in this issue:
hot button issues: BROWN VS. KINSOLVING / CHOICE ON EARTH / NARAL PRESIDENT
abortion: BLACK AMERICANS / FLEXIBILITY / WHICH IS BETTER
birth control: IMPLANON
congress: ABORTION AND HEALTH CARE
culture of death: REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS OR HEALTH
euthanasia: FLORIDA / IS TERRI’S HUSBAND GIVING UP? / NEW ZEALAND
fertility: NEW PRO-LIFE RESOURCE
hollywood: MEL GIBSON
in memoriam: THOMAS DOERFLINGER
pregnancy: CERVICAL CANCER
stem cell research: CORD BLOOD / HUMAN MUSCLE / PARALYSIS CURED
reflection for prayer: 1 TIMOTHY 6:11-12
hot button issues
BROWN VS. KINSOLVING: Judie Brown responds to Les Kinsolving’s attack on American Life League and its philosophy.
(Reading: “Happy conception day?” World Net Daily, 11/20/04; “Who’s the real barbarian?” World Net Daily, 11/27/04)
CHOICE ON EARTH: Planned Parenthood’s “Choice on Earth” holiday cards are back. Jim Sedlak of American Life League’s STOPP International notes, “This blatant mockery of Christian values — and of Christ Himself — truly demonstrates the bigoted, anti-religion, anti-God nature of Planned Parenthood.”
(Reading: “Planned Parenthood again offends Christians with ‘Choice on Earth’ holiday greeting card,” American Life League news release, 11/29/04)
NARAL PRESIDENT: Nancy Keenan, the new president of NARAL, was raised Catholic. American Life League’s Judie Brown observes, “For a woman who was taught to respect all innocent human beings, it is a scandal that Ms. Keenan has agreed to lead such an anti-life, anti-Catholic organization.”
(Reading: “NARAL president rejects Catholic background, embraces abortion and the culture of death,” American Life League news release, 12/1/04)
abortion
BLACK AMERICANS: Approximately 35% of all abortions in the U.S. are performed on black women, while they represent only 13% of the U.S. female population.
(Reading: “Support for abortion contradicts public service,” Order of Friars Minor newsletter, 10-11/04, p. 1; National Black Catholic Apostolate for Life)
FLEXIBILITY: Researchers encourage using misoprostol at home rather than in a physician’s office when a medical abortion is sought, arguing the choice allows “more flexibility and privacy in their abortions.”
(Reading: “Acceptability of home-use of misoprostol in medical abortion,” Contraception, 70 (2004) 387-392)
WHICH IS BETTER: Researchers claim surgical abortion is more successful than medical abortion at less than 63 days into a pregnancy, but note surgical abortion is associated with a higher risk of antibiotic treatment.
(Reading: “Medical versus surgical abortion efficacy, complications…” Contraception, 70 (2004) 393-399)
birth control
IMPLANON: A study involving 80 women who accept Implanon or Norplant birth control implants found there may be mild liver dysfunction associated with either of the implants, but researchers said this finding “is possibly of no clinical significance to the healthy acceptor.”
COMMENT: Since when do researchers get away with using caveats to describe what could be life-threatening conditions for the woman?
(Reading: “Effect of etonogestrel subdermal contraceptive implant (Implanon) on liver function tests — a randomized comparative study with Norplant implants,” Contraception, 70 (2004) 379-82)
congress
ABORTION AND HEALTH CARE: A significant amendment to the FY 2005 spending bill passed Nov. 14, stipulating that funds cannot be denied an entity (doctor, hospital, health plan, etc.) that chooses not to perform or provide abortion. After the debate, Sen. Bill Frist (R-Tenn.) assured Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) that he would provide her with an opportunity in 2005 to seek a vote on her amendment that would remove the conscience provision from the 2006 version of the funding bill.
(Reading: “Abortion-rights opponents declare victory after passage of appropriations bill with antiabortion provision,” Medical News Today, 11/24/04)
culture of death
REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS OR HEALTH: Ipas, an international pro-abortion non-profit located in Chapel Hill, N.C., claims there is a big difference between reproductive rights and reproductive health. The organization is miffed that WUNC-FM will not permit the phrase “reproductive rights” to be used in the group’s on-air announcement because the term “could be interpreted as advocating a particular political position.” Ipas says the words do not mean the same thing. Ipas specializes in vacuum aspiration abortion, medical abortion and other anti-life activities.
COMMENT: “Reproductive rights” is a politically charged term that suggests constitutional rights to everything from homosexual relationships to abortion. “Reproductive health” is a term created to avoid discussing abortion, birth control sterilization and other such topics in the public sector. Both terms suggest that anti-life clinical services should be no different than dental services.
(Reading: “NC public radio station bars use of phrase ‘reproductive rights,'” Feminist Daily News Wire, 11/11/04)
euthanasia
FLORIDA: Hanford Pinette had signed a Living Will. He later provided his wife with durable power of attorney, giving Mrs. Pinette authority to make health decisions for her husband, whose health had deteriorated. A judge has ruled that despite the power of attorney agreement, the Living Will takes priority. Judge Lawrence Kirkwood said the Living Will must be respected, and therefore Mr. Pinette will be “taken off life support” against his wife’s wishes.
COMMENT: Mr. Pinette should have rescinded his Living Will; as happens far too often, the Living Will became a death warrant.
(Reading: “Judge upholds living will over wife’s pleas,” Associated Press, 11/23/04)
IS TERRI’S HUSBAND GIVING UP? Michael Schiavo’s attorney, George Felos, argues that the time is drawing near when “proceeding in the judicial system is futile.”
(Reading: “Are Terri’s foes giving up the fight?” Catholic Standard, 11/18/04)
NEW ZEALAND: The father of a brain-damaged baby girl was acquitted of murder even though he described to the court how he smothered the child’s face with his hands until she stopped breathing. The father took these drastic measures after learning that his baby daughter had a rare brain disease. A support group for disabled people is outraged by the decision.
(Reading: “Father freed in killing of daughter,” United Press International, 11/18/04; “Concern about value of disabled children,” NZCity, 11/19/04)
fertility
NEW PRO-LIFE RESOURCE: The Pope Paul VI Institute has published a new medical textbook that contains more than 28 years of foundational research. The textbook, “The Medical and Surgical Practice of NaProTechnology,” may be ordered from the institute.
hollywood
MEL GIBSON: In arguing against California’s Proposition 71, Gibson said “I was never in a Petri dish, but at one stage I was that little cluster of cells myself, as were you, as was the doctor, as is everybody. Tell me anybody who wasn’t that at some point in their development, and I’ll give you a cigar.”
(Reading: “Verbatim,” Time magazine, 11/8/04)
in memoriam
THOMAS DOERFLINGER: As we pray for the repose of the soul of Richard and Lee Ann Doerflinger’s 19-year-old son Thomas, who was killed in action in Iraq, we rejoice that Mark Pickup has so eloquently memorialized this young man and his heroism.
(Reading: “Yes, Thomas is with the Lord,” Western Catholic Reporter, 11/29/04)
pregnancy
CERVICAL CANCER: “When cervical cancer complicates pregnancy, the two patients, mother and fetus, have three clinical objectives: delivery of a healthy newborn at term, no progression of disease, and therapy that will allow for subsequent pregnancies.” Clearly some doctors, including the author, believe that all three objectives are possible.
(Reading: “Cervical cancer complicating pregnancy: two patients with three clinical objectives,” Obstetrics and Gynecology, 11/04, pp. 1127-1128)
stem cell research
CORD BLOOD: Citing many studies that reveal the success of using cord blood stem cells, one scientist has shown that “stem cells from cord blood grafts can actually cross the blood-brain barrier and differentiate into mature cells. ” These stem cells’ ability to morph into other cell types contributes to amazing results.
(Reading: “Growing role for umbilical cord blood,” Journal of the American Medical Association, 11/24/04)
HUMAN MUSCLE: Researchers are finding that adult human skeletal muscle consists of a population of progenitor stem cells that could be source “for the isolation of pluripotent stem cells for development of cell-based therapies for human myogenic and neurogenic diseases.”
(Reading: “Isolation and culture of human muscle-derived stem cells able to differentiate into myogenic and neurogenic cell lineages,” The Lancet, 11/20/04, pp. 1872-1883)
PARALYSIS CURED: South Korean Hwang Mi-Soon, paralyzed for 20 years, is now walking because of therapy involving the use of umbilical cord blood stem cells.
(Reading: “Cord blood stem cells cure paralysis,” Agence France-Presse, 11/28/04)
reflection for prayer
1 TIMOTHY 6:11-12: You must aim to be saintly and religious, filled with faith and love, patient and gentle. Fight the good fight of the faith and win for yourself the eternal life to which you were called.