in this issue:
american life league conference: DEADLINE / YOUTH FESTIVAL
abortion: BLACK CHURCH INITIATIVE / BREAST CANCER-ABORTION TV AD
activism: WORLD YOUTH DAY PILGRIMAGE
cloning humans: SAY NO
marriage: FEDERAL AMENDMENT
miracle baby: ITALY
morning-after abortion pill: CALIFORNIA
post-abortion trauma: CANADA / USA
sex education: ARCHIVE / PLANNED PARENTHOOD BOOTED
violence: NEVADA / VIRGINIA
web news: SPECIAL NEEDS CHILDREN
reflection for prayer: JAMES 5:12
american life league conference
DEADLINE: American Life League’s Celebration of Life World Family Conference is scheduled for July 10-14 in New Orleans. Deadline for reserving hotel rooms at special convention rates is June 6. Conference outlines and online registration information may be found online. The event features speakers such as Alan Keyes, Mark Crutcher, Joseph Scheidler and Judie Brown.
YOUTH FESTIVAL: As part of the World Family Conference, ALL’s youth divisions are holding Vita Festival, two days of pro-life music and workshops, July 12-13 in New Orleans. An evening concert on July 12 will feature Contemporary Christian artists Jennifer Knapp, Earthsuit, Christafari, and Scarecrow and Tinmen. Ticket information is available online.
abortion
BLACK CHURCH INITIATIVE: The Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice is sponsoring a National Black Religious Summit on Sexuality. RCRC is at the forefront of the pro-abortion movement. For details on this latest twist on Margaret Sanger’s efforts to co-opt the black community, see Black Church Initiative. The background on Sanger’s “Negro Project” can be found on the Black Genocide site.
BREAST CANCER-ABORTION TV AD: A new 30-second television ad challenges the viewer to think about abortion and breast cancer. To learn about the television spot, contact Virtue Media.
activism
WORLD YOUTH DAY PILGRIMAGE: There are still places available on a bus pilgrimage from New Orleans to Toronto. Crossroads, an American Life League youth division, sponsors the pilgrimage. Buses will leave New Orleans following ALL’s Celebration of Life World Family Conference on July 14 and arrive back in New Orleans on July 30. For more information, see Crossroads, or e-mail .
cloning humans
SAY NO: Joni Eareckson Tada, disability rights activist who is a quadriplegic, speaks out eloquently against the ghoulish practice known as “therapeutic” cloning, pointing out that “security of human dignity and respect for human life is paramount to securing a cure.” Her statement is online.
marriage
FEDERAL AMENDMENT: The Alliance for Marriage, under the leadership of Matt Daniels, has proposed a Constitutional Amendment to protect the one-man, one-woman marriage definition. The amendment is being assailed as “non-inclusive” of gay and lesbian unions. For details, and information about how to get involved, see Alliance for Marriage.
miracle baby
ITALY: The smallest baby every born, weighing a mere 9.97 ounces, is now in her third month of life, living at home with her parents, and doing extremely well. Doctors say her chances of having a normal life are “nearly 100 percent.”
(Reading: “Baby weighing 285 grams (9.97 ounces) at birth survives; doctors say it is a first, and a miracle,” Associated Press, 5/25/02)
morning-after abortion pill
CALIFORNIA: A federal jury ruled in favor of a pharmacist who said she was fired from her job at a public health clinic in Riverside because she refused to dispense the morning-after abortion pill. The jury awarded Michelle Diaz damages for back pay and emotional distress. The American Center for Law and Justice, which represented Diaz, said she was the victim of religious discrimination.
(Reading: “ACLJ wins religious discrimination case against California health agency over ‘morning-after’ pill,” American Center for Law and Justice news release, 5/28/02)
post-abortion trauma
CANADA: Analysis of 500 articles that have appeared in medical and other journals over the past 20 years comprise the new book, “Women’s Health After Abortion: The Medical and Psychological Evidence.” The book may be obtained from the deVeber Institute for Bioethics and Social Research.
USA: “Forbidden Grief: The Unspoken Pain of Abortion,” is the most recent offering by Theresa Burke, Ph.D., founder of Rachel’s Vineyard, with David Reardon, Ph.D., founder of Eliot Institute. Professor Dianne Irving writes of this book: “Once in a while a rare book comes along that wrenches every nerve in our body and seeks out every crevice in our soul. This is one of those books, and it must be read from cover to cover.” Order from is available from Rachel’s Vineyard.
sex education
ARCHIVE: Brian Clowes, Ph.D., of Human Life International, has written a stunning critique of the failures inherent in teaching sex “instruction” to youth under the guise of “education.” See “From abortion to STDs, sex education has exacted a massive toll from society.”
PLANNED PARENTHOOD BOOTED: Infuriated by the TeenWire web site, parents in Coronado, California, joined forces to rid the community of Planned Parenthood’s version of health education. Parents pressed the school board into action, and on March 21 Planned Parenthood was eliminated from the classrooms.
(Reading: “Planned Parenthood Booted,” San Diego News Notes, 5/02)
violence
NEVADA: Eighteen-year-old Christina Ramirez gave birth to a baby boy and then dumped the baby in a trash bin in a bathroom at Harrah’s casino in Lake Tahoe, Nevada. Because preliminary autopsy results show that the baby was not harmed prior to his death, Ramirez will be charged with a misdemeanor. “She faces up to one year in jail and a $2,000 fine.”
COMMENT: How much is a human being’s life worth?
(Reading: “Woman, 18, charged with concealing birth of baby found dead in casino bathroom,” 5/23/02, Associated Press)
VIRGINIA: Eighteen-year-old Kuturah Aldridge delivered her daughter in a hotel room and submerged the baby in bath water for “about a minute.” The mother of the dead child told police “she knew the baby was born alive because ‘the arms and legs were moving.'” A judge certified a first-degree murder charge against the woman. Aldridge also told police, “It was an easy way out … so people wouldn’t be ashamed of me or hate me.”
(Reading: “Newborn’s death draws murder charge,” Associated Press, 5/29/02)
web news
SPECIAL NEEDS CHILDREN: Irish tenor Mark Forrest has developed a ministry for families of special needs children. He focuses all of his efforts on the sanctity of every single human life. His testimony, his music, and the various projects he pursues are worthy of a look.
reflection for prayer
JAMES 5:12: Above all, my brothers, do not swear by heaven or by the earth, or use any oaths at all. If you mean “yes,” you must say “yes”; if you mean “no,” you must say “no.” Otherwise you make yourselves liable to judgment.