in this issue:
hot button issues: FINE PRINT / PLAN B / RIGHT TO LIFE ACT
abortion: SKINNER
history: SUSAN B. ANTHONY HOUSE
in vitro fertilization: PLACE YOUR ORDER
morning-after abortion pill: THE SIGN SAYS
planned parenthood: COMPETITION / PREVENTION FIRST
rhetoric: BOSTON GLOBE / CHANGE YOUR MAJOR
stem cell research / ethical: ROME CONFERENCE
stem cell research / unethical: TIME
teen behavior: CONDOMS
reflection for prayer: PSALM 34:14-16
hot button issues
FINE PRINT: We usually put the following announcement at the bottom of Communique. Today, it’s going at the top. We appreciate your help!
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PLAN B: The Food and Drug Administration will reconsider Barr Laboratories’ request to make the Plan B emergency contraceptive available over the counter for women over 18. The folks who answer the phones at the White House say they’re hearing plenty about the Middle East, but little if anything about pro-life concerns. That needs to change.
ACTION: Tell President Bush he must use his executive authority and overrule the FDA. Call the White House at 202-456-1111 or e-mail “>.
(Reading: “President Bush, stop Plan B,” American Life League action alert, 7/31/06)
RIGHT TO LIFE ACT: With the addition of the 100th Congressional sponsor to the Right to Life Act, the pro-life movement has reached an important milestone in its quest to end the slaughter of innocent preborn children by abortion.
COMMENT: Are your members of Congress co-sponsors? If not, ask them to get on board.
abortion
SKINNER: The Virginia woman who shot herself in the abdomen during the ninth month of her pregnancy has now been charged with illegally inducing an abortion. Other charges were thrown out earlier this year, as the Virginia fetal injury law does not apply to the dead child’s mother. Tammy Skinner pleaded not guilty to the new charges. A jury will hear the case in November.
(Reading: “Woman who shot herself to end pregnancy will get jury trial,” Norfolk Virginian-Pilot, 8/4/06)
history
SUSAN B. ANTHONY HOUSE: The house where Susan B. Anthony was born will have a new future with a pro-life connection. A member of Feminists for Life has purchased the building, and will let the organization use it to “bring greater attention to the work of the early American feminists,” who were staunchly pro-life.
(Reading: “Susan B. Anthony birthplace is sold,” Associated Press, 8/5/06)
in vitro fertilization
PLACE YOUR ORDER: From Great Britain comes this report on the latest development in the designer baby trade: “For around �5,000 couples can buy ready-made embryos matched to their specific requirements – even down to choosing what eye and hair colour they would like their child to have. In each case the embryos are made from eggs and sperm from two donors who have never even met. The moment of conception occurs in the laboratory and is determined by the genetic combination the clinic thinks will best meet the needs of the paying couples on its books.”
(Reading: “Ethical row over world’s first ‘made to order’ embryos,” Daily Mail, 8/4/06)
morning-after abortion pill
THE SIGN SAYS: Illinois pharmacists will soon be required to post signs informing women they have a right to buy birth control pills. Gov. Rod Blagojevich proposed the regulation as a way of forcing pharmacists to comply with his executive order that requires them to dispense morning-after pills. Pro-life pharmacists are continuing to fight that order. Planned Parenthood’s Chicago affiliate expressed support for the new requirement.
(Reading: “Illinois mandates signs telling women their contraceptive rights,” Associated Press, 8/8/06)
planned parenthood
COMPETITION: For a story on the increasing price of birth control pills, Becky Reid of Planned Parenthood of the Blue Ridge told WCAV-TV in Charlottesville, Virginia that “Planned Parenthood is committed to keeping our costs lower than costs at nearby pharmacies.” ALL’s STOPP International has noted before that Planned Parenthood often maintains special deals with pharmaceutical companies that permit its affiliates to sell birth control chemicals at prices that undercut local for-profit pharmacies.
(Reading: “Birth control prices rise,” WCAV-TV, 8/3/06; “STOPP exposes Planned Parenthood’s secret deal,” American Life League news release, 8/26/05)
PREVENTION FIRST: American Life League’s STOPP International examines Planned Parenthood’s attempt to further pack its coffers with taxpayers’ dollars to fund its various birth control and sex education programs.
(Reading: “Planned Parenthood pushing ‘Prevention First’ bills across the country,” Wednesday STOPP Report, 8/9/06)
rhetoric
BOSTON GLOBE: A recent editorial gets to the heart of the battle over so-called emergency contraception. The editorial notes, “Plan B works primarily by blocking fertilization or preventing a fertilized egg from implanting in the womb. This is preventing pregnancy, not ending it.” This erroneous rationale relies on a definition that says “pregnancy” begins when the living human embryo implants in the wall of the mother’s uterus. However, the child’s life begins a week or so prior to this point, at fertilization.
COMMENT: Do not get drawn into a battle over the definition of “pregnancy.” Plan B can terminate a newly-formed human being’s life.
(Reading: “Plan B’s second act,” Boston Globe, 8/2/06)
CHANGE YOUR MAJOR: In a column in the campus newspaper, Michigan State student Shane Krouse calls the fact that a human being’s life begins at fertilization a fundamentalist assertion. He also opines that a first-trimester embryo is nothing but a “wad of cells” and asks, “So why would anyone provide a wad of cells with the outrageous status of a living human being?”
COMMENT: It’s not clear what Mr. Krouse is studying at Michigan State, but at the very least an embryology course is in order.
(Reading: “Wad of cells doesn’t equate to human life, abortion is not murder,” State News, 7/26/06)
stem cell research / ethical
ROME CONFERENCE: The World Federation of Catholic Medical Associations and the Pontifical Academy for Life are sponsoring a conference on the scientific aspects and bioethical concerns involved in stem cell research. The event is scheduled for September 14-16 in Rome. Details are available online.
stem cell research / unethical
TIME: In an article on stem cell research, Time magazine reports on a technique for creating human embryos “that would ensure that the embryo lives only long enough to produce stem cells and then dies.”
COMMENT: If this isn’t pure Frankenstein, we don’t know what is!
(Reading: “Stem cells: the hope and the hype,” Time, 7/31/06)
teen behavior
CONDOMS: In an article loaded with “expert” opinions, USA Today reports on a study that claims promiscuous teenagers do not regularly use condoms. The spin of the article focuses on increasing condom use, not on decreasing premarital sex, despite the fact that one of the experts admits that “most methods aren’t 100% effective.”
(Reading: “Report: teens often shun condoms,” USA Today, 8/2/06)
reflection for prayer
PSALM 34:14-16: Keep your tongue from evil, your lips from speaking lies. Turn from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it. The Lord has eyes for the just and ears for their cry.