Wednesday, January 30, 2008

LifeSiteNews.com NewsBytes


* Disclaimer: The linked items below or the websites at which they are located do not necessarily represent the views of LifeSiteNews.com. They are presented only for your information.

Pro-abortion, pro-homosexual Giuliani to endorse McCain.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22903977/

Pro-abortion, pro-homosexual Schwarzenegger hints at endorsing McCain
http://abclocal.go.com/kabc/story?section=news/politics/national_elections&id=5923544

McCain's No Threat to Left
http://www.townhall.com/columnists/TerenceJeffrey/2008/01/30/mccains_no_threat_to_the_left

In truth, John McCain is a weak pro-lifer
http://ncregister.com/site/article/7918/

Far more Catholics than protestants vote for anti-life, anti-family Giuliani. Few Catholics vote for pro-life, pro-family Huckabee
http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2008/primaries/results/epolls/#FLREP

Frontrunners, McCain and Romney are also the two candidates with most endorsements by Catholic pro-life leaders.
http://ncregister.com/site/article/7908

Romney Expects to Pull Conservative Support in A Two-Man Race
http://www.cnsnews.com/ViewPolitics.asp?Page=/Politics/archive/200801/POL20080130c.html

Clinton Wins Primary but No Delegates
http://apnews.myway.com/article/20080130/D8UFTKR00.html

Possible Consequences of the Clinton–Obama Rift By Paul M. Weyrich
http://www.freecongress.org/commentaries/2008/080129.aspx

Medical Journal Exposes Bigotry of "Deliberate Termination of Life of Newborns with Spina Bifida"
http://www.wesleyjsmith.com/blog/2008/01/medical-journal-exposes-bigotry-of.html

Between 4 and 5 million Canadians do not have family physician
http://www.moredoctors.ca/learn_more/

March for Life Founder Well and Thankful for Prayers and Concern

We are happy to report:

WASHINGTON, January 30, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) - A March for Life Board of Directors release thanked March for Life participants for their concern and prayers for foundress Nellie Gray after her fall on the March for Life stage on January 22, 2008.

Nellie described the incident like this: "I tripped over a piece of the sound equipment, which pulled my footing out so forcefully that I felt as if I were airborne. There was nothing for me to grab hold of and nothing to break my fall. My glasses fell off. The full weight of my body was thrown head-first atop my glasses, which shattered and cut my forehead seriously. I did not lose consciousness, my vision is still fine, and the broken glass did not get into my eyes.

"The emergency medical team closed the wound with eleven stitches and reported that there appears to be no broken or fractured bones. The stitches will be removed in a few days. Even though I shall have a bruised head and cheek for awhile, I am feeling fine."

"Nellie is back at her desk," concluded the report.

"One who is unable to live without sex, in the end, becomes a slave": Italian Soccer Superstar


TURIN, January 30, 2008 (CWNews.com/LifeSiteNews.com) - In an interview for the Italian magazine Sportsweek, a star defender from Turin, Italy's Juventus soccer club, Nicola Legrottaglie, revealed that two years ago he made the decision to abstain from pre-marital sex.

Legrottaglie said, "I have not had sex in two years and honestly, it has not been a burden." The soccer player spoke candidly about his past exploits, saying that if he did not make a conquest every few days, "I panicked." Reflecting on that experience now, he said: "One who is unable to live without sex, in the end, becomes a slave."

The Juventus star told Sportsweek that he has chosen abstinence "not because I do not like women, but because I am waiting for the right woman with whom to have a family, a woman who shares the same values."

Legrottaglie's remarks are reminiscent of a June, 2007 incident, when a Brazilian soccer superstar responded in Vanity Fair to comments by a Brazilian supermodel.

"Today no one is a virgin when they get married ... show me someone who's a virgin!" said supermodel Gisele Bundchen at the time. She also criticized the Catholic Church's moral teachings, saying, "How is it possible to not want people to use condoms and also not have abortions? It's impossible, I'm sorry."

However, Brazilian soccer superstar Ricardo Izecson Santos Leite responded to Bundchen's outburst, saying that both he and his wife, Caroline, were virgins when they got married. Ricardo, one of Brazil's most successful soccer players, has long been known for both his outspoken Christian faith and his remarkable good looks.

"The Bible teaches that true love waits until marriage," Ricardo told "Vanity Fair", saying about his marriage, "If our life today is so beautiful, I think it is because we waited." 

The time prior to his and his wife's marriage, during which they conducted a chaste relationships, says Ricardo, "was important, as it tested our love." The soccer star admitted that it was not easy to stay a virgin until his wedding night, and that even still there are difficulties in living faithfully, saying that "there are always temptations." But he also says that the sacrifices that he and his wife made for each other have been more than worth it.

See related LifeSiteNews.com coverage:

Brazilian Soccer Heartthrob's Response to Supermodel's Anti-Catholic Outburst: I Was a Virgin When I Got Married
http://www.lifesite.net/ldn/2007/jun/07060705.html

University Students Protest Morgentaler Decision on Parliament Hill


OTTAWA, January 30, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) - On Monday January 28th, 2008, from 11:30am - 4:30pm, Carleton University's pro-life club, Lifeline, and members of the community, challenged the notion that the R. v. Morgentaler decision was beneficial for Canada. They set up a visual display on Parliament Hill showing the truth behind abortion.

The group mourned the loss of the 1,714,892 children missing since 1988 because of abortion. Pamphlets and bilingual press releases were handed out and banners were obtained from Lifeline as well as Campaign Life Coalition.

"It is apparent that Canadians are not settled on this issue, despite what many may wish to believe," said Nicholas McLeod, of Carleton Lifeline, "We hope to expose the truth of this 'choice' and challenge Canada to do better for women in crisis pregnancies". 

Carleton Lifeline is a student club that promotes respect for all human life from conception. They believe in the inherent dignity of all human beings. They recognize that abortion harms mothers and ends the live of their innocent unborn children. They believe that Canada can do better.

Hay-Bale and Cross Monument to the Unborn Erected in Southern Alberta


LETHBRIDGE, January 30, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) -  Directly in front of the Christian Reformed Church in Lethbridge is a huge memorial in honor of the lives of the more than 100,000 unborn babies killed by surgical abortion each year in Canada. On January 28, the twentieth anniversary of the Supreme Court's Morgentaler ruling, which struck down Canada's abortion laws, the display was errected.

Located at the Western edge of the town of Coaldale, the display consists of 100 white crosses - each representing 1000 unborn children whose lives are ended by abortion every year in this country. The crosses are propped up on hay bale, making an impressive and eye-catching display.

The display was put up by Southern Alberta ARPA, a group formed by various Reformed churches in Southern Alberta who promote awareness and action on social and political issues.

Tribulation Times -

From Tribulation Times:

January 30, 2008    

(Deu 3:24) Lord God, thou hast begun to shew unto thy servant thy greatness, and most mighty hand, for there is no other God either in heaven or earth, that is able to do thy works, or to be compared to thy strength.

HEADLINE: Pope wades back into debate on "seductive" science

EDITORIAL: Human Cloning in California?

IN THE NEWS

Is This The Beginnings Of Artificial Life?

In what many believe to be a case of creating artificial life, American scientists have found a way of replication a bacterium's 582,970 base pair genome which should allow for the creation of biofuel-manufacturing bacteria - in other words, building bacteria from scratch that might produce fuel for things like cars. It is the largest man-made DNA structure ever made. The previous largest one contained only 32,000 base pairs.

You can read about this in Science magazine.

Dr. Hamilton Smith, J Craig Venter Institute, Rockville, USA, and sixteen others built a bacterium's genome by chemically synthesizing DNA blocks. These blocks were then weaved together to create bigger DNA pieces - these can be formed to create a synthetic version of Mycoplasma genitalium. The scientists say these tailor-made micro-organisms can be designed to produce hydrogen, or tweaked to absorb surplus carbon dioxide in the air.

The team is not using the term artificial life; they prefer to call it synthetic life. Dr. Smith, in a BBC interview, said "We like to distinguish synthetic life from artificial life. It sets the stage for what we hope is going to be a new approach to engineering organisms."

The J Craig Venter Institute (JCVI) says this is the second of three key steps towards the team's aim of creating a fully synthetic organism. They are currently trying to create a living bacterial cell, based completely on the synthetically made genome.

COMMENTARY

Vatican condemns cloned human embryo research
Soulless Clones and Spineless Men by Father Tad Pacholczyk
Dr. Frankenstein Plods On

Ladder of Divine Ascent excerpt: Step 4- "On blessed and ever-memorable obedience"

2. But let us not fail, if you agree, to describe clearly in our treatise the weapons of these brave warriors: how they hold the shield of faith in God and their trainer, and with it they ward off, so to speak, every thought of unbelief and change of place; how they constantly raise the drawn sword of the Spirit and slay every wish of their own that approaches them; how, clad in the armour of meekness and patience, they avert every insult and injury and missile. And for a helmet of salvation they have their superior's protection through prayer. And they do not stand with their feet together, for one is stretched out in service and the other is immovable in prayer.   

Tribulation Times http://www.tribtimes.com


Tuesday, January 29, 2008

Mother Teresa's Successor Adds Voice to Vatican Call for Moratorium on Abortion

By Hilary White
CALCUTTA, January 29, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Sr. Nirmala Joshi, the sister who succeeded the beatified Mother Theresa of Calcutta as head of the religious order the latter founded, has called for a moratorium on abortion to match a recently agreed UN declaration on the death penalty.
Sr. Nirmala called abortion "the greatest destroyer of peace". Speaking to AsiaNews, Sr. Nirmala said, "The culture of life loves life and protects life, promoting love, beauty, joy and peace - says Sr. Nirmala - The culture of death destroys life and sows hatred, discord and unhappiness…..The choice is ours".
The concept that abortion is directly related to war, is one often attributed to a comment made by Mother Theresa: "The greatest destroyer of peace today is abortion, because it is a war against the child - a direct killing of the innocent child - murder by the mother herself."
"If we accept that a mother can kill even her own child, how can we tell other people not to kill one another?"
The Missionaries of Charity are famed around the world for their work with the "poorest of the poor", particularly with children and infants abandoned in the lowest economic strata of Indian society.
The comments by Sr. Nirmala come in conjunction with a movement to abolish the death penalty by the UN. The UN General Assembly adopted a "non-binding moratorium," urging countries that maintain the death penalty to suspend its application.
The idea of expanding on the UN's resolution to include a moratorium on abortion was first formulated by Italian journalist, Giuliano Ferrara, director of the daily newspaper "Foglio" and a non-Christian former Communist Party leader. It was quickly taken up by the Vatican, but also by Lenin Raghavarshi, an Indian atheist and winner of the Gwangju Prize for Human Rights. The Korean Catholic Bishops Conference joined the movement with a statement that the "logical conclusion" of the UN death penalty moratorium is to "extend it to a moratorium on abortion."
Read related LifeSiteNews.com coverage:
Editorial: Poland, the Pope, and the Death Penalty
http://www.lifesite.net/ldn/2008/jan/08010802.html
Vatican-led Global Anti-Abortion Campaign Finds Unusual Supporters
http://www.lifesite.net/ldn/2008/jan/08012802.html
 
 LifeSiteNews.com NewsBytes

* Disclaimer: The linked items below or the websites at which they are located do not necessarily represent the views of LifeSiteNews.com. They are presented only for your information.
Pro-lifers cry foul when executive director of California Catholic Conference agrees to share stage with pro-abortion politician
http://www.calcatholic.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?id=f4a3746a-1ad5-49f4-b429-9aca53eed75a
"It is not every day you see a bishop leading the faithful in procession through the streets of a major city"
http://www.calcatholic.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?id=2b1aae9c-f4b1-4060-b28b-ac138dfb552d
The Death of Irony - Benedict and the Enemies of Reason
http://ncregister.com/site/article/7917
Judge Orders Tiller to Turn Over Medical Records to Grand Jury
http://www.citizenlink.org/CLBriefs/A000006378.cfm
If organs can be bought and sold, the rich will buy and the destitute will sell - biological colonialism - Wesley Smith
http://www.wesleyjsmith.com/blog/2008/01/high-price-of-biological-colonialism.html
US House Legislation Promotes Ethical Stem-Cell Research
http://www.citizenlink.org/CLtopstories/A000006382.cfm
Quest for Perfection Leads to Selective Killing of Unborn - Zenit
http://www.zenit.org/rssenglish-21630
The Need for Uniform Criteria to Declare Death by Neurological Criteria - Wesley Smith
http://www.wesleyjsmith.com/blog/2008/01/need-for-uniform-criteria-to-declare.html
Anniversaries of abortion court decisions in United States and Canada highlight the need for open discussion of this moral issue in the public square - Margaret Somerville
http://www.mercatornet.com/articles/abortion_giving_new_life_to_the_debate/
Supporting Robert Latimer, the Murderer of a Disabled Girl - Wesley Smith
http://www.wesleyjsmith.com/blog/2008/01/supprting-murderer-of-disabled-girl.html
McCain accepts $2,300 from notorious abortionist Edward Allred?
http://johnseilerblogs.com/?p=544
Al Gore backs homosexual 'marriage'
http://www.onenewsnow.com/Culture/Default.aspx?id=65715
Rudy Giuliani hints at dropping out
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/washington/2008/01/breaking-news-i.html
To win in November and beyond, conservatives will need to address the anxieties of middle class families
http://www.eppc.org/default.asp
What the heck happened to Huck? Loss in South Carolina definitely hurt his credibility with Florida voters
http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=NmNiYTA2MmM2Nzk4MzVhODcxYWM1ZWY5MjQ1YTBlZmI=&w=MQ==
"wave of nausea" moving across America, says Obama critic
http://insightscoop.typepad.com/2004/2008/01/like-i-was-sayi.html
George Bush built his career on his faith. But his key religious adviser tells of a different man behind the born-again image
http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/books/book_extracts/article3255937.ece
No bigger bigot in America today than Bill Maher says Catholic League
http://www.catholicleague.org/release.php?id=1384
Children for sale: UK's new slave trade
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2008/01/27/nslave127.xml
Global warming - China struck by worst snowfall in last 50 years - 399,000 homes  destroyed and 4.2 million hectares of crops ruined
http://www.asianews.it/index.php?l=en&art=11383&size=A
FCC to fine more than 50 ABC affiliates for airing an indecent episode of NYPD Blue
http://www.citizenlink.org/fnif/A000006383.cfm
McConnell Blasts Democrats over Judicial Obstruction - Stalling tactics put some federal courts in state of judicial emergency.
http://www.citizenlink.org/CLNews/A000006381.cfm
Florida Marriage Protection Amendment is in danger of not making it on November ballot.
http://www.cwfa.org/articles/14525/FIELD/family/index.htm
Christian photographer being tried under New Mexico Human Rights Division under state antidiscrimination laws for declining to photograph same-sex "commitment ceremony."
http://www.alliancedefensefund.org/news/story.aspx?cid=4369
Poll Says Spaniards Would Keep Same-Sex Marriage Law
http://www.angus-reid.com/polls/view/spaniards_would_keep_same_sex_marriage_law/
Effort to Impeach Iowa judge who forced same sex marriage on state last summer
http://www.citizenlink.org/fnif/A000006364.cfm
Homosexuals Squelch Facts About MRSA Outbreak - very dangerous infection spreading through San Francisco's homosexual community and could spread to general community
http://www.cnsnews.com/ViewCulture.asp?Page=/Culture/archive/200801/CUL20080126a.html

From the Desk of Fr. Frank Pavone, M.E.V.

Jailing Women?

Question: "When abortion becomes illegal again, are we going to start throwing all the women who have abortions into jail?"

Answer: No. The people who should go to jail in that case are the abortionists.

This particular question will be raised more and more as we to come closer to restoring protection to the unborn. The question is actually part of the well-planned public relations attack that abortion advocates always try to make on us in the pro-life movement. We are anti-woman, after all. Isn't that the only logical reason why we would oppose abortion in the first place? That's what they want the public to believe.

Yet the fact is that to be pro-life is to be pro-woman. We don't say love the baby and forget about the mother. Rather, we ask, Why can't we love them both? This is not just true when abortion is legal. It's also true when it's illegal.

The pro-life movement is not out to punish women. Our goal, instead, is to stop child-killing. What would throwing women in jail do to accomplish that goal? Their children have already died, yet the abortionist goes on killing hundreds and thousands of others. It makes far more sense to put the abortionist in jail, so that he or she can no longer kill children.

Moreover, the woman who gets an illegal abortion is the best source of information and evidence needed to convict the abortionist. If she feared prosecution, she would never admit to the abortion, which would make it harder to find the abortionist.

This doesn't excuse the woman's wrongdoing; rather, it is the same principle by which the state grants immunity to a small-time drug user in exchange for information leading to a big-time drug dealer.

This approach takes nothing away from the biological fact that abortion destroys a human life, nor from the moral fact that the life taken is of the same value as any born person. But consider how the law approaches the killing of born people. Murder is not the same as homicide, which is not the same as manslaughter. Factors of premeditation, heat of passion, ignorance, negligence, and cooperation in the action of someone else are all taken into account in order to assess as fairly as possible how much responsibility the individual actually had.

Consider these words from someone who had an abortion: "I really had no idea of what I was doing. I was completely ignorant about fetal development. I just wanted to get out of the crisis I was in." More than any other form of killing, abortion is accompanied by pressure and ignorance. If we were going to start prosecuting women, we would actually end up prosecuting more boyfriends and parents.

But in fact, we conduct a ministry of healing, not of punishment. We want to bring those who have been involved in abortions to the freedom, forgiveness, and peace of Christ. That's how we answer what will be a more and more common question.

This column can be found online at
www.priestsforlife.org/columns/columns2008/08-01-28-jailing-women.htm

Fr. Frank's columns can be heard via podcast.  See www.priestsforlife.org/podcast for more details.

Fr.. Frank's columns can be listened to in MP3 format at www.priestsforlife.org/columns/columns2008/index.htm

Court's Decision on 'Choose Life' License Plates a Victory for Free Speech Says Fr. Pavone

STATEN ISLAND, New York, Jan. 29 /Christian Newswire/ -- Fr. Frank Pavone, National Director of Priests for Life, today said that the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals decision ordering Arizona to permit the issuance of "Choose Life" license plates is a victory for free speech.

"That the Arizona License Plate Commission tried to censor pro-lifers while allowing other groups to have license plates was clearly discriminatory," stated Fr. Pavone. "It's reassuring that a federal court has declared that pro-lifers have the same First Amendment rights as everyone else. Priests for Life has vigorously promoted Choose Life license plates and urges pastors to work with their people and their state legislators to adopt them."

Priests for Life is the nation's largest Catholic pro- life organization dedicated to ending abortion and euthanasia. For more information, visit www.priestsforlife.org.

LifeSiteNews.com NewsBytes


* Disclaimer: The linked items below or the websites at which they are located do not necessarily represent the views of LifeSiteNews.com. They are presented only for your information.

Planned Parenthood, other pro-abortion groups plan to spend tens of millions on 2008 US elections
http://www.calcatholic.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?id=b7bf91c4-d833-4979-8c31-f3d904169625

Giuliani's Campaign In Free-Fall
http://www.nationalpost.com/news/world/story.html?id=268285

Romney name-called Gregg Jackson (WRKO host) on air, evaded question on same-sex marriage.
http://www.massresistance.org/romney/gregg_jackson_122007.html

Why I Don't Trust Mitt Romney by Deal W. Hudson
http://insidecatholic.com/Joomla/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2407&Itemid=48

The Clintons' Bad Night - a thumping that far and away exceeds any Clintonian expectations-setting
http://corner.nationalreview.com/post/?q=YTBiMGMwYWQ1MTdmY2RiMDA2ZDRkNDA3MTM4NzM4ODE=

At the very least we should agree that after 20 bloody years the abortion debate must be resurrected in Canada, for the sake of freedom if nothing else - Michael Coren
http://www.nationalpost.com/opinion/story.html?id=268226

Experts blame socio-economic status, lack of education, inadequate access to contraception for increased US birth rates, but teens say otherwise
http://www.calcatholic.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?id=428a686b-fb40-44a8-83fc-9eaea4125a28

New book on the collapse of Boston's Catholic Culture - "the homosexual influence within the American clergy is even stronger today than it was before the sex-abuse scandal erupted" and "the administrative malfeasance of American bishops has still not been acknowledged". "US bishops have responded to these crises by protecting each other" - "the scandal of episcopal misconduct, is today the most serious of all"
http://www.cwnews.com/news/viewstory.cfm?recnum=56210

Cardinal Mahony, very likely, will never suffer fate of Cardinal Law -- forced to resign, etc. -- because he is being protected by "old-boys network" and Los Angeles Times
http://insidecatholic.com/Joomla/index.php?option=com_myblog&show=Cardinal-Mahony-Sells-His-Office-Building.html&Itemid=127

The war over the polar bear - Who's telling the truth? Huge politics also at play - 5,000 polar bears in 1973, 25,000 today -
http://www.macleans.ca/science/environment/article.jsp?content=20080123_5242_5242

Conservatives, Liberals running campaign training sessions across Canada
http://www.thehilltimes.ca/html/index.php

Maclean's looks at who's in, who's out, and who has real power in Ottawa.
http://www.macleans.ca/canada/national/article.jsp?content=20080124_130722_5220

Atheism and Fatherlessness
http://www.ignatiusinsight.com/features2008/vanhove_vitzreview_jan08.asp

Homosexual movement focusing on changing Massachusetts laws in 2008. Plus, good bills filed to take back our rights.
http://www.massresistance.org/docs/govt08/bills/bills.html

Both sides filed final briefs in federal appeals court on David Parker's civil rights case.
http://www.massresistance.org/docs/parker_lawsuit/appeal_2007/final_briefs.html

Monday, January 28, 2008

Population Research Institute Releases Groundbreaking Video

www.pop.org

FRONT ROYAL, Va., Jan. 28 /Christian Newswire/ -- Population Research Institute has released the third video in its series on YouTube, this time focusing on the overwhelming youth presence at this year's March for Life.

"To the best of my knowledge, this kind of video has never been done before," says Colin Mason, Director for Media Production at PRI. "This video documents the March for Life, but from the unique viewpoint of America's youth. America's youth are turning out in increasingly large numbers to attend this event, and we wanted to give them an opportunity to speak for themselves."

The video, introduced by PRI president Steven Mosher, takes to the streets of Washington, DC, to interview youth after youth about their reasons for being pro-life. "Anybody who thinks that Roe vs. Wade will not be overturned soon should watch this video," says Mosher. "The future voters of America are pro- life."

Colin Mason says that he wants the video to be a witness to members of the pro-choice movement who think that they have America's youth in their pocket. "PRI wanted to show compelling evidence that America's young pro-lifers are vocal, joyful, and ultimately very numerous," says Mason. "We think that this 5-minute video fills a unique niche in the field of pro-life documentary work by bringing this to light in an exciting way."

The Population Research Institute (PRI) was founded in 1989 by Fr. Paul Marx, OSB, PhD and is dedicated to: (1) ending human rights abuses committed in the name of "family planning", (2) opposing outdated social and economic paradigms premised on the myth of overpopulation, (3) informing the public about the social and economic benefits of moderate population growth, and (4) promoting pro-natal and pro-family attitudes and policies worldwide. Steven Mosher is the author of numerous books, including A Mother's Ordeal, available in 11 languages.

Sunday, January 27, 2008

Pro-aborts are wondering!!!

"Hard time dealing with increased visibility of the fetus"

Pro-abortion stalwarts say advances by pro-lifers forcing moral reassessment by "pro-choice" movement


Kate Michelman, former president of NARAL Pro-Choice America, and Frances Kissling, ex-president of Catholics for a Free Choice, want to know how "pro-choice values" are to "regain the moral high ground" in the country's abortion debate.

Writing in the Jan. 22 Los Angeles Times on the anniversary of Roe v. Wade, the longtime pro-abortion stalwarts seek to explain how the "pro-choice" movement has lost political ground in recent years.

Follow this story here: CCD

“Not the baby's fault”

Experts blame socio-economic status, lack of education, inadequate access to contraception for increased birth rates, but teens say otherwise


The statewide birth rate for teenagers is 39.6 per 1,000, but six Contra Costa County communities have surpassed it, reported the Jan. 4 Contra Costa Times. The incidence of teen births in these communities in 2002-04 ran from 31.9 per thousand to as high as 56.8 per thousand, according to Contra Costa Health Services. On the whole, however, the county's teen birth rate, at 23.8 per thousand, was lower than the state's.

Nationwide, the teen birth rate has risen for the first time in 15 years, said a December study from the Centers for Disease Control. The same report said that the U.S. birth rate has also risen for women in their 20s, 30s, and 40s – and for whites, African Americans, Hispanics, and Native Americans, but not for Asians. The total number of births in the United States jumped 3% in 2006.

Among the reasons for the increased birth rate, "experts" cited declining contraceptive use, less access to abortion, poorer education, and poverty, said a Jan. 16 Associated Press story.

Read the rest of this article here: California Catholic Daily

Saturday, January 26, 2008

LifeSiteNews.com - News2 Jan 26, 2008

* Vatican Announces Global Campaign for a "Moratorium" on Abortion
* LifeSiteNews.com NewsBytes

See more photos of Washington Vigil for Life Mass
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2008_docs/2008Vigilforlifephotos.htm


Vatican Announces Global Campaign for a "Moratorium" on Abortion
Push will Begin in Western Hemisphere

By Matthew Cullinan Hoffman

January 25, 2007 (LifeSiteNews.com) --The Vatican has announced that it will begin a global campaign to institute a United Nations moratorium on a abortion, which will begin in Latin America.

The plan was announced Thursday by Columbian cardinal Alfonso López Trujillo, the president of the Pontifical Council for the Family, in an interview with the Italian daily La Repubblica.

Trujillo will be going directly to heads of national governments as well as organizations throughout Latin America, in an attempt to convince them to sign a petition to the United Nations to halt abortions worldwide. The Cardinal intends to continue from Latin America to the United States, Canada, and then to Africa, the Middle East, and Europe.

The widening campaign began in December in Italy at the suggestion of Giuliano Ferrara, a non-Christian journalist who was once the head of the Italian Communist Party in Turin (see recent LifeSiteNews coverage at http://www.lifesite.net/ldn/2008/jan/08010712.html). Ferrara pointed out that the United Nations was calling for a moratorium on the death penalty, and that, based on the same concern for human life, it made sense to also call for a moratorium on abortion.

The call was then published in Ferrara's, il Foglio, and was echoed by Italian Cardinal Camillo Ruini, the Italian Bishops' Conference, and L'Osservatore Romano. Many Italians responded in writing, endorsing the project, and a campaign was begun by parliamentarians in Italy from both sides of the political divide. Now, Cardinal Trujillo is seeking to take the campaign to his own hemisphere and beyond.

"If the Church, as well as the UN, is against the death penalty, this is the principal reason to remember that it is a sin to kill an unborn baby," the Cardinal told La Repubblica.

"We will begin in Latin America and we'll meet with governments of every ideology, including Marxists and socialists, because abortion is not an Italian or European problem, but a global one, and the Holy See wants to eliminate it," said Trujillo.

Trujillo's first stop will be Santo Domingo, capital of the Dominican Republic, where Catholics and protestants united successfully in recent months to stop the legalization of abortion. The Dominican Republic is one of several nations in Latin America where direct abortion is completely illegal, a list that includes El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Chile.

The Cardinal plans to invite politicians to discuss the topic when he arrives. "We aren't talking about an Italian law," he explained, "but rather a drama that reaches the consciences of everyone: the death of an innocent person in in the womb of his mother."



LifeSiteNews.com NewsBytes

* Disclaimer: The linked items below or the websites at which they are located do not necessarily represent the views of LifeSiteNews.com. They are presented only for your information.

Peggy Noonan - "George W. Bush destroyed the Republican Party". Re: Republican nomination - "It is John McCain versus Mitt Romney, period"
http://online.wsj.com/article/declarations.html

Ex-priest invited pro-abortionists to participate in "pro-life" video
http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/new.php?n=11569

Opposition to IVF growing in Poland
http://www.cwnews.com/news/viewstory.cfm?recnum=56204

Friday Five: Pro-Life Hero Wesley J. Smith
http://www.citizenlink.org/CLtopstories/A000006371.cfm

Poll Shows Americans Oppose Tax-Funded Abortions
http://www.citizenlink.org/CLNews/A000006370.cfm

For "The Scientists" It is Never Enough
http://www.wesleyjsmith.com/blog/2008/01/for-scientists-it-is-never-enough.html

Putting gay rights before health
http://www.nationalpost.com/opinion/story.html?id=261336

Oprah also honored for glamorizing homosexuality
http://www.citizenlink.org/CLNews/A000006352.cfm

Gay Activists Target Pro-Marriage Lawmakers in N.Y.
http://www.citizenlink.org/CLBriefs/A000006366.cfm

ESPN anchor asks forgiveness for expletive-laden remarks
http://www.onenewsnow.com/Culture/Default.aspx?id=65570

'Why We Whisper:' New book documents attack on freedom of speech
http://www.onenewsnow.com/Legal/Default.aspx?id=65564

Defending the Pope and Paying the Price
http://www.catholic.org/international/international_story.php?id=26577

MRSA Outbreak Among 'Gays'- Let the Whitewash Begin
http://www.townhall.com/columnists/MattBarber/2008/01/24/mrsa_outbreak_among_gays-_let_the_whitewash_begin

Bush wants twice the funding for AIDS
http://www.usatoday.com/printedition/news/20080125/a_bush25.art.htm



(c) Copyright: LifeSiteNews.com, a production of Interim Publishing.
Permission to republish granted but acknowledgement of source (use LifeSiteNews.com) is *REQUIRED*

Donate to LifeSiteNews.com at http://www.lifesitenews.com/contribute/


National pilgrimage to Mount Christ the King: 50,000 youths pray for life, family and peace

AMERICA/MEXICO -

Monterrey (Agenzia Fides) - Once again this year Mexico's 'Witness and Hope Movement' has organised the national pilgrimage to Mount Christ the King in Silao, Guanajuato on Sunday 26 January. Some 50,000 young people are expected to take part to pray for life, the family and peace, "relevant issues in Mexico today", we read in the Movement's invitation addressed to young Catholics.

According to the organization "in Mexico today there is a situation of threats to our Christian and human identity: abortion, attacks on the family, struggle for power, violence of drug trafficking and delinquency. Once again our Pilgrimage aims to awaken in young Catholics a desire to bear witness to their Christian identity in every area of life, and be leaven for a better society".

The theme of the Pilgrimage is drawn from Pope Benedict XVI 's message for World Youth Day this year: "You will receive the power of the Holy Spirit and you will be my witnesses".
The Pilgrimage will include a special Mass presided by Archbishop José Guadalupe Martín Rábago of Leon, with the participation of the Bishop of Irapuato, Bishop José de Jesús Martínez Zepeda. During the Mass, to be broadcast in world vision by María Visión Channel, the young participants will renew commitment to work for a better society being 'witnesses of Christ'

"Our Witness and Hope Movement - says national president Sergio Alberto Pérez Lucio - has organized this pilgrimage for the last 24 years. Every year thousands of young people gather around Christ to look at life from God's point of view, sharing their experience of being captured by love for Christ. We make this pilgrimage to Mount Christ the King, the geographical heart of our country, mute witness to many battles, including that of young Mexicans who gave their lives 30 years ago. Battles which generated great martyrs who lived and died for Christ the King. Today these martyrs call us to live for Him and if necessary to die for Him as witnesses. We also wish to ask for their intercession that we may learn to life our friendship with Jesus with joy, and meet the needs which Mexico today rightly asks of us as young Catholics ".

(RG) (Agenzia Fides 25/1/2008; righe 29, parole 387)

LifeSiteNews.com



Mother Refused Cancer Treatment So Baby Could live

 By Thaddeus M. Baklinski

NORFOLK, UK, January 25, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Lorraine Allard of St. Olaves, near Great Yarmouth, was told she had advanced liver cancer when she was four months pregnant with her first son.

The thirty-three year old mother of three girls was advised to abort her son, who was 23 weeks old, and begin chemotherapy right away. Rather than follow the doctor's advice, however, the courageous woman insisted on waiting long enough to give her unborn son a chance to survive, telling her husband, Martyn: "If I am going to die, my baby is going to live."

Mrs. Allard was scheduled for a caesarian delivery at 26 weeks, but went into premature labour and delivered her son, Liam, on November 18.

"He was so tiny, just 1lb 11oz, so the nurse grabbed him and allowed Lorraine to give him a little kiss before he was taken to an incubator," Mr. Allard said in a report by the Daily Mail.

"She was so emotional. She had been so determined to give him the best chance and was happy that he had been born naturally, which meant she wouldn't have to recover for a couple of weeks after a Caesarian before beginning the chemotherapy."

She began a course of chemotherapy and, although the doctors had said the cancer was no longer curable, they hoped to shrink the tumours, which they thought might give her a few more years of life. A CT scan on January 17, however, revealed the tumours were still growing. She passed away the following day.

Martyn Allard shared the last moments of his wife's earthly life with the Daily Mail reporter: "On the day Lorraine died she hadn't eaten for two weeks and couldn't drink. I laid beside her and she was gripping my hand quite tight. We were like that for about half an hour."

"I could feel against my chest that her heart was slowing down. She just slipped away after that. It was very peaceful."

"Lorraine was positive all the way through. She had strength for both of us. I can't begin to describe how brave she was. Towards the end we knew things weren't going well but she was overjoyed that she had given life to Liam."

"When Liam is old enough, I won't tell him that Lorraine gave her life for him but I will say she made sure he had a good chance of life. She told me she didn't want him to feel bad about it," Mr. Allard added.

Lorraine's funeral will take place on February 4th in the same church where she married Martyn.

Friday, January 25, 2008

Fr. Tom Euteneuer: The March for Life and the Religion of Abortion

 
  Spirit & Life®
"The words I spoke to you are spirit and life." (Jn 6:63)
Human Life International e-Newsletter
Volume 03, Number 04 | Friday, January 25, 2008
..................................................................................
The March for Life and the Religion of Abortion

It goes without saying that the annual March for Life is one of the most exciting and unifying events in the international movement to defend life. 100,000+ pro-lifers converged on our nation's capital this week, more than half of whom were under the age of 25, and declared that the slaughter of the innocents is never going to be accepted as a permanent institution in our nation. Abortion-promoters would be hard-pressed to show the world that they could sustain such a massive public movement in their favor for 35 straight years. I can only say, "Bravo!" to all the people - especially the kids - who made great sacrifices to join us in Washington this week.

It also goes without saying that the little tin gods in the media did their level best to ignore and obfuscate this colossal event. When the homosexual propaganda film star, Heath Ledger, died of a drug overdose two nights before the March, that provided the hedonistic media the perfect reason to wail and gnash their teeth for a prolonged period of time about their immoral agenda and derail coverage of the life event. I will pray for Mr. Ledger's immortal soul, but at the same time, his death is a study in contrasts with the March for Life. The Brokeback Mountain star was only 28 at the time of his demise. It was his massage therapist who discovered his body that morning. A thumbnail sketch of his adult life might look something like this: Hollywood glitter, money and status, cohabitating with a girlfriend, a child out of wedlock, an activist for an immoral lifestyle, drug overdose and then death at a very young age. It's a real tragedy, but the culture of hedonism and death was dramatically played against the culture of life and life in Washington DC that day.

Not to be outdone by the godless media, the Planned Parenthood in Schenectady, NY also staged its own drama of the absurd. They dedicated a new 18,000 square foot killing center that day and had three members of the abortion "clergy" come out and "bless" it! What I have always said about abortion as a demonic religion was on graphic display in NY as we were marching for life in DC. Two "ministers" came to do the blessing from a "reformed" church - their view of "reform" is obviously different than ours. The (male) reverend used the occasion to proudly announce a new doctrine to the three dozen devotees of sacred abortion: the right to privacy is endowed by God, he said. Now, we cannot even find the "right to privacy" in the US Constitution and yet this fellow makes a new religious right out of whole cloth. Don't ask the demonic religion for a good grounding in history or logic. The other abortion clergyman was a rabbi who blew the shofar as a way to show support for reproductive rights. Our friend Rabbi Yehuda Levin who blows the shofar most years at the March for Life will have a field day with that one.

The most absurd aspect of the blessing ceremony, however, was when the Rev. Larry Phillips of Schenectady's Emmanuel-Friedens Church led the congregation outside to lay hands on the brick and mortar and to declare that the killing center was "sacred ground." Ugh. The hierarchy (Planned Parenthood), the acolytes (clinic workers), the congregation (supporters) and the ministers were all at the abortion temple that day worshipping the god of abortion. And the demons were so pleased.

St. Paul reminds us in Ephesians 6 that our battle is not against flesh and blood. It is against the principalities and powers of this world of darkness. The darkness is spreading, but the Light of Christ shines forth in all those wonderful kids and their parents that showed the world that life will win in the end.

"The light shines on in darkness, a darkness that did not overcome it." (Jn 1:5)

 

Sincerely Yours in Christ,


Rev. Thomas J. Euteneuer,
President, Human Life International




Copyright 2008 - Human Life International
Permission granted for unlimited use. Credit required.

Human Life International
4 Family Life Lane -- Front Royal, VA 22630 U.S.A.
Phone: (800) 549-LIFE Fax: (540) 622-6247
E-mail: hli@hli.org Website: www.hli.org


[MaryVitamin] St. Paul

Mary Vitamin for January 25th
Topic: Conversion of St. Paul
(January 25)

Quote:
"[I]n the order of sanctifying grace, the office of Apostles is the most sublime; … but [the theologians] recognize in the Mother of God, and in St. Joseph, an order, a hierarchy apart … superior in dignity to the first. The apostles, as we said above, are only the servants of Jesus Christ; Mary and Joseph are His mother and His father."
Pere Binet, The Divine Favors Granted to St. Joseph, (Tan Books)21.

Meditation:
The greatness of St. Paul
Ponder the depth of his theology.  Contemplate his interpretation of Christ's life in Scripture. Consider St. Paul's impact on the development of the Church (he contributed 14 of the 27 books comprising the New Testament).  Bear in mind his ability to suffer (three shipwrecks, numerous stonings, imprisonments, and finally martyrdom).  Despite all these talents and accomplishments, St. Paul would be the first to acknowledge that his theology, his witness, his zeal, his love for Christ, pales in comparison to that of the Lord's Blessed Mother.

Resolution:
Today, I will call upon Our Lady as Queen of the Apostles. I will think of Our Lady as the greatest Apostle as she continues to bring the message of Her Son to every age. She scours the earth looking for the most needy and with her motherly care she brings them to her Son.

Marian Vow:
One of the seven main biblical passages for study of Mary, the Mother of God is
Acts 1:14
"It is the mission of the Mother of the Church, of the Spouse of the Holy Spirit, of the Queen of the Apostles in prayer at the Cenacle. The Eucharist, the Holy Spirit, our Lady, the Church: the Immaculate is at the center with her mission of gathering all her children into the Church animated by the Holy Spirit at the foot of the Tabernacle."
Marian Seraphic Pathways

I give this resolution to the Blessed Virgin Mary.
Thanks be to God for graces received.



Life is nonnegotiable!

VATICAN - WORDS OF DOCTRINE: 
Rev Nicola Bux and Rev Salvatore Vitiello

Vatican City (Agenzia Fides) - With rulings in Cagliari and Florence, Italian judges have once again scrapped the famous Law number 40, on fertility treatment. The TAR of Lazio Region sent the norms to the Consulta to be examined and annulled the guidelines which prohibited diagnosis pre-implantation. This has opened the door to eugenics : selection of persons on the basis of genetic qualities and state of health (judged unilaterally and only from the presumed 'medical' point of view).
Horrifying, both the intervention of the judiciary and the choir of applause to this measure from many sides, perhaps too many.
Life is a "nonnegotiable" value. Whatever one's religious, cultural or political tradition it is inconceivable not to see the glaring contradiction between a society which rightly approves and applauds "the moratorium on capital punishment", and at the same time, is almost insensitive to the greatest of all crimes in the history of humanity: abortion. Abortion is the killing of a totally innocent human being, incapable of defending itself (and, as those who practice abortion well know, the foetus in the mother's womb struggles up to the very last minute, to the very end, not to be exterminated, not to be reduced to shreds).
This is not a question of confessional positions, determined by subjective convictions religious (or revealed), what is at stake is the very survival of humanity, there exists the radical right to life for the person who has been conceived, which includes inevitably, the right to be born, protected, cared for, not exterminated by those who should protect and love.
Diagnosis pre-implantation would allow "selection of the species", arbitrary selection to grant or not grant the "right to life", on the basis of criteria said to be "medical", but which, behind the false screen of medicine and mercy, mask a massive dose of egoism and incapacity to face reality, a delirious desire to "determine a person who is 'different'", instead of accepting and loving them.
This is the old, deeply rooted human desire to overcome evil once and for all. Sad to say on this path, the evil produced is greater, much greater, than the evil to be avoided. Not forgetting that alone, man is totally incapable of overcoming evil: "Hope infinite and definitive" alone can overcome the evil of man and the evil in man.
Life is nonnegotiable, just as not negotiable nor passable in silence, is continual cultural and political oscillating on such sensitive issues. It is unthinkable to claim that men and women of goodwill, and among them Catholics especially, cannot see and recognize, persons with gravely ambiguous attitudes towards respect for life; who on alternate days appear to want to dialogue and express attention for such fundamental and sensitive issues and, during the night, paper the city with posters defending abortion and Law 194.
No! Life is not negotiable. No one can play with life and no one can be arbiter of the life of another person. Cultural-political "ballets" are not worthy of those who perform them: only sincere dialogue, open and frank discussion on what man truly is and the direction to be given to the future of society and human coexistence, will stop humanity from taking "no through roads" which would lead inevitably to self destruction. In fact once the selection of embryos pre-implantation is legal, who is going to establish criteria for the application of this selection? Will we deny life to a person who is ill, adding injustice to injustice? Will we deny life to a baby with Down's syndrome or some other difficulty?
Abortion is an intrinsic evil and so is any attempt to manipulate human life and genetic selection of human persons.
With the fall of 20th century ideologies, it seemed certain that monstrosities such as these were a thing of the past, gone for ever. Instead in the place of those ideological dictatorships we have an impressive new one: the dictatorship of techno-scientific relativism. The Servant of God John Paul II of beloved memory, was outstanding in indicating to the Church and to humanity the necessity to overcome those ideologies. Today, the Holy Father Pope Benedict XVI with the same love and true paternity, indicates to everyone the urgency of watching and overcoming with decision, the relativistic (and contradictory) "dictatorship" of techno-scientism, because life is nonnegotiable.

(Agenzia Fides 24/1/2008; righe 56, parole 677)

FROM CALIFORNIA CATHOLIC DAILY

"Younger and younger and younger"

LA Times report contradicts conventional wisdom, says anti-abortion sentiment increasing among young people, while abortion supporters aging, losing steam


A new generation of pro-life activists reflects growing disapproval of abortion among young people, the Los Angeles Times reports.

Read this article here: CCD

Thursday, January 24, 2008

Pro-Abortion Clergy Bless New York Abortion Business as "Sacred Ground"

Now I've heard everything! Who are they serving, God, or mammon? Satan has his churchmen too . . .

by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
January 24,
2008

Albany, NY (LifeNews.com) -- In an act that is sure to generate guffaws from the pro-life community, a group of pro-abortion clergy in Schenectady held a ceremony at a local abortion business to bless it and call it "sacred ground." Religious officials who are pro-life call the ceremony sacrilegious by blessing a place that kills the life God creates.

Rev. Larry Phillips of Schenectady's Emmanuel-Friedens Church dedicated the ground, according to a report in the Albany Times Union.

He called the abortion facility "sacred and holy ... where women's voices and stories are welcomed, valued and affirmed."

Phillips said the abortion business was "sacred ground where women are treated with dignity, supported in their role as moral decision-makers ... sacred ground where the violent voices of hatred and oppression are quelled."

Another minister prayed for safety for the abortion business and a local rabbi blew a shofar to dedicate the building as an honorable place in the community.

Planned Parenthood spokeswoman Linda Scharf told the newspaper that "It's a blessing to demonstrate the support of the clergy."

"The clergy were instrumental in getting abortion services legalized in the United States and right here in Schenectady," she added. "I know a member of the clergy who was part of an underground who directed young women to safe abortions before Roe v. Wade."

But Kathleen Gallagher of the New York State Catholic Conference told the Albany Times Union that the blessing is hypocritical.

"My gut reaction is that it's two-faced," Gallagher said.

"For many years abortion proponents have been saying this is not a religious issue, you should keep religion out of this, and now all of a sudden they turn around and decide to bless an abortion clinic to gain respect for a procedure everybody knows is not worthy of respect," Gallagher added.

ACTION: Send your complaints to Rev. Larry Phillips, c/o Emmanuel Baptist-Friedens United Church of Christ, 218 Nott Terrace Schenectady, NY 12305, Phone 518-374-4114 or email ebcfried@nycap.rr.com

Wednesday, January 23, 2008

Hillary Clinton on Abortion-- Transcript Made Available


MEDIA ADVISORY, Jan. 23 /Christian Newswire/ -- Today, a full transcript was made available of Hillary Clinton's July 17, 2007 speech before the Planned Parenthood Action Fund (PPAF).

"Hillary Clinton's speech before the Planned Parenthood Action Fund revealed just how closely she walks with Planned Parenthood, NARAL, NOW and all other groups seeking continuing and unlimited access to abortion on demand," stated Laura Echevarria, who transcribed the speech.

Ms. Echevarria was a spokesperson and a former director of Media Relations for the National Right to Life Committee from 1997 to 2004. She is currently a writer focusing on politics and abortion and often needs research materials such as speeches. She transcribed the speech after discovering that only video of the speech was available at a Planned Parenthood website.

Ms. Echevarria is currently completing the transcript of Barack Obama's speech before PPAF that also took place on July 17th.

"I was amazed that neither Mrs. Clinton's nor Mr. Obama's websites linked to the videos or posted text of the speeches," stated Ms. Echevarria.

A link to the completed Clinton transcript can be found at www.lauraechevarria.com or it can be e-mailed in response to queries sent to laura@lauraechevarria.com

Laura Echevarria is the former director of media relations for the National Right to Life Committee (1997-2004). She is currently a writer focusing on opinion and politics as well as a columnist for LifeNews.com, the pro-life internet news source that receives over 200,000 hits a week. Other opinion can be found at her website at www.lauraechevarria.com.

Inside the Vatican Magazine - Top Ten People of 2007 -





 


An
Inside the Vatican Magazine Newsflash


 ALVEDA KING

By Alberto Carosa

One of the stunning victories of the pro-life movement is its ability to win over the hearts, minds and souls of prominent people who become champions of the its cause. For example, in late December, in an interview with the Vatican Internet daily Petrus, a famous Italian pop musician disclosed that he was a devout believer and thoroughly opposed to abortion, since as a Catholic he is convinced that life begins from the moment of conception.



But while it's a bit premature to assess whether his words will be matched by a concrete commitment to the pro-life cause, the case of the American Dr. Alveda King is different: she has been a pro-life activist for many years now. And she does not mince words in her passionate defense of the unborn.

She is the niece of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and the daughter of slain civil rights activist Rev. A. D. King and his wife Naomi Barber King. During the years of the Civil Rights Movement, her family home in Birmingham, Alabama, was bombed, so in a sense she is a living rebuttal of the thesis that abortion should be allowed as a "civil right" like any other.

In early 2007, she joined Father Frank Pavone for the annual national March for Life in Washington on January 22nd, 2007. Father Pavone, the national director of Priests for Life, a Catholic association operating within the structure of the Catholic Church, announced then that Dr. King had become a member of his organization's full-time staff. "After we fought for equal rights for our people," she argued, "we must now fight for equal rights for the children in the mother's womb."

She then marched side-by-side with Father Pavone, who asked her whether the annual national march in Washington somehow was reminiscent of those promoted by her uncle for civil rights. "Father Pavone, this is a march for civil rights," she replied. "This is the movement for civil rights of our times." Referring to her famous uncle's words "I have a dream," she asked: "How can such a dream live on, the dream of equality for all founded on intrinsic human dignity, if we kill our children?" She calls the denial of the right to life "the greatest injustice we face."

As a matter of fact, she said, "without the right to life, no other rights exist," and added: "What would Martin Luther King, Jr., who dreamed of having his children judged by the content of their characters, do if he'd lived to see the contents of thousands of children's skulls emptied into the bottomless caverns of the abortionists' pits?" In fact, "if the dream of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. is to live, our babies must live. Our mothers must choose life."

Paraphrasing ancient Rome's Latin dictum "nomen omen," namely "your destiny in your name," a similar pattern could be applied to her, "your destiny in your date," since January 22 is not only her birthday, but also the anniversary of Roe v. Wade, the (in)famous sentence which opened the floodgates of abortion in the US in 1973.

"The Roe v. Wade decision has adversely affected the lives of my entire family," she says.

It's always painful for her to recall her life in the early 1970s, when she suffered one involuntary and one voluntary abortion.

Her involuntary abortion was performed just prior to Roe v. Wade by her private physician without her consent.

Soon after the Roe v. Wade decision, she became pregnant again.

There was adverse pressure and threat of violence from the baby's father. "The ease and convenience provided through Roe v. Wade made it too easy for me to make the fateful and fatal decision to abort our child," she recalled. Right after the abortion, she started to feel very ill, but the doctor and nurses assured her that "it will all go away in a few days. You will be fine." They lied.

Over the next few years, she experienced medical problems and trouble bonding with her children, who all suffered from knowing that they have a brother or sister that was aborted by their mother. Also, her mother and grandparents were very sad to know about the loss of the baby. The aborted child's father also regretted the abortion. "If it had not been for Roe v. Wade, I would never have had that abortion," she remarked. "This is very painful for all of us." This proves once again the crucial role played by bad legislation; far from making no difference, it acts as a catalyst for evil.

"I pray often for deliverance from the pain caused by my decision to abort my baby," she said. "I suffered the threat of cervical and breast cancer, and experienced the pain of empty arms after the baby was gone. And truly, for me and countless abortive mothers, nothing on earth can fully restore what has been lost -- only Jesus can.

"I can only beseech the powers that be to hearken to the voice of the Lord and remember that human life is sacred. By taking the lives of our young and wounding the wombs and lives of their mothers, we are flying in the face of God. We cannot play God. If we continue down this path of destruction, we will be met at the gates by our own doom. This is the day to choose life. We must live and allow our babies to live.

"I too, like Martin Luther King, Jr., have a dream. I have a dream that the men and women, the boys and girls of America will come to our senses, and humble ourselves before God Almighty and pray for mercy, and receive His healing grace. I pray that this is the day, the hour of our deliverance. May God have mercy on us all."
 


Special Offer for New Subscribers! Subscribe to Inside the Vatican Magazine for Only $34.95! Buy Now and Save $15.00! Click on the banner ad above!

Talks by Dr. Robert Moynihan on CD!



Subscribe to "Inside the Vatican" Magazine

Inside The Vatican Magazine (ISSN 1068-8579) is published monthly except July and September, with occasional special supplements.