American Life League Associates Newsletter
October 1, 2007
Vol. 4, No. 38

New Associate

Please join me in welcoming the St. Vincent de Paul Catholic Church Respect Life Committee in Fort Wayne, Indiana to our network of ALL Associate groups. The primary mission of the St. Vincent de Paul RLC is to bring about greater respect for life at all stages and in all situations among both parish and surrounding community members. The committee seeks to accomplish this mission through awareness campaigns, educational programs, the distribution of pro-life materials and prayer. We look forward to working with the committee on their future endeavors.

From Associates

• Movement for a Better America

  Dennis Howard invites all fellow Associates to visit the MBA web site where you can find downloadable flyers, church bulletin inserts and posters (“mini-billboards”).

• Dubuque County Right to Life

  The DCRTL October 2007 newsletter is chock full of wonderful upcoming pro-life activities. The calendar included is so full, everyone should be able to find a way to participate in something. If your group is looking for ideas for activities, or for ideas on how to assemble a great newsletter, see this newsletter.

Pro-life Memorial Day

American Life League’s third annual Pro-life Memorial Day is being held today, Monday, October 1. This national event is a unique and meaningful day unlike any other because it’s devoted to the sole and solemn purpose of remembering the 48 million children killed through surgical abortion since the infamous Roe v. Wade decision in 1973.

Pro-life Memorial Day is an occasion to look back over the past 34 years and reflect upon what that Supreme Court decision has meant for our country; to reflect upon what legalized abortion has reaped for our society. It is a day for pro-lifers nationwide to pause and remember those who were never given a chance at life and who are not with us today because of this heinous decision.

Working to defend and protect the babies is a labor of love. Each of us must take time on this day to pray for an end to the tragedy of abortion, which has scourged our nation for the past 34 years.

So, regardless of where you are or what you are doing today, we hope and pray that you will pause at some point to reflect and remember the 48 million children killed by legal abortion in our country since 1973. We pray, too, that this day will serve to unite all who hold sacred the gift of life and renew our commitment to defending the most innocent among us.

News

• Deaths associated with HPV vaccine start rolling in, over 3500 adverse affects reported

  In just little over a year, the HPV vaccine have been associated with at least five deaths, not to mention thousands of reports of adverse effects, hundreds deemed serious, and many that required hospitalization.

  Judicial Watch, a US government watchdog, became concerned while noting large donations to key politicians originating from Merck. A freedom of information request from the group in May of this year discovered that during the period from June 8, 2006 - when the vaccines received approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration - to May 2007 there were 1,637 reports of adverse reactions to the HPV vaccine reported to the FDA.

  A subsequent request for information on adverse reactions to the HPV vaccine, covering the period from May 2007 to September 2007, found that an additional 1800 adverse reactions have been reported, including more deaths. Exactly how many more deaths occurred will be released in the coming days.

• Federal court says clinic did not violate parental rights

  A city health clinic did not violate a 16-year-old's rights or those of her parents when it gave her emergency contraception without notifying the couple, a federal appeals court said. The state is not obligated to encourage minors to seek parental advice, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit said in the 47-page ruling. The judges noted that the girl went to the city-run health center in Philadelphia voluntarily and could have called her parents before or during the visit. The ruling appears to be a first among federal circuits involving teen access to the morning-after pill at public health centers, lawyers on both sides said.

• Libel case to accuse Planned Parenthood

  A lawsuit against Planned Parenthood and its Chicago executive was filed last Tuesday, September 25, seeking $7.5 million for publicly accusing peaceful pro-life activists of having a record of advocating violence.

• Judge issues injunction against Missouri abortion law

  A federal judge issued a preliminary injunction barring the state from enforcing new regulations on abortion clinics until it can negotiate a compromise with abortion providers. The ruling by U.S. District Judge Ortrie Smith, of Kansas City, left attorneys for both the state and for abortion providers claiming victory.

• Georgia Supreme Court says abortion clinics can sue state for failure to pay

  Abortion clinics can sue the state for not paying for some patients who needed the procedures for medical reasons, the Georgia Supreme Court ruled September 24.

  A group of clinics and a physician filed suit against the state Department of Community Health for not reimbursing them under the Medicaid program when poor women with health problems underwent the procedure. The state currently will reimburse clinics for the procedure if the Medicaid-eligible patient is in danger of dying from the pregnancy or if she is the victim of rape or incest.

• NJ judge clears stem cell vote

  A judge rejected a bid by abortion opponents to halt New Jersey's plans to ask voters whether the state should borrow $450 million to fund stem cell research for 10 years.

  Superior Court Judge Neil H. Shuster found the November 6 ballot question was valid, clearing the way for the referendum that would approve public spending on federally restricted embryonic stem cell research and work on adult stem cells.

• The inconvenient truth about organ donations

  There has been growing concern over the past several years about increasingly aggressive measures undertaken to harvest human organs from dying patients. Dr. John, Shea, a Toronto physician who has specialized in researching the issue, has just completed a report, Organ donation: The inconvenient truth that sounds an alarm about the unethical – or at least highly questionable – practices of the organ transplant industry. The article is published in the September issue of Catholic Insight magazine.

Closing thought

I ask God from the wealth of His glory to give you power through His Spirit to be strong in your inner selves, and I pray that Christ will make His home in your hearts through faith. I pray that you may have your roots and foundation in love, so that you, together with all God’s people may have the power to understand how broad and long, how high and deep, is Christ’s love. Yes, may you come to know His love – although it can never be fully known – and so be completely filled with the very nature of God.

—Ephesians 3:16-19