in this issue:
hot button issue: BIRTH CONTROL DANGERS
abortion: BREAST CANCER / SUPREME COURT AND PARTIAL BIRTH ABORTION
catholic bishops: COLORADO / MASSACHUSETTS
culture of death: EMBRYOS
euthanasia: COMMON SENSE
strategy: CALL FOR NATIONAL DEBATE / NRLC VERSUS PERSONHOOD
suicide: OREGON
vaccine: HPV DEATHS
zinger: BOOMER BYE-BYE
reminders: 40 DAYS FOR LIFE / SAVING THOSE DAMNED CATHOLICS / ULTRASOUND VIDEO
reflection for prayer: PHILIPPIANS 12:21
hot button issue
BIRTH CONTROL DANGERS: Why not explore the possibility of class action lawsuits against the makers and distributors of birth control chemicals, who often hide or downplay the risks involved with using these drugs?
Reading: “Sue birth control companies for your health,” American Life League, 10/11/07
abortion
BREAST CANCER: Patrick Carroll has published a study using national cancer registration data to expose the strongest risk factor for breast cancer which is abortion.
Reading: “The breast cancer epidemic,” Journal of American Physicians and Surgeons, Fall 2007
SUPREME COURT AND PARTIAL BIRTH ABORTION: A commentary in a major medical journal states, “the Supreme Court’s decision is internally inconsistent. It professes to show respect for the sanctity of human life. Yet the act does not save a single fetus because physicians could instead use a standard D&E method. The act criminalizes intact D&E, while allowing nonintact D&E in the exact same circumstances.” The article defends abortion.
Reading: “Abortion politics,” Journal of the American Medical Association, 10/3/07
catholic bishops
COLORADO: The state’s three bishops have created a Catholic healthcare directive and published guidelines dealing with Catholic moral teaching.
Reading: “Colorado bishops urge use of health-care directives,” Colorado Catholic Herald, 8/9/07
MASSACHUSETTS: Bishop Robert McManus of Worcester issued a strong response to reports that Holy Cross College is hosting a workshop October 24 featuring Planned Parenthood and NARAL. “I have received numerous complaints from people who are shocked and outraged that a Catholic institution like Holy Cross would have anything to do with such groups,” he said. “They have appealed to me to ask Father Michael McFarland, president of the College of the Holy Cross, to revoke the college’s agreement to rent space to the Massachusetts Teen Alliance. I have done so.”
Reading: “Statement from Most Rev. Robert J. McManus, S.T.D.,” Diocese of Worcester, 10/10/07
culture of death
EMBRYOS: A recent commentary in The Lancet argues that “although the human embryo deserves respect, it does not have the full status of a human being,”
COMMENT: In other words, it might be human, but killing it is acceptable because of its social status.
Reading: “Animal-human hybrid-embryo research,” The Lancet, 9/15/07
euthanasia
COMMON SENSE: Nancy Valko has written an analysis of end-of-life rhetoric and the meaning behind it.
Reading: “Whatever happened to common sense at the end of life?” Life Issues, 2007
KEVORKIAN: Michigan pro-lifers have written the state parole board, asking that Jack Kevorkian be denied permission to leave the state in order to speak at the University of Florida and collect a $57,500 fee. According to a letter sent to the parole board, one of the conditions of Kevorkian’s parole is that he must remain in Michigan. Specific approval is needed for him to travel out of state.
Reading: Private e-mail to Judie Brown
strategy
CALL FOR NATIONAL DEBATE: The Thomas More Law Center’s Robert Muise states, “After 34 years of abortion on demand through all nine months of pregnancy, it is time to rethink pro-life strategy.”
Reading: “Thomas More Law center calls for national debate on pro-life strategy,” Thomas More Law Center news release, 9/27/07
NRLC VERSUS PERSONHOOD: Frank Pastore has written an excellent commentary on this ongoing discussion.
Reading: “A question of strategy for pro-lifers,” Townhall.com, 10/7/07
suicide
OREGON: A state epidemiologist reveals the serious problem with suicide rates in the state, which reveals Oregon as one of nine states where more people die by suicide than in vehicle crashes. However, the study reveals that “terminally ill people who end their lies by a doctor-prescribed drug overdose” are not counted as suicides.
Reading: “‘We have a serious problem with suicide in Oregon,'” The Oregonian, 9/18/07
vaccine
HPV DEATHS: Life Site news reports that there are now 11 recorded deaths connected with Gardasil, the alleged anti-HPV vaccine.
Reading: “US death toll associated with HPV vaccine jumps to 11 with 3,779 adverse reactions reported,” Life Site News, 10/5/07
zinger
BOOMER BYE BYE: In a new political satire, “Boomsday” by Christopher Buckley, baby boomers born between 1946 and 1964 are to be offered tremendous incentives to ‘voluntary transition’ (commit suicide) by age 75. If only 25 percent do so, Social Security and Medicare will supposedly become solvent.
Reading: “Incentives to die,” AAPS newsletter, 9/07
reminders
40 DAYS FOR LIFE: The campaign continues through November 4 as grassroots pro-lifers in more than 80 communities are participating in the first-ever national 40 Days for Life. It combines prayer and fasting, a round-the-clock vigil outside an abortion facility and community outreach.
SAVING THOSE DAMNED CATHOLICS: Of Judie Brown’s latest book, New York Post columnist Ray Kerrison notes, “Judie Brown’s work fills a void screaming for attention – the persistent relentless assault on Catholic orthodoxy by dissidents attempting to reshape the church in their image. She spells it out and names the names without violating Christian charity. She deserves a wide hearing.”
TO ORDER: “Saving Those Damned Catholics” is available from ALL in hardcover or paperback. Call 866-LET-LIVE or purchase online.
ULTRASOUND VIDEO: “Baby Steps: Live from the womb, 16 stages of pre-birth development,” features dramatic 4-D ultrasound images of preborn babies from 8 to 34 weeks. This amazing new video from American Life League is impressing many in the pregnancy center movement, who say is certain to save lives.
TO ORDER: The “Baby Steps” DVD is available from ALL for $9.95 plus shipping and handling. Call 866-LET-LIVE toll-free, or purchase online.
reflection for prayer
PHILIPPIANS 12:21: Everyone is busy seeking his own interests rather than those of Christ Jesus.