in this issue:
hot button issue: SOUTH DAKOTA / T-SHIRT DAY
abortion: MARCH OF DIMES
condoms: DOUBLE EFFECT?
eugenics: MAKING PERFECT BABIES / MAKING PERFECT US
euthanasia: HOSPICE DANGER
in vitro fertilization: RISK TO BABIES
personhood: RIGHT TO LIFE ACT
planned parenthood: PETITION
stem cell research / ethical: CIRCULATORY PROBLEMS / MENISCUS REPAIR / PARAPLEGIC
wisdom: CLERICAL FAITH ABUSE
zinger: DO IT YOURSELF
reflection for prayer: TRUTH
hot button issue
SOUTH DAKOTA: “Anyone who calls himself pro-life but does not approve of the new South Dakota law does not deserve to be thought of as pro-life,” said ALL’s Judie Brown. At the White House, President Bush’s press secretary, Scott McClellan dodged questions, saying this was a state issue. He also noted that Bush, despite his “pro-life” label, supports abortion in cases of rape, incest or perceived threat to the mother’s life.
Commentator Phil Lawler observed, “the American pro-life movement has been, and still is, much better at getting candidates elected than at collecting on the political IOUs.”
(Reading: “With new South Dakota abortion law in place, all pro-lifers must practice what they preach,” American Life League news release, 3/10/06; “Courting the GOP pro-life vote,” Off the record, 3/1/06)
T-SHIRT DAY: American Life League is sponsoring National Pro-life T-shirt Day for the fourth year. On April 25, ALL is asking pro-life students to wear a pro-life message to class. All are invited to participate, but public schools are especially invited. The official shirt of ALL’s National Pro-life T-shirt Day is available online for $5 plus shipping and handling. Other details are available at www.NationalProLifeTshirtDay.comwww.NationalProLifeTshirtDay.com.
abortion
MARCH OF DIMES: The Elliot Institute reports that the March of Dimes has ignored all the evidence that the practice of abortion does lead to premature birth of future children. “At least 48 published studies have shown significantly higher risk of premature birth and low birth weight deliveries among women with a history of abortion.”
(Reading: “March of Dimes coverup of preemie/abortion link is the real mystery,” Eliot Institute)
condoms
DOUBLE EFFECT? In efforts to convince readers that the Vatican erred in arguing that condoms cannot be used by couples when one of them has AIDS, a Jesuit and a Catholic physician argue that the use of a condom in this situation has the unintended affect of prohibiting the conceiving of a child. However in an effort to debunk sound Catholic teaching on this question the writers fail to point out that condoms can and do fail. As Cardinal Alfonso Lopez Trujillo, president of the Pontifical Council for the Family has made clear, “when the condom is employed as a contraceptive, it is not totally dependable, and that the cases of pregnancy is not rare. In the case of the AIDS virus, which is around 450 times smaller than the sperm cell, the condom’s latex material obviously gives much less security. Some studies reveal permeability of condoms in 15% or even up to 20% of cases. Thus, to talk of condom as “safe sex” is a form of Russian Roulette! And this is even without considering other possible reasons for condom failure, such as degradation of latex due to exposure to sunlight and heat, rupture and breakdown.”
(Reading: “When condoms aren’t contraceptives,” BeliefNet; Interview with Cardinal Alfonso Lopez Trujillo, Vatican Radio, 10/13/03)
eugenics
MAKING PERFECT BABIES: Gregory Stock writes about the reasons why personal genetic testing and cloning will make it possible to choose perfect babies. He exposes three fears people will have and perhaps have now, and says “A third fear is that we will be forced to make difficult choices. And we will. Coming choices about the beginning of life are going to be excruciating. It is not easy to decide which embryo to implant and which to discard. Humanity is leaving its childhood and moving into its adolescence. The time has come for us to accept the responsibility that comes with our new powers. The next frontier is not space, it is our own selves.”
(Reading: “The future of making babies,” Global Agenda, 2006)
MAKING PERFECT US: Reporter Madeline Bunting writes, “To the real enthusiasts — they call themselves transhumanists — humanity is on the point of being liberated from its biology. In their advocacy of our “technological rights,” they believe that human beings are on the brink of a huge leap in development, leaving behind the sick, quarrelsome, weak, fallible creatures we have been up to now. We will be, as their slogan goes, “better than well.”
(Reading: “There is no stop button in the race for human re-engineering,” The Guardian, 1/30/06)
euthanasia
HOSPICE DANGER: Ron Panzer, founder of Hospice Patients Alliance writes, “Most of the public is completely unaware that the circle is complete! The Euthanasia Society of America, along with its agenda, having changed its name many times, has been absorbed by the main hospice lobbying organization in the United States, the National Hospice and palliative Care Organization. There can be no mistaking where the hospice industry’s national policymakers are leading our society!”
(Reading: “Dancing with death,” Hospice Patients Alliance, 1/30/06)
in vitro fertilization
RISK TO BABIES: A study of 1,105 IVF babies born in Ireland since 1989 suggests that IVF babies are three times as likely as those babies conceived the natural way to suffer genetic brain disorders. The researchers are calling for more studies to validate their findings.
(Reading: “IVF babies at risk of brain defects,” Ireland Times, 3/5/06)
personhood
RIGHT TO LIFE ACT: This bill (HR 552) states, “The terms ‘human person’ and ‘human being’ include each and every member of the species homo sapiens at all stages of life, including, but not limited to, the moment of fertilization, cloning, or other moment at which an individual member of the human species comes into being.” See www.RightToLifeAct.org for details.
COMMENT: Is your member of Congress a co-sponsor? If not, ask!
planned parenthood
PETITION: American Life League is leading a major petition effort designed to cut all tax funding directed to Planned Parenthood. In its most recent fiscal year, Planned Parenthood received more than $265 million from federal, state and local government sources. Petitions may be signed online.
stem cell research / ethical
CIRCULATORY PROBLEMS: Research suggests that a day may come when adult stem cell injections could be sued to treat peripheral arterial disease (PAD) which is a cardiovascular condition.
(Reading: “Stem cells might fight circulatory disorder,” HealthDay News, 2/23/06)
MENISCUS REPAIR: A study is evaluating whether or not adult stem cells can be used to re-grow the spongy tissue between people’s shinbones and their thighbones.
(Reading: “Study: can stem cells restore meniscus?” WRTV, 2/22/06)
PARAPLEGIC: Sarah Clay must travel to Portugal to receive a stem cell transplant that may render her paraplegia a distant memory. Her own stem cells, taken from her nose, will be implanted into her spinal cord, and of the 60-70 people who have undergone this experimental surgical procedure thus far, most have experienced some improvement. Clay is a second year pharmacy student who also manages a women’s basketball team.
COMMENT: Why hasn’t the American research community attempted to commence trials using this experimental therapy?
(Reading: “Student’s surgery dependent on her own stem cells,” Dawgnet, 3/6/06)
wisdom
CLERICAL FAITH ABUSE: Rev. Thomas Euteneuer, president of Human Life International, writes: “Takes place every wee in our parishes by men in black impersonating Catholic priests. The abuse can be liturgical, doctrinal or behavioral, but it’s all very real and takes a heavy toll on the faithful.”
(Reading: “Clerical faith abuse,” Blogs for Terri, 2/10/06)
zinger
DO IT YOURSELF: Bloggers concerned about the South Dakota legislation, which actually would end abortion, are busily providing Internet readers with instructions on how to do their own abortions (read kill their own children). Some people’s dedication to death at any cost boggles the mind.
(Reading: “Bloggers spread do-it-yourself abortion instructions,” MSNBC, 3/3/06)
reflection for prayer
TRUTH: Today we live in a relativistic world, where truth is whatever you want it to be. ‘Whatever makes you comfortable’ is the motto of the day. We are amazed when Jesus breaks the mold of relativism, revealing the lie hidden within it and proclaiming that he is the truth. When the Gospel makes demands on my life do I shift into relativism and believe that it makes no difference how or if I respond? If the Gospel makes me comfortable I will obey, but if not …. Truth can be demanding, but what a blessing it is that, in the person of Christ, truth is also love, mercy, goodness and joy.
(Reading: “The steep and thorny road to truth,” Regnum Christi, 1/10/06)