It was shocking when I saw it; I knew it couldn’t possibly be true, and I prayed it was a New Year’s Eve joke! But indeed, it was factually correct and my heart sank. What in the world could be done? Well, here is the story and an invitation to you to get active and do something now.

An action alert from Children of God for Life arrived in my “in box” moments ago. When you read the headline, please note that the word “monovalent” is defined as an entity “having specific immunologic activity against a single antigen, microorganism, or disease,” such as a monovalent vaccine.  Following is the action alert:
 

Manufacturer Stops Sales of Monovalents for Measles, Mumps, Rubella Vaccines

ATTENTION - all concerned parents and medical professionals - Merck needs to hear from you  now!

Without the separate doses for measles and mumps there will be NO MORAL ALTERNATIVES in the US for these vaccines!

Concerned Catholics

In December 2008, the Holy See affirmed in Dignitas Personae, that “everyone has the duty to make known their disagreement and to ask that their healthcare system make other types of vaccines available.” The Vatican further stated that “there is a duty to refuse to use such “biological material” even when there is no close connection between the researcher and the actions of those who performed the abortion.
 

What is really alarming about the decision is that Merck’s announcement was met with a smug – perhaps bordering on arrogant – statement from the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP). In the AAFP news account we read,

Doug Campos-Outcalt, M.D., M.P.A., who serves as the AAFP’s liaison to the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices and is a former member of the AAFP Commission on Clinical Policies and Research, said Merck’s decision was insignificant in terms of public health. He added, however, that some parents likely will be unhappy.

“The use of the single antigen is pretty limited,” he said. “There’s no harm if you need one in getting all three. There are some parents out there that want a delayed vaccine schedule. They want the vaccines spread out over a longer period of time and not so many at once. That’s a lot of hooey. Alternative schedules have never been proven to be superior.”

Campos-Outcalt just doesn’t get it! This is not about whether or not a particular vaccine mixture is superior. Rather, it concerns the fact, clinically proven and obvious to anyone with eyes to see, that the MMR vaccine is tainted with cells from aborted children! That is immoral, and that is why parents clamor for ethical alternatives.

It is incredible, if not demonic, that a mega-pharmaceutical company would act in way that denies parents the opportunity to select a moral alternative for the vaccines in question. In fact, it makes one wonder if perhaps Merck’s strategy is to quell all opposition to its ongoing attempt to show there is nothing morally wrong with providing children’s vaccines that would not exist today if not for aborting a preborn baby years ago.

If that is what their strategy is, they are soon to realize that they have failed. Parents across this nation are going to be as scandalized as I was upon reading this news, and the hope is that they will make their voices heard by commenting directly to Merck.

Debi Vinnedge, founder and director of Children of God for Life, has made the task of communicating with Merck a simple one. Please note her letter to Merck CEO Richard Clark, which states in part,

On behalf of over 610,000 US citizens, physicians and members of the clergy who have petitioned Merck in the Campaign for Ethical Vaccines and are deeply concerned with the use of aborted fetal cell lines in the rubella portion of your MMR II and other vaccines, I am asking you to reconsider your position.
 
Our organization has written to your Corporate offices many times in the past regarding this issue. We presented these concerns to former Merck CEO, Raymond Gilmartin at your annual shareholder meeting for two consecutive years as a result of the shareholder resolution filed jointly with Human Life International. Over 60 million votes from Merck stockholders confirmed our position that Merck ought to discontinue the use of WI-38, MRC-5 and PER C6 in future vaccine development. I am enclosing copies of the statements presented at those meetings for your review.
 
You will note that in 2004 we commended Merck for making Attenuvax and Mumpsvax available to the public so that parents could at least protect their children from these diseases without compromising their moral and religious beliefs. When there have been shortages of these vaccines in the past, parents have waited patiently for the doses to become available, even willing to pay the higher costs in order to avoid the “tainted” MMR II. Once again, many of these families are waiting for you to resume production and their children will be unprotected unless you provide the doses. They are already abstaining from rubella and some have even flown overseas to vaccinate their children. That is, in my view, a disgrace to American healthcare.
 
Mr. Clark, if you would read the hundreds of thousands of letters we have received, you would understand not only the depth of these families’ convictions, but also the serious need to continue to provide the separate measles and mumps vaccines. As the sole provider of these important immunizations in the US, I believe you have a duty to public health and safety to ensure that as many children as possible are able to be protected from infectious disease. Otherwise, it is likely that we will see an increase in measles and mumps outbreaks as we have experienced in recent years when there were shortages.

Please contact Merck and make your voice heard:

Richard Clark, CEO
Merck & Company
One Merck Drive P.O. Box 100
Whitehouse Station, NJ 08889-0100

Please send a copy of your letter to

Julie L. Gerberding, Director
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
1600 Clifton Rd
Atlanta, GA 30333

Updates on the situation will be available on the Children of God for Life web site: http://www.cogforlife.org/merck1208.htm

Responses

Dear Judie,
God bless you for your insight! Regarding the "tainted" vaccines and the link with the epidemic of Autism--could it be a terrible consequence of immunological rejection now passing on? This is very important information. Thank you once again for being our hero. -Sarah Sonrise, Special Educator

Sarah Sonrise | January 2, 2009

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Dear Sarah

The Centers for Disease Control reports the following about MMR and autism: "Carefully performed scientific studies have found no relationship between MMR vaccine and autism."

http://www.cdc.gov/vaccinesafety/concerns/mmr_autism_factsheet.htm

The vaccine safety website appears to agree: http://www.vaccinesafety.edu/cc-mmr.htm

Judie Brown
Judie Brown | January 8, 2009

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No one who studies Planned Parenthood’s tactics would be surprised by a recent “news” item  that claims that, according to a "large federal survey," teens who pledge to remain virgins until marriage or promise to save themselves for marriage are just as likely to have sex as those who don't make take pledges or make promises.

This latest alleged revelation, which is hardly surprising when one considers the source, deserves a little research. First of all, the survey is not – by any stretch of the imagination – a scientifically valid study. For starters, the author of the report is Ms. Janet E. Rosenbaum of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Rosenbaum authored a study published in the American Journal of Public Health a couple of years ago entitled "Reborn a Virgin: Adolescents' Retracting of Virginity Pledges and Sexual Histories." That study concludes,

Adolescents who initiate sexual activity are likely to recant virginity pledges, whereas those who take pledges are likely to recant their sexual histories. Thus, evaluations of sexual abstinence programs are vulnerable to unreliable data. In addition, virginity pledgers may incorrectly assess the sexually transmitted disease risks associated with their prepledge sexual behavior.

Clearly, Rosenbaum is no stranger to the study of adolescent sexual behavior nor is she making the claim that teens who talk about their sexual adventures are people whose claims can be trusted. All the same, she and others like her are doing all they can to debunk any sort of program or project that emphasizes saving one's self for marriage. As one of her fans, Cory Silverberg, pointed out in his blog in 2006,

Basically the research shows that teens who promise to be virgins aren't keeping that promise, and teens who have had sex and then promise to be virgins may be behaving as if they've never had sex at all. Which raises the obvious concern that their new "re-virgined" status may make them believe they couldn't have an STD (or at least may make them unlikely to be tested for or talk to a potential sexual partner about STDs).

All of which makes you wonder why we're having teens go through the process in the first place. This research seems to support the majority of scientific research that suggests that virginity pledges don't work. But it also highlights a general problem in studying teen sexual behavior (not that researchers are really allowed to study much of it), which is the possible lack of reliability of the data. In a prepared statement the author of the study suggests that asking teens about their sexual behavior may not provide the best data and "a better and more reliable measure than adolescents' self-reported sexual history might be the straightforward results of medical STD tests."

Obviously, anyone who understands teens sees the fatal flaw in Rosenbaum's ongoing study of adolescent sexual behavior. The young people who are answering the questions and therefore providing a basis for all of this ongoing research are the same people who cannot make their bed, cannot hang up their clothing and forget to brush their teeth if their iPhone rings. I mean really! How much credibility can such a study have?

Oh! I think I know the answer, and you probably do as well. The time is fast approaching when Obamaism, the new philosophy of the White House and surrounding environs, will be examining how best to spend taxpayer dollars. And of course, we all know that Planned Parenthood sits in the driver's seat on that question, having had more than 35 years of experience in federal funding acquisition and now having the ear of the big man in Washington, D.C. So a small study here and there that proves Planned Parenthood's long-held position that abstinence education doesn’t work is good for its wallet. Planned Parenthood types have claimed for years that abstinence education is old fashioned, while sex instruction is extremely successful.

Let's not forget that, earlier this year, when it was reported that abortion rates were declining, Planned Parenthood was quick to take credit.  It asserted that it was its emphasis on birth control and its sex ed programs that resulted in the alleged decline.

Today, Rosenbaum's study adds fuel to that allegation and is going to go a long way toward helping Planned Parenthood to get its grubby hands on the millions of additional dollars it wants to acquire as it digs even deeper into federal coffers. Rob Stein writes in his Washington Post report, “The findings are reigniting the debate about the effectiveness of abstinence-focused sexual education just as Congress and the new Obama administration are about to reconsider the more than $176 million in annual funding for such programs.”

Oh, really? If I give you a multiple-choice question, can you guess where Planned Parenthood would like to see that money go?

Even if you get the answer right on the first guess, one has to wonder what it will take for well-balanced reporting to make its way into the public square. Why doesn't the Washington Post reporter provide a counter to the Rosenbaum study? All Stein was able to bring himself to share with the reader is that Valerie Huber, of the National Abstinence Education Association, expressed concern over Rosenbaum's "ideologically tainted and inaccurate analysis."

Stein could have contacted the Medical Institute for Sexual Health and found on its web site information about programs that involve parents in the education of their teens. One such program

capitalizes on the most important influence for teenagers – their parents. This initiative prioritizes training parents on effective parenting skills and communication skills, as well as providing medically accurate sexual health information. With age-appropriate, easy-to-use videos and discussion guides, parents may learn how to engage in open, honest, and informed conversations with their children regarding sexual health. This initiative includes the book Hooked, released in August 2008, which describes the emotional consequences of sexual activity on adolescents and young adults. It also includes the Tell Me NOW! DVD and educational guide that contains a fast-paced, entertaining 22-minute video filled with age-appropriate information about puberty and sex for 3rd-5th graders and their parents.

The results of the Tell me NOW! DVD project could have been reported by Stein – or even evaluated.
Stein could have also contacted Richard Wetzel, M.D. and learned more about Dr. Wetzel's work in the area of valid education that allows parents to share the facts with their teens. Dr. Wetzel even has a special program for Catholic parents. Where are his comments in the Washington Post?

Clearly, the timing of the reports on Rosenbaum's most recent study raises a number of questions, and those questions will remain unanswered by the mainstream media as long as its agenda is driven by the cultural fascination with sex devoid of responsibility. That is the challenge we face; that is the reason why we must persist in doing all we can unmask the deception and to defund Planned Parenthood.

Perhaps it is not unusual, shortly before a new year arrives, to see a plethora of headlines telling us what is best and worst about many facets of daily life. For example, Yahoo just announced the list of singers who destroy songs and CNN is telling the world about the "Top 10 entertainment stories of 2008.” Not really very life shattering, is it?

But what disturbed me – and was not at all entertaining – was the new Gallup poll that found that among those queried, 67 percent “think religion is losing its influence on U.S. life.” The USA Today reporter compared this percentage to that of a Gallup poll conducted three years ago, when it appeared that Americans “were nearly evenly split on the question.” But you see, the wrong question was asked to begin with, and that is what is causing me not a little concern.

Let's face it. Up front and off the bat, the media is no friend of God. They make it perfectly clear, in report after report, that unless there is a sex scandal of some sort, they are not going to "report" accurately on Catholic bishops or Protestant ministers, not to mention other religious groups in the U.S. and around the world. There is no room for God in the public marketplace of ideas, according to most of the mainstream, “drive-by” media.

But apart from that, pro-life Americans know that our nation’s people are not only moving away from Christ-centered, biblically-oriented frames of reference, but in many cases have already left the building.

Take, for example, the comments of allegedly Catholic MSNBC host Chris Matthews, who provided the Media Research Center’s "quote of the year,” selected from 2008’s “most outrageous and/or humorous news media quotes.” While Matthews was being interviewed by CNN’s ever-memorable Keith Olbermann, here is how the "best" quote went down:

Matthews: "I have to tell you, you know, it's part of reporting this case, this election, the feeling most people get when they hear Barack Obama's speech. My – I felt this thrill going up my leg. I mean, I don't have that too often."

Olbermann: "Steady."

Matthews: "No, seriously. It's a dramatic event. He speaks about America in a way that has nothing to do with politics. It has to do with the feeling we have about our country. And that is an objective assessment."

Note that the man refers to "feeling," but his comment indicates he has separated his supposed Catholicism from the stark reality that Obama is committed to doing all he can to protect a "a legal right to abortion” – thereby aborting our nation’s future.

Surely Matthews could stand a heavy dose of realism, not to mention objectivity. His comment, however, says a lot about where many Americans are today in their thinking and their ability to relate their own faith in God to their emotions – emotions which subsequently dictate their actions, whether in a voting booth, on a street corner near an abortion mill or in a cathedral where they might have to slide their chewing gum over to the side of their mouth in order to receive the body and blood of Christ in Holy Communion.

The suggestion that Americans are losing touch with faith or their own religious identity is not only obvious, but also chilling. What is even more disastrous, though, is the idea that much of the public and many of those who report the news to the public are not swayed by factual evidence but rather by warm, fuzzy feelings one might experience after hearing a stirring song or seeing an emotionally charged movie. These feelings could, in a very short time, bring disaster to the healthcare profession, to our families and to future generations.

My dear friend Paul M. Weyrich wrote in a commentary published after his death on December 18,

The President-elect did make a dogmatic statement regarding the so-called "Freedom of Choice" Act (FOCA). He said he will propose FOCA, which would eliminate all State and Federal restrictions upon abortion. It would purport to force Christian hospitals to perform abortions or close. It would demand that physicians perform abortions or give up their practice…

It is inconceivable to me that a majority in Congress can't agree upon freedom of conscience. Counting the votes, I doubt that there are enough pro-lifers in Congress to maintain the restrictions previously passed by Congress. However, even honest liberals would favor allowing a physician to practice medicine consistent with his or her life-saving principles of conscience. Most Republicans, as well as many Democrats, ran as pro-lifers in the 2008 election. This fundamental issue may become the first test of their commitment to life. If we force hospitals and physicians to perform abortions against their beliefs, in other words in violation of their conscience, then we will be on a downward spiral from which there may be no return.

This will be a test, America. God help all of us.

What Weyrich is telling us is that those elected representatives, who could impose laws on Christian hospitals making it impossible to stay in business unless they perform abortions, were elected by American citizens. Many of these very same Americans apparently have no concern whatsoever for the fate of their eternal souls or the fate of the preborn baby, his parents or subsequent generations.

Does America have a crisis of faith? Yes, it does! Will this nation recover through the self-examination that should occur in the hearts and minds of all those who, we hope, realize that they have lost touch with the Lord? Only God knows the answer, but like Paul Weyrich, a wise and faithful brother in Christ, I say "God help all of us."

Responses

How can people lose faith? It really seems like some people DO seperate their faith from their politics.
Chantell
Chantell | December 29, 2008

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It seems to me that all the horror and tragedy of our current society in the U.S. makes more sense if you look at it from the perspective of our being "under judgement". Otherwise, it's all just a jumbled confusing mess (a case of being too close to the forest to see the trees!).
Look at our recent history from God's perspective. He's been diligently trying to get our attention for over 100 years (WW I and fwd). He used what seems to me (and forgive the pun) His best shot in Sept. 2001. And, STILL, we wouldn't repent and turn back to Him!
I firmly believe we've crossed some kind of "line in the sand", and He's going to allow the U.S. to take herself down (all the way down) with the evil she prefers to Him. What we have to do is figure out how we are to live--and witness to Him--in a time of judgement. Old Testament, anyone?
Carol Luscomb | December 29, 2008

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God bless you and keep you
God let His face shine upon you
God hold you in the palm of His hand and the angels all round.

Thank you for all you do

Christian religion and beliefs have been persecuted before and they persist dispite all attempts to end them . We will prevail. Yes we can .

Paul A Reszel | December 29, 2008

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Carol

Thanks for your perspective on this. I have never been one to consider what God thinks or what He might do. Judgment is His and He does not need my input.

I find it much better to simply surrender everything to Him and then do all I can to be His servant.

having said that, I see your point. God bless you.

Judie Brown
Judie Brown | December 30, 2008

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Last Thursday, I wrote a commentary on the Catholic Health Association's public praise for president-elect Obama's nomination of pro-abortion Senator Tom Daschle for Secretary of Health and Human Services and pro-abortion Jeanne Lambrew to serve as deputy director of the new White House Office of Health Reform.

I was amazed to find that yesterday an official response had come from Mr. Fred Caesar, special assistant to the president/CEO of CHA, Sister Carol Keehan. In her response she wrote,

As the President/CEO of CHA, I welcomed the nominations of the two senior health care appointees to the new administration. This welcome was based on the competence and commitment of these two senior people in health policy. They are committed to getting access to quality health care for all Americans, including pregnant women and their unborn babies. Covering the uninsured is a critical area where we have lost ground in the last few years. Increasing access to quality health care for uninsured pregnant women will greatly assist in preventing women from feeling they have to choose abortion.
 
While I wish the presidential nominees in the health care field shared CHA's pro-life position, they will be the health policy officials for our country. They are also very competent in health policy.
 
LifeNews immediately focused on the appointees' pro-choice positions and criticized my statement and exaggerated its implication. They encouraged their readers to protest.
 
Several did contact me by e-mail. A number asked politely for an explanation, some did further research and saw the clear position I have taken and CHA has taken on life issues for years and congratulated me for trying to build bridges. Regrettably, a number of e-mails were disrespectful and abusive, as well as seriously in error. It saddens me to see some people use the beautiful pro-life cause as justification for their abusive behavior.
 
Honestly acknowledging an appointment and the competence of the person involved does not imply endorsing all their views on moral issues. Our Holy Father himself congratulated the President-elect and his Secretary of State did as well on his election as President.
 
They will work with the President-elect as the leader of this country in a respectful manner, just as CHA will work with the leadership of HHS in a respectful manner.

 
It is my belief that we will be more successful in converting hearts by prayer and respectful dialogue and we will prevent more abortions by ensuring tangible health care for pregnant women and their unborn babies.

This letter represents a form of sophistry I did not realize existed within the framework of a prestigious Catholic organization presided over by a Catholic sister. However, prior to pointing out my concern over Sister Keehan's demonstrable effort to excuse her organization's lack of prudential judgment, let me apologize to her publicly for any allegedly pro-life response that was, in any way, disrespectful or abusive. While it is clear to many of us that the CHA endorsement of two pro-aborts is misguided, there is never an excuse for hateful speech or innuendo. The facts speak for themselves, and negative embellishment frequently distracts from the record at hand.

Having said that, I am personally offended by her suggestion that simply because the Holy Father congratulated the president-elect, her organization has the right to celebrate nominees who have shown themselves to be as deliberately in support of child killing as the president-elect is. Far be it from me to attempt to read the sister's mind on this subject, but I have seen no report indicating that the Holy Father endorsed the president-elect. As we all know, the precise content of the Holy Father's personal message to the president-elect was not published, nor should it have been. It was, after all, personal. But we do know that Jesuit Father Federico Lombardi, Vatican spokesman, told the media this about the Holy Father's message:

"He assured him of his prayers that God would help him with his high responsibilities for his country and for the international community"… The pope also prayed that "the blessing of God would sustain him and the American people so that with all people of good will they could build a world of peace, solidarity and justice." 

Upon reading this, nobody would take away the idea that the Holy Father endorsed or celebrated any of Obama's positions. Remember, the Holy Father, as Christ's vicar on earth, is committed to peace, solidarity and justice. Obviously, he expects Obama, as a man of good will, to pursue those same objectives.

It is more than gratuitous for Sister Keehan to equate the Holy Father's private message with the CHA's public, near-celebratory comments on the nominations of Daschle and Lambrew. This is why I felt compelled to send the following response to Sister Keehan:

Dear Mr. Caesar, on behalf of Sister Carol Keehan,
 
While I appreciate the statement you have made to clarify your organization's support for Senator Tom Daschle's nomination as well as that of Jeanne Lambrew, I am nonetheless shocked that the Catholic Health Association would publicly use its identity to endorse the nominations of two rabidly pro-abortion individuals, regardless of their alleged "competence and commitment" in and to health policy. You know as well as we do that all these nominees will do, if confirmed, is advance the so-called reproductive rights agenda of organizations like Planned Parenthood, which means equating the direct murder of innocent preborn children with health care.
 
Your suggestion that you "wish" the nominees shared CHA's "pro-life" position is ridiculous. CHA did not have to publicly support these individuals and should not have done so, specifically because of their support for aborting children, which, as you know, means murdering them. Your endorsement makes the CHA positions on "life issues" laughable and an embarrassment to the Catholic Church.
 
If you wish to carry on "respectful dialogue" with those who stand in direct conflict with Catholic teaching, it would seem to us you would do so privately, rather than publicly giving praise to the very people whom you suggest need conversion of heart and mind.
 
Sadly and with all due respect, I express to you my personal regret as a Catholic that you have chosen to dignify supporters of murdering the preborn with your public endorsement. It is a tragic day for the Church.
 
Judie Brown, President
American Life League Inc.
Member, Pontifical Academy for Life

Responses

Sister Keehan seems stupid to me. She probably cheated in school.
Paul | December 23, 2008

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Good job, Judie. Merry Christmas.
David Volk | December 23, 2008

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I love your letter. I am so tired of people not wanting to offend people, especially pro-abortion Catholics, that they wind up offending Jesus. Thanks!

We wrote responses to the sister, nice but firm, and we received the letter you posted. I found it laughable.

Silent Majority ........ Stop Being Silent.

God Bless Your Work,

Lee Richard
Louisiana # 2 Pro-Life State
Lee Richard | December 24, 2008

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Let's assume I am naive.

What exactly is a "Catholic Hospital" that CHA represents? Can one discern a difference between a secular or otherwise affiliated hospital and a Catholic hospital?

As reported right here at ALL, we have learned that the Diocese of Tyler Bishop Alvaro Corrada, S.J. insists there must be a difference.

Pursuing my assumed naivity I am learning one need not be Catholic to be called catholic.




Laurence Casey | December 26, 2008

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Judie:

i see little purpose in CHA having to publicly endorse ANY political agenda.

I am also saddened over and over how Catholic institutions such as Christ the King hospital are acutally permitting abortions such as what I read from a nurse who held a premature baby in her arms after a doctor performed a live birth abortion by inducing labor at 20 weeks. The church's leadership should have a talk with Sister Keehan.

Mother Theresa never endorsed politicians

If i had money i would take a one page ad in the NY times with only the following printed:

TO MANKIND

EMBRACE LIFE

Keep praying Judie, the hardened harts will change or be changed
mark welte | December 26, 2008

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A big AMEN! Keep up the pressure.
Garth Anthony Weiss | December 27, 2008

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Go, Judie!

Thank you for the word "sophistry". I was not familiar with it until I read it in your comments. I looked it up in the dictionary to make sure I had a good understanding of its meaning. I know it will come in handy.

I am working with the group in Corpus Christi, TX to oust Planned Parenthood. The PP mob is a wiley bunch, but we have the truth on our side. I continue to be amazed at how, when we cut through the haze and illuminate the truth, our public officials are embracing it. It's the people like Sr. Keehan who are most dangerous. The good news is that the truth trumps even the most articulate and intelligent lie.

Keep on keepin' on, Judie. I'm sure you don't get the kudos you deserve. Your leadership is very important to the movement and creating the Culture of Life.
Isaac K's Mom | December 27, 2008

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Judie,

Thank you for writing to Sr. Keehan! This is the same Sr. Carol Keehan who wrote me back about the morning after pill decreasing abortions (which we know is false). Even the secular science literature has disproved this notion. She would not change her position even after my second plea with her. Sadly it appears that CHA is not the Catholic institution it could be.

Let me know if I can be of service to you in the future.

Sincerely,

Amy Hogan, MD
Amy Hogan, MD | December 28, 2008

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Good insight, Lee Richard. People fear others' reaction, and lack fear of God.
David Volk | December 29, 2008

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Dear Laurence

The Catholic Hospital Association has become another homogenized organization that uses the Catholic label but never met a Catholic teaching it felt obliged to uphold!

Bishop Corrado made an extraordinary statement and then, subsequent to it, the Catholic hospitals defied him! The question now is, will he publicly demand that they cease calling themselves Catholic. So far that has not happened.

Judie Brown
Judie Brown | December 30, 2008

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CHA and Sr. Keehan and Mr. Caesar need to get a backbone. If we don't start standing up for true Catholic beliefs (and please, the Pope did NOT support the new administration coming in) and start speaking out of all unborn babes ALL THE TIME, then they don't have a fighting chance, FOCA is just around the corner. How is Sister going to dance around that? Sacred Scripture, Sacred Tradition and THE MAGISTERIUM. That's why CHA exists!! Go Judie!
Catherine Imperatrice | January 1, 2009

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This past weekend's news from Amarillo, Texas is an answer to prayer, steadfast focus on the evils of Planned Parenthood and commitment to expose the truth about an organization rooted in racist, eugenicist propaganda. The news is that as of the first of the year, Planned Parenthood's chief executive in the Texas Panhandle, Claudia Stravato, announced that the Planned Parenthood office in Amarillo will sever all ties with Planned Parenthood's national office and adopt a new name.

Under the name Texas Panhandle Family Planning and Health Centers, the reorganized group, which says its services will not change, will be dissociated from Planned Parenthood Federation of America, which, it claims, is moving away from efforts to "serve the community's poor." Thus, as of January 1, there will be no organizations in the Texas Panhandle bearing the name Planned Parenthood.

This remarkable achievement occurred because for the past 12 years, Stop Planned Parenthood International’s director, Jim Sedlak, has been collaborating with Bishop John Yanta, who recently retired, and his Respect Life coordinator, Rita Diller. But as many know, from the moment Bishop Yanta arrived in the Amarillo diocese, he had one very important goal in mind: taking out Planned Parenthood.

The record of Bishop Yanta's accomplishments would fill a book, but we are proud to be able to give you the highlights, which alone are testimony to unwavering dedication to principle. In October 1998, Respect Life Month, Bishop Yanta wrote a letter to his flock, in which he made the following statement:

Planned Parenthood is the nation's leading provider and promoter of abortion, promotes contraceptives to minors without the parents' knowledge, promotes emergency contraceptives that are used after an act of "unprotected" sex. The International Federation of Planned Parenthood is around the world promoting contraception, sterilization and abortion with millions and millions of American dollars. Helen Alvare, director of Planning and Information, Secretariat for Pro-Life Activities, National Conference of Catholic Bishops in Washington, D.C., states: "So why does Planned Parenthood-with its much vaunted PR message on 'preventing abortion' continue to pursue its condom-in-every-pocket campaign, when, in the United States, decades of hawking condoms and other contraception to teenagers and unmarried adults-via our tax dollars-have coincided with increased premarital sex, increased out-of-wedlock pregnancies, staggering increases in sexually transmitted diseases and skyrocketing abortion rates?"

Unfortunately, there are many Planned Parenthood centers (or Family Planning Centers) located in our Diocese of Amarillo. As your bishop and shepherd, I ask all Catholics not to use their services, not to belong to any of their boards, not to serve as a volunteer and not to be employed there. In resigning your employment there, I will be happy to assist you in finding employment elsewhere so you will not be cooperating in these immoral practices and being a source of scandal both within and outside the Church and community. I make this plea, in love, as my duty to continue the mission of Jesus Christ: to teach, to sanctify and to govern.

Subsequently, according to the timeline that Stop Planned Parenthood International has faithfully kept, in 1999, four Planned Parenthood clinics shut down. Bishop Yanta's constant focus on the evils of Planned Parenthood and his wonderful ability to gently persuade Catholics that they needed to get involved in protesting this organization was already paying off!

In 2000, Stravato said the remaining 15 offices would continue to operate. PP had been hard at work trying to minimize the impact of the closings and to cast them all in an economic light. But STOPP supporters knew that there was much more to these closings. As Rita Diller pointed out,

Bishop Yanta has taken every possible opportunity to speak out against their agenda. The Dimmitt office was a full-time clinic that closed after the director walked out one morning into the midst of those praying the Rosary exclaiming ardently that she would never come back. Some weeks later it re-opened part-time, and now it is closed permanently.

Within a year, five more Planned Parenthood facilities had closed their doors and the rest is, as they say, history.

This story of perseverance continued, and in 2004, Jim Sedlak published a letter from Rita Diller, which said in part,

For quite some time now, Planned Parenthood in Tulia has been dying a slow death. This was a full time facility that cut back its hours dramatically within the past year or so. First it appeared to be shut down completely, then it was open once a month, then once a week. On last night's Channel 10 News, Claudia Stravato, CEO of Planned Parenthood of Amarillo and the Texas Panhandle, announced that the facility is closed. The cause stated was low patient load and not enough government funding to reimburse Planned Parenthood for their expense at the facility. It was stated on the news report that they were only seeing 2 or 3 patients per week at the facility…

It was stated on the news that this is the 14th closing of a Planned Parenthood facility in the Texas Panhandle. However, in 1997 Planned Parenthood listed 19 facilities on its web page. Today, with the closing of the Tulia facility, only 3 remain: Borger, Dumas and Amarillo.

Local Catholics, including Bishop John W. Yanta, Fr. Fern Couture, and Fr. John Hickey, have kept a prayer vigil at the facility in Tulia for a number of years. It would appear that the people of Tulia have said NO to Planned Parenthood by boycotting their "services." Thanks be to God!

This amazing victory did not happen by accident.  It took the brave, unyielding dedication of a great shepherd whose flock, even after he retired, carried on to this very moment when a nail in Planned Parenthood of the Texas Panhandle’s coffin has finally been delivered.

Twelve years of unfailing prayer, activism and education resulted in this incredibly momentous day. We are grateful for the heroism of Bishop John Yanta, who inspired his flock to do the impossible! 
And now, it appears that Planned Parenthood in the Texas Panhandle is to be only a memory.

The challenge is now upon every Catholic bishop to do likewise.

The invitation extended to all pro-life organizations and individuals by Father Thomas Euteneuer  should be a welcome call to action for all of us. Father Euteneuer, president of Human Life International, was focusing his attention on a nonprofit pro-life research company, which as he describes it,  “provides a safe-haven for the consciences of parents that find themselves between the rock of government regulations and the hard place of vaccines made from cell lines using aborted fetal tissue. “

Further, this company and its parent are dedicated to resolving the ethical conflict involved with the use of embryonic children for the purposes of research and development. As Sound Choice Pharmaceutical Institute states, "An important component of SCPI's mission is to mentor, support and help connect new startup organizations also dedicated to safe and moral choices for medicines and therapeutics by helping to strengthen their infrastructures, and provide direction and guidance."

SCPI's leadership is more than qualified to fulfill the incredible mission upon which it has embarked. A brief visit to the web site will introduce you to the leadership, which makes it possible for American Life League to not only recommend them as your favorite charity, but tell your friends about them as well. Take a look, for example, at the credentials of SCPI's president, Dr. Theresa Deisher.  Along with her team, Dr. Deisher can lead not only the research community, but also the politicians with eyes to see, out of the quagmire that has been created by the Frankensteinian research of recent times. Already prepared for this leadership role, SCPI stated in a recent press release,

SCPI is pleased to announce their first successful support for a new biotech firm – AVM Biotechnology (www.avmbiotech.com). AVM has a new vaccines division that will be importing safe and effective vaccines for those who, for philosophical or moral reasoning, are opposed to the vaccines that are tainted with human DNA contaminants. AVM Biotechnology has added the vaccine division in addition to their regenerative medicine and human therapeutics division in response to the request from numerous parents and grandparents who have chosen not to vaccinate until moral and ethical vaccines are available.

According to Centers for Disease Control (CDC) data, as many as 10% of United States children are not fully immunized. The reasons vary but most focus on the safety and efficacy of the vaccines that are available. It is estimated that about 3% of the population will not vaccinate based on the knowledge that the vaccines are produced using human cells from an aborted fetus. Although a moral objection to vaccinations is an accepted objection in some states, others may only accept a medical or philosophical objection. Each state delineates their own specific acceptable objection criteria and process however some private schools may have different standards than state regulations. Fewer parents may be concerned about the safety issues of homologous recombination or an auto-immune potential problem so the CDC does not track those numbers separately.

I am particularly enthused about this new company because it provides the answer to the abysmal efforts of so many research scientists who want the public to believe that using human embryonic stem cells for research is the only way anyone can ever expect science to find cures for dreadful diseases like ALS and Alzheimer's. As we know, there is no promise in this research as yet, but nonetheless, the hype goes on.

In addition, the tainted vaccine dilemma that thousands of parents face annually is now going to be resolved. However, these promising developments do hinge, as Father Euteneuer makes clear, on the unified efforts of all pro-life organizations to put the focus on these new companies and provide whatever support is possible.

For our part, American Life League has taken the message of AVM and SCPI to the Vatican and will continue to focus attention on their great work. But lest we take credit for being at the forefront of this effort, it is only right that we explain that SCPI’s and AVM's first partner in the struggle against anti-life research was Children of God for Life. As COG founder Debi Vinnedge recently wrote,
 

In the fall of 1999, Children of God for Life began the Campaign for Ethical Vaccines in an effort to put an end to the use of aborted fetal cell lines in vaccines and medical products. We were laughed at by some, chastised by others and probably hated by a few. Despite the obvious problem even some of our fellow pro-lifers were skeptical. They said it couldn't be done. They told us we were wasting our time - the pharmaceutical industry would not change, would never listen. But Children of God for Life did listen - to the heartfelt anguish of thousands who saw the grave necessity to bring about changes in the industry - to stop the exploitation of our unborn for profit - to allow families and physicians a moral choice in protecting their families, without compromising their pro-life and religious convictions. We listened, we worked tirelessly around the clock and we waited patiently for our efforts to bear fruit. And we came to understand that the more you complain the longer God lets you live! And oh yes, we complained loudly - to God - to every pro-life group, to leaders of all faiths, to members of the House and Senate in DC and to the pharmaceutical industry especially!
 

Finally her prayers and the prayers of thousands of others were answered:

In December 2007 meetings, Children of God for Life's and millions of parents' long-awaited hopes were about to be realized by the commitment of AVM Biotechnology. Founded by Research and Development Director, Dr. Theresa Deisher, the company is fully dedicated to the discovery, development, and commercialization of safe, effective, affordable, and ethical human therapeutics that are not in any way tested or developed using immoral sources. Dr. Deisher is an internationally renowned expert in the field of adult stem cell therapies and regenerative medicine. With 17 years experience in scientific and corporate leadership positions involving research, she also has 23 patents issued in her name. She has published numerous scientific manuscripts and is a frequent invited lecturer and guest speaker in the area of stem cell technology and regenerative medicine. In her new role at AVM, the hope is to eventually provide moral alternatives for every single medical product that uses aborted fetal or embryonic cell lines.

Further, AVM is now in the process of establishing a non-profit division, Sound Choice Pharmaceutical Institute that will provide certification on medical products that are not screened, evaluated, tested or produced using immoral sources. Sort of like the old Good Housekeeping Seal - but instead consumers will have a Pro-Life-Certified seal!

How can one adequately describe what this means to millions of pro-life families, physicians, pharmacists, missionaries, members of the military, clergy, educators and fellow researchers who will soon have a REAL choice?

Two words: PRAISE GOD! For through Him all things are possible.

Indeed, this is tremendous news and provides an opportunity for each of us to be directly involved in a corporate and educational effort the likes of which have never been seen before. American Life League is proud to announce that we will be featuring Dr. Theresa Deisher as one of our speakers for our Training and Activism Week.  While we have focused attention on Dr. Deisher's writings in the past,  we plan to do much more to promote the good works of SCPI and AVM. We also feature an interview with Dr. Deisher in our January-February 2009 issue of Celebrate Life.

Join us; support their work and tell your friends. Finally, we have something worthy of celebration at this most incredible time of year when we are in the final stages of preparing our hearts and minds for the coming of our King, Jesus Christ.

If the United States Senate approves the nomination of Senator Tom Daschle as Obama's Secretary of Health and Human Services, America will have an avowed Catholic pro-abort  at the helm of one of the most crucial departments in the entire federal government. Bob Ellis reports,

In 2003 Daschle voted for a Senate resolution endorsing the Roe v. Wade decision. He fought the partial birth abortion ban every step of the way until it was going to pass anyway, and he was finally forced to vote for it to provide cover for himself. National Right to Life Committee gave him only a 27% approval rating his last year in office, 0% the year before that, 11% before that, and 20% before that.

In fact, Daschle's pro-abortion stance was so bad that the bishop in Sioux Falls sent Daschle a letter instructing him to stop referring to himself publicly as a Catholic.

That's right. Bishop Robert Carlson, in a private letter to the former United States senator,  instructed him that he should no longer call himself Catholic, due to the fact that he adamantly supports abortion and does so in public without remorse. Writing about the incident in 2003, J. Bottum explained,

This year, on January 16, Bishop Carlson received additional ammunition for his discussions with Daschle when Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger's office, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, issued in Rome a "Doctrinal Note" on Catholics in political life. "A well-formed Christian conscience,"  the note declared, "does not permit one to vote for a political program or an individual law which contradicts the fundamental contents of faith and morals."

The Doctrinal Note marks at least the beginning of the end of the Vatican's toleration of what the pope's biographer George Weigel has called "Cuomoism" in the American Church: the effort to finesse abortion by declaring oneself personally opposed but politically supportive of laws allowing abortion. Catholics have a "duty to be morally coherent," the Doctrinal Note declares, and the Catholic fight on the life issues – abortion, euthanasia, and cloning – is not some merely prudential question, to be decided by political give and take. The Catholic Church doesn't take political positions – except when politics intrudes into something, like the right to life, that ought to be beyond the power of politicians.

However, this history of Daschle's fall from grace has apparently fallen on some extremely deaf ears in the Catholic community, particularly those running the Catholic Health Association. Just this week, in fact, Sister Carol Keehan, president/CEO of the Catholic Health Association, issued a statement:

The Catholic Health Association welcomes President-elect Barack Obama's official nomination today of former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle to be his secretary of Health and Human Services and the person to oversee a new White House Office of Health Reform. Also, we are pleased that Obama named Jeanne Lambrew to serve as deputy director of new White House Office of Health Reform.

We applaud the President-elect for choosing these two extraordinary and capable leaders who bring an enormous understanding of health care delivery issues and the need for meaningful reform for American families and businesses.

If I might be so bold, and with all due respect to Keehan, who apparently drafted this statement, describing a man who is committed to the act of aborting innocent children as an "extraordinary and capable" leader who has an "enormous understanding of health care delivery issues" is like describing Slobodan Milosevic  as a compassionate leader. This statement issued by the Catholic Health Association is an outrage and a scandal!

There is no defensible reason for making nice with a man who apparently has never heard of an abortion he could not approve. In fact, his record is so bad that I have created a scenario that I would like to share with you. Please read carefully and see what you think.

I imagine in my mind's eye the following drama being played out in Daschle's offices:
Researchers from Spain are sitting in the new secretary's office, waiting to present their new evidence to him that mothers who abort their children have high rates of psychological problems and much higher mortality rates than women who have not had abortions. The leader of the group, Carmen Gomez-Lavin, wants the secretary to know that her published findings prove the following: 
 

80 percent of women who had had abortions suffer from symptoms of depression, and 40 percent have contemplated suicide.

In addition, 70 percent of such women exhibit irritability, 60 percent suffer behavioral disturbances, 40 percent experience sexual disturbances, and 30 percent have been involved in drug abuse.

The report also states that women who obtain abortions have a mortality rate 3.5 to 6 times higher, and a suicide rate between 6 and 7 times higher than that of women who give birth.

As Lavin and her associates are waiting, Patsy Montgomery of Planned Parenthood in Fresno, California is explaining to the secretary that due to the failing economy, her organization needs more money because so many poor mothers need abortions, birth control and other services, which only Planned Parenthood is prepared to offer. She tells him, "We have more and more families who need access to family planning... and to basic reproductive healthcare." What do you think would occur next in such a scenario? Would Daschle commiserate with Planned Parenthood? Or would he escort the Planned Parenthood woman out, stating that new evidence about to be presented to him that proves abortion is not good for anyone – preborn child, mother or father?

Barring divine intervention, I think you can visualize the likely conclusion of this imaginary scenario. That being said, why in the world is Sister Keehan applauding a nomination that she should be working very hard to oppose?

We are living in an age of contradictions, and pretty much all of us realize that this is so. But sin is still sin, and murder is still murder. And Catholic still means upholding truth, not groveling at the feet of one of the most rabid pro-abortion politicians ever to sit in the United States Senate and, God forbid, soon to be Secretary of the U. S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Oh, yes! And in case you were unaware, Lambrew received a ringing endorsement from Planned Parenthood Federation of America's president, Cecile Richards. 

So much for upholding Catholic truth at the Catholic Health Association!

ACTION: Contact the Catholic Health Association with your concerns at Catholic Health Association, 1875 Eye St. NW, Suite 1000, Washington, D.C. 20006-5409, call 202-296-3993 or e-mail Sister Carol Keehan at ckeehan@chausa.org.

Responses

Thank you for pointing out the insanity that abounds. Can't help but think that if the US Bishops as a body were to have upheld Canon 915 much of this scandal could have been averted.
Perhaps, other Bishops like Carlson might step up and tell the CHA to stop calling itself Catholic. Or, they could at least ask "Sister" Katleen to stop "applauding" and "welcoming" those who align themselves with darkness and death.
"O Rising Dawn, Radiance of the Light eternal and Sun of Justice; Come, enlighten those who sit in darkness & the shadow of death."
Fr. William J Kuchinsky | December 18, 2008

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Dera Father Bill

As my son recently said to me, "Mom, we need to find one good Bishop who will stand up and act in faith and courage, and consistently lead his sheep!"

Amen, alleluia and thank you, Father.

Judie Brown
Judie Brown | December 19, 2008

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It is great to see a person with "Fr." in front of their name posting beautiful words to this blog. God bless, Father.
David Volk | December 19, 2008

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