in this issue:
hot button issues: PRO-ABORTION CATHOLICS IN CONGRESS
adolescents: PARENTAL CONSENT
catholic bishops: BURKE
congress: CHILD CUSTODY PROTECTION ACT / RIGHT TO LIFE ACT
in vitro fertilization: BILLIONS
lifelines: A THOUGHT
practitioners: TILLER
schiavo: DEATH SENTENCE FOR TERRI?
stem cell alert: CONTAMINATION
stem cell research: CANCER
ultrasound: SAFETY
zinger: HILLARY’S COMMON GROUND
reflection for prayer: IN CONVERSATION WITH GOD
hot button issues
PRO-ABORTION CATHOLICS IN CONGRESS: American Life League has published an ad identifying 72 pro-abortion members of Congress who claim the Catholic faith.
(Reading: “72 reasons why every pro-life march comes to a dead stop at Congress,” American Life League ad, 1/24/05; “Pro-abortion Catholics in Congress,” American Life League, 1/24/05)
adolescents
PARENTAL CONSENT: In a study of 1,526 female adolescents, researchers found that less than 3.5 percent were worried about their parents actually harming them if they were informed of sexual activity. The majority of those younger than 18 (59%) said they would use the clinic for birth control even if their parents had to be notified. The research reports that 17 to 37% of private physicians are unwilling to or do not provide birth control services to minors unless their parents provide consent.
(Reading: “Adolescents’ reports of parental knowledge of adolescents’ use of sexual health services,” Journal of the American Medical Association, 1/19/05, pp. 340-348)
catholic bishops
BURKE: Leading more than 400 Catholics to a sidewalk in front of a St. Louis Planned Parenthood abortion clinic, Archbishop Raymond Burke described the pro-life struggle as “a battle against Satan and his cohorts.”
(Reading: “St. Louis Archbishop leads pro-lifers into ‘battle against Satan,'” CWNews, 1/18/05)
congress
CHILD CUSTODY PROTECTION ACT: Rep. John Ensign (R-Nev.) has been tapped by House Republican leadership to shepherd the bill, listed as eighth on a House priority list. The bill addresses the rights of parents to be informed if a child is going to cross state lines to get an abortion, unless judicial bypass is used. The bill states that the prohibition to transport the minor does not apply “if the abortion is necessary to save the life of the minor because her life was endangered by a physical disorder, physical injury or physical illness, including a life endangering physical condition caused by or arising from the pregnancy itself.”
COMMENT: While news reports suggest that this bill would make it a federal crime to take a minor across state lines to get an abortion without parental consent, the loopholes suggest something else.
(Reading: “Ensign to take lead on one of top GOP Priorities,” Las Vegas Sun, 1/25/04)
RIGHT TO LIFE ACT OF 2005: To get a sense of why Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-Calif.) is so dedicated to personhood, please see his 2003 statement on this bill.
ACTION: Is your member of Congress a co-sponsor of the 2005 bill?
(Reading: “Hunter introduces ‘Right to Life Act,'” Duncan Hunter News release, 2/6/03)
in vitro fertilization:
BILLIONS: IntegraMed America Inc. is marketing an initiative on behalf of its network of fertility centers to creatively sell IVF and other fertility treatments in the United States. The fertility center business is a $2 billion industry at this time.
COMMENT: More opportunities for more dead children.
(Reading: “IntegraMed America launches national marketing initiative for fertility centers,” IntegraMed America news release, 1/18/05)
lifelines
A THOUGHT: Give Satan an inch and he’ll be a ruler.
practitioners
TILLER: Operation Rescue West is reporting that a woman taken away by ambulance from George Tiller’s Wichita, Kansas, abortion mill has died. The group is calling for a state investigation, as well as suspension of Tiller’s medical license.
(Reading: “She’s dead,” Operation Rescue West news release, 1/25/05)
schiavo
DEATH SENTENCE FOR TERRI? The U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear the appeal of Florida Governor Jeb Bush to reinstate the Florida law that barred Terri’s husband from starving her to death. Terri’s parents still have options in the courts at this time, so there is still a glimmer of hope.
COMMENT: Why would the Supreme Court choose the date of the March for Life to reject Bush’s appeal?
(Reading: “Pro-lifers dismayed by SCOTUS refusal to reinstate Terri’s Law,” Agape Press 1/25/05)
stem cell alert
CONTAMINATION: Dr. Ajit Varki, a researcher at the University of California at San Diego, claims the stem cell lines approved by the Bush administration have been contaminated with a non-human cell-surface sialic acid. Varki said this does not render the stem cell lines useless, but “the problem either needs to be solved or alternate lines need to be generated before being used in living humans.” Solutions to the contamination problem are being studied.
COMMENT: Is this the excuse the Bush administration needs to approve more such unethical research?
(Reading: “Stem cells for research contaminated,” San Diego Daily Transcript, 1/24/05)
stem cell research
CANCER: A technology that may separate cancer stem cells from cancer cell lines could make it possible to destroy the source of malignant tumors, according to Dr. Toru Kondo, the neurobiologist who has developed the technique.
(Reading: “Targeting the root of cancer,” University of Cambridge, 1/19/05)
ultrasound
SAFETY: Researchers suggest that there really are no health hazards for preborn children who are viewed five times, or fewer, via ultrasound, though further studies are recommended.
(Reading: “Fetal ultrasound safety,” Journal of the American Medical Association, 1/19/05, p. 286)
zinger
HILLARY’S COMMON GROUND: Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.), an often-strident abortion supporter, may be trying to reinvent herself in anticipation of the 2008 presidential campaign. Speaking at a pro-abortion rally in Albany, she said, “There is an opportunity for people of good faith to find common ground in this debate — we should be able to agree that we want every child born in this country to be wanted, cherished and loved.” In response, Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council told the New York Times, “I think she’s trying to adopt a values-oriented language, but it lacks substance. If you look at Sen. Clinton’s voting record on this issue, it’s like Planned Parenthood’s condoms — it’s defective.”
(Reading: “Clinton seeking shared ground over abortion,” New York Times, 1/25/05)
reflection for prayer
IN CONVERSATION WITH GOD: Blessed are the meek because they, in this world’s warfare, are protected against the devil and against earthly persecutors. They are like glassware so well packed into straw or hay that it is not broken when it is struck. Meekness is like a strong shield broken which blunts and shatters the sharp arrows of anger. The meek are like people dressed in garments of thick quilted cotton which protect them without harming anyone else… Meekness is not a shelter for cowardice.
(Reading: “In conversation with God,” Vol. 1, p. 84)