in this issue:
alert: PRO-LIFE CONFERENCE
abortion: MICHIGAN
birth control pill: MENSTRUAL CYCLE PASSE, PUBLIC HEALTH, RISKS
bush watch: FETAL TISSUE RESEARCH
catholic sex ed: GROWING IN LOVE
contraceptive mentality: LOGIC
human experimentation: WASHINGTON
infanticide: NEONATAL EUTHANASIA
in vitro fertilization: HATCHING
pharmacists: CONSCIENCE CLAUSE UPDATES
politics: CATHOLIC OBJECTIVES
pregnancy: MATERNAL DEATHS
stem cell research: ETHICS OF DESTROYING PERSONS
stem cell transplantation: ANTICIPATED SUCCESS
web news: SITES TO MAKE YOUR WORK EASIER
zinger: PETER SINGERISM
reflection for prayer: THOMAS A KEMPIS
alert
PRO-LIFE CONFERENCE: American Life League and Population Research Institute are sponsoring the first major international pro-life conference of the new millennium. A Celebration of Life World Family Conference is scheduled June 20-24 in Bloomington, Minn. The event will include a banquet honoring Fr. Paul Marx, OSB, for his lifetime of pro-life activism. For complete schedules, speaker lists and registration information, see A Celebration of Life World Family Conference, or call 888-546-2580.
abortion
MICHIGAN: The state has reached a settlement with the pro-abortion Center for Reproductive Law and Policy whereby the state will provide women seeking abortion with information on the RU-486 abortion as well as other pertinent information. The state has flatly denied that it ever attempted, by law, to ban RU-486, contrary to earlier news reports.
(Reading: “State Reaches Settlement with Abortion Rights Group,” Associated Press, 4/11/01; “Michigan Reverses Ban on RU-486,” CRLP news release, 4/11/01)
birth control pill
MENSTRUAL CYCLE PASSE I: A meta-analysis of existing literature on various efforts to limit the number of menstrual cycles a woman has indicates that “a new OC formulation specifically designed to decrease menstrual bleeding to 4 times per year is currently under investigation.” The writer indicates that such a decrease in cycles would benefit women by reducing menstrual blood loss, which should limit the frequency of anemia, by protecting those who have a hereditary history of blood diseases, and limiting problems women face with monthly cycles. No negatives are presented in this article.
(Reading: “Menstruation: Choose Whether … and When,” Contraception, vol. 62, pp. 277-284, paid subscribers only)
MENSTRUAL CYCLE PASSE II — ARCHIVE ITEM: A mid-2000 a news report stated, “Women might fear that no bleeding every month is unhealthy. But Susan Wysocki, president of the National Association of Nurse Practitioners in Women’s Health says that there’s virtually nothing to shed for a woman on the pill’s synthetic hormones. The uterine lining buildup is only about one eighth the thickness of a regular, pill-free menstrual cycle.”
COMMENT: Exactly why the pill also aborts tiny persons!
(Reading: “Is a Monthly Period Still Necessary?” U .S. News and World Report, 6/5/00)
PUBLIC HEALTH: Claiming that public health is in danger when women do not use their birth control as prescribed, or try a cheaper substitute, a researcher argues “because after [oral contraceptive] discontinuation most women switch to a less-effective method, or no method, of contraception, an increase in breakthrough bleeding could ultimately result in an increase in unintended pregnancy. Thus, substituting a therapeutically equivalent for a brand-name, low-dose oral contraceptive may have significant clinical and economic effects in individual and public health.”
COMMENT: Children not conceived according to social planning agenda are apparently defined as a menace to the public health and well being.
(Reading: “Low-dose contraceptives: health consequences of discontinuation,” Contraception, vol. 62, pp. 285-288, paid subscribers only)
RISKS: A Dutch epidemiologist who reviewed a local radio report regarding unpublished studies connecting the third generation pill to thromboembolism has said, “The problem is that the company [Wyeth] never published it, probably because its conclusions were not welcome.”
COMMENT: We are reminded of the reports in Britain in 1995 (“Study Disputes Reasoning Behind Pill Scare“), described by some as an unnecessary “scare” which clearly was not the case. The pill has been linked to blood clots by several reputable researchers.
(Reading: “Study on Risks of Third Generation Pill ‘Kept Secret by Industry,'” The Lancet, 3/10/01, p. 779, search VPRO Argos; for documented commentary on the pill and its risks, prepared by noted author and lecturer John Wilks, B. Pharm, see “The Pill – How It Works and Fails“)
bush watch
FETAL TISSUE RESEARCH: In a similar state as human embryo research, the status quo prevails. As long as researchers do not act to kill the victim whose body is used to harvest the cells, tissue or bone, researchers are free to use body parts to their hearts’ content. A summary of federal law has been published by the Guttmacher Report on Public Policy, and it is clear that little to nothing is actually prohibited by law.
(Reading: “Human Embryo and Fetal Research: Medical Support and Political Controversy,” Guttmacher Report, 2/01, pp. 3-4)
catholic sex ed
GROWING IN LOVE: The publisher of the questionable Growing in Love program, Harcourt, is a supporter of the Planned Parenthood organization. In fact, Harcourt General is listed on the Planned Parenthood League of Massachusetts site; for an in depth examination of the program and the Harcourt/Planned Parenthood connection, see A Close Look into the Diocese and Growing in Love.”
contraceptive mentality
LOGIC: William F. Colliton, MD, FACOG, writes in a paper soon to be published by University Faculty for Life: “There is an unarguable logic connecting the contraceptive act and the abortive act. They are both anti-life. To fully articulate this proposition, the contraceptive action is anti-the-formation of a new life. One does not pop a pill, slip on a condom, take a shot in the buttocks, etc. in preparation for a game of Chinese checkers. The only logical reason for these actions is to prevent the formation of a new life while positing voluntary coital acts.”
(Reading: “The Birth Control Pill: Is It an Abortifacient and Contraceptive? Believe It! The Answer Is Yes”; to request information, see University Faculty for Life)
human experimentation
WASHINGTON: Human rights activist Vera Sharav of Citizens for Responsible Care and Research questions whether or not the federal government will investigate the deaths of patients who died during clinical experiments at “The Hutch,” Fred Hutchinson’s Cancer Research Center in Seattle.
(Reading: “Surgeon General: Investigate the Hutch,” Seattle Times, 4/11/01; for more information on Citizens for Responsible Care and Research, contact “>Vera Sharav)
infanticide
NEONATAL EUTHANASIA: Claiming that the practice of assisting in the death of infants born with allegedly fatal diagnoses is commonplace, Mark Sklansky argues that the law should protect such acts in the United States. He writes, “the morality of euthanasia for actual cases of defective newborn infants is seldom clear.”
(Reading: “Neonatal Euthanasia: Moral Considerations and Criminal Liability,” Journal of Medical Ethics, 2/1/01, p. 5-11)
in vitro fertilization
HATCHING: Researchers suggest that using the “compact embryo” at the morula stage (day 4 or 5) for transfer from the freezer to the culture to the mother may have a better chance of resulting in implantation and ultimate full term pregnancy.
(Reading: “Pregnancies Achieved After Transferring Frozen Morula/Compact Stage Embryos,” Fertility and Sterility, 3/10, pp. 629-631, paid membership only)
pharmacists
CONSCIENCE CLAUSE UPDATES: The most thorough web site available on the subject of world wide attention to pharmacists and their God-given duty to protect life rather than provide the means to destroy life is Protection of Conscience Project. An e-mail update is also available. To subscribe, send a note to “>.
politics
CATHOLIC OBJECTIVES: Noting the ongoing struggle to get minimal pro-life action from the current U.S. president, we are reminded of the words contained in a confidential interoffice memo issued by the California Catholic Conference in October of 2000. The role of the Catholic “is to illumine issues in public policy so that they can be seen as Jesus would see them.” For those of us who believe that Jesus would define the act of procured abortion as a direct attack on God Himself, we repeat these profound words of Pope John Paul II in “The Gospel of Life”: “The direct and voluntary killing of an innocent human being is always gravely immoral.”
COMMENT: Always!
(Reading: “Evangelium Vitae [The Gospel of Life]“, section 57)
pregnancy
MATERNAL DEATHS: A public health worker researcher causes of death among women who are pregnant or who have recently given birth recommends that the definition of maternal mortality be widened to include “pregnancy-associated” deaths such as those women who die because of violence directly linked to their pregnancy. Such acts would be defined as spousal or sexual abuse and/or domestic violence. Homicide is one of the leading causes of death among pregnant women.
(Reading: “Examining Homicide’s Contribution to Pregnancy-associated Deaths,” Journal of the American Medical Association, 3/21/01, pp. 1510-1511; “Enhanced Surveillance for Pregnancy-associated Mortality – Maryland, 1993-1998,” Journal of the American Medical Association, 3/21/01, pp. 1455-1459)
stem cell research
ETHICS OF DESTROYING PERSONS: Commenting that “the thought that human embryos could command moral respect yet also be acceptably used in medical research has struck some as incoherent,” ethicists examine how an embryo can command moral status and at the same time become a donated specimen for research and ultimate destruction. “Nothing wrong is done to an embryo if the gamete sources voluntarily donate it, with a respectful acknowledgement of its moral status, for use in legitimate research.”
QUESTION: So, parents can agree, with due respect, to the barbaric destruction of their own child as long as they recognize her moral status? Maybe this is why the Bush Administration has turned a blind eye to this inhumane practice!
(Reading: “Respecting What We Destroy: Reflections on Human Embryo Research,” Hastings Center Report, Jan-Feb 2001, pp. 16-23, paid subscriptions only; for material arguing in favor of the human dignity of the single cell human person, see Dianne Irving, Ph.D., “Human Embryonic Stem Cell Research: Are Official Positions Based on Scientific Fraud?“)
stem cell transplantation
ANTICIPATED SUCCESS: Researchers find that many patients with more advanced state diseases fail to recognize “the higher risks associated with their situations” and the probability that certain genetic therapies will not work. While it is clear that honesty in prognosis versus rate of success may be met with hostility, the physician should take into consideration the fact that the patient needs to hear the realities prior to making a commitment to stem cell transplantation.
(Reading: “Discrepancies Between Patient and Physician Estimates for the Success of Stem Cell Transplantation,” Journal of the American Medical Association, 2/28/01 pp. 1034-1038)
web news
SITES TO MAKE YOUR WORK EASIER: For information on Congress and proposed bills, laws, etc. see U.S. Congress on the Internet. For answers to questions about legislation in various state legislatures, see Full-text State Statutes and Legislation on the Internet. For state legislative news on a daily basis, visit Stateline.
zinger
PETER SINGERISM: “Pregnancy is not a certain type of state. It is a state that predicates a more enduring state.”
(Reading: “Peter Singer Weighs in at P.U. Abortion Debate,” Princeton Packet, 4/10/01)
reflection for prayer
THOMAS A KEMPIS: From “Imitation of Christ,” book 3, chapter 5, sections 7-8:
Love is swift, sincere, pious, pleasant, and delightful; strong, patient, faithful, prudent, long-suffering, courageous, and never seeking itself.
For where a man seeks himself there he falls from love.
Love is circumspect, humble, and upright, not soft, not light, not intent upon vain things; is sober, chaste, stable, quiet, and keeps a guard over all the senses.
Love is submissive and obedient to superiors, in its own eyes mean and contemptible, devout and thankful to God, always trusting and hoping in Him, even when it tastes not the relish of God’s sweetness, for there is no living in love without some pain or sorrow.
Whosoever is not ready to suffer all things and to stand resigned to the will of his Beloved is not worthy to be called a lover.
He that loveth must willingly embrace all that is hard and bitter, for the sake of his Beloved, and never suffer himself to be turned away from Him by any contrary occurrences whatsoever.