Sunday, June 30, 2013

Heroic News: “Prop. 8 backers make emergency effort to block same-sex 'marriages'” plus 3 more


heroicnews



Posted: 30 Jun 2013 04:44 AM PDT
ProtectMarriage, the sponsors of Proposition 8, filed an emergency petition to the U.S. Supreme Court on Saturday to stop same-sex
'marriages' from continuing in California.
Posted: 29 Jun 2013 09:01 PM PDT
The Los Angeles school system reportedly plans to use a state grant to promote ObamaCare, in part by teaching students to become “messengers” for the law.
Posted: 29 Jun 2013 08:28 PM PDT
Despite strong resistance from religious organizations, the Obama administration said Friday that it was moving ahead with a rule forcing most employers to provide free insurance coverage of contraceptives and abortions for women, a decision that has touched off a legal and political battle likely to rage for another year.
Posted: 29 Jun 2013 07:59 PM PDT
"By offering this different option at a very difficult time in a woman's life, I hope that we are giving more choice in what are often extraordinarily difficult circumstances," the minister said, championing wider access for mothers seeking to murder their unborn children.

CMMB: Your Weekly Reflection in Prayer 6/30/2013

Weekly prayer reflection for Summer
“You were called to freedom, brothers and sisters. But do not use this freedom as an opportunity for self-indulgence; rather, serve one another through love.”
Galatians 5:13 June 30, 2013
13th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Dear Friends,
In a very special way, citizens of the United States are called to freedom. In a few days we will celebrate that freedom and independence with the 4th of July weekend. We dare not take this freedom for granted. Glancing through newspapers will remind us of how many people live without freedom of religion, without legal systems that work for justice, and without opportunities for work and development. We have been blessed. St. Paul challenges us to use our freedom to share and to serve one another through love. As Catholics pray on July 4th, the message and good news of Jesus Christ “lives on in our midst as our task for today and a promise for tomorrow.”
Father of all nations and ages, we recall the day when our country claimed its place among the family of nations; for what has been achieved we give You thanks, for the work that still remains we ask Your help…Grant that under Your providence our country may share Your blessings with all the peoples of the earth. We ask this through Christ our Lord.
Amen
Rev. Peter Schineller, S.J., CMMB Board of Directors
Donate to the Weekly Prayer Reflection

100 Years Seal Alone

Saturday, June 29, 2013

Heroic News: “Why Wendy Davis isn't a Hero” plus 2 more

heroicnews



Posted: 28 Jun 2013 08:43 PM PDT
If you glance around the pro-abortion media or blogosphere, you’ll see glowing reviews of Wendy Davis for her 13-hour filibuster of Texas’ SB5. This bill would ban abortions after 20 weeks and increase safety regulations for abortion clinics, which for pro-aborts, is the worst thing ever.
Posted: 28 Jun 2013 08:38 PM PDT
Following on yesterday’s 10th Circuit Court of Appeals ruling that Hobby Lobby can continue its lawsuit against the Obama administration’s contraception mandate on religious grounds, the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma ruled today that the federal government must halt all enforcement of the mandate (and related financial penalties) against the Christian-based company.
Posted: 28 Jun 2013 07:12 PM PDT
While Mr. Obama was generally welcomed here during his brief visit, his praise for the United States Supreme Court decision on gay couples was not.

Judie Brown: "'Gay' marriage and contraception"

 

Judie Brown

Judie Brown
June 29, 2013

As our country slides deeper into a moral abyss, many stand by either gaping at these changes or passively watching them happen. Neither of these things is effective in teaching morality or the truths of the Catholic Church. To effect change, we must first understand why these things are happening. Today's commentary addresses the tumult and the immorality our society is experiencing, and we must listen well. The future of marriage, of family, and of our society depends upon us.

To read the article, click here: http://www.renewamerica.com/columns/brown/130629
 
 
 
 
 

Friday, June 28, 2013

Heroic News: “Polygamists thrilled by SCOTUS ruling” plus 4 more

heroicnews



Posted: 28 Jun 2013 12:39 PM PDT
Despite two very disappointing rulings, 38 states still define marriage as the union of a man and woman -- including California, where Proposition 8 is still the law of the land. Until an appeals court says otherwise, the reports that the amendment has been struck down are untrue.
Posted: 28 Jun 2013 12:27 PM PDT
Unfortunately the final rule announced today is the same old, same old. As we said when the proposed rule was issued, this doesn’t solve the religious conscience problem because it still makes our non-profit clients the gatekeepers to abortion and provides no protection to religious businesses”
Posted: 28 Jun 2013 04:50 AM PDT
China’s family planning department—which sets limits on how many children families can have—is learning the downsides of public exposure.
Posted: 28 Jun 2013 03:01 AM PDT
Liberals were more open to this “separation” idea back when conservative pro-family types were ascendant. Now, some conservatives are understanding its merits as a more liberal view is ascendant.
Posted: 27 Jun 2013 01:16 PM PDT
For now, the right to define marriage is still reserved to the states, which means that the political battle can continue — albeit amid a flood of new lawsuits inspired by some of Kennedy’s arguments — in jurisdictions where the national trend toward support for gay 'wedlock' hasn’t yet overwhelmed the traditional view.

Spirit & Life - From Words to Flesh and Blood

spiritlife
HLI LogoThis week's Spirit & Life is by Father Shenan J. Boquet, president of Human Life International.

Spirit & Life is the weekly e-column of
Human Life International. 
______________________________
From Words to Flesh and Blood
Dear deaconjohn,

Earlier this month, Human Life International sponsored a pro-life conference for clergy in Mexico City where some of my brother priests were confronted with the true horror of abortion for the first time in their lives. In many parts of Latin America unborn life is protected, so the daily struggle to expose abortion we face here in the United States just isn't the same. Though we've been wrapped up in news about court cases and legislative disputes recently, it's important to keep in mind that the assault on faith, reason and freedom we are seeing here at home is playing out in very different ways around the world.
A large part of HLI's mission is to communicate the essence of this struggle, and the urgency of responding to it, to priests and seminarians here at home and around the world. That is why Cardinal Norberto Rivera Carrera, Archbishop of Mexico, invited us to host our conference in his archdiocese, which is home to the Patroness of the Americas, and of the pro-life movement, Our Lady of Guadalupe.
As with much of HLI's efforts to sustain and nourish a Culture of Life, the conference's primary focus was to provide our bishops, priests and seminarians with the tools necessary to confront the threats against life, faith and family. The opening address was presented by the Most Reverend Rodrigo Aguilar, president of the Commission on Life for the Mexican Bishops' Conference. His Excellency's presentation focused on human dignity and Christian anthropology in contrast to the secular anthropology, which anchors man's identity and purpose in the temporal sphere. As noted by the bishop, a proper Christian anthropology leads to transformation and authentic freedom, while the other leads to virtual enslavement to one's senses, passions and appetites -- a spiritual impoverishment.
Quoting the great champion of human dignity, John Paul II, Bishop Aguilar recalled the opening sentences of Evangelium Vitae:
Man is called to a fullness of life, which far exceeds the dimensions of his earthly existence, because it consists in sharing the very life of God. The loftiness of this supernatural vocation reveals the greatness and the inestimable value of human life even in its temporal phase.
Bishop Aguilar made it clear that only within a proper Christian anthropology could man and woman bear fruit that will last unto eternal life. "The Gospel of Life is at the heart of Jesus' message...and it is precisely in this life that all the aspects and stages of human life achieve their full significance" (EV 1). His remarks and reflections challenged us in Holy Orders and those discerning the priesthood to preach the full message of the Gospel of Life, which leads to freedom. Silence and complacency, on the other hand, further deepens the reigning spiritual impoverishment, threatening God's people.  
The culmination of the conference was powerful. Because the Federal District is the only state within Mexico where abortion is legalized (up to the 12th week), we felt it was important for the bishops, priests and seminarians to see the graphic images of abortion -- putting the word of the relevant teaching and discussion in a true flesh and blood context. On the evening of the second day, we showed a video of two abortions: one early-term and one late-term. Seeing the reality of abortion for the first time changes a person, especially considering that this form of murder is protected in law in so many places.
The next day, we invited all attendees to pray at three abortion facilities early Friday morning. Because the abortion facilities open at 6:30 AM, the day began at 4:00 AM with adoration of the Blessed Sacrament. My heart was moved to see the Chapel of Our Lady of Guadalupe filled. At 5:15 AM we boarded four buses.
I traveled with two of the buses to one of the abortion facilities nearer to the airport; I had prayed there before. We arrived at 6:00 AM and the sidewalks were filled with men and women. They seemed to be mostly young teenagers, though some were clearly parents with daughters. Sixty mothers are allowed to enter the facility. Though the air was cool, it was heavy with the reality of what was soon to happen -- the murder of little boys and girls.
We gathered together in front of the main gate and prayed aloud. Our presence could not be ignored. It was clear that many of those gathered for an abortion were very uncomfortable with our presence. I would also say the lives of my brother priests and seminarians were deeply affected as well. As with those who witness an abortion, no one who keeps vigil in front of an abortion facility walks away the same. One cannot look into the eyes and faces of their sisters and be unaffected. Again, it was no longer mere words, power point presentations, videos and handouts, it was flesh and blood.
Between the three abortion facilities we visited that morning, 11 mothers and their babies were saved. Praise God!
As we pray for strength and guidance in how we can best act to defend marriage and life here at home, let's remember that we do so in solidarity with the faithful around the world. Let Our Lord's will be done through us, with our full assent, trust, love and hope.
Sincerely yours in Christ,
Fr Boquet signature
Father Shenan J. Boquet
President, Human Life International

Lifeissues Newsletter #634


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

Planned Parenthood and domestic abuse: There is a common thread that binds Planned Parenthood with sexual and domestic abuse. That thread is total lack of respect for the wholeness, wonder, and sacred mystery of human sexuality and of the human person. STOPP featured an article that caused a firestorm among Planned Parenthood supporters because it implicated Planned Parenthood in teaching young people how to put on makeup to cover abuse.

Read more here

A former abortionist implores the Church to stop abortion: For many of us, our testing ground has been and continues to be Planned Parenthood. It is here that we are daily challenged with the brutal reality that the consequence of sin is death. We witness with all our senses the wrath of hell manifested in the vitriolic attacks by abortion workers unleashed on us - and much worse, on the tiny, innocent babies they kill and throw in the trash.

But by God's grace, in the midst of all that spiritual turmoil and killing, it is very common for abortion workers to walk away from Planned Parenthood once the Church comes to the sidewalk. Those of us who have been active in pro-life work for decades can point to many who have walked away because of our presence on the sidewalks outside Planned Parenthood.

Read more here

God Bless,
Jerry Novotny, OMI


(The Difference is LIFE) "When we do not profess Jesus Christ, the saying of LĂ©on Bloy comes to mind: "Anyone who does not pray to the Lord prays to the devil." When we do not profess Jesus Christ, we profess the worldliness of the devil, a demonic worldliness." - Pope Francis.

*---*(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 #634
June 30, 2013
****************************************
(TABLE OF CONTENTS):

1. US Supreme Court overturns gay marriage provision
2. On the Dignity of Human Life
3. Looking at the Bottom Line on Marriage
4. From Gay Sex to Marriage Equality
5. ...or How I stop worrying and learned to love the (Demographic) Bomb, NOT!
6. Quebec euthanasia bill blasted for enshrining 'power to kill'
7. Men having sex with men at far greater risk for cancer, STDs, infections: Systematic review
8. Is 'mercy-killing' really merciful?
9. The Worldwide Advance of the Gay Agenda, And What We Can Do About It
10. The Ancient Christian Wisdom on Marriage
11. Contemplative Fatherhood
12. Fathers Hidden and Revealed


****************************************
(Abortion): "NEW Investigative Video! Putting A Face On Abortion"Every human being is unique and precious from the moment of conception. But abortionists will not give even these babies - 24 weeks, 27 weeks, viable, capable of surviving outside the womb - the dignity of humanity. So we want to put the question in every American's head: if not even these babies are worthy of humanity in the abortionist's eyes, then what is human? What does "human" even mean? Please watch and share our video. Americans need to know the atrocious acts being committed against our pre-born brothers and sisters - to people, entitled to the right to life - across the country.

****************************************

ITEM #1: US Supreme Court overturns gay marriage provision

The US Supreme Court has struck down a law that defines marriage as between a man and a woman only, in a landmark ruling.

****************************************

ITEM #2: On the Dignity of Human Life

When one re-reads Blessed Pope John Paul II's encyclical on life, he needs to keep these statistics in mind: Since 1980, some 1,295,830,000 abortions were performed throughout the world. That is about one-seventh of the present world population. In this context, the famous phrase, "I feel lucky just to be alive!" takes on new meaning. The number of abortions per year in the world is between forty and fifty million. That is, in six or seven years, we kill roughly the population of the United States. Since Roe v. Wade (1973), some 56 million abortions took place in America.
****************************************

ITEM #3:  Looking at the Bottom Line on Marriage

There are those who attack traditional marriage and say this sacred institution should no longer be defined in terms of the procreation of the human race and the mutual love and support of a man and a woman. Such advocates of "redefining" marriage fail to understand that we do so at great risk.

****************************************

ITEM #4: From Gay Sex to Marriage Equality

When I was growing up (I'm almost 50 years old now), there were few more hurtful and shameful insults that could be hurled at oneself than "gay" or "homo." Moreover, the visceral reaction against homosexuality was so strong at the time, the thought that the terms "gay" and "marriage" would be used in the same sentence would have seemed preposterous - even to many people with a same-sex attraction.
****************************************

ITEM #5: ...or How I stop worrying and learned to love the (Demographic) Bomb, NOT!

A stranger came into the sacristy after Sunday Mass. In an incriminating huff he said, "I have been away from the area for fifteen years; where are the people? And now you are tearing down the school? I went there as a kid." I put my hands up to quiet him from further talking and I calmly said, "Let me ask you a question: How many kids did you have?" He said, "Two." Then I said, "So did everyone else. When you only have two kids per family there is no growth." His demeanor changed, and then he dropped his head and said, "And they aren't even going to Mass anymore."
****************************************
ITEM #6: Quebec euthanasia bill blasted for enshrining 'power to kill'
The bill would allow a doctor to administer fatal drugs to a mentally sound patient who repeatedly gives written consent, CBC News reports. Two physicians would have to approve a suicide request.

****************************************

ITEM #7 Men having sex with men at far greater risk for cancer, STDs, infections: Systematic review
As the homosexual movement makes gains in public opinion and politics, the dissenting voice of science continues to unearth health problem after health problem associated with gay sexual behavior.
****************************************

ITEM #8: Is 'mercy-killing' really merciful?

In a society where murder of the pre-born (and infanticide) is widely accepted, it is tragically unsurprising that the next step, child euthanasia, may soon take hold in a new way. This sad news comes out of the country of Belgium, where legislators are likely to approve a measure that will allow children who are "gravely ill" to be euthanized.
****************************************

ITEM #9: The Worldwide Advance of the Gay Agenda, And What We Can Do About It

The culture of life must fight back on all fronts, including law, news coverage, and professional organizations.

****************************************

ITEM #10: The Ancient Christian Wisdom on Marriage

Have you ever heard comments like these? "People oppose gay marriage only for religious reasons, because there really aren't any rational non-religious reasons to oppose gay marriage." "You are fighting for a lost cause. Marriage was lost a long time ago." And finally, how about this one, "It is time to throw in the towel, and accept the inevitable."
****************************************
ITEM #11: Contemplative Fatherhood
By demoting fatherhood's centrality in our public philosophy, we demote in turn the deepest and most formative essence of fatherhood - one that personifies the capacity of humans to form deep and lasting bonds on the basis of human reflexivity, particularly embodied reason and faith.
**************************************** ITEM #12: Fathers Hidden and Revealed
Patrick Deneen has written beautifully about the obviousness of motherhood, and the hiddenness of fatherhood. He observes a distinction between becoming a biological and an ontological father - both are acts, as he puts it, of "embodied faith and embodied reason." What a fecund observation to help us contemplate fatherhood.

*****************************


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)

------------------------------

Get a weekly dose of clear thinking: subscribe to our free Lifeissues newsletter! Sign up at
www.LifeIssues.net. Pass this free service to your friends and various groups.

------------------------------

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"]

------------------------------

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/




Announcing the Bishop Joseph Sullivan Memorial Fund

Catholic Medical Mission Board
 
Dear Friends,
Bishop Joseph Sullivan
  
In honor of the late Bishop Joseph Sullivan’s life-long commitment to quality health care as a basic human right, we have established the Bishop Joseph Sullivan Memorial Fund for Women and Children to support the building of healthy communities.
Bishop Sullivan, Diocese of Brooklyn, was a beloved Church leader who recently died as a result of injuries sustained in a car accident. At the time of his death, Bishop Sullivan was entering his tenth year of service as a member of CMMB’s Board of Directors, two of them as Board chairman. In support of the memorial fund, we have already received a $2 million challenge grant for the building of the Bishop Joseph M. Sullivan Center for Health in Cotes-de-Fer, Haiti. The Center will be a 30-bed facility serving a catchment area of 55,000 Haitians, who currently lack access to quality health care facilities.
Building on our century of health care delivery in Haiti, we’ve selected Cotes-de-Fer as the first site for the implementation of CHAMPS (CHildren And Mothers PartnershipS). Recently unveiled by CMMB as the core of its strategic direction, the crux of the CHAMPS model is a 15-year commitment to build healthy, sustainable communities in geographic areas of focus via community engagement and partnerships. Through this model, in each location, we’ll work in partnership with an existing in-region health system and focus on mothers and children under five years of age. In addition to Cotes-de-Fer, CHAMPS sites are being planned for geographic areas of need in Peru, Kenya and Zambia.
 We’re excited about this new strategic development and wanted you, our most loyal supporters to hear about it first. We thank you for your continued support of CMMB, and look forward to sharing more about our CHAMPS model and the Bishop Joseph Sullivan Memorial Fund for Women and Children with you soon. Sincerely,
Bruce Wilkinson Signature.png
Bruce Wilkinson
President & CEO
Catholic Medical Mission Board
 






©2013 Catholic Medical Mission Board, all rights reserved | 10 West 17th Street |
New York, NY 10011  800-678-5659 cmmb.org

Thursday, June 27, 2013

Heroic News: “Thoughts on DOMA” plus 8 more

heroicnews



Posted: 27 Jun 2013 01:10 PM PDT
"It is interesting to watch the conversations going on in social media, though. While today’s ruling doesn’t legalize gay 'marriage' in any definitive way, it’s being received by all sides as though it does."

Posted: 27 Jun 2013 12:57 PM PDT
Here’s the least reported fact about yesterday’s rulings on marriage: the Supreme Court refused to give Ted Olson and David Boies, the lawyers suing to overturn Prop 8, what they wanted. The Court refused to redefine marriage for the entire nation. The Court refused to "discover" a constitutional right to same-sex marriage. Citizens and their elected representatives remain free to discuss, debate, and vote about marriage policy in all fifty states.
Posted: 27 Jun 2013 12:52 PM PDT
I cannot support gay marriage because I love people who have same sex attraction enough not to lie to them and say that society becoming accepting of the particular sin to which they are drawn will take away that feeling of emptiness and un-fulfillment that turning away from God and towards yourself creates in a person's soul.
Posted: 27 Jun 2013 12:45 PM PDT
An Italian doctor has clarified that fetuses may be capable of feeling pain and pleasure as early as 20 weeks after their conception, after a June 19 article in Time may have led some to believe otherwise.
Posted: 27 Jun 2013 12:43 PM PDT
Gay rights lobbyists plan to use their victory at the Supreme Court to push legislation that would ensure 'married' same-sex couples are eligible for federal benefits in all 50 states.
Posted: 26 Jun 2013 03:30 PM PDT
The Supreme Court decisions Wednesday on gay marriage, while historic, didn't settle the issue. They fueled it.
Posted: 26 Jun 2013 03:09 PM PDT
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in a 5-4 decision that a key part of the Defense of Marriage Act is unconstitutional, and the federal government must recognize “gay marriages” accepted by individual states.
Posted: 26 Jun 2013 03:09 PM PDT
Gov. Rick Perry on Wednesday called a second special session of the Texas Legislature to pass widespread abortion restrictions across the nation's second-largest state, after the first attempt by Republicans died overnight following a marathon one-woman filibuster.
Posted: 26 Jun 2013 03:08 PM PDT
As the Supreme Court issued its historic rulings on “gay marriage,” an array of family advocates warned that the decisions could have long-lasting negative impacts on families and society.

[Video] Does Planned Parenthood represent every woman?












                                             

 




Does Planned Parenthood represent every woman?

On June 27, 2013, Planned Parenthood hosted a rally to derail pro-life amendments to the Ohio state budget. Created Equal unfurled large banners to show attendants the true face of what they're supporting: the killing of human beings.

http://youtu.be/liz5NDpUKgE










The Big Cloning News You Probably Didn’t Hear

 


Wesley J. Smith, J.D., Special Consultant to the CBC Post image for The Big Cloning News You Probably Didn’t Hear

Nearly two decades have passed since the birth of Dolly the sheep, a clone manufactured through a process known as somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT). Since that time, the prospect of human cloning has been eagerly—or fearfully anticipated—throughout the world. Indeed, in 2004, Korean scientist Huang wu-Suk became generated world headlines when he claimed to have created the first human cloned embryos and derived embryonic stem cells from them.
It later turned out that he had done no such thing. Huang was a charlatan. But now, the very deed that briefly made him the world’s most famous scientist has actually been accomplished, and you can hear the crickets chirping.
Why the striking difference in attention paid to an epochal story? When Huang claimed to have successfully cloned human beings, it set off a political firestorm, with human cloning proponents and opponents debating hotly over how and whether to regulate human cloning, or even—as I advocate—to ban it altogether.
Wanting to prevent another public brouhaha, the scientists who actually did do human cloning—and the Science Establishment—generally avoided using the C-word in the popular media—instead claiming merely that stem cells were obtained from “unfertilized eggs.” Thus, the Wall Street Journal reported:
Scientists have used cloning technology to transform human skin cells into embryonic stem cells, an experiment that may revive the controversy over human cloning. The researchers stopped well short of creating a human clone. But they showed, for the first time, that it is possible to create cloned embryonic stem cells that are genetically identical to the person from whom they are derived.
That description missed an essential—and morally crucial—element: SCNT does not create stem cells, it manufactures a human embryo via asexual reproduction, from which stem cells can be derived just as with a fertilized embryo.
To better understand what is going on, let’s take a brief look at how SCNT is accomplished:
  • First, take a skin or other cell (Dolly came from a mammary gland cell, hence her naming as something of a joke after Dolly Parton);
  • Remove the cell’s nucleus;
  • Next take an egg and remove its nucleus;
  • Place the skin cell nucleus where the egg nucleus used to be;
  • Stimulate with an electric current or other means;
  • If the cloning works, the properties of the egg transform into a one-celled embryo just as occurs after fertilization.
Once the embryo arises, the cloning is over. If all goes well, the embryo will develop like a natural embryo.
The next question involves what to do with the living human life that was created. If the nascent human being is to be destroyed for experimentation—as in this experiment—the process is often called therapeutic cloning. If the intent is to implant in a womb and bring a child to birth, it is often called “reproductive cloning.” Either way, the actual cloning process is the same.
Indeed, when the scientists talked to each other in the science journals, they were far more candid about what had been done. Thus, in the paper published in Cell, in which the scientists announced their cloning breakthrough, they acknowledge to having created “SCNT embryos” From the study (my emphasis):
Activation of embryonic genes and transcription from the transplanted somatic cell nucleus are required for development of SCNT embryos beyond the eight-cell stage. Therefore, these results are consistent with the premise that our modified SCNT protocol supports reprogramming of human somatic cells to the embryonic state.
Why is this important morally? Scientists have manufactured human life. In a sense, it is reproduction by replication—creating a new human being designed to have a specific genetic makeup in the mirror image of the person cloned. Even if the technique remains limited for use in seeking biological knowledge and searching for potential medical treatments, those beneficent ends will come at the very high ethical price of manufacturing human life for the purpose of destroying and harvesting it like a corn crop.
But it won’t end there. Human cloning is the essential technology to developing potential Brave New World technologies, such genetic engineering, creating human/animal chimeras, gestating cloned fetuses in artificial wombs as a means of obtaining patient-compatible organs, and eventually, the birth of cloned babies. (We have already seen advocacy for such fetal farming among a few bioethicists, and experiments have already been conducted on late term aborted female fetuses to determine whether their ovaries can be harvested to obtain eggs for use in research.
Not only that, but human cloning heightens the risk that vulnerable women will be exploited for their eggs—the essential ingredient in SCNT—one egg per cloning attempt. Thus, it isn’t surprising that as the rumors about successful human cloning were swirling through the science community, a bill was introduced in the California Legislature—A.B. 926—that would permit universities and their biotech partners to pay women for eggs to be used in scientific research.
As the CBC documentary Eggsploitation vividly demonstrates, supplying eggs can be dangerous to the woman’s health and fecundity.
This is the bottom line: Human cloning has been accomplished. We will either deal with it, or it will deal with us.

Wesley J. Smith is a special consultant to the CBC. He is also a senior fellow at the Discovery Institute’s Center on Human Exceptionalism.

Florida Federal Judge Bans Enforcement of HHS Mandate Against Beckwith Electric, 1st in the State of Florida




Thomas More Law Center - NEWS ALERT


Florida Federal Judge Bans Enforcement of HHS Mandate Against Beckwith Electric, 1st in the State of Florida 


ANN ARBOR, MI – The Thomas More Law Center (TMLC), a national public interest law firm based in Ann Arbor, Michigan, announced that this past Monday, Federal District Court Judge Elizabeth A. Kovachevich of the Middle District of Florida granted its Motion for a Preliminary Injunction banning enforcement of the HHS Mandate.  The motion for a Preliminary Injunction was filed by TMLC on behalf of Plaintiffs Thomas R. Beckwith and his family’s company, Beckwith Electric.
 

The Government claimed that once a business owner chooses to enter into the marketplace or incorporate his business, he surrenders his right to exercise his religious beliefs.

However, Judge Kovachevich’s 37-page decision which mentioned Thomas R. Beckwith’s unique family history—Beckwith’s ancestors arrived on the shores of America in 1626 to escape religious persecution from England -- ended with a powerful statement on religious freedom:
 “The First Amendment, and its statutory corollary the RFRA, endow upon the citizens of the United States the unalienable right to exercise religion, and that right is not relinquished by efforts to engage in free enterprise under the corporate form. No legislative, executive, or judicial officer shall corrupt the Framers' initial expression, through their enactment of laws, enforcement of those laws, or more importantly, their interpretation of those laws. And any action that debases, or cheapens, the intrinsic value of the tenet of religious tolerance that is entrenched in the Constitution cannot stand.” (Emphasis added) 
Erin Mersino, TMLC’s lead attorney representing Beckwith, commented, “Tom Beckwith was fighting the Federal Government for the freedom to practice his Southern Baptist faith.  The HHS Mandate would have forced him to provide insurance coverage for abortion-inducing drugs in violation of his religious beliefs or face up to $6 million in annual penalties. Kovachevich’s ruling halts enforcement of the HHS mandate until a final decision is reached in this case.”

 Click here to read Judge Kovachevich’s entire opinion.

Judge Kovachevich’s ruling is the first injunction against the HHS Mandate granted in the State of Florida.  It also marks the twenty-second injunction against the HHS Mandate granted by Federal Courts on religious freedom grounds across the country. The Government is expected to appeal the ruling to the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals.

The Thomas More Law Center was assisted by local counsel Paul Pizzo and Scott Richards of the firm Fowler White Boggs, P.A. located in Tampa, Florida.

The Attorney General of the State of Florida filed a friend of the court brief in support of the Thomas More Law Center, as did several other Christian organizations, including the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention.

TMLC News Alerts.
Thomas More Law Center
24 Frank Lloyd Wright Dr.
Ann Arbor, Michigan 48106