in this issue:
hot button issues: ALITO / ASSISTED SUICIDE / PARENTAL NOTIFICATION / ROCK FOR LIFE
abortion: INDIA
birth control insurance: NEW YORK
personhood: RIGHT TO LIFE ACT
planned parenthood: CLOSED IN INDIANA / FUNDRAISING IN SAN FRANCISCO / TASTELESS IN SEATTLE
stem cell research / ethical: HAIR FOLLICLES
stem cell research / unethical: ANIMAL HYBRIDS? / HWANG AFTERMATH
zinger: PRO-LIFE CARPOOLERS
reflection for prayer: PSALM 57:3-6
hot button issues
ALITO: With the Senate Judiciary Committee’s vote postponed until January 24, there is still time to sign American Life League’s petition in support of Judge Samuel Alito’s nomination as Supreme Court justice. The petition is found at ApproveAlito.com.
ASSISTED SUICIDE: The U.S. Supreme Court turned down a challenge to Oregon’s assisted suicide law, saying the U.S. attorney general did not have the authority to use federal drug control laws to go after doctors who prescribe lethal doses of drugs to patients who request it. American Life League’s Jim Sedlak noted, “At its core, this ruling removes all protections for the lives of all persons in Oregon whose doctors predict they have less than six months to live. While the current case involves voluntary euthanasia, it is just another step toward forced euthanasia.”
(Reading: “Supreme Court upholds Oregon suicide law,” Associated Press, 11/17/06; “Supreme Court ruling on Oregon suicide law leaves open door for involuntary euthanasia,” American Life League news release, 1/17/06)
PARENTAL NOTIFICATION: On a unanimous vote, the Supreme Court ordered an appeals court to take another look at a parental notification law in New Hampshire. The appeals court had struck down the law, but the high court found problems with that ruling. However, American Life League’s Jim Sedlak cautions, “the court did not uphold the law in its entirety and therefore residents of New Hampshire are still in danger of having that law, or parts of the law, once again overturned by the lower court. Basically, the Supreme Court only took care of half of the problem.”
(Reading: “Supreme Court dodges big abortion ruling,” Associated Press, 1/18/06; “Planned Parenthood suffers unanimous defeat,” American Life League news release, 1/18/06)
ROCK FOR LIFE: American Life League’s youth outreach is planning a number of events in Washington, D.C. over the next few days. Young people from around the country will take part in a pro-life activism workshop and then participate in the annual March for Life on January 23. Details are available online.
abortion
INDIA: According to the medical journal The Lancet, as many 10 million baby girls have been aborted in India. Researchers say these abortions are twice as common among the educated as among the illiterate. Indian culture sometimes considers daughters a liability; the ability to determine gender before birth has led to a decrease in the number of girls born over the past 20 years.
(Reading: “10 million girls aborted in India — Lancet,” Ireland Online, 1/9/06)
birth control insurance
NEW YORK: A state appeals court has rejected the arguments of several Catholic groups challenging the state law requiring employers whose insurance packages cover prescriptions to include birth control. Certain religious institutions are exempt from the law, but organizations such as Catholic Charities of Albany were not deemed “religious.” A spokesman for the state Catholic conference said the ruling will be appealed.
(Reading: “Challenge to contraception law rejected by appeals court,” Associated Press, 1/12/06)
personhood
RIGHT TO LIFE ACT: This bill (HR 552) states, “The terms ‘human person’ and ‘human being’ include each and every member of the species homo sapiens at all stages of life, including, but not limited to, the moment of fertilization, cloning, or other moment at which an individual member of the human species comes into being.” See Right to Life Act for details.
COMMENT: Is your member of Congress a co-sponsor? If not, ask!
planned parenthood
CLOSED IN INDIANA: The Planned Parenthood clinic in Crawfordsville, Indiana is shutting its doors. A Planned Parenthood spokesman said the decision was based on a shortage of nurse practitioners and the cost of running the facility.
(Reading: “Crawfordsville’s Planned Parenthood to close,” Crawfordsville Journal Review, 1/5/06)
FUNDRAISING IN SAN FRANCISCO: Planned Parenthood Golden Gate sponsored “In bed: The politics of privacy.” Columnist Molly Ivins was the main speaker for this fundraiser, which also featured drinks, hors d’oeuvres and an “original intimate apparel” display.
(Reading: “In bed: The politics of Privacy,” Planned Parenthood Golden Gate)
TASTELESS IN SEATTLE: A young professionals group is holding a Planned Parenthood fundraiser on February 4. The Prom for Choice will be hosted by “Seattle’s preeminent drag queen,” whose stage name is “Amazing Grace.”
(Reading: “Prom promises night of dancing and fun,” Planned Parenthood of Western Washington)
stem cell research / ethical
HAIR FOLLICLES: Researchers at a firm called Anti-Cancer have used hair follicle stem cells to repair nerve damage in mice. According to the report, it’s easy to obtain hair follicle stem cells, which would provide “an ethically superior alternative to fetal and embryonic stem cells.”
(Reading: “Hair follicle stem cells regenerate severed nerves and could rival embryonic stem cells,” Comment on Reproductive Ethics)
stem cell research / unethical
ANIMAL HYBRIDS? Chinese researchers report using rabbit eggs to create human embryonic stem cells. Josephine Quintavalle of Comment on Reproductive Ethics said: “The question is ‘what would be created?’ I think it is right to feel uncomfortable about creating some type of hybrid.”
(Reading: “Animal eggs ‘to grow stem cells,'” BBC News, 1/12/06)
HWANG AFTERMATH: Stanford University researcher Irving Weissman takes note of the scandal involving Korean scientist Hwang Woo-suk, but insists that human embryonic stem cell experimentation should proceed at full speed. “With the dollars provided by California’s Proposition 71, Stanford intends to recruit scientists who will find ways to do nuclear transfer research, first in animal models and then with human cells, using the safest and most effective methods.”
COMMENT: Dianne N. Irving, Ph.D., notes: “Why is it that these cloning (aka, stem cell) researchers want to continue the ‘race’ to produce human embryonic stem cells derived from human embryos cloned by nuclear transfer? Their spin remains, ‘To cure human diseases using regenerative stem cell therapies.’ But if there is one thing that the Hwang scientific fraud scandal has proven beyond question is that, even if such human embryos are successfully cloned, and their stem cells successfully grown, these stem cells contain significant ‘foreign’ DNA (from the mitochondrial DNA of the oocyte used) which would cause immune rejection reactions in patients injected with them. Do they and their ‘ethicists’ just not get it? And I wonder to what degree any responsibility and accountability that bioethicists have in this historic research fraud?”
(Reading: “Statement on the South Korean stem cell investigation,” Stanford Medical Center news release, 1/10/06)
zinger
PRO-LIFE CARPOOLERS: Well, she tried. Candace Dickinson figured she had a right to drive in the HOV-2 lane in Mesa, Arizona. Rush hour restrictions require a minimum of two people in each car in the high-occupancy vehicle lane. Dickinson says there were indeed two people in her car — herself, and her preborn child. Unfortunately, the police officer who pulled her over didn’t agree. And neither did the judge. Dickinson was fined $367. But she still insists she’s right.
(Reading: “Pregnant doesn’t count in HOV lane,” East Valley [Arizona] Tribune, 1/11/06)
reflection for prayer
PSALM 57:3-6: I call to God Most High, to God who provides for me. May God send help from heaven to save me, shame those who trample upon me. May God send fidelity and love. I must lie down in the midst of lions hungry for human prey. Their teeth are spears and arrows; their tongue, a sharpened sword. Show yourself over the heavens, God; may your glory appear above all the earth.
hot button issues: ALITO / ASSISTED SUICIDE / PARENTAL NOTIFICATION / ROCK FOR LIFE
abortion: INDIA
birth control insurance: NEW YORK
personhood: RIGHT TO LIFE ACT
planned parenthood: CLOSED IN INDIANA / FUNDRAISING IN SAN FRANCISCO / TASTELESS IN SEATTLE
stem cell research / ethical: HAIR FOLLICLES
stem cell research / unethical: ANIMAL HYBRIDS? / HWANG AFTERMATH
zinger: PRO-LIFE CARPOOLERS
reflection for prayer: PSALM 57:3-6
hot button issues
ALITO: With the Senate Judiciary Committee’s vote postponed until January 24, there is still time to sign American Life League’s petition in support of Judge Samuel Alito’s nomination as Supreme Court justice. The petition is found at ApproveAlito.com.
ASSISTED SUICIDE: The U.S. Supreme Court turned down a challenge to Oregon’s assisted suicide law, saying the U.S. attorney general did not have the authority to use federal drug control laws to go after doctors who prescribe lethal doses of drugs to patients who request it. American Life League’s Jim Sedlak noted, “At its core, this ruling removes all protections for the lives of all persons in Oregon whose doctors predict they have less than six months to live. While the current case involves voluntary euthanasia, it is just another step toward forced euthanasia.”
(Reading: “Supreme Court upholds Oregon suicide law,” Associated Press, 11/17/06; “Supreme Court ruling on Oregon suicide law leaves open door for involuntary euthanasia,” American Life League news release, 1/17/06)
PARENTAL NOTIFICATION: On a unanimous vote, the Supreme Court ordered an appeals court to take another look at a parental notification law in New Hampshire. The appeals court had struck down the law, but the high court found problems with that ruling. However, American Life League’s Jim Sedlak cautions, “the court did not uphold the law in its entirety and therefore residents of New Hampshire are still in danger of having that law, or parts of the law, once again overturned by the lower court. Basically, the Supreme Court only took care of half of the problem.”
(Reading: “Supreme Court dodges big abortion ruling,” Associated Press, 1/18/06; “Planned Parenthood suffers unanimous defeat,” American Life League news release, 1/18/06)
ROCK FOR LIFE: American Life League’s youth outreach is planning a number of events in Washington, D.C. over the next few days. Young people from around the country will take part in a pro-life activism workshop and then participate in the annual March for Life on January 23. Details are available online.
abortion
INDIA: According to the medical journal The Lancet, as many 10 million baby girls have been aborted in India. Researchers say these abortions are twice as common among the educated as among the illiterate. Indian culture sometimes considers daughters a liability; the ability to determine gender before birth has led to a decrease in the number of girls born over the past 20 years.
(Reading: “10 million girls aborted in India — Lancet,” Ireland Online, 1/9/06)
birth control insurance
NEW YORK: A state appeals court has rejected the arguments of several Catholic groups challenging the state law requiring employers whose insurance packages cover prescriptions to include birth control. Certain religious institutions are exempt from the law, but organizations such as Catholic Charities of Albany were not deemed “religious.” A spokesman for the state Catholic conference said the ruling will be appealed.
(Reading: “Challenge to contraception law rejected by appeals court,” Associated Press, 1/12/06)
personhood
RIGHT TO LIFE ACT: This bill (HR 552) states, “The terms ‘human person’ and ‘human being’ include each and every member of the species homo sapiens at all stages of life, including, but not limited to, the moment of fertilization, cloning, or other moment at which an individual member of the human species comes into being.” See Right to Life Act for details.
COMMENT: Is your member of Congress a co-sponsor? If not, ask!
planned parenthood
CLOSED IN INDIANA: The Planned Parenthood clinic in Crawfordsville, Indiana is shutting its doors. A Planned Parenthood spokesman said the decision was based on a shortage of nurse practitioners and the cost of running the facility.
(Reading: “Crawfordsville’s Planned Parenthood to close,” Crawfordsville Journal Review, 1/5/06)
FUNDRAISING IN SAN FRANCISCO: Planned Parenthood Golden Gate sponsored “In bed: The politics of privacy.” Columnist Molly Ivins was the main speaker for this fundraiser, which also featured drinks, hors d’oeuvres and an “original intimate apparel” display.
(Reading: “In bed: The politics of Privacy,” Planned Parenthood Golden Gate)
TASTELESS IN SEATTLE: A young professionals group is holding a Planned Parenthood fundraiser on February 4. The Prom for Choice will be hosted by “Seattle’s preeminent drag queen,” whose stage name is “Amazing Grace.”
(Reading: “Prom promises night of dancing and fun,” Planned Parenthood of Western Washington)
stem cell research / ethical
HAIR FOLLICLES: Researchers at a firm called Anti-Cancer have used hair follicle stem cells to repair nerve damage in mice. According to the report, it’s easy to obtain hair follicle stem cells, which would provide “an ethically superior alternative to fetal and embryonic stem cells.”
(Reading: “Hair follicle stem cells regenerate severed nerves and could rival embryonic stem cells,” Comment on Reproductive Ethics)
stem cell research / unethical
ANIMAL HYBRIDS? Chinese researchers report using rabbit eggs to create human embryonic stem cells. Josephine Quintavalle of Comment on Reproductive Ethics said: “The question is ‘what would be created?’ I think it is right to feel uncomfortable about creating some type of hybrid.”
(Reading: “Animal eggs ‘to grow stem cells,'” BBC News, 1/12/06)
HWANG AFTERMATH: Stanford University researcher Irving Weissman takes note of the scandal involving Korean scientist Hwang Woo-suk, but insists that human embryonic stem cell experimentation should proceed at full speed. “With the dollars provided by California’s Proposition 71, Stanford intends to recruit scientists who will find ways to do nuclear transfer research, first in animal models and then with human cells, using the safest and most effective methods.”
COMMENT: Dianne N. Irving, Ph.D., notes: “Why is it that these cloning (aka, stem cell) researchers want to continue the ‘race’ to produce human embryonic stem cells derived from human embryos cloned by nuclear transfer? Their spin remains, ‘To cure human diseases using regenerative stem cell therapies.’ But if there is one thing that the Hwang scientific fraud scandal has proven beyond question is that, even if such human embryos are successfully cloned, and their stem cells successfully grown, these stem cells contain significant ‘foreign’ DNA (from the mitochondrial DNA of the oocyte used) which would cause immune rejection reactions in patients injected with them. Do they and their ‘ethicists’ just not get it? And I wonder to what degree any responsibility and accountability that bioethicists have in this historic research fraud?”
(Reading: “Statement on the South Korean stem cell investigation,” Stanford Medical Center news release, 1/10/06)
zinger
PRO-LIFE CARPOOLERS: Well, she tried. Candace Dickinson figured she had a right to drive in the HOV-2 lane in Mesa, Arizona. Rush hour restrictions require a minimum of two people in each car in the high-occupancy vehicle lane. Dickinson says there were indeed two people in her car — herself, and her preborn child. Unfortunately, the police officer who pulled her over didn’t agree. And neither did the judge. Dickinson was fined $367. But she still insists she’s right.
(Reading: “Pregnant doesn’t count in HOV lane,” East Valley [Arizona] Tribune, 1/11/06)
reflection for prayer
PSALM 57:3-6: I call to God Most High, to God who provides for me. May God send help from heaven to save me, shame those who trample upon me. May God send fidelity and love. I must lie down in the midst of lions hungry for human prey. Their teeth are spears and arrows; their tongue, a sharpened sword. Show yourself over the heavens, God; may your glory appear above all the earth.