in this issue:
birth control mandates: CALIFORNIA
conscience: WISCONSIN
euthanasia: SCHIAVO
opinion: PRO-LIFE ATHEIST
planned parenthood: TEXAS / WISCONSIN
politics: POPE JOHN PAUL II / USCCB
ru-486: CALIFORNIA
stem cell research: HARVARD
reflection for prayer: PSALM 79:8-9
birth control mandates
CALIFORNIA: The state supreme court has ruled that Catholic Charities must cover birth control in its prescription medication healthcare coverage. The ruling finds that Catholic Charities does not qualify for a religious exemption because it both serves and employs people of all faiths. American Life League called the ruling “a clear violation of the free exercise of religion.” A California Catholic Conference spokesman told the Los Angeles Times that some dioceses had been covering birth control “under protest.”
(Reading: “Catholic group must cover birth control,” Los Angeles Times, 3/2/04; “California bishops have moral duty to oppose unjust ruling on contraception,” American Life League news release, 3/1/04)
conscience
WISCONSIN: State lawmakers have approved legislation “that would allow medical professionals and facilities to decline to provide certain procedures on moral or ethical grounds without fear of disciplinary action.” Gov. Jim Doyle (D-Wis.) said he “generally opposes” such bills. At present, the legislature does not have enough votes to override a veto.
(Reading: “‘Conscience clause’ passes Assembly,” Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 2/24/04)
euthanasia
SCHIAVO: The parents of Terri Schiavo, the disabled Florida woman whose husband wants to have her feeding tube removed, now say Michael Schiavo should be found in contempt of court. He is bound by court order to keep Terri’s parents informed of her health condition, but the parents say he has failed to provide the information.
(Reading: “Schiavo’s husband faces contempt of court allegations,” World Net Daily, 2/27/04)
opinion
PRO-LIFE ATHEIST: David Hunt writes, “Abortion is based on the idea that a human life?s value is subject to perception; that it can be redefined to have none. By dehumanizing it in the tradition of every genocidal authority, by shifting our perception of life?s value, we slowly sacrifice our own humanity on the altar of convenience. Even without deity-derived rules from which to pull judgment, it?s a poor trade. And that?s why this atheist is pro-life.”
(Reading: “An atheist argues against abortion,” OpinionEditorials.com, 2/28/04)
planned parenthood
TEXAS: Planned Parenthood president Gloria Feldt did not respond to a request to debate pro-life contractor Chris Danze of Austin. Feldt was scheduled to appear at a Planned Parenthood fundraiser in College Station. Said David Bereit of the Coalition for Life, “It’s disappointing that Planned Parenthood’s full-time president who is paid $363,426 a year to run the nation’s largest abortion operation is unwilling to debate the owner of a small concrete business who is a part-time, unpaid pro-life advocate.”
(Reading: “Planned Parenthood president refuses to debate Austin boycott organizer,” Coalition for Life news release, 2/24/04)
WISCONSIN: Pro-lifers plan a prayerful protest March 6 at a YMCA camp in Hudson. The camp has agreed to rent its facilities to Planned Parenthood for sex education workshops (see Communique, 2/27/04). Organizers are telling the YMCA “there’s nothing Christian about Planned Parenthood.”
(Reading: “Prayerful protest of Planned Parenthood renting facilities at YMCA Camp St. Croix,” Darla Meyers news release, 3/2/04)
politics
POPE JOHN PAUL II: “The lawmaker, and the Catholic lawmaker in particular, cannot contribute to formulate or approve laws contrary to the first and essential norms that regulate moral life.”
(Reading: “Catholics cannot back laws contrary to life, insists pope,” Zenit News Service, 2/29/04)
USCCB: There has been no apparent reaction from the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops in the week since Crisis Magazine’s Deal Hudson profiled Ono Ekeh, a USCCB employee who runs an internet e-group called Catholics for Kerry. Hudson wrote, “As Kerry advances down the presidential campaign trail, and as other Catholics equivocate on his blatantly pro-abortion record, it will become more and more vital for the bishops to speak out. And for the members of the conference itself, the issue is getting a bit close to home.”
(Reading: “An activist in the bishops’ conference,” Crisis Newsletter, 2/23/04)
ru-486
CALIFORNIA: In a follow-up report on the case of Holly Patterson, the 18-year-old who died following an RU-486 abortion, the state health department found that Planned Parenthood did not give Patterson full information about administering the drug. The report also notes that Planned Parenthood failed to report the death as an “unusual occurrence.”
(Reading: “State cites hospital for not reporting woman’s death,” Associated Press, 2/25/04)
stem cell research
HARVARD: Sidestepping ban on federal funding for embryonic stem cell research, Harvard University has announced creation of a privately funded effort to create new cell lines. An Associated Press report points out, “To harvest stem cells, researchers must kill days-old embryos.”
(Reading: “Harvard to create stem cell institute,” Associated Press, 3/1/04)
reflection for prayer
PSALM 79:8-9: Do not hold past iniquities against us; may your compassion come quickly, for we have been brought very low. Help us, God our savior, for the glory of your name. Deliver us, pardon our sins for your name’s sake.