NEWS SHORTS FOR THURSDAY
Disclaimer: The linked items below or the websites at which they are located do not necessarily represent the views of The Illinois Federation for Right to Life. They are presented only for your information.
Legislation Would Add Funding for Destructive Embryonic Stem-Cell Research
A bill recently reintroduced in the U.S. Senate would pour more federal funding into destructive embryonic stem-cell research.
Sens. Arlen Specter, R-Pa., and Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, are behind the Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act.
David Prentice, senior fellow for life sciences at the Family Research Council, said the bill supports “unethical and obsolete science.”
http://www.citizenlink.org/CLNews/A000009529.cfm
Girl Can See For First Time After Umbilical Cord Stem Cell Treatment
Dakota, who was born blind, is the first British patient to undergo the new type of therapy. The £30,000 ($42,590) treatment, which involves stems cells taken from an umbilical cord being fed into her forehead, has allowed her to see people, objects, colours and lights around her. Dakota suffers from Septo-Optic Dysplasia, which means the optic nerve does not develop properly, and has responded quicker than expected to the treatment. Her parents, Wilma, 28, and dad Darren, 34, are hoping she will continue to improve and have a life time of sight.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/4938179/Two-year-old-girl-can-see-for-the-first-time-following-stem-cell-treatment.html
7 Join YWCA's Hall of Fame Including Planned Parenthood Board Member
The Greater Lafayette YWCA honored seven individuals Tuesday night during its 35th annual Salute to Women banquet. According to Shannon White, executive director, the theme of the banquet was eliminating racism, empowering women. "We are working to remove boundaries from women of color because we know that when we do that, we remove boundaries from all women," she said. Jean Andres, Peg Dunkle, Zenephia E. Evans, JoAnn Rita Miller and Sandra Pearlman were all honored as Women of Distinction. Linda Cohen was the first woman to serve as president of Temple Israel and has served on many local and state boards, including Planned Parenthood of Indiana.
http://www.jconline.com/article/20090304/NEWS/903040325
The Ethic of Control: Margaret Sanger, Eugenics, and Planned Parenthood
The Planned Parenthood Federation of America (PPFA), despite coming under frequent attacks by pro-lifers, remains one of the most respected and well-funded organizations in the country. Add the International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF) to the equation, and you've got a billion-dollar industry in human fertility.
One would expect that the aims and agenda of such a huge organization would come under severe scrutiny, but Planned Parenthood has been immune from such questions, largely because its stated goals of population control and family planning are supposedly in agreement with America's interests at home and abroad. But is PPFA's stated agenda the whole story?
http://insidecatholic.com/Joomla/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=5480&Itemid=48
Mother of comatose woman: ‘My daughter is the most beautiful thing I could ever have’
The Paraguayan Catholic weekly “Cristo hoy” published the moving story of Carolina Ramirez who, like Eluana Englaro, has also been in coma for 17 years, after being injured in a car accident in 1991. Her mother says their faith sustains them and that her daughter “is the most beautiful thing I could have.”
When Carolina, or Carol, as her friends and family members affectionately call her, suffered her car accident she was studying accounting at college. She was very athletic and often spent time at the gym. Every day since she fell into a coma, her parents have been at her side thanking God for her life. They find the reasons for the death of Eluana in Italy to be incomprehensible.
Carol’s mother Ketty said their faith is what sustains their lives. “My daughter is the most beautiful thing I could have.” “I feel especially chosen by the Lord,” she added. Although her daughter will never be normal again, Ketty is grateful for the 21 years she was able to spend with her daughter and for the guardian angel that today watches over her.
“I don’t know what the father of that girl was thinking to make her die. The last thing I am going to do is choose euthanasia,” Ketty said in reference to Eluana Englaro. To view a Youtube video on Carolina, visit: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1xE73I1b2mc
http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/new.php?n=15284
Brazil Girl, Alleged Incest Victim, Aborts Twins
A 9-year-old girl who was carrying twins, allegedly after being raped by her stepfather, underwent an abortion Wednesday despite complaints from Brazil's Roman Catholic church. Police said the stepfather has been jailed since last week. Abortion is illegal in Brazil, but judges can make exceptions if the mother's life is in danger or the fetus has no chance of survival. Fatima Maia, director of the public university hospital where the abortion was performed, said the 15-week-old pregnancy posed a serious risk to the 80-pound (36-kilogram) girl.
http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2009/mar/04/brazil-girl-alleged-incest-victim-aborts-twins/
