abortion
CALIFORNIA: A legislative proposal (AB 525) would require certain health care service plans to provide disclosure so that recipients would know about the availability of specific reproductive health services. News reports state that California Assemblywoman Sheila Kuehl initiated the bill to alert women to situations “where not-for-profit hospitals have been acquired by religiously affiliated entities.” The bill is currently in Senate committee and has passed in the Assembly.
(Reading: “Assembly Passes Legislation to Inform Women of Choices,” Kaiser Family Foundation News, 2/2/00; see California Legislaturefor an update on the bill status)
adolescent sexuality
GLEN C. GRIFFIN, M.D.: The president of the American Family League’s recent presentation to the World Congress of Families II on the subject, “Telling kids ‘It’s OK to play around with sex – if they use a condom’ is medical misinformation,” is available on line.
animal rights
NO-KILL POLICY: The New York Times reports that more and more animal shelters are moving away from euthanizing stray dogs and cats. One official claims “the public was calling us killers.” Said New York resident Barbara Eichert, “You have a moral responsibility to look out for living things.”
(Reading: “Shift to ‘No-Kill’ Shelters Leaves Towns Deluged by Strays,” New York Times, 2/7/00; Animal Peoplemagazine)
chemical (medical) abortion
BIRTH CONTROL PILL: Physicians Walter Larimore and Joseph B. Stanford have authored an article clearly defining the three modes of action of the Pill and finding, “despite the lack of quantitative data, the principles of informed consent suggest that patients who may object to any postfertilization loss should be made aware of this information so that they can give fully informed consent for the use of oral contraceptives.”
(Reading: “Postfertilization Effects of Oral Contraceptives and Their Relationship to Informed Consent,” Archives of Family Medicine, 2/00, pp. 126-133)
DEPO-PROVERA: STOPP International has reprinted the sad case of a woman who received the injectible Depo-Provera and suffered severe back problems as a result.
MIFEPRISTONE (RU-486) I: Feminist Majority Foundation president Eleanor Smeal is promoting a funding drive to support the “distribution of mifepristone for compassionate use.” The group claims it is making the chemical available to women with life-threatening diseases.
(Reading: Feminist Majority Foundation direct mail letter)
MIFEPRISTONE II: The Food and Drug Administration has issued an “approvable” letter to the Population Council indicating that there are still unresolved questions that must be addressed prior to the final FDA approval being given. This means that comments could still make a difference. Contact the FDA on line: or write FDA, HFI-40, Rockville, MD 20857 or call toll-free 888-463-6332.
(Reading: “FDA Issues Approvable Letter for Mifepristone,” 2/18/00)
condoms
SEAT BELT SAFETY: A current study claims that “condoms and car seat belts are applied to the human body to save lives.” In an effort to show the value of making such a comparison the researchers state, “Seat belts have not delivered all the safety benefits that were originally expected of them. A theory of risk compensation may explain why the obvious benefits of seat belts do not necessarily translate into benefits when they are used by whole populations. If safety interventions engender compensatory changes of risk behavior among drivers, it is highly probably that interventions to reduce sexual health risks could also change risk behavior.”
(Reading: “Condoms and Seat Belts: the Parallels and the Lessons,” The Lancet, 1/29/00, pp. 400-402)
help wanted
HUMAN LIFE ALLIANCE: HLA, a national pro-life organization located in St. Paul, Minnesota, is seeking an Executive Director. Position qualifications include: Undergraduate degree, knowledge of and commitment to life issues, strong supervisory, administrative, and program management skills. Please fax resumes to: “>Maria Schmitz at 651-484-2264 or mail to: HLA, 3570 Lexington Ave. N. #205, St. Paul, MN 55126 or send via e-mail as an attachment in MS Word.
in vitro fertilization
EMBRYO DONATION: An analysis of programs and currently used guidelines for the donation of leftover embryonic babies recommends: “if programs provide both structured and standardized evaluations and informed consent for both donors and recipients regarding the emotional, social and ethical aspects of this family-building option, all parties will benefit from this ‘early intervention’ including potential offspring and the fertility programs themselves.”
COMMENT: The child who exists at conception is not recognized, but is rather described as “potential offspring.”
(Reading: “Embryo Donation Programs and Policies in North America: Survey Results and Implications for Health and Mental Health Professionals,” Fertility and Sterility, 2/00, pp. 215-220)
personhood
FETAL TRANSFUSION: Researchers wanted to measure fetal tolerance of high-dose intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) administered in utero. The goal was to improve fetal survival. Thirteen preborn children were selected and in each case the red cell transfusions were well tolerated and had a beneficial effect on fetal hemolysis (premature breakdown of red blood cells).
COMMENT: A physician pointed out to us that Rh alloimmunization is the result of the baby’s Rh blood type being positive and the mother’s being negative. So much for the baby being a part of the mother’s body!
(Reading: “Immunoglobulin Administration to Fetuses with Anemia due to Alloimmunization to D,” Transfusion, 11-12/99, pp. 1235-1238)
stem cell research
NEWS SERVICE: Stem Cell Research News is an on-line service provides coverage of legislative, regulatory, research and commercialization news.
vaccines
MERCK: For the record, Adel A. F. Mahmoud, president of Merck Vaccines, advised us that “human diploid cell lines, which are approved by the U. S. Food and Drug Administration and maintained under strict Federal guidelines, originated from two legal, therapeutically indicated abortions in the 1960s. These abortions were not undertaken with the intent of producing vaccines. No new fetal tissue is needed to produce cell lines to make vaccines, now or in the future. Currently, human diploid cell lines are used to prepare vaccines against such serious or fatal diseases, including polio and rabies, as well as some of Merck’s live virus vaccines.”
(Reading: letter to Judie Brown from Adel A. F. Mahmond, 11/18/99; Merck Vaccines)
web news
EUTHANASIA: A how-to guide of suicide methods is posted on a Dutch web-site, which prompted communique to search for other such “services.” The results are Death net, which provides the most current in “how-to” material, http://www.rights.org/deathnet/open.html, and Church of Euthanasia, http://satanservice.org/coe.html. WARNING! No direct link is supplied here. These web sites contain material that will be offensive to many and totally unsuitable for young readers.
PRO-LIFE ACTIVIST’S ENCYCLOPEDIA: This valuable document has returned to the American Life League web site.
reflection for prayer
The reason [Paul] said “we are fools for Christ’s sake” was that his mind was free from all earthly preoccupations. It was as though he said, “We are blind to the life here below because our eyes are raised toward the One who is our head.”
And so, without board or lodging, he traveled from place to place, destitute, naked, exhausted by hunger and thirst. When men saw him in captivity, flogged, shipwrecked, led about in chains, they could scarcely help thinking him a pitiable sight. Nevertheless, even while he suffered all this at the hands of men, he always looked toward the One who is his head and he asked: “What can separate us from the love of Christ, which is in Jesus? Can affliction or distress? Can persecution, hunger, nakedness, danger or death?” In other words, “What can force me to take my eyes from him who is my head and to turn them toward things that are contemptible?”
He bids us follow his example: “Seek the things that are above,” he says, which is another way of saying: “Keep your eyes on Christ.”
-Gregory of Nyssa, bishop, writing in the fourth century
CALIFORNIA: A legislative proposal (AB 525) would require certain health care service plans to provide disclosure so that recipients would know about the availability of specific reproductive health services. News reports state that California Assemblywoman Sheila Kuehl initiated the bill to alert women to situations “where not-for-profit hospitals have been acquired by religiously affiliated entities.” The bill is currently in Senate committee and has passed in the Assembly.
(Reading: “Assembly Passes Legislation to Inform Women of Choices,” Kaiser Family Foundation News, 2/2/00; see California Legislaturefor an update on the bill status)
adolescent sexuality
GLEN C. GRIFFIN, M.D.: The president of the American Family League’s recent presentation to the World Congress of Families II on the subject, “Telling kids ‘It’s OK to play around with sex – if they use a condom’ is medical misinformation,” is available on line.
animal rights
NO-KILL POLICY: The New York Times reports that more and more animal shelters are moving away from euthanizing stray dogs and cats. One official claims “the public was calling us killers.” Said New York resident Barbara Eichert, “You have a moral responsibility to look out for living things.”
(Reading: “Shift to ‘No-Kill’ Shelters Leaves Towns Deluged by Strays,” New York Times, 2/7/00; Animal Peoplemagazine)
chemical (medical) abortion
BIRTH CONTROL PILL: Physicians Walter Larimore and Joseph B. Stanford have authored an article clearly defining the three modes of action of the Pill and finding, “despite the lack of quantitative data, the principles of informed consent suggest that patients who may object to any postfertilization loss should be made aware of this information so that they can give fully informed consent for the use of oral contraceptives.”
(Reading: “Postfertilization Effects of Oral Contraceptives and Their Relationship to Informed Consent,” Archives of Family Medicine, 2/00, pp. 126-133)
DEPO-PROVERA: STOPP International has reprinted the sad case of a woman who received the injectible Depo-Provera and suffered severe back problems as a result.
MIFEPRISTONE (RU-486) I: Feminist Majority Foundation president Eleanor Smeal is promoting a funding drive to support the “distribution of mifepristone for compassionate use.” The group claims it is making the chemical available to women with life-threatening diseases.
(Reading: Feminist Majority Foundation direct mail letter)
MIFEPRISTONE II: The Food and Drug Administration has issued an “approvable” letter to the Population Council indicating that there are still unresolved questions that must be addressed prior to the final FDA approval being given. This means that comments could still make a difference. Contact the FDA on line: or write FDA, HFI-40, Rockville, MD 20857 or call toll-free 888-463-6332.
(Reading: “FDA Issues Approvable Letter for Mifepristone,” 2/18/00)
condoms
SEAT BELT SAFETY: A current study claims that “condoms and car seat belts are applied to the human body to save lives.” In an effort to show the value of making such a comparison the researchers state, “Seat belts have not delivered all the safety benefits that were originally expected of them. A theory of risk compensation may explain why the obvious benefits of seat belts do not necessarily translate into benefits when they are used by whole populations. If safety interventions engender compensatory changes of risk behavior among drivers, it is highly probably that interventions to reduce sexual health risks could also change risk behavior.”
(Reading: “Condoms and Seat Belts: the Parallels and the Lessons,” The Lancet, 1/29/00, pp. 400-402)
help wanted
HUMAN LIFE ALLIANCE: HLA, a national pro-life organization located in St. Paul, Minnesota, is seeking an Executive Director. Position qualifications include: Undergraduate degree, knowledge of and commitment to life issues, strong supervisory, administrative, and program management skills. Please fax resumes to: “>Maria Schmitz at 651-484-2264 or mail to: HLA, 3570 Lexington Ave. N. #205, St. Paul, MN 55126 or send via e-mail as an attachment in MS Word.
in vitro fertilization
EMBRYO DONATION: An analysis of programs and currently used guidelines for the donation of leftover embryonic babies recommends: “if programs provide both structured and standardized evaluations and informed consent for both donors and recipients regarding the emotional, social and ethical aspects of this family-building option, all parties will benefit from this ‘early intervention’ including potential offspring and the fertility programs themselves.”
COMMENT: The child who exists at conception is not recognized, but is rather described as “potential offspring.”
(Reading: “Embryo Donation Programs and Policies in North America: Survey Results and Implications for Health and Mental Health Professionals,” Fertility and Sterility, 2/00, pp. 215-220)
personhood
FETAL TRANSFUSION: Researchers wanted to measure fetal tolerance of high-dose intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) administered in utero. The goal was to improve fetal survival. Thirteen preborn children were selected and in each case the red cell transfusions were well tolerated and had a beneficial effect on fetal hemolysis (premature breakdown of red blood cells).
COMMENT: A physician pointed out to us that Rh alloimmunization is the result of the baby’s Rh blood type being positive and the mother’s being negative. So much for the baby being a part of the mother’s body!
(Reading: “Immunoglobulin Administration to Fetuses with Anemia due to Alloimmunization to D,” Transfusion, 11-12/99, pp. 1235-1238)
stem cell research
NEWS SERVICE: Stem Cell Research News is an on-line service provides coverage of legislative, regulatory, research and commercialization news.
vaccines
MERCK: For the record, Adel A. F. Mahmoud, president of Merck Vaccines, advised us that “human diploid cell lines, which are approved by the U. S. Food and Drug Administration and maintained under strict Federal guidelines, originated from two legal, therapeutically indicated abortions in the 1960s. These abortions were not undertaken with the intent of producing vaccines. No new fetal tissue is needed to produce cell lines to make vaccines, now or in the future. Currently, human diploid cell lines are used to prepare vaccines against such serious or fatal diseases, including polio and rabies, as well as some of Merck’s live virus vaccines.”
(Reading: letter to Judie Brown from Adel A. F. Mahmond, 11/18/99; Merck Vaccines)
web news
EUTHANASIA: A how-to guide of suicide methods is posted on a Dutch web-site, which prompted communique to search for other such “services.” The results are Death net, which provides the most current in “how-to” material, http://www.rights.org/deathnet/open.html, and Church of Euthanasia, http://satanservice.org/coe.html. WARNING! No direct link is supplied here. These web sites contain material that will be offensive to many and totally unsuitable for young readers.
PRO-LIFE ACTIVIST’S ENCYCLOPEDIA: This valuable document has returned to the American Life League web site.
reflection for prayer
The reason [Paul] said “we are fools for Christ’s sake” was that his mind was free from all earthly preoccupations. It was as though he said, “We are blind to the life here below because our eyes are raised toward the One who is our head.”
And so, without board or lodging, he traveled from place to place, destitute, naked, exhausted by hunger and thirst. When men saw him in captivity, flogged, shipwrecked, led about in chains, they could scarcely help thinking him a pitiable sight. Nevertheless, even while he suffered all this at the hands of men, he always looked toward the One who is his head and he asked: “What can separate us from the love of Christ, which is in Jesus? Can affliction or distress? Can persecution, hunger, nakedness, danger or death?” In other words, “What can force me to take my eyes from him who is my head and to turn them toward things that are contemptible?”
He bids us follow his example: “Seek the things that are above,” he says, which is another way of saying: “Keep your eyes on Christ.”
-Gregory of Nyssa, bishop, writing in the fourth century