in this issue:
hot button issues: CONGRESS / GEORGIA / TRAINING AND ACTIVISM
abortion: ECONOMIC IMPACT / MOTHERHOOD / NEGATIVE EFFECT ON MARRIAGE / RISK OF CANCER
catholics: LEADERSHIP
culture of death: BANKING EMBRYOS / REPRODUCTION
in vitro fertilization: RISKS / SAVED FROM KATRINA’S WRATH
morning-after abortion pill: FAILURE
pharmacists: WASHINGTON STATE ALERT
politics: PRO-LIFE DEMOCRATS
stem cell basics: DEBATE / INTRODUCTION
stem cell research / ethical: AMNIOTIC FLUID / HERO
stem cell research / unethical: WILMUT
vaccine: HUMAN PAPILLOMA VIRUS
web news: COUNTING BABIES SAVED FROM ABORTION
reflection for prayer: PRAISE HIS HOLY NAME
hot button issues
CONGRESS: ALL’s Judie Brown says the Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act of 2007 “is a dreadful piece of legislation that, if approved, will further the unconscionable destruction of preborn persons.” President Bush vetoed similar legislation last year. ALL is calling on the president to do the same if this legislation reaches his desk.
(Reading: “Human stem cell bill crosses moral, ethical lines,” American Life League news release, 1/9/07)
GEORGIA: Proposed legislation would establish legal personhood for human beings beginning at conception. ALL’s Judie Brown said, “Establishing personhood for the preborn child is the most fundamental step in reversing the decriminalization of abortion.”
(Reading: “Georgia bill defines personhood at conception,” American Life League news release, 1/8/07)
TRAINING AND ACTIVISM: American Life League is sponsoring a full day of workshops featuring well-known pro-life speakers in Washington, D.C. on January 21, the day before the annual March for Life. Details are available online.
abortion
ECONOMIC IMPACT: Dennis Howard, founder of the Movement for a Better America, has written an excellent analysis of the negative impact of abortion on the economy.
(Reading: “Economic impact of abortion,” Movement for a Better America, 2007)
MOTHERHOOD: C. Ward Kischer, PhD, analyzes the problem of negating motherhood in today’s sexually saturated society.
(Reading: “Where are the mothers of America?” Life Issues, 12/18/06)
NEGATIVE EFFECT ON MARRIAGE: Eugene Choo and Aloysius Siow have studied the reasons marriages rates are regressing. They have found that abortion has had a significant, negative effect on marriage.
(Reading: “Who marries whom and why,” University of Toronto, 11/10/03)
RISK OF CANCER: John Luik reports that the link between abortion and breast cancer is not only real, but riskier than breathing in second-hand smoke.
(Reading: “Balancing risks,” Western Standard)
catholics
LEADERSHIP: Rabbi Yehuda Levin met recently with Vatican officials. Said Levin, “We need bishops and cardinals to be out there, leading the flock. This is the martyrdom required in 2007: just to come out into the streets.”
(Reading: “Jewish rabbi: if Catholic leaders rally, Jews and Evangelicals would follow,” Life Site News, 1/4/07)
culture of death
BANKING EMBRYOS: Another evil result of unfettered access to in vitro fertilization is the announcement by a Texas company that it has begun producing “batches of ready-made embryos that single women and infertile couples can order after reviewing detailed information about the race, education, appearance, personality and other characteristics of the egg and sperm donors.”
(Reading: “‘Embryo bank’ stirs ethics fears,” Washington Post, 1/6/07)
REPRODUCTION: In a commentary preceding a scene from a fictional play, Professor Carl Djerassi, creator of the first synthetic steroid birth control pill, comments, “detachment of the child from traditional procreation may well be the most fundamental ethical issue raised by techniques of assisted reproduction. Neither science nor society has so far adequately prepared us for that consequence of sex in an age of mechanical reproduction.”
(Reading: “Are sex and fertilization ready for divorce?” The Lancet, Vol. 368; “Sex and fertilization: Ready for divorce?” Carl Djerassi, 2007)
in vitro fertilization
RISKS: Discussing the problems with not telling the whole truth to couples seeking in vitro fertilization, Jerome Burne reports, “American researchers revealed that by the time children born of parents with infertility problems were six, they had four times the risk of developing autism. They also had nearly three times the risk of serious disorders such as cerebral palsy and cancer.”
(Reading: “IVF: Why we must be told the truth over birth defects,” Daily Mail, 12/12/06)
SAVED FROM KATRINA’S WRATH: Dr. Belinda Sartor, a fertility expert from New Orleans, orchestrated intervention by the National Guard to transport the nitrogen tanks that contained frozen human embryos that would have been destroyed had she not acted as quickly as she did.
(Reading: “Embryos saved from Katrina bearing fruit,” Associated Press, 1/4/07)
morning-after abortion pill
FAILURE: After all the hype, the fact is that not a single study has found a decrease in pregnancy or abortion rates that can be attributed to the morning after pill.
(Reading: “Population effect of increased access to emergency contraceptive pills,” Obstetrics and Gynecology)
pharmacists
WASHINGTON STATE ALERT: The Washington State Board of Pharmacy meets on January 26 to address possible rule changes that would have a negative impact on pro-life pharmacists.
(Reading: “Take action,” Human Right to Conscience, 12/18/06)
politics
PRO-LIFE DEMOCRATS: Columnist Robert Novak examines the statements Bob Casey Jr. has made regarding stem cell research and opines “Casey was embraced by pro-choice Democrats … as the best bet against Santorum. But they may not have bargained on Casey opposing them on the central party issue of stem cell research. The question of how much of a pro-lifer Casey is or can be in the 21st-century Democratic Party may be answered soon.”
(Reading: “Litmus test for pro-life Democrats,” Washington Post, 1/4/07)
stem cell basics
DEBATE: Columnist John Mallon recently interviewed Richard Doerflinger of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops on misconceptions in the media regarding stem cell research.
(Reading: “The stem cell debate: Science vs. deception,” Peter’s Voice, 12/06)
INTRODUCTION: T.P. Collins, M.D., is writing a definitive exposition of the problems with human embryonic stem cell research.
(Reading: “Stem cell basics: Introduction,” Catholic Medical Weekly, 1/5/07)
stem cell research / ethical
AMNIOTIC FLUID: Researchers at Wake Forest and Yale report the discovery of a plentiful source of stem cells in amniotic fluid.
(Reading: “Scientists see potential in amniotic stem cells,” Washington Post, 1/8/07)
HERO: Dr. Markus Grompe, director of Oregon Health and Science University’s stem cell center, will not be involved with human embryonic stem cell research because “I support the church’s view on protection of embryonic life.”
(Reading: “Oregon Catholic doctor resists pressure to use embryonic stem cells,” Catholic News Service, 1/3/07)
stem cell research / unethical
WILMUT: The Sunday Times reports that “Ignorance and intolerance could cost Britain its status as a world leader in stem cell research according to the scientist who helped create Dolly the sheep.” Ian Wilmut claims that “ill-informed public opinion and religious lobbyists” are the problem. He said, “The embryo has the potential to become a person only if it is put into the womb of a woman and given the chance to develop.”
COMMENT: Who is ignorant of the scientific facts?
(Reading: “Cloning pioneer fears Britain will lose out,” Sunday Times, 1/7/06)
vaccine
HUMAN PAPILLOMA VIRUS: While admitting that the vaccine is not effective in treating all strains of HPV, an article points out that Gardasil, the vaccine, is nearly 100 percent effective in preventing persistent infection with HPV types 6, 11, 16 and 18.
(Reading: “A human papillomavirus vaccine,” Obstetrics and Gynecology, pp 191-192)
web news
COUNTING BABIES SAVED FROM ABORTION: See “No baby left behind: Have you saved a baby today?” at No Baby Left Behind.
reflection for prayer
PRAISE HIS HOLY NAME: “The sweet Name of Jesus produces in us holy thoughts, fills the soul with noble sentiments, strengthens virtue, begets good works, and nourishes pure affections.”
(Reading: St. Bernard of Clairvaux)