by Hilary White ROME, (LifeSiteNews.com) – The Catholic bishops of Latin America must protect families and children from “education programs which trivialize sexuality” and “false ideologies” Pope Benedict XVI said in an address this week. Pope Benedict XVI The Latin American bishops’ conferences must focus on “promoting a culture of life and working to ensure the rights of families are recognized and respected,” the pope said. The wellbeing of families in the region, he added, is also under threat from “rapid cultural changes and social instability,” poverty and migration of people. Pope Benedict was addressing an assembly of bishops who serve as the heads of local Catholic organizations across Latin America that are dedicated to promoting family life. The prelates are meeting this week in Bogota, Colombia, with Cardinal Ennio Antonelli, the head of the Pontifical Council for the Family. Christine Vollmer, head of Venezuela’s Alliance for the Family, told LifeSiteNews.com that she is pleased with the pope’s forthright statement of support for the struggles of families in Latin America. “It is wonderful that the Holy Father understands our needs here in Latin America, and that the bishops are really studying the problems and putting them as a first priority,” said Vollmer, who is also a founding member of the Pontifical Academy for Life. “The Pope is completely right,” she said. It is “cultural poverty” that is “the worst thing and the one undermining not only marriage but their faith as well.” “The cultural and educational poverty” that is rife in Latin America, “has left millions completely imprisoned in a life style which is barely human. It is much more grave than monetary poverty.” In his letter, Benedict also said: “No effort is in vain if it helps to ensure that each family, founded on the indissoluble bond between a man and a woman, carries out its mission as a living cell of society, seedbed of virtues, school of constructive and peaceful coexistence, instrument of harmony and a privileged area in which, with joy and responsibility, human life is welcomed and protected, from beginning to natural end.” The pope said that he particularly wanted to encourage parents in their “right – and their fundamental duty – to educate the new generations in faith and in the values that dignify human existence.” Vollmer agreed with Pope Benedict, saying, “The example and a culture of virtue is no longer there for young people. All the ‘models’ are dreadful, coming out of TV, MTV, video games and Hollywood.” Vollmer is the co-author of a catechetical and relationship education program for young people that uses the teaching of the Catholic Church as its foundation and which is being used in schools across Venezuela. The curriculum, called Alive to the World (Aprendiendo a Querer), covers children from age 6 to age 18 and focuses on the life of virtue. It is being promoted by the Catholic Church as a morally healthy alternative to standard secularist “sex-education” programs, but is even becoming popular in non-Catholic, state-run schools where improvements in behavior have been noted following its implementation. The Catholic bishops of the Latin American region have a strong track record of defending life and family from attacks that have for years come from United Nations-based pro-abortion and anti-family organizations. The pope encouraged the bishops to “find ways to collaborate with all men and women of good will in order to continue to protect human life, marriage and the family throughout the region.” Hat-tip to http://www.courageouspriest.com/Pope Benedict – Protect Human Life, Marriage and the Family
Pope Warns and Catechizes Latin Bishops
Thursday, March 31, 2011
Pope Benedict – Protect Human Life, Marriage and the Family
ALL Pro-Life Today: Defund Planned Parenthood to Stop its Far-Reaching Tentacles
|
Bishop Sheridan calls on Congress to defund abortion providers :: Catholic News Agency (CNA
Congress should pass the Pence Amendment to defund organizations which offer abortion services, Bishop Michael J. Sheridan of Colorado Springs will say today.
The amendment would “undoubtedly ‘protect life’ by putting an end to the millions of taxpayer dollars being given to organizations whose mission it is to offer family planning by means of ending the lives of the unborn,” he wrote in his March 31 column for the Colorado Catholic Herald, provided ahead of publication to CNA.
“The challenge before Congress in the coming week and ahead is to work together to achieve consistency with U.S. policies when it comes to the sanctity of life.”
Continue reading here: http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/bishop-sheridan-calls-on-congress-to-d...
Operation Rescue: Abortionist’s Conflicting Statements Deepen Kansas Abortion Death Mystery
By Cheryl Sullenger, Senior Policy Advisor, Operation Rescue
Topeka, KS – Earlier this month the pro-life community was stunned when Kansas abortionist Herbert Hodes appeared before a state legislative committee and testified that he was aware of “five deaths in the last five years” due to abortion complications. After an investigation by Operation Rescue, the truth about the number of maternal deaths related to abortion in Kansas remains a mystery.
We immediately filed a number of open records requests with state agencies to see if we could determine the truth about how many women are dying from shoddy abortions in Kansas. The results did little to provide real answers.
According to the Wichita Eagle, Hodes testified on March 9, 2011, before the House Committee on Federal and State Affairs. The Eagle reports, “[Hodes] estimated that Kansas has seen ‘five deaths in the last five years’ because of abortion procedures.”
However, Operation Rescue obtained a letter written by Hodes through the Kansas Open Records Act that only deepened the mystery.
Hodes wrote the letter to the House Committee of Federal and State Affairs dated March 15, 2011, “clarifying” his statements and backtracking dramatically from his original statement.
“I am writing to follow-up on one question that was asked during my testimony,” Hodes wrote. “I was asked how many deaths had occurred as a result of abortion in Kansas, and I did not know the answer to that question. I did offer an estimation, that perhaps five such deaths had occurred over the many years abortion has been provided in the State.”
This is a clear misstatement of his earlier testimony. He clearly indicated to the Committee that the estimated five deaths took place “over the last five years,” not “over the many years abortion has been provided in the State.”
This is an important point to consider. If Hodes was willing to misrepresent his testimony, then what else is he misrepresenting?
Hodes went on to say in his letter to the Committee, “I have researched this question and I now feel that in more than thirty years that abortion has been legal in Kansas, only two deaths have occurred. I wanted to make sure that I was clear about that issue.”
Clear? He is anything but.
In an unguarded moment, maybe we heard something that Hodes later regretted revealing. That would be little wonder, because if what he told the Legislature is the truth of the matter, crimes have likely been committed.
According to the Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE), which did comply with one of two open records requests from Operation Rescue, only one maternal death related to abortion has been reported since 2000.
The KDHE was referring to the death of Christin A. Gilbert, a Down syndrome teen who suffered fatal complications to a third-trimester abortion in Wichita on January 13, 2005. This writer filed a complaint with the Kansas State Board of Healing Arts (KSBHA) concerning Gilbert’s death and, after political interference with the investigation, received word that the case was closed without discipline in a letter from the KSBHA dated November 23, 2005.
Given the political climate at that time in Kansas, there is no doubt that the Gilbert death would have been swept under the rug if Operation Rescue and others had not drawn so much attention to it. Her death became the subject of major concern for the Legislature, the Governor, and the Board of Healing Arts that year. With every governmental agency under the control of pro-abortion former Gov. Kathleen Sebelius covering up abortion wrong-doing, we are left to wonder what may have been concealed from the light of public scrutiny.
It may be that Hodes has let slip the answer. If he is in fact now misrepresenting the truth, that would mean that abortion-related maternal deaths were never reported, and that is a violation of the law.
The KSBHA explanation of the open records documents provided to Operation Rescue is also troubling. Executive Director Kathleen Lippert wrote that, “unlike the KDHE, our agency does not regularly receive reporting information on abortion related maternal deaths outside of our complaint process or unless reported pursuant to certain agency regulations.” Lippert continues, “Therefore we do not possess records which definitively provide the number of abortion–related maternal deaths in Kansas since 2005, or the related information requested.” (Emphasis in the original.)
It is a little hard for a woman to file a complaint if she is dead. Maybe that is why the KSBHA cannot “definitively” provide a number.
The KDHE receives reports from abortionists, but does not check them for accuracy.
It is not unusual for abortionists to try to classify an abortion death as something else, such as respiratory or heart failure. Operation Rescue has documented this behavior in abortionists repeatedly over the years in other states. This kind of deception gives the public the false notion that abortion is perfectly safe and helps the abortionist to avoid culpability for his or her actions.
That culpability has resulted in the loss of medical licenses and even jail time for some abortionists who have been caught killing women during botched abortion procedures. Because of this, abortionists are highly motivated not to tell the truth about abortion complications, especially if the patient dies.
However most state agencies simply take the abortionist at his word, and that only places the lives of women at risk.
The reality is that unless abortionists self-report abortion-related deaths, they simply slip past the system. No one in Kansas actually audits abortion clinics to insure compliance with the law, especially reporting requirements.
The truth about how many women are actually dying from so-called “safe, legal” abortions may never be known. As long as regulatory agencies place abortionists on the “honor system” and do not audit them to ensure compliance, it is more than likely that the mystery of the actual number of abortion’s maternal causalities will never be solved, and that only serves to create an dangerous environment where the lives of women are placed at risk.
Postscript: Operation Rescue has asked the Kansas Attorney General’s Office to investigate the possibility of unreported abortion-related maternal deaths and filed a formal complaint against Hodes with the KSBHA. We await word as to whether any investigation has been launched.
DAY 23: First-timers make a difference
Dear Deacon, Have I mentioned lately that this is the largest 40 Days
for Life campaign ever? With 247 locations participating the stories are coming
in from around the world -- literally! Today, let's take a look at some of the communities
taking part in 40 Days for Life for the first time. It
takes a lot of faith to bring this effort to a community
and lead it, especially for the first time. And yet the
blessings continue to pour in. Take a look for yourself!
-------------------------------------------------------
COBLESKILL, NEW YORK
------------------------------------------------------- A group of teens has become a regular sight on Thursday
nights in Cobleskill, which is hosting its first 40 Days
for Life campaign. The vigil location is near the
busiest corner in town, with a popular restaurant and
movie theater nearby. "It is inspiring not only watching the teens pray for
the unborn in below freezing temperatures in Upstate
New York," said Pat in Cobleskill, "but to be able to
watch the impact they have on all those who drive and
walk past." To see the youth group at the 40 Days for Life vigil
in Cobleskill, please go to: http://40daysforlife.com/blog/?p=1857 
-------------------------------------------------------
WINDSOR, ONTARIO
------------------------------------------------------- Windsor is hosting its first 40 Days for Life campaign --
and has already reported that at least one baby has been
spared from abortion! From Windsor also comes one of the best letters to the
editor we’ve ever seen in support of 40 Days for Life.
It was written by Jim Armaly and published in the
Windsor Star. Jim called his first experience with 40 Days for Life
"an eye-opener because I had not realized the venom and
rudeness of the pro-abortion faction." While he was praying, he noted obscenities, rude gestures,
drivers who passed very close to the curb. "From all of this, therefore, I can only conclude that
they are not really pro-choice at all," he wrote. "How
can they be if they don't respect our choice to silently
pray and ask others to pray?" A young woman accused him -- respectfully, he noted --
of trying to force people to not abort. "Doesn't 'force' imply to most of us something physical?"
he asked. "But the signs simply ask people to pray. Isn't
this definitely a non-violent request?" For those of us who do pray, he said, "we know that
prayer is a force to be reckoned with but in an
entirely different sense. Makes me wonder if they
somehow know that." Will he go out again? "I plan to. There just may be
more unexpected experiences for me." For a link the entire letter, please go to: http://40daysforlife.com/blog/?p=1857
-------------------------------------------------------
PERTH, AUSTRALIA
------------------------------------------------------- There are six campaigns in progress in Australia right
now, covering the nation from coast to coast. Brad Taylor, the local coordinator of the initial
campaign in Perth, has posted a video inviting folks
in Western Australia to get involved in 40 Days for Life. Some of the statistics he mentions are specific to his
city, state and nation, but the message applies
everywhere that abortion on demand is legally permitted. Watch the video! You’ll be inspired to keep going for the
rest of these 40 days -- and beyond -- by Brad’s
optimistic call to action: "Let's make abortion history!" To see the video from Perth, please go to: http://40daysforlife.com/blog/?p=1857
for Life campaign ever? With 247 locations participating the stories are coming
in from around the world -- literally! Today, let's take a look at some of the communities
taking part in 40 Days for Life for the first time. It
takes a lot of faith to bring this effort to a community
and lead it, especially for the first time. And yet the
blessings continue to pour in. Take a look for yourself!
-------------------------------------------------------
COBLESKILL, NEW YORK
------------------------------------------------------- A group of teens has become a regular sight on Thursday
nights in Cobleskill, which is hosting its first 40 Days
for Life campaign. The vigil location is near the
busiest corner in town, with a popular restaurant and
movie theater nearby. "It is inspiring not only watching the teens pray for
the unborn in below freezing temperatures in Upstate
New York," said Pat in Cobleskill, "but to be able to
watch the impact they have on all those who drive and
walk past." To see the youth group at the 40 Days for Life vigil
in Cobleskill, please go to: http://40daysforlife.com/blog/?p=1857
-------------------------------------------------------
WINDSOR, ONTARIO
------------------------------------------------------- Windsor is hosting its first 40 Days for Life campaign --
and has already reported that at least one baby has been
spared from abortion! From Windsor also comes one of the best letters to the
editor we’ve ever seen in support of 40 Days for Life.
It was written by Jim Armaly and published in the
Windsor Star. Jim called his first experience with 40 Days for Life
"an eye-opener because I had not realized the venom and
rudeness of the pro-abortion faction." While he was praying, he noted obscenities, rude gestures,
drivers who passed very close to the curb. "From all of this, therefore, I can only conclude that
they are not really pro-choice at all," he wrote. "How
can they be if they don't respect our choice to silently
pray and ask others to pray?" A young woman accused him -- respectfully, he noted --
of trying to force people to not abort. "Doesn't 'force' imply to most of us something physical?"
he asked. "But the signs simply ask people to pray. Isn't
this definitely a non-violent request?" For those of us who do pray, he said, "we know that
prayer is a force to be reckoned with but in an
entirely different sense. Makes me wonder if they
somehow know that." Will he go out again? "I plan to. There just may be
more unexpected experiences for me." For a link the entire letter, please go to: http://40daysforlife.com/blog/?p=1857
-------------------------------------------------------
PERTH, AUSTRALIA
------------------------------------------------------- There are six campaigns in progress in Australia right
now, covering the nation from coast to coast. Brad Taylor, the local coordinator of the initial
campaign in Perth, has posted a video inviting folks
in Western Australia to get involved in 40 Days for Life. Some of the statistics he mentions are specific to his
city, state and nation, but the message applies
everywhere that abortion on demand is legally permitted. Watch the video! You’ll be inspired to keep going for the
rest of these 40 days -- and beyond -- by Brad’s
optimistic call to action: "Let's make abortion history!" To see the video from Perth, please go to: http://40daysforlife.com/blog/?p=1857
If you haven’t been to pray at a 40 Days for Life vigil
yet, we still have 17 more days! To find the location
nearest you, please go to: http://40daysforlife.com/location.cfm
Today's devotional is from Rev. J. Kirk van der Swaagh
of the Conservative Congregational Christian Conference.
------------------------------------------------------
DAY 23 INTENTION
------------------------------------------------------ For the medical community, that the truth they know
about the human body may become awe and wonder at the
God who made it.
------------------------------------------------------
SCRIPTURE
------------------------------------------------------ Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed. And in
Your book they all were written, the days fashioned
for me, when as yet there were none of them. --Psalm 139:16
------------------------------------------------------
REFLECTION by Rev. J. Kirk van der Swaagh
------------------------------------------------------ Human beings -- God's tapestries. Psalm 139 is a psalm that reveals the enormity and
otherness of God. His divine attributes are on
display: omniscience (2-4), omnipresence (7-12),
loving-kindness (17-18), justice (19-20),
righteousness (23-24), and omnipotence. Yet, when it came to express this last attribute, what
example did the psalmist use -- God's creation of
mountains, seas, or far-flung galaxies? No, he used
none of these. To express the wonder of God's unparalleled creative
power the writer mentions the fashioning of the human
in the womb (14-16). The Hebrew word used to express God's forming of us in
the womb, raqam, is the same term for needlework or
embroidery. In other words, we are a tapestry that displays God's
artistic mastery. And, like the artist who knows his creation down to
the last detail, God intimately knows us. This reality
provokes the writer to awe and wonder. He proclaims,
"I am fearfully and wonderfully made." What is true for this psalmist is true for each human
being. Each is fashioned by God and known by him and we can
proclaim on behalf of each, "I am fearfully and
wonderfully made."
------------------------------------------------------
PRAYER
------------------------------------------------------ Gracious God, help us to appreciate the wonder and
beauty of Your creation. Help us proclaim on behalf of every one of our fellow
human beings, "I am fearfully and wonderfully made." May the knowledge that we are intimately known by You
shape our lives and actions. Amen.
------------------------------------------------------
PRINTABLE DEVOTIONAL
------------------------------------------------------ To download today's devotional as a formatted,
printable PDF to share with friends: http://40daysforlife.com/docs/spring2011day23print.pdf
------------------------------------------------------ Yours for Life, Shawn Carney
Campaign Director
40 Days for Life PS: Today is Terri's Day -- the 6th anniversary of
the death of Terri Schiavo, who died after nutrition
and hydration were cut off, against the wishes of her
family. It's a day to recall her story, and to pray
that all would recognize the value and dignity of all
human life. Today's devotional certainly fits; we are
all "fearfully and wonderfully made" -- from the
child in the womb to those nearing the end of this
life -- and anyone society deems inconvenient.
There's more information about Terri's Day at: http://www.terrisfight.org/terri-s-day-201
PPS: If you have stories of how praying during this
40 Days for Life campaign has impacted your life, I'd
love to hear your comments. Post them as a reply at
the bottom of today's blog entry at: http://40daysforlife.com/blog/?p=1857
40 Days for Life 10908 Courthouse Road
Suite 102229
Fredericksburg, VA
22408
US
yet, we still have 17 more days! To find the location
nearest you, please go to: http://40daysforlife.com/location.cfm
Today's devotional is from Rev. J. Kirk van der Swaagh
of the Conservative Congregational Christian Conference.
------------------------------------------------------
DAY 23 INTENTION
------------------------------------------------------ For the medical community, that the truth they know
about the human body may become awe and wonder at the
God who made it.
------------------------------------------------------
SCRIPTURE
------------------------------------------------------ Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed. And in
Your book they all were written, the days fashioned
for me, when as yet there were none of them. --Psalm 139:16
------------------------------------------------------
REFLECTION by Rev. J. Kirk van der Swaagh
------------------------------------------------------ Human beings -- God's tapestries. Psalm 139 is a psalm that reveals the enormity and
otherness of God. His divine attributes are on
display: omniscience (2-4), omnipresence (7-12),
loving-kindness (17-18), justice (19-20),
righteousness (23-24), and omnipotence. Yet, when it came to express this last attribute, what
example did the psalmist use -- God's creation of
mountains, seas, or far-flung galaxies? No, he used
none of these. To express the wonder of God's unparalleled creative
power the writer mentions the fashioning of the human
in the womb (14-16). The Hebrew word used to express God's forming of us in
the womb, raqam, is the same term for needlework or
embroidery. In other words, we are a tapestry that displays God's
artistic mastery. And, like the artist who knows his creation down to
the last detail, God intimately knows us. This reality
provokes the writer to awe and wonder. He proclaims,
"I am fearfully and wonderfully made." What is true for this psalmist is true for each human
being. Each is fashioned by God and known by him and we can
proclaim on behalf of each, "I am fearfully and
wonderfully made."
------------------------------------------------------
PRAYER
------------------------------------------------------ Gracious God, help us to appreciate the wonder and
beauty of Your creation. Help us proclaim on behalf of every one of our fellow
human beings, "I am fearfully and wonderfully made." May the knowledge that we are intimately known by You
shape our lives and actions. Amen.
------------------------------------------------------
PRINTABLE DEVOTIONAL
------------------------------------------------------ To download today's devotional as a formatted,
printable PDF to share with friends: http://40daysforlife.com/docs/spring2011day23print.pdf
------------------------------------------------------ Yours for Life, Shawn Carney
Campaign Director
40 Days for Life PS: Today is Terri's Day -- the 6th anniversary of
the death of Terri Schiavo, who died after nutrition
and hydration were cut off, against the wishes of her
family. It's a day to recall her story, and to pray
that all would recognize the value and dignity of all
human life. Today's devotional certainly fits; we are
all "fearfully and wonderfully made" -- from the
child in the womb to those nearing the end of this
life -- and anyone society deems inconvenient.
There's more information about Terri's Day at: http://www.terrisfight.org/terri-s-day-201
PPS: If you have stories of how praying during this
40 Days for Life campaign has impacted your life, I'd
love to hear your comments. Post them as a reply at
the bottom of today's blog entry at: http://40daysforlife.com/blog/?p=1857
40 Days for Life 10908 Courthouse Road
Suite 102229
Fredericksburg, VA
22408
US
Untitled
Terri Schiavo Dies
6 years ago, court-ordered dehydration death called 'peaceful,' 'barbaric'
 |
It was six years ago today, March 31, 2005, that 41-year-old Terri Schiavo succumbed to 13 days of court-ordered dehydration and starvation under the watchful eyes of a security guard posted nearby. Thousands of protesters were gathered outside her Pinellas Park, Fla., hospice, surveilled by rooftop sharpshooters paid for by the hospice at a cost of $98,162. Schiavo's estranged husband, Michael Schiavo, and his attorney took turns with her parents and siblings and their attorney holding a bedside vigil during what right-to-die advocates called her "death process," which was triggered by the court-ordered removal of her feeding tube and accompanying ban on oral hydration and nutrition on March 18, 2005. Pinellas-Pasco Circuit Court Judge George Greer's latest death order concluded an 11-year tug of war over Schiavo's life waged by divided family members, and came despite the unprecedented intervention of first the Florida Legislature and Gov. Jeb Bush, and then Congress and President George W. Bush. Continue reading...
To learn more about the Terri Schiavo Life & Hope Network, visit our website at http://www.terrisfight.org/
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
LifeNews.com Pro-Life News Report 3/30/11
LifeNews.com Pro-Life News Report
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
| For pro-life news updated throughout the day, visit LifeNews.com. |
Current Headlines
Top Stories
• Boehner: GOP Wants Defunding Planned Parenthood in Budget Bill
• Calls Confirm Planned Parenthood Misleads on Offering Mammograms
• Barack Obama Approval Rating Hits New Low in National Poll
• Baby Joseph Maraachli Heading to Pediatric Hospital Soon
More Pro-Life News
• Watchdog: CNN Should Correct Planned Parenthood-Mammogram Lie
• Father Frank Pavone Remembers Death of Terri Schiavo
• Indiana OKs Opt Out of Obamacare Abortion Funding, Fetal Pain Bill
• California Abortion Biz Closes, Eighth Facility This Month
• South Carolina OKs Obamacare Abortion $ Opt-Out, Born Alive Bill
• Huntsman s Pro-Life Record Attracts Brownback Campaign Manager
• Arizona: Brewer Signs Ban on Sex-Selection, Race-Based Abortions
• Family Planning Funds Should Go to Anti-Malaria Efforts
• Ohio Cmte OKs Heartbeat Bill Banning Abortions, Pro-Lifers Split
---> LifeNews.com relies on your support to make pro-life news free and available to hundreds of thousands of people every week. You can send a donation to us at LifeNews.com, PO Box 270841, Fort Collins, CO 80527. You can send an online gift at http://www.lifenews.com/donate
Boehner: GOP Wants Defunding Planned Parenthood in Budget Bill
House Speaker John Boehner appears to be holding fast and insisting that House Republicans will not back down on keeping a provision to revoke taxpayer funding for the Planned Parenthood abortion business in the budget bill. House Republicans and Senate Democrats are attempting to negotiate a long-term continuing resolution that would fund the federal government and federal programs, such as the Title X family planning program that provides tens of millions in federal funds to Planned Parenthood. The House approved a long-term bill weeks ago with the Pence Amendment to yank funding for the abortion business, but Senate Democrats rejected it.
Since then, both chambers approved a short-term bill that did not contain the amendment and Boehner and other top Republican leaders said they would renew the fight for the Pence Amendment in the long-term bill, which would make the de-funding effort longer-lasting.
Today, according to a Politico report, Boehner has told White House officials that his caucus won t agree to strip out the provisions which are red meat for the party s conservative base while Obama aides are equally adamant about removing the riders.
The news website quoted one Hill staffer who admitted, That s the next big hump. I m not sure we can get over that one in time.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, who has already said hell no in response to questions about whether the de-funding and pro-life riders could be added to the long-term bill, appeared to be open to re-examining that.
There aren t many of them that excite me, he said, but we re willing to look at them. In fact, we ve already started looking at some of the policy riders. Full story at LifeNews.com
Calls Confirm Planned Parenthood Misleads on Offering Mammograms
The pro-life organization responsible for recent videos showing Planned Parenthood offering abortions to alleged sex traffickers who prey on women finds the abortion business is misleading about mammograms.
As LifeNews.com reported in February, Planned Parenthood CEO Cecile Richards joined the talk show of pro-abortion activist Joy Behar and defended Planned Parenthood against legislation in Congress seeking to revoke its federal taxpayer funding.
If this bill ever becomes law, millions of women in this country are going to lose their health care access, not to abortion services, to basic family planning you know, mammograms, she claimed.
Previously, LifeNews.com and pro-life blogger Jill Stanek followed up with phone calls to various Planned Parenthood centers and confirmed they do not do mammograms.
Today, Live Action released videotaped footage of calls to 30 Planned Parenthood centers nationwide in 27 different states where abortion facility staff were asked whether or not mammograms could be performed on site. Every one of the Planned Parenthood centers admitted they could not do mammograms. Every Planned Parenthood, without exception, tells the women calling that they will have to go elsewhere for a mammogram, and many clinics admit that no Planned Parenthood clinics provide this breast cancer screening procedure.
We don t provide those services whatsoever, admits a staffer at Planned Parenthood of Arizona while a staffer at Planned Parenthood s Comprehensive Health Center clinic in Overland Park, Kansas tells a caller, We actually don t have a, um, mammogram machine, at our clinics. Full story at LifeNews.com
Barack Obama Approval Rating Hits New Low in National Poll
A Quinnipiac University poll released Wednesday shows the approval rating for pro-abortion President Barack Obama has reached a new low with Americans saying he doesn t deserve a second term in office.
Half of the registered voters surveyed say Obama should not be back in the White House for another four years while just 41 percent of Americans say he does. That s a lower number than the same Quinnipiac University poll question when it conducted its survey four weeks ago showing a 45-47 percent split against a second term.
In a hypothetical 2012 matchup, President Obama gets 36 percent of the vote to 37 percent for an unnamed Republican challenger
The survey also showed Obama s approval rating has dropped 4 percentage points since early March and is now at a record low of 42 percent in the poll. The disapproval rating for the abortion advocate has risen from 46 to 48 percent in that time. Democrats approve 80-13 percent of the job Obama is doing, but disapproval is 81-9 percent among Republicans and 50-39 percent among independent voters. Men disapprove 52-41 percent while women split 44-44 percent. Full story at LifeNews.com
Baby Joseph Maraachli Heading to Pediatric Hospital Soon
Now that Baby Joseph Maraachli has had the tracheotomy his parents wanted him to have so he could breathe easier as he dies from a rare medical condition that will soon take his life, he will soon be transferred to a new hospital.
Doctors at SSM Cardinal Glennon Children s Medical Center in St. Louis performed the tracheotomy on March 21 and, in a follow-up statement, deemed the procedure medically appropriate after a thorough examination of the 14-month-old boy who a Canadian hospital refused to help.
It is our hope that this procedure will allow Joseph and his family the gift of a few more months together and that Joseph may be more comfortable with a permanent tracheotomy, the hospital said. We ask that you keep Baby Joseph and his family in your prayers.
The hospital also indicated Joseph suffers from Leigh Syndrome, a rare genetic neurometabolic disorder. Leigh s disease, also known as Subacute Necrotizing Encephalomyelopathy (SNEM), is a rare neurometabolic disorder that affects the central nervous system and it is named for Denis Archibald Leigh, a British psychiatrist who first described the condition in 1951. Full story at LifeNews.com
Watchdog: CNN Should Correct Planned Parenthood-Mammogram Lie
A media watchdog group is calling on CNN to correct the record now that a claim made by Planned Parenthood on the cable news network has been proven false. Today, a pro-life group exposed how the abortion business does not do mammograms.
Live Action released videotaped footage of calls to 30 Planned Parenthood centers nationwide in 27 different states where abortion facility staff were asked whether or not mammograms could be performed on site. Every one of the Planned Parenthood centers admitted they could not do mammograms. Every Planned Parenthood, without exception, tells the women calling that they will have to go elsewhere for a mammogram, and many clinics admit that no Planned Parenthood clinics provide this breast cancer screening procedure.
The information comes despite claims from Planned Parenthood CEO Cecile Richards saying otherwise.
In February, Richards defended Planned Parenthood against legislation in Congress seeking to revoke its federal taxpayer funding, saying, If this bill ever becomes law, millions of women in this country are going to lose their health care access, not to abortion services, to basic family planning you know, mammograms.
Media Research Center President Brent Bozell says Richards made comments on a CNN program to that effect and called on the network to correct the record. Full story at LifeNews.com
Father Frank Pavone Remembers Death of Terri Schiavo
Father Frank Pavone, the president of Priests for Life, today remembered Terri Schiavo, the disabled woman whose former husband killed her six years ago after winning a court order to remove her food and water.
Terri s family fought in state and federal courts to prevent Michael Schiavo from taking Terri s life, but they were not successful in acquiring the medical care and rehabilitative treatment they wanted to provide her. Full story at LifeNews.com
Indiana OKs Opt Out of Obamacare Abortion Funding, Fetal Pain Bill
The Indiana state House of Representatives today approved two key pro-life bills that carry multiple provisions pro-life organizations strongly supported including a bill on fetal pain and the abortion funding in Obamacare.
The House passed HB 1210 by a 72-23 margin and the measure requires abortion practitioners to tell women considering an abortion that the life of the baby they could otherwise give birth to begin at conception and that scientific evidence reveals the unborn child will likely experience significant pain during the abortion at or before 20 weeks of pregnancy.
A similar bill received the support of the Senate previously, but stalled in the General Assembly. However, turnover in the state House following statewide elections that sent new pro-life legislators to Indianapolis could make it so the measure faces better prospects in the lower chamber.
The legislation also requires abortion practitioners to have admitting privileges at a nearby hospital. Having the ability to admit patients is important because abortions frequently pose medical problems for women and sometimes result in life-threatening injuries that would require them to be transported immediately to a legitimate medical center that can properly treat them. Full story at LifeNews.com
California Abortion Biz Closes, Eighth Facility This Month
Family Planning Associates, one of the largest abortion center chains in California, has closed the abortion business it runs in Newport Beach. That makes it the eighth abortion center across the country to have closed this month. Operation Rescue president Troy Newman informed LifeNews about the closing of the FPA abortion facility and he said the Newport Beach location is one where pro-lifers have been sidewalk counseling and praying for decades and its closure is an encouragement that we are winning. Full story at LifeNews.com
South Carolina OKs Obamacare Abortion $ Opt-Out, Born Alive Bill
The South Carolina state House approved pro-life bills yesterday by wide margins, including legislation to keeps abortion out of government and private health insurance exchanges created under the new health care law. The bills also protect the rights of health care professionals and protect infants born alive in South Carolina after failed abortions or purposefully induced for the purposes of killing them. Full story at LifeNews.com
Huntsman s Pro-Life Record Attracts Brownback Campaign Manager
The man who was the campaign manager for Sam Brownback s 2008 Republican presidential campaign is supporting former Utah Governor Jon Huntsman and hopes the pro-life advocate will declare for the 2012 race. Rob Wasinger, who headed the campaign of the former U.S. senator from Kansas who is now the state s governor, told LifeNews.com he joins other Hunstman supporters in encouraging the man who has served as President Barack Obama s ambassador to China to seek the Republican nomination. Wasinger says Huntsman s pro-life position and record attract him to the oft-mentioned potential candidate. Full story at LifeNews.com
Arizona: Brewer Signs Ban on Sex-Selection, Race-Based Abortions
Governor Jan Brewer lengthened her pro-life record today by signing a bill that would ban abortions that are sex-selection or race-based in nature by targeting girls or ethnic minorities.The legislation would ban sex-selection abortions and require women seeking abortions to sign a statement saying they are not obtaining the abortion because of the gender of the unborn baby. The bill also prohibits abortions based on the race of the unborn child. The father of the unborn child or the parents of a minor girl would be able to file a lawsuit for civil damages against abortion practitioners that do race-based or sex-selection abortions. Full story at LifeNews.com
Family Planning Funds Should Go to Anti-Malaria Efforts
If members of Congress truly want to save kids, they would put the money normally reserved for domestic and international family planning funding, which goes to abortion groups like Planned Parenthood, to anti-malaria efforts. Full story at LifeNews.com
Ohio Cmte OKs Heartbeat Bill Banning Abortions, Pro-Lifers Split
An Ohio state legislative committee has approved the Heartbeat Bill that would ban virtually all abortions in the state starting at the 22-day mark when an unborn child s heart begins beating. The legislation has the support of some pro-life advocates but Ohio Right to Life is not because of various concerns about its ability to survive a court challenge and a health exception in the bill. Full story at LifeNews.com
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If at first you don’t succeed…
Published: March 30, 2011
If at first you don’t succeed…
Rejected pro-abortion Obama appellate court nominee from California back before Senate
A controversial University of California law school professor whose nomination to the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals was blocked late last year by Senate Republicans will get a second chance for the post after being re-nominated by President Obama.
The Senate Judiciary Committee is scheduled to vote Thursday on the nomination of Goodwin Liu, an associate dean and professor of law at the University of California Boalt Hall School of Law in Berkeley, to be a judge on the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco, widely considered the most liberal federal appeals bench in the country. Its decisions are also the most overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court.
Liu’s first nomination, which had been vigorously opposed by conservatives and pro-lifers, failed to win Senate approval last year before adjournment. In January, President Obama re-submitted the nomination to the Senate.
Liu’s nomination was included in a list of “controversial” nominations the Senate refused to consider before its December 2010 adjournment. In a back-room deal reached by Senate leaders from both parties, Republicans agreed to allow confirmation votes for 19 less controversial nominations submitted by the president, which the Senate ultimately approved. With the election of more Republican senators in November, the chances that Liu will win confirmation – even if approved by the Judiciary Committee -- appear unlikely. The Senate now has 47 Republicans, as well as one or two conservative, pro-life Democrats, making it virtually impossible for Democrats to halt a filibuster, which requires 60 votes.
Liu has met with strong opposition from conservatives and pro-lifers for his legal views and his membership in certain organizations, like the ACLU of Northern California and the National Women’s Law Center. Liu has supported same-sex marriage and chaired what the San Francisco Chronicle characterized as “the left-leaning American Constitution Society.” He previously was a law clerk for one of the US Supreme Court’s most liberal jurists, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.
Liu also publicly opposed the nominations of Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Samuel Alito, using particularly harsh rhetoric against Alito. “Judge Alito’s record envisions an America where police may shoot and kill an unarmed boy to stop him from running away with a stolen purse… where a black man may be sentenced to death by an all-white jury for killing a white man,” Liu wrote of Alito’s nomination to the nation’s highest court. “I humbly submit that this is not the America we know. Nor is it the America we aspire to be.”
Conservative critics say Liu is a “judicial activist” who, among other positions, supports the Supreme Court’s 1973 decision in Roe v. Wade that legalized abortion in the U.S.
“Instead of nominating an individual who has demonstrated an impartial commitment to following the Constitution and the rule of law, President Obama has selected someone far outside the mainstream of American jurisprudence,” said Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-AL, and a ranking member on the Senate Judiciary Committee at the time President Obama announced Liu’s nomination. “Professor Liu believes that judges should look to ‘evolving norms and social understandings’ in interpreting the Constitution, he has a history of advocating for racial preferences, and he served on the Board of the directors of the ACLU.”
“Republicans have staunchly opposed Mr. Liu, citing what they said were his liberal writings, including support for using international law in judicial rulings,” reported the Wall Street Journal in a story about Liu’s re-nomination in January.
via calcatholic.com
From http://www.calcatholic.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?id=647b432b-91b4-4710-acce-a...
ALGEBRA AND THE DEFUNDING OF PLANNED PARENTHOOD
Do you remember your first algebra lesson? I do, even though it was many years ago. We learned that algebra is the study of unknown numbers (variables) that, through the use of equations, can be discovered. Algebra is themastery of problem solving. Our professor described this process—solving problems involving unknowns—as the first step in mastering logic. In other words, the rational thinker can, with concentration, solve even the most complex algebra problem. It is this aspect of algebra that most reminds me of Planned Parenthood and its ongoing flimflam program. Planned Parenthood employs smoke and mirrors to dupe the public. PP’s “unknown number” is truth—the one thing it avoids as it feigns honesty when defending its need for taxpayer dollars. Here is a recent example. In a reactionary movement to a bus tour entitled, The Women Speak Out: Defund Planned Parenthood, Planned Parenthood launched a “Truth Tour” which featured a very bright pink bus with various statistics presented on the side of the vehicle. This bus tour was designed to offset what it called the efforts of “anti-women’s health extremists” who, it alleged, were lying in order to deny Planned Parenthood tax dollars. The pro-lifers who fall into this infamous Planned Parenthood category are a group of level-headed pro-life women led by Lila Rose and former Colorado Representative Marilyn Musgrave. These women sent Planned Parenthood into overdrive—thus the pink monstrosity. Yet, unlike the PP bus tour, the one led by Rose and Musgrave was spreading fact, not fiction. But don’t take my word for it. Let’s examine the “facts” on the side of PP’s bus.#1 – 4,000,000 STD testsSexually transmitted diseases (STDs) are on the rise in the United States and have been for quite some time. The most serious among the STDs is the HIV virus. The pill does not protect the user from HIV or any other STDs. The specific reasons for higher STD rates include wider use of the birth control pill and the condom for multiple partner sexual relationships outside of marriage. Who do you suppose is promoting sexual freedom at taxpayer expense?If you guessed Planned Parenthood, you have solved the first equation.#2 – 1,800,000 cancer screeningsBoth the birth control pill and abortion are reliably documented as being among the causes of breast cancer and other forms of cancer in women. Which health provider do you suppose never admits to these facts when screening patients for breast cancer or talking with them about possible causes?If you guessed Planned Parenthood, you have solved the second equation. #3 – 2,500,000 birth control patientsWithin that number, one will locate the minor children whose parents are not notified that they are being givenprescription strength drugs so that they can fornicate at will. Also within that number are women who can acquire birth control without the proper investigation into past familial medical history; such investigation should be done in order to identify preexisting conditions that would rule out using the pill. Who profits from this mass marketing of the birth control pill and abortion? If you guessed Planned Parenthood, you have correctly solved the third equation. #4 – 830,000 breast examsAmong those females who receive these breast exams, there are likely to be many women who will be diagnosed with some sort of lump in the breast or, sadly, breast cancer itself. However Planned Parenthood, as stated above, does not admit that, among its many goodies, are pills and even abortions that can or may have caused those very patients to ultimately be diagnosed with breast cancer. Nor is there even a warning that such a condition may exist. Who uses these numbers without substantiating the fact that abortion and the birth control pill can lead to breast cancer?If you guessed Planned Parenthood, you have solved the fourth equation and aced this algebra exam. You have discovered the unknown quantity—the sobering fact that more than $300,000,000 tax dollars are poured into an organization with no integrity. Planned Parenthood will say or do anything to hang on to that money. It’s time to cut off the tax dollar spigot and to end this taxpayer subsidy that results in moral havoc and death among our children and grandchildren. Just as the answer to 2x=8 is a simple 4, so too zeroing out Planned Parenthood’s x-factor equals healthier children and happier preborn babies.While the Senate voted to continue funding Planned Parenthood, the fight is far from over. To have passed in the House and to have such a close vote in the Senate is something to be quite proud of—and shows that Planned Parenthood should be afraid. We are getting the word out that this organization is evil and that it does not deserve taxpayer funds. Do not back down. Congress must still come to some decisions regarding the budget. Continue to tell your Congressmen to stand firm; contact your Senator and your Representatives and insist that no more tax dollars be given to Planned Parenthood.
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Monsignor Ignacio Barreiro-CarámbulaHuman Life International - 4 Family Life Lane - Front Royal, VA 22630 U.S.A. 800-549-LIFE - Fax: 540-622-6247 - E-Mail: hli@hli.org Copyright © 2011 Human Life International, Inc. All rights reserved. |
Catholic Anchor Online: Priest embarks on 40-day sidewalk vigil to end abortion
Fr. Mike Shields
By FR. MIKE SHIELDS
Started in 2004, in Texas, 40 Days for Life is a great Lenten program. I attended the kick-off rally this year in Silver Spring, Maryland where I am on sabbatical from Magadan, Russia and living in a local parish here.
Earlier, I was praying for a Lent that would put word and deed together — like the Gospel story of the wise man who builds on the rock. Jesus said he was wise because he heard the word and acted upon it. I wanted a Lent that would help me face some fears and challenge my comfort zone.
At the kick-off rally for the local 40 Days for Life here in Silver Spring, a speaker challenged the attendees to take one hour a day — say the lunch hour — to pray for women who might be considering whether to get an abortion in Silver Spring. We were asked to pray just one hour in front of the local Planned Parenthood clinic for the tragedy of abortion to cease and for hearts to change and see the sacredness of life.
This suggestion hit my heart, and I knew this was my Lenten practice for this year — no lunch and lots of prayer.
The 40 Days for Life effort is an incredible act of faith. Founded on prayer and fasting is now happening in 247 cities in the United States and has become an international program to confront the culture of death in nine countries.
I must tell you the first day I didn’t want to be there. I made every excuse. When the Metro system broke down as I was riding to go pray, I saw it as a sign that I didn’t have to go that first day to pray. I smiled at God, however, because the Metro broke down and the only stop I could get off was two blocks from the Planned Parenthood clinic where I was scheduled to pray with others.
I made it and was surprised how deeply prayerful and serious these men and women were who had come to pray. Some of them had been coming for 10 years to pray and counsel the women seeking an abortion.
One woman from Guatemala, eight weeks pregnant, received help from a lady who helps run a Hispanic pregnancy center. She left the clinic even though she had an appointment for an abortion. One child saved.
But there were 10 other women who did not leave. All arrived with sad faces, heads down. It seemed so far from the myth of “choice.” They didn’t look free at all. I wondered what and who was driving them to the abortion. How could we help them?
Two days later when I came to pray, I encountered the other side of abortion when five large boxes came out of the abortion clinic labeled “bio-hazardous medical material.” But really it was the remains of 10 babies from Saturday’s abortions.
I felt a deep sickness in my stomach. Abortion was real. The results of this terrible evil were being loaded on a truck as bio-hazardous medical waste. But only two days ago, these were children in what should have been the safest place a child could be — her mother’s womb.
This is not going to be an easy Lent. I don’t like being here or the looks and the comments. But I need this Lent to become, as one theologian said, a Christian with “a soft heart and hard feet.” Not the other way around — with no compassion and no desire to name the truth.
We need hearts of compassion with lives set firmly on the rock of truth. A human life is a gift from God. They must be loved and where they are threatened, they must be protected. Let us pray this Lent to have a new springtime of life.
The writer is pastor of the Church of the Nativity in Magadan, Russia, a mission parish of the Archdiocese of Anchorage, Alaska.
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