in this issue:
hot button issue: NATIONAL PRO-LIFE T-SHIRT DAY
abortion: FLORIDA / SOUTH DAKOTA
catholic church: BISHOPS / POLITICIANS
clinic regulation: VIRGINIA
euthanasia: SCHIAVO
human cloning: KOREA
in vitro fertilization: ISRAEL / ITALY
morning-after abortion pill: DELAY
naral: CHICKEN LITTLE
planned parenthood: CALIFORNIA / TEXAS / WISCONSIN
reflection for prayer: JEREMIAH 17:7-8
hot button issue
NATIONAL PRO-LIFE T-SHIRT DAY: American Life League is again sponsoring this annual event. This year’s date is April 27. Pro-life students across the country are asked to wear shirts with a pro-life message when they attend school that day. The official shirt of National Pro-life T-shirt Day is available from ALL online, or by phone at 866-LET-LIVE.
abortion
FLORIDA: A new report alleges that children in Florida are being abandoned at birth and left to die. The so-called live birth abortion involves induced delivery of a premature baby, then denying the child any treatment. A Florida Right to Life spokesman says a nurse has come forward who says she’s seen it happen, even though a federal law was supposed to stop this.
(Reading: “Born-alive infanticides may be occurring despite federal law preventing it,” LifeNews.com, 2/4/04)
SOUTH DAKOTA: The state house has okayed a bill that seeks to ban most abortions, allowing them only in cases where the mother’s life is purportedly at risk. Critics say the only thing the law would do is open the state to a legal challenge that could cost upwards of $1 million.
(Reading: “South Dakota lawmaker OKs abortion ban,” Associated Press, 2/10/04)
catholic church
BISHOPS: American Life League’s Crusade to Defend Our Catholic Church is getting its point across about pro-abortion politicians who claim to be faithful Catholics. Crusade director Joseph Starrs told the St. Louis Post Dispatch the Church is “asking for all people to stand up for all innocent life, and if you want to be Catholic, some things are non-negotiable.” He also told the Dallas Morning News that “people are saying, ‘Thank God Catholic bishops are standing up.'”
(Reading: “Catholic abortion rights backers told to skip Communion,” Dallas Morning News, 2/5/04; “Roman Catholic church raises some eyebrows by warning politicians,” St. Louis Post Dispatch, 2/7/04)
POLITICIANS: American Life League greeted Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.), a member of ALL’s Deadly Dozen U.S. senators, during a stop in Fairfax, Va. The message for Kerry: “You can’t be Catholic and pro-abortion.”
(Reading: “Pro-life activists target Kerry’s stand on abortion,” Cybercast News Service, 2/10/04)
clinic regulation
VIRGINIA: A state senate committee has scuttled a bill designed to require abortion facilities to follow the same health standards as other outpatient surgical centers. Opponents dragged out familiar clich?s in belittling the bill’s provisions. Katherine Waddell of the Republican Pro-Choice Coalition said, “This is about legislators forcing their own religious beliefs on all Virginians.” State Sen. Richard Saslaw (D-Fairfax) added, “It is no business of the men to come in here and put one hurdle after another in front of these women when it’s not them who are getting pregnant.”
(Reading: “Senate kills abortion clinic bill,” Washington Times, 2/6/04)
euthanasia
SCHIAVO: The family of disabled hospice resident Terri Schiavo is drawing attention to a statement attributed to the attorney who’s representing Terri’s husband. George Felos is handling Michael Schiavo’s attempt to have Terri’s feeding tube withdrawn. He said Terri’s situation “is one isolated case out of tens of thousands over the years.” Terri’s brother, Bobby Schindler, said Felos “openly admits that we are once again killing those deemed less worthy.”
(Reading: “Attorney George Felos admits to ‘tens of thousands’ of starvation and dehydration deaths,” Schiavo family news release, 2/6/04; “Lawmakers intrude into family privacy,” Lakeland Ledger, 2/6/04)
human cloning
KOREA: Researchers in South Korea claim to have created a cloned human embryo. Washington Post science writer Rick Weiss notes the embryo came from a cell taken from a woman, and “there was no contribution from a father.” Richard Doerflinger of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops told Weiss, “This approach relies on the one thing that even President Clinton and pro-abortion members of Congress agreed a few years ago was unacceptable: creating human embryos in the laboratory solely to destroy them for research.”
(Reading: “Mature human embryos cloned,” Washington Post, 2/12/04)
in vitro fertilization
ISRAEL: Doctors report that two 9-month-old children are “perfectly healthy.” The pair — a boy and a girl — were deep-frozen as embryos with ten of their siblings in 1990. The parents had two children from that first in vitro fertilization session, and left the remaining living human embryos in cold storage. Four embryos were implanted in the most recent “treatment,” resulting in the birth of the two babies.
(Reading: “Twins born from 12-year-old frozen embryos,” Ananova, 2/4/04)
ITALY: A bill awaiting the president’s signature would greatly limit in vitro fertilization procedures. The law bans egg and sperm donation, surrogate mother arrangements and freezing of human embryos. It limits to three the number of eggs that can be fertilized in one treatment, and all resulting embryos must be implanted. In vitro fertilization will not be allowed for homosexuals, single people, and “elderly women.” Women in their 60s have given birth in Italy following IVF treatment. Doctors who attempt to clone human beings could face 10-20 years in prison and up to $1.2 million in fines.
(Reading: “Italy passes limits on fertility options,” Associated Press, 2/12/04)
morning-after abortion pill
DELAY: Plans to fast-track over-the-counter availability of “emergency contraception” may have been derailed. Approval had been expected to come next week, but pro-life objections may be making an impact. The pills are in fact abortifacient. American Life League is cited as one of the groups leading the charge to tell the full story about how these pills work.
COMMENT: A pro-pill article notes the pills prevent “implantation of a sperm-egg union.” There’s a much more accurate name for that “sperm-egg union,” folks. It’s “human being.”
(Reading: “Delays likely for emergency contraception,” Women’s E-News, 2/10/04)
naral
CHICKEN LITTLE: NARAL’s Kate Michelman is sounding an alarm over a Michigan citizens’ initiative. Gov. Jennifer Granholm recently vetoed a partial-birth abortion bill. Michelman says if the initiative proposal succeeds, “Michigan women face a stark future if this bill becomes law, a return to the days when government dictated our personal decisions, and women’s only option was an unsafe, illegal abortion.”
(Reading: “NARAL Pro-Choice America leader denounces Michigan initiative in Ann Arbor speech,” NARAL Pro-Choice America news release, 2/5/04)
planned parenthood
CALIFORNIA: Planned Parenthood has closed its Encinitas location, a facility that one commentator calls “one of San Diego County’s most notorious abortion clinics.” It is reported that the facility, located on the grounds of Scripps Memorial Hospital, had become a public relations problem for hospital administrators, especially after Planned Parenthood’s involvement became known.
(Reading: “Another one down,” San Diego News Notes, 2/04)
TEXAS: Pro-lifers in the Waco area are launching a boycott of Girl Scout cookies because of the local scout council’s connections with Planned Parenthood. The Bluebonnet Council co-sponsors a Planned Parenthood sex education program, and honored a local Planned Parenthood executive with its Woman of Distinction award.
(Reading: “Pro-life forces boycotting Girl Scout cookies,” Waco Tribune Herald, 2/7/04)
WISCONSIN: Pro-Life Wisconsin, an American Life League associate group, reports a pro-life coalition in Madison has placed a large billboard adjacent to a Planned Parenthood abortion facility. The sign features a photo of actress Jennifer O’Neill, who has publicly testified that abortion is a “choice” she regrets. A photo is posted online.
(Reading: “Pro-life billboard overshadows Madison Planned Parenthood abortuary,” Pro-Life Wisconsin news release, 2/5/04)
reflection for prayer
JEREMIAH 17:7-8: Blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord, whose hope is the Lord. He is like a tree planted beside the waters that stretches out its roots to the stream: it fears not the heat when it comes; its leaves stay green; in the year of drought it shows no distress, but still bears fruit.