in this issue:
hot button issues: BISHOPS CONFERENCE / ROCK FOR LIFE / STOPP / TRAINING AND ACTIVISM
elections: GOOD AND BAD NEWS
euthanasia: OREGON
morning-after abortion pill: DRUGSTORE.COM / MASSACHUSSETS / PROPAGANDA
organ seizure: CHINA
reproductive health: OXYMORON
stem cell research / unethical: MISSOURI / VACCINES
reflection for prayer: C.S. LEWIS
hot button issues
BISHOPS CONFERENCE: In response to the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops’ statement on receiving Holy Communion worthily, American Life League’s Judie Brown notes, “While we commend the bishops for setting forth the basic teachings of the Catholic Church regarding the incredible Sacrament of Holy Eucharist, we continue to register our humble appeals with them that they deal with those who pursue manifest grave evils in the public square while claiming to be Catholic.”
(Reading: “Bishops skirt issue of pro-abortion Catholics,” American Life League, 11/16/06)
ROCK FOR LIFE: Check out the newly revamped web site of American Life League’s youth outreach.
STOPP: American Life League’s STOPP International looks at the connections between Planned Parenthood and incoming House speaker Nancy Pelosi in this week’s Wednesday STOPP Report.
TRAINING AND ACTIVISM: American Life League is sponsoring a full day of workshops featuring well-known pro-life speakers in Washington, D.C. on January 21, the day before the annual March for Life. Details are available online.
abortion
TIED TO IMMIGRATION? A Republican legislative panel in Missouri reports that abortion is to blame for a shortage of American workers.
(Reading: “Mo. panel’s report links immigration to abortion,” Associated Press, 11/14/06)
elections
GOOD AND BAD NEWS: The Republican National Coalition for Life provides analysis on a weekly basis in FaxNotes, which is available online.
euthanasia
OREGON: The state has bowed under pressure from pro-euthanasia groups to water down the term “physician-assisted-suicide” because, as the organization Compassion and Choices says, the term is “inaccurate and inflammatory.”
(Reading: “Death act’s alias has state tongue-tied,” The Oregonian, 11/11/06)
morning-after abortion pill
DRUGSTORE.COM: Anyone visiting this web site can purchase up to three packages of Plan B, each at a cost of $39.95.
MASSACHUSSETTS: Any woman can walk into a Planned Parenthood office in the state and buy the morning-after pill without a prescription. She can also acquire the pills at drug stores.
(Reading: “‘Plan B’ pill OK’d to go over counter,” Boston Herald, 11/15/06)
PROPAGANDA: The November issue of Obstetrics and Gynecology (subscriber access required) is full of articles touting the value of the pills as well as new information on CDB-2914, which is claimed to be as effective as levonorgestrel.
organ seizure
CHINA: Canadian officials are traveling the world in order to generate pressure on the Chinese government to stop killing Falun Gong practitioners so that their organs can be removed.
(Reading: “Canadian pressure attracts growing international attention to Chinese government’s organ seizure from Falun Gong prisoners,” Organ Harvest Investigation Team, 11/7/06)
reproductive health
OXYMORON: Proponents of “sexual and reproductive health” are focused on sexual behavior, family planning, unsafe abortion and sexually transmitted diseases. The articles in the November 4 issue of The Lancet expose the agenda of those who want free and legal access to birth control and abortion worldwide.
stem cell research / unethical
MISSOURI: The Missouri pro-life loss provoked one reporter to write, “the religious protesters are gone and expansion plans are back on track at a top Kansas City stem cell research lab.” Claiming that $2 billion in private funding is already invested, the Stowers Institute for Medical research “now sees clear sailing.”
(Reading: “Election outcome boosts embryonic stem cell work,” Reuters, 11/13/06)
VACCINES: American researchers are reporting success in vaccinating mice affected with lung cancer with embryonic stem cells. This could be the first step towards similar experimentation in humans using human embryonic stem cells.
(Reading: “Vaccination with embryonic stem cells prevents lung cancer in mice,” European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer news release, 11/8/06)
reflection for prayer
C.S. LEWIS: Courage is not simply one of the virtues but the form of every virtue at the testing point.
(Reading: Quote DB)