in this issue:
hot button issues: PLANNED PARENTHOOD / SAVING THOSE DAMNED CATHOLICS / ULTRASOUND VIDEO
abortion: CALIFORNIA / CHINA / TILLER
activism: LIFE CHAIN
in vitro fertilization: PRE-IMPLANTATION DIAGNOSIS
personhood: COLORADO
stem cell research / ethical: DIABETES / PLURIPOTENT CELLS
zinger: POLICE DOGS AND BABIES
reflection for prayer: MATTHEW 10:16, 22
hot button issues
PLANNED PARENTHOOD: Missouri’s governor has signed a law that prevents organizations that sell contraceptives from participating in public school sex education programs. ALL’s Jim Sedlak says the law effectively bars Planned Parenthood from Missouri classrooms. “To have an entity that profits from the sale of birth control and abortion teaching our children about sex is ludicrous,” he said.
Reading: “Law evicts Planned Parenthood from schools,” American Life League news release, 7/11/07
SAVING THOSE DAMNED CATHOLICS: Of Judie Brown’s latest book, former Congressman Bob Dornan writes, “With wit, insight and fearless presentation of the facts, Saving Those Damned Catholics shreds the ‘seamless garment’ most Catholic Bishops use to cloak their sinfully silent consent to legalized abortion. Saving Those Damned Catholics will inspire you with the fortitude and the will to tackle this eternally urgent mission.”
TO ORDER: “Saving Those Damned Catholics” is available from ALL in hardcover or paperback. Call 866-LET-LIVE or purchase onlilne.
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.
abortion
CALIFORNIA: The state is reprimanding a Planned Parenthood facility in San Diego for “failing to report in a timely manner” the death of a woman who died of toxic shock after being given a laminaria. The woman’s mother has already filed malpractice suits against Planned Parenthood.
Reading: “Planned Parenthood abortion facility reprimanded by California health authorities,” Life Site News, 7/5/07
CHINA: At least one Chinese city is seeing the negative impact of the country’s notorious one child policy. Authorities in Guangzhou will now permit couples to have two children in an effort to offset the city’s lopsided demographics. Within the next three years, the city will have more than one million people over the age of 60, comprising 13 percent of the population. By 2035, the Guangzhou’s over-60 population could hit 2.3 million
Reading: “City eases ‘one child’ policy,” China Daily, 7/5/07
TILLER: Notorious abortionist George Tiller is filing a challenge to a Kansas law that could directly affect his business. Tiller also faces 19 misdemeanor charges in connection with reported violations of the law that regulates late-term abortions.
Reading: “Doctor challenges Kansas abortion law,” Associated Press, 7/2/07
activism
LIFE CHAIN: The annual Life Chain event is scheduled for October 7. Mark your calendars now and check onlinefor a Life Chain in your area.
in vitro fertilization
PRE-IMPLANTATION DIAGNOSIS: Research published in the New England Journal of Medicine indicates that screening embryos fertilized in the laboratory decrease a woman’s chances having a baby through in vitro fertilization. The thought behind such screening was selection of the “best” embryos for implantation in the mother’s womb. Critics say the tests are recommended because they’re profitable for the in vitro centers, with single tests costing as much as $5,000.
Reading: “Embryo sifting fares poorly in one study,” Associated Press, 7/4/07
personhood
COLORADO: Ballot language has been approved for a Colorado initiative. The proposal would declare that the rights of personhood begin at fertilization.
Reading: “Pro-life ballot initiative clears first hurdle,” Colorado for Equal Rights news release, 7/3/07
stem cell research / ethical
DIABETES: Further study shows promising results in the effort to produce insulin using stem cells from umbilical cord blood. Researchers reported that the cord cells were transformed into insulin-producing cells in 21 days.
Reading: “Insulin from cord blood,” Genethique newsletter, 5/07
PLURIPOTENT CELLS: Scientists report successfully reprogramming adult stem cells to behave as pluripotent cells. “Applied to human species, these results would revolutionize all the researches on stem cells and would make definitely useless the researches on the embryo which raise so many serious ethical problems.”
Reading: “Revolutionary breakthrough: Pluripotent cells from adult stem cells,” Genethique newsletter, 6/07
zinger
POLICE DOGS AND BABIES: North Carolina’s legislature quickly approved a law making it a felony to kill a police dog. A bill permitting double murder charges for causing the death of a pregnant mother is stalled in committee, and a man whose pregnant daughter was stabbed to death is baffled. Kevin Blaine told WTVD, “I just don’t understand why you would pass a law for a dog, but not a child.”
COMMENT: Neither do we, Mr. Blaine.
Reading: “Rights of K9s and fetuses compared,” WTVD-TV, 7/3/07
reflection for prayer
MATTHEW 10:16, 22: Jesus said to his apostles: “Behold, I am sending you like sheep in the midst of wolves; so be shrewd as serpents and simple as doves… You will be hated by all because of my name, but whoever endures to the end will be saved.’