abortion
COMPLICATIONS: The Elliot Institute has published data indicating that women who abort are twice as likely to have pre-term or post-term deliveries. A second study indicates that women who abort are five times more likely to abuse drugs.
The Elliot Institute has published data indicating that women who abort are twice as likely to have pre-term or post-term deliveries. A second study indicates that women who abort are five times more likely to abuse drugs.
(Reading: “Abortion Linked to Subsequent Substance Abuse“; “Abortion Linked to Pre-Term and Post-Term Complications“)
activism
ACTION IN DC: Women in Line for Life (WILL) plans a Sunday, April 30, prayer walk, with three different groups walking at the same time around the U.S. Supreme Court, the U.S. Capitol and the White House. These walks are planned to be prayerful and peaceful. For details contact “>Connie Basham.
ACTION IN DC: Women in Line for Life (WILL) plans a Sunday, April 30, prayer walk, with three different groups walking at the same time around the U.S. Supreme Court, the U.S. Capitol and the White House. These walks are planned to be prayerful and peaceful. For details contact “>Connie Basham.
ACTION IN DC: Women in Line for Life (WILL) plans a Sunday, April 30, prayer walk, with three different groups walking at the same time around the U.S. Supreme Court, the U.S. Capitol and the White House. These walks are planned to be prayerful and peaceful. For details contact “>Connie Basham.
CALIFORNIA: California Right to Life (CRTL) is opposing SB 1945, “Crimes: support for abortion rights,” which makes it unlawful for a person to “interfere” with access to “health care” which, in this case, means abortion. CRTL reports “law enforcement officers would be required to identify theses anti-abortion crimes and to understand common methods of committing anti-abortion crimes.”
(Reading: CRTL Legislative Update, April, 2000; to view SB 1945, go to California senate)
adolescent sexuality
SMART TEENS: A recent study claims that “higher intelligence operates as a protective factor against early sexual activity during adolescence, and lower intelligence, to a point, is a risk factor.” However, the text of the study indicates that “conservatism of sexual attitudes,” along with “better grades in school,” “higher expectations about attending college,” knowledge that parents “are more disapproving of sexual activity,” and “religious attendance” are all contributing factors as well. And the text explains that “although one might expect that adolescents with very limited cognitive abilities would be especially vulnerable to manipulation by others, it appears that these adolescents, especially females, may benefit from situational and opportunity constraints, and from the protective efforts of various adult gatekeepers.” The study also admits to “data limitations.”
SMART TEENS: A recent study claims that “higher intelligence operates as a protective factor against early sexual activity during adolescence, and lower intelligence, to a point, is a risk factor.” However, the text of the study indicates that “conservatism of sexual attitudes,” along with “better grades in school,” “higher expectations about attending college,” knowledge that parents “are more disapproving of sexual activity,” and “religious attendance” are all contributing factors as well. And the text explains that “although one might expect that adolescents with very limited cognitive abilities would be especially vulnerable to manipulation by others, it appears that these adolescents, especially females, may benefit from situational and opportunity constraints, and from the protective efforts of various adult gatekeepers.” The study also admits to “data limitations.”
SMART TEENS: A recent study claims that “higher intelligence operates as a protective factor against early sexual activity during adolescence, and lower intelligence, to a point, is a risk factor.” However, the text of the study indicates that “conservatism of sexual attitudes,” along with “better grades in school,” “higher expectations about attending college,” knowledge that parents “are more disapproving of sexual activity,” and “religious attendance” are all contributing factors as well. And the text explains that “although one might expect that adolescents with very limited cognitive abilities would be especially vulnerable to manipulation by others, it appears that these adolescents, especially females, may benefit from situational and opportunity constraints, and from the protective efforts of various adult gatekeepers.” The study also admits to “data limitations.”
(Reading: “Smart Teens Don’t Have Sex (or Kiss Much Either),” Journal of Adolescent Health, 3/00, pp. 213-225; abstract only on line)
birth control pill
COMPLICATIONS: Dr. Jose A. Bufill, writing in the Chicago Tribune: “We can only hope that the physical harm done to women does not equal the social ills ascribed to contraceptives. Since birth control has become socially acceptable, the rates of teen pregnancy, sexually transmitted diseases, infant abandonment, illegitimate births and divorce have reached epidemic proportions.
COMPLICATIONS: Dr. Jose A. Bufill, writing in the Chicago Tribune: “We can only hope that the physical harm done to women does not equal the social ills ascribed to contraceptives. Since birth control has become socially acceptable, the rates of teen pregnancy, sexually transmitted diseases, infant abandonment, illegitimate births and divorce have reached epidemic proportions.
COMPLICATIONS: Dr. Jose A. Bufill, writing in the Chicago Tribune: “We can only hope that the physical harm done to women does not equal the social ills ascribed to contraceptives. Since birth control has become socially acceptable, the rates of teen pregnancy, sexually transmitted diseases, infant abandonment, illegitimate births and divorce have reached epidemic proportions.
“The ‘age of the Pill’ has in fact become the ‘age of the ill’: sick families, wounded women, fatherless children. This is the sobering reality that statistics do show: the Pill has caused far more pathology than its advocates could ever dream of preventing.”
(Reading: “What Ills the Pill Has Wrought,” Chicago Tribune, 3/8/2000, article must be ordered and paid for on line)
catholic hospitals
ILLINOIS: A bill (H.B. 3201) that would force Illinois hospitals to provide “emergency contraception” to victims of rape is being challenged on behalf of Catholic hospitals by the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty. The fund’s letter to Senate President James Philip points out that the bill requirements “would force medical professionals in the 50 Illinois hospitals sponsored by the Catholic Church to violate fundamental teachings of the Catholic faith under penalty of law.”
ILLINOIS: A bill (H.B. 3201) that would force Illinois hospitals to provide “emergency contraception” to victims of rape is being challenged on behalf of Catholic hospitals by the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty. The fund’s letter to Senate President James Philip points out that the bill requirements “would force medical professionals in the 50 Illinois hospitals sponsored by the Catholic Church to violate fundamental teachings of the Catholic faith under penalty of law.”
ILLINOIS: A bill (H.B. 3201) that would force Illinois hospitals to provide “emergency contraception” to victims of rape is being challenged on behalf of Catholic hospitals by the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty. The fund’s letter to Senate President James Philip points out that the bill requirements “would force medical professionals in the 50 Illinois hospitals sponsored by the Catholic Church to violate fundamental teachings of the Catholic faith under penalty of law.”
(Reading: letter to Illinois State Senate President James Philip, Becket Fund for Religious Liberty; to view H.B. 3201, to go Illinois legislature.
chemical (medical) abortion
EMERGENCY [MORNING AFTER] CONTRACEPTION I: A review of availability conducted by James Trussell, Ph.D. of Princeton recommends, “Providers should consider prescribing over the telephone, thereby eliminating the need for appointments. Planned Parenthood Federation of America has established a ‘Dial EC’ protocol that allows new and established patients to receive prescriptions for emergency contraceptive pills and instructions for their use over the telephone.”
EMERGENCY [MORNING AFTER] CONTRACEPTION I: A review of availability conducted by James Trussell, Ph.D. of Princeton recommends, “Providers should consider prescribing over the telephone, thereby eliminating the need for appointments. Planned Parenthood Federation of America has established a ‘Dial EC’ protocol that allows new and established patients to receive prescriptions for emergency contraceptive pills and instructions for their use over the telephone.”
EMERGENCY [MORNING AFTER] CONTRACEPTION I: A review of availability conducted by James Trussell, Ph.D. of Princeton recommends, “Providers should consider prescribing over the telephone, thereby eliminating the need for appointments. Planned Parenthood Federation of America has established a ‘Dial EC’ protocol that allows new and established patients to receive prescriptions for emergency contraceptive pills and instructions for their use over the telephone.”
(Reading: “Access to Emergency Contraception,” Obstetrics and Gynecology, 2/00, pp. 267-270)
EMERGENCY [MORNING AFTER] CONTRACEPTION II: A clinical trial was conducted with 343 randomly-chosen women chosen aged 18-45 who were not at risk for pregnancy. In addition to the emergency contraceptive pills, some were given a placebo and others meclizine, a treatment for nausea. The purpose was to ascertain if the side effects of nausea and vomiting associated with the Yuzpe method of “emergency contraception” could be curtailed. The incidence of nausea was 47% in the pretreated group, 64% in the placebo group. Researchers point out that the Yuzpe method, using regular birth control pills, is still in use for reasons of convenience and cost, even though the FDA has recently approved a levonorgestrel-only method that does not have the same side effects.
(Reading: “Meclizine for Prevention of Nausea Associated with Use of Emergency Contraceptive Pills: A Randomized Trial,” Obstetrics and Gynecology, 2/00, pp. 271-277)
MISOPROSTOL: A research project involving single, oral doses of misoprostol and its effect on uterine arteries and fetal heart rate shows that when the chemical is administered during the first trimester of pregnancy, and an abortion does not follow, the child who is born may have multiple congenital abnormalities. The study involved 40 women seeking abortion. The study concludes: “subtherapeutic doses of prostanoid [prostaglandin] abortifacients could lead to multiple congenital malformations” of those children not aborted.
(Reading: “Misoprostol’s Effect on Uterine Arterial Blood Flow and Fetal Heart Rate in Early Pregnancy,” Obstetrics and Gynecology, 2/00, pp. 232-235)
health care
TERMINAL ILLNESS AND PHYSICIAN OPTIMISM: Study authors set out to ascertain the effects of misdiagnosis of life expectancy on the patient and his family. More than 350 physicians tracked more than 500 patients. Among the study findings: “Undue optimism about survival prospects may contribute to late referral for hospice care, with negative implications for patients” and “terminally ill cancer patients who hold unduly optimistic assessments of their survival prospects often request futile, aggressive care rather than perhaps more beneficial palliative care.”
TERMINAL ILLNESS AND PHYSICIAN OPTIMISM: Study authors set out to ascertain the effects of misdiagnosis of life expectancy on the patient and his family. More than 350 physicians tracked more than 500 patients. Among the study findings: “Undue optimism about survival prospects may contribute to late referral for hospice care, with negative implications for patients” and “terminally ill cancer patients who hold unduly optimistic assessments of their survival prospects often request futile, aggressive care rather than perhaps more beneficial palliative care.”
TERMINAL ILLNESS AND PHYSICIAN OPTIMISM: Study authors set out to ascertain the effects of misdiagnosis of life expectancy on the patient and his family. More than 350 physicians tracked more than 500 patients. Among the study findings: “Undue optimism about survival prospects may contribute to late referral for hospice care, with negative implications for patients” and “terminally ill cancer patients who hold unduly optimistic assessments of their survival prospects often request futile, aggressive care rather than perhaps more beneficial palliative care.”
COMMENT: Subjective evaluation?
(Reading: “Extent and Determinants of Error in Doctors’ Prognoses in Terminally Ill Patients: Prospective Cohort Study,” British Medical Journal, 2/19/00, pp. 469-473)
population controllers
EARTH CHARTER MAKES COMEBACK: In 1992, at the UN’s Rio Earth Summit, members from extreme leftist governmental and non-governmental organizations submitted an Earth Charter initiative for immediate adoption. They were unsuccessful, and over the years dozens of committees and conferences have discussed and revised the Earth Charter, but have failed to get it through the UN bureaucracy. But now this dangerous proclamation will most likely be considered in the UN General Assembly very soon. The Earth Charter’s tenets reek of the one-world viewpoint and New Age philosophy. It suggests a demilitarization of all national security systems and adoption of lifestyles that emphasize quality of life. The charter claims that an “unprecedented rise in human population [that] has overburdened ecological and social systems” is a major reason that the initiative is needed. Earth Charter ideologues hope for UN approval by 2002.
EARTH CHARTER MAKES COMEBACK: In 1992, at the UN’s Rio Earth Summit, members from extreme leftist governmental and non-governmental organizations submitted an Earth Charter initiative for immediate adoption. They were unsuccessful, and over the years dozens of committees and conferences have discussed and revised the Earth Charter, but have failed to get it through the UN bureaucracy. But now this dangerous proclamation will most likely be considered in the UN General Assembly very soon. The Earth Charter’s tenets reek of the one-world viewpoint and New Age philosophy. It suggests a demilitarization of all national security systems and adoption of lifestyles that emphasize quality of life. The charter claims that an “unprecedented rise in human population [that] has overburdened ecological and social systems” is a major reason that the initiative is needed. Earth Charter ideologues hope for UN approval by 2002.
EARTH CHARTER MAKES COMEBACK: In 1992, at the UN’s Rio Earth Summit, members from extreme leftist governmental and non-governmental organizations submitted an Earth Charter initiative for immediate adoption. They were unsuccessful, and over the years dozens of committees and conferences have discussed and revised the Earth Charter, but have failed to get it through the UN bureaucracy. But now this dangerous proclamation will most likely be considered in the UN General Assembly very soon. The Earth Charter’s tenets reek of the one-world viewpoint and New Age philosophy. It suggests a demilitarization of all national security systems and adoption of lifestyles that emphasize quality of life. The charter claims that an “unprecedented rise in human population [that] has overburdened ecological and social systems” is a major reason that the initiative is needed. Earth Charter ideologues hope for UN approval by 2002.
(Reading: report from ALL’s “>Mark DeYoung; The Earth Charter)
prenatal diagnosis
COST-BENEFIT RATIOS: Researchers have shown that when British practices — including “screening by a first-trimester ultrasound at 10-14 weeks for nuchal translucency thickness” — are compared with American practices “including only second-trimester screening by using maternal age and maternal serum screening,” the American strategy was superior. It allowed savings “of approximately $96 million per year” based on the lifetime cost of live-born infants with Down Syndrome. However it is recommended that Americans pursue greater research regarding first-trimester testing which is less invasive.
COST-BENEFIT RATIOS: Researchers have shown that when British practices — including “screening by a first-trimester ultrasound at 10-14 weeks for nuchal translucency thickness” — are compared with American practices “including only second-trimester screening by using maternal age and maternal serum screening,” the American strategy was superior. It allowed savings “of approximately $96 million per year” based on the lifetime cost of live-born infants with Down Syndrome. However it is recommended that Americans pursue greater research regarding first-trimester testing which is less invasive.
COST-BENEFIT RATIOS: Researchers have shown that when British practices — including “screening by a first-trimester ultrasound at 10-14 weeks for nuchal translucency thickness” — are compared with American practices “including only second-trimester screening by using maternal age and maternal serum screening,” the American strategy was superior. It allowed savings “of approximately $96 million per year” based on the lifetime cost of live-born infants with Down Syndrome. However it is recommended that Americans pursue greater research regarding first-trimester testing which is less invasive.
(Reading: “Cost-Benefit Analysis of Prenatal Diagnosis for Down’s Syndrome Using the British or the American Approach,” American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, 4/00, pp. 577-583)
web news
NIH CLINICAL TRIALS: The National Institutes of Health has instituted a new web site containing information on more than 4,000 medical studies for patients, family members and other interested parties.
NIH CLINICAL TRIALS: The National Institutes of Health has instituted a new web site containing information on more than 4,000 medical studies for patients, family members and other interested parties.
NIH CLINICAL TRIALS: The National Institutes of Health has instituted a new web site containing information on more than 4,000 medical studies for patients, family members and other interested parties.
PRO-LIFE WISCONSIN: The organization’s new web site is fully operational. Visitors can download a Rally for Life 2000 poster from this site – a poster that can be printed, copied, and distributed to local churches and other community centers.
ethics
ACTIVISM: The American Bioethics Advisory Commission has issued the following advice to pro-life individuals engaging in the photography of actual abortions:
ACTIVISM: The American Bioethics Advisory Commission has issued the following advice to pro-life individuals engaging in the photography of actual abortions:
ACTIVISM: The American Bioethics Advisory Commission has issued the following advice to pro-life individuals engaging in the photography of actual abortions:
The American Bioethics Advisory Commission recognizes that education is essential in defending all human life. The use of film and pictures, which have been licitly obtained, have had a demonstrable impact in bringing the public to understand what abortion truly is-the destruction of a living, innocent unborn child.
The American Bioethics Advisory Commission has examined the issue of pro-life individuals who have engaged in cooperative agreements with abortion clinics allowing the photography of actual live abortions whereby a living, unborn child is destroyed with the intention of using such photography to educate the public as to the reality of abortion.
When pro-life individuals enter abortion clinics and cooperatively sign legal agreements with the operators of such clinics allowing the filming of the destruction of a living, unborn child in exchange for money, there can be no ambiguity as to the fact that there is definite complicity, despite a virtuous intention. Such complicity is imprudent and potentially gravely scandalous both within as well as outside the pro-life community.
It is never morally licit to cooperate in an evil action even when good can result from it. We also note that there is no shortage of accurate scientific photography, licitly obtained, which documents the reality of abortion.
The examination of this issue leaves the American Bioethics Advisory Commission to draw no other conclusion than such “cooperative agreements” involve definitive complicity and are indeed immoral actions and must, therefore, be rejected.
reflection for prayer
I will place my laws in their minds and I will write them upon their hearts. I will be their God and they shall be my people.
-Hebrews 8:10
COMPLICATIONS: The Elliot Institute has published data indicating that women who abort are twice as likely to have pre-term or post-term deliveries. A second study indicates that women who abort are five times more likely to abuse drugs.
The Elliot Institute has published data indicating that women who abort are twice as likely to have pre-term or post-term deliveries. A second study indicates that women who abort are five times more likely to abuse drugs.
(Reading: “Abortion Linked to Subsequent Substance Abuse“; “Abortion Linked to Pre-Term and Post-Term Complications“)
activism
ACTION IN DC: Women in Line for Life (WILL) plans a Sunday, April 30, prayer walk, with three different groups walking at the same time around the U.S. Supreme Court, the U.S. Capitol and the White House. These walks are planned to be prayerful and peaceful. For details contact “>Connie Basham.
ACTION IN DC: Women in Line for Life (WILL) plans a Sunday, April 30, prayer walk, with three different groups walking at the same time around the U.S. Supreme Court, the U.S. Capitol and the White House. These walks are planned to be prayerful and peaceful. For details contact “>Connie Basham.
ACTION IN DC: Women in Line for Life (WILL) plans a Sunday, April 30, prayer walk, with three different groups walking at the same time around the U.S. Supreme Court, the U.S. Capitol and the White House. These walks are planned to be prayerful and peaceful. For details contact “>Connie Basham.
CALIFORNIA: California Right to Life (CRTL) is opposing SB 1945, “Crimes: support for abortion rights,” which makes it unlawful for a person to “interfere” with access to “health care” which, in this case, means abortion. CRTL reports “law enforcement officers would be required to identify theses anti-abortion crimes and to understand common methods of committing anti-abortion crimes.”
(Reading: CRTL Legislative Update, April, 2000; to view SB 1945, go to California senate)
adolescent sexuality
SMART TEENS: A recent study claims that “higher intelligence operates as a protective factor against early sexual activity during adolescence, and lower intelligence, to a point, is a risk factor.” However, the text of the study indicates that “conservatism of sexual attitudes,” along with “better grades in school,” “higher expectations about attending college,” knowledge that parents “are more disapproving of sexual activity,” and “religious attendance” are all contributing factors as well. And the text explains that “although one might expect that adolescents with very limited cognitive abilities would be especially vulnerable to manipulation by others, it appears that these adolescents, especially females, may benefit from situational and opportunity constraints, and from the protective efforts of various adult gatekeepers.” The study also admits to “data limitations.”
SMART TEENS: A recent study claims that “higher intelligence operates as a protective factor against early sexual activity during adolescence, and lower intelligence, to a point, is a risk factor.” However, the text of the study indicates that “conservatism of sexual attitudes,” along with “better grades in school,” “higher expectations about attending college,” knowledge that parents “are more disapproving of sexual activity,” and “religious attendance” are all contributing factors as well. And the text explains that “although one might expect that adolescents with very limited cognitive abilities would be especially vulnerable to manipulation by others, it appears that these adolescents, especially females, may benefit from situational and opportunity constraints, and from the protective efforts of various adult gatekeepers.” The study also admits to “data limitations.”
SMART TEENS: A recent study claims that “higher intelligence operates as a protective factor against early sexual activity during adolescence, and lower intelligence, to a point, is a risk factor.” However, the text of the study indicates that “conservatism of sexual attitudes,” along with “better grades in school,” “higher expectations about attending college,” knowledge that parents “are more disapproving of sexual activity,” and “religious attendance” are all contributing factors as well. And the text explains that “although one might expect that adolescents with very limited cognitive abilities would be especially vulnerable to manipulation by others, it appears that these adolescents, especially females, may benefit from situational and opportunity constraints, and from the protective efforts of various adult gatekeepers.” The study also admits to “data limitations.”
(Reading: “Smart Teens Don’t Have Sex (or Kiss Much Either),” Journal of Adolescent Health, 3/00, pp. 213-225; abstract only on line)
birth control pill
COMPLICATIONS: Dr. Jose A. Bufill, writing in the Chicago Tribune: “We can only hope that the physical harm done to women does not equal the social ills ascribed to contraceptives. Since birth control has become socially acceptable, the rates of teen pregnancy, sexually transmitted diseases, infant abandonment, illegitimate births and divorce have reached epidemic proportions.
COMPLICATIONS: Dr. Jose A. Bufill, writing in the Chicago Tribune: “We can only hope that the physical harm done to women does not equal the social ills ascribed to contraceptives. Since birth control has become socially acceptable, the rates of teen pregnancy, sexually transmitted diseases, infant abandonment, illegitimate births and divorce have reached epidemic proportions.
COMPLICATIONS: Dr. Jose A. Bufill, writing in the Chicago Tribune: “We can only hope that the physical harm done to women does not equal the social ills ascribed to contraceptives. Since birth control has become socially acceptable, the rates of teen pregnancy, sexually transmitted diseases, infant abandonment, illegitimate births and divorce have reached epidemic proportions.
“The ‘age of the Pill’ has in fact become the ‘age of the ill’: sick families, wounded women, fatherless children. This is the sobering reality that statistics do show: the Pill has caused far more pathology than its advocates could ever dream of preventing.”
(Reading: “What Ills the Pill Has Wrought,” Chicago Tribune, 3/8/2000, article must be ordered and paid for on line)
catholic hospitals
ILLINOIS: A bill (H.B. 3201) that would force Illinois hospitals to provide “emergency contraception” to victims of rape is being challenged on behalf of Catholic hospitals by the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty. The fund’s letter to Senate President James Philip points out that the bill requirements “would force medical professionals in the 50 Illinois hospitals sponsored by the Catholic Church to violate fundamental teachings of the Catholic faith under penalty of law.”
ILLINOIS: A bill (H.B. 3201) that would force Illinois hospitals to provide “emergency contraception” to victims of rape is being challenged on behalf of Catholic hospitals by the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty. The fund’s letter to Senate President James Philip points out that the bill requirements “would force medical professionals in the 50 Illinois hospitals sponsored by the Catholic Church to violate fundamental teachings of the Catholic faith under penalty of law.”
ILLINOIS: A bill (H.B. 3201) that would force Illinois hospitals to provide “emergency contraception” to victims of rape is being challenged on behalf of Catholic hospitals by the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty. The fund’s letter to Senate President James Philip points out that the bill requirements “would force medical professionals in the 50 Illinois hospitals sponsored by the Catholic Church to violate fundamental teachings of the Catholic faith under penalty of law.”
(Reading: letter to Illinois State Senate President James Philip, Becket Fund for Religious Liberty; to view H.B. 3201, to go Illinois legislature.
chemical (medical) abortion
EMERGENCY [MORNING AFTER] CONTRACEPTION I: A review of availability conducted by James Trussell, Ph.D. of Princeton recommends, “Providers should consider prescribing over the telephone, thereby eliminating the need for appointments. Planned Parenthood Federation of America has established a ‘Dial EC’ protocol that allows new and established patients to receive prescriptions for emergency contraceptive pills and instructions for their use over the telephone.”
EMERGENCY [MORNING AFTER] CONTRACEPTION I: A review of availability conducted by James Trussell, Ph.D. of Princeton recommends, “Providers should consider prescribing over the telephone, thereby eliminating the need for appointments. Planned Parenthood Federation of America has established a ‘Dial EC’ protocol that allows new and established patients to receive prescriptions for emergency contraceptive pills and instructions for their use over the telephone.”
EMERGENCY [MORNING AFTER] CONTRACEPTION I: A review of availability conducted by James Trussell, Ph.D. of Princeton recommends, “Providers should consider prescribing over the telephone, thereby eliminating the need for appointments. Planned Parenthood Federation of America has established a ‘Dial EC’ protocol that allows new and established patients to receive prescriptions for emergency contraceptive pills and instructions for their use over the telephone.”
(Reading: “Access to Emergency Contraception,” Obstetrics and Gynecology, 2/00, pp. 267-270)
EMERGENCY [MORNING AFTER] CONTRACEPTION II: A clinical trial was conducted with 343 randomly-chosen women chosen aged 18-45 who were not at risk for pregnancy. In addition to the emergency contraceptive pills, some were given a placebo and others meclizine, a treatment for nausea. The purpose was to ascertain if the side effects of nausea and vomiting associated with the Yuzpe method of “emergency contraception” could be curtailed. The incidence of nausea was 47% in the pretreated group, 64% in the placebo group. Researchers point out that the Yuzpe method, using regular birth control pills, is still in use for reasons of convenience and cost, even though the FDA has recently approved a levonorgestrel-only method that does not have the same side effects.
(Reading: “Meclizine for Prevention of Nausea Associated with Use of Emergency Contraceptive Pills: A Randomized Trial,” Obstetrics and Gynecology, 2/00, pp. 271-277)
MISOPROSTOL: A research project involving single, oral doses of misoprostol and its effect on uterine arteries and fetal heart rate shows that when the chemical is administered during the first trimester of pregnancy, and an abortion does not follow, the child who is born may have multiple congenital abnormalities. The study involved 40 women seeking abortion. The study concludes: “subtherapeutic doses of prostanoid [prostaglandin] abortifacients could lead to multiple congenital malformations” of those children not aborted.
(Reading: “Misoprostol’s Effect on Uterine Arterial Blood Flow and Fetal Heart Rate in Early Pregnancy,” Obstetrics and Gynecology, 2/00, pp. 232-235)
health care
TERMINAL ILLNESS AND PHYSICIAN OPTIMISM: Study authors set out to ascertain the effects of misdiagnosis of life expectancy on the patient and his family. More than 350 physicians tracked more than 500 patients. Among the study findings: “Undue optimism about survival prospects may contribute to late referral for hospice care, with negative implications for patients” and “terminally ill cancer patients who hold unduly optimistic assessments of their survival prospects often request futile, aggressive care rather than perhaps more beneficial palliative care.”
TERMINAL ILLNESS AND PHYSICIAN OPTIMISM: Study authors set out to ascertain the effects of misdiagnosis of life expectancy on the patient and his family. More than 350 physicians tracked more than 500 patients. Among the study findings: “Undue optimism about survival prospects may contribute to late referral for hospice care, with negative implications for patients” and “terminally ill cancer patients who hold unduly optimistic assessments of their survival prospects often request futile, aggressive care rather than perhaps more beneficial palliative care.”
TERMINAL ILLNESS AND PHYSICIAN OPTIMISM: Study authors set out to ascertain the effects of misdiagnosis of life expectancy on the patient and his family. More than 350 physicians tracked more than 500 patients. Among the study findings: “Undue optimism about survival prospects may contribute to late referral for hospice care, with negative implications for patients” and “terminally ill cancer patients who hold unduly optimistic assessments of their survival prospects often request futile, aggressive care rather than perhaps more beneficial palliative care.”
COMMENT: Subjective evaluation?
(Reading: “Extent and Determinants of Error in Doctors’ Prognoses in Terminally Ill Patients: Prospective Cohort Study,” British Medical Journal, 2/19/00, pp. 469-473)
population controllers
EARTH CHARTER MAKES COMEBACK: In 1992, at the UN’s Rio Earth Summit, members from extreme leftist governmental and non-governmental organizations submitted an Earth Charter initiative for immediate adoption. They were unsuccessful, and over the years dozens of committees and conferences have discussed and revised the Earth Charter, but have failed to get it through the UN bureaucracy. But now this dangerous proclamation will most likely be considered in the UN General Assembly very soon. The Earth Charter’s tenets reek of the one-world viewpoint and New Age philosophy. It suggests a demilitarization of all national security systems and adoption of lifestyles that emphasize quality of life. The charter claims that an “unprecedented rise in human population [that] has overburdened ecological and social systems” is a major reason that the initiative is needed. Earth Charter ideologues hope for UN approval by 2002.
EARTH CHARTER MAKES COMEBACK: In 1992, at the UN’s Rio Earth Summit, members from extreme leftist governmental and non-governmental organizations submitted an Earth Charter initiative for immediate adoption. They were unsuccessful, and over the years dozens of committees and conferences have discussed and revised the Earth Charter, but have failed to get it through the UN bureaucracy. But now this dangerous proclamation will most likely be considered in the UN General Assembly very soon. The Earth Charter’s tenets reek of the one-world viewpoint and New Age philosophy. It suggests a demilitarization of all national security systems and adoption of lifestyles that emphasize quality of life. The charter claims that an “unprecedented rise in human population [that] has overburdened ecological and social systems” is a major reason that the initiative is needed. Earth Charter ideologues hope for UN approval by 2002.
EARTH CHARTER MAKES COMEBACK: In 1992, at the UN’s Rio Earth Summit, members from extreme leftist governmental and non-governmental organizations submitted an Earth Charter initiative for immediate adoption. They were unsuccessful, and over the years dozens of committees and conferences have discussed and revised the Earth Charter, but have failed to get it through the UN bureaucracy. But now this dangerous proclamation will most likely be considered in the UN General Assembly very soon. The Earth Charter’s tenets reek of the one-world viewpoint and New Age philosophy. It suggests a demilitarization of all national security systems and adoption of lifestyles that emphasize quality of life. The charter claims that an “unprecedented rise in human population [that] has overburdened ecological and social systems” is a major reason that the initiative is needed. Earth Charter ideologues hope for UN approval by 2002.
(Reading: report from ALL’s “>Mark DeYoung; The Earth Charter)
prenatal diagnosis
COST-BENEFIT RATIOS: Researchers have shown that when British practices — including “screening by a first-trimester ultrasound at 10-14 weeks for nuchal translucency thickness” — are compared with American practices “including only second-trimester screening by using maternal age and maternal serum screening,” the American strategy was superior. It allowed savings “of approximately $96 million per year” based on the lifetime cost of live-born infants with Down Syndrome. However it is recommended that Americans pursue greater research regarding first-trimester testing which is less invasive.
COST-BENEFIT RATIOS: Researchers have shown that when British practices — including “screening by a first-trimester ultrasound at 10-14 weeks for nuchal translucency thickness” — are compared with American practices “including only second-trimester screening by using maternal age and maternal serum screening,” the American strategy was superior. It allowed savings “of approximately $96 million per year” based on the lifetime cost of live-born infants with Down Syndrome. However it is recommended that Americans pursue greater research regarding first-trimester testing which is less invasive.
COST-BENEFIT RATIOS: Researchers have shown that when British practices — including “screening by a first-trimester ultrasound at 10-14 weeks for nuchal translucency thickness” — are compared with American practices “including only second-trimester screening by using maternal age and maternal serum screening,” the American strategy was superior. It allowed savings “of approximately $96 million per year” based on the lifetime cost of live-born infants with Down Syndrome. However it is recommended that Americans pursue greater research regarding first-trimester testing which is less invasive.
(Reading: “Cost-Benefit Analysis of Prenatal Diagnosis for Down’s Syndrome Using the British or the American Approach,” American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, 4/00, pp. 577-583)
web news
NIH CLINICAL TRIALS: The National Institutes of Health has instituted a new web site containing information on more than 4,000 medical studies for patients, family members and other interested parties.
NIH CLINICAL TRIALS: The National Institutes of Health has instituted a new web site containing information on more than 4,000 medical studies for patients, family members and other interested parties.
NIH CLINICAL TRIALS: The National Institutes of Health has instituted a new web site containing information on more than 4,000 medical studies for patients, family members and other interested parties.
PRO-LIFE WISCONSIN: The organization’s new web site is fully operational. Visitors can download a Rally for Life 2000 poster from this site – a poster that can be printed, copied, and distributed to local churches and other community centers.
ethics
ACTIVISM: The American Bioethics Advisory Commission has issued the following advice to pro-life individuals engaging in the photography of actual abortions:
ACTIVISM: The American Bioethics Advisory Commission has issued the following advice to pro-life individuals engaging in the photography of actual abortions:
ACTIVISM: The American Bioethics Advisory Commission has issued the following advice to pro-life individuals engaging in the photography of actual abortions:
The American Bioethics Advisory Commission recognizes that education is essential in defending all human life. The use of film and pictures, which have been licitly obtained, have had a demonstrable impact in bringing the public to understand what abortion truly is-the destruction of a living, innocent unborn child.
The American Bioethics Advisory Commission has examined the issue of pro-life individuals who have engaged in cooperative agreements with abortion clinics allowing the photography of actual live abortions whereby a living, unborn child is destroyed with the intention of using such photography to educate the public as to the reality of abortion.
When pro-life individuals enter abortion clinics and cooperatively sign legal agreements with the operators of such clinics allowing the filming of the destruction of a living, unborn child in exchange for money, there can be no ambiguity as to the fact that there is definite complicity, despite a virtuous intention. Such complicity is imprudent and potentially gravely scandalous both within as well as outside the pro-life community.
It is never morally licit to cooperate in an evil action even when good can result from it. We also note that there is no shortage of accurate scientific photography, licitly obtained, which documents the reality of abortion.
The examination of this issue leaves the American Bioethics Advisory Commission to draw no other conclusion than such “cooperative agreements” involve definitive complicity and are indeed immoral actions and must, therefore, be rejected.
reflection for prayer
I will place my laws in their minds and I will write them upon their hearts. I will be their God and they shall be my people.
-Hebrews 8:10
COMPLICATIONS: The Elliot Institute has published data indicating that women who abort are twice as likely to have pre-term or post-term deliveries. A second study indicates that women who abort are five times more likely to abuse drugs.
(Reading: “Abortion Linked to Subsequent Substance Abuse“; “Abortion Linked to Pre-Term and Post-Term Complications“)
activism
ACTION IN DC: Women in Line for Life (WILL) plans a Sunday, April 30, prayer walk, with three different groups walking at the same time around the U.S. Supreme Court, the U.S. Capitol and the White House. These walks are planned to be prayerful and peaceful. For details contact “>Connie Basham.
ACTION IN DC: Women in Line for Life (WILL) plans a Sunday, April 30, prayer walk, with three different groups walking at the same time around the U.S. Supreme Court, the U.S. Capitol and the White House. These walks are planned to be prayerful and peaceful. For details contact “>Connie Basham.
ACTION IN DC: Women in Line for Life (WILL) plans a Sunday, April 30, prayer walk, with three different groups walking at the same time around the U.S. Supreme Court, the U.S. Capitol and the White House. These walks are planned to be prayerful and peaceful. For details contact “>Connie Basham.
CALIFORNIA: California Right to Life (CRTL) is opposing SB 1945, “Crimes: support for abortion rights,” which makes it unlawful for a person to “interfere” with access to “health care” which, in this case, means abortion. CRTL reports “law enforcement officers would be required to identify theses anti-abortion crimes and to understand common methods of committing anti-abortion crimes.”
(Reading: CRTL Legislative Update, April, 2000; to view SB 1945, go to California senate)
adolescent sexuality
SMART TEENS: A recent study claims that “higher intelligence operates as a protective factor against early sexual activity during adolescence, and lower intelligence, to a point, is a risk factor.” However, the text of the study indicates that “conservatism of sexual attitudes,” along with “better grades in school,” “higher expectations about attending college,” knowledge that parents “are more disapproving of sexual activity,” and “religious attendance” are all contributing factors as well. And the text explains that “although one might expect that adolescents with very limited cognitive abilities would be especially vulnerable to manipulation by others, it appears that these adolescents, especially females, may benefit from situational and opportunity constraints, and from the protective efforts of various adult gatekeepers.” The study also admits to “data limitations.”
SMART TEENS: A recent study claims that “higher intelligence operates as a protective factor against early sexual activity during adolescence, and lower intelligence, to a point, is a risk factor.” However, the text of the study indicates that “conservatism of sexual attitudes,” along with “better grades in school,” “higher expectations about attending college,” knowledge that parents “are more disapproving of sexual activity,” and “religious attendance” are all contributing factors as well. And the text explains that “although one might expect that adolescents with very limited cognitive abilities would be especially vulnerable to manipulation by others, it appears that these adolescents, especially females, may benefit from situational and opportunity constraints, and from the protective efforts of various adult gatekeepers.” The study also admits to “data limitations.”
SMART TEENS: A recent study claims that “higher intelligence operates as a protective factor against early sexual activity during adolescence, and lower intelligence, to a point, is a risk factor.” However, the text of the study indicates that “conservatism of sexual attitudes,” along with “better grades in school,” “higher expectations about attending college,” knowledge that parents “are more disapproving of sexual activity,” and “religious attendance” are all contributing factors as well. And the text explains that “although one might expect that adolescents with very limited cognitive abilities would be especially vulnerable to manipulation by others, it appears that these adolescents, especially females, may benefit from situational and opportunity constraints, and from the protective efforts of various adult gatekeepers.” The study also admits to “data limitations.”
(Reading: “Smart Teens Don’t Have Sex (or Kiss Much Either),” Journal of Adolescent Health, 3/00, pp. 213-225; abstract only on line)
birth control pill
COMPLICATIONS: Dr. Jose A. Bufill, writing in the Chicago Tribune: “We can only hope that the physical harm done to women does not equal the social ills ascribed to contraceptives. Since birth control has become socially acceptable, the rates of teen pregnancy, sexually transmitted diseases, infant abandonment, illegitimate births and divorce have reached epidemic proportions.
COMPLICATIONS: Dr. Jose A. Bufill, writing in the Chicago Tribune: “We can only hope that the physical harm done to women does not equal the social ills ascribed to contraceptives. Since birth control has become socially acceptable, the rates of teen pregnancy, sexually transmitted diseases, infant abandonment, illegitimate births and divorce have reached epidemic proportions.
COMPLICATIONS: Dr. Jose A. Bufill, writing in the Chicago Tribune: “We can only hope that the physical harm done to women does not equal the social ills ascribed to contraceptives. Since birth control has become socially acceptable, the rates of teen pregnancy, sexually transmitted diseases, infant abandonment, illegitimate births and divorce have reached epidemic proportions.
“The ‘age of the Pill’ has in fact become the ‘age of the ill’: sick families, wounded women, fatherless children. This is the sobering reality that statistics do show: the Pill has caused far more pathology than its advocates could ever dream of preventing.”
(Reading: “What Ills the Pill Has Wrought,” Chicago Tribune, 3/8/2000, article must be ordered and paid for on line)
catholic hospitals
ILLINOIS: A bill (H.B. 3201) that would force Illinois hospitals to provide “emergency contraception” to victims of rape is being challenged on behalf of Catholic hospitals by the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty. The fund’s letter to Senate President James Philip points out that the bill requirements “would force medical professionals in the 50 Illinois hospitals sponsored by the Catholic Church to violate fundamental teachings of the Catholic faith under penalty of law.”
ILLINOIS: A bill (H.B. 3201) that would force Illinois hospitals to provide “emergency contraception” to victims of rape is being challenged on behalf of Catholic hospitals by the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty. The fund’s letter to Senate President James Philip points out that the bill requirements “would force medical professionals in the 50 Illinois hospitals sponsored by the Catholic Church to violate fundamental teachings of the Catholic faith under penalty of law.”
ILLINOIS: A bill (H.B. 3201) that would force Illinois hospitals to provide “emergency contraception” to victims of rape is being challenged on behalf of Catholic hospitals by the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty. The fund’s letter to Senate President James Philip points out that the bill requirements “would force medical professionals in the 50 Illinois hospitals sponsored by the Catholic Church to violate fundamental teachings of the Catholic faith under penalty of law.”
(Reading: letter to Illinois State Senate President James Philip, Becket Fund for Religious Liberty; to view H.B. 3201, to go Illinois legislature.
chemical (medical) abortion
EMERGENCY [MORNING AFTER] CONTRACEPTION I: A review of availability conducted by James Trussell, Ph.D. of Princeton recommends, “Providers should consider prescribing over the telephone, thereby eliminating the need for appointments. Planned Parenthood Federation of America has established a ‘Dial EC’ protocol that allows new and established patients to receive prescriptions for emergency contraceptive pills and instructions for their use over the telephone.”
EMERGENCY [MORNING AFTER] CONTRACEPTION I: A review of availability conducted by James Trussell, Ph.D. of Princeton recommends, “Providers should consider prescribing over the telephone, thereby eliminating the need for appointments. Planned Parenthood Federation of America has established a ‘Dial EC’ protocol that allows new and established patients to receive prescriptions for emergency contraceptive pills and instructions for their use over the telephone.”
EMERGENCY [MORNING AFTER] CONTRACEPTION I: A review of availability conducted by James Trussell, Ph.D. of Princeton recommends, “Providers should consider prescribing over the telephone, thereby eliminating the need for appointments. Planned Parenthood Federation of America has established a ‘Dial EC’ protocol that allows new and established patients to receive prescriptions for emergency contraceptive pills and instructions for their use over the telephone.”
(Reading: “Access to Emergency Contraception,” Obstetrics and Gynecology, 2/00, pp. 267-270)
EMERGENCY [MORNING AFTER] CONTRACEPTION II: A clinical trial was conducted with 343 randomly-chosen women chosen aged 18-45 who were not at risk for pregnancy. In addition to the emergency contraceptive pills, some were given a placebo and others meclizine, a treatment for nausea. The purpose was to ascertain if the side effects of nausea and vomiting associated with the Yuzpe method of “emergency contraception” could be curtailed. The incidence of nausea was 47% in the pretreated group, 64% in the placebo group. Researchers point out that the Yuzpe method, using regular birth control pills, is still in use for reasons of convenience and cost, even though the FDA has recently approved a levonorgestrel-only method that does not have the same side effects.
(Reading: “Meclizine for Prevention of Nausea Associated with Use of Emergency Contraceptive Pills: A Randomized Trial,” Obstetrics and Gynecology, 2/00, pp. 271-277)
MISOPROSTOL: A research project involving single, oral doses of misoprostol and its effect on uterine arteries and fetal heart rate shows that when the chemical is administered during the first trimester of pregnancy, and an abortion does not follow, the child who is born may have multiple congenital abnormalities. The study involved 40 women seeking abortion. The study concludes: “subtherapeutic doses of prostanoid [prostaglandin] abortifacients could lead to multiple congenital malformations” of those children not aborted.
(Reading: “Misoprostol’s Effect on Uterine Arterial Blood Flow and Fetal Heart Rate in Early Pregnancy,” Obstetrics and Gynecology, 2/00, pp. 232-235)
health care
TERMINAL ILLNESS AND PHYSICIAN OPTIMISM: Study authors set out to ascertain the effects of misdiagnosis of life expectancy on the patient and his family. More than 350 physicians tracked more than 500 patients. Among the study findings: “Undue optimism about survival prospects may contribute to late referral for hospice care, with negative implications for patients” and “terminally ill cancer patients who hold unduly optimistic assessments of their survival prospects often request futile, aggressive care rather than perhaps more beneficial palliative care.”
TERMINAL ILLNESS AND PHYSICIAN OPTIMISM: Study authors set out to ascertain the effects of misdiagnosis of life expectancy on the patient and his family. More than 350 physicians tracked more than 500 patients. Among the study findings: “Undue optimism about survival prospects may contribute to late referral for hospice care, with negative implications for patients” and “terminally ill cancer patients who hold unduly optimistic assessments of their survival prospects often request futile, aggressive care rather than perhaps more beneficial palliative care.”
TERMINAL ILLNESS AND PHYSICIAN OPTIMISM: Study authors set out to ascertain the effects of misdiagnosis of life expectancy on the patient and his family. More than 350 physicians tracked more than 500 patients. Among the study findings: “Undue optimism about survival prospects may contribute to late referral for hospice care, with negative implications for patients” and “terminally ill cancer patients who hold unduly optimistic assessments of their survival prospects often request futile, aggressive care rather than perhaps more beneficial palliative care.”
COMMENT: Subjective evaluation?
(Reading: “Extent and Determinants of Error in Doctors’ Prognoses in Terminally Ill Patients: Prospective Cohort Study,” British Medical Journal, 2/19/00, pp. 469-473)
population controllers
EARTH CHARTER MAKES COMEBACK: In 1992, at the UN’s Rio Earth Summit, members from extreme leftist governmental and non-governmental organizations submitted an Earth Charter initiative for immediate adoption. They were unsuccessful, and over the years dozens of committees and conferences have discussed and revised the Earth Charter, but have failed to get it through the UN bureaucracy. But now this dangerous proclamation will most likely be considered in the UN General Assembly very soon. The Earth Charter’s tenets reek of the one-world viewpoint and New Age philosophy. It suggests a demilitarization of all national security systems and adoption of lifestyles that emphasize quality of life. The charter claims that an “unprecedented rise in human population [that] has overburdened ecological and social systems” is a major reason that the initiative is needed. Earth Charter ideologues hope for UN approval by 2002.
EARTH CHARTER MAKES COMEBACK: In 1992, at the UN’s Rio Earth Summit, members from extreme leftist governmental and non-governmental organizations submitted an Earth Charter initiative for immediate adoption. They were unsuccessful, and over the years dozens of committees and conferences have discussed and revised the Earth Charter, but have failed to get it through the UN bureaucracy. But now this dangerous proclamation will most likely be considered in the UN General Assembly very soon. The Earth Charter’s tenets reek of the one-world viewpoint and New Age philosophy. It suggests a demilitarization of all national security systems and adoption of lifestyles that emphasize quality of life. The charter claims that an “unprecedented rise in human population [that] has overburdened ecological and social systems” is a major reason that the initiative is needed. Earth Charter ideologues hope for UN approval by 2002.
EARTH CHARTER MAKES COMEBACK: In 1992, at the UN’s Rio Earth Summit, members from extreme leftist governmental and non-governmental organizations submitted an Earth Charter initiative for immediate adoption. They were unsuccessful, and over the years dozens of committees and conferences have discussed and revised the Earth Charter, but have failed to get it through the UN bureaucracy. But now this dangerous proclamation will most likely be considered in the UN General Assembly very soon. The Earth Charter’s tenets reek of the one-world viewpoint and New Age philosophy. It suggests a demilitarization of all national security systems and adoption of lifestyles that emphasize quality of life. The charter claims that an “unprecedented rise in human population [that] has overburdened ecological and social systems” is a major reason that the initiative is needed. Earth Charter ideologues hope for UN approval by 2002.
(Reading: report from ALL’s “>Mark DeYoung; The Earth Charter)
prenatal diagnosis
COST-BENEFIT RATIOS: Researchers have shown that when British practices — including “screening by a first-trimester ultrasound at 10-14 weeks for nuchal translucency thickness” — are compared with American practices “including only second-trimester screening by using maternal age and maternal serum screening,” the Am