From Associates:
- Culture of Life USA, Inc.—Prolifeletters.com has officially been launched! In just its first few days of operation, several e-mails commending the site's content have been received. The new web site provides inspiration, encouragement and technical assistance to pro-lifers desiring to submit letters to the editor. See www.prolifeletters.com and start sending your letters!
- Pro-Life Wisconsin—In response to the many Wisconsin college campuses that have promoted so-called "emergency contraception" to students, urging them to "prepare" for spring break by stocking up on the medication, Pro-Life Wisconsin placed its own ads to educate students about the dangers of EC. PLW's ads showed a college-age male and female, along with the words "Emergency contraception is a powerful, high dose of steroids that tricks a woman's body into thinking it is pregnant. These steroids can cause chemical abortions and deadly blood clots." The ads further encouraged students to "Make smart choices the night before… That way you won't have any emergencies to deal with the morning after!"
The responses from three newspapers demonstrate that college student newspapers are not always the bastions of free speech they pride themselves on being, because they rejected the PLW ad. The Marquette University Tribune objected to the words "chemical abortion" while a representative from the UW-Stout Stoutonia stated, "We try to stay away from controversial subjects." The UW-La Crosse Racquet also rejected the ad.
"The subject of human life is not controversial, just the truth," said Virginia Zignego, PLW's communications director. "This is censorship. It truly is," added Peggy Hamill, PLW's state director. "When newspaper editors have a problem with the medical term ‘abortion', there is something really wrong here."
See local press coverage at http://badgerherald.com/news/2008/03/12/college_ad_censorshi.php.
- Pharmacists for Life International—As many of you may know, Pharmacists for Life member John Lane was called to appear before the Montana Board of Pharmacy review panel last week to answer 11 complaints against him that were filed with the Board. Complainants stated that it was "ridiculous" that John would not carry and dispense oral and emergency contraceptives at his pharmacy. They also demanded that he be cited for "unprofessional conduct."
Much to our relief, the Board proceedings went quite well. None of the complainants made themselves available, either in person or via telephone. The Board members made it clear that they wanted only to discuss the complaints and how they related to state's current pharmacy regulations. The Board members agreed that John had gone above and beyond what was required of him to notify both patients and the community of his pharmacy's policy change. The Board saw fit to dismiss all of the complaints and, furthermore, logged them as prejudiced!
See the Alliance Defense Fund's press release at http://www.alliancealert.org/2008/03/10/complaints-against-montana-pharmacist-dismissed-after-adf-intervenes/.
Tip of the Month –Abortion when a child might have a disability?
by Judie Brown
One of the most common questions expectant parents hear is whether they are hoping for a baby girl or a baby boy. Their common response is not surprising: "As long as the baby is healthy, we'll be happy." But what happens when the baby is not healthy? What is the attitude of parents whose preborn child is diagnosed with spina bifida or Down's syndrome? Can abortion ever be a justified "treatment" for parents expecting a child with disabilities?
Modern technology offers today's parents the opportunity to "see" into the womb. In many ways, these tests can be useful. Treatment may be undertaken, including fetal surgery. Special medical teams can be available at the child's birth to ensure that delivery goes smoothly and that help is available, if needed. Parents can prepare themselves and their family spiritually, psychologically, emotionally and financially for the birth of a child with special needs. These are all good reasons for prenatal testing.
Increasingly, however, prenatal testing is not done with these reasons in mind. It is done with the intent to "cure the disease" by killing the child. In this respect, prenatal testing is wrong. Such "search and destroy" tactics are based on a eugenics mentality, which says that some human lives—those that do not meet an arbitrary standard of mental or physical health—are not worth living. When abortion is used to solve the problem of a disability, it is discrimination of the most severe kind. These children are not merely discriminated against for their disability; they are killed because of it. Consider the suggestion of killing a person with Down's syndrome in order to "cure" him. To most people, the idea is repugnant. Preborn children diagnosed with disabilities deserve to be treated with the same respect as born people with or without a disability.
Anencephaly is a condition in which part of a baby's brain fails to develop. Most children with anencephaly die within hours or days after birth. Would abortion be acceptable in this circumstance? Quite simply, no. Abortion is direct, intentional killing. And killing is always wrong! The pro-life response in this situation is: Always care. Never kill.
To one extent or another, every human being is disabled. Some people struggle with math or spelling and are slower in school. Some are physically uncoordinated and have difficulty in sports. Other people have difficulty with interpersonal relationships and cannot work well with others. No matter what the individual differences, all people share a common humanity. It is this factor that compels us to respect the lives of our brothers and sisters in the human family, no matter how "abled" or disabled. Even more importantly, we respect the fact that every human life has been created by God to fulfill a unique and indispensable task. It is not the job of human beings to decide which people live and which people die. God is the author of all life, and these decisions are His alone.
News
A vast array of pharmaceuticals—including antibiotics, anti-convulsants, mood stabilizers and sex hormones—have been found in the drinking water supplies of at least 41 million Americans, an Associated Press investigation shows. And while researchers do not yet understand the exact risks from decades of persistent exposure to random combinations of low levels of pharmaceuticals, recent studies—which have gone virtually unnoticed by the general public—have found alarming effects on human cells and wildlife.
The widely used synthetic progestin medroxyprogesterone acetate decreased endothelial function in premenopausal women in a study done at the University of Oregon. The finding, researchers said, raises concerns about long-term effects of MPA and possibly other synthetic hormones on vascular health in young women.
MPA is the progestin that was used in the Women's Health Initiative, is the active ingredient of Provera, and is also a component in Depo/Provera, an injectible long-lasting contraceptive used by many young women.
The Thomas More Law Center, a national public interest law firm based in Ann Arbor, Michigan, will present oral arguments to an Oregon Circuit Court judge in defense of a proposed amendment to the Oregon Constitution crafted by the Law Center that would protect human life from the moment of fertilization.
This proposed amendment, like those in Georgia, Colorado and Montana, would achieve two fundamental purposes essential to the pro-life movement. First, they would establish that these states are "pro-life" states that protect all human life from the moment of fertilization as a matter of constitutional law. Second, they would provide a direct challenge to the central holding of Roe v. Wade. As the Supreme Court itself acknowledged in Roe, if the personhood of the fetus could be established, the abortion right "collapses."
A leading women's pro-life group says a recent case in Wales, in which a perfectly healthy baby boy was born after a doctor had advised the couple to abort the child, is a good example of why parents should always choose life.
Once again, "American Idol" is aligning itself with pro-abortion Save the Children and UNICEF. On March 8, 2007, "American Idol" unveiled its "Idol Gives Back" project, the stated goal of which was to "raise awareness of the effects of poverty on children and young people." Last year, the project generated more than $75 million.
Solving a long-standing biological mystery, UCLA stem cell researchers have discovered that blood stem cells, the cells that later differentiate into all the cells in the blood supply, originate and are nurtured in the placenta.
The Terri Schindler Schiavo Foundation has announced the March 15 3 pm EST debut of the American Lifeline hour radio program. The show's mission is to "educate Americans about their health care rights as well as protecting themselves and loved ones who may be sick or disabled from the threat of euthanasia."
The weekly program will begin next Saturday on Talk Radio 860 WGUL in Tampa, Florida and will be available online at http://860wgul.townhall.com/.
Closing thought
[Jesus said to His disciples,] "A little while and you will no longer see me, and again a little while later and you will see me."
– John 16:16