American Life League Associates Newsletter
October 22, 2007
Vol. 4, No. 42

From Associates

• Monthly Call for Life

  Don’t forget to make your monthly calls for life this Friday, November 2.

• Houston Coalition for Life

  HCL has recently added a new feature to its website: a blog spot. Read the latest musings from pro-life activists who have actually been outside of the local Planned Parenthood clinic, participating in the 40 Days for Life campaign.

• Movement for a Better America / Expectant Mother Care

  Two of our Associate groups teamed up this past weekend to host a benefit screening of "Bella" at the Regal Hadley Stadium 16 Theater in South Plainfield, New Jersey. MBA and EMC provided the community with an opportunity to see a really great new movie – one with a pro-life theme, at that – as well as help the pro-life cause.

  Proceeds from the joint project will help defray the costs of the hugely successful efforts both groups have made to promote the National 40 Days for Life Campaign in their area. What a great fundraising idea!

• Delaware Pro-Life Coalition

  In another example of fine collaboration, Delaware Pro-Life Coalition was one of a number of groups sponsoring the “Concert of Hope” held last month at the University of Delaware. Eric Genuis, a remarkably gifted composer and virtuoso pianist, performed along with his expert violinist, Eric Wuest.

  DPLC president Bess McAneny said of the performance: “I would highly recommend Eric for any event whereby people are looking for a moment in time to raise their spirits and give them hope in an all-too-often negative world. It was a night of uplifting excellence in music and beauty and the audience was truly transformed, as witnessed by their eagerness to visit with him afterwards and purchase his music. He left us inspired and challenged to a world becoming deaf to the beauty of human dignity.”

Tip of the Month – Pro-life Apologetics

Abortion is always wrong
By Judie Brown

The politician’s song has been sung so often for so long that it sounds quite logical – and even many fervent pro-lifers believe it. “I’m absolutely against abortion,” they insist, “except, of course, in cases of rape and incest.” They argue that is it somehow “compassionate” to offer the woman who is the victim of criminal activity the opportunity to eliminate the results of an immoral attack. The ultimate question, however, is “What about the baby?”

In simple terms, two wrongs do not make a right. A second wrong only makes a bad situation worse. Our abhorrence towards rape or incest engenders sympathy for the victim and rightly so. However, our sympathy and concern for the victim should not cloud our judgment on what is right or wrong. Also, the preborn baby equally deserves our sympathy and concern, especially under such challenging circumstances.

In rape or incest, promotion of “therapeutic abortion” is derived from an assumption one could correctly refer to as “murder-as-therapy.” However, even if an abortion could provide the assault victim temporary relief, there is no evidence to support the tenet that abortion provides long-term benefits. The mother is victimized twice. Any negative effects – physical, psychological or spiritual – arising from the abortion can only compound pre-existing problems. Also destroyed are the potentially positive benefits that may arise from unselfishly preserving the life of her child. And, of course, one cannot forget the tragedy and injustice of abortion in regard to the preborn child.

We must deal with a tragic situation in an appropriate manner. A negative event should be handled with a positive response. Killing a preborn baby is not and never can be a positive response to any situation. We must be clear as to what is negative in the case of an incest victim becoming pregnant; obviously, the act of incest is what is to be deplored.

In contrast, conception, regardless of the circumstances, is not negative: It is the creation of a new, unique and precious human being. Allowing preborn capital punishment for cases of rape punishes the innocent child more severely than the guilty rapist. An “innocent bystander,” if you will, is given a greater sentence than the perpetrator of the crime.

While abortion may seem to some like the best course of action for a mother after being assaulted, there is growing evidence that abortion harms the victim physically, psychologically and spiritually in the long term. Regardless of the father’s actions, the mother is still the mother. The baby is still her child. If we were to consider two infants, one conceived through marital intercourse, the other through forcible rape, would we say that one person was “more human” than the other? Of course not. The circumstances of a preborn child’s conception should not modify, let alone negate, his or her right to life. In other words, the preborn baby has the right to life, regardless of the circumstances under which he or she was conceived.

To summarize, murder is not a solution, even if the temporarily distraught mother believes it is. Please remember that the next time someone tells you that abortion, in these circumstances, is the right choice. Abortion is never the right choice. It is always a grave evil.

News

• US court rules pharmacists must have rights of conscience respected

  The rights of pharmacists and other health care professionals to refuse to dispense abortifacient drugs have taken a step forward. A long running dispute between the state of Illinois, pharmacy owners such as Walgreens and Wal Mart stores and several pharmacists who refused to dispense abortifacient drugs has resulted in an agreement that pharmacists must be allowed to opt out.

• New FDA documents reveal abortion pill RU-486 made in substandard Chinese plant when approved

  Evidence is mounting that the US Food and Drug Administration participated in cover-ups of health and safety violations and breaches of ethics in approving the abortion drug, RU 486 that has caused the death of at least six women in the US.

  The public interest group Judicial Watch has announced that newly acquired FDA documents, previously withheld by the FDA, show that the agency knew that the facilities owned by China’s Hua Lian Pharmaceutical Company to manufacture RU-486 were sub-standard at the time they were approved for use in August 2000.

• Embryos have souls, says stem cell scientist

  To me, the very fact that embryos produced in IVF clinics become babies and eventually adult humans means that they are human (and have a human soul) from the very beginning. It also means that they have a special moral status and should not be destroyed for any reason, even for the creation of ES cell lines. In contrast, an entity that by its very constitution cannot develop as a human organism does not have a soul (or its proper or 'substantial' form) and hence is not an embryo, not a human organism at all.

• Warning issued over human egg freezing

  Don't count on freezing eggs to offset a ticking biological clock just yet. So say new guidelines for fertility specialists that conclude the procedure remains highly experimental even though it is increasingly offered.

• Scientists: Pig cells could help diabetics

  Scientists at Washington University have transplanted embryonic pig pancreatic cells into diabetic monkeys, which could have major implications for the treatment of diabetes in humans.

  Dr. Marc Hammerman says the approach has reduced the animals' need for insulin injections and does not call for immunosuppression, which is a major problem in treating diabetes with transplantation.

Closing thought

Everyone who wants to live a godly life in union with Christ Jesus will be persecuted; and evil persons and imposters will keep on going from bad to worse, deceiving others and being deceived themselves. But as for you, continue in the truths that you were taught and firmly believe. You know who your teachers were, and you remember that ever since you were a child, you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to give you the wisdom that leads to salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching the truth, rebuking error, correcting faults, and giving instruction for right living so that the person who serves God may be fully qualified and equipped to do every kind of good deed.

— 2 Timothy 3:12-17