in this issue:
hot button issues: MOTHER’S DAY / NORMAL / PETITION / WORK AT ALL
abortion: MICHIGAN / SOUTH DAKOTA
bioethics: NO LIMIT
culture of death: DR. WATSON, WE PRESUME
human cloning: BACKED BY BUDDHIST BUCKS / DISASTROUS
personhood: RIGHT TO LIFE ACT
schiavo: REMEMBER
stem cell research / ethical: NEURODEGENERATIVE DISEASE
reflection for prayer: HUNGER AND THIRST
hot button issues
MOTHERS DAY: Planned Parenthood affiliates and the International Planned Parenthood Federation are expanding Mother’s Day fundraising efforts.
(Reading: “Planned Parenthood uses Mother’s Day to push death,” American Life League news release, 5/12/06)
NORMAL: The latest commentary from ALL’s Jim Sedlak focuses on Planned Parenthood’s use of a book called “It’s Perfectly Normal.” A police officer once told Jim he’d arrest someone who tried to give such a publication to a 10-year-old, which is exactly what Planned Parenthood is doing with a book Sedlak calls “kiddie porn.”
(Reading: “Rely on normal people, not experts,” American Life League, 5/5/06)
PETITION: Thousands are joining American Life League’s petition effort designed to cut all tax funding directed to Planned Parenthood. Planned Parenthood received more than $265 million from federal, state and local government sources in its most recently reported fiscal year. Please sign the petition online.
WORK AT ALL: American Life League currently has a job opening for an editorial associate. Details are posted online.
abortion
MICHIGAN: The Thomas More Law Center has published a comprehensive and thorough analysis on the Michigan Citizens for Life Prenatal Child Protection Amendment petition drive and the urgent need for this effort to garner support.
(Reading: “Grave danger that Michigan will become a pro-abortion state once Roe is overturned,” Thomas More Law Center news release, 5/3/06)
SOUTH DAKOTA: Democrats for Life of America is commending South Dakota legislators for approving that state’s ban on medical and surgical abortions, noting that “Pro-life Democrats in South Dakota saved the day on this bill. There were just as many Democrats who voted for this legislation as there were Republicans voting against it.”
(Reading: “South Dakota’s anti-abortion bill commended by Dem group,” Democrats for Life of America news release, 5/8/06)
bioethics
NO LIMITS: The Hastings Center’s Joe Palca gave an interview recently in which he makes it clear that those who are committed to killing innocent human embryos for “scientific research” will press ahead with a wink and a nod from the government. He said, “There are virtually no restrictions on the kind of stem-cell research that may be done in this country. The federal restrictions are on the use of federal dollars for embryonic stem cell research. With private money, scientists can do practically anything they want.”
(Reading: “Embryonic stem cells: exploding the myths,” National Public Radio, 5/3/06)
culture of death
DR. WATSON, WE PRESUME: According to James Watson, “If you are really stupid, I would call that a disease … so I’d like to get rid of that … People say it would be terrible if we made all girls pretty. It think it would be great.”
(Reading: “Stupidity should be cured, says DNA discoverer,” New Scientist, 2/28/03)
human cloning
BACKED BY BUDDHIST BUCKS: Three South Korean Buddhists have pledged $60 million to help alleged cloning pioneer Hwang Woo-suk open a new lab and resume his research. An article about the grants describes Hwang, whose work was exposed as fraudulent, as a former Catholic who became Buddhist because “this religion was ‘less inquisitorial’ vis-a-vis embryo research.” Meanwhile, Korean prosecutors have indicted Hwang, charging him with embezzlement and fraud.
(Reading: “Buddhists to offer more than 60 million dollars to former cloning pioneer,” Asia News, 5/9/06; “South Korean cloning scientist Hwang indicted,” Associated Press, 5/12/06)
DISASTROUS: Professor Neville Cobbe assesses the consequences of the scientific community’s rush to perfect human cloning and warns that the “effort undermines accepted ethical principles of medical research, with potentially profound wider consequences.”
(Reading: “Why the apparent haste to clone humans?” Journal of Medical Ethics, 5/1/06, pp. 298-302)
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 RightToLifeAct.org for details.
COMMENT: Is your member of Congress a co-sponsor? If not, ask!
schiavo
REMEMBER: Kevin Fobbs, radio personality from Detroit, hosts “A Celebration of the Culture of Life” to commemorate Terri Schiavo’s life and her family’s inspiring dedication to protecting the vulnerable.
(Reading: “Terri’s Day: A celebration of the culture of life,” Kevin Fobbs)
stem cell research / ethical
NEURODEGENERATIVE DISEASE: A recent study suggests that human stem cells derived from bone marrow are predisposed to develop into a variety of nerve cell types, supporting the promise of developing stem-cell based therapies for neurodegenerative disorders such as Parkinson’s disease and M.S.
(Reading: “New findings support promise of using stem cells to treat neurodegenerative diseases,” PharmaLive, 5/1/06)
reflection for prayer
HUNGER AND THIRST: Christ tells us [John 6]: “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me will never hunger, and whoever believes in me will never thirst.”
How often do I hunger and thirst for things other than God? How much am I preoccupied with the passing goods of this world? If God is not first in my life, everything is out of order. “Seek first the kingdom of God.” Jesus is our life; he is the bread of life. Just as we cannot live without food and nourishment, our souls cannot live without him. In baptism we received a divine principle of life. How can we expect to keep that divine life flourishing without a proper diet? “Give us this day our daily bread.
(Reading: “He is the bread of life,” Regnum Christi, 5/2/06)