in this issue:
hot button issues: FETAL PAIN / PLAN B / PRO-LIFE MEMORIAL DAY
abortion: BREAST CANCER / FARMING
ethics: STEM CELL DEBATE
pharmacists: CONSCINECE
planned parenthood: LOW ROAD / STARBUCKS
pope benedict xvi: ARCHBISHOP LEVADA
schiavo: INSIGHTS
supreme court: ROBERTS I / ROBERTS II / ROBERTS III
wisdom: AQUINAS ON BISHOPS
zinger: FATHER? WHO NEEDS ONE?
reflection for prayer: PERSONAL OPINIONS
hot button issues
FETAL PAIN: In commenting on recent research suggesting babies in the womb did not feel pain until later stages of pregnancy, American Life League’s Judie Brown said, “Regardless of whether or not the human being in utero feels pain, there is no justification for killing that person at any point in his life prior to birth. A civilized society does not kill people simply because it has been concluded that they won’t feel the pain of dying.”
(Reading: “‘Fetal pain’ study misses the mark,” American Life League news release, 8/24/05)
PLAN B: American Life League’s STOPP International details how Planned Parenthood stands to profit from the morning-after abortion pill Plan B, especially if the FDA permits the drug to be sold over the counter without a doctor’s prescription.
(Action: Contact the FDA to stop over-the-counter sales of Plan B. See the 7/25/05 issue of Communique for details)
(Reading: “Planned Parenthood cut sweetheart deal with producer of ’emergency contraceptive’ Plan B,” American Life League commentary, 8/25/05)
PRO-LIFE MEMORIAL DAY: American Life League has set aside October 3 as the first Pro-life Memorial Day in recognition of the 46 million babies surgically aborted since the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision. ALL is petitioning President Bush to officially proclaim the first Monday in October as National Pro-life Memorial Day and inviting pro-lifers to participate in events in communities around the country. American Life League’s official T-shirt for Pro-life Memorial Day is available online.
abortion
BREAST CANCER: The Breast Cancer Prevention Institute has published an updated version of its “Breast Cancer: Risks and Prevention” booklet.
FARMING: Swiss doctors report, “Skin taken from an aborted fetus and cultivated in the laboratory has been used in the treatment of eight children who suffered severe burns, allowing them to avoid traumatic skin graft operations.” They also say that the mother who aborted her 14-week-old son agreed to the use of the baby’s skin.
(Reading: “Skin from fetus is a balm for burns,” Sydney Morning Herald, 8/19/05)
ethics
STEM CELL DEBATE: A research group comments that “for both adult and embryonic stem cells, stability, potential to transmit harmful pathogens or genetic mutations, and risk of forming unwanted tissues or even teratocarcinomas have yet to be fully assessed.”
(Reading: “Stem cells,” The Lancet, 8/13/05, pp. 592-602)
pharmacists
CONSCIENCE: The Illinois pharmacists who have vowed to defy the new rule put in place by Gov. Rod Blagojevich agree that it is not possible in good conscience to dispense a drug that can kill a human being. The rule requires pharmacists to fill prescriptions for the abortifacient morning-after pill. As pharmacist John Menges said, “Morally, I can’t be a different person outside of work (than I am) at work.”
(Reading: “Illinois druggists pledge to defy rule,” St. Louis Today, 8/20/05)
planned parenthood
LOW ROAD: The “shameful” video portraying violence against pro-lifers which was on, then off, the Planned Parenthood Golden Gate web site prompted the D.C. Examiner to comment, “By taking the low road and appealing to the lowest — and juvenile — common denominator, Planned Parenthood demeans its opponents, and even more, it supporters.” While the link to the video was removed from the PPGG web page, it may still be viewed from the Cybercast News Service site.
(Reading: “Planned Parenthood takes low road,” D.C. Examiner, 8/21/05)
STARBUCKS: It is reported that the company is listed on the Planned Parenthood web site as one of the businesses that “generously match employee donations to Planned Parenthood Federation of America.”
COMMENT: Stop buying that coffee.
(Action: Can call the Starbucks customer hotline at 800-235-2883 or e-mail )
(Reading: “Starbucks promotes homosexual agenda with coffee cup,” Baptist Press, 8/12/05; “Matching gift companies,” Planned Parenthood Federation of America)
pope benedict xvi
ARCHBISHOP LEVADA: Some are suggesting that Archbishop William Levada’s appointment to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith should be rescinded. Among them is commentator Thomas Droleskey.
(Reading: “Rescind the appointment at once,” Christ or Chaos, 8/4/05)
schiavo
INSIGHTS: Attorney Robert Destro offers his concerns on the way Terri Schiavo’s case was handled.
(Reading: “Inside the Terri Schiavo case and why it matters now,” LifeSiteNews.com, 8/05)
supreme court
ROBERTS I: In a recent interview on the coming hearings for Supreme Court nominee John Roberts, Howard Phillips comments, “Basically my position has been that in the case of Sandra Day O’Connor and in the case of David Souter, two Republican court nominees, the record was clear, they were both pro-abortion-O’Connor as a member of the Arizona senate and Arizona judiciary, and Souter as the trustee of two hospitals where he worked actively and successfully to change the policies from zero abortion to convenience abortion. Roberts’ record is more clouded and my hunch is that he would probably not vote to overturn Roe v. Wade, but that he might, in more limited cases, such as partial birth abortion, support the anti-abortion side.”
(Reading: “‘The last honorable politician’ and presidential candidate, Howard Philips, speaks on Judge John Roberts,” LifeSiteNews.com, 8/16/05)
ROBERTS II: Regarding Judge Roberts, Don Feder opines, “After solemnly and repeatedly promising the right Supreme Court nominees who are intellectual clones of Thomas and Scalia, the president gave us a man without a paper trail, a 50-year-old lawyer who isn’t on record expressing a conviction about anything more controversial than a preference for tuna-fish sandwiches over BLTs.”
(Reading: “John Roberts: W’s Souter,” Human Events, 8/15/05)
ROBERTS III: Joseph Farah opines, “Roberts is the kind of Beltway creature I most detest. He’s not man enough to stand up and tell you what he really believes. He doesn’t want to be accountable for defending his positions publicly. So he conspires in the dark behind closed doors and writes memos attacking righteous men who have the courage to operate in the light.”
(Reading: “Roberts subverted Reagan,” World Net Daily, 8/17/05, http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=45813)
wisdom
AQUINAS ON BISHOPS: “The duty of a good shepherd is charity; therefore Christ said: The good shepherd gives his life for his sheep. Know the difference between a good and a bad shepherd: the good shepherd cares for the welfare of his flock, but the bad shepherd cares only for his own welfare. The Good Shepherd does not demand that shepherds lay down their lives for a real flock of sheep. But every spiritual shepherd must endure the loss of his bodily life for the salvation of his flock, since the spiritual good of the flock is more important than the bodily life of the shepherd, when danger threatens the salvation of the flock. This is why the Lord says: The good shepherd lays down his life, that is, his physical life, for his sheep; this he does because of his authority and love. Both, in fact, are required: that they should be ruled by him, and that he should love them. The first without the second is not enough.”
(Reading: Liturgy of the Hours, Vol. 3, p. 158)
zinger
FATHER? WHO NEEDS ONE? Suzi Leather, head of the British Human Fertilization and Embryology Authority which creates rules for in vitro fertilization practitioners, says, “It is absolutely clear if you think about the changes in society and the different ways that families can be constituted that it is anachronistic for the law to include a statement about the child’s need for a father.”
(Reading: “Doctors may disregard ‘need for a father’ when deciding on IVF,” The Telegraph, 8/17/05)
reflection for prayer
PERSONAL OPINIONS: If God were always the only object of our desire we would not so easily be disturbed at the resistance of our opinions.
(Reading: Imitation of Christ, 1:14)