Your National Daily News Wrap from American Life League! American Life League is the largest grassroots pro-life organization in the United States, and is committed to the protection of all innocent human beings from the moment of creation to natural death. For more information or press inquiries, please contact Michael Hichborn at mhichborn@all.org.
HEADLINES
Pope: Take Gospel of mercy to those who've divorced, had abortions
Catholic News Service
Pope Benedict XVI said the church must bring the "Gospel of mercy" to those involved in abortion and divorce, showing sensitivity to the inner burdens they bear. He said abortion in particular produces "devastating consequences" for the woman involved, for the family and for society, helping promote a materialistic mentality that shows contempt for life.
Johns Hopkins Dean Restores Term 'Abortion' to Database
NY Times
Johns Hopkins University said Friday that it had programmed its computers to ignore the word "abortion" in searches of a large, publicly financed database of information on reproductive health after federal officials raised questions about two articles in the database. The dean of the Public Health School lifted the restrictions after learning of them.
ACOG may redo abortion conscience policy
American Medical News
Under fire from pro-life physicians and Health and Human Services Secretary Michael Leavitt, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists announced in March that it will re-examine a controversial November 2007 opinion outlining the limits of conscientious refusal. The ACOG ethics committee opinion said physicians who have religious or moral objections to "standard practices," such as abortion, sterilization or the prescribing of contraceptives, are not ethically obligated to provide those services but do owe patients a timely referral to another doctor willing to deliver them.
FEATURE STORY
HAVE WE BECOME WHAT WE HATE?
By Judie Brown
I have just been in Colorado speaking for the Colorado for Equal Rights campaign for personhood. The wonderfully committed people involved with this effort need to collect at least 76,000 signatures by the first week of May. But in order to be certain that enough legitimate signatures are OKed by the state, their goal is 110,000. Though they have a way to go, their enthusiasm is high, their attitude is positive and the funds are slowly rolling in. It was a privilege to be with them and to help them and those who attended the events see the value of a drive toward personhood.
Among the leadership in the pro-life movement, Father Tom Euteneuer of Human Life International and I have endorsed the campaign, and we have been proud to do so.
Now compare this with the effort in South Dakota, Vote Yes for Life. This effort is focused on placing a ballot initiative before the people of South Dakota this November. The proposed law contains language that will permit abortion in cases of life of the mother, health of the mother, rape and incest. You can read the language of this initiative at http://www.voteyesforlife.com/docs/Petition.pdf.
We are told by proponents of the measure that the requirements attached to these exceptions are so stringent that the abuse of the permission to abort will be practically non existent—of course that will be for a court to decide.
Those pro-life leaders who have endorsed this measure include John Willke, M.D. of Life Issues Institute, Father Frank Pavone of Priests for Life, David Bereit of 40 Days for Life and many others whose names and partial statements are also on the web site. One of the endorsers, Father Frank Pavone, wrote a statement in which he said:
The citizens of South Dakota have an amazingly simple and direct way to take the next good step in that direction. Right now, no unborn children in America are protected from abortion. To have most of them protected is a goal we are both permitted and required to work for. I urge churches in particular to put the full weight of their influence behind the VoteYesForLife.com campaign.
Please note that Father Frank does make the point that not all preborn babies will be protected, but most of them will be—at least that is the argument.
On the other hand, the Colorado proposal, which would indeed save all preborn children from the moment of creation and contains not a single exception has not been endorsed by any of these people. So I find myself asking, "What is wrong with this picture?"
Do we want to support initiatives at the state level that will provide a direct challenge to the Supreme Court and lower courts on the question of personhood, or do we want to represent these babies by working very hard to protect "most" of them and leave so many behind?
Recall what Justice Harry Blackmun told us in Roe v. Wade:
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.
Further, Blackmun pointed out the contradiction in the Texas law that provided the Supreme Court with the opportunity to create Roe v. Wade, thus striking down all state laws that dealt with abortion. "If the fetus is a person who is not to be deprived of life without due process of law," he asked rhetorically, "and if the mother's condition is the sole determinant, does not the Texas exception appear to be out of line with the Amendment's command?"
In other words, if you mean to end abortion, you cannot provide an exception that enables an abortion to be performed.
Again looking at the South Dakota initiative, I am left asking you, "What's wrong with this picture?"
Judie Brown
____________________________
Michael Hichborn
Director of Media Relations
American Life League
1179 Courthouse Road
Stafford, Virginia 22554
540.659.4171 (w)
540.226.9178 (c)
mhichborn@all.org
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