.com/news/931489020.html
During the recent election campaign, Senator Barack Obama pledged his support to Planned Parenthood for the "Freedom of Choice" Act, which would deal a devastating blow to the rights of the unborn. Senator Obama then purchased advertising on Christian radio stations across the nation, including several Bott Radio Network stations. BRN broadcast the paid political advertisements as required by federal government regulations. But according to BRN Executive Vice President Rich Bott, "Rather than benefiting from the Obama advertising, which amounted to several thousands of dollars, BRN is donating that income to local pro-life organizations in the communities where the advertising was purchased."
http://www.christiannewswire.com/news/931489020.html
Abortion Law Faces New Challenges
Connecticut Abortion Law Faces New Challenges
Attorney General Richard Blumenthal says new federal regulations, set to take effect on Jan. 18, could override Connecticut's law requiring all hospitals to offer rape victims emergency contraception. Blumenthal says he plans to fight the federal rule, issued by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. It reinforces protections for health care workers and institutions that refuse to provide certain services, such as abortions, for personal reasons.
http://www.wcbs880.com/pages/3532827.php?contentType=4&contentId=3244988
Attorney General Richard Blumenthal says new federal regulations, set to take effect on Jan. 18, could override Connecticut's law requiring all hospitals to offer rape victims emergency contraception. Blumenthal says he plans to fight the federal rule, issued by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. It reinforces protections for health care workers and institutions that refuse to provide certain services, such as abortions, for personal reasons.
http://www.wcbs880.com/pages/3532827.php?contentType=4&contentId=3244988
Abortion Records Reveal Criminal Activity
Planned Parenthood Fears That Abortion Records Reveal Criminal Activity
Prosecutors and attorneys for a Planned Parenthood clinic argued in court Thursday over the custody of patients' medical records that are key evidence in a criminal case against the abortion provider. The clinic hopes to force Johnson County District Attorney Phill Kline to provide a detailed accounting for his evidence. Planned Parenthood's attorneys said they want to keep Kline from taking documents with him when he leaves the prosecutor's office Jan. 12.
http://www.kansas.com/news/state/story/636819.html
Prosecutors and attorneys for a Planned Parenthood clinic argued in court Thursday over the custody of patients' medical records that are key evidence in a criminal case against the abortion provider. The clinic hopes to force Johnson County District Attorney Phill Kline to provide a detailed accounting for his evidence. Planned Parenthood's attorneys said they want to keep Kline from taking documents with him when he leaves the prosecutor's office Jan. 12.
http://www.kansas.com/news/state/story/636819.html
Alcohol Consumption During Pregnancy
Published Reports Inaccurate Concerning Alcohol Consumption During Pregnancy
A national alcohol research group is concerned that the media's misinterpretation of a recent British research study could encourage pregnant women to be more at ease with temperate alcohol consumption. Some media reports erroneously stated that the study by The University College London researchers revealed that light drinking by pregnant women could be beneficial to their babies. Other articles said light drinking during pregnancy would not affect the behavior or mental acuity of babies born to drinking mothers.
http://www.nurse101.com/news/archives/000013.html
A national alcohol research group is concerned that the media's misinterpretation of a recent British research study could encourage pregnant women to be more at ease with temperate alcohol consumption. Some media reports erroneously stated that the study by The University College London researchers revealed that light drinking by pregnant women could be beneficial to their babies. Other articles said light drinking during pregnancy would not affect the behavior or mental acuity of babies born to drinking mothers.
http://www.nurse101.com/news/archives/000013.html
December 19, 2008
Illinois Supreme Court Rejects Blagojevich's 'Emergency Rule'
Illinois Supreme Court Rejects Blagojevich's 'Emergency Rule'
Pharmacists are not required to distribute Plan B "morning after" pill
This morning, the Illinois Supreme Court handed the governor another setback in the case of Morr-Fitz v. Blagojevich, et al. The court held that pharmacists may now defend their right of conscience against the state's "Emergency Rule" which forces pharmacies to stock and disperse Plan B contraception (known as the "morning after" pill) under threat of sanction or even loss of license. Today's decision is a reversal of the lower courts' ruling against the pharmacists on the grounds that the case was not ripe for adjudication.
The "Emergency Rule" was issued by Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich in 2005, requiring pharmacies to dispense the Plan B contraceptive without delay and without regard to the religious beliefs or conscience of the dispensing pharmacist. The Governor stated publicly that "pharmacists with moral objections should find another profession," and "must fill prescriptions without making moral judgments." The Governor's rule was eventually adopted as an Administrative Rule, and within weeks of its final enactment, the Department of Financial & Professional Regulation began prosecuting pharmacies and/or pharmacists alleged to have violated the Rule.
In response, pharmacists Luke Vander Bleek and Glen Kosirog challenged the Rule in court, garnering the support of many groups along the way, including the Illinois and American Pharmacists Associations. The pharmacists claimed, in a nine-count complaint, that the governor's dictate and the administrative rule that followed were violations of their statutorily and constitutionally protected rights to conscience and free exercise of religion.
Richard Baker, of the Chicago law firm of Mauck & Baker, LLC, filed a friend of the court brief on behalf of both the Illinois and American Pharmacists' Associations.
"No pharmacist should ever be forced to choose between their conscience and their livelihood," said Baker. "This decision is good news in light of the many new legislative initiatives, to override the conscience of those, like Luke Vander Bleek and Glen Kosirog, who seek to follow the dictates of conscience in practicing their profession. We would all do well to pay more attention to our consciences--the governor included. I am pleased with the result and hope that the circuit court, on remand, will vindicate the fundamental right of pharmacists in Illinois to follow their conscience in their vocation."
Contact: Rich Baker, Noel Sterett
Source: Mauck & Baker, LLC
Source URL: http://www.mauckbaker.com/
Publish Date: December 18, 2008
Link to this article:
http://www.ifrl.org/ifrl/news/081229_1.htm
Pharmacists are not required to distribute Plan B "morning after" pill
This morning, the Illinois Supreme Court handed the governor another setback in the case of Morr-Fitz v. Blagojevich, et al. The court held that pharmacists may now defend their right of conscience against the state's "Emergency Rule" which forces pharmacies to stock and disperse Plan B contraception (known as the "morning after" pill) under threat of sanction or even loss of license. Today's decision is a reversal of the lower courts' ruling against the pharmacists on the grounds that the case was not ripe for adjudication.
The "Emergency Rule" was issued by Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich in 2005, requiring pharmacies to dispense the Plan B contraceptive without delay and without regard to the religious beliefs or conscience of the dispensing pharmacist. The Governor stated publicly that "pharmacists with moral objections should find another profession," and "must fill prescriptions without making moral judgments." The Governor's rule was eventually adopted as an Administrative Rule, and within weeks of its final enactment, the Department of Financial & Professional Regulation began prosecuting pharmacies and/or pharmacists alleged to have violated the Rule.
In response, pharmacists Luke Vander Bleek and Glen Kosirog challenged the Rule in court, garnering the support of many groups along the way, including the Illinois and American Pharmacists Associations. The pharmacists claimed, in a nine-count complaint, that the governor's dictate and the administrative rule that followed were violations of their statutorily and constitutionally protected rights to conscience and free exercise of religion.
Richard Baker, of the Chicago law firm of Mauck & Baker, LLC, filed a friend of the court brief on behalf of both the Illinois and American Pharmacists' Associations.
"No pharmacist should ever be forced to choose between their conscience and their livelihood," said Baker. "This decision is good news in light of the many new legislative initiatives, to override the conscience of those, like Luke Vander Bleek and Glen Kosirog, who seek to follow the dictates of conscience in practicing their profession. We would all do well to pay more attention to our consciences--the governor included. I am pleased with the result and hope that the circuit court, on remand, will vindicate the fundamental right of pharmacists in Illinois to follow their conscience in their vocation."
Contact: Rich Baker, Noel Sterett
Source: Mauck & Baker, LLC
Source URL: http://www.mauckbaker.com/
Publish Date: December 18, 2008
Link to this article:
http://www.ifrl.org/ifrl/news/081229_1.htm
HHS Puts Regulation to Protect Doctors Who Oppose Abortion
HHS Head Puts Regulation in Place to Protect Doctors Who Oppose Abortion
The final regulation that protects the right of federally funded health care providers to decline to participate in services to which they object, including abortion, was issued Thursday and is now in the Federal Register.
"Doctors and other health care providers should not be forced to choose between good professional standing and violating their conscience," Health and Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt said. "This rule protects the right of medical providers to care for their patients in accord with their conscience."
Over the past three decades, Congress has enacted several statutes to safeguard the freedom of health care providers to practice their trade according to their conscience. The new regulation will increase awareness of, and compliance with, those laws.
Specifically, the final, so-called "right of conscience" rule will:
· Clarify that non-discrimination protections apply to institutional health care providers as well as to individual employees working for recipients of certain funds from the Health and Human Services Department (HHS);
· Require recipients of certain HHS funds to certify their compliance with laws protecting provider conscience rights; and
· Designate the HHS Office for Civil Rights as the entity to receive complaints of discrimination addressed by the existing statutes and the regulation.
In a press release issued by HHS, the department explained about compliance with the new regulation: "Officials are charged with working with any state or local government or entity that may be in violation of existing statutes and the regulation to encourage voluntary steps to bring that government or entity into compliance with the law. If, despite the Department's efforts, compliance is not achieved, HHS officials will consider all legal options, including termination of funding and the return of funds paid out in violation of the nondiscrimination provisions."
The regulation takes effect 30 days after its publication on Friday, Dec. 19, in the Federal Register.
Although the new rule protects health care workers from providing services that are against their conscience, it does not prevent a medical professional or health institution from providing any legal service, including abortion.
Federal protection of provider-conscience rights dates back to the 1970s when Congress enacted the Church Amendments. The Amendments protect health care providers and other individuals from discrimination by recipients of HHS funds on the basis of their refusal -- due to religious belief or moral conviction -- to perform or participate in any lawful health service or research activity.
In 1996, Congress prohibited federal, state, or local governments from discriminating against individual and institutional health care providers (including participants in medical training programs) who refused to, among other things, receive training in abortions; require or provide such training; perform abortions; or provide referrals for, or make arrangements for, such training or abortions.
Provider-conscience protections were expanded again as part of the department's fiscal year 2005 appropriations act. In that law, and in subsequent years' appropriations, Congress prohibited the provision of HHS funds to any state or local government or federal agency or program that discriminates against health care entities on the basis that the entity does not provide, pay for, provide coverage of, or refer for abortion.
"Many health care providers routinely face pressure to change their medical practice, often in direct opposition to their personal convictions," said physician and HHS assistant secretary of health, Admiral Joxel Garcia. "During my practice as an OB/GYN, I witnessed this first-hand. Health care providers shouldn't have to check their consciences at the hospital door. Fortunately, Congress enacted several laws to that end, but too many are unaware these protections exist."
Contact: Penny Starr
Source: CNSNews.com
Source URL: http://www.cnsnews.com
Publish Date: December 19, 2008
Link to this article:
http://www.ifrl.org/ifrl/news/081229_2.htm
"Rivers of Blood" Flowing from Chemical Contraceptives
Evangelical Decries "Rivers of Blood" Flowing from Chemical Contraceptives
Julio Severo, book author and Brazilian pro-family activist, says "micro-abortion" is the hidden sin of many who call themselves Christian
Evangelical pro-life activist Julio Severo has written an analysis of chemical contraceptives and the prophesies in the book of Revelation that "rivers, seas, and fountains of water will 'become blood as of a dead man'"
As Severo points out, through the use of hormonal contraceptives, hundreds of millions of women worldwide are causing invisible "micro-abortions", the destruction of unborn human life at the earliest stage of its development.
The contraceptive pill, morning after pill, and other chemical forms of birth control not only prevent conception, but also prevent the newly created zygote from implanting in the uterine wall.
In the woman's next menstrual cycle, a tiny human being is flushed from her body, into toilets and into rivers, which become "deposits of annihilated lives," according to Severo.
"Hormonal contraception has transformed modern, sexually active men and women into shedders of innocent blood, leaving society under the curse of uncountable number of murders that shall bring judgment," he warns.
Severo observes that the contraceptive ideology that has become so predominant in western countries originated with Annie Besant, who was involved in occult practices, and Margaret Sanger, who said explicitly that "birth control appeals to the advanced radical because it is calculated to undermine the authority of the Christian churches. I look forward to seeing humanity free someday of the tyranny of Christianity..."
In this sense, Severo tells us that the contraceptive ideology functions like another religion, whose values and beliefs are opposed to those expressed in the Bible.
"The culture of the Kingdom of God is pro-life, pro-conception, pro-children and pro-family and it is totally against abortion, micro-abortion and homosexual and other sterile and perverted sex relations," he writes. "For men and women attuned to the culture of the Kingdom of God, children are blessings and each new birth is as it were a Christmas, making a family bigger and richer."
Severo concludes by quoting the Bible's warning in the Book of Numbers that the blood of innocents cries out for God's justice.
"You shall not pollute the land in which you live, for blood pollutes the land, and no atonement can be made for the land for the blood that is shed in it, except by the blood of the one who shed it". (Numbers 35:33 ESV)
SEE THE COMPLETE SPECIAL REPORT:
* Rivers of Blood, by Julio Severo *
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2008/dec/081218a.html
Contact: Matthew Cullinan Hoffman
Source: LifeSiteNews.com
Source URL: http://www.lifesitenews.com
Publish Date: December 18, 2008
Link to this article:
http://www.ifrl.org/ifrl/news/081229_3.htm
Julio Severo, book author and Brazilian pro-family activist, says "micro-abortion" is the hidden sin of many who call themselves Christian
Evangelical pro-life activist Julio Severo has written an analysis of chemical contraceptives and the prophesies in the book of Revelation that "rivers, seas, and fountains of water will 'become blood as of a dead man'"
As Severo points out, through the use of hormonal contraceptives, hundreds of millions of women worldwide are causing invisible "micro-abortions", the destruction of unborn human life at the earliest stage of its development.
The contraceptive pill, morning after pill, and other chemical forms of birth control not only prevent conception, but also prevent the newly created zygote from implanting in the uterine wall.
In the woman's next menstrual cycle, a tiny human being is flushed from her body, into toilets and into rivers, which become "deposits of annihilated lives," according to Severo.
"Hormonal contraception has transformed modern, sexually active men and women into shedders of innocent blood, leaving society under the curse of uncountable number of murders that shall bring judgment," he warns.
Severo observes that the contraceptive ideology that has become so predominant in western countries originated with Annie Besant, who was involved in occult practices, and Margaret Sanger, who said explicitly that "birth control appeals to the advanced radical because it is calculated to undermine the authority of the Christian churches. I look forward to seeing humanity free someday of the tyranny of Christianity..."
In this sense, Severo tells us that the contraceptive ideology functions like another religion, whose values and beliefs are opposed to those expressed in the Bible.
"The culture of the Kingdom of God is pro-life, pro-conception, pro-children and pro-family and it is totally against abortion, micro-abortion and homosexual and other sterile and perverted sex relations," he writes. "For men and women attuned to the culture of the Kingdom of God, children are blessings and each new birth is as it were a Christmas, making a family bigger and richer."
Severo concludes by quoting the Bible's warning in the Book of Numbers that the blood of innocents cries out for God's justice.
"You shall not pollute the land in which you live, for blood pollutes the land, and no atonement can be made for the land for the blood that is shed in it, except by the blood of the one who shed it". (Numbers 35:33 ESV)
SEE THE COMPLETE SPECIAL REPORT:
* Rivers of Blood, by Julio Severo *
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2008/dec/081218a.html
Contact: Matthew Cullinan Hoffman
Source: LifeSiteNews.com
Source URL: http://www.lifesitenews.com
Publish Date: December 18, 2008
Link to this article:
http://www.ifrl.org/ifrl/news/081229_3.htm
Pro-Abortion Caroline Kennedy Seeking Hillary's Senate Seat
Pro-Abortion Catholic Caroline Kennedy Seeking Hillary Clinton's Senate Seat
Caroline Kennedy, the daughter and only living offspring of former president John F. Kennedy, has expressed interest in Hillary Clinton's soon-to-be-vacated senate seat.
Although the Roman Catholic has revealed few of her beliefs in the public forum, her tight relationship with President-elect Obama, her comprehensive "right to privacy" advocacy and the fact that she has sought and received the support of an abortion extremist group, paints a disappointing picture for pro-life Catholics hoping for a voice to plead for the unborn.
According to an Associated Press report, among the calls Kennedy recently made looking for potential allies was one to Kelli Conlin, president of the abortion extremist group NARAL of New York.
"I really do see her as someone who could take up the mantle that Hillary has sort of started in terms of commitment to reproductive health care,'' Conlin said of Kennedy.
"If Caroline is chosen because people believe she will follow the footsteps of Hillary Clinton - or chosen because of her last name - that would solidify our concern that she would be as ruthless toward unborn children and their mothers as Clinton and [Kennedy's] uncle, Ted Kennedy," noted Wendy Wright of Concerned Women for America.
Senator Hillary Clinton has earned one of the most immaculately pro-abortion reputations in American politics, and her advocacy for the unlimited "right" to abortion has been one of the long-standing pillars of her political career. Ted Kennedy, a senator from Massachusetts, has a 100% pro-choice rating from NARAL.
The prerogative to appoint the new senator belongs to New York's Gov. David Paterson, and so far many consider Kennedy a likely pick due to her star status and fundraising history, despite her having no experience in public office.
Kennedy stepped into the public forum earlier this year as the head advisor of President-elect Obama's VP search, and since then she has repeatedly expressed high admiration for Obama. In a New York Times op-ed piece entitled "A President Like My Father," Kennedy expanded on her opinion of Obama.
"I have never had a president who inspired me the way people tell me that my father inspired them. But for the first time, I believe I have found the man who could be that president — not just for me, but for a new generation of Americans," she wrote.
Kennedy spoke at NARAL's Power of Choice Luncheon in October as a representative of the Obama administration. Kennedy's speech was billed as reinforcing "the multiple reasons this election is so important for the country's future."
One of the few public mentions of her own take on life issues was printed in her 1995 book co-authored by Ellen Alderman entitled "A Right to Privacy," in which Kennedy discussed the battle for women's right to abortion and contraception in the context of a shrinking right to privacy.
Contact: Kathleen Gilbert
Source: LifeSiteNews.com
Source URL: http://www.lifesitenews.com
Publish Date: December 18, 2008
Link to this article:
http://www.ifrl.org/ifrl/news/081229_4.htm
Caroline Kennedy, the daughter and only living offspring of former president John F. Kennedy, has expressed interest in Hillary Clinton's soon-to-be-vacated senate seat.
Although the Roman Catholic has revealed few of her beliefs in the public forum, her tight relationship with President-elect Obama, her comprehensive "right to privacy" advocacy and the fact that she has sought and received the support of an abortion extremist group, paints a disappointing picture for pro-life Catholics hoping for a voice to plead for the unborn.
According to an Associated Press report, among the calls Kennedy recently made looking for potential allies was one to Kelli Conlin, president of the abortion extremist group NARAL of New York.
"I really do see her as someone who could take up the mantle that Hillary has sort of started in terms of commitment to reproductive health care,'' Conlin said of Kennedy.
"If Caroline is chosen because people believe she will follow the footsteps of Hillary Clinton - or chosen because of her last name - that would solidify our concern that she would be as ruthless toward unborn children and their mothers as Clinton and [Kennedy's] uncle, Ted Kennedy," noted Wendy Wright of Concerned Women for America.
Senator Hillary Clinton has earned one of the most immaculately pro-abortion reputations in American politics, and her advocacy for the unlimited "right" to abortion has been one of the long-standing pillars of her political career. Ted Kennedy, a senator from Massachusetts, has a 100% pro-choice rating from NARAL.
The prerogative to appoint the new senator belongs to New York's Gov. David Paterson, and so far many consider Kennedy a likely pick due to her star status and fundraising history, despite her having no experience in public office.
Kennedy stepped into the public forum earlier this year as the head advisor of President-elect Obama's VP search, and since then she has repeatedly expressed high admiration for Obama. In a New York Times op-ed piece entitled "A President Like My Father," Kennedy expanded on her opinion of Obama.
"I have never had a president who inspired me the way people tell me that my father inspired them. But for the first time, I believe I have found the man who could be that president — not just for me, but for a new generation of Americans," she wrote.
Kennedy spoke at NARAL's Power of Choice Luncheon in October as a representative of the Obama administration. Kennedy's speech was billed as reinforcing "the multiple reasons this election is so important for the country's future."
One of the few public mentions of her own take on life issues was printed in her 1995 book co-authored by Ellen Alderman entitled "A Right to Privacy," in which Kennedy discussed the battle for women's right to abortion and contraception in the context of a shrinking right to privacy.
Contact: Kathleen Gilbert
Source: LifeSiteNews.com
Source URL: http://www.lifesitenews.com
Publish Date: December 18, 2008
Link to this article:
http://www.ifrl.org/ifrl/news/081229_4.htm
Sin of Abortion
Use of Morning After Pills "Fall Within the Sin of Abortion"
In the December 12 document Dignitatis Personae, the Vatican has condemned the use of morning after pills as falling "within the sin of abortion," and thus being "gravely immoral."
LifeSiteNews.com has reported often in the last few years that many Catholic hospitals in North America offer the morning after pill to women who are or claim to be victims of rape. Bishop Elio Sgreccia who assisted in the preparation of Dignitatis Personae, noted in an interview with LifeSiteNews.com last February that there is no exception for rape.
The morning after pill (MAP) is a drug that can be taken within 72 hours after intercourse, which works to inhibit ovulation and also to weaken the lining of the uterus, thus causing the already conceived child to die. The document calls MAP an "interceptive," meaning that it interferes "with the embryo before implantation."
Dignitatis Personae cautions that "in order to promote wider use of interceptive methods, it is sometimes stated that the way in which they function is not sufficiently understood." The document adds: "It is true that there is not always complete knowledge of the way that different pharmaceuticals operate, but scientific studies indicate that the effect of inhibiting implantation is certainly present, even if this does not mean that such interceptives cause an abortion every time they are used, also because conception does not occur after every act of sexual intercourse."
The Bishops of Connecticut, Wisconsin, Massachusetts, Colorado, New York, California and Washington permit their hospitals to administer the morning after pill to rape victims. While some of the hospitals require an ovulation test prior to the drug's administration, most only require a simple pregnancy test. Since a simple pregnancy test cannot detect pregnancy until usually a week after fertilization, the test is practically useless in determining a pregnancy resulting from a sexual encounter within 72 hours previous to its administration.
Thus, Catholic hospitals in dioceses like those in Connecticut where the morning after pill (Plan B) is administered to rape victims with only a simple pregnancy test will find themselves out of step with the Vatican in this latest statement. Dignitatis Personae states: "It must be noted, however, that anyone who seeks to prevent the implantation of an embryo which may possibly have been conceived and who therefore either requests or prescribes such a pharmaceutical, generally intends abortion."
Some have suggested that there is a Catholic exception to the use of the morning after pill when dealing with rape victims. However, in a February interview with LifeSiteNews.com the then-head of the Pontifical Academy for Life, Bishop Elio Sgreccia, said that there was no exception to the use MAPs.
LifeSiteNews.com asked Bishop Sgreccia if there was an exception in cases of rape. He replied: "No. It is not able to prevent the rape. But it is able to eliminate the embryo. It is thus the second negative intervention on the woman (the first being the rape itself)."
Contact: John-Henry Westen
Source: LifeSiteNews.com
Source URL: http://www.lifesitenews.com
Publish Date: December 17, 2008
Link to this article:
http://www.ifrl.org/ifrl/news/081229_5.htm
In the December 12 document Dignitatis Personae, the Vatican has condemned the use of morning after pills as falling "within the sin of abortion," and thus being "gravely immoral."
LifeSiteNews.com has reported often in the last few years that many Catholic hospitals in North America offer the morning after pill to women who are or claim to be victims of rape. Bishop Elio Sgreccia who assisted in the preparation of Dignitatis Personae, noted in an interview with LifeSiteNews.com last February that there is no exception for rape.
The morning after pill (MAP) is a drug that can be taken within 72 hours after intercourse, which works to inhibit ovulation and also to weaken the lining of the uterus, thus causing the already conceived child to die. The document calls MAP an "interceptive," meaning that it interferes "with the embryo before implantation."
Dignitatis Personae cautions that "in order to promote wider use of interceptive methods, it is sometimes stated that the way in which they function is not sufficiently understood." The document adds: "It is true that there is not always complete knowledge of the way that different pharmaceuticals operate, but scientific studies indicate that the effect of inhibiting implantation is certainly present, even if this does not mean that such interceptives cause an abortion every time they are used, also because conception does not occur after every act of sexual intercourse."
The Bishops of Connecticut, Wisconsin, Massachusetts, Colorado, New York, California and Washington permit their hospitals to administer the morning after pill to rape victims. While some of the hospitals require an ovulation test prior to the drug's administration, most only require a simple pregnancy test. Since a simple pregnancy test cannot detect pregnancy until usually a week after fertilization, the test is practically useless in determining a pregnancy resulting from a sexual encounter within 72 hours previous to its administration.
Thus, Catholic hospitals in dioceses like those in Connecticut where the morning after pill (Plan B) is administered to rape victims with only a simple pregnancy test will find themselves out of step with the Vatican in this latest statement. Dignitatis Personae states: "It must be noted, however, that anyone who seeks to prevent the implantation of an embryo which may possibly have been conceived and who therefore either requests or prescribes such a pharmaceutical, generally intends abortion."
Some have suggested that there is a Catholic exception to the use of the morning after pill when dealing with rape victims. However, in a February interview with LifeSiteNews.com the then-head of the Pontifical Academy for Life, Bishop Elio Sgreccia, said that there was no exception to the use MAPs.
LifeSiteNews.com asked Bishop Sgreccia if there was an exception in cases of rape. He replied: "No. It is not able to prevent the rape. But it is able to eliminate the embryo. It is thus the second negative intervention on the woman (the first being the rape itself)."
Contact: John-Henry Westen
Source: LifeSiteNews.com
Source URL: http://www.lifesitenews.com
Publish Date: December 17, 2008
Link to this article:
http://www.ifrl.org/ifrl/news/081229_5.htm
Pro-life ad campaign targets MTV and BET
Pro-life ad campaign to target MTV and BET viewers
During the first few months of 2009, VirtueMedia.org will launch a second national crisis pregnancy ad campaign on MTV and BET. Its five-week trial run on the two network cable stations has already yielded nearly 22,000 requests for help from abortion-vulnerable women, resulting in saving the lives of 11,000 babies.
Founder of VirtueMedia, Tom Peterson explained to CNA that the ads "are designed to reach women facing unplanned pregnancies, and invite them to call for help, or come to our PregnancyLine.com website to find a women's center in their neighborhood to help them."
The organization's ads "provide a path to healing and hope for post abortive women and men, while other VirtueMedia ads teach about the sanctity of life," he added.
A press release from VirtueMedia explains that the organization intends to air the pregnancy ads on MTV and BET (Black Entertainment Television) beginning December 28, 2008 and running through March 2009.
VirtueMedia chose the beginning of the year to air the ads because they have found that the time after Christmas through the first quarter of the year is "ideal for airing pro life crisis pregnancy television ads. Television rates are at their lowest cost of the year, television viewing is very high due to cold weather and time off from school and work, and pregnancy rates are at highest level of the year. This provides for the ideal time to air VirtueMedia ads that produce the most fruit."
The organization selected the cable stations MTV and BET because both are "among the top cable networks watched by young women, ages 18-24. They feature lots of contemporary programming and music that appeals to that demographic," Peterson said.
The group is currently fundraising in hopes to reach the goal of $200,000 required to purchase national air-time to run the campaign.
VirtueMedia is a non-profit organization founded Peterson, who is also the founder and director of CatholicsComeHome.org.
For more information and to view VirtueMedia's TV portfolio, click here: http://www.virtuemedia.org/television.htm.
You can videos at:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YFAeiR1Rn_I
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jx03lVLo1tM
Source: Catholic News Agency
Source URL: http://www.catholicnewsagency.com
Publish Date: December 19, 2008
Link to this article:
http://www.ifrl.org/ifrl/news/081229_6.htm
"Emergency Contraception" and the Betrayal of Principles
"Emergency Contraception" and the Betrayal of Principles
A young woman calls a hospital emergency room, to ask if the staff will dispense an abortifacient pill to a rape victim. The response: "No, we don't do that, you know we're a Catholic hospital."
That, according to the Boston Globe, was "an illegal answer."
The Globe explains that under Massachusetts law, all hospitals are required to provide the "morning-after" pill on request to women who report that they have been raped. To test compliance with the law, NARAL Pro-Choice Massachusetts had someone call 70 emergency rooms around the state, to ask if the pill was available. It was, in 68 cases. But two hospitals-- both affiliates of the Caritas Christi Health Care chain which is operated by the Boston archdiocese-- said they would not furnish the pill. So the Globe story carried the headline: "In survey, Caritas hospitals gave illegal answer."
http://www.ewtn.com/vnews/getstory.asp?number=92721
A young woman calls a hospital emergency room, to ask if the staff will dispense an abortifacient pill to a rape victim. The response: "No, we don't do that, you know we're a Catholic hospital."
That, according to the Boston Globe, was "an illegal answer."
The Globe explains that under Massachusetts law, all hospitals are required to provide the "morning-after" pill on request to women who report that they have been raped. To test compliance with the law, NARAL Pro-Choice Massachusetts had someone call 70 emergency rooms around the state, to ask if the pill was available. It was, in 68 cases. But two hospitals-- both affiliates of the Caritas Christi Health Care chain which is operated by the Boston archdiocese-- said they would not furnish the pill. So the Globe story carried the headline: "In survey, Caritas hospitals gave illegal answer."
http://www.ewtn.com/vnews/getstory.asp?number=92721
Santas Hand Out Condoms During Pre-Christmas Rush
Santas Hand Out Condoms During Pre-Christmas Rush
Christmas shoppers were shocked this week to find men and women dressed up as Santa Claus on some of the busiest streets in Toronto, handing out condoms.
The publicity stunt was arranged by Durex, the condom manufacturer.
A press release from the company explained that costumed representatives, dressed as Santa Claus, would be handing out the condoms beginning on Tuesday, December 16.
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2008/dec/08121806.html
Christmas shoppers were shocked this week to find men and women dressed up as Santa Claus on some of the busiest streets in Toronto, handing out condoms.
The publicity stunt was arranged by Durex, the condom manufacturer.
A press release from the company explained that costumed representatives, dressed as Santa Claus, would be handing out the condoms beginning on Tuesday, December 16.
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2008/dec/08121806.html
Prosecutors and Lawyers Clash Over Planned Parenthood Records
Prosecutors and Lawyers Clash Over Planned Parenthood Records
Prosecutors and attorneys for a Planned Parenthood clinic were still arguing in court Thursday over the custody of patients' medical records that are key evidence in a criminal case against the abortion provider. The clinic hopes to force Johnson County District Attorney Phill Kline to provide a detailed accounting for his evidence. Planned Parenthood's attorneys said they want to keep Kline from taking documents with him when he leaves the prosecutor's office on Jan. 12, having lost the Republican primary in August.
http://www2.ljworld.com/news/2008/dec/19/lawyers-clash-over-abortion-records/
Prosecutors and attorneys for a Planned Parenthood clinic were still arguing in court Thursday over the custody of patients' medical records that are key evidence in a criminal case against the abortion provider. The clinic hopes to force Johnson County District Attorney Phill Kline to provide a detailed accounting for his evidence. Planned Parenthood's attorneys said they want to keep Kline from taking documents with him when he leaves the prosecutor's office on Jan. 12, having lost the Republican primary in August.
http://www2.ljworld.com/news/2008/dec/19/lawyers-clash-over-abortion-records/
Clinic Videos Spark Grand Jury Probe
Clinic Videos Spark Grand Jury Probe
A grand jury will investigate whether an undercover video shot at an Indianapolis Planned Parenthood clinic shows any criminal violations, a prosecutor's spokesman said Thursday. Mario Massillamany, spokesman for Marion County Prosecutor Carl Brizzi, said prosecutors intend to subpoena the unedited video shot by Lila Rose of the anti-abortion group Live Action. Prosecutors also want to talk with Rose, he said. The video released by the group Tuesday shows a counselor at the clinic and Rose, posing as a 13-year-old who says the man who impregnated her was 31.
http://www.journalgazette.net/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20081219/NEWS07/812190389/-1/NEWS09
A grand jury will investigate whether an undercover video shot at an Indianapolis Planned Parenthood clinic shows any criminal violations, a prosecutor's spokesman said Thursday. Mario Massillamany, spokesman for Marion County Prosecutor Carl Brizzi, said prosecutors intend to subpoena the unedited video shot by Lila Rose of the anti-abortion group Live Action. Prosecutors also want to talk with Rose, he said. The video released by the group Tuesday shows a counselor at the clinic and Rose, posing as a 13-year-old who says the man who impregnated her was 31.
http://www.journalgazette.net/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20081219/NEWS07/812190389/-1/NEWS09
December 18, 2008
Blago's anti-life pay-to-play
I live in Illinois and have always functioned as a pro-life activist on the wrong side of the politically corrupt government, and not just Gov. Rod Blagojevich.
But Blagojevich in particular has expressed not just hostility to pro-life measures but hostility to preborn life.
I hope U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald will someday expose the theres I know are there and the whys behind Blagojevich's extraordinary impositions of anti-life laws and expenditures on the state.
The list is long, but there was one in which I was involved.
In 2005, when political interest in public funding of embryonic stem-cell research was peaking, Blagojevich apparently grew impatient with the Democrat-controlled Illinois General Assembly, which couldn't seem to get a law passed to authorize spending. Blagojevich signed an executive order. He found $10 million in a vaguely worded state budget line item and took it.
Newspaper editorial boards around the state decried Blagojevich's end run around the legislative process, as did members of his own party.
In light of this past week's revelations, I found this interesting, by Rich Miller, a liberal journalist, who wrote in July 2005:
[T]his was undoubtedly a secret deal cut by three Dem leaders and, perhaps, one GOP leader and, as a result, has to be the most well-hidden appropriation we've seen in a long time.
Chicago newspapers this past week have tried to explain to the world that the corruption is bi-party, communal and incestuous. Believe them.
The Republican is House Minority Leader Tom Cross, a pro-abort who was Blagojevich's college roommate and stood on the podium with Blagojevich when he announced his executive order.
The three Democrat leaders were Blagojevich, longtime ally State Senate President Emil Jones and House Speaker Michael Madigan. All eyes are now focused on Democrats to launch impeachment proceedings; and note they are being slow about it. They really, really want Blagojevich to quit. I wanted him to at first, but I'm now laughing that he doesn't. If they're forced to impeach him, they indict themselves. They're all guilty. They all have skeletons just like his. They all are worrying: What does Fitzgerald have on us?
Madigan is also father to Lisa Madigan, the Illinois attorney general who has long been known to covet Blagojevich's job.
But I digress. The Associated Press covering Blagojevich's stem-cell executive order at the time got the mother of all quotes from him, at the end of this snip:
Gov. Rod Blagojevich has ordered that $10 million in taxpayer money be spent to support stem-cell research, arguing that his moral compass forced him to circumvent a Legislature that has been reluctant to endorse the ethically sensitive work. …
"My sense of morality argues strongly to not simply sit back and do nothing when children are suffering from juvenile diabetes," Blagojevich said. "To simply be afraid to take a position or to act, I think would be immoral." …
Blagojevich said he welcomed the criticism.
"Anytime you do what is morally right ... however you get there is immaterial," he said.
There you go. Ends justify means.
In light of the revelation Blagojevich threatened to stop an $8 million reimbursement to Children's Memorial Hospital unless its CEO garnered him a $50,000 campaign contribution, we know Blagojevich was dumping a load of moral manure by his "children are suffering from juvenile diabetes" line.
Pro-lifers figured all along this was a Blagojevich scheme of some sort. Ten million dollars for human embryo experimentation was really nothing. Consider California appropriated $3 billion.
As Illinois Concerned Women for America pro-life coordinator, I wrote a Freedom of Information Act request asking Blagojevich, who was on the newly created Illinois Regenerative Medicine Institute board, how the money was being divvied. I received in response:
Please find enclosed documents responsive to your request. Some documents you request are exempt from disclosure. …
All I got was a copy of the Blagojevich's executive order.
In 2006, IRMI announced its grant winners. Did the board members have relationships to the grantees? Who knows? We don't know who they were.
I do note the largest grant, $2 million, went to a researcher at Children's Memorial Hospital.
Contact: Jill Stanek
Source: WorldNetDaily
Source URL: http://www.wnd.com
Publish Date: December 17, 2008
Link to this article:
Pro-Life Leaders Seek Meeting with Obama
Pro-Life Leaders Seek Meeting with President-Elect Obama
In a letter sent to the President-Elect it states, "...the pro-life community seeks a first time face-to-face meeting with you."
The purpose of meeting would be to "...establish a foundation on how we can all work together to build a 'culture of life' which honors equality and human rights and ends abortion."
A full text of the letter can be seen here:
http://www.earnedmedia.org/ltr_to_obama.pdf
The pro-life leaders will have a news conference to discuss the meeting with President-Elect Obama on Friday, December 19, at 11:00 A.M.
The location of the news conference is in front of the Presidential Transition Office located at 451 6th Street NW in Washington, D.C.
Rev. Patrick J. Mahoney, Director of the Christian Defense Coalition, states, "President-Elect Obama has repeatedly stated during his campaign and in post election comments his strong desire to meet with those who have differing views from his. It is our hope and prayer that these words truly reflect his heart and were not shallow campaign promises to be discarded after the election.
"President-Elect Obama has never sat down with members of the pro-life community that represent the values embraced by millions of Americans. He has never heard the narratives of women who have been bruised and diminished through abortion.
"Mr. Obama has never heard the personal stories from thousands of dedicated professionals that have laid aside personal ambition and financial gain in order to serve women who find themselves in challenging pregnancies. He has never heard from faith and human rights leaders that are devoted to standing for social justice and ending the tragedy and violence of abortion.
"If President-Elect Obama is truly interested in reducing abortions, it is imperative that he sit down and dialogue with those who have dedicated their lives toward ending this tragedy."
Brandi Swindell, President and Founder of Stanton Healthcare, adds, "Every day clinics like ours reach out to women who are experiencing difficult and crisis pregnancies. We do so at no cost to the women who use our services.
"It is important for President-Elect Obama to hear our stories and the stories of our clients to understand that social justice begins in the womb. We cannot be considered a just and compassionate nation if we do not provide and protect the most defenseless and vulnerable in our society.
"Mr. Obama talks about hope and change and we admire that. However, that message of hope and change must extend to all Americans and include those who have no voice of their own. Those are the over 50,000,000 innocent children who have been aborted since Roe V. Wade."
Contact: Rev. Patrick J. Mahoney, Kaitlin Clare
Source: Christian Defense Coalition
Publish Date: December 18, 2008
Link to this article:
Psychological Problems and Death Among Post-Abortive Women
High Rates of Psychological Problems and Death Among Post-Abortive Women
A preliminary report by a working group of psychiatrists studying the psychological effects of abortion states that women who obtain abortions have significantly elevated rates of depression, suicidal thoughts, sexual disturbances, and other psychological disorders. They also die at higher rates than non-abortive women.
The report, which examines manifestations of Post-Abortion Syndrome, was authored by Carmen Gomez-Lavin of the University of Navarra in Spain. It states that 80 percent of women who had had abortions suffer from symptoms of depression, and 40 percent have contemplated suicide.
In addition, 70% of such women exhibit irritability, 60% suffer behavioral disturbances, 40% experience sexual disturbances, and 30% have been involved in drug abuse.
The report also states that women who obtain abortions have a mortality rate 3.5 to 6 times higher, and a suicide rate between 6 and 7 times higher than that of women who give birth.
Such high rates of psychological pathology among post-abortive women is particularly relevant in Spain, where the law does not currently permit purely elective abortions. Criminal penalties are waived only under certain conditions, including cases of rape and fetal deformity, and danger to the physical and psychological health of the mother.
The psychological health exemption, which requires a diagnosis by a psychologist, is believed to account for well over 95% of all abortions that occur in Spain. However, the revelations of Gomez-Lavin's report may cast significant doubt on the claim that abortion can be a "therapeutic" measure for pregnant women.
Under Spain's current legal regime, over a million surgical abortions have been carried out since 1985, and the rate has climbed substantially in recent years, exceeding 110,000 annually.
"The scientific evidence demonstrates that having an abortion, far from improving the psychological health of the woman, causes serious psychological disturbances in a majority of them," writes Gomez-Lavin.
Contact: Matthew Cullinan Hoffman
Source: LifeSiteNews.com
Source URL: http://www.lifesitenews.com
Publish Date: December 17, 2008
Link to this article:
Fool Me Once…
"But, a large group of Catholics gave Obama the vote they declined to give John Kerry because Obama crossed a threshold on the abortion issue by dedicating himself to reducing the national abortion rate. We were decisive in 2008 but that doesn't mean we can't decide differently next time."
From "Ideas for Obama: White House Summit on Abortion Reduction," by Michael Sean Winters, which appears today on the webpage of the magazine "America."
Okay, I ask you, do we laugh or do we cry?
All through the last election cycle and since, a cadre of self-described pro-life Catholics alternatively lectured and hectored the rest of the pro-life community about the wonderful benevolence of now President-elect Barack Obama. If we didn't buy into their portrait of a man (who is joined at the hip to the Abortion Establishment) as the great reconciler--if we worked night and day to defeat him-- it was because we lacked vision or because we couldn't look into his soul (as they could) and see that he had "crossed a threshold."
Nothing Obama said or did, promised or pledged to advance the pro-abortion agenda, made an ounce of difference. A rhetorical crumb here, the vaguest inclinations there, and voila, the man is dedicated to "reducing the national abortion rate."
I assume that Michael Sean Winters intends to be taken seriously, so let's take that assurance seriously. Let me develop a couple of points, based on what he wrote on the "America" website.
The fallback position already is developing and, again, we are lectured that our worries are either bogus or inflated.
Sure, Obama will make a few "marginal changes," such as gutting the pro-life Mexico City policy, by executive order. (After all, "there is no finessing the point" that Obama is "pro-choice.")
You would think that what is prohibited is a friendly chat between "doctor and patient." What the Mexico City policy actually says is that in order to be eligible for U.S. "population assistance," a private organization must sign a contract promising not to perform abortions (except to save the mother's life or in cases of rape or incest), lobby to change the abortion laws of host countries, or otherwise "actively promote abortion as a method of family planning."
There are never enough abortions for Planned Parenthood, and they are eager to overturn the protective laws of Latin America, Africa, and Muslim countries in which the people are strongly opposed to abortion.
There are other uses of Obama's executive authority Michaels doesn't mention. Obama could overturn the brilliant policy pro-life President Bush initiated by executive order which said you can't use federal dollars to kill human embryos to harvest their stem cells. That policy jumpstarted research into a plethora of ethically unobjectionable sources whose promise and performance has soared past research using stem cells from human embryos.
Does anyone over the age of six really believe that the thirst of pro-abortionists for more "access" to abortion will be satiated by executive orders? They will only be emboldened. Already the Abortion Establishment is being woven into key policy positions and long-time abortion supporters, such as former Sen. Tom Daschle, will be taking the helm of critically important agencies such as HHS.
There are a million appointments and policies that Obama can and will undertake that will multiply the number of abortions. Details are yet to be worked out, but one thing we know for sure. Obama has pledged that abortion (a.k.a. "reproductive health care") will be part of his national health insurance plan. If that doesn't frighten you, nothing will.
At the same time Winters was pooh-poohing what Obama can do unilaterally, he told us that the "Freedom of Choice Act" (FOCA) can't be passed. It is our intention that it doesn't, but that will require massive efforts.
Obama has pledged to sign FOCA and the leadership of the House and Senate is in favor of it as well. Timing is the only question. NOW says FOCA will "sweep away hundreds of anti-abortion laws [and] policies." It is correct.
Never forget that Obama has no use for proven abortion-reducing measures, such as the Hyde Amendment, an annual appropriations rider preventing Medicaid funding of abortion, which has saved between one and two million babies. Or parental involvement in the abortion decision of minor girls. Or funding for perpetually cash-strapped crisis pregnancy centers.
Winters wants a dog-and-pony show conference where everybody proclaims their fealty to "reducing" the number of abortions. And I have no doubt that the leadership of groups like PPFA and NARAL might follow the just-us-moderates line established for the day.
But these are the same groups that just sent a 55-page wish list to the Obama transition team. As I wrote the other day of this pro-death grab bag,
"All they want (to give just a sampling) is everything from the previously mentioned executive order, to funding the United Nations Population Fund (which has been an aider and an abettor of China's forced abortion and involuntarily sterilization policies), to health care "reform" that weaves abortion into every nook and cranny of the system, to the obliteration of those pesky conscience clauses, to an assurance that all evidence demonstrating abortion's aftershocks on women is suppressed (this is called "Reestablish[ing] a standard of excellence for federal appointees"), to the nomination of exclusively pro-abortion judges and justices, payment for abortions of all Medicaid-eligible women, and an all-purpose "Improve Access to Abortion Care," which includes passing the egregiously mis-labeled "Freedom of Choice Act" (FOCA), which is better described as the "Federal No-Limits-On-Abortion" bill and/or the "Freedom for Partial-Birth Abortionists Act."
You will continue to read a steady stream of these assurances, some of them sincere, some phony, some willfully ignorant. Don't be fooled even for one second. This is the most pro-abortion President elected since Roe v. Wade was handed down almost 36 years ago.
As NRLC Legislative Director Douglas Johnson once memorably said, Obama's "abortion-reduction talk is just pixie dust to distract the gullible."
Contact: Dave Andrusko
Source: National Right to Life
Source URL: http://www.nrlc.org
Publish Date: December 17, 2008
Link to this article:
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