DEACON FOR LIFE

Were there to be no support in the whole history of ethical and moral thought, were there no acknowledged confirmation from medical science, were the history of legal opinion to the contrary, we would still have to conclude on the basis of God's Holy Word that the unborn child is a person in the sight of God. He is protected by the sanctity of life graciously given to each individual by the Creator, Who alone places His image upon man and grants them any right to life which they have.

Tuesday, February 3, 2009

Care Net Joins Suit to Defend Docs Serving in Pregnancy Centers

LANSDOWNE, VA, Feb. 3 /Christian Newswire/ -- Care Net, represented by attorneys from Advocates International, filed a motion to intervene Monday in three lawsuits involving a federal law protecting the rights of medical professionals to practice without being forced to perform abortions. Care Net is defending the interests of more than 470 medical pregnancy centers within its network and the licensed professionals that serve within these centers. Joining Care Net as intervenors are: Heartbeat International, Christian Pharmacists Fellowship International, Concerned Women for America, The Fellowship of Christian Physician Assistants, and New Jersey Physicians Resource Council. Read the motion to intervene.

Challenging the law are abortion providers such as Planned Parenthood and attorney generals from states that are some of the worst in the nation in protecting unborn life and the rights of pro-life medical professionals, according to Americans United for Life.

Care Net President Melinda Delahoyde said the lawsuits threaten not only the rights of medical professionals but ultimately the availability of critical services to low-income women. "Pregnancy centers offer free support to thousands of individuals facing unplanned pregnancies and related issues," said Delahoyde. "Without RNs, nurse practitioners, and physicians to serve within our non-profit centers, these women will suffer a huge loss." Ultimately, Delahoyde argues, without pregnancy center services such as limited obstetrical ultrasounds, abortion rates will increase. (See TIME magazine on reasons why national abortion rate is down.)

The lawsuits come in the midst of a seismic shift of political power to abortion advocates in the White House and Congress. "As we face the most pro- abortion Congress and administration in American history, medical professionals should not be forced to perform abortions against their conscience. Despite the well-established laws protecting the health care right of conscience, Planned Parenthood, the ACLU, and their pro-abortion allies are now hoping for the cooperation of the Obama administration as they again seek to punish pro-life medical professionals for their beliefs," said Samuel B. Casey, General Counsel of Advocates International's Law of Life Project. "Our clients are opposing these lawsuits because they wrongfully seek to compel health care workers to perform abortions against their ethical and professional judgment or face dire consequences."

The federal law at issue seeks to protect doctors like Sandy Christiansen, MD, OB-Gyn, who serves as medical director at Care Net Pregnancy Center of Frederick, MD. Dr. Christiansen shared her story on CNN of being discriminated against because of her beliefs. While an intern, she was denied operating room privileges by her chief resident who explained it was because she was not "working hard doing the abortions" like others and thus would not get that "perk." Later, as a chief resident, she was humiliated by the attending physician in front of her team of residents, interns and students when she would not perform an abortion on a patient whose baby was diagnosed with Down's syndrome. Not once were Dr. Christiansen's faith-based convictions validated in these experiences or was she informed of her rights according to existing law to protect against this kind of discrimination.

New Undercover Video Shows Tucson Planned Parenthood Hiding Rape of 15-Year-Old Girl

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UJt3OVIdhUk

TUCSON, AZ, Feb. 3 /Christian Newswire/ -- New hidden-camera footage from Tucson, AZ, implicates a third Planned Parenthood clinic in a multi-state child abuse scandal. In the video, UCLA student Lila Rose and her friend Jackie Stollar enter a Tucson Planned Parenthood clinic where Rose tells the nurse that Stollar, posing as a 15-year-old, is pregnant by her 27-year-old boyfriend. The nurse disregards the age difference and even cautions Stollar not to bring her "boyfriend" before the judicial hearing required in Arizona to waive parental consent for an abortion. This negligence is punishable under Arizona law.

"Is he not a minor?" the Planned Parenthood nurse, who identifies herself as Araceli, asks. When Rose says, "He's 27," the nurse urges the girls not to bring him to the hearing: "I wouldn't take him with me, no. I mean: don't take him."

The video is the third to be released in a national undercover probe called the "Mona Lisa Project." The project, conducted by the student-led California nonprofit Live Action, records on video Planned Parenthood employees as they respond to statutory rape. Rather than reporting the rape--as the law requires--Planned Parenthood clinics hide the identity of the statutory rapist and offer secret abortions.

In the past two months, the Mona Lisa Project has exposed similar cases at two Planned Parenthood clinics in Indiana. In response, both clinics either suspended or fired employees, and state prosecutors launched investigations into Planned Parenthood of Indiana.

"These videos demonstrate that Planned Parenthood, the nation's largest abortion provider, is entrenched in an organization-wide policy of circumventing state law and covering up the sexual abuse of young girls," said Live Action's president, Lila Rose.

This is not the first time Planned Parenthood of Arizona has failed to report sexual abuse. In 2002, an Arizona judge found the abortion provider negligent for failing to report the sexual abuse of a 13-year-old girl by her 23-year-old foster brother, who brought her to a Phoenix-area clinic for an abortion in 1998. After Planned Parenthood kept silent about the abuse, the sexual relationship continued and led to a second abortion six months later.

While noting that today Arizona Attorney General Terry Goddard is scheduled to deliver the keynote address at an event sponsored by Planned Parenthood, Rose urges Arizona prosecutors to follow the lead of Indiana state authorities and investigate the full extent of Planned Parenthood's sexual abuse cover-up.

"Our footage gives the Arizona public and law enforcement a rare window into Planned Parenthood's careless abortion-first ideology," Rose stated. "With abortion as their first and only solution for the abused victim, Planned Parenthood assists sexual predators by violating the very Arizona state laws that protect children."

Rose adds, "Planned Parenthood is not above the law. They must cooperate with Arizona state authorities to reveal the full extent of their lawbreaking."

The new video can be viewed on Live Action's website, http://www.liveaction.org/monalisa/tucson.

Monday, February 2, 2009

Blessing the Grave

Image via Wikipedia

I had the privilege of blessing the grave of Terri Schindler-Schiavo, who was murdered on March 31, 2005 by dehydration. Her grave is not far from the place where she died, and where people from around the world had gathered to protest and pray.

Those who visit the gravestone, however, will notice something highly unusual. While on most graves there is an inscription of two dates – when the person was born and when he or she died – on Terri’s there are three. Here’s exactly what the grave says:

Born December 3, 1963

Departed this Earth February 25, 1990

At Peace March 31, 2005

The whole world knows that she died on March 31, 2005. National and global media were present at the scene for days, covering every detail. Media were present again when I preached at her funeral mass. We know when she died.

But her gravestone has become a pulpit for the euthanasia movement. Those who killed her are now using her grave as a platform for their twisted ideology. What they are trying to say is that once her brain was injured in 1990 and she was no longer functioning like most of us, she wasn’t one of us anymore. She “departed this earth.”

This is actually a variation on an ancient heresy, which says that we are really spirits inhabiting a body. Terri couldn’t communicate normally. So, her “spirit” must have left her. The body was just a shell left behind. Those who believe she really “departed this earth” in 1990 can therefore pretend it was OK to kill her in 2005. After all, it wasn’t really her. She was already gone.

This is heresy, because Christianity teaches that we are a unity of body and soul, not simply a soul “using” a body. The body matters. What we do to the body, we do to the person.

Moreover, the gravestone inscription is a deep insult to all who are disabled, and to all those who love and care for them. Should they be considered already dead, too? Are we just wasting our time caring for them? Euthanasia advocates would have us think so.

A recent news story about a disabled unborn child quoted one as saying, “There’s no human life there.” Isn’t that the same idea? They think the baby has already “departed this earth,” so they don’t hesitate to abort the body.

As I blessed Terri’s grave, I also prayed that God’s people would be kept safe from this falsehood. And I recalled being in Terri’s room the day she died. I remembered her face, dehydrated from not having had a drop of water in two weeks. I recalled seeing the flowers, inches away, on her night table. They were immersed in water. And as I left the grave, I gave a final glance to the vase of flowers that was standing by the stone.

This column can be found online at http://www.priestsforlife.org/columns/columns2009/09-01-26blessinggrave.htm

Fr. Frank's columns are podcast. See http://www.priestsforlife.org/podcast

Comments on this column? Priests for Life, PO Box 141172, Staten Island, NY 10314; mailto:mail@priestsforlife.org

; Phone: 718-980-4400; Fax: 718-980-6515

Unlicensed California Abortionist Sentenced To Over 3 Years In Prison

February 2nd, 2009

Bertha Bugarin is scheduled for sentencing on 9 more felonies in San Diego County on Feb. 6

Los Angeles, CA - Bertha Bugarin was sentenced in a Los Angeles court on Friday to 3 years, 4 months in prison for committing illegal abortions without a medical license. Prosecutors had asked for five years.

Bertha appeared in court sobbing uncontrollably and begging for leniency and mercy. Her 22-year old daughter, Evangelina Bernal, cried as she read a prepared statement extolling the virtues of her mother.

"In sentencing Bugarin, Judge Sam Ohta has forgotten that Bugarin's victims were given no such mercy. Many of the women were cruelly given abortions without anesthesia or pain medication," said Operation Rescue spokesperson Cheryl Sullenger.

"Bugarin preyed on vulnerable Hispanic neighborhoods. She hoped to earn the maximum amount of profit by providing the shoddiest care, hoping the illegal status of many in those neighborhoods would prevent them from reporting what one journalist described as her 'shop of horrors.' Her victims will have to live with the trauma and injury Bugarin inflicted on them for the rest of their lives. Bugarin is a cold-hearted predator whose only remorse is that she got caught."

Bugarin has a long history of total disregard for the law and the safety of women who came to her abortion business that once operated 11 abortion mills. At least six of Bugarin's abortionists have lost their medical licenses due to negligence and fraud.

One of her abortionists, Laurence Reich, was a twice-convicted sex offender who molested and raped his abortion patients. Reich surrendered his license in 2006, but continued to work as an abortionist for Bugarin until his arrest in February, 2008.

Even after her arrest in a Los Angeles Police raid on 4 of her remaining 6 clinics, Bugarin continued to operate in San Diego County until her arrest there.

Bugarin pled guilty to 9 felony counts in San Diego County and is scheduled for sentencing there on Friday, February 6, 2009.

"We are very thankful that Bugarin's clinics are now closed and that she is on her way to jail where she belongs. We worked very long to protect the women of Southern California further abuse at the hands of this ruthless predator," said Sullenger.

"This sends a message to abortionists around the nation who have the attitude that they are above the law: We are watching you, and we will not stop working to enforce the laws until you, like Ms. Bugarin, are brought to justice."

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About Operation Rescue®

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

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Web site: www.operationrescue.org

E-mail: info@operationrescue.org

Pope at the Angelus reminds faithful that “euthanasia is a false solution to the drama of suffering...

VATICAN - Pope at the Angelus reminds faithful that "euthanasia is a false solution to the drama of suffering...The true answer cannot be putting someone to death, however "kindly," but to bear witness to the love that helps us to face pain and agony in a human way."

Vatican City (Agenzia Fides) – On Sunday, February 1, before reciting the Angelus with faithful gathered in Saint Peter's Square, the Holy Father Benedict XVI recalled that in the Sunday celebrations of this liturgical year, the liturgy presents the Gospel of Saint Mark. One of the characteristic marks of this "Messianic secret," the fact that for the moment, Jesus does not want anyone outside the restricted group of his disciples to know that he is the Christ, the Son of God. "He knows in fact that to liberate humanity from the dominion of sin he must be sacrificed on the cross as the true paschal lamb. The devil, for his part, tries to divert his attention and direct it instead toward a human logic of a powerful and successful messiah. The cross of Christ will be the demon's ruin, and this is why Jesus does not cease to teach his disciples that in order to enter into his glory he must suffer much, be rejected, condemned and crucified. Suffering is an integral part of his mission."

In suffering and dying on the cross for love, Jesus has given meaning to our suffering, "a meaning that many men and women of every age understood and made their own, experiencing profound serenity even in the bitterness of difficult physical and moral trials." Recalling the Message from the Italian Bishops, on the Day for Life (celebrated in Italy on the first Sunday of February), on the theme: "The strength of life in suffering," Benedict XVI affirmed: "I wholeheartedly join in their message in which we see the love of pastors for their people, and the courage to proclaim the truth, the courage to state with clarity, for example, that euthanasia is a false solution to the drama of suffering, a solution unworthy of man. The true answer cannot be putting someone to death, however 'kindly,' but to bear witness to the love that helps us to face pain and agony in a human way. We are certain: No tear, whether it be of those who suffer or those who stand by them, goes unnoticed before God."

After the Angelus, the Holy Father spoke on the liturgical feast of the Presentation of Jesus in the Temple, on February 2. "In this event Jesus' consecration to God the Father is manifested and, linked to it, that of the Virgin Mary." John Paul II desired that this feast, in which many consecrated persons take or renew their vows, be the Day of Consecrated Life. In the afternoon of February 2, there will be an encounter with the Pope, in the Basilica of Saint Peter, with the consecrated men and women of Rome.

After announcing this event, the Pope invited everyone "to thank the Lord for the precious gift of these brothers and sisters, and to ask him, through the intercession of the Madonna, for many new vocations, in the variety of charisms with which the Church is rich." (SL) (Agenzia Fides 2/2/2009)

Links:
Complete text of the Holy Father's address, in various languages
http://www.fides.org/ita/magistero/bxvi/angelus_010209.html

Lawsuit filed, But Criminal Charges Still Demanded In Murder Of Baby After Failed Abortion

February 2nd, 2009

Operation Rescue expresses gratitude to the Thomas More Society for filing a civil suit on behalf of Shanice Denise Osbourne, and insists that criminal charges must still be filed against her murderers.

Miami, FL - A law suit was filed last week by the Thomas More Society in the case of a baby that was born alive at a Hialeah abortion clinic, murdered, and whose body was stashed on the clinic roof.

The case was filed on behalf of the baby, Shanice Denise Osbourne, and names 13 defendants, including the unlicensed worker who killed Shanice, Belkis Gonzalez, the doctor who did not respond to calls, Pierre Renelique, and the business entity that owns the four abortion mills run by them.

The suit provides new and shocking details of callous, negligent conduct and cold-blooded murder. [Read the full complaint]

"We are thankful to the Thomas More Society for taking an interest in this case and seeking justice on behalf of Shanice. We pray for their success," said Operation Rescue President Troy Newman.

On July 20, 2006, Shanice's mother, Sycloria Williams, arrived at the Hialeah clinic in the early stages of labor after having been prepared for her late-term abortion the previous day by Renelique. Without a doctor or any other licensed person present, the clinic receptionist administered a drug that induced labor and cervical dilation.

After waiting hours in the clinic's recovery room in labor and without medical attention, Williams finally gave birth to Shanice on the seat of a recliner.

With Shanice moving and breathing on her own, Gonzalez murdered Shanice by cutting the umbilical cord and shoving her into a red bio-hazard bag. She hid Shanice's body on the roof of the abortion clinic.

An informant contacted the police and days later they were able to recover the baby's decomposing body. An autopsy confirmed that Shanice had been born alive.

In the two years since the incident, authorities have neglected to charge Gonzalez in the death of Shanice, saying only that the case is under investigation.

"After over two years, there is nothing left to investigate," said Newman. "We know who murdered Shanice, and we know how it was done down to the last detail. It's been determined that the baby was born alive and the actions taken by Gonzalez caused her death. Now it's time for justice.

"The Miami prosecutor is letting Gonzalez get away with murder, and is sending a dangerous message to the medical world that the lives of living newborns are not deserving of protection. We cannot rest until justice is done."

Those interested are urged to contact the prosecutor and demand that charges be filed against Gonzales and her accomplices in the murder of Shanice Denise Osbourne.

Contact:
Prosecutor David Waksman
(305) 547-0430

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About Operation Rescue®

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Web site: www.operationrescue.org

E-mail: info@operationrescue.org

ONE MILLION ROSARIES FOR UNBORN BABIES prayer event

(The press release[below] is followed by a message from Patrick Benedict of the Saint Michael the Archangel Organization.)

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

February 2nd, 2009

CONTACT: Patrick Benedict

PatrickBenedict@SaintMichaelTheArchangelOrganization.org

One Million Rosaries For Unborn Babies

scheduled for May 1st, 2nd, and 3rd

MEMPHIS, TENNESSEE (February 2nd, 2009) - The 2nd annual ONE MILLION ROSARIES FOR UNBORN BABIES prayer event is scheduled to take place on Friday(May 1st), Saturday(May 2nd), and Sunday(May 3rd), 2009. A person wanting to be a participant will pray at least one Rosary on any of the three days for the following intention: For an end to the surgical and non-surgical killing of unborn human persons. This multinational pro-life prayer event is being coordinated by the Saint Michael the Archangel Organization.

"Last year's ONE MILLION ROSARIES FOR UNBORN BABIES prayer event was on one day only," said Patrick Benedict, president of the Memphis-based Saint Michael the Archangel Organization and a parishioner at Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church in the Diocese of Memphis in Tennessee. " This year, Friday has been added for everyone, but particularly for students at schools. Sunday, also, has been added for everyone, but particularly for people to pray the Rosary either before or after Masses."

People planning on participating in the ONE MILLION ROSARIES FOR UNBORN BABIES prayer event are encouraged to register at www.SaintMichaelTheArchangelOrganization.org. Or, a person may let his/her intention be known by writing to: Saint Michael the Archangel Organization; P. O. Box 41257; Memphis, Tennessee 38174; U.S.A. Parishes, schools, organizations, etc. are welcome to register many Rosaries at the same time.

In addition to praying the Rosary, people are encouraged to let others know about the ONE MILLION ROSARIES FOR UNBORN BABIES prayer event. An "Information Page/Bulletin Insert" about the prayer event can be found at the Saint Michael the Archangel Organization's website(see above) or may be requested by writing to the Saint Michael the Archangel Organization(see above for the mailing address).

The Saint Michael the Archangel Organization recently coordinated the 10,000 MASSES FOR UNBORN BABIES Novena(January 13th - 21st, 2009). As part of this Novena, more than 3,000 Masses were offered in at least 18 countries(Australia, Canada, England, Germany, India, Italy, New Zealand, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Slovak, Singapore, South Africa, Trinidad, Uganda, U.S.A., The Vatican, and Vietnam).

" The ONE MILLION ROSARIES FOR UNBORN BABIES may be thought of as a spiritual bouquet for unborn babies. A person who is willing to participate will be united with many others in increasing the size and beauty of this spiritual bouquet for God's precious little ones," concluded Benedict.

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A message from Patrick Benedict to the supporters of the Saint Michael the Archangel Organization:

Dear Supporter of the Saint Michael the Archangel Organization,

First, with regards to the 10,000 MASSES FOR UNBORN BABIES Novena: 1) I want to thank each priest who offered the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass; 2) Also, I want to thank each person who scheduled to have one or more Masses offered; and, 3) And, thanks very much to each person who in some other way(s) helped out. Over 3,000 Masses were offered for unborn human persons. The 2nd annual 10,000 MASSES FOR UNBORN BABIES is set to happen January 13th - 21st, 2010.

Second, if you have not already done so, I hope you will go to the Saint Michael the Archangel Organization's website (see below) to register as a participant for the May 1st, 2nd, and 3rd ONE MILLION ROSARIES FOR UNBORN BABIES prayer event. Additionally, I greatly encourage you to promote this pro-life prayer event at one or more parishes, at schools, etc. The website www.SaintMichaelTheArchangelOrganization.org has a page titled "Promoting the ONE MILLION ROSARIES FOR UNBORN BABIES prayer event."

Third, as you may know, the Saint Michael the Archangel Organization has a bumper sticker with a full-color picture of the Our Lady of Guadalupe image on it along with a pro-Rosary, pro-life message. You may want one of these unique bumper stickers for yourself, or you may want to give it away to someone you know. I hope you will consider making a donation and asking for one of these bumper stickers. The website www.SaintMichaelTheArchangelOrganization.org has information about this and shows a picture of the bumper sticker. Please know: A substantial increase in the Saint Michael the Archangel Organization's funding would be very helpful. I do thank each person reading this who has made a donation in the past.

I ask that you please pray one Hail Mary for the Saint Michael the Archangel Organization.

Sincerely,

Patrick Benedict

Saint Michael the Archangel Organization