American Life League Associates Newsletter
May 28, 2007
Vol. 4, No. 22

From Associates

• Pro-Life Wisconsin

  A brief, but notable, anecdote in last week’s Monday Update serves to remind pro-lifers that their efforts to save babies, though frequently not immediately recognized, are not in vain. During a peaceful picket of the Affiliated abortion clinic in Milwaukee the previous weekend, PLW supporters were approached by a woman who related her story from 20 years ago. She had arrived at the clinic, intent on aborting her unborn baby, and was persuaded by pro-life sidewalk counselors not to. The woman’s unborn child is now a sophomore at Marquette University on a full scholarship studying pre-med. PLW encourages all pro-lifers to keep fighting the good fight – ours is truly life-effecting, life-changing work!

From ALL Headquarters

• STOPP

  ALL’s STOPP office recently received a letter from a woman who regularly prays outside of the local Planned Parenthood clinic about a unique (and effective) tactic that members of her community have employed to enhance the visibility of the prayer group’s protest. One rainy morning, almost half of the group meeting to pray the rosary in front of Planned Parenthood arrived carrying red umbrellas. They noticed that they seemed to garner extra attention from passersby and decided that red would be a good color for them to adopt – red for the blood shed in the abortion clinic and red for the Holy Spirit inspiring them as they speak to the young mothers entering the clinic. Umbrellas, too, are a symbol of the tears shed for the innocent.

  It has been a year since the group agreed to bring their red umbrellas with them each week – rain or shine – and they are aware of at least one instance where a young woman visited the crisis pregnancy center nearby and informed the director that “the red umbrella ladies” sent her.

  Just as artists point out that a spot of red on a landscape makes a difference, these prayer warriors hope that their spots of red make a difference as well, no matter how slight, on the contemporary landscape.

  Adopting a similar “symbol” for your actions at Planned Parenthood or other local abortion facility is an excellent idea. The repeated use of such an item will draw extra attention to your protest, both by the community passing by as well as the media. Such a visual cue also will be a way to clearly distinguish your group from escorts that may be present. Finally, a symbol such as this will further unify the efforts of those who participate in your local fight.

  If your group meets regularly to pray, protest and/or picket outside of a Planned Parenthood facility in your area, the STOPP office wants to know. We are creating a database of all active protest sites so that we can help increase your numbers. Please e-mail STOPP@ALL.org and let us know your schedule as well as your contact information.

• Rock for Life

  Erik and Phil are getting ready to head out on the road for RFL’s Summer Tour. As of this writing, the RFL gang will be hosting booths at 18 different Christian music festivals coast to coast from now until Labor Day. In addition, this year RFL is sponsoring at least six Training and Activism Days which include a protest at the local Planned Parenthood abortion facility. The schedule will be posted soon at www.RockforLife.org, but June is shaping up like this:

  • June 14–16: Ichthus Festival — Wilmore, Kentucky
  • June 20–23: Alive Festival — Canal Fulton, Ohio
  • June 25–30: Cornerstone Festival — Bushnell, Illinois
  • June 27–30: Creation Northeast — Mt. Union, Pennsylvania

  If you’re in the area, stop by and visit!

News

• FDA approves period suppression pill

  The first birth-control pill meant to put a stop to women's monthly periods indefinitely won federal approval last Tuesday. Called Lybrel, it's the first such pill to receive Food and Drug Administration approval for continuous use. When taken daily, the pill can halt women's menstrual periods indefinitely and prevent pregnancies.

  Lybrel is the latest approved oral contraceptive to depart from the 21-days-on, seven-days-off regimen that had been standard since birth-control pill sales began in the 1960s. The pill, manufactured by Wyeth, is the first designed to put off periods altogether when taken without break.

  Wyeth plans to start Lybrel sales in July. The Madison, N.J., company said it hasn't yet determined a price for the 28-pill packs. The pill contains a low dose of two hormones already widely used in birth-control pills, ethinyl estradiol and levonorgestrel.

  Note: This “new” birth control pill is not any safer than older, regular forms; in fact, it may be more dangerous to women since there have been no long term studies to determine its effects. The article also points out that only one third of the women originally enrolled in the study completed it and did so with any degree of satisfaction. Of course, this pill, like all others before it, still works as an abortifacient and can therefore be deadly to preborn children.

• Experts question efficacy, ethics of DNA worldwide test that determines gender at six weeks' gestation

  The efficacy and ethical implications of a test that can determine the sex of a fetus at six weeks' gestation, launched last month by United Kingdom-based DNA Worldwide, are being questioned by some experts. DNA Worldwide is selling the test, called "Pink or Blue" online.

  The test, which is based on research published in the journal Human Genetics in 2005, analyzes fetal DNA in a pregnant woman's bloodstream. To administer the test, women provide a small blood sample on a specialized card that is then returned to a laboratory, and results are available in four to six days. According to DNA Worldwide, the test has a 98% accuracy rate when the instructions are followed properly. The test is not regulated by health officials in the United Kingdom and other countries because it is marketed as "informational" and not medical.

  Patrick O'Brien, spokesperson for the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, said, "The earlier in pregnancy that you do these tests, the less fetal DNA there will be and, possibly, the less accurate the test will be." O'Brien added that at six weeks' gestation, "it's questionable whether the technology is that good." Other experts say the test could have ethical implications if a woman chooses to have an abortion after learning the fetus is not the desired gender.

• Manipal claims stem cells breakthrough for Parkinson'

  Manipal Hospital in Bangalore claimed a breakthrough in treating Parkinson's disease with autologous stem cells drawn from the patient's bone marrow. It would extend the stem cell therapy to more medical challenges such as spinal cord injury and multiple sclerosis through an integrated department of stem cells, hospital officials told a news conference.

  The hospital presented Mr. Andrew Kisana, 58, a US-based former structural engineer progressively debilitated by the disease for 15 years. When he arrived in Bangalore for treatment in January 2006, he could barely walk, talk or control normal bodily motions, though mentally normal. The disease was spreading despite expensive medication, brain surgery and electronic brain implants.

  A composed Mr. Kisana walked in slowly and keyed in his verdict: "This treatment hits the root cause of the disease... like no other therapy."

  Manipal plans to formally present its successes at a neurological conference in Kolkata in October. "We are not making tall claims but we have had some success with two untreatable problems," Dr Venkararamana said. "We need to observe the long-term clinical effects in a large number of patients."

• FSU engineering professor growing bone in a lab

  A Florida State University engineering professor is looking to develop new technologies that could replace bone mass lost to osteoporosis, as well as treat traumatic bone injuries such as those suffered in automobile accidents or combat.

  Teng Ma, an associate professor of chemical and biomedical engineering at the Florida A&M University-FSU College of Engineering, and two colleagues have received an $824,000, four-year grant from the U.S. Department of Defense to research ways of generating bone cells in a laboratory that then could be transplanted into human patients.

  "The Department of Defense's main interest in this research is its potential for developing new treatments and therapies for military personnel who have suffered bone loss due to diseases or traumatic injuries," Ma said. "However, many other types of patients who suffer from bone diseases could benefit from this research as well."

  Ma's research involves growing human mesenchymal, or adult, stem cells in a laboratory using a device he has patented known as a perfusion bioreactor. Each stem cell has the ability to divide so as to produce a perfect copy of itself; the copy then can become a "workhorse" cell, such as a bone or nerve cell. By subjecting the stem cells to very specific conditions that mimic those they would encounter in the human body, he seeks to determine what type of cell they turn into—in this case, bone. The bone cells then would be combined with a biomaterial to create tissue similar in structure and density to that of actual bone.

Closing thought

The Lord is my protector; He is my strong fortress. My God is my protection, and with Him I am safe. He protects me like a shield; He defends me and keeps me safe. He is my savior; He protects me and saves me from violence. I call to the Lord, and He saves me from my enemies. Praise the Lord!

—Samuel 22:2-4