Friday, February 29, 2008

Fr. Tom Euteneuer: Operation Outcry



 
  Spirit & Life®
"The words I spoke to you are spirit and life." (Jn 6:63)
Human Life International e-Newsletter
Volume 03, Number 09 | Friday, February 29, 2008
..................................................................................
Operation Outcry

In every country where abortion is being promoted, the insistent mantra of the abortion promoters is the lie that "unsafe (i.e., illegal) abortion" is damaging women's lives and should be replaced by "safe and legal" abortion.

The transformation of abortion from illegal to legal is supposed to make it - magically - safe for women. That was but one of the many lies about abortion that the US Supreme Court swallowed in 1973 when it legalized this killing procedure. While the abortion industry itself admitted that most of the illegal abortions were done by trained doctors in the comfort of their offices, very few arguments were as persuasive as the one that said women would be served by eliminating "back-alley" abortions and replacing them with abortion on demand. This pernicious lie is still a favorite argument of the abortion industry around the world, and they must marvel at how easily people fall for it.

Well, we know how to undo that lie. The same way we undo any lie: we defeat it with the truth. We are quick to acknowledge that abortion is never safe for unborn children, but 35 sad years of destruction has taught us that it's also a lie to think that legal abortion is safe and pain-free for women. Post-abortive women everywhere are the best witnesses to the truth about abortion, and that truth is very simple - there is no such thing as a safe abortion! Period. This testimony is valid both for our own fight here in the United States to overturn Roe as well as for our fight to keep this evil out of abortion-free countries. We need to join that fight as best we can and we now have a way to do that.

I have recently discovered a most worthy project for post-abortion testimonies called Operation Outcry. I am impressed by the scope of their work and the goal that they have set for themselves. This project is sponsored by the Texas Justice Foundation, the group that brought Norma McCorvey (the Roe of Roe v. Wade) back to the Supreme Court to let her story be heard. They want to collect one million "declarations" of post-abortion stories which will be entered into the public record when abortion comes back up before the Supreme Court. They are relying on various pro-life organizations to get the word out to post-abortive women and men who can declare, in a fully confidential manner, that abortion is not the salvation that it was promised to be in 1973 or ever.

In the face of the Supreme Court's ongoing commitment to Roe, the ones who have had real experience of those negative effects are able to testify to the highest court in our land something that we have always known: that abortion is a damaging, degrading and desperate procedure. It robs babies of their lives and women and men of their dignity. We think the Supreme Court needs to hear this message. In fact, the Texas Justice Foundation was the only pro-life brief that was cited in the recent partial birth abortion decision, and so we think there is a fighting chance.

Please do consider looking at the website of Operation Outcry and join in the effort to get declarations from one million women and men who have been affected negatively by abortion. The lie has to be countered by a strong witness to the truth, and after 35 years of abortion on demand, many people certainly have a strong witness to offer. There is no time like the present to use it!

 

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: (540) 635-7884 Fax: (540) 622-6247
E-mail: hli@hli.org Website: www.hli.org


Planned Parenthood promoting smut on web site aimed at teens

"Pornography is harmless fun"


A Planned Parenthood web site for teenagers is promoting pornography to young people, Cybercast News Service reports. An article posted on the Planned Parenthood-sponsored Teenwire.com web site advises teens that pornography is a "lower-risk form of outercourse."

Read this story here: California Catholic Daily

Colorado for Equal Rights Responds to Colorado Catholic Conference

 

DENVER, Feb. 29 /Christian Newswire/ -- Keith Mason, spokesman for Colorado for Equal Rights, issued the following release in response to concerns from the Colorado Catholic Conference regarding the personal endorsements of prominent lay and religious Catholics for the Personhood Amendment ballot initiative:

Photo: Keith Mason and Bishop Tafoya, Keith is holding a petition for the personhood amendment in Colorado

"We are quite pleased to have the support of Catholic and Protestant leaders, both in Colorado and across the nation. To date, Colorado for Equal Rights has in pledges and direct contributions over $110,000 and has gathered over 30,000 signatures. Over 274 churches have signed on in support of personhood, over 856 petition gatherers across Colorado are working hard to make a difference, and national leaders such as Pastor Mike Huckabee have given our efforts a tremendous boost."

"We welcome the interest of the Colorado Catholic Conference. Archbishop Chaput's letter allowing Catholic priests and parishes across Colorado to support personhood on a case-by-case basis is an important first step - one which Catholic and Protestant pro-lifers appreciate."

"As we continue to grow and build strength, grassroots pro-lifers look forward to the active and public support of the Colorado Catholic Conference, as well as our Catholic bishops."

Colorado for Equal Rights is a statewide grassroots organization of committed pro-life activists. Colorado for Equal Rights is sponsoring the Human Life Amendment to the Colorado Constitution, stating "(t) he term "Person" or "Persons" shall include any human from the time of fertilization." The Human Life Amendment initiative is currently working to gather petition signatures to appear on the November 2008 ballot.

For more information, please contact Keith Mason at 720.341.1892 or via e-mail at coloradoforequalrights@gmail.com.

Today's Battle - an Evil Worse Than Slavery


WASHINGTON, Feb. 29 /Christian Newswire/ -- Black History Month is a time when African Americans especially--remember the trials and struggles of being born black in this country. We as a people endured much in our journey for equality. A journey which began many years ago on slave ships--through Jim Crowe years, through times of lynching and marches.

Throughout this month we also celebrate the many accomplishments and triumphs that we have achieved. We have come a long way. And along the way we became brilliant black investors, inventors, scientists, doctors and educators..., musicians, sportsmen and powerful speakers. We have risen up from slavery to a point where we can hope and dream about holding the highest office in this land! Against all odds, some may say we have arrived!

But have we...really? Or are we closing our eyes to the fact that more than 15 million black children have been slaughtered since 1973?

While we look the other way--smiling, slapping each other on the back--PROUD of our accomplishments, abortion facilities are purposefully placed in inner city and minority neighborhoods, crushing the bodies of innocent black children.

Abortion is the number one killer of African Americans- -killing more black people than all other deaths combined, yet, there are black men and women who stand in support of the vicious killing of our smallest children--all in order to win popularity contests, or for the coveted prize of becoming the 1st black President of the United States.

So, have we forgotten what the dream was all about? Some of us have.

In this political season will we must drive home the fact that it really doesn't matter when it comes down to it what party you belong to.

There are children dying! Innocent children are being ripped apart; torn limb from limb--killed by abortion.

We don't have to kill our children to ensure that we have better lives. Therefore, we must make sure that political figures know this fact... IF YOU ARE FOR ABORTION...THEN WE ARE NOT FOR YOU--no matter what color your skin is!

Eliminating abortion may seem to some --a rather daunting task...to some it may seem impossible. But I believe in God and with HIM I know that nothing is impossible.

Make no mistake...abortion is a civil rights issue. We must strive to make abortion a terrible thing...of our historical past.

Day Gardner is the president of the National Black Pro- Life Union

Thursday, February 28, 2008

LifeSiteNews.com Newsbytes for Feb. 28


* 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.

Democratic Party Insiders Believe Hillary Campaign Is Dead, According to Robert Novak
http://uspolitics.einnews.com/archive/polls

Canada just became scarier for the disabled
http://www.nationalpost.com/todays_paper/story.html?id=339209

Mike Huckabee endorses amendment to Colorado's constitution that defines a person as a human being from the moment life begins at conception
http://www.newsmax.com/insidecover/Huckabee:_Fertilized_Egg_/2008/02/26/75667.html?s=sp&promo_code=45FE-1

Schiavo Foundation Laments Obama's "Mistake" Comment on Terry Schiavo
http://www.zenit.org/article-21905?l=english

Peruvians Decry Protocol on Legality of Abortion - Clarify That "Interrupting Pregnancy" Is Never a Therapy
http://www.zenit.org/article-21904?l=english

Canada's Campus pro-lifers face mounting opposition
http://www.christianweek.org/stories.php?id=90

A big blow to Al Gore - One of the world's leading agencies monitoring climate change says there's no link between global warming and the frequency or severity of hurricanes hitting the United States over the past century.
http://www.torontosun.com/News/Columnists/Goldstein_Lorrie/2008/02/28/4881773-sun.php

Ezra Levant calls all researchers to document every occasion that Frequent Human Rights Commission user Warman has either filed a suit against someone or threatened to do so
http://ezralevant.com/2008/02/calling-all-researchers.html

Children's Vaccine Linked to Fevers, Seizures
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5j2Gafsj5iWxlQZZP1JUO2ksLt9SgD8V30TK80

AIDS in Africa: Abstinence Works - Interview With Expert Matthew Hanley
http://www.zenit.org/article-21909?l=english

Washington Times Caves to Political Correctness Under New Editor
http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/blogs/citydesk/2008/02/25/washington-times-scare-quotes-are-history/

America's Most Sinful Cities?
http://www.crosswalk.com/pastors/11568955/

AIDS Rates in Northern Ireland Up By 300%
http://www.uklifeleague.com/pressrelease/080227%20AIDS.htm

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Permission to republish granted but acknowledgement of source (use LifeSiteNews.com) is *REQUIRED*

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Ohio Health Department Revokes License of Last Dayton Abortion Facility Run by Notorious Partial-Birth Abortionist

Pro-Life Law Firm Works to Shut the Doors on Illegal Abortion Center in Ohio

DAYTON, Ohio, Feb. 28 /Christian Newswire/ -- On Friday, February 29, Chicago Pro-Life law firm the Thomas More Society, will reveal in a press conference that the Ohio Department of Health has revoked the license of the Women's Medical Center in Dayton, Ohio on February 14, 2008. This abortion facility, the last in Dayton, is owned and operated by Dr. Martin Haskell, nationally known for his pioneering and promotion of the partial birth abortion method. Despite having its license revoked, the facility is still in operation illegally. The Thomas More Society is preparing a Citizens Action Lawsuit to ask the courts to close the center if it continues to operate in violation of state laws. The press conference will be held at 10 a.m. Friday morning in a meeting room at 1375 East Stroop Road in Kettering, Ohio. Statements will be made by the Thomas More Society, Ohio Right to Life and local public officials, including Ohio State Representatives.

Haskell's abortion facility performs approximately 2,600 abortions annually and has not been able to comply with Ohio's requirement that clinics not within a hospital must have a hospital transfer agreement to properly care for patients who are injured during abortions. This legal requirement applies to all free- standing surgical facilities in Ohio, not just abortion facilities. Dr. Haskell tried unsuccessfully to obtain an agreement; however because he is not an OB-GYN and does not have admitting privileges at any Dayton- area hospitals he was denied.

"Haskell's abortion center must be closed," states Denise Mackura, Executive Director and Legal Counsel for the Thomas More Society. "He performs late-term abortions and has had several cases of complications and injuries reported over the last few years. It is the health of our sisters, mothers and daughters that is at risk if Haskell is allowed to keep his abortion facility in operation."

Haskell has been fighting state officials since 1999, when it was first discovered by a routine records search that he was operating without a license. Dr. Haskell brought his case before state and federal trial and appeals courts as well as state agencies and has repeatedly lost his bid to evade licensing and compliance with Ohio law.

"We have to wonder why this abortion business has been allowed to operate in violation of state law for so long and has not been held to the same standards as other medical facilities," says Mackura. "If the state of Ohio does not act, we will!"

The Thomas More Society is a public interest law firm which provides legal counsel and defense for those who work to protect innocent human life.

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH DOCUMENTS AVAILABLE UPON REQUEST

Contact: Denise Mackura, Thomas More Society, 312-782-1680, 216-548-9108 cell, Denise@ThomasMoreSociety.org


Dr. Alveda King to Join Pro-Life Civil Rights Activists for Black History Month Events Today


WASHINGTON, Feb. 28 /Christian Newswire/ -- Dr. Alveda King, Pastoral Associate of Priests for Life and niece of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., will participate today in events celebrating Black History Month and examining the role abortion has played in the African American community.

"As Black History Month comes to a close and we move forward, we cannot forget the devastating impact abortion on demand has had and continues to have on African-Americans," said Dr. King. "Abortion has wiped out one out of four blacks in the United States. That's 15 million Americans who have been denied the most fundamental civil right, the right to life."

Dr. King will join other leaders for prayer vigils at abortion facilities, a press conference at the Family Research Council, and an afternoon Capitol Hill reception at the Cannon House Office Building.

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.

Wednesday, February 27, 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.

At UN abortion is essential for "gender equality" and is the "overarching framework"
http://www.cwfa.org/articles/14775/BLI/reports/index.htm

Surgeon Accused of Speeding Death of Man to Harvest Organs
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,332967,00.html

Defending Life and Dignity - How, finally, to ban human cloning by Leon R. Kass
http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/014/752supcx.asp

U.N. Women's Commission Debating Plan to Require Quotas and More Money - Appears to be paving the way for "a more radical U.S. President" when it meets next year
http://christiannewswire.com/news/639885821.html

Embryonic Stem Cell Superiority Myth is Crumbling
http://www.wesleyjsmith.com/blog/2008/02/escr-superiority-myth-is-crumbling.html

Transcript of Barack Obama's Planned Parenthood Speech Made Available
http://christiannewswire.com/news/452775816.html

Obama of the North - The cautionary tale of Pierre Elliott Trudeau.
http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/014/788osbyf.asp

The Gospel of Barack Obama by Mark P. Shea
http://insidecatholic.com/Joomla/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2862&Itemid=48

Catholic newspaper writer votes for Obama, defends his choice saying, "Bishops be damned"
http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/new.php?n=11905

Special Prosecutors Allow Planned Parenthood to Corrupt Kansas Grand Jury - "Bizarre" behavior indicates collusion between, judge, special prosecutors, and PlannedParenthood
http://christiannewswire.com/news/560675815.html

Seven-State Investigation Organized By UCLA Students Shows Evidence of Racism at Planned Parenthood
http://christiannewswire.com/news/31585814.html

Culture of abortion pervades British medical profession, say English pro-lifers
http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/new.php?n=11903

Another Reason to Like Sweden - Swedish doctors oppose euthanasia
http://www.wesleyjsmith.com/blog/2008/02/another-reason-to-like-sweden.html

Lack of Interest Forces Planned Parenthood to Leave University
http://www.citizenlink.org/CLBriefs/A000006650.cfm

Silence No More - Doing Emma Beck's memory justice By Michelle Malkin
http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=OTgwYzMzMWZjYjBjZmIzOWM1ZDE4YTgxNjQ1NDNhNmU=

Ontario Human Rights Commission - The stories get more and more outrageous
http://deborahgyapong.blogspot.com/2008/02/stories-get-more-and-more-outrageous.html

Courageous Denver Archbishop fights Coercion against Catholic Hospitals
http://www.catholic.org/national/national_story.php?id=26975

Twelve-month long drop in world temperatures wipes out a century of warming
http://www.dailytech.com/Temperature+Monitors+Report+Widescale+Global+Cooling/article10866.htm

Single fastest temperature change ever recorded, either up or down - Cold is more damaging than heat
http://www.dailytech.com/Temperature+Monitors+Report+Widescale+Global+Cooling/article10866.htm

Active fathers are absolutely essential in preventing behavioral problems with boys and psychological problems in girls.
http://www.cwfa.org/articles/14770/BLI/dotcommentary/index.htm

Catholic Church faces new crisis - Ireland is running out of priests
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/faith/article3441821.ece

The Pope and the United Nations By Douglas A. Sylva
http://www.firstthings.com/onthesquare/?p=982

Chavez supporters invade chancery, expel employees and bishop
http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/new.php?n=11911

It's Not a Conspiracy. It's Just a Cover-Up - Part 2 The Impeachment of Willard Mitt Romney
http://www.undergroundjournal.net/igroops/theunderground/adminpages/NotConspiracyJustCoverUp2

One-fifth of Canadians list wait times as the most critical issue facing their health care system today
http://www.macleans.ca/canada/features/article.jsp?content=20080213_105637_5804

School Choice Isn't Enough
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120364195876084617.html?mod=opinion_journal_federation

EU fines Microsoft record $1.3 billion
http://money.cnn.com/2008/02/27/technology/eu_microsoft.ap/index.htm?postversion=2008022706

Million$ to pro-homosexual groups bad news for Christians, says activist - warns moneywill be used to "criminalize" Christian opposition to their agenda.
http://onenewsnow.com/Culture/Default.aspx?id=68457

Video rental called called Family Video Stores appears to be peddling pornography
http://www.citizenlink.org/fnif/A000006642.cfm

(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/

Article on Personhood

David's Stone: Personhood

By Michael Hichborn

The ongoing effort to save preborn babies from the culture of death is akin to the epic battle between David and Goliath. While the pro-life movement struggles just to maintain its grassroots support base, the massive and powerful culture of death has access to all of the money, political power and propaganda it could ever want.

At least David had the nerve to show up for the fight. Right now, in Colorado, a 20-year-old law student has taken up David's sling and is prepared to throw the deadly stone while some self-professed pro-life leaders, politicians and clergymen cower because they believe that "now is not the right time."

In November 2007, Kristi Burton, founder of Colorado for Equal Rights, won an important victory in the state supreme court allowing her to move forward with Proposed Initiative 36. The initiative simply states that "the terms 'person' or 'persons' shall include any human being from the moment of fertilization." This initiative is the lynchpin for restoring the right to life for all preborn babies, because in the U.S. Supreme Court's Roe v. Wade decision, Justice Harry Blackmun wrote, "If this suggestion of personhood is established, the appellant's case, of course, collapses, for the fetus' right to life would then be guaranteed specifically by the [14th] Amendment."

Over the past 35 years, nearly 50,000,000 preborn babies have been legally butchered in their own mothers' wombs. The most we have to show for our effort to stop this carnage is an alleged ban on the heinous practice of partially delivering a baby, stabbing him or her in the back of the head and then sucking his or her brains out. Hailed by some as a pro-life victory, the so-called ban on partial-birth abortion isn't truly a ban because the Supreme Court decision itself included instructions permitting doctors to circumvent the ban by injecting the baby with poison before completing the grisly procedure. What is so completely baffling, however, is that organizations like the National Right to Life Committee will pop a champagne cork for a ruling that won't stop a single abortion, but will not support or will even directly oppose the personhood initiative – which would directly end all abortions – because they claim that "now is not the right time."

Some may ask, "If now is not the right time to save babies, when is?" But it's more appropriate to ask, "Why not now?' What do pro-life leaders, politicians and clergymen have to lose by acting now instead of waiting for "the right time"? If the initiative fails, do we admit defeat, tell the babies we're sorry we couldn't do better, pack up and go home? How many amendments and legislative measures are voted upon only once before being passed? The answer is less than one percent! If the initiative fails, you start over and try again and you keep trying until it works. It is hard, tedious and frustrating work, but when compared with the suffering of innocent preborn children who face dismemberment and death, the decision is an easy one. Only those locked in their lofty ivory towers, comfortable with merely drawing a salary to do "pro-life" work, remain silent or oppose real pro-life measures while they wait for "the right time."

There is no "right time." David went into battle against Goliath without military or combat training and without a sword, shield or helmet. He carried only a sling and some rocks. He was a mere boy and the timing was as much against him as his size and strength. But his courage and faith in God led to victory. In truth, the victory over the culture of death will not be ours to claim, just as the timing is not ours to decide. Kristi Burton heard the call from God to defend human life and answered it without question, without waiting for "the right time" and without compromise. Her leadership brings to mind the words of a shepherd who slew a giant:

You come against me with sword and spear and scimitar, but I come against you in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel that you have insulted. Today the LORD shall deliver you into my hand; I will strike you down and cut off your head. This very day I will leave your corpse and the corpses of the Philistine army for the birds of the air and the beasts of the field; thus the whole land shall learn that Israel has a God. All this multitude, too, shall learn that it is not by sword or spear that the LORD saves. For the battle is the LORD'S, and He shall deliver you into our hands. (1 Samuel 17: 45-47)

 When doing the work of God and calling on people to support the defense of babies, can timing really be an issue? While pro-life leaders, politicians and clergymen stand idly by, waiting for "the right time," Kristi Burton puts it all in God's hands, stands in the arena, takes careful aim and throws.

Michael Hichborn is American Life League's media relations director.

 

Obama Crushes 'Audacity of Hope' for Disabled Americans and Their Families


ST. PETERSBURG, Florida, Feb. 27 /Christian Newswire/ -- In a presidential debate last night, Sen. Barack Obama, (D-Ill), said, for the second time this year, that he regretted supporting federal legislation aimed at saving the life of Terri Schiavo. He even suggested the legal efforts to stop Terri's death by dehydration and starvation constituted a "costly" action.
"We welcome the opportunity that Senator Obama has given us to once again strive for clarity regarding the death of our beloved Terri," her father Robert Schindler said. "However, we are very saddened by his remarks. Everyone with a disability, or who knows someone with a disability, should be outraged that a potential US president would so callously reject his own action taken in favor of life over death."
Terri's Foundation wishes to remind all Americans that the Senate gave unanimous consent to the effort to save Terri's life and that the vote was strongly bipartisan in the House. "As a country, we should all be distressed that doing the right thing suddenly becomes a 'mistake' when one poll later showed it to be unpopular," Schindler said. "That isn't leadership; it's pandering to popular prejudices."
"Is it so incredulous that a family had the 'audacity of hope' to believe its government would care about one profoundly disabled woman?" Schindler asked. "It is a shame that Senator Obama, who claims to embody 'hope,' is crushing it for the families of people with profound disabilities."
Terri was neither terminally ill, nor comatose. She was not on life support and only needed food and water to live. Persons with disabilities, no matter how serious, are persons with the Constitutional right to life.
"Highly visible public figures, especially those who may one day speak on behalf of all citizens, should not imply that some citizens are less worthy than others," added Schindler. "As President, would Barack Obama stand for all of us or just some of us?"

OBAMA CHAMPIONS "CULTURE OF DEATH"



February 27, 2008

 

OBAMA CHAMPIONS "CULTURE OF DEATH"

 

In last night's debate between Senator Barack Obama and Senator Hillary Clinton, MSNBC moderator Tim Russert asked both presidential candidates whether there was "any word or vote that you'd like to take back" in your "careers in public service." Senator Obama cited his role in a unanimous decision by the U.S. Senate regarding the Terry Schiavo case. He said it was "a mistake" for the Congress "to interject itself into that decision-making process of the families" to settle her fate.

 

Catholic League president Bill Donohue addressed this issue today:

 

"So now we know that Obama thinks it was a mistake—the biggest mistake he's ever made in public life—to allow Schiavo's parents the right to petition a federal court over the withdrawal of food and medical services necessary to save her life. Never mind that the vote was merely procedural: it simply allowed the patient's parents the right to ask for federal review, never guaranteeing a particular outcome. Moreover, the bill was case specific—it had no bearing on any case other than Schiavo's, and it explicitly said that 'nothing in this Act shall constitute a precedent with respect to future legislation.' Yet Obama now says his vote 'was not something I was comfortable with, but it was not something that I stood on the floor and stopped.' How revealing.

 

"Just as important as what Obama said is what he didn't say: He could have taken the opportunity to say that the biggest blunder of his career in public life was his vote to kill a bill in the Illinois legislature that would have provided medical care for infants who survive abortions. In 2003, while chairman of the Health and Human Services Committee of the Illinois Senate, he led the fight to oppose a bill that would have mandated health care for a baby who survived an abortion, and he did so even though the bill explicitly said it would not imperil Roe v. Wade.

 

"In conclusion, Senator Obama thinks it is none of the federal government's business to allow doctors to intentionally starve a person to death, nor is it the law's business to require doctors to attend to the health care of a fully born baby who has survived an abortion. All this from the Minister of Hope."

 

Kiera M. McCaffrey
Director of Communications
The Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights
450 Seventh Avenue
New York, NY 10123
212-371-3191
212-371-3394 (fax)

 


 

Barack Obama Would Take Back Vote Helping Terri Schiavo Avoid Euthanasia


by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
February 26
, 2008


Cleveland, OH (LifeNews.com) -- Senator Barack Obama debated his Democratic rival Hillary Clinton on Tuesday night and said his biggest mistake was voting with a unanimous Senate to help save Terri Schiavo. Terri is the disabled Florida woman whose husband won the legal right to starve her to death.

In March 2005, just weeks before Terri died from a painful 14-day starvation and dehydration death, Congress approved legislation allowing her family to take its case from state courts to federal courts in an effort to stop the euthanasia from proceeding.

Terri was not on any artificial breathing apparatus and only required a feeding tube to eat and drink. Her family had filed a lawsuit against her former husband to allow them to care for her and give her proper medical and rehabilitative care.

The Senate unanimously approved a compromise bill, which the House eventually supported on a lopsided bipartisan vote and President Bush signed, to help the disabled woman.

During the Tuesday debate, Obama said he should have stood up against the life-saving legislation.

"It wasn't something I was comfortable with, but it was not something that I stood on the floor and stopped," Obama said.

"And I think that was a mistake, and I think the American people understood that that was a mistake. And as a constitutional law professor, I knew better," he added.

This isn't the first time Obama has said the biggest mistake he made as senator was voting to help try to stop Terri from being euthanized.

During an April 2007 debate, Obama said, "I think professionally the biggest mistake that I made was when I first arrived in the Senate. There was a debate about Terri Schiavo, and a lot of us, including me, left the Senate with a bill that allowed Congress to intrude where it shouldn't have."

"And I think I should have stayed in the Senate and fought more for making sure [Terri's parents couldn't take their case to federal court to save her life]," he explained.

Since Terri's death, the Schindler family has established a foundation to help disabled and elderly patients obtain proper medical care and legal and other assistance when they are denied it.

Related web sites:
Terri Schindler Schiavo Foundation - http://www.terrisfight.org

Transcript of Barack Obama's Planned Parenthood Speech Made Available


MEDIA ADVISORY, Feb. 27 /Christian Newswire/ -- Today, a full transcript was made available of Barack Obama's July 17th, 2007 speech before the Planned Parenthood Action Fund (PPAF).

"Many American's see Barack Obama as a kind and compassionate candidate," stated political writer Laura Echevarria, who transcribed the July speech. "However, Mr. Obama's compassion does not extend to our most vulnerable members of society- -unborn children."

A recent Survey USA poll showed that in some key battleground states, some voters who considered themselves pro-life said they would vote for Barack Obama over John McCain if such a match-up occurred in the general election.

In Mr. Obama's July speech, he said,

"There will always be people, many of goodwill, who do not share my view on the issue of choice. On this fundamental issue, I will not yield and Planned Parenthood will not yield."

A link to the completed Obama 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.

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.

Man gets 18 months in jail for putting abortion pills in girlfriend's food (Feb .27)
http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/02/26/europe/EU-GEN-Sweden-Abortion-Pill.php

Senate amendment targets federal funding of abortions (Feb .27)
http://www.onenewsnow.com/Politics/Default.aspx?id=68447

Eugenics: Deadly medicine (Feb .27)
http://www.startribune.com/lifestyle/health/15948397.html?page=2&c=y

More than 800 farmers in four Indian states commit suicide in six months (Feb .27)
http://www.asianews.it/index.php?l=en&art=11618&size=A

Planned Parenthood web site advises teens that viewing pornography is a normal and "safer" way of enjoying sex. (Feb .27)
http://www.cnsnews.com/ViewCulture.asp?Page=/Culture/archive/200802/CUL20080226b.html

The New York Times A Boost To McCain By Paul M. Weyrich (Feb .27)
http://www.gopusa.com/commentary/pweyrich/2008/pmw_0226.shtml

Don't bring back the Court Challenges Program (Feb .27)
http://www.nationalpost.com/todays_paper/story.html?id=334442

Pregnant women who perceive having a well-balanced relationship with their parents during childhood will experience fewer difficulties in transition to motherhood reveals study (Feb .27)
http://www.newswise.com/articles/view/538065/?sc=dwhn

San Diego diocese's voter's guide gives little leeway in voting for candidates who support "intrinsic evils" (Feb .27)
http://www.calcatholic.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?id=b424dcf8-cc65-4851-a841-9073645ada93

What the Islamic Scholars Forgot to Tell the Pope (Feb .27)
http://pajamasmedia.com/2008/02/what_the_islamic_scholars_forg.php

Survey finds one-tenth of Americans used to be Catholic (Feb .27)
http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/new.php?n=11889

Bishops, Notre Dame and Camaderie (Feb .27)
http://www.all.org/newsroom_judieblog.php?id=1911&PHPSESSID=fc988970a069580b93dce6f9ca88258d

Is the widespread Jesuit refusal to weed out candidates with homosexual tendencies only a tension of everyday life? Benedict does not appear to think so. (Feb .27)
http://www.catholicculture.org/commentary/blog.cfm?id=218

Parents Television Council blasts NBC over 'Vegas' drama, calls for 'significant' fine reportedly contained graphic nudity. (Feb .27)
http://www.onenewsnow.com/Culture/Default.aspx?id=68315

National Education Association Pushes Homosexuality in School Booklet, Group Says (Feb .27)
http://www.cnsnews.com/ViewCulture.asp?Page=/Culture/archive/200802/CUL20080226a.html

In First, N.Y. Judge Allows Gay Divorce (Feb 27)
http://abcnews.go.com/TheLaw/story?id=4347231&page=1 ;

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FROM LIFESITENEWS:


Baby Born Healthy Defies Doctor's Abortion Advice

By Thaddeus M. Baklinski

PEMBROKE DOCK, SOUTH WALES, UK, February 26, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Becky Weatherall and her partner Kriss Kramer where told by their doctors that their son would be born deaf and blind and would probably survive only for a couple of hours.

Little Brandon Kramer was diagnosed in utero with rhomboencephalosynapsis - a condition in which the brain fuses together rather than being in two halves - as well as hydrocephalus - water on the brain. Tests conducted twice a month indicated the condition was worsening and Becky was advised to abort her pregnancy up to just weeks before the birth.

The couple ignored the doctors' recommendation and Brandon was born healthy on October 1 last year.

A report in the Daily Mail said the Fetal Medicine Unit at the University Hospital of Wales in Cardiff was ordered to review the case to determine whether Brandon had the condition and recovered from it, or whether data from the numerous ultrasound scans had been misread by hospital staff.

The couple does not intend to sue the hospital for compensation but does want the situation to be made know as a warning to other parents.

"Perhaps doctors shouldn't put so much confidence in scans," Becky said in the Daily Mail report. "One of the older doctors we spoke to said a scan is like a fuzzy image of a snowstorm - it cannot be relied upon - and he turned out to be right."

"I feel incredibly guilty thinking that I could have killed him - and then I find myself wondering how many other babies are killed who would have turned out to be completely healthy."

"We had prepared to spend Christmas without him - we thought we'd be planning a funeral. Instead, it was the best Christmas present ever and now we're having a christening."

Brandon's father Kriss said, "We are not there to blame anyone but we want to thank them for the help and advice they gave us. They went over the MRI [scanner] results with us. They haven't given us any explanation."

"It was a mistake, but all that is put to the side now and we are trying to forget about it because Brandon is normal."

Tuesday, February 26, 2008

Abortionist Jailed - Again


Convicted sexual predator Laurence Reich arrested in LA for committing abortions after being stripped of his medical license

LOS ANGELES, Feb. 26 /Christian Newswire/ -- Abortionist Laurence Reich was arrested and jailed last week in Los Angeles for practicing medicine without a license after a special LAPD Task Force discovered he had been doing abortions illegally. Reich, who faces three felony counts, posted a $60,000 bond and was released.

A protective order has been placed on the case, but it is known that the arrest is a result of an Health Authority Task Force (HALT) investigation that culminated in the raiding of several Clinical Medical Para La Mujer De Hoy abortion mills on August 1, 2007, and the arrest of owner Bertha Bugarin and her sister, Rachel for doing abortions without medical licenses.

Reich, an Osteopath, was forced to surrender his medical license on April 14, 2006, after a conviction on two counts of sexually molesting his abortion patients. Reich had previously served 10 years probation on a similar conviction in 1984. Operation Rescue exposed information it obtained that indicated that Reich engaged in gross sexual "misconduct" with his patients, which included fondling them before, during, and after abortions for his own gratification.

"Laurence Reich is a rapist who uses abortion to gain access to his victims. It doesn't get any worse than that. Operation Rescue has for years called on authorities to put him in jail because of his pattern of perverted behavior," said Operation Rescue President Troy Newman. "The law has no meaning for these people. Only substantial jail time will adequately protect the public from falling prey them."

"We encourage pro-lifers across the country who minister outside abortion mills to monitor their communities' abortionists. As more and more abortionists are banned from the practice of medicine, the chances increase that they will simply set up shop elsewhere," said Newman.

"Abortion is a seedy business that attracts the bottom of the barrel. You can bet Reich and Bugarin are not the only ones out there victimizing women and flouting the law. Pro-lifers need to be on guard and report suspicious activity to the appropriate authorities, for the protection of women and their innocent babies."

Related Story

About Operation Rescue
Operation Rescue is one of the leading pro-life Christian activist organizations in the nation. Operation Rescue recently made headlines when it bought and closed an abortion clinic in Wichita, Kansas and has become the voice of the pro-life activist movement in America. Its activities are on the cutting edge of the abortion issue, taking direct action to restore legal personhood to the pre-born and stop abortion in obedience to biblical mandates.

FROM FIDESNEWS:

EUROPE/ITALY - There's a war on Christianity. Have we realized yet?

Rome (Agenzia Fides) - Following the consumption of 200 milligrams of mifepistrone (RU486, which kills the embryo in the womb), and two days later, of 800 milligrams of misoprostol, the pharmaceutical drug that induces contractions and causes an explosion of the embryo, an American girl feels a little sick. She suffers tremors, abdominal pains, nausea, vomiting, and fainting spells. She thinks that it must be simply side-effects, but the situation worsens. She stops in a local clinic, where she is prescribed additional pharmaceutical drugs. She returns home. A day later, her situation continues to worsen and she is taken to the emergency room. Heartbeat and blood pressure begin to rise. More antibiotics and an exploratory surgical intervention. What are found are two and a half liters of dark peritoneal liquid and no sign of extrauterinal pregnancy. She is taken to the Intensive Care Unit. Sixteen hours later, the girl dies. The autopsy confirmed the presence of Clostridium Sordellii in the lining of the uterus, a death-causing bacteria. This is one of sixteen registered cases in the world of deaths caused by RU486 consumption. News of this death was published in the November 2007 issue of Obstetrics & Gynecology, from the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.
However, 16 verified deaths is not enough (especially when there are powerful economic interests lobbying for the distribution of this drug), to stop RU486 from becoming the most convenient means of birth control, together with the harmful practice of sterilization of women (an estimated 160 million women in the world are sterilized).

With this in mind, we read the position taken by the Italian Order of Doctors this past February 23, asking that the practice of chemical abortion through the use of RU486 be "for once and for all" accepted and that the "clandestine restrictions" be lifted, for the use of the morning-after pill, defined as an emergency contraceptive, available in supermarkets in America and sold in France, Spain, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, South Africa, Albania, Algeria, Belgium, Canada (Quebec), Chile, Denmark, Finland, Greece, Israel, Mexico, the Netherlands, Norway, and Portugal without medical prescription and which is promoted by many Latin American governments as a method of contraception.

The Order of Italian Doctors fails to mention the second opinion given by the National Bioethics Committee on the right for a doctor to choose not to prescribe the morning-after pill, on the premise of objection of conscience (in Italy, the medical prescriptions are obligatory). Their opinion is supported by Law 194, on the interruption of pregnancy, defining it as "the best law possible, even from a moral standpoint." The Committee also expresses itself to be in favor of the pre-implantation process that according to the President of the Consultant Committee of Bioethics in France, is becoming a eugenic practice, an instrument for eliminating sick or deformed children.

If one takes a glance at the Deontological Code produced by Italian doctors, in Article 3, it says, "The doctor's duty is to protect life...". As is well-known, it can happen that the rules are made to be broken, as it can also occur, as is the case in Italy, that respectable and ambitious doctors profess their partiality for euthanasia or devotedly prophesy the arrival of a bisexual humanity in the future, or that international organizations pervert documents, as they have been for years, on the natural order of the world - no longer speaking of man and woman, but rather "genus," thus annihilating the identity.

None of this occurs as a coincidence. There is a quote from the most recent encyclical from Benedict XVI, taken from Emmanuel Kant: "If Christianity should one day cease to be worthy of love ... then the prevailing mode in human thought would be rejection and opposition to it; and the Antichrist ... would begin his—albeit short—regime (presumably based on fear and self-interest); but then, because Christianity, though destined to be the world religion, would not in fact be favored by destiny to become so, then, in a moral respect, this could lead to the (perverted) end of all things."

The abandonment of Christianity and the war on its principles, the first of all being the right to life and the dignity of the human person, could lead to (according to Kant and taken up by Benedict XVI) an unnatural "perverse" end to mankind, a sort of auto-destruction in both a material and moral sense. The relativism in which our society is immersed has that hideous strength that contaminates the public and private life.

(DQ) (Agenzia Fides 25/2/2008 righe 61, parole 752)

LifeSiteNews.com - NewsBytes


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.

George Soros is a big fan of euthanasia and assisted suicide and wants to see it legalized everywhere (Feb. 25)
http://www.wesleyjsmith.com/blog/2008/02/telling-george-soros-moment.html

Organizers of the Fifth Annual Los Angeles March for Life hope to draw 20,000 to the event (Feb. 25)
http://calcatholic.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?id=c5dbd929-3ee9-4ead-a25f-6059300b1bc3

Why Pro-Life Presidents Matter (Feb. 25)
http://www.evangelicaloutpost.com/archives/004245.html

Kansas abortion clinic will turn over some patient records (Feb. 25)
http://www.onenewsnow.com/Culture/Default.aspx?id=68227

Doctors Advised Abortion; Baby Born Healthy - 'How many other babies are killed who would have turned out to be completely healthy?' (Feb. 25)
http://www.citizenlink.org/CLtopstories/A000006639.cfm

Planned Parenthood's Emergency Contraception giveaway targets college students headed for Spring Break (Feb. 25)
http://www.citizenlink.org/fnif/A000006618.cfm

Nation of Islam Minister Louis Farrakhan said Sunday that presidential candidate Barack Obama is the ''hope of the entire world'' (Feb. 25)
http://www.suntimes.com/news/politics/obama/811444,CST-NWS-farr25.article

Pope Benedict provides "new public grammar" for reform of Islam, says George Weigel (Feb. 25)
http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/new.php?n=11879

Could Obama-mania Backlash Save Hillary? (Feb. 25)
http://www.eppc.org/publications/pubID.3283/pub_detail.asp

Twenty-eight House Republicans say they will either leave office or not seek re-election. But maybe the tide is turning. (Feb. 25)
http://www.citizenlink.org/fnif/A000006626.cfm

God creeps into France - President Nicolas Sarkozy has got religion - including "morality." (Feb. 25)
http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/news/story.html?id=830ad2d9-3d50-4758-8662-a9b7cf3559f9

Forget global warming: Welcome to the new Ice Age - Snow cover over North America and much of Siberia, Mongolia and China is greater than at any time since 1966. (Feb. 25)
http://www.nationalpost.com/opinion/columnists/story.html?id=d7c7fcce-d248-4e97-ab72-1adbdbb1d0d0&k=4336

If the omnibus crime Bill C-2 is not passed by March 1, Prime Minister Stephen Harper could head over to the Governor General's to dissolve Parliament and call election (Feb. 25)
http://www.thehilltimes.ca/html/index.php?display=story&full_path=2008/february/25/legislation/&c=2

Why change is so desperately needed in Canada - Christiancrat vs. independent Christian journalists! (Feb. 25)
http://steynian.wordpress.com/2008/02/24/christiancrat-vs-independent-christian-journalists/

CBC Liars (Feb. 25)
http://www.socon.ca/or_bust/?p=697

Many young people in evangelical churches are experimenting with Wiccan religion (Feb. 25)
http://www.onenewsnow.com/Church/Default.aspx?id=68203

Oscar awards portrayed an America without hope, Vatican newspaper says (Feb. 25)
http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/new.php?n=11887

Double Standard Re: Abuse in the Catholic Church (Feb. 25)
http://www.catholicleague.org/release.php?id=1389

Boy Scouts must endure, says TX governor (Feb. 25)
http://www.onenewsnow.com/Culture/Default.aspx?id=68191

Secret plan to avoid Anglican church gay split (Feb. 25)
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2008/02/23/nchurch1

California Republican Party Endorses 'Save Our Kids' and Protect Marriage Initiatives (Feb. 25)
http://christiannewswire.com/news/683605794.html

Canadian Teen girls see sex assaults as 'normal,' educator says (Feb. 25)
http://network.nationalpost.com/np/blogs/toronto/archive/2008/02/21/teen-girls-see-sex-assaults-as-normal-educator-says.aspx

The Coming Nightmare of a "Transsexual Rights and Hate Crimes" Law in Massachusetts (Feb. 25)
http://www.massresistance.org/docs/govt08/tran_law_study/part1.html

Ultra-left state rep and House Ed Committee chair conspiring to do end-run on stalled pro-homosexual and pro sex-ed Planned Parenthood bill to sneak it in as a Massachusetts state 2009 budget item amendment! (Feb. 25)
http://www.massresistance.org/docs/gen/08a/pp_bill_022508.html

The New Marriage-Wrecker - Internet Pornography Burrows Deeper Into Culture (Feb. 25)
http://www.zenit.org/article-21874?l=english


(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/


VOTER'S GUIDE

Candidates we cannot "take seriously"

San Diego diocese's voter's guide gives little leeway in voting for candidates who support "intrinsic evils"


The Office for Social Ministry of the diocese of San Diego came out with a voter's guide this month. The guide, "As a Catholic … How Do I Decide?" says it "does not tell an individual how to vote," but helps "users form their consciences so that they can make sound moral choices."

The guide has several sections, each dealing with a different area of political and social concern: "Protecting Human Life," "Marriage and Family," "Protecting Immigrants and Refugees," "Protecting Workers and Working Poor Families," "Promoting Health Care," "Safe and Affordable Housing," "Protecting Families from the Harm of Pornography," and "Promoting Global Solidarity."

Read this article here: California Catholic Daily 



FROM CALIFORNIA CATHOLIC DAILY:

Case dropped

Pro-life activist did not trespass on church property, says district attorney


The San Mateo County district attorney's office on Feb. 11 dropped all charges against a pro-life activist, arrested for trespassing on the property of St. Matthew's parish in San Mateo.
 
Read this story here: CCD 

Monday, February 25, 2008

Pope reaffirms Church’s stance against euthanasia




.- Pope Benedict received participants in an international congress entitled: "Close by the Incurable Sick Person and the Dying: Scientific and Ethical Aspects" today and reiterated that the Church is against all forms of euthanasia.

Read this article here: Catholic News Agency

Dr. Alveda King: 'Planned Parenthood, Stop Using and Lying to My Family'


ATLANTA, Feb. 25 /Christian Newswire/ -- Dr. Alveda King, Pastoral Associate of Priests for Life and niece of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., today decried Planned Parenthood's use of her uncle's image and words on its website.

"Planned Parenthood is no stranger to deception. I know firsthand because prior to my abortion, a Planned Parenthood doctor told me that my baby was just a 'blob of tissue,'" said Dr. King. "Now, Planned Parenthood lies by trying to imply that my uncle, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., would somehow endorse the organization today. He most certainly would not."

"Uncle Martin accepted an award from Planned Parenthood in 1966 when abortion was illegal in every state and before Planned Parenthood started publicly advocating for it," continued Dr. King. "In Planned Parenthood's own citation for Uncle Martin's prize, not only is no mention of abortion made, it states that 'human life and progress are indeed indivisible.' In 1966, neither the general public nor my uncle was aware of the true agenda of Planned Parenthood, an agenda of death that has become painfully obvious as the years have unfolded."

"Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., said, 'The Negro cannot win if he is willing to sacrifice the future of his children for personal comfort and safety,' and, 'Injustice anywhere is a threat to injustice everywhere,'" added Dr. King. "There is no way he would want his name or image associated today with Planned Parenthood, the group most responsible for denying civil rights to the over 45 million American babies killed by abortion, one-third of them African-American. There is no way my uncle would condone the violence of abortion, violence that Planned Parenthood has always tried to mask, which brings painful deaths to babies and can result in torn wombs, serious infections, and emotional devastation for their mothers. Let me be clear, Planned Parenthood must stop using and lying to my family and the entire community of humanity."

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.

Study finds Catholics who attend Mass less likely to divorce

"A mixed picture"



A poll
commissioned by the USCCB Subcommittee on Marriage and the Family Life and conducted by the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate has found that Catholics who attend Mass frequently are less likely to get divorced and are more likely to have large families, reports Lifesite News.

Archbishop Joseph Kurtz, chairman of the subcommittee, summarized the poll's findings: "Not surprisingly, the study paints a mixed picture. It gives us reasons to be grateful and hopeful. It also raises concerns and presents us with challenges."
Read this article here: California Catholic Daily

Sunday, February 24, 2008

Pro-life activists arrested at Cypress College for the third time

Only one objective -- to silence pro-life speech



CYPRESS, Calif., Feb. 22 /Christian Newswire/ -- On February 21, 2008, Cypress College in California once again unlawfully arrested pro-life activists for being outside the school's "free speech zone."

From the time of their arrival on campus, members of the pro-life group Survivors of the Abortion Holocaust quietly held signs, distributed literature and dialogued with students about abortion, but because they refused to be confined to an area, they were arrested for failing to leave private property not open to the general public (trespassing).

"How educated police officers and college administration can claim that a public school is private property is beyond me. Then they make a mockery of free speech by providing inadequate 'zones' in which they allow First Amendment rights to occur." says Kortney Blythe, Director of Campus Life Tours (CLT) for Survivors.

Read the rest here: California Catholic Daily