in this issue:
hot button issues: BISHOPS’ PETITION / NATIONAL PRO-LIFE T-SHIRT DAY / PRO-LIFE BASICS
abortion: SOUTH DAKOTA
breast cancer: BIRTH CONTROL
catholic bishops: KMIEC
contraception: DON’T YOU DARE!
culture of death: PETER SINGER
euthanasia: SWITZERLAND
morning-after abortion pill: WAL-MART
physicians: PRO-LIFE ASSOCIATION
prenatal testing: DOWN SYNDROME
stem cell research / ethical: DAVID A. PRENTICE
web news: PREGNANCY COUNSELING
zinger: JANE FONDA
reflection for prayer: FAITH
hot button issues
BISHOPS’ PETITION: American Life League is asking Catholics to sign a petition that will be delivered to U.S. bishops in June. The petition asks the bishops to address the scandal created by pro-abortion Catholic political figures and to enforce the Church law which says those “who obstinately persist in manifest grave sin are not to be admitted to communion.”
NATIONAL PRO-LIFE T-SHIRT DAY: The annual event is set for April 24. American Life League encourages everyone, especially students, to wear pro-life apparel on this day to show the nation just how many of us are pro-life. The official shirt of ALL’s National Pro-life T-shirt Day is available online. Additional information is available at www.NationalProLifeTshirtDay.com.
PRO-LIFE BASICS: Dr. Paul Byrne examines the topic of brain death and its impact on organ transplantation in ALL’s Celebrate Life magazine.
(Reading: “Pro-life basics,” Celebrate Life, 1-2/07, p. 8)
abortion
SOUTH DAKOTA: Weakened by the 56%-44% vote against the state’s abortion ban of last year, pro-life lawmakers this year will introduce an exception-laden bill designed “to appeal to voters who oppose abortion but feel there should be exceptions in cases of rape, incest and serious endangerment of a woman’s health.”
COMMENT: Why bother?
(Reading: “S.D. Lawmakers prepare abortion measure,” Associated Press, 1/29/07)
breast cancer
BIRTH CONTROL: The Breast Cancer Prevention Institute has published a remarkable brochure entitled “If it’s not OK for him to take steroids … why is it OK for her?” and a fact sheet entitled “Reproductive breast cancer risks and breast maturation.” To learn more, please visit BCP Institute.
catholic bishops
KMIEC: St. Thomas Aquinas parish deacon Tom McDonnell delivered a homily on Respect Life Sunday during which he pointed out that Congressman Brian Higgins (D-N.Y.) voted in favor of legislation permitting federal funding for embryonic stem cell research. The Congressman rose and left the church with his family in tow. Within days the pastor of that church and Bishop Edward Kmiec issued public statements distancing themselves from the deacon’s homily. Bishop Kmiec said, “The pulpit is not the appropriate place for confronting a member of the congregation.”
(Reading: “Bishop and priest hasten to apologize to pro-abortion politician for homily calling him to account,” LifeSite News, 1/25/07)
contraception
DON’T YOU DARE! Columnist Carol Towarnicky opines about the pro-life movement, “No pro-life organization I know of actually supports increased access to contraception. In fact, many anti-abortion activists do their best to make birth control harder to get. Few people outside these movements realize this. Anti-birth-control people don’t dare come out and say that contraception is a sin — that would be a surefire way to turn off the overwhelming majority of Americans who use it. Instead, they bear false witness about the safety and effectiveness of birth control.”
COMMENT: Wouldn’t you know it? Towarnicky herself just bore false witness.
(Reading: “More contraception, fewer abortions,” Philadelphia Daily News, 1/24/07)
culture of death
PETER SINGER: In defense of parents who had surgical procedures done on their nine-year old daughter Ashley because she is profoundly retarded and will never progress beyond the level of a 3-month old baby, Singer wrote: “As a parent and grandparent, I find 3-month-old babies adorable, but not dignified…. We are always ready to find dignity in human beings, including those whose mental age will never exceed that of an infant, but we don’t attribute dignity to dogs or cats, though they clearly operate at a more advanced mental level than human infants.”
(Reading: “A convenient truth about disability,” International Herald Tribune, 1/26/07)
euthanasia
SWITZERLAND: Comparing a Dignitas clinic, an assisted suicide facility in Zurich, to a backstreet abortionist’s office, the family of Maxine Coombes, who chose to “die with dignity,” tells the story of what such places are really like.
(Reading: “Swiss suicide clinic like a backstreet abortionist’s,” Daily Mail, 1/26/07)
morning-after abortion pill
WAL-MART: An e-mail response Wal-Mart is sending to those who inquire about the availability of Plan B advises that the company has a “conscientious objection policy” that “allows any Wal-Mart or Sam’s Club pharmacy associate who does not feel comfortable dispensing a prescription for certain medications, including Plan B emergency contraception, to refer customers to another pharmacist or pharmacy… We do require that these associates fulfill their obligation to help customers by referring them to another pharmacy that stocks the product.”
COMMENT: In other words, you can object to dispensing a potentially killer pill but you have to send the customer to another place where the killer pill can be obtained.
(Reading: “Wal-Mart policy on Plan B and pharmacists’ opt out,” Pharmacists for Life International, 1/19/07)
physicians
PRO-LIFE ASSOCIATION: For those who want to direct their family doctors or physician-friends to a pro-life group of medical professionals, visit the Association of Pro-Life Physicians.
prenatal testing
DOWN SYNDROME: Patricia Bauer writes an emotional commentary on the ethical problems being faced by those who advocate prenatal testing in order to weed out preborn babies suspected of having Down syndrome. She does seem to oppose the testing, but writes that her fervent hope is “that calls for universal prenatal screening will be joined by an equally strong call for providing comprehensive information to prospective parents, not just about the tests but also about the rich and rewarding lives that are possible with disabilities.”
(Reading: “What’s lost in prenatal testing,” Washington Post, 1/14/07)
stem cell research / ethical
DAVID A. PRENTICE: Defending his position on the value of research using adult stem cells, Dr. Prentice has written a brilliant letter to the editor of Science magazine, which Wesley J. Smith posted on his blog.
(Reading: “David Prentice rebuts hit piece in ‘Science,'” Secondhand Smoke, 1/29/07)
web news
PREGNANCY COUNSELING: A full-service web site dedicated to helping expectant moms and those who chose abortion for their babies can be visited at OptionLine.
zinger
JANE FONDA: The anti-war activist will speak at a Florida Planned Parenthood fund raiser this weekend. She is apparently not opposed to the war being waged in the womb.
(Reading: “Jane Fonda to speak at Planned Parenthood fund-raiser,” Naples News, 1/29/07)
reflection for prayer
FAITH: By believing, a human being yields and surrenders, lowers his arms and drops his weapons; with his whole body and all his possessions he delivers himself up to love.
(Reading: “God yields to faith,” Magnificat, 1/30/07, p. 412)