Friday, July 26, 2013

Lifeissues Newsletter #638


Lifeissues.net: clear thinking about crucial issues
Dear Friends for Life,

[The Fifth Commandment: You shall not kill.]

Can experiments be performed on living embryos and embryonic stem cells? 

No. Embryos are human beings, because human life begins with the fusion of a sperm cell and an egg.

Regarding embryos as biological material, "producing" them and then "using" their stem cells for purposes of research is absolutely immoral and falls under the commandment "You shall not kill." Research on adult stem cells is a different matter, since they cannot develop into human beings. Medical interventions on an embryo are justifiable only if they are made with the intention of healing, if the life and unimpaired development of the child are assured, and if the risks involved are not disproportionately great. Corresponding CCC section (2275)

God Bless,
Jerry Novotny, OMI


(The Difference is LIFE) "The pro-life movement needs to be understood and respected for what it is: part of a much larger, consistent, and morally worthy vision of the dignity of the human person. You don't need to be Christian or even religious to be "pro-life." Common sense alone is enough to make a reasonable person uneasy about what actually happens in an abortion. The natural reaction, the sane and healthy response, is repugnance." - Charles J. Chaput.

*---*(Due to volume of spam received, do not reply to this message but instead send all emails to jerry@shirt.ocn.ne.jp. Thank you!)
**************************************** Lifeissues.net Newsletter #638
July 28, 2013
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(TABLE OF CONTENTS):

1. Australian Government Cuts Price of RU-486
2. A father's heartbreaking story...and Planned Parenthood's response to men like him
3. A look at what's been banned in Texas
4. Courage from the mouths of babes: Raped 11-year-old wants life for her unborn child
5. Why do we kill the handicapped?
6. Birth Control and the Seminarian
7. Low national fertility rates become more widespread
8. To Whom Do Children Belong?
9. If Knot Now, When? The Impact of Delayed Marriage Among Twenty-somethings
10. After 35 years, IVF still a vast experiment
11. Is Marriage Bigoted and Discriminatory?
12. Consensus and Inconvenient Evidence


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(Bioethics): "A Student's Guide to Bioethics" from Jérôme Lejeune Foundation""The young people from all five continents who gather in Rio in July 2013 for World Youth Day will find in their backpacks a "bioethics survival kit": a special WYD edition of A Student's Guide to Bioethics, produced by the Jérôme Lejeune Foundation at the request of the Pontifical Academy for Life and the Archdiocese of Rio de Janeiro (Brazil). Now available (for free).

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ITEM #1: Australian Government Cuts Price of RU-486

When the price of RU-486 was slashed, Health Minister Tanya Plibersek hailed it as a positive step for women. Making it easier for more women to use it only puts greater numbers in danger: hardly a step forward for them.

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ITEM #2: A father's heartbreaking story...and Planned Parenthood's response to men like him

Recently, a man I will identify by the initials RDF shared on Facebook a heartbreaking story of loss. His girlfriend was pregnant with twins. She was almost twenty weeks along when she went to Planned Parenthood, considering abortion. I will let him tell the story in his own words:
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ITEM #3:  A look at what's been banned in Texas

Pro-lifers all across the country are celebrating the victory in Texas. In addition to laws regulating abortion clinics, abortions after twenty weeks have become illegal. In order to fully appreciate what we have gained, let's review some of the facts on late-term abortions.

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ITEM #4: Courage from the mouths of babes: Raped 11-year-old wants life for her unborn child

Pro-lifers around the world are applauding an 11-year-old girl who was raped by her stepfather and subsequently vocalized her love for her unborn child despite the tragic circumstances. According to LifeSiteNews, the girl, who is being called "Belén" to protect her privacy, said......
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ITEM #5: Why do we kill the handicapped?

I have a friend with Down syndrome. I will call him Tim. Tim probably does not know how unusual his birth was. In our enlightened society, 90% of children like Tim are shredded with a vacuum tube or slowly dismembered, one limb at a time, prior to their birth. All of this is done out of compassion, of course. By popular standards, Tim is neither beautiful nor smart, and as we all know, life is not worth living unless you are beautiful and smart.
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ITEM #6: Birth Control and the Seminarian
I know that a lot of people I know are going to disagree strongly with this post.

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ITEM #7 Low national fertility rates become more widespread
The majority of the world's people now live in nations where the fertility rate is below replacement level.
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ITEM #8: To Whom Do Children Belong?

Children's relationship to the political community is fundamentally different from that of adults, because it is mediated through their belonging to a family and living under the authority of their parents.
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ITEM #9: If Knot Now, When? The Impact of Delayed Marriage Among Twenty-somethings

Young adults desire stable marriage and family life even while they engage in unmarried sex and parenting. We should encourage and help young adults achieve these goals instead of trying to make birth control "sexy."

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ITEM #10: After 35 years, IVF still a vast experiment

After the death of Robert Edwards, one of the British doctors who perfected in vitro fertilization (IVF), earlier this year, Miriam Zoll took a look at the legacy of third party reproduction, specifically the often overlooked numbers of failed treatments associated with these invasive technologies.
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ITEM #11: Is Marriage Bigoted and Discriminatory?
The President and members of the Supreme Court say "Yes". They are wrong.
**************************************** ITEM #12: Consensus and Inconvenient Evidence
The consensus is that a culture of sexual liberation has made us happier and more fulfilled, so why is there evidence of an eruption of sexual predation, abuse of women and children, and increases in sexually transmitted diseases in recent generations? The consensus is that once contraceptives were readily available, few abortions would need to be performed, so why are there millions of abortions performed in the U.S. every year?


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YOU CAN CHANGE SOCIETY:

1. BE INFORMED: "My people are destroyed from lack of knowledge." Hosea 4:6. Visit Lifeissues.net Website for insights into current Life Issues www.lifeissues.net. Access to all prior Newsletters is located in the Archives on main page.

2. PRAY DAILY: for the courage to be God's presence in society and to strongly support those who are deemed "unworthy of life". "If My people who are called by My Name, will humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land." 2 Chronicles 7:14

3. BECOME INVOLVED: Several years ago Fr. Jerry created a project entitled, "Journey for Life into the Heart of Asia". The project appeals for donations to help finance plane travel for lectures and seminars to developing countries in Asia. Strong focus is centered on reaching Asian Catholic Major Seminaries, Universities, Parishes, Hospitals and Family/Pro Life related groups. The lectures place emphasis on "The Asian Family at Crossroads: Life Issues, Trends and Challenges".

For information about no-cost Pro Life Talks to your group in Asia: contact Fr. Jerry at jerry@shirt.ocn.ne.jp.

To become a supportive Missionary participant for this Asian project, kindly send your donations to:

** Fr. Jerry Novotny, OMI
** LifeIssues.net, Editor
** Akebono-cho 1-15-9
** Kochi City, Japan, 780-8072

(or transfer donation directly to ProLife bank account: Jerome Novotny, Shikoku Bank, Asakura Branch, No. 102-1-0080824)

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Contact EDITOR:

Jerry Novotny, OMI
Akebono-cho 1-15-9
Kochi City, Japan, 780-8072

[tel/fax: 088-843-0406]
[email: jerry@shirt.ocn.ne.jp]

["Due to volume of spam received, we're asking you not to reply to this message but instead send all correspondence to jerry@shirt.ocn.ne.jp. Thank you! Editor"]

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Websites by Editor:

English LifeIssues Site: http://www.lifeissues.net,

Japanese LifeIssues Site: http://www.japan-lifeissues.net,

HIV/AIDS Site: http://capcha.org

OMI Japan/Korea Site:
http://omijapankorea.net/