in this issue:
hot button issues: PRO-LIFE MEMORIAL DAY / SPECIAL EVENT
abortion: LOOPHOLE
activism: GRAPHIC IMAGES / KNIGHTS OF COLUMBUS
catholic bishops: END THE SCANDAL
organ donation: BRAIN DEATH
planned parenthood: COLORADO / ILLINOIS / TEXAS
stem cell politics: MICHIGAN
reminders: LIFE CHAIN / SAVING THOSE DAMNED CATHOLICS / ULTRASOUND VIDEO
reflection for prayer: MATTHEW 19:13-14
hot button issues
PRO-LIFE MEMORIAL DAY: American Life League’s annual day honoring the memory of the babies lost to abortion is October 1. This date is the first Monday in October, the day the U.S. Supreme Court begins its new session.
Reading: “Pro-life Memorial Day honors abortion victims,” American Life League news release, 8/10/07
TO ORDER: The official T-shirt of ALL’s Pro-life Memorial Day 2007 is available online
SPECIAL EVENT: PLEA, the Pro-Life Education Association, an American Life League associate group, is hosting its annual recognition brunch on September 8 in Augusta, Maine. Pro-life author Barbara Curtis is the keynote speaker. Call 207-622-6772 for tickets and additional information.
abortion
LOOPHOLE: It is reported that abortionists, fearful of running afoul of the partial-birth abortion law, are giving babies lethal injections before they perform the procedure. The law applies to the delivery of a live “fetus.” It does not apply if the baby is already dead.
Reading: “Shots assist in aborting fetuses,” Boston Globe, 8/10/07
activism
GRAPHIC IMAGES: A truck making the rounds in Alberta is getting mixed reactions from Canadian pro-lifers. The truck is plastered with photos of aborted babies. The Canadian Centre for Bio-Ethical Reform is behind the project, launched to show the “horrors of taxpayer-funded abortion.” But Bishop Fred Henry of Calgary, one of Canada’s strongest pro-life voices, says the photo collection is a “violation of human dignity” that “does more harm than good to the pro-life cause.”
Reading: “Little truck of horrors,” Fast Forward Weekly, 8/9/07
KNIGHTS OF COLUMBUS: The Catholic men’s organization restated its policies against permitting pro-abortion individuals to speak at Knights’ functions. The group also resolved to refrain from honoring such persons “or inviting them to serve as honorary chairpersons of events, celebrations, or committees, or hold any office in the Knights of Columbus.”
Reading: “Knights of Columbus pass resolution to prohibit pro-abortion politicians from Knights-sponsored events,” Life Site News, 8/13/07
catholic bishops
END THE SCANDAL: “Nothing undermines the cause of justice and cultural reform and renewal more than the bad example of prominent Catholics who have made themselves instruments of what Pope John Paul II bluntly described as ‘the culture of death,'” writes Princeton professor Robert George. “The bishops must make clear that being a faithful Catholic means many things; but among the things it means is bearing unambiguous witness to the sanctity of human life. By bearing such witness, Catholics can seize the opportunity now before them to renew and reform the culture.”
Reading: “Danger and opportunity: A plea to Catholics,” First Things, 8/6/07
organ donation
BRAIN DEATH: The subtitle of Dr. Paul Byrne’s latest article says everything you need to know about organ donation and the idea brain death: “What you don’t know can kill you.”
Reading: “Vital organ donation,” Renew America, 8/8/07
planned parenthood
COLORADO: Planned Parenthood has filed suit to stop a ballot initiative that would define human personhood as beginning at fertilization. Lizzy Annison of Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains made a statement to the media in which she repeatedly made the erroneous statement that initiative backers want to grant personhood to eggs.
COMMENT: This Big Lie must be constantly confronted and refuted: After fertilization, there is no more egg; there is a human being.
Reading: “Opponents of legal definition of person file suit,” Associated Press, 8/9/07
ILLINOIS: Pro-lifers have begun a 40-day vigil outside a new Planned Parenthood abortion center in Aurora. The Pro-Life Action League organized the vigil. Abortion supporters said the demonstration would subject women to “self-righteous condemnation.” But one of the volunteer coordinators noted, “It will be a peaceful, prayerful, respectful vigil,” adding that “it will just be a prayerful presence.”
Reading: “Naperville churches join clinic protest,” Sun-Times News Group, 8/12/07
TEXAS: Bishop Michael Pfeifer of San Angelo led prayer outside a Planned Parenthood abortion center in Midland, calling the facility “the death center across the street.” The bishop told reporters, “We encourage people regularly to be out here expressing the pro-life view and praying for God’s help.” Planned Parenthood declined to comment.
Reading: “Catholics pray for pro-life choices,” Odessa American, 8/11/07
stem cell politics
MICHIGAN: The Thomas More Law Center is suing Michigan governor Jennifer Granholm for discrimination. She is permitting supporters of human embryonic stem cell research to use the governor’s official web site to petition lawmakers to lift state restrictions on the deadly experimentation.
Reading: “Michigan governor sued by Thomas More Law Center for discrimination against citizens who oppose embryonic stem cell research,” Thomas More Law Center news release, 8/9/07
reminders
LIFE CHAIN: Mark your calendars now and check online for a Life Chain in your area: http://www.nationallifechain.org/. The annual event is scheduled for October 7.
SAVING THOSE DAMNED CATHOLICS: Of Judie Brown’s latest book, one reader writes, “The good news is the Catholic Church remains consistent in defending life. The bad news is that many within the Church have co-opted with the culture of death by obfuscating the Truth. Your work reconfirms what we in the pews know to be right!”
TO ORDER: “Saving Those Damned Catholics” is available from ALL in hardcover or paperback. Call 866-LET-LIVE or purchase online.
ULTRASOUND VIDEO: “Baby Steps: Live from the womb, 16 stages of pre-birth development,” is an amazing new video from American Life League that many in the pregnancy center movement say is certain to save lives. The video features dramatic 4-D ultrasound images of preborn babies from 8 to 34 weeks development.
TO ORDER: The “Baby Steps” DVD is available from ALL for $9.95 plus shipping and handling. Call 866-LET-LIVE toll-free, or purchase online.
reflection for prayer
MATTHEW 19:13-14: Children were brought to Jesus that he might lay his hands on them and pray. The disciples rebuked them, but Jesus said, “Let the children come to me, and do not prevent them; for the Kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.”