in this issue
hot button issues: NATIONAL PRO-LIFE T-SHIRT DAY
abortion: ARKANSAS / MIFEPRISTONE (RU 486) / SEXUALLY TRANSMITTED DISEASE
activism: NEW YORK
adolescent sexuality: RELIGIOUS VIEWS
birth control pill: CERVICAL CANCER
culture of death: IPAS
in vitro fertilization: WRONGFUL LIFE
morning-after abortion pill: NEVADA
politics: ST. THOMAS MORE
web news: NORTH CAROLINA / POOR CHOICE
world day of the sick: POPE JOHN PAUL II
reflection for prayer: JEAN VANIER
hot button issues
NATIONAL PRO-LIFE T-SHIRT DAY: On April 28, American Life League is asking students across the country to wear pro-life T-shirts to school. We’re continuing to hear enthusiastic responses from people of all ages. The mother of eight homeschoolers in Delaware writes, “All of my children will be wearing their shirts. They will wear them wherever they go that day — work, outside classes, to the park, grocery store, wherever!” In Ohio, Miami University Students for Life tells us, “Our group and its diverse members (faculty, staff, community, students) plan to wear their pro-life shirts on April 28.”
abortion
ARKANSAS: The state house is currently considering SB 729 (passed by the state senate 3/25/03), a bill that would “require physicians who use ultrasound equipment in the performance of abortions to inform the woman that she has a right to view the ultrasound image.”
(Reading: SB 729, Arkansas legislature, 3/24/03)
MIFEPRISTONE (RU-486): The American Association of Physician Assistants is running a survey on mifepristone on the home page of its web site.
(Reading: “Would you be comfortable prescribing mifepristone to patients?” American Association of Physician Assistants)
SEXUALLY TRANSMITTED DISEASE: A new study by Jon Klick and Thomas Stratmann of George Mason University argue that the legalization of abortion has directly contributed to a rise in STD rates by up to 25%. The researchers say decriminalized abortion provides extra incentive to engage in risky behaviors.
(Reading: “New study shows legal abortion increases STD rates by up to 25%“, LifeSite News, 3/31/03; Klick and Stratmann, “The effect of abortion legalization on sexual behavior: evidence from sexually transmitted diseases,” George Mason University, 2003)
activism
NEW YORK: Pro-life demonstrators report they and their children are being harassed by police. Chris Slattery says unless pro-lifers take action, he and many others may be forced to surrender their First Amendment rights. He’s asking for help from all in the pro-life movement who value their right to protest abortion. For details and an update on what you can do, contact .
adolescent sexuality
RELIGIOUS VIEWS: The National Institute of Child Health and Human Development funded a study measuring attitudes teens have toward sexual relations outside marriage. Among the findings: “Teens, particularly girls, with strong religious views are less likely to have sex than are less religious teens, largely because their religious views lead them to view the consequences of having sex negatively.” The study also notes that parents’ views do not necessarily impact on teens.
(Reading: “Strong religious views decrease teens’ likelihood of having sex,” National Institutes of Health news release, 4/2/03)
birth control pill
CERVICAL CANCER: Recent news reports indicate that women who are on the pill may be at a higher risk of cervical cancer. Reuters reports, “Women who used the pill five years or less had a 10 percent increased risk. Up to nine years pushed it up to 60 percent and a decade or more doubled the risk compared to women who never used the pill.” Analysis from consultant pharmacist John Wilks is available from American Life League.
(Reading: “Pill may raise cervical cancer risk,” Reuters, 4/4/03; “Cervical Cancer and use of hormonal contraceptives: a systematic review,” The Lancet, 4/5/03, pp. 1159-1167; “A brief summary,” review by John Wilks, B.Pharm., MPS, MAACP, 4/8/03)
culture of death
IPAS: International Pregnancy Advisory Services an abortion technique called “manual vacuum aspiration,” which it claims is “safe, simple, and effective” when doing early “termination of pregnancy.” Recent news reports have tied manual vacuum aspiration abortion to UNFPA and USAID programs, both of which appear to be allies in the struggle to protect “abortion rights.” Population Research Institute has exposed the most recent ties between the IPAS, USAID and UNFPA.
(Reading: “Getting around the law,” PRI Weekly News Briefing, 4/4/03; “IPAS and Roe v. Wade at 30,” IPAS news release, 1/22/03)
in vitro fertilization
WRONGFUL LIFE: A New York Supreme Court justice has ruled that a couple whose child, conceived through in vitro fertilization, was born with cystic fibrosis can seek punitive damages against the fertility center and the hospital for allegedly reckless conduct. However, the child may not sue for “wrongful life.”
(Reading: “Parents, not child, may seek damages over in vitro fertilization,” New York Law Journal, 4/4/03)
morning-after abortion pill
NEVADA: By voice vote, the state assembly approved an amendment to AB 144 that prevents pharmacists from refusing on religious grounds to fill prescriptions for certain drugs. The bill is now before the state senate.
(Reading: “Assembly voice vote: Pharmacists told to heed doctors’ Rx,” Las Vegas Review Journal, 4/4/03; AB 144, Nevada legislature, 2/14/03)
politics
ST. THOMAS MORE: “Though subjected to various forms of psychological pressure, St. Thomas More refused to compromise, never forsaking the ‘constant fidelity to legitimate authority and institutions’ which distinguished him; he taught by his life and his death that ‘man cannot be separated from God, nor politics from morality.'”
(Reading: “Doctrinal note on some questions regarding the participation of Catholics in political life,” Vatican Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, 11/24/02)
web news
NORTH CAROLINA: Life Tree‘s web site provides background on every pro-life bill currently being considered in the North Carolina legislature.
POOR CHOICE: David Reardon, Ph.D., recommends exposing the myths behind the phrase “pro-choice” by calling it what it is: a “poor choice.”
world day of the sick
POPE JOHN PAUL II: It remains a fundamental precept that life is to be protected and defended, from its conception to its natural end.
As I stated in my Apostolic Letter Novo Millennio Ineunte, ‘The service of humanity leads us to insist, in season and out of season, that those using the latest advances of science, especially in the field of biotechnology, must never disregard fundamental ethical requirements by invoking a questionable solidarity which eventually leads to discriminating between one life and another and ignoring the dignity which belongs to every human being’ (No. 51).
The Church, which is open to genuine scientific and technological progress, values the effort and sacrifice of those who with dedication and professionalism help to improve the quality of the service rendered to the sick, respecting their inviolable dignity. Every therapeutic procedure, all experimentation and every transplant must take into account this fundamental truth. Thus it is never licit to kill one human being in order to save another. And while palliative treatment in the final stage of life can be encouraged, avoiding a ?treatment at all costs? mentality, it will never be permissible to resort to actions or omissions which by their nature or in the intention of the person acting are designed to bring about death.
(Reading: “Message of His Holiness John Paul II for the eleventh World Day of the Sick,” Vatican News Service, 2/11/03)
reflection for prayer
JEAN VANIER: Jesus often uses the word “abide.” To abide in Jesus is what prayer is about. We must live this word and open up the chalice of our being to the presence of God, enter into His silence. We must learn to rest in that peace which comes when He touches our hearts. We must know that this peace is the presence of God, that this is how God speaks to us — through this love which touches us at our core and flows through all our being and plunges us into silence. We must be open to this peace.