in this issue:
abortion: ATTITUDES / DOMESTIC VIOLENCE / SURPRISING PRO-LIFE STUDY
bush: PRO-ABORT PAL
euthanasia: BRITAIN / MUDDY WATERS
human embryonic stem cell research: PRE-EMBRYO MYTH
morning-after abortion pills: NEW HAMPSHIRE
planned parenthood: DICTIONARY OF DECEIT
reproductive technology: SYNTHETIC EGG
roe v. wade: ALTA CHARO
spermicide: NONOXYNOL-9
wisdom: COMPASSION DIVORCED FROM CHRIST
reflection for prayer: MATTHEW 11:28
abortion
ATTITUDES: An interview study of 1,082 expectant mothers in their first 20 weeks of pregnancy revealed that “most pregnant women enrolled in prenatal care support abortion availability,” but “half would only consider a first-trimester procedure. These findings underscore the need for early prenatal genetic counseling, screening and testing.”
COMMENT: In other words, to kill more babies, earlier tests are needed.
(Reading: “Abortion attitudes of pregnant women in prenatal care,” American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, 6/05, pp. 1939-1947)
DOMESTIC VIOLENCE: A survey by Canadian researchers shows that at least 35 percent of women seeking abortion do so because of abuse. There is a clear correlation between abortion and domestic violence, confirmed by previous studies.
(Reading: “Abortion and domestic violence closely linked Canadian study shows,” LifeSiteNews.com, 3/21/05; “Violence and abortions: What’s a doctor to do?” Canadian Medical Association Journal, 3/1/05)
SURPRISING PRO-LIFE STUDY: A carefully researched analysis of state laws on abortion, then and now, reveals that if Roe v. Wade and Doe v. Bolton are overturned, less than ten percent of the U.S. population would even be affected. “Overturning Roe and Doe would send the issue of when abortion should be permitted back to the American people. It will not result in making abortion illegal for most of the country.”
(Reading: “New study reveals that overturning Roe will not impact legality of abortion in most states,” Life Legal Defense Fund news release, 6/28/05)
bush
PRO-ABORT PAL: President Bush’s chief of staff, Andrew Card, joined some of Bush’s biggest donors for a fund raiser for Sen. Lincoln Chaffee of Rhode Island, who supports abortion in every case. It is of some interest that according to 2004 news reports, Sen. Chafee would not support President Bush’s re-election effort, in part because of Bush’s stand on abortion.
COMMENT: Some people have principles, or so we are told.
(Reading: “Bush shakes money tree for Chafee,” The Hill, 6/23/05; “Sen. Chafee considers leaving GOP,” USA Today, 11/3/04)
euthanasia
BRITAIN: A coalition of general practitioners, described as “a growing number,” is demanding the right to “help” terminally ill patients kill themselves. Their goal is to see the British Medical Association drop its ban on the practice.
(Reading: “Doctors demand right to die law,” Daily Mail, 6/25/05)
MUDDY WATERS: Ron Panzer of the Hospice Patients Alliance details the historic steps taken in creating the culture of death: “Legal ‘permission’ to kill within a health care setting has been achieved through a combination of incremental steps towards the legalization of euthanasia and/or assisted suicide.” He points out that the first step is the denial of personhood, thus classifying certain people as nonpersons.
(Reading: “Muddy waters,” Hospice Patients Alliance, 5/6/05)
human embryonic stem cell research
PRE-EMBRYO MYTH: William B. Neaves, president and CEO of Stowers Institute for Medical Research, argues that those with differing “beliefs” about the status of the human embryo as a human being should not stop “important” endeavors such as human embryonic stem cell research. To make his point, he states, “We believe an individual human being begins life after successful implantation of a fertilization blastocyst in the uterus.”
Read about Neaves’ comments, and how Dianne Irving, Ph.D., neatly exposes the lies, by requesting a copy of “Another tragic casualty of Fr. Richard McCormick’s ‘pre-embryo’ myth: Meet Missouri’s Dr. Neaves” from .
morning-after abortion pills
NEW HAMPSHIRE: Pharmacists are divided over whether to participate under a new state law allowing morning-after abortion pills (so-called emergency contraception) to be dispensed without a prescription.
(Reading: “Pharmacists split on emergency contraception law,” Associated Press, 6/27/05)
planned parenthood
DICTIONARY OF DECEIT: In the latest effort to make pro-life rhetoric appear to be false, Planned parenthood has created a “spin v. truth” commentary that is well worth reading, if only for the twisted concepts in their deadly ideas.
(Reading: “Dictionary of deceit: Part one,” Planned Parenthood, 6/30/05)
reproductive technology
SYNTHETIC EGG: Researchers claim they can theoretically “eliminate the need for both men and women for human reproduction” by using a synthetic egg created from a man’s genetic material.
COMMENT: Catholic medical ethicist Fr. Joseph Howard states that such claims are intrinsically evil because the process violates the natural right of the child to be conceived as a direct result of his parent’s conjugal love. It also opens the door for homosexuals and lesbians to “have children,” which also violates the natural law.
(Reading: “New research claims babies can be created from synthetic egg,” Catholic News Agency, 6/23/05)
roe v. wade
ALTA CHARO: The female professor from Wisconsin who favors every kind of pro-death practice – from human embryonic stem cell research and beyond – told a U.S. Senate committee that Roe v. Wade protects not only a woman’s right to choose, but every American’s fundamental right to privacy. She said that rejecting the core holding of Roe means rejecting “any significant limit on the power of the government to dictate not only our personal morality but also the way we choose to live, to marry and to raise our children.”
COMMENT: No, rejecting Roe properly means affirming the individual humanity – personhood – of every human being from his or her beginning.
(Reading: “Privacy rights key in abortion debate,” Capital Times, 6/24/05)
spermicide
NONOXYNOL-9: A Government Accountability Office report shows that nonoxynol-9 might increase a person’s risk of contracting HIV, but that the FDA has not issued new consumer warning labels.
(Reading: “FDA failure to update nonoxynol-9 labels to mention increased risk of contracting HIV puts people at risk, GAO report says,” Medical News Today, 4/13/05)
wisdom
COMPASSION DIVORCED FROM CHRIST: John Mallon writes, “Compassion and tenderness are among our finest and noblest emotions, but when they are not governed by truth, and when they replace truth as governing principles?as if an ‘angel of light’?they can only lead into the jaws of death.”
(Reading: “Compassion unto death,” Catholic Exchange, 1/27/01)
reflection for prayer
MATTHEW 11:28: Come to me, all you who labor and are overburdened, and I will give you rest.