in this issue:
hot button issues: PLANNED PARENTHOOD / SAVING THOSE DAMNED CATHOLICS / SIGN PETITION TO BISHOPS
abortion: MEXICO
birth control pills: CANCER LINK
catholic bishops: BURKE / GEORGE
morning-after abortion pill: CONFIRMED
personhood: MISSISSIPPI / ULTRASOUND VIDEO
stem cell research / ethical: INSULIN
vaccines: GARDASIL DEATHS
reflection for prayer: ZEPHANIAH 3:16-17
hot button issues
PLANNED PARENTHOOD: After Planned Parenthood’s Cecile Richards fired off a news release insisting that her organization is not the most radical pro-abortion group in the country, American Life League’s Jim Sedlak responded with statistics showing that the characterization is indeed true.
Reading: “Planned Parenthood doth protest too much,” American Life League news release, 5/31/07
SAVING THOSE DAMNED CATHOLICS: Of Judie Brown’s Saving Those Damned Catholics, New York Post columnist Ray Kerrison notes, “Judie Brown’s work fills a void screaming for attention – the persistent relentless assault on Catholic orthodoxy by dissidents attempting to reshape the church in their image. She spells it out and names the names without violating Christian charity. She deserves a wide hearing.”
TO ORDER: “Saving Those Damned Catholics” is available from ALL in hardcover or paperback. Call 866-LET-LIVE or purchase online.
SIGN PETITION TO BISHOPS: An American Life League petition asks American Catholic bishops to address the scandal caused by political figures who claim the Catholic faith but support abortion. Church law states that those “who obstinately persist in manifest grave sin are not to be admitted to communion.”
ACTION: All Catholics are invited to sign the petition that will be delivered to U.S. bishops in June.
abortion
MEXICO: The nation’s supreme court will hear a challenge to Mexico City’s new law that permits abortion during the first 12 weeks of pregnancy. The federal government says local legislators do not have the authority to pass such a law.
Reading: “Mexico’s high court says will hear case against abortion law,” Associated Press, 5/30/07
birth control pills
CANCER LINK: The mainstream media has ignored a Mayo Clinic report showing that women who take birth control pills have a 44-percent greater risk of pre-menopausal breast cancer before having their first child than women who are not on the pill.
Reading: “Oral contraceptive link to breast cancer,” Newsweekly, 5/12/07
catholic bishops
BURKE: Of Archbishop Raymond Burke, St. Louis University professor James Hitchcock notes, “There are quite obviously deep divisions within the church. Archbishop Burke is one bishop who has chosen to confront them directly, as opposed to other bishops who may prefer to minimize them.”
Reading: “St. Louis prelate aims to bring flock in line,” Washington Post, 5/29/07
GEORGE: There’s apparently no comment as yet from Cardinal Francis George, the archbishop of Chicago, over an appearance by the Nation of Islam’s Louis Farrakhan at St. Sabina Catholic Church. The church’s pastor, Fr. Michael Pfleger, told WBBM-TV he did not discuss Farrakhan’s appearance with the cardinal prior to inviting the non-Catholic to speak from the parish pulpit.
Reading: “Minister Louis Farrakhan speaks at St. Sabina’s,” WBBM-TV, 5/25/07
morning-after abortion pill
CONFIRMED: Researchers say one of the advertised modes of action for so-called emergency contraception pills–inhibition of implantation of the days-old human embryo in the uterine lining, an action that results in the embryo’s death–is indeed a fact. Critics had said the effect was only theoretical.
Reading: “Experts confirm abortifacient potential of morning-after pill,” Catholic News Agency, 5/25/07
personhood
MISSISSIPPI: Backers of a state constitutional amendment in Mississippi want the state to recognize personhood at conception. Organizer David Rogers said, “If we declare, or if any state declares an unborn child [to be] a person through their constitutional process, then they’re automatically a person of the United States.” Rogers says such a provision then “legally maneuvers the Supreme Court into protecting unborn children,”
Reading: “Goal of Mississippi amendment? Overturn Roe v. Wade,” One News Now, 5/24/07
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. See a sneak peek online.
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.
stem cell research / ethical
INSULIN: Researchers at the University of Texas say they’ve manufactured insulin, using umbilical cord blood stem cells. Scientists say the discovery opens the door to the possibility that people with type 1 diabetes could one day grow their own insulin-producing cells.
Reading: “Adult stem cells from human umbilical cord blood successfully engineered to make insulin,” Life Site News, 5/28/07
vaccines
GARDASIL DEATHS: The Judicial Watch organization used the Freedom of Information Act to obtain documents from the FDA outlining 1,637 “adverse reactions” to Gardasil, the prominently hyped HPV vaccine. The list recounts 371 “serious reactions,” including three deaths attributed to heart problems or blood clotting.
Reading: “Judicial Watch uncovers three deaths related to HPV vaccine,” Judicial Watch news release, 5/23/07
reflection for prayer
ZEPHANIAH 3:16-17: Fear not, O Zion, be not discouraged! The Lord, your God, is in your midst, a mighty savior; He will rejoice over you with gladness, and renew you in his love.