in this issue:
hot button issues: BISHOPS MEETING / CRUSADE WALK VIDEOS / TERRI SCHIAVO
american life league associates: PHARMACISTS FOR LIFE INTERNATIONAL / PRO-LIFE WISCONSIN
birth control: IUD COMEBACK
culture of life: HOPE IN VIRGINIA
dark side: INSTRUCTING THE POPE / KILLING TINY HUMANS
planned parenthood: INDIANA RECORDS / INFORMED CONSENT / PHARMACISTS
practitioners: KANSAS
supreme court: DARTH JUSTICE / GRISWOLD
reflection for prayer: JEREMIAH 20:11
hot button issues
BISHOPS MEETING: American Life League has once again asked the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, which is meeting this week in Chicago, to address to subject of pro-abortion public figures who claim the Catholic faith. An ALL ad in the Chicago Sun-Times pointed out there are 72 pro-abortion members of Congress who say they’re Catholic.
(Reading: “New ad and pro-life student walkers featured at Chicago media event,” American Life League news release, 6/16/05)
CRUSADE WALK VIDEOS: Short videos showing the activities of the college students on American Life League’s 2005 summer Crusade for Life walks are now posted online. These clips show how the students are proclaiming the message, “You can’t be Catholic and pro-abortion,” and how people are responding to the students’ mission. See Crusade for Life 2005.
TERRI SCHIAVO: “There are those who will use this autopsy report to claim that the death by dehydration imposed on Terri Schiavo was compassionate or merciful,” said American Life League president Judie Brown. “Others would say such a life is not worth living. Such thinking is misguided and absolutely wrong. Those decisions are not ours to make.”
(Reading: “Autopsy findings ultimately irrelevant; Schiavo’s death morally unacceptable,” American Life League news release, 6/15/05)
american life league associates
PHARMACISTS FOR LIFE INTERNATIONAL: The group’s Karen Brauer was interviewed as part of an analysis of the conflict over pharmacists who refuse on ethical grounds to fill prescriptions for abortifacient birth control. She told the reporter she wants to educate women about how the birth control pill works, noting that the pill can prevent implantation of a living human embryo. The focus of the UPI analysis was pending federal and state legislation that would deny conscience protection for pro-life pharmacists.
(Reading: “Mandatory contraceptive prescriptions eyed,” United Press International, 6/13/05)
PRO-LIFE WISCONSIN: Peggy Hamill, state director for Pro-Life Wisconsin, supports a bill in the state legislature that would keep the morning-after abortion pill off college campuses. “We know that the morning-after pill can act to chemically abort a tiny preborn baby, and we also know that it is a powerful and potentially dangerous drug regimen for young women,” she said. “Wisconsin’s state universities should not be in the business of handing out the morning-after pill.”
(Reading: “Assembly to vote on banning morning-after pill on UW system campuses,” Pro-Life Wisconsin news release, 6/15/05)
birth control
IUD COMEBACK: The Seattle Post-Intelligencer reports on a growing number of women turning to intrauterine devices for birth control. A lengthy article acknowledges that the IUD can “make the uterine lining inhospitable to fertilized eggs,” but does not point out that this action is abortion.
(Reading: “Women starting to see IUDs as safe,” Seattle Post-Intelligencer, 6/13/05)
culture of life
HOPE IN VIRGINIA: Medical teams hope to keep the body of 26-year-old cancer patient Susan Torres functioning until her preborn child is able to survive outside the womb. Torres lost consciousness May 7 when a brain tumor led to a stroke. Doctors say she cannot survive, but her baby still has a chance. Her husband Jason said, “There’s not a glimmer of doubt in my mind that this is what she would have wanted.”
(Reading: “Woman kept alive in hopes of saving baby,” USA Today, 6/15/05)
dark side
INSTRUCTING THE POPE: The anti-church group “Catholics” for a Free Choice offers its brand of advice for the newly-elected Pope Benedict XVI on a new web site. Among other things, the group wants the pontiff to “promote a culture of life by lifting the ban on condoms to prevent the transmission of HIV and AIDS.”
(Reading: “First half of pope’s first 100 days reveals ‘business as usual’ at the Vatican,” Catholics for a Free Choice news release, 6/8/05)
KILLING TINY HUMANS: The pro-abortion Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice gives its backing to the human embryonic stem cell research package recently approved by the U.S. House (HR 810). The group claims human embryos deserve respect, but “excess embryos slated for destruction must not be placed above persons whose pain and suffering might be alleviated due to the knowledge gained from studying embryonic cells.”
COMMENT: In other words, the end justifies the means, even when it involves the taking of an innocent human being’s life.
(Reading: “Embryonic stem cell research holds unprecedented hope,” Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice news release, 5/24/05)
planned parenthood
INDIANA RECORDS: A state judge says Planned Parenthood must give prosecutors access to the medical records of girls under 14 who had abortions. Indiana is investigating sexual abuse of minors, and these records would show evidence of such abuse. Planned Parenthood maintains the records should remain private since they’re subject to doctor/patient privilege. The organization says it will appeal any ruling that would force it to disclose such records.
(Reading: “Indiana judge rules against Planned Parenthood,” Cybercast News Service, 6/1/05)
INFORMED CONSENT: Planned Parenthood is taking South Dakota to court over a new law that requires doctors to provide certain state-mandated information before an abortion can be performed. Planned Parenthood complains that women are forced to listen to and then sign “state-scripted information that is medically inaccurate and infused with ideology.”
(Reading: “Planned Parenthood sues to protect South Dakota women,” Planned Parenthood news release, 6/6/05)
PHARMACISTS: Planned Parenthood has polled major chains to see which ones allow pharmacists, for conscience reasons, to opt out of filling prescriptions for abortifacients. Wal-Mart and Rite Aid were most likely to permit pharmacists to exercise their consciences, while Kmart, Costco and CVS were most likely to require employees to fill all prescriptions.
(Reading: “Survey of top pharmacy chains’ policies on pharmacist refusals,” Planned Parenthood news release, 5/25/05)
practitioners
KANSAS: The state has lifted abortionist Krishna Rajanna’s license. State inspectors made surprise visits to Rajanna’s Kansas City clinic in March, and reported finding syringes of medication in an unlocked refrigerator. The inspectors also say the place was dirty — they found a dead rat in the hallway. Rajanna’s attorney said revoking the license would hurt the poor, as the clinic is located in a low-income neighborhood.
(Reading: “Board revokes abortion doctor’s license,” Associated Press, 6/11/05)
supreme court
DARTH JUSTICE: The “winner” of NARAL’s mock campaign to select a Supreme Court nominee is Star Wars villain Darth Vader. “He already had a black robe,” notes the NARAL web site, “and he was looking for a new challenge anyway.” The goal of the current NARAL campaign is to “prevent President Bush from placing anti-choice, out-of-the-mainstream justices onto the court.”
(Reading: “Darth Vader gets Supreme Court gig,” NARAL news release, 6/05)
GRISWOLD: The National Organization for Women has uncovered a new constitutional right: the “right” to birth control. This “right” was explained in a news release marking the 40th anniversary of the Supreme Court’s ruling in Griswold v. Connecticut, which cited a constitutional right to privacy. NOW noted that “many of our most cherished rights have emanated from the right to privacy, including the right to abortion.”
COMMENT: There is no “right to privacy” in the Constitution. Therefore, there is also no “right” to either abortion or birth control.
(Reading: “Landmark case protected women’s right to birth control,” National Organization for Women news release, 6/7/05)
reflection for prayer
JEREMIAH 20:11: The Lord is with me, like a mighty champion. My persecutors will stumble, they will not triumph. In their failure they will be put to utter shame, to lasting, unforgettable confusion.