Human Life International has lined up a list of major Vatican figures for its pro-life conference in Rome this year.
From October 5th to 10th, some of the most significant figures in the global pro-life and pro-family movement are scheduled to meet in Rome for the 5th World Prayer Congress for Life with the theme "The Light Shines in the Darkness".
Organisers say that the congress "responds concretely" to the attacks on life and family "by offering the tools needed for this battle."
Some of the Vatican's highest officials are scheduled to speak, including Cardinals Antonelli, of the Pontifical Council for the Family and Angelo Comastri, President of the Fabric of Saint Peter and Archpriest of St. Peter's Basilica. Archbishops Raymond Burke, an American pro-life hero and head of the Apostolic Signatura, and Zygmunt Zimowski, President of the Pontifical Council for Health Care Workers, will also speak.
Also on the roster are Klaus Küng, Bishop of Sankt Pölten, Austria, Auxiliary Bishop Andreas Laun of Salzburg, and Msgr. Philip J. Reilly, founder of the Helpers of God's Precious Infants and a veteran of the front lines of the pro-life movement.
Apart from the ecclesiastical realm, pro-life advocates from around Europe and across the Atlantic will speak, including John Smeaton, director of Britain's Society for the Protection of Unborn Children; Canada's Dr. Robert Walley, a gynecologist and founder of Mater Care International; Terrence McKeegan, Vice President and senior counsel for the Catholic Family and Human Rights Institute (C-FAM) in New York; and LifeSiteNews.com's own Editor-in-Chief John Henry Westen.
The conference will boast significant figures from the world's pro-life organisations, with Germany, Austria, Poland, the Philippines, Nigeria, Switzerland, Australia and Spain being represented.
Organisers say the conference will address a crucial conflict in modern society. The large questions, they say, are not being adequately answered by the abortionist culture: "Who is man? How is the world to be interpreted? Where is the God's place in the modern vision of the world?
"Two essentially incompatible, completely contradictory viewpoints, answer these fundamental questions with which mankind has always struggled."
The anti-Christian and pro-abortion forces of the world, they said, "can be classified as inhumane humanism. Faith and Reason enlightened by faith play no role in this framework."
Organizers say the 5th His World Prayer Congress for Life "wants to be a clear signs of the times, in that it will clearly identify the threats of the anti-culture of death, in order to then show more decisively the path of healing and salvation. Concretely praying and sacrificing, we make our way along this path to promoting the Culture of Life."
Contact: Hilary White Source: LifeSiteNews.com Date Published: August 11, 2010
A pro-life Face the Truth Tour has made a stop in Rockford, Illinois.
Rockford is the home of the Northern Illinois Women's Clinic, which has gained nationwide attention for the over-the-top, anti-Christian antics of the owner. About 75 demonstrators have been on hand holding signs of aborted babies. Pro-Life Action League spokesman Eric Scheidler reports that his group has encountered some problems.
"We had a police officer actually order one of our volunteers to take down an American flag that she had posted on her sign. We did not comply with that order and nothing came of it. It was totally unconstitutional," he explains. "The same police officer also ordered somebody to stop photographing the goings on -- also an unconstitutional demand, which was not obeyed."
He notes that there have also been negative comments from passers-by. "Even people who don't like what we're doing with the graphic signs should recognize and understand that if we weren't doing this, the First Amendment would be a lot smaller than it is," Scheidler contends.
However, Kevin Rilott, a local pro-lifer who has demonstrated at the clinic for years, takes a positive view. "We're receiving more positive responses from the passersby than we ever had before -- a lot of thumbs up, a lot of 'good jobs.'" He says there have been a "couple of negative responses, but I'd say it's about 4-to-1 positive."
Rilott assures the group will continue with its prayers and demonstrations until the clinic closes its doors.
Contact: Charlie Butts Source: OneNewsNow Date Published: August 11, 2010
By now probably most of you know that Oscar Award winning actress Patricia Neal died yesterday reportedly of lung cancer. I am old enough to remember many of her films, some of which are genuine classics. My own favorites occupy the two ends of the spectrum: The Day the Earth Stayed Still, and Hud, the film for which she won her Oscar.
Ms. Neal's death at age 84 is of particular relevance to us because of the abortion she had as a young actress. In a life filled with tragedies--including a child who suffered major brain injuries, another child who died from measles, and three devastating strokes--she never forgot the abortion.
The following is from introductory remarks made by Monsignor Jim Lisante at the 2003 Proudly Pro-Life Awards Dinner...
Monsignor Lisante:
I met Patricia Neal over 20 years ago, and we have become good friends ever since. One time when she was on my television show, I said to her, "Pat, in so many ways you are a female Job." She had, as you know, several strokes which put her in a coma for a month. She had a daughter who died of the measles at the age of seven. She had a son who was hit when he was an infant by a car in New York City, and he remains alive but brain-damaged and will be forever. Another daughter who suffered from drug and alcohol addiction; a husband who was great to her once she had the strokes, but he ultimately left her for a younger woman.
And I said, "In your life, Pat, if there was one thing you could change, what would it be?" And Patricia Neal said, "Father, none of the things you just mentioned." But she said, "Forty years ago I became involved with the actor Gary Cooper, and by him I became pregnant. As he was a married man and I was young in Hollywood and not wanting to ruin my career, we chose to have the baby aborted." She said, "Father, alone in the night for over 40 years, I have cried for my child. And if there is one thing I wish I had the courage to do over in my life, I wish I had the courage to have that baby."
Patricia Neal has put herself on the line in saying to many, many women who have experienced abortion or thought about abortion, "Don't make my mistake. Let your baby live." What's particularly painful, but poignant in this story is that some years later, Patricia became good friends with Maria Cooper, the only child of Gary Cooper and his wife. And Maria Cooper said, "You know, I know you had the affair with my father and I have long ago forgiven that. But one thing I find it hard to accept is that as an only child, I so wish that you'd had my brother or my sister. Because in so many ways, I wish so much that you had chosen life."
Contact: Dave Andrusko Source: NRLC Date Published: August 6, 2010
Planned Parenthood Golden Gate (PPGG), notorious for its involvement in the RU-486 death of Holly Anderson as well as the production of offensive television advertisements promoting contraception to teens, will lose its affiliation with the abortion giant for reasons that have not been made clear.
Last week, the Bay Citizen reported that the Planned Parenthood Federation of America board had voted to revoke their trademark from the affiliate. Karen Ruffato, PPFA vice president of affiliate services, said PPGG was "not meeting our standards for administrative and fiscal management."
PPGG, which operates seven clinics in California, says it will continue operations at each site.
The group is known for its advertisements geared towards promoting contraception to teens, which have been criticized by Christian and pro-life advocates for mocking religion and depicting violence against pro-life demonstrators. One cartoon advertisement depicted a "superhero for choice" that killed caricatures of an abstinence-only advocate and pro-life sidewalk counselors with a gun that shoots condoms.
In addition to pushing "pro-choice" ads, PPGG tried to shut down pro-life advertisements by the U.S. Catholic Bishops' Second Look Project, saying the ads "tout lies and contain gross inaccuracies" and demanding that local radio stations cease running them.
The San Francisco organization was also implicated in the death of Holly Patterson, an 18-year-old who succumbed to septic shock one week after taking the RU-486 abortion drug. After taking the drug, Patterson experienced severe cramping, bleeding, and vomiting, but was only encouraged to take more painkillers by the Planned Parenthood clinic's hotline. After calling again, the clinic encouraged her to go to the emergency room if the pain continued; an emergency room doctor simply prescribed more painkillers. Patterson died three days later.
"It's a sad day when a father buries his daughter because she lacked information to make an informed decision, suffered in silence and paid the ultimate price with her life," Holly's father Monty Patterson, who filed a lawsuit naming PPGG as a defendant over his daughter's death, said in a 2009 interview. Mr. Patterson insists that his daughter was not adequately informed by Planned Parenthood before taking the dangerous drug.
PPGG was also among several Planned Parenthood clinics found to have conducted clinical trials on minor girls as young as 13. Jim Sedlak of the American Life League noted that the nature of the trials was suspect, as it would mean the abortion chain was aware of the minor girls' possible sexual activity with an adult, making Planned Parenthood liable to report it as sex abuse.
Contact: Kathleen Gilbert Source: LifeSiteNews.com Date Published: August 10, 2010
The annual Gallup Poll is out measuring how Americans view various moral and ethical issues. Here’s a list of those that are of concern to Secondhand Smoke. From the poll:
Morally Acceptable versus Morally Wrong
Issue
Morally Acceptable
Morally Wrong
Abortion:
38%
50%
Assisted Suicide:
46%
46%
Wearing Fur:
60%
35%
Animal Research:
50%
34%
ESCR:
59%
32%
Cloning Animals
31%
63%
Suicide:
15%
77%
Cloning Humans
09%
88%
Of course, this isn’t the same as stating what should be legal or against the law.
Still, I am heartened by the assisted suicide support being under 50%, not surprised by the larger number of people that think abortion is immoral, since that tracks with recent polling elsewhere, and dismayed that 34% think testing on animals is morally wrong. I am not happy, but not surprised, by the ESCR margin, and doubt the 9% support for human cloning includes therapeutic cloning–people are thinking of cloned babies with that question (although past polls have shown that majorities oppose human cloning for medical research but not by such a wide margin).
Once upon a time, the idea of euthanasia and assisted suicide were only theoretical. Then came the Roe v Wade decision in 1973. This decision has resulted in a multi-layered profound change in society. Our society used to be a culture of life, and the idea of killing by choice did not exist. Killing by choice was defined and recognized by everyone as murder pure and simple.
Illinois now has a Final Exit billboard in Hillside. What does this mean? It means self murder, as abortion, is now considered a choice in Illinois. "My Life. My Death. My Choice." is boldly proclaimed on billboards paid for by the Final Exit Network (FEN).
Wanting to be a compassionate people, the euthanasia advocates recognized they needed a face-lift. They used to be called the Hemlock Society, a group founded by Derek Humphrey to promote the legalization of assisted suicide and euthanasia. Now, funded by elitist including George Soros, their name changed to Compassion and Choices, with the same agenda, but with unlimited money.
This is a metamorphosis from Kevorkian's death machine in the back of his van, and the efforts of Australian physician Philip Nitschke, who travels the world teaching people how to commit suicide with his concoctions, "the peaceful pill". Australian Dr. Nitschke even believes, the peaceful pill should be made available to anyone who wants to die, including "troubled teens". A troubled teen? Would that be someone who's been turned down for the prom? Or perhaps someone who has lost their best friend in an accident? How about if they've had a disagreement with their parents? Is this the trouble teen the Doctor is targeting? How about a clinic right in the school to guide the troubled teen to the choice ...
But a new wrinkle in time has dawned. The message that used to be delivered from a van, or a peaceful pill, has sophisticatedly entered the professional world. Well funded by elitist, with a promotion from well respected medical journals, the euthanasia movement has removed it's wrinkles.
Illinois has a FEN billboard, as we've previously mentioned; because all social engineering is preceded by verbal engineering. The statements of the billboards are smoothing out the wrinkles of the euthanasia movement, in a highly emotional yet professional way. The message "My Life. My Death. My Choice" advertises and promotes a person's right to have total control of their life and their death, with a very subliminal yet overt message. What a humanistic statement. But then, perhaps our country has already become humanistic in its' thinking.
Just as abortion on demand was framed by the word choice, so too, the euthanasia movement presents a clear and present danger, by also framing its' issue on choice. Illinois may be faced shortly with a legislative choice. Let's wait and see.
The USA has abdicated good ethics by allowing IVF to go virtually unregulated. The consequences are profound and growing. Rather than being a medical treatment for otherwise infertile married couples, IVF has become a lifestyle enhancer permitting parents to shop for the child they want like a breed of dog, rent wombs, eugenically select out unwanted children, expose young women to the pronounced, if rare, dangers to life, limb, and fertility by selling or donating their eggs, and is insinuating the crass values of naked consumerism into family life in which the unwanted are tossed away like so much medical waste.
And now we are developing a profoundly sexist market in gender selection IVF. From the story:
MEET the doctor who is making Scots’ dreams of designing the perfect baby come true. Dr Jeffrey Steinberg reveals five couples from Scotland have travelled to his US clinics in the past year to have a £13,000 procedure which allows them to choose the sex of their child. Sex selection in countries such as Scotland is banned unless there’s a medical reason, which provides Dr Steinberg’s clinics in New York and Los Angeles with brisk business from abroad. Now couples who suffer from gender disappointment are taking out loans and even remortgaging their homes to use in-vitro fertilisation to balance their families and get the girl or boy of their dreams.
Well, so much for unconditional love. And if the doctor makes a mistake, what’s next; “wrongful gender” lawsuits?
The doctor is “saddened” that Scotland believes in gender equality:
Despite this Dr Steinberg, who is a proud dad to two girls and a boy which, he explains, were conceived “the old fashioned way”, is baffled by the British ban on sex selection. He started training to become a doctor in Cambridge and feels saddened that Britain’s scientific trailblazers had to take a step back. He said: “They were at the forefront of in vitro technology. They’ve fallen so far behind but from the political end.” But he believes there’s no point in blocking change. What sparks fear today may seem normal tomorrow.
Those rationalizations–We’re falling behind! Don’t fear change, you’ll get used to it!–excuse anything. And once the remaining few vestiges of ethical control over IVF are swept away, the next step, I predict, will be to force IVF professionals to do whatever a customer (since a lot of this isn’t medical in the sense of treating illness or dysfunction) wants–as we have already begun to see imposed against doctors who wish to restrict their fertility treatments to the truly infertile who are married.
The answer isn’t opening more doors to preference sex selection, but closing the doors that are now wide open. Hmmmm. California could ban preference IVF sex selection by voter initiative. Now, there’s an idea!
Contact: Wesley J. Smith Source: Secondhand Smoke Date Published: August 7, 2010
Joanna Smith's article, "Deception Used In Counseling Women Against Abortion", suggests that when a pregnant woman who is leaning towards abortion walks into a pro-life counseling office to receive information about her options, she is misguided and deceived into making a pro-life decision.
An unbiased opinion will not be found in pro-life counsel. That means they are doing a good job.
A deceptive counsel will not be found either. The facts speak for themselves, unlike at an abortion clinic where women are given:
* Fabricated medical information * Pressure to have an abortion * and in some cases, disregard to serious legal offenses.
...all in an effort to influence a pregnant woman into an abortion...the clinics money-maker.
Smith makes an attempt to diminish a pro-life crisis pregnancy centers credibility in her article,
Aid to Women (the crisis pro-life counsel in question) describe themselves as non-judgmental sources of support for women with unplanned pregnancies, but use misleading information to discourage them from choosing abortion.
The point (that the pro-life counseling drives home is that) a woman will, without a doubt, suffer severe emotional pain following an abortion because it is always – always —the wrong decision.
I certainly hope they are driving that point home. Murdering your offspring is always a wrong decision. A decision that comes with significant emotional, physiological, and medical consequences.
She gives a terrifying description of the procedure itself. She shows pictures of an aborted fetus, limbs lying in a bloody mess.
Those pictures (warning - graphic images) should be shown. Those pictures are not shown at abortion clinics. In fact, Live Action discovered in their undercover video that women at an abortion clinic are told that the pictures are fakes.
Smith also points out that the pregnancy center will show a woman seeking an abortion, pictures of the baby's development at 6 weeks. Women should see what is happening and how their baby is developing. In most cases, women who seek abortion, do so in a frightened state of mind. How will I take care of the baby? How will I live my life? How will I live my dreams? It's been reported that 80% of women who see an ultrasound of their baby choose to make a pro-life decision, rather than an abortion.
I see no deception here.
Women in pro-life counsel are given information on the physical and psychological risks of abortion – including breast cancer, emotional trauma and infertility. Abortion is presented as a dangerous decision, while both adoption and parenting are seen as positive choices with minimal risk.
I see no deception here, either.
The erroneous information that pregnant women are given at abortion clinics have been well documented. Including telling pregnant women seeking counsel:
* That a heartbeat cannot be detected until the 8th or 9th week (the heart starts to beat in as little as 22 days from conception) * avoiding use of the term "abortion", instead calling it a surgical procedure to remove the contents of the uterus * continually telling women that it is not a baby, but merely a fetus * misinforming that abortion is a "very safe procedure", safer than carrying to term * and in this case, failing to report sexual abuse
The only deception in the pro-life vs pro-choice battle is that abortion is a solution. Unplanned pregnancy can be stressful. Becoming informed about real solutions is necessary when faced with an unplanned pregnancy. Abortion is a terrible offense that complicates a woman's life ten-fold.
Life is a blessing. Life is the solution.
Source: Laces for Life Date Published: August 7, 2010
Students for Life of America has discovered that this fall the NC Board of Governors is requiring all students who are enrolled in a University of NC public institution to have health insurance.
Students who do not already have private health insurance are required to buy a state selected policy from Pearce & Pearce, Inc. This mandated policy covers up to $500 toward elective abortions and has 80% PPO coverage for elective abortions.
The Pearce & Pearce policy costs students $744 per year or $375 per semester. The State of North Carolina will not be paying into the policy; rather, the students who are required to purchase the insurance will be required to pay the entire cost.
As a result, NC students will be forced to pay for elective abortions, regardless of their personal views on the issue.
Sarah Hardin, President of NC State U's Students for Life group was shocked at the news:
When I learned a week ago that this mandatory health coverage included the coverage of an elective abortion, I was dumbfounded. As a pro-life student at NC State, I am dismayed that my classmates will not only be forced to purchase health insurance, but will also be forced to pay into a pool that will go to aborting the children of other NC students.
Kristan Hawkins, Executive Director of Students for Life of America, is outraged with the discovery:
The fact that NC students are going to be forced to pay for elective abortions is appalling. Students should not be put in a situation like this in order to attend an educational institution. We demand that the NC Board of Governors reverse their policy and remove the abortion mandate immediately. Paying for abortions should not be a pre-requisite to learning."
This morning, SFLA released a new website, www.noabortioninhealthcare.com, dedicated to raising public awareness and mobilization around this issue. The website asks Americans to sign a petition against the forced abortion mandate and call the Chairman of the North Carolina Board of Governors, Hannah Gage, with the same message.
Source: Students for Life of America Date Published: August 10, 2010
After Solicitor General Elena Kagan was confirmed on Thursday as the next U.S. Supreme Court Justice, pro-life groups reacted to the move, with one calling it “deeply troubling.”
Fifty-year-old New York native Elena Kagan was confirmed by the Senate on Aug. 5 by a 63-37 vote which prevented a last minute delay or filibuster by Republican senators.
Kagan's lack of experience as a judge as well as her questionable stance on abortion has been a source of concern for pro-life leaders, many of whom reacted to the news on Thursday with alarm.
“Elena Kagan will emerge as one of the Supreme Court’s most agenda-driven, reliably pro-abortion Justices,” Dr. Charmaine Yoest, President & CEO of Americans United for Life Action said.
Commenting on what she believes to be a lack of thoroughness on the part of the Senate in evaluating Kagan, Yoest said that it “is deeply troubling that the Senate voted to confirm Ms. Kagan without fully investigating her role in manipulating medical evidence during the partial-birth abortion debate in 1996-97.”
“The American people want fair and impartial judges, and Justice Kagan’s negative impact will be felt for decades to come,” she asserted.
Adding to the criticism on Thursday was Susan B. Anthony List president Marjorie Dannenfelser who called Kagan's confirmation “tragic.”
“Today the Senate confirmed to the highest court a candidate without judicial experience and with a concerning history of promoting a pro-abortion agenda over the rule of law and the Constitution,” Dannenfelser said. “From the outset of the Senate hearings, the SBA List called upon Senators to hold Elena Kagan to the standard of interpreting the Constitution, as opposed to advancing a personal ideological preference.”
“Her confirmation is tragic news for women, the unborn and the American pro-life majority,” the SBA List president added.
Family Research Council president Tony Perkins also commented on Aug. 5, saying that "Elena Kagan will bring a radical judicial philosophy and a history of sharp-edged political maneuvering to the nation's highest legal bench.
"She has shown repeatedly that she will do exactly what she says a judge should not - creatively reinterpret the written text of the Constitution according to her own convictions,” Perkins asserted.
Kagan is slated to be sworn into her lifetime position as the nation's 122th Supreme Court Justice this Saturday.
Source: CNA/EWTN News Date Published: August 5, 2010
Six abortion clinics filed a federal lawsuit Friday, challenging two laws which recently passed by overwhelming margins the Louisiana legislature.
One law requires ultrasound exams be given to women considering abortion.
Benjamin Clapper, director for the Louisiana Right to Life Federation, believes the ultrasound bill will withstand legal scrutiny.
“On one hand, we’re frustrated that it slows down the progress towards offering women solid, good information,” Clapper said, “but, on the other hand, we know that the public is going to be educated about this information.”
Gene Mills, executive director of the Louisiana Family Forum, said there’s a sense of desperation among abortion activists, especially in light of unique and advancing technology.
“It’s making it very difficult to hide information from women,” Mills said. “I’m kind of surprised they decided to come against the Woman’s Right to Know law. I believe the court will come down in favor of life and in favor of Louisiana legislative action.”
Source: CitizenLink Date Published: August 9, 2010
Although age must have been a factor in Justice Stevens stepping down from the United States Supreme Court, no doubt his leaving was timed to allow his replacement to be chosen by a president of a similar ideological bent. While Stevens could have rolled the actuarial dice for another year or two of Obama's term, the prospect of electoral disaster for Democrats in the Senate this November, leading to an uphill confirmation battle for future Obama nominees, could very well have hastened his departure.
Obama described Justice Stevens as "brilliant, non-ideological, pragmatic" and one who "applied the Constitution and the laws of the land with fidelity and restraint." The "non-ideological" Justice Stevens's legacy includes, among other things, defending abortion rights and expanding constitutional protection for homosexual activity. In a similar "non-ideological" vein, Obama nominated Elena Kagan, the current Solicitor General and former dean of Harvard Law School, as Stevens's replacement. On August 5, 2010, the Senate confirmed Ms. Kagan by a vote of 63 to 37.
Since May 2009, Kagan has served in the Obama Administration and has no doubt been well-groomed for her role as supreme court justice in the eyes of the one who nominated her. Her lack of real-world experience on either side of the bench left little in the way of a paper trail by which the Senate could gauge her principles and judicial philosophy. However, during her confirmation hearings, pro-life groups uncovered and exposed evidence of her extreme pro-abortion bias, which led her to use her position in the Clinton White House to manipulate the factual record in the first partial birth abortion case, directly affecting the outcome of that case. See www.aul.org/initiative/scotus-nominee/.
"Although less than 50% of the country supported her confirmation, little could be done to stop it with a Democrat-controlled pro-abortion Congress," states Dana Cody, President and Executive Director of Life Legal Defense Foundation. The balance of power on the Court will not shift, and Kagan may not initially have the judicial experience to be the calculating strategist that Stevens was. Even so, the right to life will still not be championed by a majority of the Court.
Contact: Dana Cody Source: Life Legal Defense Foundation Date Published: August 6, 2010
Charges against the first person arrested under Chicago's new "bubble zone" ordinance have been dismissed.
Staff at the Planned Parenthood clinic called police when they saw a man in a prayerful pose. Thomas More Society attorney Peter Breen represented him.
"The city of Chicago arrested Joe Holland, who was a graduate student at Northwestern University in chemistry, for being in disorderly conduct for standing outside of an abortion clinic -- in this case the Planned Parenthood in Chicago -- and praying," Breen explains.
The attorney believes the case could have been a test of the bubble zone law, which prohibits pro-life protesters from approaching within eight feet of a person without consent "for the purpose of passing a leaflet or handbill to display a sign to, or engaging in oral protest, education or counseling."
But Breen reports that according to witnesses and an available video, Holland did nothing "to justify arresting him [or] booking him. He was placed in a squad care, taken to the police station. He was kept for five hours in the police station. This man did nothing wrong."
The video shows that Holland approached no one, so the bubble zone ordinance does not apply. And because it is not illegal to pray on a sidewalk, the charge has been dismissed. Meanwhile, David Avignone, a pro-lifer who faces similar charges, has a court date August 30.
Breen points out that the Thomas More Society has challenged the constitutionality of the bubble zone ordinance in federal court, a proposition with which the American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois agreed.
Contact: Charlie Butts Source: OneNewsNow Date Published: August 9, 2010
Pro-life groups are rallying behind the Chicago branch of the Catholic Campaign Human Development (CCHD), praising the organization for instituting real reform that they say should be taken as an example by CCHD nationwide.
CCHD, the U.S. bishops' domestic anti-poverty program, has come under intense fire in the last year after reports that they have been funding numerous groups that promote abortion, contraception, same-sex "marriage" or other activities at odds with Catholic teaching.
But the Chicago diocesan office "went on the offensive for reform" after director Rey Flores came on one year ago, said Mary Strom, executive director of the Women's Center, which is a Chicago-based network of crisis pregnancy centers. Flores committed himself to defunding any group opposing Catholic teaching, particularly on life and family issues, and to giving funds to local pro-life groups, contrary to previous CCHD practice.
"Rey actually reached out to his greatest critics," said Strom, "and he challenged them to recommend groups that they felt met the goal of CCHD and were worthy of receiving grants."
Normally, 75 percent of the CCHD funds collected in a diocese are sent to CCHD's national office for distribution nationwide; but with many concerned about the use of funds by CCHD national, Flores has made it possible for people to mail in their donation and request that the funds stay in Chicago. Donations can also be directed specifically to life and family initiatives, economic development, or human development.
Flores has been successful so far in reducing the national cut to 50%.
Cardinal Francis George, the Archbishop of Chicago and president of the U.S. Bishops' Conference, has supported the changes, changes which are particularly significant in light of the fact that Chicago is where CCHD first started in 1969; Chicago also still receives the largest collection among the dioceses every year.
Through CCHD's support, Strom's Women's Center will be upgrading to a 4D ultrasound machine. "It's such a great teaching tool," said Strom. "It gives the women the opportunity to know the truth before they make such a devastating choice."
They have also awarded a grant to Aid for Women, which operates the only pro-life pregnancy resource center in the downtown area. Susan Barrett, the center's executive director, said they recently had a gathering of the Chicago CCHD grantees and she was impressed by the quality of the groups. "It was very impressive, and definitely all the organizations seem to be in line with the values and teachings of the Church," she explained.
In addition to pregnancy resource centers, they have also committed to supporting pro-life activism. The Pro-Life Action League, which is specifically dedicated to witnessing and sidewalk counselling outside abortuaries, also received a $15,000 grant this year. Founder Joe Scheidler, renowned as one of the pro-life movement's pioneers, had nothing but praise for the reforms at CCHD Chicago, emphasizing that they are working to change their whole image.
Scheidler noted that his group has boycotted CCHD in the past, but said they are now intent on supporting Flores' efforts. While he realizes that Catholics will continue to be wary of CCHD, Scheidler said his group is "trying to publicize the fact that there's been a big change [in Chicago]."
"Hopefully within a few years other dioceses will follow suit and clean it up," he added.
All three pro-life leaders insisted that their work is fundamental to CCHD's aim to "end the root causes of poverty," pointing out that single motherhood is the greatest indicator of poverty.
Barrett explained, for example, that they offer a mentoring program through which they help women develop a plan for their future. "Quite often there are economic reasons for why they are considering abortion, … and so we're trying to address that," she said.
Ann Scheidler, Joe's wife and League vice president, explained that for women seeking abortion, sidewalk counselling is "almost the only place that they are treated with dignity." "The sidewalk counsellor gives her that dignity that she needs to be able to hold her head up and take control of her life and be empowered to make the choice for life," she said.
"I hope that [the reforms] will spread to the national level and I think there will be a lot of good fruits that result," said Strom. "People need to be supportive of this type of effort. … [Flores has] taken a lot of heat on both sides, and I think he's done a great job of really focusing on the whole picture."
Michael Hichborn of American Life League, who has been a key member of the Reform CCHD Now coalition, said they are encouraged by the steps being taken in Chicago. "Chicago CCHD is taking real reform seriously and has already taken steps to ban several pro-abortion, pro-homosexual, and pro-Marxist groups from funding," he said.
Contact: Patrick B. Craine Source: LifeSiteNews.com Date Published: August 6, 2010
A week after the Advertising Standards Authority issued a statement refusing to credit complaints about Marie Stopes TV abortion advertisements, the country's largest abortionist group is at the center of a controversy again. The Daily Mail has revealed that Marie Stopes employees are being offered free abortions as a regular part of the organization's employee benefits package.
Marie Stopes International (MSI) employs 430 people in nine centers around Britain, with the bulk of its funding coming from the British taxpayer, to the order of £30 million annually.
A Marie Stopes employee told the Daily Mail, "What you get as a benefit of working here is access to medical services, not just abortions. It's because we are a medical services provider that people who work here get access to those services.
"It's not odd. It's there if you have got a need. It's a positive thing."
The MSI website says, "Team members, their partners and dependants will be able to access MSI's core services (abortion, male/female sterilisation, and family planning) without charge."
The complete benefits package includes a retirement pension, five weeks paid holiday a year, a cut-rate gym membership, reduced rates at theme parks and an annual medical check-up for £10. Also included are a loan of up to £2,600 to defray public transport costs, childcare vouchers and life insurance.
Anthony Ozimic, of the Society for the Protection of Unborn Children (SPUC), called it "macabre" and "sick" to provide employees with abortions, saying, "Abortion is the killing of unborn children, not a job perk."
Ozimic said that when viewed in conjunction with Marie Stopes' successfully skirting the advertizing restrictions on abortion adverts, the abortion offer for employees shows that the organization "is a cynical abortion business, not the supportive sexual health service it claims to be."
London-based Marie Stopes International is a non-governmental organization that boasts of being active in abortion and contraception distribution in 42 countries and claims to be responsible for the great majority of abortions in the UK and abroad. Marie Stopes is especially active in developing countries, spreading the population control dogma that the cure to poverty is to have fewer children. In Nepal, the local Marie Stopes affiliate committed 70 percent of all abortions between 2004 and 2007. The group was also responsible, between 2001 and 2006, for 50 percent of all female sterilizations and 45 percent of all (male and female) sterilizations.
Contact: Hilary White Source: LifeSiteNews.com Date Published: August 9, 2010
Two abortionists facing possible revocation of their medical licenses in Kansas have surrendered their licenses.
Late-term abortionists Shelley Sella and Susan Robinson faced 11 allegations before the Kansas Board of Healing Arts for alleged illegal actions. Cheryl Sullinger of Operation Rescue tells OneNewsNow that was while they worked for late Wichita abortionist George Tiller.
"So both of these ladies have now cancelled their Kansas licenses, and that places them outside the disciplinary jurisdiction of the state of Kansas," the pro-life activist explains. "So it looks to us like they dumped their licenses so that they would be out of reach of any discipline."
Both women reportedly are now operating a late-term abortion facility in Albuquerque and are under the watchful eye of pro-life prayer warriors there.
"Both [Sella and Robinson] had a tendency to be involved in abortions of questionable legality and shady abortion practices in the past," says Sullinger. "We know that their current employer in Albuquerque, Curtis Boyd, boasts of having done thousands of illegal abortions prior to Roe v. Wade -- so these are people who all have a back history of flouting the law."
According to Operation Rescue, the women are aborting babies in Albuquerque weeks and sometimes "just days before their due dates."
Contact: Charlie Butts Source: OneNewsNow Date Published: August 9, 2010
Yesterday afternoon, in a wake of national attention to the case, the Thomas More Society secured a dismissal of all charges against the first arrestee under the city's "bubble zone" ordinance, which prevents certain types of picketing activity outside local abortion clinics. Joseph Holland, a Northwestern University graduate student, was arrested outside Planned Parenthood's Near North Side facility on July 3 after the facility's staff called the police and claimed he violated the ordinance by praying on the public sidewalk.
"We are pleased that the City of Chicago has dismissed these false and baseless charges against Joe Holland," said Peter Breen, Thomas More Society executive director and legal counsel. "The First Amendment protects prayer on a public sidewalk in Chicago the same as in any other city in the country. We hope that the city will cease the suppression of pro-life speech under the 'bubble zone' ordinance and dismiss the lone remaining case, brought against David Avignone, who was arrested a few days after Joe."
The "bubble zone" ordinance prohibits approaching within eight feet of a person without consent "for the purpose of passing a leaflet or handbill to, displaying a sign to, or engaging in oral protest, education, or counseling." Witnesses and a video of the incident showed Holland standing stationary and praying, but not leafleting, picketing or sidewalk counseling.
Thomas More Society attorneys are also representing David Avignone, the second arrestee under the "bubble zone" ordinance, who was arrested the same week as Holland. Avignone's first court appearance is August 30.
Contact: Stephanie Lewis Source: Thomas More Society Date Published: August 3, 2010
Dick Van Dyke, legendary Emmy-award winning actor, is speaking up in support of adult stem cell research. He will be a spokesperson for the Cell Therapy Foundation, and will focus on educating the public that adult stem cells are leading to new therapies for many diseases. Mr. Van Dyke said:
"I am truly impressed by the potential that adult stem cell research has already shown and am hopeful that by getting the message to more people, we can fund additional research that could positively impact thousands of lives around the world."
Dick Van Dyke is known for numerous movie and TV projects that showcased his singing, dancing, and comedic talents. He is also an avid graphic artist and animation hobbyist, and will use those interests in publicizing adult stem cells as well.
Combining all of those gifts, here is one of his great scenes from Mary Poppins...
A Senate committee has forwarded to the full chamber legislation that would entrench repeal of a ban on federal funds for organizations that perform or promote abortions overseas.
The Appropriations Committee approved an amendment by Sen. Frank Lautenberg, D.-N.J., that would codify President Obama's 2009 reversal of the Mexico City Policy. The July 29 vote in support of the overall State and Foreign Operations spending bill that included the amendment was 18-12.
If the amendment bill is passed and signed by President Obama, then a future pro-life president would not be able to reinstate the Mexico City Policy with an executive order. It would require congressional action -- a much taller hurdle.
When it was in effect, the policy prohibited international family planning organizations from receiving federal funds unless they agree not to perform or counsel for abortion or lobby in order to liberalize the pro-life policies of foreign governments. Opponents call it the "global gag" rule.
Obama struck down the policy during his first week in the White House in 2009. A subsequent president could reinstate the policy, however. If Lautenberg's amendment becomes law, new congressional action and a presidential signature would be required to overturn it.
The Mexico City Policy has had a see-saw history. Initiated by President Reagan and announced at a conference in Mexico City in 1984, it remained in force until 1993, when President Clinton rescinded it on his second full day in the White House. President George W. Bush reinstated it exactly eight years later.
Only two organizations -- the International Planned Parenthood Federation and Marie Stopes International -- refused to abide by the Mexico City Policy during the recent years it was in effect and consequently were refused the funds, according to Democrats for Life of America. There were 650 organizations that accepted federal money under the restrictions, Democrats for Life reported.
Reaction to the committee's action broke down as expected, with pro-life advocates opposing it and pro-choice activists favoring it. Among the organizations in support of Lautenberg's amendment are Planned Parenthood Federation of America, NARAL Pro-choice America, the ACLU, Sexuality Information and Education Council of the United States (SIECUS), Sierra Club, the General Board of Church and Society of the United Methodist Church, and the Unitarian Universalist Association of Congregations.
Among the groups that back the Mexico City Policy are the Southern Baptist Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission, National Right to Life, Americans United for Life, and the Family Research Council.
Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council, said the spending bill includes other concerns for pro-lifers. He pointed to its inclusion of $55 million for the United Nations Population Fund, which had its funding blocked during the final seven years of the Bush administration for its support of China's coercive population control program. Perkins also cited a $24 million increase for the U.S. Agency for International Development, which he said has been "illegally lobbying to legalize abortion in Kenya's new constitution."
Contact: Tom Strode Source: Baptist Press Date Published: August 3, 2010
Kenyans head to the polls Wednesday to vote in a referendum that will determine the East African nation's future: whether it will accept a constitution that will open the door to expanding legal abortion, or reject it and draft a new constitution that conforms more to the nation's pro-life values.
Despite an aggressive grassroots campaign by an ecumenical grand alliance of the nation's Christian churches, polls show that Kenyans will likely vote to approve the draft constitution on Wednesday.
Bloomberg news reports that a poll released by TNS Research International suggests Kenyans will vote 68 percent to 25 percent to approve the new constitution. The pollster interviewed 1600 individuals selected at random from Kenya's eight provinces between July 23-25; the poll has a margin of error of 2.45 percent.
Strategic Research, another polling firm, found that 66 percent of Kenyans would vote "yes" in the referendum, while 20 percent would vote "no." The group, which polled 2400 Kenyans selected at random between July 26-28, said their findings showed those pushing for a "yes" vote have a majority in every one of Kenya's provinces.
Nevertheless, Kenya's Christian leaders have been waging a hard-fought underdog campaign, having been outspent by their own as well as the U.S. government, and largely snubbed by Kenyan media.
But Marie Smith, Director of the U.S. Parliamentary Network for Critical Issues, which has been following the Kenyan churches' campaign efforts, told LifeSiteNews.com (LSN) that the outcome of the referendum is not a done deal, as it has been represented in Kenya's press.
"It's not over til it's over, and we won't know when it's over for a couple days," said Smith, explaining that the Kenyan government will have to hand-count many ballots as well as process electronic ballots in some areas.
"The press has totally shut out the 'no' campaign," said Smith, a fact that she said has made it difficult to get a trustworthy picture about where exactly Kenyans stand on the constitution.
While Kenyan news sources made a big deal over the conservative American Center for Law and Justice offering $10,000 to the "no" effort in Kenya, they have paid far less attention to the Obama administration's $23 million dollar "education effort" in Kenya through the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).
This effort, which includes pay-offs to advocacy groups in Kenya lobbying for the constitution's approval, has prompted a sharp rebuke from several U.S. Congressmen, who have called into question the legality of the Obama Administration's involvement in the Kenya referendum. The congressmen have cited a U.S. statute, the Siljander Amendment, that forbids USAID funding efforts overseas that lobby for or against abortion.
Article 26 of the proposed constitution would broadly permit abortion if the "health of the mother is in danger," "or if permitted by any other written law."
Rep. Chris Smith (R-N.J.) said on Friday the U.S. ought to have a "narrow role" in the August 4 referendum, to help guarantee a fair, free, and non-violent process. Instead, he said, the Obama Administration has committed the U.S. to "take sides by supporting, facilitating and funding projects designed to identify and motivate votes."
"And because the proposed constitution significantly alters existing abortion law in Kenya, expending U.S. taxpayer funds used in support of the 'Yes' campaign is also illegal," affirmed Smith.
"This Administration appears to have disregarded current law and is instead advocating for the ratification of a proposed constitution in Kenya that will expand access to abortion," said Rep. Joe Pitts (R-Penn.).
But whatever the outcome of the referendum, the "No" effort has done much to develop an unprecedented level of cooperation among Christian churches in Kenya, forging a new bond in defense of life.
Church leaders from different churches gathered last Friday at the Holy Family Basilica in Nairobi for an event hosted by John Cardinal Njue, the Catholic primate of Kenya. The various churches signed a document signifying their unified opposition to the draft constitution, as well as their intention to trust in Divine Providence, and to pray for a peaceful resolution, no matter which way the constitution is decided.
"We the Christian shepherds in Kenya reiterate our advice to all Kenyans to reject this proposed constitution in its entirety," said the document, signed by 30 churches. "It is true that there are many positive improvements in the proposed draft, but the good has been mixed with evil sections that affect the moral life and rights of this country in irreversible and fundamental ways. The proposed constitution does not safeguard the sacredness of human life, the sound and moral education of our children and religious equality."
Contact: Peter J. Smith Source: LifeSiteNews.com Date Published: August 3, 2010
