in this issue:
activism: BOSTON COLLEGE
birth control pill: MALE PILL / RISKS
embryo: SCIENTIFIC FRAUD
ethics: A VERITABLE PLETHORA
methotrexate: FETAL ANOMALIES
misoprostol: SECOND TRIMESTER ABORTIONS
polls: CANADA
planned parenthood: MOTHER’S DAY
preimplantation diagnosis: ALZHEIMER’S
prenatal testing: INFANT MORTALITY
reminder: WORLD FAMILY CONFERENCE
please pray: FR. DENIS O’BRIEN, M.M.
reflection for prayer: THOMAS A KEMPIS
activism
BOSTON COLLEGE: Boston College Law School has chosen former Massachusetts Governor Paul Cellucci, an arch-abortion advocate, to be the school’s commencement speaker in 2002. The BC commencement ceremonies will take place May 24 at the school’s Newton campus.
(Contact: ., Boston College president: 617-552-3250; , associate law school dean for administration: 617-552-4343; , law school dean: 617-552-4340.
(Reading: 5/2/02 e-mail alert from )
birth control pill
MALE PILL: Researchers in Australia interviewed 118 men, 89 of whom said they would consider trying male hormone contraception.
(Reading: “Will Australian men use male hormonal contraception? A survey of a postpartum population,” Medical Journal of Australia, 3/4/02, pp. 208-210; for background see “Male hormonal contraception: a safe, acceptable and reversible choice“)
RISKS: Researchers prepared an analysis of eight case-control studies of patients who were diagnosed with cervical carcinoma. Information about the use of oral contraceptives was obtained through personal interviews with the patients. The goal was to assess how the use of oral contraceptives affected risk of cervical cancer in women who tested positive for human papillomavirus DNA. They interpret their findings this way: “Long-term use of oral contraceptives could be a cofactor that increases risk of cervical carcinoma by up to four-fold in women who are positive for cervical HPV DNA.”
(Reading: “Effect of oral contraceptives on risk of cervical cancer in women with human papillomavirus infection: the IARC multicentric case-control study,” The Lancet, 3/30/02, pp. 1085-1092)
embryo
SCIENTIFIC FRAUD: Commenting on the definitions of human beings, scientists (sic) from the Jones Institute cite a 15-year-old human embryology text book by embryologists Ronan O’Rahilly and Fabiola Muller because it makes their point while the new editions do not — that there really such a thing as a “preembryo.” In fact, they state, “We argue that there is quite simply and clearly no embryo before a primitive streak forms, and that the terms ‘preembryo’ and ’embryo’ are distinctly and biologically different stages of development.”
COMMENT: The term “preembryo” is nothing but scientific fraud.
(Reading: “What is an embryo?” Fertility and Sterility, 4/4/02, pp. 658-659, paid subscriptions only; for additional information with footnotes, see “Let’s be factual about the human embryo“)
ethics
A VERTIABLE PLETHORA: The April 2002 edition of the Journal of Medical Ethics provides a table of contents and abstracts. The current issue is worth scanning. The topics include “right not to be born,” producing embryonic stem cells through cloning, diagnosis of death and organ transplantation, double effect and medical futility. The journal is a professional publication, not identified with Christian ideology. For example, the article by Hansen on excess embryos favors therapeutic cloning.
methotrexate
FETAL ANOMALIES: Often used in combination with misoprostol for the execution of an abortion, methotrexate is also used to treat ectopic pregnancy, neoplastic disease and other problems. A recent medical report indicates that there is an association between exposure to methotrexate and cardiopulmonary and gastrointestinal fetal abnormalities.
(Reading: “Multiple anomalies in a fetus exposed to low-dose methotrexate in the first trimester,” Obstetrics and Gynecology, 4/02, pp. 599-602)
misoprostol
SECOND TRIMESTER ABORTIONS: A study reveals that 90% of women who participated in a trial using misoprostol as the abortion agent delivered their dead baby within 48 hours. Clinicians note, “in the presence of a live fetus, significant differences in the temporal efficacy of the misoprostol dosing schedules were observed.”
(Reading: “The optimization of intravaginal misoprostol dosing schedules in second-trimester pregnancy termination,” American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, 3/02, pp. 470-474, abstract available)
polls
CANADA: Leger Marketing surveyed 1,519 Canadians age 18 and older. The survey was conducted January 8-13. The findings: 89.3% found shoplifting to be the most immoral behavior; 80.8% thought an extramarital affair was the most immoral behavior and 41.8% thought abortion was the most immoral behavior.
(Reading: “Abortion less immoral than shoplifting,” Canadian Catholic News, 2/25/02)
planned parenthood
MOTHER’S DAY: The classic oxymoron for the week was e-mailed by Planned Parenthood Federation of America, encouraging supporters to send a “Planned Parenthood Mother’s Day Campaign” e-card. It’s perhaps the first time we have ever seen PPFA say a positive word about motherhood. To see for yourself, see “This Mother’s Day, send a Planned Parenthood e-card.”
preimplantation diagnosis
ALZHEIMER’S: A study confirms that a procedure designed to identify early-onset Alzheimer’s disease makes it possible to destroy all embryonic children who have a predisposition to the early-onset of the disease.
(Reading: “Preimplantation diagnosis for early-onset Alzheimer disease caused by V717L mutation,” Journal of the American Medical Association, 3/27/02, pp. 1018-1021; “Ethics of preimplantation diagnosis for a woman destined to develop early onset Alzheimer Disease,” Journal of the American Medical Association, 3/27/02, pp. 1039-1041)
prenatal testing
INFANT MORTALITY: Canadian researchers investigating the relationship between “early termination of pregnancy” after prenatal diagnosis and overall infant mortality conclude that the large decrease in infant deaths due to congenital anomalies is due to “pregnancy termination for congenital anomalies.”
COMMENT: In other words, pretending the child in the womb is a possession rather than a person enables parents and physicians to destroy the defectives without admitting that human beings are dying in the process.
(Reading: “Relationship of prenatal diagnosis and pregnancy termination to overall infant mortality in Canada,” Journal of the American Medical Association, 3/27/02, pp. 1561-1567, abstract)
reminder
WORLD FAMILY CONFERENCE: American Life League’s next Celebration of Life World Family Conference is scheduled for July 10-14 in New Orleans. The program includes special tracks focusing on pro-life activities in the Latino and African-American communities. Deadline for reserving hotel rooms at special convention rates is June 6. Conference outlines and registration information may be found at online.
please pray
FR. DENIS O’BRIEN, M.M.: The spiritual director of American Life League, Fr. Denis O’Brien, is extremely ill and needs your prayers. He is suffering from untreatable cancer. Fr. O’Brien has been the spiritual guiding hand at ALL for the past 21 years. Your prayers would be deeply appreciated.
reflection for prayer
THOMAS A KEMPIS: O my God, give me fortitude that I may stand my ground; patience, that I may endure, and constancy, that I may persevere.
(Reading: Imitation of Christ, 3:26:3)