in this issue:
hot button issues: PLANNED PARENTHOOD / WHAT WOULD THE APOSTLES DO?
abortion: AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL / LATIN AMERICA / OHIO
birth control: PREVENTING ABORTION?
euthanasia: ORGAN DONATION
morning-after abortion pill: WASHINGTON
planned parenthood: CHICAGO / SPOKANE / STATISTICS / VIDEO
reminders: LIFE CHAIN / OCTOBER / SAVING THOSE DAMNED CATHOLICS / ULTRASOUND VIDEO
reflection for prayer: PSALM 90:14,17
hot button issues
PLANNED PARENTHOOD: In a bit more than a week, Planned Parenthood tried to cover up construction plans for a new facility, practiced its unique art of revisionist biology, got hit with a malpractice lawsuit, suggested that Harry Potter and friends need sex education–and performed around 5,000 abortions.
Reading: “All in a week’s work for Planned Parenthood,” American Life League, 7/30/07
WHAT WOULD THE APOSTLES DO? ALL’s Judie Brown looks at scandals in the Catholic Church and, noting Pope Benedict XVI’s recent comments about bishops serving as successors to Christ’s apostles, wonders how those original apostles would handle various contemporary challenges in the church.
Reading: “What would the Apostles do?” American Life League, 8/2/03,
abortion
AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL: The organization was asked yet again to renounce its pro-abortion stance. It refused, despite strong objections lodged by the Catholic Church.
Reading: “Amnesty International refuses to change its abortion policy,” Christianity Today, 7/30/07
LATIN AMERICA: The medical journal The Lancet looks at the politics of abortion in an article that has little to do with the practice of medicine. The key player in the story is the Catholic Church. The journal itself editorializes that abortion should be “safe, legal and rare,” noting that “the burden of unsafe abortion is borne disproportionately by the poor, the disadvantaged, and the young.”
Reading: “Abortion debate heats up in Latin America,” The Lancet, 7/28/07, pp. 305-306; “Making abortion safe, legal and rare,” The Lancet, 7/28/07, p. 291
OHIO: Proposed legislation would require a mother to have the consent of the child’s father in order to have an abortion. The state NARAL director labeled the proposal “extreme,” saying it is “completely out of touch with Ohio’s mainstream values.”
Reading: “Abortion law would give fathers a say,” The Record-Courier, 7/30/07
birth control
PREVENTING ABORTION? A report in the Los Angeles Times notes: “States, such as California, that have spent the most to improve access to family planning still have among the nation’s highest abortion rates.” The report also quoted Rep. Mike Pence (R-Ind.), who said giving money to Planned Parenthood, the nation’s top abortion chain, in the name of reducing abortions is ludicrous. “That’s not a common ground I can accept,” he said.
Reading: “Democrats shift approach on abortion,” Los Angeles Times, 7/26/07
euthanasia
ORGAN DONATION: A California doctor is accused of hastening patients’ deaths so their organs could be harvested for transplant. An organization that oversees organ donations finds the allegations “deeply disturbing.”
Reading: “Organ donations may drop with doc’s charges,” Associated Press, 8/1/07
morning-after abortion pill
WASHINGTON: Pharmacists have filed suit in an effort to block a state law that requires them to dispense so-called emergency contraception, even if they have conscientious objections to distributing the drug, which can kill a newly-created human embryo in the first days after fertilization.
Reading: “Pharmacy owner sues over Washington contraception rules,” Associated Press, 7/26/07
planned parenthood
CHICAGO: It recently became known that a “medical center” in suburban Aurora is really going to be a Planned Parenthood abortion facility. The organization is trying to put its best spin on the situation, focusing on the 90 percent of the “services” to be offered that are said to be unrelated to abortion.
Reading: “Clinic owner says it’s filling a need,” The Beacon News, 7/27/07
SPOKANE: A couple of the members of a regional health board say they’d like to break a contract with Planned Parenthood because the organization provides abortions; or as Dr. Charles Wolfe put it, “my objections are that Planned Parenthood primarily exists to kill babies.”
Reading: “Two SRHD board members object to ties with Planned Parenthood, KXLY-TV, 7/27/07
STATISTICS: Pro-Life Waco, an American Life League associate group, is disputing Planned Parenthood’s assertion that it reports potential cases of statutory rape. Its findings suggested that Planned Parenthood in Texas greatly overstated its rate of compliance with reporting laws.
Reading: “Planned Parenthood rape stats questioned,” World News Daily, 7/26/07
VIDEO: Planned Parenthood of New York City is promoting itself with an online video called “We are Planned Parenthood.” Blogger Dawn Eden observes, “It’s clear PPNYC wants minority teens; nearly all the youths in the extended commercial are of color, which should be no surprise to those who know Planned Parenthood’s propensity for selling abortion to nonwhites.”
Reading: “We are Planned Parenthood,” Planned Parenthood of New York City, 7/20/07 / “Planned Parenthood video features abortionist’s tale of horror,” The Dawn Patrol, 7/31/07
reminders
LIFE CHAIN: Mark your calendars now and check online for a Life Chain in your area. The annual event is scheduled for October 7.
OCTOBER: The first Monday in October–October 1–is American Life League’s annual Pro-life Memorial Day. Be watching for additional details in the weeks ahead.
SAVING THOSE DAMNED CATHOLICS: Of Judie Brown’s latest book, Catholic author James Likoudis notes, “This fearless and hard-hitting indictment reflects the views of faithful Catholics outraged by the many dissenters who have betrayed the Church’s teaching on contraception, abortion, euthanasia and embryonic stem cell research.”
TO ORDER: “Saving Those Damned Catholics” is available from ALL in hardcover or paperback. Call 866-LET-LIVE or purchase online.
ULTRASOUND VIDEO: “Baby Steps: Live from the womb, 16 stages of pre-birth development,” is an amazing new video from American Life League that many in the pregnancy center movement say is certain to save lives. The video features dramatic 4-D ultrasound images of preborn babies from 8 to 34 weeks development.
TO ORDER: The “Baby Steps” DVD is available from ALL for $9.95 plus shipping and handling. Call 866-LET-LIVE toll-free, or purchase online.
reflection for prayer
PSALM 90:14,17: Fill us at daybreak with your kindness, that we may shout for joy and gladness all our days. And may the gracious care of the Lord our God be ours; prosper the work of our hands for us!