PRO-LIFE EVENTS
Caring to the End
A Seminar on Dying and Death
Isn't it important for you to learn about life's unexpected difficulties? Everyone knows there are two absolutes, death and taxes. We spend a life time worrying about taxes, it's time to focus on the other absolute. Join our renowned speaker, Brother Jim O'Brien, R.N., an expert in oncology and end of life care, as he leads us through the issues when we are faced with dying and death.
This seminar is appropriate for anyone who is faced with life threatening concerns, and needs answers. Whether your loved one is faced with a life threatening illness, or you are providing care for someone who is sick or dying, this seminar is for you.
Clergy and health care professionals will find special value in this seminar because of their unique role in supporting and caring for families and individuals who are faced with life threatening illness, dying and death.
The seminar will be held at St. Paul the Apostle Church on the corner of Hunt Club and Gages Lake Rd. in Gurnee, Saturday January 10th from 8:00AM to 12:00PM. Light refreshments will be served. Click here for more information
4th Annual March For Life in Chicago
The 4th Annual March For Life in Chicago will take place Sunday January 18, 2009 following the 12:30 Mass at Holy Name Cathedral at 735 N State Street in Chicago, IL. Speakers will include Joe Scheidler and Ann Scheidler.
The march will go along State Street to Chicago Avenue. East on Chicago Avenue to Michigan Avenue. Then to the River Bridge on Michigan Avenue then back to Water Tower Place on Michigan Avenue.
Parking is available across the street from the Cathedral and also at the Chicago public parking facility nearby.
The sponsors are The Missionaries Of The Holy Innocents.
For more information please contact: Charlotte Isaacson at (847) 372-8367, Rick Ryan at (773) 777-4224 or Emily Hergenrother at (773) 283-6581
“FIGHT FOCA Postcard Campaign”
January 24-25, 2009
With the approval of the U.S. Bishops at their November 2008 general meeting, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops and the National Committee for a Human Life Amendment are co-sponsoring the ―”Fight FOCA Postcard Campaign.” The target day for this event is the weekend of January 24-25, 2009, though your diocese or parish may set a different weekend.
The Freedom of Choice Act (FOCA) is a radical piece of legislation that creates a ―fundamental right to abortion throughout the nine months of pregnancy. No governmental body at any level—federal, state, or local—would be able to ―deny or interfere with this right, or to ―discriminate against its exercise ―in the regulation or provision of benefits, services, or information. For the first time, abortion would become an entitlement the government must fund and promote.
The postcard signing event gives parishioners, as individuals and as a body, an opportunity to give public witness to their belief in the sanctity of human life. People remember signing the cards, and public officials understand that the postcards represent concerned constituents.
For more information on FOCA, please visit:
http://www.nchla.org/datasource/idocuments/Flier.Eng.pdf
For more information on the campaign, please visit:
http://www.nchla.org/datasource/idocuments/Instructions.pdf
To order postcards, please visit:
http://www.nchla.org/datasource/idocuments/OrderFormlatest.08.pdf
For a digital version of the postcards, please visit:
http://www.nchla.org/datasource/idocuments/Postcards.Eng&Sp.pdf
Speak Out Illinois
Rekindle the Fire
The 2009 SpeakOut Illinois Conference, "Rekindle the Fire," will be held Saturday, January 31 at the Westin Lombard Yorktown Center
The program will feature talks by Fr. Thomas Euteneuer and Dr. Alveda King, plus the presentation of the Henry Hyde Leadership Award to Phyllis Schlafly. The Master of Ceremonies will be Christian radio personality Sandy Rios.
This year's conference program will again feature a concurrent program for highschool teens, TeenSpeak, presented by Generations for Life.
The Illinois Federation for Right to Life is a one of the sponsoring organizations of Speak Out Illinois.
Click here to download the Flyer and Registration form
Click here for more information
If you know of, or are part of a pro-life organization having an event or attending an event including county fairs, please let us know about it and we will post in this newsletter and our website reaching over 250,000 people a month. E-mail us at: mail@ifrl.org or postal mail us at IFRL Pro-Life Events, 1104 Milton Road, Alton, IL 62002
January 6, 2009
January 5, 2009
Only 9% of Americans Support Unrestricted Abortion
New Survey Finds Only 9% of Americans Support Unrestricted Abortion
A nationwide survey commissioned by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) has found that four out of five U.S. adults (82 percent) think abortion should either be illegal under all circumstances (11 percent) or would limit its legality. Thirty-eight (38) percent would limit abortion to the narrow circumstances of rape, incest or to save the life of the mother; and an additional 33 percent would limit abortion to either the first three or first six months. Only 9 percent said abortion should be legal for any reason at any time during pregnancy.
"These findings are remarkable," said Deirdre McQuade, Assistant Director for Policy & Communications at the USCCB's Secretariat of Pro-Life Activities. "Fewer than one in ten Americans support legal abortion for any reason at any time during pregnancy. But that is precisely the current state of abortion law under Roe v. Wade and Doe v. Bolton, the 1973 U.S. Supreme Court decisions that made abortion legal throughout the nine months of pregnancy for virtually any reason."
The survey of 2,341 adults, conducted online December 10-12, also found that laws limiting or regulating abortion enjoyed support as high as 95 percent among those expressing support or opposition to the six kinds of laws examined in the survey:
- 95 percent favor laws ensuring that abortions be performed only by licensed physicians
- 88 percent favor informed consent laws (i.e., that require abortion providers to inform women of potential risks to their physical and psychological health and about alternatives to abortion)
- 76 percent favor laws that protect doctors and nurses from being forced to perform or refer for abortions against their will
- 73 percent favor laws that require giving parents the chance to be involved in their minor daughter's abortion decision
- 68 percent favor laws against partial-birth abortion (i.e., aborting a child already partially delivered from the mother), and
- 63 percent favor laws preventing the use of taxpayer funds for abortions.
"Support for these measures cuts across 'pro-life' and 'pro-choice' positions. Over a third (35 percent) of the small minority who said abortion should be legal for any reason throughout pregnancy nevertheless supported three or more of the six laws presented," McQuade said.
"This research indicates how out of touch pro-abortion groups are with mainstream America," McQuade said.
"These same widely-supported, constitutionally valid measures, some of which have been proven effective in reducing abortion rates, are now seriously threatened by abortion advocates and their allies in Congress," McQuade said. "On behalf of children and their mothers, we will have to fight to keep such laws in place."
"Pro-abortion groups have already sent a comprehensive 55-page blueprint for their agenda to the incoming Administration," McQuade said. "But their agenda—including publicly-funded abortions, passage of the so-called 'Freedom of Choice Act' (FOCA), and attacking the Hyde amendment and other longstanding pro-life provisions in appropriations bills—won't sell in the general public."
"Most people agree we should work to reduce abortions, but you can't reduce abortions by promoting abortion and eliminating all the policies that have proven effective in reducing abortions," McQuade said. "The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops will oppose all such threats to human life in whatever manner they are proposed."
Source: LifeSiteNews.com
Source URL: http://www.lifesitenews.com
Publish Date: January 5, 2009
Link to this article:
http://www.ifrl.org/ifrl/news/090105_5.htm
A nationwide survey commissioned by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) has found that four out of five U.S. adults (82 percent) think abortion should either be illegal under all circumstances (11 percent) or would limit its legality. Thirty-eight (38) percent would limit abortion to the narrow circumstances of rape, incest or to save the life of the mother; and an additional 33 percent would limit abortion to either the first three or first six months. Only 9 percent said abortion should be legal for any reason at any time during pregnancy.
"These findings are remarkable," said Deirdre McQuade, Assistant Director for Policy & Communications at the USCCB's Secretariat of Pro-Life Activities. "Fewer than one in ten Americans support legal abortion for any reason at any time during pregnancy. But that is precisely the current state of abortion law under Roe v. Wade and Doe v. Bolton, the 1973 U.S. Supreme Court decisions that made abortion legal throughout the nine months of pregnancy for virtually any reason."
The survey of 2,341 adults, conducted online December 10-12, also found that laws limiting or regulating abortion enjoyed support as high as 95 percent among those expressing support or opposition to the six kinds of laws examined in the survey:
- 95 percent favor laws ensuring that abortions be performed only by licensed physicians
- 88 percent favor informed consent laws (i.e., that require abortion providers to inform women of potential risks to their physical and psychological health and about alternatives to abortion)
- 76 percent favor laws that protect doctors and nurses from being forced to perform or refer for abortions against their will
- 73 percent favor laws that require giving parents the chance to be involved in their minor daughter's abortion decision
- 68 percent favor laws against partial-birth abortion (i.e., aborting a child already partially delivered from the mother), and
- 63 percent favor laws preventing the use of taxpayer funds for abortions.
"Support for these measures cuts across 'pro-life' and 'pro-choice' positions. Over a third (35 percent) of the small minority who said abortion should be legal for any reason throughout pregnancy nevertheless supported three or more of the six laws presented," McQuade said.
"This research indicates how out of touch pro-abortion groups are with mainstream America," McQuade said.
"These same widely-supported, constitutionally valid measures, some of which have been proven effective in reducing abortion rates, are now seriously threatened by abortion advocates and their allies in Congress," McQuade said. "On behalf of children and their mothers, we will have to fight to keep such laws in place."
"Pro-abortion groups have already sent a comprehensive 55-page blueprint for their agenda to the incoming Administration," McQuade said. "But their agenda—including publicly-funded abortions, passage of the so-called 'Freedom of Choice Act' (FOCA), and attacking the Hyde amendment and other longstanding pro-life provisions in appropriations bills—won't sell in the general public."
"Most people agree we should work to reduce abortions, but you can't reduce abortions by promoting abortion and eliminating all the policies that have proven effective in reducing abortions," McQuade said. "The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops will oppose all such threats to human life in whatever manner they are proposed."
Source: LifeSiteNews.com
Source URL: http://www.lifesitenews.com
Publish Date: January 5, 2009
Link to this article:
http://www.ifrl.org/ifrl/news/090105_5.htm
Abortion Group Defends Abortion Targeting Unborn Girls
Abortion Group Ipas Defends Abortion Targeting Unborn Girls
According to a new article circulated by the abortion advocacy organization Ipas, widespread access to “safe abortion” trumps concerns over the gender imbalance stemming from “sex selective” abortion.
As sex-selective abortion overwhelmingly targets unborn girls, the article by Ipas senior research and policy advisor Bela Ganatra acknowledges that the issue divides the “reproductive rights community.” Abortion advocates are “often torn between their desire to allow women to choose when and if to have children, and their own personal disagreement with the basis for that choice.” Ipas, however, comes down on the side of widespread access to abortion, even if this means a female “birth dearth.”
Sex-selected abortion, or “gendercide,” as some feminist critics call it, is a practice whereby parents choose to terminate a pregnancy because the unborn child is not of the desired sex. It is generally carried out against baby girls. The practice has led to unnatural gender imbalances in some countries, mostly in Asia, where in some areas of China, for instance, as many as 150 boys are born for every 100 girls, creating a dramatic demographic crisis.
In response, some governments have banned sex-detection tests and outlawed sex-selected abortion. Ipas claims that as a result of these policies, “tremendous pressure emerges to control and restrict all second-trimester abortions,” the time when most sex-selected abortions occur. Ipas argues that “providers, afraid of being accused of providing sex-selective abortions, may limit their services to the first trimester, even when second-trimester services are legal.”
In “Maintaining Access to Safe Abortion and Reducing Sex Ratio Imbalances in Asia,” published in the latest issue of Reproductive Health Matters, Ganatra prioritizes access to abortion and argues that it is necessary to address “son preference” as the root cause, rather than on policies which place restrictions on abortion. Ganatra fears that outlawing sex-selected abortion is “starting to have adverse effects on the already limited access to safe and legal second trimester abortion for reasons other than sex selection” and that the issue is being used “as a front to promote anti-choice messages.”
Ganatra criticizes media campaigns like those in India that discourage sex-selected abortions for using “loaded words” that “personify the fetus,” claiming that these foster an “anti-abortion climate” which threatens “the gains made in making abortion safe.” Ganatra also criticizes the United Nations (UN) and some of its agencies for supporting efforts which use terminology that condemn sex-selective abortion as murder. She blasts the UN for using terms like ‘feticide’ and opposing sex selection in favor of the right of unborn girls to be born,” arguing that human rights only “begin at birth.”
Ipas and Ganatra conclude that the use of prenatal technology and selective abortions is a “pathway through which son preference results in an imbalanced sex ratio” but dismiss efforts to combat the problem with policies that hinder access to abortion.
Demographers project that there are as many as 100 million missing baby girls because of sex-selected abortion. A 2007 initiative to tackle sex-selected abortion head-on at the UN was derailed by abortion-rights NGOs and the European Union because some European states opposed condemning abortion for any reason.
Contact: Samantha Singson
Source: C-FAM LifeSiteNews.com
Source URL: http://www.c-fam.org http://www.lifesitenews.com
Publish Date: January 5, 2009
Link to this article:
http://www.ifrl.org/ifrl/news/090105_4.htm
According to a new article circulated by the abortion advocacy organization Ipas, widespread access to “safe abortion” trumps concerns over the gender imbalance stemming from “sex selective” abortion.
As sex-selective abortion overwhelmingly targets unborn girls, the article by Ipas senior research and policy advisor Bela Ganatra acknowledges that the issue divides the “reproductive rights community.” Abortion advocates are “often torn between their desire to allow women to choose when and if to have children, and their own personal disagreement with the basis for that choice.” Ipas, however, comes down on the side of widespread access to abortion, even if this means a female “birth dearth.”
Sex-selected abortion, or “gendercide,” as some feminist critics call it, is a practice whereby parents choose to terminate a pregnancy because the unborn child is not of the desired sex. It is generally carried out against baby girls. The practice has led to unnatural gender imbalances in some countries, mostly in Asia, where in some areas of China, for instance, as many as 150 boys are born for every 100 girls, creating a dramatic demographic crisis.
In response, some governments have banned sex-detection tests and outlawed sex-selected abortion. Ipas claims that as a result of these policies, “tremendous pressure emerges to control and restrict all second-trimester abortions,” the time when most sex-selected abortions occur. Ipas argues that “providers, afraid of being accused of providing sex-selective abortions, may limit their services to the first trimester, even when second-trimester services are legal.”
In “Maintaining Access to Safe Abortion and Reducing Sex Ratio Imbalances in Asia,” published in the latest issue of Reproductive Health Matters, Ganatra prioritizes access to abortion and argues that it is necessary to address “son preference” as the root cause, rather than on policies which place restrictions on abortion. Ganatra fears that outlawing sex-selected abortion is “starting to have adverse effects on the already limited access to safe and legal second trimester abortion for reasons other than sex selection” and that the issue is being used “as a front to promote anti-choice messages.”
Ganatra criticizes media campaigns like those in India that discourage sex-selected abortions for using “loaded words” that “personify the fetus,” claiming that these foster an “anti-abortion climate” which threatens “the gains made in making abortion safe.” Ganatra also criticizes the United Nations (UN) and some of its agencies for supporting efforts which use terminology that condemn sex-selective abortion as murder. She blasts the UN for using terms like ‘feticide’ and opposing sex selection in favor of the right of unborn girls to be born,” arguing that human rights only “begin at birth.”
Ipas and Ganatra conclude that the use of prenatal technology and selective abortions is a “pathway through which son preference results in an imbalanced sex ratio” but dismiss efforts to combat the problem with policies that hinder access to abortion.
Demographers project that there are as many as 100 million missing baby girls because of sex-selected abortion. A 2007 initiative to tackle sex-selected abortion head-on at the UN was derailed by abortion-rights NGOs and the European Union because some European states opposed condemning abortion for any reason.
Contact: Samantha Singson
Source: C-FAM LifeSiteNews.com
Source URL: http://www.c-fam.org http://www.lifesitenews.com
Publish Date: January 5, 2009
Link to this article:
http://www.ifrl.org/ifrl/news/090105_4.htm
Is Change Really Gonna Come?
Mr. Obama, Is Change Really Gonna Come? Asks Day Gardner, National Black Pro-Life Union
Day Gardner, President of the National Black Pro-Life Union, submits the following and is available for comment:
Okay so here we are. Despite still lingering questions about his eligibility, Barack Obama is about to become the first non-white president of the United States of America.
Many black Americans have come to view an Obama presidency as the final frontier in the vast universe of racism while white America hopes that having a black man in the White House will finally redeem their racist past once and for all.
I believe with regard to race the best white America can honestly hope for is that an Obama presidency will serve as a type of bridge over the racial gap--keeping in mind--the gap is still there. I believe the best that blacks can realistically do at this point is exhale--in hopes for eventual and absolute equality.
I think most Americans, me included, are looking to see what "change" will come from the man who made the word his entire campaign strategy.
To answer the question of what needs to be changed in the black community especially, we must look seriously at what was--how were things before Mr. Obama?
Before Barack Obama was elected president Planned Parenthood and other abortion organizations managed to kill 17 million black children by abortion since 1973, making abortion the number one killer of black people.
Before Obama, 36% of all abortions were performed on black girls -- abortion facilities are still purposefully placed in minority areas.
Before Obama, Planned Parenthood which is an overtly racist, billion dollar baby killing machine--drenched in the blood of black folk, received over 300 million of our tax dollars to continue the vicious dismembering and killing of innocent children.
Though I did not vote for Barack Obama, it is my hope that he will prove be the greatest president of all time.
It is my hope and prayer that he will have the strength needed to refuse to be bought off by the big abortion guns and advocates.
I hope and pray that he will hear the small voices of black children and all children in the womb crying out to be born.
I hope and pray that he will see that every child born and unborn is equal in God's eyes and therefore deserving of birth. Children are not expendable.
I pray that he will act speedily to stop the stream of tax payer funding to the billion dollar Planned Parenthood.
Mr. President-Elect , will you please change what Nixon, Ford, Carter, Reagan, GH Bush, Clinton and GW Bush wouldn't or couldn't? Abortion has killed more 50 million children in just over 30 years. On behalf of the children I implore you--the campaigner for change--to change that!
Source: National Black Pro-Life Union
Source URL: http://www.nationalblackprolifeunion.com
Publish Date: January 5, 2008
Link to this article:
http://www.ifrl.org/ifrl/news/090105_3.htm
Day Gardner, President of the National Black Pro-Life Union, submits the following and is available for comment:
Okay so here we are. Despite still lingering questions about his eligibility, Barack Obama is about to become the first non-white president of the United States of America.
Many black Americans have come to view an Obama presidency as the final frontier in the vast universe of racism while white America hopes that having a black man in the White House will finally redeem their racist past once and for all.
I believe with regard to race the best white America can honestly hope for is that an Obama presidency will serve as a type of bridge over the racial gap--keeping in mind--the gap is still there. I believe the best that blacks can realistically do at this point is exhale--in hopes for eventual and absolute equality.
I think most Americans, me included, are looking to see what "change" will come from the man who made the word his entire campaign strategy.
To answer the question of what needs to be changed in the black community especially, we must look seriously at what was--how were things before Mr. Obama?
Before Barack Obama was elected president Planned Parenthood and other abortion organizations managed to kill 17 million black children by abortion since 1973, making abortion the number one killer of black people.
Before Obama, 36% of all abortions were performed on black girls -- abortion facilities are still purposefully placed in minority areas.
Before Obama, Planned Parenthood which is an overtly racist, billion dollar baby killing machine--drenched in the blood of black folk, received over 300 million of our tax dollars to continue the vicious dismembering and killing of innocent children.
Though I did not vote for Barack Obama, it is my hope that he will prove be the greatest president of all time.
It is my hope and prayer that he will have the strength needed to refuse to be bought off by the big abortion guns and advocates.
I hope and pray that he will hear the small voices of black children and all children in the womb crying out to be born.
I hope and pray that he will see that every child born and unborn is equal in God's eyes and therefore deserving of birth. Children are not expendable.
I pray that he will act speedily to stop the stream of tax payer funding to the billion dollar Planned Parenthood.
Mr. President-Elect , will you please change what Nixon, Ford, Carter, Reagan, GH Bush, Clinton and GW Bush wouldn't or couldn't? Abortion has killed more 50 million children in just over 30 years. On behalf of the children I implore you--the campaigner for change--to change that!
Source: National Black Pro-Life Union
Source URL: http://www.nationalblackprolifeunion.com
Publish Date: January 5, 2008
Link to this article:
http://www.ifrl.org/ifrl/news/090105_3.htm
Tiller Hearing Resumes
Further Drama Anticipated As Tiller Hearing Resumes
"Cast of Characters" resource published to help simplify this complex legal case
Wichita, KS - Testimony in a pre-trial motion to suppress evidence against late-tem abortionist George R. Tiller is set to resume on Tuesday, January 6, after a six-week hiatus. In a case that has been anything but routine, Tiller faces 19 counts of having committed illegal late-term abortions, including one on a 10-year old girl.
Scheduled to provide the anticipated courtroom drama are two fierce political rivals, Phill Kline and Paul Morrison. Morrison defeated Kline as Attorney General but was forced to resign in disgrace after news broke of his adulterous affair with a former employee. That woman, Linda Carter, said in a sworn statement that Morrison pressured her to help him impede on-going abortion investigations by Kline, who took Morrison's place as Johnson County District Attorney.
Carter has been unwillingly subpoenaed by Tiller's defense and is scheduled to testify.
Tiller is asking Judge Clark Owens to suppress the evidence against him in abortion records obtained by Kline as Attorney General, and on which Morrison based the charges Tiller now faces.
"Never before have two former attorneys general, and their subordinates - not to mention an illicit lover -been forced to testify by a defendant in a pre-trial motion of a misdemeanor criminal case to give an account for their decisions to prosecute. The proceedings, and the drama they promise to produce, are unprecedented in Kansas history," said Operation Rescue President Troy Newman.
"But make no mistake; this hearing is more about Tiller's efforts to influence public opinion by deflecting attention away from his own criminal behavior, than it is about guilt, innocence, or the rule of law," said Newman. "Tiller's attorneys have based their case on twisted facts, wild conclusions, and the attribution of sinister motives to routine law-enforcement tasks. That kind of dishonesty is truly despicable."
This criminal case has a long and often complicated history. In order to help simplify this case, Operation Rescue has published a list of those involved in the proceedings along with thumbnail sketches that show how they are involved. Also available is a timeline of efforts to bring Tiller to justice.
Source: Operation Rescue
Source URL: http://www.operationrescue.org
Publish Date: January 5, 2009
Link to this article:
http://www.ifrl.org/ifrl/news/090105_2.htm
"Cast of Characters" resource published to help simplify this complex legal case
Wichita, KS - Testimony in a pre-trial motion to suppress evidence against late-tem abortionist George R. Tiller is set to resume on Tuesday, January 6, after a six-week hiatus. In a case that has been anything but routine, Tiller faces 19 counts of having committed illegal late-term abortions, including one on a 10-year old girl.
Scheduled to provide the anticipated courtroom drama are two fierce political rivals, Phill Kline and Paul Morrison. Morrison defeated Kline as Attorney General but was forced to resign in disgrace after news broke of his adulterous affair with a former employee. That woman, Linda Carter, said in a sworn statement that Morrison pressured her to help him impede on-going abortion investigations by Kline, who took Morrison's place as Johnson County District Attorney.
Carter has been unwillingly subpoenaed by Tiller's defense and is scheduled to testify.
Tiller is asking Judge Clark Owens to suppress the evidence against him in abortion records obtained by Kline as Attorney General, and on which Morrison based the charges Tiller now faces.
"Never before have two former attorneys general, and their subordinates - not to mention an illicit lover -been forced to testify by a defendant in a pre-trial motion of a misdemeanor criminal case to give an account for their decisions to prosecute. The proceedings, and the drama they promise to produce, are unprecedented in Kansas history," said Operation Rescue President Troy Newman.
"But make no mistake; this hearing is more about Tiller's efforts to influence public opinion by deflecting attention away from his own criminal behavior, than it is about guilt, innocence, or the rule of law," said Newman. "Tiller's attorneys have based their case on twisted facts, wild conclusions, and the attribution of sinister motives to routine law-enforcement tasks. That kind of dishonesty is truly despicable."
This criminal case has a long and often complicated history. In order to help simplify this case, Operation Rescue has published a list of those involved in the proceedings along with thumbnail sketches that show how they are involved. Also available is a timeline of efforts to bring Tiller to justice.
Source: Operation Rescue
Source URL: http://www.operationrescue.org
Publish Date: January 5, 2009
Link to this article:
http://www.ifrl.org/ifrl/news/090105_2.htm
January 2, 2009
NEWS SHORTS FOR FRIDAY
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.
Mother Has Healthy Baby Boy Despite Abortion Warning By Doctor
Gaynor Purdy was warned her first child could have a fatal chromosome defect and a life threatening heart condition. But she rejected two suggestions to terminate the pregnancy and she and her husband Lee are celebrating life with their "perfect" ten-month-old son. Mrs Purdy, 28, a quality control inspector, said: "We refused to give up on him, and decided throughout the pregnancy that as long as he was fighting, we would continue fighting with him."
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/4045097/Mother-has-healthy-baby-boy-despite-abortion-warning-by-doctor.html
Born At Just 23 Weeks, The Baby Who Defied Our Abortion Laws
When Lexie Slater-Folksman was born at 23 weeks - an age at which babies can still be aborted - she weighed just 1lb 8oz. She was put on a life support machine and her parents were warned their daughter might not pull through. She was so premature her eyes hadn't even developed properly. At a month old she underwent laser surgery on her eyes and then spent week after week on ventilator machines after she suffered collapsed lungs.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1102516/Born-just-23-weeks-baby-defied-abortion-laws.html?ITO=1490
State Grants For Stem Cell Use Debated
A Missouri trial judge said Tuesday that a state constitutional amendment endorsing stem cell research likely creates problems for a law set up to award life science research grants. At issue in the case before Cole County Circuit Judge Richard Callahan is whether state grants for life sciences research may be spent on stem cell research. Critics have filed suit seeking to block $21 million from going toward the research grants over fears for how the money will be used.
http://www.news-leader.com/article/20081231/NEWS01/812310404/-1/RSS
Amateurs Are Trying Genetic Engineering At Home
The Apple computer was invented in a garage. Same with the Google search engine. Now, tinkerers are working at home with the basic building blocks of life itself. Using homemade lab equipment and the wealth of scientific knowledge available online, these hobbyists are trying to create new life forms through genetic engineering - a field long dominated by Ph.D.s toiling in university and corporate laboratories.
http://apnews.myway.com/article/20081225/D959VC300.html
International Stem Cell Corporation Closes Financing
International Stem Cell Corporation announced that it had received the first $1 million tranche of an anticipated private equity financing of up to $5 million to be funded over the next several months. The total amount of the financing is intended to allow the Company to retire its existing secured debt and fund operations of the Company as it moves forward with planned pre-clinical trials in the first quarter of 2009. "This is an important vote of confidence by a sophisticated investor group and we believe it is a major first step on the path to making our company financially independent," said Kenneth Aldrich, CEO of the Company.
http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/International-Stem-Cell-Corporation-Closes/story.aspx?guid={E1EF1130-5ECC-488B-A2F6-02221FE7064F}
Man with Disabilities "Not Worth Saving"
The next time you are tempted to scoff at folk with disabilities who worry that they many people think their lives are not worth living, remember this story. Two medical technicians from the UK have been arrested for allegedly deciding that the life of a man with disabilities wasn't "worth saving" from a heart attack. From the story:
It is alleged that staff in the control centre heard the two medics making disparaging comments about the state of the house.
A police source, who asked not to be named, said that the ambulancemen were then heard discussing Mr Baker and saying “words to the effect that he was not worth saving”. The source said that the two men were allegedly first heard commenting on the untidy state of the house and then saying that it was not worth bothering to resuscitate Mr Baker. They are said to have discussed what to tell ambulance control and decided to say that Mr Baker was already dead when they got there.
Friends and colleagues who have disabilities report similar stories of disdain occurring here when seeking medical care, for example, of people on ventilators being pressured to sign DNRs by hospital personnel even though they were not undergoing usually life-threatening procedures. A friend who is legally blind had her white cane thrown down a METRO escalator in Washington D.C., as her assailant told her she belonged in a concentration camp. She also reports not being picked up by cabs. Then there is the general public applause for Jack Kevorkian and suicide tour guides for helping people with disabilities kill themselves.
http://www.wesleyjsmith.com/blog/2008/12/man-with-disabilities-not-worth-saving.html
History of abortion at the UI
Near the Nursing Building on the Health Sciences Campus sits Westlawn, home to many health-related entities, including Student Health. Few people know, however, that bulletproof windows once peeked from Westlawn's basement. Combination locks still guard the rooms behind them.
These rooms - carefully hidden from most - once housed the UI's abortion clinic. For 25 years, staff members performed thousands of abortions, up to 1,223 in fiscal 1990, according to the Cedar Rapids Gazette.
The clinic doors shut in 1998, caving to social and political factors that manifested as financial troubles.
Those who oppose the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision became increasingly vocal during and after the Reagan era. In a 1989 demonstration, more than 150 anti-abortion-rights activists were arrested on campus for civil disobedience.
Hoping to deflect hostility from the public, the hospital administration distanced the UI Hospitals and Clinics from the Westlawn clinic. Outside hospital walls, legislative wrangling over legal limits on abortion turned up the pressure. Over the past 10 years, the community has largely forgotten the hospital's push for providing abortion services - and training - during the years following the Roe decision.
But January may swing the spotlight around. The university recently received a national Kenneth J. Ryan grant, awarded to schools seeking to improve residents' training in abortion and family planning. The three-year endowment will bring hundreds of thousands of dollars for new equipment, workshops, and expanded curricula.
http://media.www.dailyiowan.com/media/storage/paper599/news/2008/12/16/Metro/A.History.Of.Abortion.At.The.Ui-3579857.shtml?reffeature=htmlemailedition
How Support for Abortion Became Kennedy Dogma
For faithful Roman Catholics, the thought of yet another pro-choice Kennedy positioned to campaign for the unlimited right to abortion is discouraging. Yet if Caroline Kennedy, the daughter of Catholics John F. Kennedy and Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, is appointed to fill the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Hillary Clinton, abortion-rights advocates will have just such a champion.
Ms. Kennedy was so concerned to assure pro-abortion leaders in New York, Britain's Guardian newspaper reported on Dec. 18, that on the same day Ms. Kennedy telephoned New York Gov. David Patterson to declare interest in the Senate seat, "one of her first calls was to an abortion rights group, indicating she will be strongly pro-choice."
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123086375678148323.html
Film Has Message About Abortion
"The Boy in the Striped Pajamas" is a film about a Nazi family living in Germany during the Holocaust. The father of the family is an SS officer who has been promoted to be the commandant of a death camp. It becomes the job of the parents to try to live a normal life while trying to protect the children from the truth that's in their midst. It is also the story of evil chosen as a good, understandably so since we are programmed as human beings, to choose the good. In the 1940s, it was said, "Jewish people are bad for the good of the country - kill them." Today, "The baby is bad for the good of the mother - kill him." When the law against killing is no longer written on our hearts, we are capable of the most heinous crimes.
http://www.coloradoan.com/article/20090102/OPINION03/901020308/1014/OPINION
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.
Mother Has Healthy Baby Boy Despite Abortion Warning By Doctor
Gaynor Purdy was warned her first child could have a fatal chromosome defect and a life threatening heart condition. But she rejected two suggestions to terminate the pregnancy and she and her husband Lee are celebrating life with their "perfect" ten-month-old son. Mrs Purdy, 28, a quality control inspector, said: "We refused to give up on him, and decided throughout the pregnancy that as long as he was fighting, we would continue fighting with him."
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/4045097/Mother-has-healthy-baby-boy-despite-abortion-warning-by-doctor.html
Born At Just 23 Weeks, The Baby Who Defied Our Abortion Laws
When Lexie Slater-Folksman was born at 23 weeks - an age at which babies can still be aborted - she weighed just 1lb 8oz. She was put on a life support machine and her parents were warned their daughter might not pull through. She was so premature her eyes hadn't even developed properly. At a month old she underwent laser surgery on her eyes and then spent week after week on ventilator machines after she suffered collapsed lungs.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1102516/Born-just-23-weeks-baby-defied-abortion-laws.html?ITO=1490
State Grants For Stem Cell Use Debated
A Missouri trial judge said Tuesday that a state constitutional amendment endorsing stem cell research likely creates problems for a law set up to award life science research grants. At issue in the case before Cole County Circuit Judge Richard Callahan is whether state grants for life sciences research may be spent on stem cell research. Critics have filed suit seeking to block $21 million from going toward the research grants over fears for how the money will be used.
http://www.news-leader.com/article/20081231/NEWS01/812310404/-1/RSS
Amateurs Are Trying Genetic Engineering At Home
The Apple computer was invented in a garage. Same with the Google search engine. Now, tinkerers are working at home with the basic building blocks of life itself. Using homemade lab equipment and the wealth of scientific knowledge available online, these hobbyists are trying to create new life forms through genetic engineering - a field long dominated by Ph.D.s toiling in university and corporate laboratories.
http://apnews.myway.com/article/20081225/D959VC300.html
International Stem Cell Corporation Closes Financing
International Stem Cell Corporation announced that it had received the first $1 million tranche of an anticipated private equity financing of up to $5 million to be funded over the next several months. The total amount of the financing is intended to allow the Company to retire its existing secured debt and fund operations of the Company as it moves forward with planned pre-clinical trials in the first quarter of 2009. "This is an important vote of confidence by a sophisticated investor group and we believe it is a major first step on the path to making our company financially independent," said Kenneth Aldrich, CEO of the Company.
http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/International-Stem-Cell-Corporation-Closes/story.aspx?guid={E1EF1130-5ECC-488B-A2F6-02221FE7064F}
Man with Disabilities "Not Worth Saving"
The next time you are tempted to scoff at folk with disabilities who worry that they many people think their lives are not worth living, remember this story. Two medical technicians from the UK have been arrested for allegedly deciding that the life of a man with disabilities wasn't "worth saving" from a heart attack. From the story:
It is alleged that staff in the control centre heard the two medics making disparaging comments about the state of the house.
A police source, who asked not to be named, said that the ambulancemen were then heard discussing Mr Baker and saying “words to the effect that he was not worth saving”. The source said that the two men were allegedly first heard commenting on the untidy state of the house and then saying that it was not worth bothering to resuscitate Mr Baker. They are said to have discussed what to tell ambulance control and decided to say that Mr Baker was already dead when they got there.
Friends and colleagues who have disabilities report similar stories of disdain occurring here when seeking medical care, for example, of people on ventilators being pressured to sign DNRs by hospital personnel even though they were not undergoing usually life-threatening procedures. A friend who is legally blind had her white cane thrown down a METRO escalator in Washington D.C., as her assailant told her she belonged in a concentration camp. She also reports not being picked up by cabs. Then there is the general public applause for Jack Kevorkian and suicide tour guides for helping people with disabilities kill themselves.
http://www.wesleyjsmith.com/blog/2008/12/man-with-disabilities-not-worth-saving.html
History of abortion at the UI
Near the Nursing Building on the Health Sciences Campus sits Westlawn, home to many health-related entities, including Student Health. Few people know, however, that bulletproof windows once peeked from Westlawn's basement. Combination locks still guard the rooms behind them.
These rooms - carefully hidden from most - once housed the UI's abortion clinic. For 25 years, staff members performed thousands of abortions, up to 1,223 in fiscal 1990, according to the Cedar Rapids Gazette.
The clinic doors shut in 1998, caving to social and political factors that manifested as financial troubles.
Those who oppose the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision became increasingly vocal during and after the Reagan era. In a 1989 demonstration, more than 150 anti-abortion-rights activists were arrested on campus for civil disobedience.
Hoping to deflect hostility from the public, the hospital administration distanced the UI Hospitals and Clinics from the Westlawn clinic. Outside hospital walls, legislative wrangling over legal limits on abortion turned up the pressure. Over the past 10 years, the community has largely forgotten the hospital's push for providing abortion services - and training - during the years following the Roe decision.
But January may swing the spotlight around. The university recently received a national Kenneth J. Ryan grant, awarded to schools seeking to improve residents' training in abortion and family planning. The three-year endowment will bring hundreds of thousands of dollars for new equipment, workshops, and expanded curricula.
http://media.www.dailyiowan.com/media/storage/paper599/news/2008/12/16/Metro/A.History.Of.Abortion.At.The.Ui-3579857.shtml?reffeature=htmlemailedition
How Support for Abortion Became Kennedy Dogma
For faithful Roman Catholics, the thought of yet another pro-choice Kennedy positioned to campaign for the unlimited right to abortion is discouraging. Yet if Caroline Kennedy, the daughter of Catholics John F. Kennedy and Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, is appointed to fill the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Hillary Clinton, abortion-rights advocates will have just such a champion.
Ms. Kennedy was so concerned to assure pro-abortion leaders in New York, Britain's Guardian newspaper reported on Dec. 18, that on the same day Ms. Kennedy telephoned New York Gov. David Patterson to declare interest in the Senate seat, "one of her first calls was to an abortion rights group, indicating she will be strongly pro-choice."
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123086375678148323.html
Film Has Message About Abortion
"The Boy in the Striped Pajamas" is a film about a Nazi family living in Germany during the Holocaust. The father of the family is an SS officer who has been promoted to be the commandant of a death camp. It becomes the job of the parents to try to live a normal life while trying to protect the children from the truth that's in their midst. It is also the story of evil chosen as a good, understandably so since we are programmed as human beings, to choose the good. In the 1940s, it was said, "Jewish people are bad for the good of the country - kill them." Today, "The baby is bad for the good of the mother - kill him." When the law against killing is no longer written on our hearts, we are capable of the most heinous crimes.
http://www.coloradoan.com/article/20090102/OPINION03/901020308/1014/OPINION
More Thoughts on Conscience Clauses
More Thoughts on Conscience Clauses as Way to Protect Dissenting Health Care Professionals
I have written before--and no doubt will again--that the death culture brooks no dissent. I haven't gotten my mind totally around why this is yet, but I have developed some theories. I think issues such as assisted suicide are part of a (partially unconscious) but clearly unfolding coup de culture. Part of it too, perhaps, is that culture of death adherents are hypersensitive to the charge of supporting moral wrongdoing, and hence want all of us to be complicit in the system--a big reason in my view why the science community had a conniption over the Bush embryonic stem cell policy. Add in that many believe individuals will not be truly free to control their own lives unless virtually all impediments to abortion--and perhaps one day, assisted suicide, and other policies--are removed, and we can begin to see why refusenik medical professionals might be targeted for excommunication from their careers.
Some see conscience clauses as an answer to protect dissenting health professionals in a society that no longer agrees on fundamental issues of morality. I agree, although I don't think the privilege should be absolute. The issue is just coming to the fore of my thinking and I have begun to reflect on it here at SHS. A few days ago, I posted some thoughts on the matter over at the First Things blog. From my FT blog entry:
How ironic that physicians and others who simply wish to adhere to the precepts of the Hippocratic Oath are declared persona non grata in medicine.
Be that as it may, those who believe in protecting medical conscience rights need to begin preparing the intellectual ground to protect dissenting professionals' careers without also opening the door to conscience being used as a club to deny wanted life-sustaining treatments such as feeding tubes by physicians who consider it wrong to maintain patients with a "low quality of life"--a proposal already gaining stream in bioethics known as "medical futility."
To keep from so throwing out the baby with the bathwater, I suggest that we consider at least two crucial distinctions in determining what would be a protected refusal to provide a requested medical intervention; first, between elective and non-elective procedures, and second between treatments and patients. Thus, doctors should be permitted to refuse elective procedures--that is, interventions not immediately necessary to save the patient's life or prevent serious physical harm--if their conscience so dictates, whether it be rhinoplasty, abortion, or assisted suicide. To prevent care refusals from being a mere cover for discriminatory attitudes, the requested procedure should generally be what violates the conscience, not bias against the patient. In this way, for example, an oncologist should not be able to refuse to treat a lung-cancer patient because the patient smoked or was a member of a racial minority.
No doubt there will be nuances within nuances here, so there will be much to consider. But with the rights of conscience likely to be an explosive bioethical controversy in the coming decade, the time to begin planning for the struggle is now.
Other cultural conflicts beyond issues we generally deal with here at SHS have already become part of the conscience issue; such as the recent California Supreme Court ruling permitting a lesbian couple to sue a doctor who refused to artificially inseminate one of the partners due to a religious objection--even though the refusing doctor found another physician willing to perform the treatment for the patient, who was subsequently impregnated.
So there will be much with which to grapple. Not fun, but necessary. At stake--literally--will be whether people of certain religious and moral beliefs will be able to enter and/or remain in the health care field, and whether religiously based hospitals and other institutions will be able to keep their doors open.
Contact: Wesley J. Smith
Source: Secondhand Smoke Blog
Source URL: http://www.wesleyjsmith.com
Publish Date: January 2, 2009
Link to this article:
http://www.ifrl.org/ifrl/news/090102_4.htm
I have written before--and no doubt will again--that the death culture brooks no dissent. I haven't gotten my mind totally around why this is yet, but I have developed some theories. I think issues such as assisted suicide are part of a (partially unconscious) but clearly unfolding coup de culture. Part of it too, perhaps, is that culture of death adherents are hypersensitive to the charge of supporting moral wrongdoing, and hence want all of us to be complicit in the system--a big reason in my view why the science community had a conniption over the Bush embryonic stem cell policy. Add in that many believe individuals will not be truly free to control their own lives unless virtually all impediments to abortion--and perhaps one day, assisted suicide, and other policies--are removed, and we can begin to see why refusenik medical professionals might be targeted for excommunication from their careers.
Some see conscience clauses as an answer to protect dissenting health professionals in a society that no longer agrees on fundamental issues of morality. I agree, although I don't think the privilege should be absolute. The issue is just coming to the fore of my thinking and I have begun to reflect on it here at SHS. A few days ago, I posted some thoughts on the matter over at the First Things blog. From my FT blog entry:
How ironic that physicians and others who simply wish to adhere to the precepts of the Hippocratic Oath are declared persona non grata in medicine.
Be that as it may, those who believe in protecting medical conscience rights need to begin preparing the intellectual ground to protect dissenting professionals' careers without also opening the door to conscience being used as a club to deny wanted life-sustaining treatments such as feeding tubes by physicians who consider it wrong to maintain patients with a "low quality of life"--a proposal already gaining stream in bioethics known as "medical futility."
To keep from so throwing out the baby with the bathwater, I suggest that we consider at least two crucial distinctions in determining what would be a protected refusal to provide a requested medical intervention; first, between elective and non-elective procedures, and second between treatments and patients. Thus, doctors should be permitted to refuse elective procedures--that is, interventions not immediately necessary to save the patient's life or prevent serious physical harm--if their conscience so dictates, whether it be rhinoplasty, abortion, or assisted suicide. To prevent care refusals from being a mere cover for discriminatory attitudes, the requested procedure should generally be what violates the conscience, not bias against the patient. In this way, for example, an oncologist should not be able to refuse to treat a lung-cancer patient because the patient smoked or was a member of a racial minority.
No doubt there will be nuances within nuances here, so there will be much to consider. But with the rights of conscience likely to be an explosive bioethical controversy in the coming decade, the time to begin planning for the struggle is now.
Other cultural conflicts beyond issues we generally deal with here at SHS have already become part of the conscience issue; such as the recent California Supreme Court ruling permitting a lesbian couple to sue a doctor who refused to artificially inseminate one of the partners due to a religious objection--even though the refusing doctor found another physician willing to perform the treatment for the patient, who was subsequently impregnated.
So there will be much with which to grapple. Not fun, but necessary. At stake--literally--will be whether people of certain religious and moral beliefs will be able to enter and/or remain in the health care field, and whether religiously based hospitals and other institutions will be able to keep their doors open.
Contact: Wesley J. Smith
Source: Secondhand Smoke Blog
Source URL: http://www.wesleyjsmith.com
Publish Date: January 2, 2009
Link to this article:
http://www.ifrl.org/ifrl/news/090102_4.htm
Planned Parenthood pressured
Planned Parenthood pressured to give answers
Activists wonder about organization's reporting, reformation
A team of volunteers at Live Action Films who earlier released videos of two Planned Parenthood offices advising how to conceal a reported sexual assault on a child now wants the abortion company to answer a few questions, such as how many abortions does it perform and how many reports does it submit to Child Protective Services.
In an open letter and a video released today, the pro-life organization said the public should know what is going on at the company that gets millions of federal taxpayer dollars annually.
"This is an organization that consistently engages in deceptive practices and lawbreaking," said Lila Rose, the 20-year-old president of the group. "And these practices have very real consequences on real people."
"We've just got to keep pressing this issue," she said, and soon there will be questions from authorities and lawmakers.
Among the questions that need to be answered, she said, are:
* How many abortions does Planned Parenthood perform?
* How many reports does it submit to Child Protective Services regarding minors who enter its businesses?
* And how does Planned Parenthood expect to reform itself when the agency charged with the assignment is run by a former staff member for PP?
The issue of the number of abortions is raised in a newly released video which documents a discrepancy of more than 10,000 in the number of abortions PP formally reports and the number a staff member confirmed.
The video, which cites formal reports of about 4,000 abortions and a staff member's confirmation that only one of the three businesses in the state does about 90 abortions a week, also is embedded here:
Rose also wondered about the reports to Child Protective Services, based on Live Action Films' video documentation of employees in two clinics advising how a juvenile should not report an apparent case of statutory rape.
Rose called for Planned Parenthood of Indiana to release publicly the number of reports to Child Protective Services in conjunction with the number of minors provided STD testing, abortion counseling, pregnancy testing and birth control.
Comparing the numbers, Rose said, would give the public a more accurate picture of the extent to which the business reports – or fails to report – adult-child sexual relationships.
Her request came following a public statement from Betty Cockrum, the president of the Indiana business, who defended its operations in light of the revelations in the undercover videos.
"Planned Parenthood of Indiana may either opt for transparency in service to the rule of law, or choose to continue in the same secrecy that has already caused deep public distrust and summoned a state investigation," Rose said.
She questioned the abortion company's dedication to reforming its operations given Live Action's discovery that Prevent Child Abuse Indiana, the group chosen by Planned Parenthood for internal reforms, has close ties with Planned Parenthood.
According to Live Action, Prevent Child Abuse of Indiana's lead "prevention specialist," Carol Pool, worked for Planned Parenthood of Indiana for 13 years, giving sex education workshops.
"For Planned Parenthood to enlist the help of its friends and former employees at PCAI in the name of reform is like a predator saying he will babysit his victim," said Rose.
She also said Planned Parenthood's statement regarding staff re-training is just deceptive.
"All employees in the videos expressed knowledge of their legal obligation to report the rape," said Rose. "This is not a matter of knowing the laws. When Planned Parenthood doesn't like a law, they break it."
The earlier videos, which also are available on YouTube, document statements from Bloomington and Indianapolis staff members who told a girl they believed to be 13 how to not report a 31-year-old boyfriend.
Rose noted other cases of actual adult-child sexual relationships that have been covered up in Arizona, California, Ohio, and Washington D.C.
"These incidents, and our undercover work, reveal a disturbing pattern of lawlessness," Rose explained. "Planned Parenthood needs to release all applicable statistical data on the number of minors it treats in sexual abuse situations and the number of these cases it reports to law enforcement."
Rose, who already was honored for her pro-life work this year, also today was named the 2008 Person of the Year by Operation Rescue.
"Lila Rose exemplifies the new wave of pro-life activism and best reflects Operation Rescue's own efforts to expose illegal conduct in our nation's abortion mills," Operation Rescue President Troy Newman said.
"Her work has helped raise public awareness of the seedy underbelly of the abortion industry and has helped to launch criminal investigations that we pray will eventually hold out-of- control abortionists accountable for their criminal acts," he said.
Source: WorldNetDaily
Source URL: http://www.wnd.com
Publish Date: December 30, 2008
Link to this article:
http://www.ifrl.org/ifrl/news/090102_3.htm
Activists wonder about organization's reporting, reformation
A team of volunteers at Live Action Films who earlier released videos of two Planned Parenthood offices advising how to conceal a reported sexual assault on a child now wants the abortion company to answer a few questions, such as how many abortions does it perform and how many reports does it submit to Child Protective Services.
In an open letter and a video released today, the pro-life organization said the public should know what is going on at the company that gets millions of federal taxpayer dollars annually.
"This is an organization that consistently engages in deceptive practices and lawbreaking," said Lila Rose, the 20-year-old president of the group. "And these practices have very real consequences on real people."
"We've just got to keep pressing this issue," she said, and soon there will be questions from authorities and lawmakers.
Among the questions that need to be answered, she said, are:
* How many abortions does Planned Parenthood perform?
* How many reports does it submit to Child Protective Services regarding minors who enter its businesses?
* And how does Planned Parenthood expect to reform itself when the agency charged with the assignment is run by a former staff member for PP?
The issue of the number of abortions is raised in a newly released video which documents a discrepancy of more than 10,000 in the number of abortions PP formally reports and the number a staff member confirmed.
The video, which cites formal reports of about 4,000 abortions and a staff member's confirmation that only one of the three businesses in the state does about 90 abortions a week, also is embedded here:
Rose also wondered about the reports to Child Protective Services, based on Live Action Films' video documentation of employees in two clinics advising how a juvenile should not report an apparent case of statutory rape.
Rose called for Planned Parenthood of Indiana to release publicly the number of reports to Child Protective Services in conjunction with the number of minors provided STD testing, abortion counseling, pregnancy testing and birth control.
Comparing the numbers, Rose said, would give the public a more accurate picture of the extent to which the business reports – or fails to report – adult-child sexual relationships.
Her request came following a public statement from Betty Cockrum, the president of the Indiana business, who defended its operations in light of the revelations in the undercover videos.
"Planned Parenthood of Indiana may either opt for transparency in service to the rule of law, or choose to continue in the same secrecy that has already caused deep public distrust and summoned a state investigation," Rose said.
She questioned the abortion company's dedication to reforming its operations given Live Action's discovery that Prevent Child Abuse Indiana, the group chosen by Planned Parenthood for internal reforms, has close ties with Planned Parenthood.
According to Live Action, Prevent Child Abuse of Indiana's lead "prevention specialist," Carol Pool, worked for Planned Parenthood of Indiana for 13 years, giving sex education workshops.
"For Planned Parenthood to enlist the help of its friends and former employees at PCAI in the name of reform is like a predator saying he will babysit his victim," said Rose.
She also said Planned Parenthood's statement regarding staff re-training is just deceptive.
"All employees in the videos expressed knowledge of their legal obligation to report the rape," said Rose. "This is not a matter of knowing the laws. When Planned Parenthood doesn't like a law, they break it."
The earlier videos, which also are available on YouTube, document statements from Bloomington and Indianapolis staff members who told a girl they believed to be 13 how to not report a 31-year-old boyfriend.
Rose noted other cases of actual adult-child sexual relationships that have been covered up in Arizona, California, Ohio, and Washington D.C.
"These incidents, and our undercover work, reveal a disturbing pattern of lawlessness," Rose explained. "Planned Parenthood needs to release all applicable statistical data on the number of minors it treats in sexual abuse situations and the number of these cases it reports to law enforcement."
Rose, who already was honored for her pro-life work this year, also today was named the 2008 Person of the Year by Operation Rescue.
"Lila Rose exemplifies the new wave of pro-life activism and best reflects Operation Rescue's own efforts to expose illegal conduct in our nation's abortion mills," Operation Rescue President Troy Newman said.
"Her work has helped raise public awareness of the seedy underbelly of the abortion industry and has helped to launch criminal investigations that we pray will eventually hold out-of- control abortionists accountable for their criminal acts," he said.
Source: WorldNetDaily
Source URL: http://www.wnd.com
Publish Date: December 30, 2008
Link to this article:
http://www.ifrl.org/ifrl/news/090102_3.htm
'Abortion Hurts Women' Billboard
'Abortion Hurts Women' Billboard Erected at San Francisco Bay Bridge Approach
A billboard advertising the Walk for Life West Coast's signature slogan "Abortion Hurts Women" is now displayed near the approach to one of the most traveled bridges in the U.S.
For high-rez photos: - http://www.walkforlifewc.com/billboard.htm
The San Francisco Walk, which drew 25,000 people last year, is Saturday, January 24.
The 20' x 60' billboard is easily visible to the more than 100,000 cars driving the freeway daily on the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge approach and includes a phone number for a post abortion help line. The help line is staffed by women who have themselves experienced abortion, explained Walk for Life co-chair Eva Muntean. The billboard went up December 31.
"San Francisco is a beautiful city but there is a lot of sadness beneath the surface--until recently we had more abortions than live births, and a high percentage of our population has experienced abortion," Ms. Muntean said. "We need to reach those women (and men) who are hurting, and this seemed like the most effective method."
The billboard is located at Fourth and Bryant Streets in San Francisco. The Bay Bridge carries approximately 270,000 cars a day, according to state Department of Transportation statistics.
Walk for Life West Coast was founded in 2005 and drew 8,000 people the first year. Each year the turnout has grown, and it draws walkers from along the Western Seaboard and as far east as Florida and New York.
Contact: Dolores Meehan
Source: Walk for Life West Coast
Source URL: http://www.walkforlifewc.com
Publish Date: January 2, 2008
Link to this article:
http://www.ifrl.org/ifrl/news/090102_2.htm
A billboard advertising the Walk for Life West Coast's signature slogan "Abortion Hurts Women" is now displayed near the approach to one of the most traveled bridges in the U.S.
For high-rez photos: - http://www.walkforlifewc.com/billboard.htm
The San Francisco Walk, which drew 25,000 people last year, is Saturday, January 24.
The 20' x 60' billboard is easily visible to the more than 100,000 cars driving the freeway daily on the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge approach and includes a phone number for a post abortion help line. The help line is staffed by women who have themselves experienced abortion, explained Walk for Life co-chair Eva Muntean. The billboard went up December 31.
"San Francisco is a beautiful city but there is a lot of sadness beneath the surface--until recently we had more abortions than live births, and a high percentage of our population has experienced abortion," Ms. Muntean said. "We need to reach those women (and men) who are hurting, and this seemed like the most effective method."
The billboard is located at Fourth and Bryant Streets in San Francisco. The Bay Bridge carries approximately 270,000 cars a day, according to state Department of Transportation statistics.
Walk for Life West Coast was founded in 2005 and drew 8,000 people the first year. Each year the turnout has grown, and it draws walkers from along the Western Seaboard and as far east as Florida and New York.
Contact: Dolores Meehan
Source: Walk for Life West Coast
Source URL: http://www.walkforlifewc.com
Publish Date: January 2, 2008
Link to this article:
http://www.ifrl.org/ifrl/news/090102_2.htm
December 30, 2008
Foundations With Bernard Madoff Gave Planned Parenthood $734,000
Foundations With Bernard Madoff Gave Planned Parenthood $734,000 in 2007
U.S. foundations that invested with Bernard Madoff donated more than $73 million to nonprofit organizations in 2007, according to a tally based on foundation tax returns. In the table below, foundation assets and donations come from 2007 tax returns and data from the research site Guidestar.org. Grants of $5,000 and above are included.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601088&sid=axfCpahVoHxM&refer=home
U.S. foundations that invested with Bernard Madoff donated more than $73 million to nonprofit organizations in 2007, according to a tally based on foundation tax returns. In the table below, foundation assets and donations come from 2007 tax returns and data from the research site Guidestar.org. Grants of $5,000 and above are included.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601088&sid=axfCpahVoHxM&refer=home
Patient Privacy At Stake In Ohio Abortion Case
Patient Privacy At Stake In Ohio Abortion Case
The privacy of hundreds of minor patients' medical records lies in the hands of the Ohio Supreme Court as it deliberates a case over alleged violations of the state's abortion consent law. The parents of a 14-year-old girl who had an abortion without their consent allege Planned Parenthood Southwest Ohio Region repeatedly ran afoul of the state statute that requires physicians to obtain written parental permission before performing an abortion on a minor. To prove their case, the parents claim they need access to 10 years' worth of medical records on minors who sought abortions.
http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2008/12/29/gvsc1229.htm
The privacy of hundreds of minor patients' medical records lies in the hands of the Ohio Supreme Court as it deliberates a case over alleged violations of the state's abortion consent law. The parents of a 14-year-old girl who had an abortion without their consent allege Planned Parenthood Southwest Ohio Region repeatedly ran afoul of the state statute that requires physicians to obtain written parental permission before performing an abortion on a minor. To prove their case, the parents claim they need access to 10 years' worth of medical records on minors who sought abortions.
http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2008/12/29/gvsc1229.htm
Couple Aborts Fetus That Turns Out To Be Male
Told It's A Girl, Couple Aborts Fetus That Turns Out To Be Male
When fearing birth of a second daughter, they aborted their five-month-old foetus, which turned out to be of a male child. Incensed, the wife, Lakhbir Kaur, a resident of Patti, approached the Tarn Taran police with a complaint against her husband Gurcharan Singh and in-laws, alleging that she was forced to go for the abortion.
http://www.expressindia.com/latest-news/told-its-a-girl-couple-aborts-foetus-that-turns-out-to-be-male/404100/
When fearing birth of a second daughter, they aborted their five-month-old foetus, which turned out to be of a male child. Incensed, the wife, Lakhbir Kaur, a resident of Patti, approached the Tarn Taran police with a complaint against her husband Gurcharan Singh and in-laws, alleging that she was forced to go for the abortion.
http://www.expressindia.com/latest-news/told-its-a-girl-couple-aborts-foetus-that-turns-out-to-be-male/404100/
Picketers Allowed To Stand
Planned Parenthood Picketers Allowed To Stand
QUESTION: I was under the impression that if you choose to picket, one rule is that, as a picketer, you have to continue walking with your picket sign or you are technically loitering. It appears not to be the case of those who picket Planned Parenthood on Central Avenue. ANSWER: No law prevents picketers from remaining stationary, according to the Dubuque Police Department. Assistant Police Chief Terry Tobin said protestors can stand in the same spot legally, but they can not block or otherwise obstruct the sidewalk. So, as long as protestors allow passers-by use of the sidewalk, they are meeting legal requirements.
http://www.thonline.com/article.cfm?id=227718
Nurse Carole Hicks Retiring from Planned Parenthood
Longtime Killer-Nurse Carole Hicks Retiring from Planned Parenthood
Longtime nurse practitioner Carole Hicks has seen an estimated 30,000 Seacoast area patients during her time at Portsmouth's Planned Parenthood and on Dec. 31 she will officially hang up the stethoscope. Hicks -- a Portsmouth resident -- is retiring from a career that saw her beginning to focus on women's reproductive health the year after the 1973 Roe v. Wade Supreme Court opinion. Hicks and Planned Parenthood manager Cheryl Meyer said New Hampshire law does not require teens to get their parents' permission to obtain an abortion, but both always push to assure families are involved whenever possible.
http://www.fosters.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20081229/GJNEWS_01/712299976/-1/FOSNEWS
Longtime nurse practitioner Carole Hicks has seen an estimated 30,000 Seacoast area patients during her time at Portsmouth's Planned Parenthood and on Dec. 31 she will officially hang up the stethoscope. Hicks -- a Portsmouth resident -- is retiring from a career that saw her beginning to focus on women's reproductive health the year after the 1973 Roe v. Wade Supreme Court opinion. Hicks and Planned Parenthood manager Cheryl Meyer said New Hampshire law does not require teens to get their parents' permission to obtain an abortion, but both always push to assure families are involved whenever possible.
http://www.fosters.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20081229/GJNEWS_01/712299976/-1/FOSNEWS
The Long-Term Effects Of Abortion - Where Is The Media?
The Long-Term Effects Of Abortion - Where Is The Media's Outrage?
Recently, there have been a few very revealing studies about the effects of abortion on women and men. Of course, if one's source of news is the mainstream media, it's doubtful they have heard about them.
A nationwide study by the Elliott Institute questioned a total of 626 respondents, and 84% of those believed that the negative emotional reactions to those involved in having an abortion are moderate to very severe. Even 60 percent of those who identified themselves as very pro-choice said they think emotional pain is common. Of those 47 respondents who said they've had an abortion, 76.6 percent reported a negative emotional reaction. Of the 25 males who said they were involved in an abortion, 60% also experienced negative emotional consequences. Reference: Emotional pain follows abortion, October 30, 2008, WorldNetDaily
WorldNetDaily also reports:
In a two-year study cited on The Reclaiming Fatherhood website, (www.menandabortion.com), 142 men responded to an online survey about their personal abortion experiences. Forty-five percent said their partner chose to abort against their wishes. Sixty-six percent indicated their relationships failed after the abortion. When asked about incidents of post-abortion problems, 128 male respondents reported grief, sadness and persistent thoughts about the baby. More than 100 cited feelings of helplessness, relationship problems, anger, guilt, isolation, difficulty concentrating and anxiety. Reference: Post-abortion grief very real, experts say. September 11, 2008. By Chelsea Schilling, WorldNetDaily
A few years ago, psychotherapist Theresa Burke, led a support group for women with eating disorders and learned that six out of the eight had undergone abortions. The other two had been sexually abused as children. Whenever the subject of abortion came up, Burke noted that it aroused intense emotions among the women, even as they strongly dismissed its potential impact on them.
LifeNews.com reported the following on November 28, 2008:
New Study Shows Direct Link Between Abortion and Mental Health Problems
by Steven Ertelt
A new research study featuring numerous controls and a national data set finds a link between abortion and psychiatric disorders. Dr. Priscilla Coleman, a professor of Human Development and Family Studies at Bowling Green State University, led the research team that conducted the study. The study refutes the report the American Psychiatric Association released in August claiming abortion causes no mental health issues for women. The research team found induced abortions result in increased risks for a myriad of mental health problems ranging from anxiety to depression to substance abuse disorders.
The number of cases of mental health issues rose by as much as 17 percent in women having abortions compared to those who didn't have one and the risks of each particular mental health problem rose as much as 145% for post-abortive women. For 12 out of 15 of the mental health outcomes examined, a decision to have an abortion resulted in an elevated risk for women.
"Abortion was found to be related to an increased risk for a variety of mental health problems (panic attacks, panic disorder, agoraphobia, PTSD, bipolar disorder, major depression with and without hierarchy), and substance abuse disorders after statistical controls were instituted for a wide range of personal, situational, and demographic variables," they wrote. "Calculation of population attributable risks indicated that abortion was implicated in between 4.3% and 16.6% of the incidence of these disorders," they concluded.
The researchers found women who had abortions, compared with those who didn't had a 120% risk for alcohol abuse, with or without dependence, a 145% increased risk of alcohol dependence, 79% increased risk of drug abuse with or without dependence and a 126% increase in the risk of drug dependence. For mood disorders, the experience of an abortion increased risk of developing bipolar disorder by 167%, major depression without hierarchy by 45% and major depression with hierarchy by 48%. For anxiety disorders, there was a 111% increased risk for panic disorders, 44% increased risk for panic attacks, 59% increased risk for PTSD, 95% increased risk for agoraphobia with or without panic disorder and a 93% increased risk for agoraphobia without panic disorder.
There was no mental health outcome showing abortion to have decreased the risk or a high risk for women who did not have an abortion.
Some abortion advocates have dismissed the wealth of previous research on the link between abortion and mental health problems by saying factors unrelated to the abortion contributed to them. The scientists found abortion elevated the risks independently of those factors. "The abortion variable made a significant independent contribution to more mental health outcomes than a history of rape, sexual abuse in childhood, physical assault in adulthood, physical abuse in childhood, and neglect which contributed to between four and ten different diagnoses," the scholars wrote. "What is most notable in this study is that abortion contributed significant independent effects to numerous mental health problems above and beyond a variety of other traumatizing and stressful life experiences," they said.
Ultimately, the authors write that abortion is directly "responsible for more than 10% of the population incidence of alcohol dependence, alcohol abuse, drug dependence, panic disorder, agoraphobia, and bipolar disorder in the population." The team also found that spontaneous abortions, or miscarriages, had an independent effect on 4 of the 15 psychiatric illnesses examined -- indicating abortion is significantly more traumatic for women than a miscarriage.
The team relied on a nationally representative sample, the national comorbidity survey, which is widely recognized as the first nationally representative survey of mental health in the United States.
Reference: Coleman PK et al., Induced abortion and anxiety, mood, and substance abuse disorders: Isolating, Journal of Psychiatric Research (2008), doi:10.1016/j.jpsychires.2008.10.009.
LifeNews.com reported on November 30, 2008 the following:
Second New Study: Mental Health Problems Up 30% For Women Having Abortions
by Steven Ertelt
A second new study in New Zealand points to the link between abortion and subsequent mental health problems for the women who have them. Researchers at Otago University reported their findings in the British Journal of Psychiatry and found that women who have abortions have an increased risk of developing mental health problems. Professor David Fergusson, John Horwood and Dr Joseph Boden headed up the study that involved women who were interviewed on six different occasions between the ages of 15 and 30.
The study found that women who had abortions had rates of mental health problems about 30% higher than other women. The conditions most associated with abortion included anxiety disorders and substance abuse disorders. Abortions increased the risk of severe depression and anxiety by one-third.The authors concluded that anywhere from 1.5 to 5.5 percent of all mental health disorders seen in New Zealand result from women having abortions. Ultimately, the New Zealand team concluded that abortion adversely affects women's mental health while childbirth and miscarriages do not."Other pregnancy outcomes [including live birth] were not related to increased risk of mental health problems," they found.
Reference:
"Abortion and mental health disorders: evidence from a 30-year longitudinal study." Fergusson D, Horwood LJ and Boden JM (2008). British Journal of Psychiatry, 193: 444-451
The Media's Role
What if instead of the abortion being the cause of these mental problems, some other activity or explanation was discovered to be the cause with the same statistical results. For example, if these problems were the result of harassment in the workplace, there would be such an outcry by the media and public that bills would be introduced immediately in Congress to penalize workplace harassment.
Another issue that gets tremendous press is child abduction. The figure given by most child advocates are that 800,000 children are missing every year, which would be over 2,000 a day. Realistically, according to a 2002 study, 115 were actually abducted by a stranger. Since the 24/7 news cycle features these, children are taught to live in fear. Of course, nobody wants to see one child abducted, but many have changed their lifestyle because of an infinitesimal percent being harmed.
There are other examples of extreme negative stereotypes of issues that often legislation has been passed to deal with, such as: second-hand smoking, the global warming scare, environmental impacts of drilling for oil, etc. Usually the statistics don't bear out the response that is given, but the media has painted such a one-sided view that they get the reaction they desire.
When studies are released about the long-term harmful effects of abortion that have much greater percentages of causal connection then what was just mentioned, they are ignored by the mainstream press and even some established medical organizations. Once again, it shows the liberal bias and agenda that these groups have. Despite all of the evidence to the contrary, the American Psychiatric Association states that there is no connection between abortion and negative mental health. Dr. Brenda Major, chair of the American Psychiatric Association Task Force on Mental Health and Abortion, said, "The best scientific evidence published indicates that among adult women who have an unplanned pregnancy, the relative risk of mental health problems are no greater if they have a single elective first-trimester abortion or deliver that pregnancy."
There are numerous testimonials about the negative impact abortion has on men and women, such as on www.abortionchangesyou.com, www.menandabortion.info, www.created4life.org, and other sources. This message needs to be spread throughout our society in any way possible. We can't depend on the liberal media to disseminate the truth about this.
Source: Stand for Life
Source URL: http://www.standforlife.net
Publish Date: December 27, 2008
Link to this article:
http://www.ifrl.org/ifrl/news/081230_3.htm
Recently, there have been a few very revealing studies about the effects of abortion on women and men. Of course, if one's source of news is the mainstream media, it's doubtful they have heard about them.
A nationwide study by the Elliott Institute questioned a total of 626 respondents, and 84% of those believed that the negative emotional reactions to those involved in having an abortion are moderate to very severe. Even 60 percent of those who identified themselves as very pro-choice said they think emotional pain is common. Of those 47 respondents who said they've had an abortion, 76.6 percent reported a negative emotional reaction. Of the 25 males who said they were involved in an abortion, 60% also experienced negative emotional consequences. Reference: Emotional pain follows abortion, October 30, 2008, WorldNetDaily
WorldNetDaily also reports:
In a two-year study cited on The Reclaiming Fatherhood website, (www.menandabortion.com), 142 men responded to an online survey about their personal abortion experiences. Forty-five percent said their partner chose to abort against their wishes. Sixty-six percent indicated their relationships failed after the abortion. When asked about incidents of post-abortion problems, 128 male respondents reported grief, sadness and persistent thoughts about the baby. More than 100 cited feelings of helplessness, relationship problems, anger, guilt, isolation, difficulty concentrating and anxiety. Reference: Post-abortion grief very real, experts say. September 11, 2008. By Chelsea Schilling, WorldNetDaily
A few years ago, psychotherapist Theresa Burke, led a support group for women with eating disorders and learned that six out of the eight had undergone abortions. The other two had been sexually abused as children. Whenever the subject of abortion came up, Burke noted that it aroused intense emotions among the women, even as they strongly dismissed its potential impact on them.
LifeNews.com reported the following on November 28, 2008:
New Study Shows Direct Link Between Abortion and Mental Health Problems
by Steven Ertelt
A new research study featuring numerous controls and a national data set finds a link between abortion and psychiatric disorders. Dr. Priscilla Coleman, a professor of Human Development and Family Studies at Bowling Green State University, led the research team that conducted the study. The study refutes the report the American Psychiatric Association released in August claiming abortion causes no mental health issues for women. The research team found induced abortions result in increased risks for a myriad of mental health problems ranging from anxiety to depression to substance abuse disorders.
The number of cases of mental health issues rose by as much as 17 percent in women having abortions compared to those who didn't have one and the risks of each particular mental health problem rose as much as 145% for post-abortive women. For 12 out of 15 of the mental health outcomes examined, a decision to have an abortion resulted in an elevated risk for women.
"Abortion was found to be related to an increased risk for a variety of mental health problems (panic attacks, panic disorder, agoraphobia, PTSD, bipolar disorder, major depression with and without hierarchy), and substance abuse disorders after statistical controls were instituted for a wide range of personal, situational, and demographic variables," they wrote. "Calculation of population attributable risks indicated that abortion was implicated in between 4.3% and 16.6% of the incidence of these disorders," they concluded.
The researchers found women who had abortions, compared with those who didn't had a 120% risk for alcohol abuse, with or without dependence, a 145% increased risk of alcohol dependence, 79% increased risk of drug abuse with or without dependence and a 126% increase in the risk of drug dependence. For mood disorders, the experience of an abortion increased risk of developing bipolar disorder by 167%, major depression without hierarchy by 45% and major depression with hierarchy by 48%. For anxiety disorders, there was a 111% increased risk for panic disorders, 44% increased risk for panic attacks, 59% increased risk for PTSD, 95% increased risk for agoraphobia with or without panic disorder and a 93% increased risk for agoraphobia without panic disorder.
There was no mental health outcome showing abortion to have decreased the risk or a high risk for women who did not have an abortion.
Some abortion advocates have dismissed the wealth of previous research on the link between abortion and mental health problems by saying factors unrelated to the abortion contributed to them. The scientists found abortion elevated the risks independently of those factors. "The abortion variable made a significant independent contribution to more mental health outcomes than a history of rape, sexual abuse in childhood, physical assault in adulthood, physical abuse in childhood, and neglect which contributed to between four and ten different diagnoses," the scholars wrote. "What is most notable in this study is that abortion contributed significant independent effects to numerous mental health problems above and beyond a variety of other traumatizing and stressful life experiences," they said.
Ultimately, the authors write that abortion is directly "responsible for more than 10% of the population incidence of alcohol dependence, alcohol abuse, drug dependence, panic disorder, agoraphobia, and bipolar disorder in the population." The team also found that spontaneous abortions, or miscarriages, had an independent effect on 4 of the 15 psychiatric illnesses examined -- indicating abortion is significantly more traumatic for women than a miscarriage.
The team relied on a nationally representative sample, the national comorbidity survey, which is widely recognized as the first nationally representative survey of mental health in the United States.
Reference: Coleman PK et al., Induced abortion and anxiety, mood, and substance abuse disorders: Isolating, Journal of Psychiatric Research (2008), doi:10.1016/j.jpsychires.2008.10.009.
LifeNews.com reported on November 30, 2008 the following:
Second New Study: Mental Health Problems Up 30% For Women Having Abortions
by Steven Ertelt
A second new study in New Zealand points to the link between abortion and subsequent mental health problems for the women who have them. Researchers at Otago University reported their findings in the British Journal of Psychiatry and found that women who have abortions have an increased risk of developing mental health problems. Professor David Fergusson, John Horwood and Dr Joseph Boden headed up the study that involved women who were interviewed on six different occasions between the ages of 15 and 30.
The study found that women who had abortions had rates of mental health problems about 30% higher than other women. The conditions most associated with abortion included anxiety disorders and substance abuse disorders. Abortions increased the risk of severe depression and anxiety by one-third.The authors concluded that anywhere from 1.5 to 5.5 percent of all mental health disorders seen in New Zealand result from women having abortions. Ultimately, the New Zealand team concluded that abortion adversely affects women's mental health while childbirth and miscarriages do not."Other pregnancy outcomes [including live birth] were not related to increased risk of mental health problems," they found.
Reference:
"Abortion and mental health disorders: evidence from a 30-year longitudinal study." Fergusson D, Horwood LJ and Boden JM (2008). British Journal of Psychiatry, 193: 444-451
The Media's Role
What if instead of the abortion being the cause of these mental problems, some other activity or explanation was discovered to be the cause with the same statistical results. For example, if these problems were the result of harassment in the workplace, there would be such an outcry by the media and public that bills would be introduced immediately in Congress to penalize workplace harassment.
Another issue that gets tremendous press is child abduction. The figure given by most child advocates are that 800,000 children are missing every year, which would be over 2,000 a day. Realistically, according to a 2002 study, 115 were actually abducted by a stranger. Since the 24/7 news cycle features these, children are taught to live in fear. Of course, nobody wants to see one child abducted, but many have changed their lifestyle because of an infinitesimal percent being harmed.
There are other examples of extreme negative stereotypes of issues that often legislation has been passed to deal with, such as: second-hand smoking, the global warming scare, environmental impacts of drilling for oil, etc. Usually the statistics don't bear out the response that is given, but the media has painted such a one-sided view that they get the reaction they desire.
When studies are released about the long-term harmful effects of abortion that have much greater percentages of causal connection then what was just mentioned, they are ignored by the mainstream press and even some established medical organizations. Once again, it shows the liberal bias and agenda that these groups have. Despite all of the evidence to the contrary, the American Psychiatric Association states that there is no connection between abortion and negative mental health. Dr. Brenda Major, chair of the American Psychiatric Association Task Force on Mental Health and Abortion, said, "The best scientific evidence published indicates that among adult women who have an unplanned pregnancy, the relative risk of mental health problems are no greater if they have a single elective first-trimester abortion or deliver that pregnancy."
There are numerous testimonials about the negative impact abortion has on men and women, such as on www.abortionchangesyou.com, www.menandabortion.info, www.created4life.org, and other sources. This message needs to be spread throughout our society in any way possible. We can't depend on the liberal media to disseminate the truth about this.
Source: Stand for Life
Source URL: http://www.standforlife.net
Publish Date: December 27, 2008
Link to this article:
http://www.ifrl.org/ifrl/news/081230_3.htm
Lila Rose Chosen as 2008 Person of the Year
Lila Rose Chosen as Operation Rescue's 2008 Person of the Year
Operation Rescue announces that Lila Rose, a 20-year old UCLA student that has made national headlines exposing wrong-doing at abortion clinics, is the recipient of its 2008 Person of the Year Malachi Award.
"Lila Rose exemplifies the new wave of pro-life activism and best reflects Operation Rescue's own efforts to expose illegal conduct in our nation's abortion mills," said Operation Rescue President Troy Newman. "Her work has helped raise public awareness of the seedy underbelly of the abortion industry and has helped to launch criminal investigations that we pray will eventually hold out-of-control abortionists accountable for their criminal acts."
Lila Rose is the president of Live Action Films and has released a number of undercover sting videos of Planned Parenthood employees coaching girls to cover up for men who are committing statutory rape.
Each year Operation Rescue presents the Malachi Award to pro-life activists who are impacting the nation for the cause of life. The award is named after an aborted baby that was discovered in an abortion clinic dumpster, whose image has been used nationally to bring attention to the desperate plight of the pre-born.
Previous recipients include Dr. Johnny Hunter of LEARN, who is exposing the devastating effects of abortion on the African-American community, Leslee Unruh, who spearheaded efforts to ban abortion in South Dakota, and Phill Kline, the Kansas prosecutor whose abortion investigations have led to 107 criminal charges against Planned Parenthood.
Contact: Troy Newman, Cheryl Sullenger
Source: Operation Rescue
Source URL: http://www.operationrescue.org
Publish Date: December 30, 2008
Link to this article:
http://www.ifrl.org/ifrl/news/081230_2.htm
Operation Rescue announces that Lila Rose, a 20-year old UCLA student that has made national headlines exposing wrong-doing at abortion clinics, is the recipient of its 2008 Person of the Year Malachi Award.
"Lila Rose exemplifies the new wave of pro-life activism and best reflects Operation Rescue's own efforts to expose illegal conduct in our nation's abortion mills," said Operation Rescue President Troy Newman. "Her work has helped raise public awareness of the seedy underbelly of the abortion industry and has helped to launch criminal investigations that we pray will eventually hold out-of-control abortionists accountable for their criminal acts."
Lila Rose is the president of Live Action Films and has released a number of undercover sting videos of Planned Parenthood employees coaching girls to cover up for men who are committing statutory rape.
Each year Operation Rescue presents the Malachi Award to pro-life activists who are impacting the nation for the cause of life. The award is named after an aborted baby that was discovered in an abortion clinic dumpster, whose image has been used nationally to bring attention to the desperate plight of the pre-born.
Previous recipients include Dr. Johnny Hunter of LEARN, who is exposing the devastating effects of abortion on the African-American community, Leslee Unruh, who spearheaded efforts to ban abortion in South Dakota, and Phill Kline, the Kansas prosecutor whose abortion investigations have led to 107 criminal charges against Planned Parenthood.
Contact: Troy Newman, Cheryl Sullenger
Source: Operation Rescue
Source URL: http://www.operationrescue.org
Publish Date: December 30, 2008
Link to this article:
http://www.ifrl.org/ifrl/news/081230_2.htm
Pro-Lifers are Ready
Pro-Lifers Are Primed and Ready
There have been recent reports on the vast grab bag of proposals the Abortion Establishment submitted to the Obama transition team. I hesitate to call it a wish list for the simple reason that the 55-page laundry list sent by about 50 pro-abortion organizations constitutes pretty much what you would expect President-elect Obama to embrace wholeheartedly.
Our folks read that the proposal could be found on the transition's team website and that they could comment.
And, in droves, they went to http://change.gov/open_government/entry/advancing_reproductive_rights_and_health_in_a_new_administration. What is fascinating to me is not that pro-lifers would take the opportunity to post their opinion on a vast array of initiatives, the main thrust of which would be to insinuate the abortion ethos ever deeper into our cultural fabric, obliterate all pro-life gains, and funnel hundreds of millions of additional dollars into the coffers of the Abortion Industry. Why wouldn't they?
What struck me was the response of US News & World Report's Dan Gilgoff, who covers religion for the magazine. He got wind that pro-lifers had been alerted and that of the subsequent responses, "Most--almost all, in fact--appear to be from abortion rights opponents."
Nothing new--to us--in that. As we will talk about at length in the special January 22 Commemorative Issue, pro-lifers have long since grown adept in using the Internet to communicate and activate. [See Part Two, "Stopping Obama's Abortion Agenda.")
Gilgoff was impressed by the tone of the responses. "Comments areas are notorious for their nastiness," he wrote, "but I'm struck by the respectful tone of these protests."
But having drawn that straight-forward conclusion, he rhetorically asks, "Does it mean pro-lifers see Obama as a different kind of Democrat, more willing to listen to their concerns than has traditionally been the case? In that regard, the civil tone suggests that Obama might be able to make headway with pro-lifers with policies that reduce demand for abortions without restricting abortion rights."
Two thoughts on this. No one but those who were willfully delusional throughout the campaign have any illusions about the depth of Obama's commitment to the abortion agenda. There were some self-described pro-life "progressives" who needed a reason to vote for a hard-core pro-abortionist. They accomplished this by fastening together bits and pieces of throwaway lines to create an imaginary candidate who would transcend the usual divides.
Anyone with ears to hear knows that everything about President-elect Obama screams out that he cares not a twit about reducing the number of abortions. You can't oppose parental involvement laws, the Hyde Amendment, women's right to know laws, on the one hand, and be in favor of integrating abortion into a national health care program and passing the radically pro-abortion "Freedom of Choice Act," on the other hand, and not know that millions of more babies will die.
Those who wrote to http://change.gov/open_government/entry/advancing_reproductive_rights_and_health_in_a_new_administration did so out of a conviction that it would be irresponsible not to alert the incoming Obama Administration of the storm that awaits once it begins to implement its pro-abortion policies--and to exercise their rights as citizens. As for the tone, well, of course pro-lifers would be respectful. That's who we are.
But if Gilgoff misreads pro-lifers on this score, he does get something else right: "[T]he volume of comments also shows that the pro-life movement is very much engaged right now and can be quickly activated." Obama will "face a firestorm of criticism," Gilgoff wrote, if "he removes Bush-era abortion restrictions, as expected--like banning U.S. funds from going to foreign groups that offer or promote abortion in family planning services."
Gilgoff is also correct when he concludes that should Obama "move beyond such traditionally Democratic policies to actually expand abortion rights through a law like FOCA, pro-lifers would go ballistic."
The obvious question is how will Obama factor in the anticipated pro-life criticism as he moves his--and the Abortion Establishment's--agenda forward? It could and likely would change his timing, to be sure.
But only pro-lifers whet behind the ears are so naive as to believe that Obama would take a pass on advancing the public policy objectives of PPFA and NARAL and kindred souls. He, and the pro-abortion congressional leadership, will try in every way it can to promote them.
Our job will be to thwart them at every possible turn and minimize the damage when we can't.
Contact: Dave Andrusko
Source: National Right to Life
Source URL: http://www.nrlc.org
Publish Date: December 29, 2008
Link to this article:
http://www.ifrl.org/ifrl/news/081230_1.htm
There have been recent reports on the vast grab bag of proposals the Abortion Establishment submitted to the Obama transition team. I hesitate to call it a wish list for the simple reason that the 55-page laundry list sent by about 50 pro-abortion organizations constitutes pretty much what you would expect President-elect Obama to embrace wholeheartedly.
Our folks read that the proposal could be found on the transition's team website and that they could comment.
And, in droves, they went to http://change.gov/open_government/entry/advancing_reproductive_rights_and_health_in_a_new_administration. What is fascinating to me is not that pro-lifers would take the opportunity to post their opinion on a vast array of initiatives, the main thrust of which would be to insinuate the abortion ethos ever deeper into our cultural fabric, obliterate all pro-life gains, and funnel hundreds of millions of additional dollars into the coffers of the Abortion Industry. Why wouldn't they?
What struck me was the response of US News & World Report's Dan Gilgoff, who covers religion for the magazine. He got wind that pro-lifers had been alerted and that of the subsequent responses, "Most--almost all, in fact--appear to be from abortion rights opponents."
Nothing new--to us--in that. As we will talk about at length in the special January 22 Commemorative Issue, pro-lifers have long since grown adept in using the Internet to communicate and activate. [See Part Two, "Stopping Obama's Abortion Agenda.")
Gilgoff was impressed by the tone of the responses. "Comments areas are notorious for their nastiness," he wrote, "but I'm struck by the respectful tone of these protests."
But having drawn that straight-forward conclusion, he rhetorically asks, "Does it mean pro-lifers see Obama as a different kind of Democrat, more willing to listen to their concerns than has traditionally been the case? In that regard, the civil tone suggests that Obama might be able to make headway with pro-lifers with policies that reduce demand for abortions without restricting abortion rights."
Two thoughts on this. No one but those who were willfully delusional throughout the campaign have any illusions about the depth of Obama's commitment to the abortion agenda. There were some self-described pro-life "progressives" who needed a reason to vote for a hard-core pro-abortionist. They accomplished this by fastening together bits and pieces of throwaway lines to create an imaginary candidate who would transcend the usual divides.
Anyone with ears to hear knows that everything about President-elect Obama screams out that he cares not a twit about reducing the number of abortions. You can't oppose parental involvement laws, the Hyde Amendment, women's right to know laws, on the one hand, and be in favor of integrating abortion into a national health care program and passing the radically pro-abortion "Freedom of Choice Act," on the other hand, and not know that millions of more babies will die.
Those who wrote to http://change.gov/open_government/entry/advancing_reproductive_rights_and_health_in_a_new_administration did so out of a conviction that it would be irresponsible not to alert the incoming Obama Administration of the storm that awaits once it begins to implement its pro-abortion policies--and to exercise their rights as citizens. As for the tone, well, of course pro-lifers would be respectful. That's who we are.
But if Gilgoff misreads pro-lifers on this score, he does get something else right: "[T]he volume of comments also shows that the pro-life movement is very much engaged right now and can be quickly activated." Obama will "face a firestorm of criticism," Gilgoff wrote, if "he removes Bush-era abortion restrictions, as expected--like banning U.S. funds from going to foreign groups that offer or promote abortion in family planning services."
Gilgoff is also correct when he concludes that should Obama "move beyond such traditionally Democratic policies to actually expand abortion rights through a law like FOCA, pro-lifers would go ballistic."
The obvious question is how will Obama factor in the anticipated pro-life criticism as he moves his--and the Abortion Establishment's--agenda forward? It could and likely would change his timing, to be sure.
But only pro-lifers whet behind the ears are so naive as to believe that Obama would take a pass on advancing the public policy objectives of PPFA and NARAL and kindred souls. He, and the pro-abortion congressional leadership, will try in every way it can to promote them.
Our job will be to thwart them at every possible turn and minimize the damage when we can't.
Contact: Dave Andrusko
Source: National Right to Life
Source URL: http://www.nrlc.org
Publish Date: December 29, 2008
Link to this article:
http://www.ifrl.org/ifrl/news/081230_1.htm
December 24, 2008
Do You See What I See?
Do You See What I See?
"Today human relations are irregulars and seconds at the closing days of the warehouse sale of life."
From the book, "Social Amnesia," by Russell Jacoby
"O little town of Bethlehem."
Traditional Christmas carol
It was late in the afternoon the Saturday after Thanksgiving. My wife, Lisa, and I had established a temporary safe haven in our kitchen free from the usual chaos that comes with the presence of four joyfully rambunctious children. We'd somehow managed to wrest free a few minutes just to read the paper, enjoy a cup of coffee together, and chat. It was nice!
For reasons I did not fully understand at the time, when I read in our local paper that the Salvation Army was experiencing a dramatic shortage in volunteer bell ringers to man its familiar red kettles, I was so shocked I jumped up from the table and searched out the local number.
Violet, the gentle lady who answered, mistakenly thought I was someone inquiring about a paid position. When I assured her otherwise, she was so pathetically grateful for my willingness to help them help the poor a wave of shame washed over me.
How many times, I thought guiltily, had I brushed past these magnanimous folks, who patiently waited for some sign my heart was a few degrees warmer than the temperature outside? How many times had I been so self-absorbed that these devoted volunteers simply blended into the brick facades behind them?
I was mortified when I recall that even though I had occasionally given money, never once had I emerged from my self-absorption long enough to actually "see" them, let alone grasp what their silent vigil stood for. Because I had always looked through them, they never really existed for me. I hastily volunteered for several assignments. (In what was surely a feeble attempt at expiation, I made sure that one of them was on my birthday.)
The moral of this story needn't be belabored to tenderhearted pro-lifers.
When our culture "looks" at the vulnerable, all too often there is a failure to recognize and therefore an inability to reach out in love and compassion. This is never more true than in our treatment of the unborn, the littlest Americans.
However, it wasn't just because of the news account and the subsequent phone call that I saw these kindly souls with new eyes. I was already predisposed, if you will, because Christmas was approaching, to Christians the celebration of the birth of the Messiah.
Even those who do not share the faith honor Jesus for his unconditional love for widows and orphans, the sick, and the social outcast, his loving admonition to care for the least among us. This most assuredly included little children, as Luke's poignant gospel account reminds us so beautifully.
Jesus healed out of a deep well of empathy and compassion. He restored many whose bodies, hearts, and souls were weighed down with physical and emotional burdens. But he was also teaching us a timeless lesson: unless we are willing to open our eyes, we, too, will be blind to the hurting around us.
While it is not my intention to idealize pro-lifers, it would be false modesty to ignore that they demonstrate a tremendous capacity to truly "see" what others either cannot, or choose not, to see. It is no accident that pro-lifers defend unborn babies. Love and concern for the downtrodden, the dispossessed, and the marginalized is what gives their lives a rich unity of purpose.
The great hope of the pro-life movement is that despite our nation's descents into inhumanity and indifference, the self-image of Americans is deservedly of a good people, blessed in a unique way. And it is because Americans are fundamentally decent people that the significance of the debate over partial-birth abortion cannot be exaggerated.
People needn't be anywhere near where we are to be virtually sent reeling. Witnessing even a simple line drawing of this abomination can turn opinions inside out. A pseudo-serious support for "choice" in the abstract cannot coexist for very long with the concrete reality of this brutal assassination of helpless children. For many, many people, head knowledge will become heart knowledge and ambivalence will be transformed into empathy.
Our culture has chosen to willfully suppress what it always knew - - that unborn children are children yet to be born, a classic example of what historian Russell Jacoby once called "social amnesia." But the monstrous evil that is partial-birth abortion - - a procedure that is essentially indistinguishable from infanticide - - is shearing away the excuse people have used from the time immemorial to explain away their complicity in evil: "I didn't know."
And because eyes are being opened, ears unstopped, and hearts unshackled, what William McKenna calls our "unforced revulsion" at abortion is finding a wider audience. These telltale signs suggest we are cutting through the static of lies and distortions, establishing a clear channel to convey our message of love and hope for mother and unborn child.
One day soon, the ethos of discrimination and brutality toward the unborn will prove itself to have been an aberration, a loathsome interim ethic. And that glorious day will come because you have proven yourselves to be the antidote to the poison of inhumanity, indifference, and injustice.
Let me say, humbly, bless you for all you have done.
Contact: Dave Andrusko
Source: National Right to Life
Source URL: http://www.nrlc.org
Publish Date: December 24, 2008
Link to this article:
http://www.ifrl.org/ifrl/news/081224_1.htm
"Today human relations are irregulars and seconds at the closing days of the warehouse sale of life."
From the book, "Social Amnesia," by Russell Jacoby
"O little town of Bethlehem."
Traditional Christmas carol
It was late in the afternoon the Saturday after Thanksgiving. My wife, Lisa, and I had established a temporary safe haven in our kitchen free from the usual chaos that comes with the presence of four joyfully rambunctious children. We'd somehow managed to wrest free a few minutes just to read the paper, enjoy a cup of coffee together, and chat. It was nice!
For reasons I did not fully understand at the time, when I read in our local paper that the Salvation Army was experiencing a dramatic shortage in volunteer bell ringers to man its familiar red kettles, I was so shocked I jumped up from the table and searched out the local number.
Violet, the gentle lady who answered, mistakenly thought I was someone inquiring about a paid position. When I assured her otherwise, she was so pathetically grateful for my willingness to help them help the poor a wave of shame washed over me.
How many times, I thought guiltily, had I brushed past these magnanimous folks, who patiently waited for some sign my heart was a few degrees warmer than the temperature outside? How many times had I been so self-absorbed that these devoted volunteers simply blended into the brick facades behind them?
I was mortified when I recall that even though I had occasionally given money, never once had I emerged from my self-absorption long enough to actually "see" them, let alone grasp what their silent vigil stood for. Because I had always looked through them, they never really existed for me. I hastily volunteered for several assignments. (In what was surely a feeble attempt at expiation, I made sure that one of them was on my birthday.)
The moral of this story needn't be belabored to tenderhearted pro-lifers.
When our culture "looks" at the vulnerable, all too often there is a failure to recognize and therefore an inability to reach out in love and compassion. This is never more true than in our treatment of the unborn, the littlest Americans.
However, it wasn't just because of the news account and the subsequent phone call that I saw these kindly souls with new eyes. I was already predisposed, if you will, because Christmas was approaching, to Christians the celebration of the birth of the Messiah.
Even those who do not share the faith honor Jesus for his unconditional love for widows and orphans, the sick, and the social outcast, his loving admonition to care for the least among us. This most assuredly included little children, as Luke's poignant gospel account reminds us so beautifully.
Jesus healed out of a deep well of empathy and compassion. He restored many whose bodies, hearts, and souls were weighed down with physical and emotional burdens. But he was also teaching us a timeless lesson: unless we are willing to open our eyes, we, too, will be blind to the hurting around us.
While it is not my intention to idealize pro-lifers, it would be false modesty to ignore that they demonstrate a tremendous capacity to truly "see" what others either cannot, or choose not, to see. It is no accident that pro-lifers defend unborn babies. Love and concern for the downtrodden, the dispossessed, and the marginalized is what gives their lives a rich unity of purpose.
The great hope of the pro-life movement is that despite our nation's descents into inhumanity and indifference, the self-image of Americans is deservedly of a good people, blessed in a unique way. And it is because Americans are fundamentally decent people that the significance of the debate over partial-birth abortion cannot be exaggerated.
People needn't be anywhere near where we are to be virtually sent reeling. Witnessing even a simple line drawing of this abomination can turn opinions inside out. A pseudo-serious support for "choice" in the abstract cannot coexist for very long with the concrete reality of this brutal assassination of helpless children. For many, many people, head knowledge will become heart knowledge and ambivalence will be transformed into empathy.
Our culture has chosen to willfully suppress what it always knew - - that unborn children are children yet to be born, a classic example of what historian Russell Jacoby once called "social amnesia." But the monstrous evil that is partial-birth abortion - - a procedure that is essentially indistinguishable from infanticide - - is shearing away the excuse people have used from the time immemorial to explain away their complicity in evil: "I didn't know."
And because eyes are being opened, ears unstopped, and hearts unshackled, what William McKenna calls our "unforced revulsion" at abortion is finding a wider audience. These telltale signs suggest we are cutting through the static of lies and distortions, establishing a clear channel to convey our message of love and hope for mother and unborn child.
One day soon, the ethos of discrimination and brutality toward the unborn will prove itself to have been an aberration, a loathsome interim ethic. And that glorious day will come because you have proven yourselves to be the antidote to the poison of inhumanity, indifference, and injustice.
Let me say, humbly, bless you for all you have done.
Contact: Dave Andrusko
Source: National Right to Life
Source URL: http://www.nrlc.org
Publish Date: December 24, 2008
Link to this article:
http://www.ifrl.org/ifrl/news/081224_1.htm
Pro-Lifers Prepare for March for Life 2009
Pro-Lifers Prepare for March for Life 2009 under Obama's Shadow
"We will ask him, "Have you seen an abortion? Have you seen a child who has been subjected to abortion?"
As pro-life leaders and citizens across America and the world gear up for a historic chapter in Washington's March for Life on January 22nd, founder Nellie Gray gave LifeSiteNews.com (LSN) a preview of the message that the march plans to send to the country - and to Mr. Obama, one of the most virulent abortion advocates in American politics, two days after his inauguration.
In the final chapter of the presidency of George W. Bush - who was accustomed to speak to the March for Life rally via telephone to express his support - Gray discussed the effort to show the true face of abortion to a president who promised to abolish all legal abortion restrictions through the infamous Freedom of Choice Act (FOCA).
"We will ask him, "Have you seen an abortion? Have you seen a child who has been subjected to abortion?" said Gray, who would also want the new President to know "that on the day of his inauguration, an estimated 3,000 children will be killed and the body and mind of their mothers will be traumatized that day.
"He (Obama) must understand what a child looks like who suffers abortion," said Gray. "If he doesn't know what (such) a child looks like, then he has no credibility at all in saying that he approves of this. if he has, then he has no credibility at all of being the president of all of the people."
Gray and fellow grassroots pro-life organizers began the March for Life on January 22, 1974, to commemorate the anniversary of legalized abortion through Roe v. Wade. The march drew 20,000 ralliers in its very first year, and since then has been accustomed to hosting a 100,000-strong crowd each year. Last year, a staggering 225,000 pro-lifers joined the effort petitioning the Supreme Court to abolish legalized abortion.
Gray hopes to remind Obama and like-minded politicians of abortion's hidden slaughter of the helpless - an atrocity condemned by the U.S. at the Nuremburg trials of World War II, where Germans were tried and executed for perpetrating the Holocaust. "We still to this day point an accusing finger at the Holocaust and say that should never have happened, but it is happening in our own country," said Gray.
Asked what she would want Obama's first impression to be of the pro-life movement in America, Gray responded, "I definitely want him (Obama) to see that Americans ... are telling him that this is our country, and our country does not kill innocent human beings. And now we are at the point of killing 50 milion innocent human beings - that's genocide. the reason for the March for Life is to assure that in history no one will be able to say, 'Why didn't those people stand up and do something?'
"The reason we are stading up is: never will it be said that American people allowed this evil, this crime against humanity of killing innocent humans - that we ever allowed it - we stood up for our country."
Gray told LSN that this year's focus would be the equal right to life of both mother and child - precluding the widespread acceptance of abortion in case of a threat to the health of the mother. Pro-lifers must remember, said Gray, "that abortion is both about the baby and the mother, and that they have an equal right to life." Therefore, "The life principles mean equal care with no exception."
Several pro-life events have cropped up around the crowd-drawing power of the March, and this year is no exception. In addition to a convention and Rose Dinner hosted by the March for Life the day of the march, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops will again host the National Prayer Vigil for Life at the National Basilica the night before, which has proved immensely popular in the past.
Washington March for Life 2009 Conference and Activities Schedule
Compiled by Kathleen Gilbert
To help pro-life pilgrims plan a schedule surrounding the enormous March for Life quickly approaching next month, LifeSiteNews.com has compiled a list of the various pro-life events that will take place in and around Washington D.C.
Wednesday, January 21
8 a.m. - 4 p.m.
Cardinal O'Connor Conference
Georgetown University
for more information and to register: http://www.cardinaloconnorconference.com/
9 a.m.
Rock for Life Training & Activism Week Personhood Conference kick-off memorial walk
Planned Parenthood clinic on 16th St. in Washington
The walk will travel from Planned Parenthood, to the White House at 10:15 a.m., ending at the Supreme Court at 11:30 a.m.
For more information: http://www.rockforlife.org/taw/
go to http://www.rockforlife.org/taw/ to register for the Training & Activism Week and reserve a room at the hotel.
1 - 5 p.m.
Rock for Life pro-life workshops
the Liaison Capitol Hill Hotel
415 New Jersey Ave., N.W.
The workshops will include an international panel to address the status of the global pro-life movement, a session on pro-life blogging hosted by pro-life activist and blogger Jill Stanek. Live music will be provided at a praise & worship rally and Rock for Life Concert in the hotel starting at 7 p.m.
http://www.rockforlife.org/taw/
2 - 5 p.m.
March for Life Convention 2009
Hyatt-Regency Washington on Capitol Hill
See http://www.marchforlife.org/content/view/18/32/ for more details.
7 p.m.
National Prayer Vigil for Life 2009
Basilica of the National Shrine
go to http://www.usccb.org/prolife/prayervigil/schedule.shtml for the all-night activity schedule.
Thursday, January 22
7:30 a.m. - 11:30 a.m.
Rally for Life and Youth Mass 2009
Verizon Center (formerly the MCI Center), 601 F Street, NW, Washington, DC.
http://www.adw.org/news/default.asp?id=507&EventType=0&TimeFrame
8:00 am
Lutherans for Life worship service
Immanuel Lutheran Church
1801 Russell Rd.
Alexandria, VA 22301
http://www.lutheransforlife.org/march_for_life.htm
8:15 a.m.
Interdenominational prayer service led by Fr. Frank Pavone, Priests for Life
location TBA
http://www.priestsforlife.org/roe/index.htm
12 p.m. - 4 p.m.
March for Life
Washington, D.C. National Mall
see http://www.marchforlife.org/content/view/30/40/ for details and route map.
4 p.m.
Silent No More
Post-abortive women share their stories on the steps of the Supreme Court.
See http://www.silentnomoreawareness.org/events/ to register to speak.
4:45 p.m. - 7 p.m. (doors open at 3:45 p.m.)
International Culture of Life "Champions for Family" Award Reception, honoring the Hon. Joseph Pitts (R-PA), Rene Bullecer, M.D. and Rev. Jerome Magat.
Phoenix Park Hotel (above the Dubliner)
520 North Capitol Street, N.W.
Special guests include White House Commissioner Vellie Dietrich-Hall, President's Council for Asian Americans; His Excellency, Willy Gaa, Embassy of the Philippines; Congressman Chris Smith and Mrs. Marie Smith; Congressman Todd Tiahrt and Mrs. Vicki Tiahrt; Congressman Trent Franks, Co-Chair Human Rights Caucus; Congressman Jeff Fortenberry, Member Foreign Affairs Committee; Ms. Jennifer Kimball, Exec. Director, Culture of Life Foundation; Ms. Deidre McQuade, Secretariat, Prolife Activities, U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops; Mrs. Eileen Macapanas Cosby, Filipino Family Fund; Fr. Frank Pavone, Priests for Life; Mr. Al Santoli, Asian American Initiative; Mr. Bobby Schindler, Terri Schindler Schaivo Foundation; Mr. Michael Schwartz, Chief-of-Staff for Sen. Tom Coburn, M.D.; Ms. Wendy Wright, Concerned Women for America.
http://www.culture-of-life.org/
http://filipinofamilyfund.org/championsevent.html
6 p.m.
March for Life Rose Dinner
Hyatt Regency Washington on Capitol Hill
400 New Jersey Avenue, NW
6:00 PM Foyer - Social Hour
7:00 PM Opening Prayer - Dinner
go to http://www.marchforlife.org/content/view/19/34/ for more details as they arrive.
Friday, January 23
8:45 a.m. - 3 p.m.
American Life League's Personhood Conference
The Liaison Capitol Hill Hotel
415 New Jersey Ave., N.W.
Catholic Mass - 7:30 a.m.
Free breakfast and Pro-Life Blog Awards - 8 a.m.
Featured Workshops - 8:45 a.m. - 3 p.m. (Lunch break 12:10 - 1:30 p.m.)
Speakers will address personhood as civil rights' last frontier, personhood legal initiatives, and media and technology in the pro-life movement.
Speakers include Lila Rose, cofounder of Live Action Films; Judie Brown, president and cofounder of American Life League; Alan Keyes; Kristi Burton, founder of Colorado for Equal Rights; David Bereit, national campaign director of 40 Days for Life; and Dr. Theresa Deisher, founder of AVM Biotechnology.
go to http://www.rockforlife.org/taw/ to register and reserve a room at the hotel.
Saturday, January 24
9 a.m. - 9:20 p.m. (Check-in begins at 8 a.m.)
Students for Life of America Annual Conference
Pryzbyla Center, Catholic University of America
for more information and to register: http://www.studentsforlife.org/index.php/conferences
Contact: Kathleen Gilbert
Source: LifeSiteNews.com
Source URL: http://www.lifesitenews.com
Publish Date: December 23, 2008
Link to this article:
http://www.ifrl.org/ifrl/news/081224_2.htm
"We will ask him, "Have you seen an abortion? Have you seen a child who has been subjected to abortion?"
As pro-life leaders and citizens across America and the world gear up for a historic chapter in Washington's March for Life on January 22nd, founder Nellie Gray gave LifeSiteNews.com (LSN) a preview of the message that the march plans to send to the country - and to Mr. Obama, one of the most virulent abortion advocates in American politics, two days after his inauguration.
In the final chapter of the presidency of George W. Bush - who was accustomed to speak to the March for Life rally via telephone to express his support - Gray discussed the effort to show the true face of abortion to a president who promised to abolish all legal abortion restrictions through the infamous Freedom of Choice Act (FOCA).
"We will ask him, "Have you seen an abortion? Have you seen a child who has been subjected to abortion?" said Gray, who would also want the new President to know "that on the day of his inauguration, an estimated 3,000 children will be killed and the body and mind of their mothers will be traumatized that day.
"He (Obama) must understand what a child looks like who suffers abortion," said Gray. "If he doesn't know what (such) a child looks like, then he has no credibility at all in saying that he approves of this. if he has, then he has no credibility at all of being the president of all of the people."
Gray and fellow grassroots pro-life organizers began the March for Life on January 22, 1974, to commemorate the anniversary of legalized abortion through Roe v. Wade. The march drew 20,000 ralliers in its very first year, and since then has been accustomed to hosting a 100,000-strong crowd each year. Last year, a staggering 225,000 pro-lifers joined the effort petitioning the Supreme Court to abolish legalized abortion.
Gray hopes to remind Obama and like-minded politicians of abortion's hidden slaughter of the helpless - an atrocity condemned by the U.S. at the Nuremburg trials of World War II, where Germans were tried and executed for perpetrating the Holocaust. "We still to this day point an accusing finger at the Holocaust and say that should never have happened, but it is happening in our own country," said Gray.
Asked what she would want Obama's first impression to be of the pro-life movement in America, Gray responded, "I definitely want him (Obama) to see that Americans ... are telling him that this is our country, and our country does not kill innocent human beings. And now we are at the point of killing 50 milion innocent human beings - that's genocide. the reason for the March for Life is to assure that in history no one will be able to say, 'Why didn't those people stand up and do something?'
"The reason we are stading up is: never will it be said that American people allowed this evil, this crime against humanity of killing innocent humans - that we ever allowed it - we stood up for our country."
Gray told LSN that this year's focus would be the equal right to life of both mother and child - precluding the widespread acceptance of abortion in case of a threat to the health of the mother. Pro-lifers must remember, said Gray, "that abortion is both about the baby and the mother, and that they have an equal right to life." Therefore, "The life principles mean equal care with no exception."
Several pro-life events have cropped up around the crowd-drawing power of the March, and this year is no exception. In addition to a convention and Rose Dinner hosted by the March for Life the day of the march, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops will again host the National Prayer Vigil for Life at the National Basilica the night before, which has proved immensely popular in the past.
Washington March for Life 2009 Conference and Activities Schedule
Compiled by Kathleen Gilbert
To help pro-life pilgrims plan a schedule surrounding the enormous March for Life quickly approaching next month, LifeSiteNews.com has compiled a list of the various pro-life events that will take place in and around Washington D.C.
Wednesday, January 21
8 a.m. - 4 p.m.
Cardinal O'Connor Conference
Georgetown University
for more information and to register: http://www.cardinaloconnorconference.com/
9 a.m.
Rock for Life Training & Activism Week Personhood Conference kick-off memorial walk
Planned Parenthood clinic on 16th St. in Washington
The walk will travel from Planned Parenthood, to the White House at 10:15 a.m., ending at the Supreme Court at 11:30 a.m.
For more information: http://www.rockforlife.org/taw/
go to http://www.rockforlife.org/taw/ to register for the Training & Activism Week and reserve a room at the hotel.
1 - 5 p.m.
Rock for Life pro-life workshops
the Liaison Capitol Hill Hotel
415 New Jersey Ave., N.W.
The workshops will include an international panel to address the status of the global pro-life movement, a session on pro-life blogging hosted by pro-life activist and blogger Jill Stanek. Live music will be provided at a praise & worship rally and Rock for Life Concert in the hotel starting at 7 p.m.
http://www.rockforlife.org/taw/
2 - 5 p.m.
March for Life Convention 2009
Hyatt-Regency Washington on Capitol Hill
See http://www.marchforlife.org/content/view/18/32/ for more details.
7 p.m.
National Prayer Vigil for Life 2009
Basilica of the National Shrine
go to http://www.usccb.org/prolife/prayervigil/schedule.shtml for the all-night activity schedule.
Thursday, January 22
7:30 a.m. - 11:30 a.m.
Rally for Life and Youth Mass 2009
Verizon Center (formerly the MCI Center), 601 F Street, NW, Washington, DC.
http://www.adw.org/news/default.asp?id=507&EventType=0&TimeFrame
8:00 am
Lutherans for Life worship service
Immanuel Lutheran Church
1801 Russell Rd.
Alexandria, VA 22301
http://www.lutheransforlife.org/march_for_life.htm
8:15 a.m.
Interdenominational prayer service led by Fr. Frank Pavone, Priests for Life
location TBA
http://www.priestsforlife.org/roe/index.htm
12 p.m. - 4 p.m.
March for Life
Washington, D.C. National Mall
see http://www.marchforlife.org/content/view/30/40/ for details and route map.
4 p.m.
Silent No More
Post-abortive women share their stories on the steps of the Supreme Court.
See http://www.silentnomoreawareness.org/events/ to register to speak.
4:45 p.m. - 7 p.m. (doors open at 3:45 p.m.)
International Culture of Life "Champions for Family" Award Reception, honoring the Hon. Joseph Pitts (R-PA), Rene Bullecer, M.D. and Rev. Jerome Magat.
Phoenix Park Hotel (above the Dubliner)
520 North Capitol Street, N.W.
Special guests include White House Commissioner Vellie Dietrich-Hall, President's Council for Asian Americans; His Excellency, Willy Gaa, Embassy of the Philippines; Congressman Chris Smith and Mrs. Marie Smith; Congressman Todd Tiahrt and Mrs. Vicki Tiahrt; Congressman Trent Franks, Co-Chair Human Rights Caucus; Congressman Jeff Fortenberry, Member Foreign Affairs Committee; Ms. Jennifer Kimball, Exec. Director, Culture of Life Foundation; Ms. Deidre McQuade, Secretariat, Prolife Activities, U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops; Mrs. Eileen Macapanas Cosby, Filipino Family Fund; Fr. Frank Pavone, Priests for Life; Mr. Al Santoli, Asian American Initiative; Mr. Bobby Schindler, Terri Schindler Schaivo Foundation; Mr. Michael Schwartz, Chief-of-Staff for Sen. Tom Coburn, M.D.; Ms. Wendy Wright, Concerned Women for America.
http://www.culture-of-life.org/
http://filipinofamilyfund.org/championsevent.html
6 p.m.
March for Life Rose Dinner
Hyatt Regency Washington on Capitol Hill
400 New Jersey Avenue, NW
6:00 PM Foyer - Social Hour
7:00 PM Opening Prayer - Dinner
go to http://www.marchforlife.org/content/view/19/34/ for more details as they arrive.
Friday, January 23
8:45 a.m. - 3 p.m.
American Life League's Personhood Conference
The Liaison Capitol Hill Hotel
415 New Jersey Ave., N.W.
Catholic Mass - 7:30 a.m.
Free breakfast and Pro-Life Blog Awards - 8 a.m.
Featured Workshops - 8:45 a.m. - 3 p.m. (Lunch break 12:10 - 1:30 p.m.)
Speakers will address personhood as civil rights' last frontier, personhood legal initiatives, and media and technology in the pro-life movement.
Speakers include Lila Rose, cofounder of Live Action Films; Judie Brown, president and cofounder of American Life League; Alan Keyes; Kristi Burton, founder of Colorado for Equal Rights; David Bereit, national campaign director of 40 Days for Life; and Dr. Theresa Deisher, founder of AVM Biotechnology.
go to http://www.rockforlife.org/taw/ to register and reserve a room at the hotel.
Saturday, January 24
9 a.m. - 9:20 p.m. (Check-in begins at 8 a.m.)
Students for Life of America Annual Conference
Pryzbyla Center, Catholic University of America
for more information and to register: http://www.studentsforlife.org/index.php/conferences
Contact: Kathleen Gilbert
Source: LifeSiteNews.com
Source URL: http://www.lifesitenews.com
Publish Date: December 23, 2008
Link to this article:
http://www.ifrl.org/ifrl/news/081224_2.htm
Planned Parenthood Investigation Called For
Planned Parenthood investigation called for in Indiana
An Indiana state representative wants a full-fledged investigation of Planned Parenthood facilities in that state.
The call is from Representative Jackie Walorski in the aftermath of a recorded undercover investigation by Lila Rose, president of Live Action Films, that revealed staffers trying to help what they believed to be a 13-year-old girl who was impregnated by a 31-year-old man, get an abortion -- allegedly pushing aside the responsibility to report it as statutory rape.
"Indiana state laws...are in place to protect that minor, and there were so many egregious violations from the employee not wanting to know the age of the supposed man that impregnated this minor, which in this case was a statutory rape charge, which is a felony in Indiana," she explains. "And then we have a mandatory reporting of a sexual abuse crime in Indiana which is a misdemeanor. They blew through that as well."
Jackie Walorski
Walorski, who notes that two clinics were caught red-handed, wants her call for an investigation to be taken seriously because of the number of potential victims. "I think that an agency like Planned Parenthood in the state of Indiana services, I believe something like, 95,000 women a year; and of those 95,000, just a little over 11,000 are girls under the age of 17," she points out.
She hopes the state will cut off Medicare funds to Planned Parenthood if the allegations prove to be true. ChristianNewswire.com notes Rose's footage is the second video revealed in a series of investigations that document "how secret abortions keep young girls trapped in cycles of sexual abuse."
Contact: Charlie Butts
Source: OneNewsNow
Source URL: http://www.onenewsnow.com
Publish Date: December 23, 2008
Link to this article:
http://www.ifrl.org/ifrl/news/081224_3.htm
An Indiana state representative wants a full-fledged investigation of Planned Parenthood facilities in that state.
The call is from Representative Jackie Walorski in the aftermath of a recorded undercover investigation by Lila Rose, president of Live Action Films, that revealed staffers trying to help what they believed to be a 13-year-old girl who was impregnated by a 31-year-old man, get an abortion -- allegedly pushing aside the responsibility to report it as statutory rape.
"Indiana state laws...are in place to protect that minor, and there were so many egregious violations from the employee not wanting to know the age of the supposed man that impregnated this minor, which in this case was a statutory rape charge, which is a felony in Indiana," she explains. "And then we have a mandatory reporting of a sexual abuse crime in Indiana which is a misdemeanor. They blew through that as well."
Jackie Walorski
Walorski, who notes that two clinics were caught red-handed, wants her call for an investigation to be taken seriously because of the number of potential victims. "I think that an agency like Planned Parenthood in the state of Indiana services, I believe something like, 95,000 women a year; and of those 95,000, just a little over 11,000 are girls under the age of 17," she points out.
She hopes the state will cut off Medicare funds to Planned Parenthood if the allegations prove to be true. ChristianNewswire.com notes Rose's footage is the second video revealed in a series of investigations that document "how secret abortions keep young girls trapped in cycles of sexual abuse."
Contact: Charlie Butts
Source: OneNewsNow
Source URL: http://www.onenewsnow.com
Publish Date: December 23, 2008
Link to this article:
http://www.ifrl.org/ifrl/news/081224_3.htm
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