September 2005 Archives

The harm performed on a preborn child by an abortionist is, of course, lethal.

But the harm doesn't stop there.

By David Brandao

The start of a new Supreme Court term is always a notable event in Washington. Pundits and analysts take a look at intriguing cases bubbling up from the various appellate circuits, speculating on which ones the high court will accept, and what impact a change in direction could have on a particular aspect of life in the United States.

The addition of a new chief justice and the expected addition of a new associate justice have brought fresh attention to the first Monday in October of 2005. Throughout the confirmation hearings for Judge John Roberts, there has been much concern about how he would rule on certain issues that will no doubt face the court, not only this year but also for many years to come. No issue imaginable could ever be more volatile than abortion.

Life Chain 2005 is an annual pro-life event that attracts thousands of people to line the sidewalks with signs bearing the simple messages of: ABORTION KILLS CHILDREN, JESUS HEALS AND FORGIVES, ABORTION HURTS WOMEN and LIFE THE FIRST INALIENABLE RIGHT, ADOPTION THE LOVING OPTION and LORD FORGIVE US AND OUR NATION. Website: NationalLifeChain.org and LifeChain.net.

"Over 45 million of our tiniest American citizens have been deprived of their God given inalienable rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness by the horrific practice of abortion. The innocent pre born child has been discriminated against based on their size and there geographical location. Truly, what is meant to be a loving womb is the most dangerous place to live in America," so says Phil Magnan of Biblical Family Advocates.

Debi Jackson, owner of the Cincinnati Women's Services abortion mill, is threatening to shut her chop shop after 32 years of depopulating service to the community. The problem, according to a column by Jill Stanek, is that Ohio has a law requiring doctors to actually have a face-to-face, private, informational meeting with mothers 24 hours before scheduled abortions. Jackson told the Cinncinati post that she cannot in "good conscience" comply.

These dolts seem to think so.

I know, I know ... I promised that I would try to get to know people before blogging about them, especially if the blog post is likely to be hostile. Well, this post is hostile. In fairness, I've read the FAQ on the "Choice for Men" (C4M) website, as well as their claims of unequal protection. I still think it's a horrible idea.

From the AP. Hat tip: Discarded Lies

We saw this coming with the Groningen Protocols. But it's still shocking how slippery the Dutch slope has become.

The Dutch government intends to expand its current euthanasia policy, setting guidelines for when doctors may end the lives of terminally ill newborns with the parents' consent, The Associated Press has learned.

A letter outlining the new directives was expected to be submitted to parliament for discussion by mid-October, but the new policy will not require a change of law, Dutch Health Ministry spokeswoman Annette Dijkstra said Thursday.

More at Marlowe's Shade

As expected, all 55 Senate Republicans voted for Roberts and were joined by 22 Democrats and Jim Jeffords (I-Vermont). Twenty-two Democrats voted "No," following the lead of Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nevada).

"Judge Roberts deserved unanimous confirmation by the Senate and the fact that he didn't get it is further proof of how the left is politicizing the judiciary," said Jan LaRue, chief counsel for Concerned Women for America. "Some chose to jump off a political cliff by joining hands with the die-hard abortion, gay rights and environmental groups to oppose this supremely qualified judge."

Pink Money:

PINK MONEY Organizations are the self-serving breast cancer groups, the left-wing media and other organizations that are denying the truth about the fatal link between abortion and breast cancer in order to comply with society's abortion agenda:

• The Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation (SGK)
  Many people, families and organizations around the world have been writing about the shocking financial relationship beween SGK and Planned Parenthood, the Abortion Death Machine.
  The Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation has been funding Planned Parenthood: ( in 2003 alone: $475,000 from 21 affiliate grants. See Eve Sanchez Silver's PINK MONEY: The Abortion-Breast Cancer LINK below.


• The National Cancer Institute (NCI)
  The media and many breast cancer organizations rely on the National Cancer Institute's claim that "There is no link between Abortion and Breast cancer." However, it is clear that the Beral study relied upon by NCI is flawed and has been reliably discredited. (See the detailed review at The Breast Cancer Prevention Institute's web site below).


• The American Cancer Society (ACS)
  The American Cancer Society has casually removed its reference linking abortion to breast cancer. Go to Coalition on Abortion-Breast Cancer 's site for details about this and many other abortion-breast cancer related news, below.


• 4 Cases have been successfully tried and won regarding the abortion-breast cancer link and the abortion clinics that neglected to inform patients about the dramatic associated breast cancer risk-increase of abortion. Get the latest from Karen Malec and The Coalition on Abortion-Breast Cancer, below.


• Is all this new to you? Get the detailed A-BC info at The Breast Cancer Prevention Institute's A-BC Fact Sheet.

I find their editorial views wishy-washy at times, but in their October issue, Christianity Today has a great overview of the stem cell debate. It's a terrific guide for Christians perplexed by the stem cell media blitz. It presents a wide range of perspectives. I particularly liked this quote from Joni Eareckson Tada:

Joni Eareckson Tada, left a quadriplegic by a diving injury 38 years ago, is frustrated by what she sees as scientific hype. "The media have played out the human embryo as the holy grail of stem-cell research," Tada, who founded the Joni and Friends ministry in 1979, tells CT. "The biotech industry, linked with venture capitalists, would have us believe that an embryo is not a human being—it's just a mindless clump of cells not worthy of protection or legal rights. And we bought into it."

By taking the time to read it, you'll be better informed than 90% of the adult population.

By Leslie Hanks to the Rock Mountain News

As the leaves begin to turn gold each fall, cities begin to turn pink.

Everywhere one looks one finds pink ads, pink attire, pink hats, pink tennis shoes, pink teas - yes The Republic of Tea makes a Sip for the Cure. The Race for the Cure (for breast cancer) has become the cause celebre for the nation.

On September 21st, amid severe criticism, Italy’s health minister Francesco Storace halted experiments surrounding the abortion pill RU-486 citing health and legal reasons. - LifeSiteNews

After Hurricane Katrina shattered the lives of millions of people in the South, abortion advocates offered them morning after pills and free abortions instead of food, shelter or money to rebuild. Now, that Hurricane Rita has struck, an Arkansas abortion facility says it will again perform free abortions. - LifeNews.com

"This just adds to the devastation these women already have in their lives," Arkansas Right to Life executive director Rose Mimms told The Associated Press. "Some have lost family members. They all have lost property for sure. Taking the lives of unborn children who are survivors of the hurricane is the wrong response."

The Wisconsin State Senate voted today to place a complete ban on human cloning in the state. Assembly Bill (AB) 499 would ban both “reproductive cloning” – where a cloned person is brought to birth, and “therapeutic cloning” – where a cloned person is killed in the course of scientific experimentation.

On a 21 to 12 bipartisan vote, Assembly Bill 499, authored by Representative Steve Kestell (R-Elkhart Lake) and Senator Joe Leibham (R-Sheboygan), passed the Senate and now moves to the Governor’s desk.

US federal regulators are seeking public comment on whether the "morning-after" pill should be made available without prescription.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is weighing a request to make the "Plan B" pill available over the counter only to women above a certain age threshold. The FDA has declined to make the pill available to all customers regardless of age, citing concerns that adolescent girls may not know how to use the pill safely.

Citizens have until November 1, 2005, to submit comments.

The Wisconsin State Senate made final passage of a comprehensive human cloning ban almost certain last night by defeating a "clone to kill" amendment that would have gutted the measure.

Assembly Bill 499, authored by Representative Steve Kestell (R-Elkhart Lake) and Senator Joe Leibham (R-Sheboygan), would ban both "reproductive cloning" – where a cloned person is brought to birth, and "therapeutic cloning" – where a cloned person is killed by extracting his or her stem cells.

From the Coalition on Abortion/Breast Cancer Press Release, September 26, 2005:

"Ladies, take cover! Andrew Von Eschenbach was named acting commissioner of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Friday," warned Karen Malec, president of the Coalition on Abortion/Breast Cancer. "The FDA had a commissioner who could resist political pressure. His abrupt resignation after two months on the job creates the impression that the Bush Administration couldn't take the heat from the abortion and the pharmaceutical industries. The industries want Plan B (morning-after pill) made available for over-the-counter sales."

"Von Eschenbach is no friend of women," warned Malec, a cancer survivor. "He's a friend of the anti-woman abortion and pharmaceutical industries."

LifeNews.com has the story.

For more information on the abortion/breast cancer link go here.

Cross-posted from Choose Life.

The third Carnival of Life is up at Stem Cell Extremist. We've got lots of terrific posts covering a huge spectrum of life issues. Come and take a look!

The Schindler family is writing a book that will be released to coincide with the anniversary of Terri Schiavo's death.

What happens when Roe v. Wade is overturned? For over thirty years pro-lifers have been praying for that day to come while abortion rights advocates have worked tirelessly to prevent the “death of choice.” While the answer to the question is obvious (the abortion issue reverts back to the state level) few groups on either side of the debate appear to be adequately prepared for the inevitable shift that will occur. Fortunately for the pro-choice side, we have a group that is already making plans: Americans United for Life.

The headline of this Guardian article is "Euthanasia law must change, says struck-off doctor" As usual the liberal media bends over backwards to give a sympathetic portrayal of euthanasia.

A retired doctor vowed yesterday to continue to campaign for the legalisation of doctor-assisted suicide after he was struck off the medical register for obtaining pills in his own name to help a terminally ill friend end his life. Michael Irwin, 74, a leading euthanasia campaigner, "abused his position as a doctor" and was unfit to practise, a General Medical Council panel found.

More at Marlowe's Shade

From LifeNews.com:

The Bush administration on Monday appealed a federal appeals court's decision declaring the national ban on partial-birth abortions unconstitutional. The appellate court said the ban on partial-birth abortions should be struck down because it lacks a "health exception."

[snip]

The Bush administration brief argues that Congress' findings should be respected, namely that it heard from numerous doctors that said the three-day long abortion procedure is never necessary to protect a woman's health.

"Congress received oral and written testimony from experts who stated that partial-birth abortion was not necessary to preserve the health of the mother in any circumstances," the brief said.

The partial-birth abortion procedure was developed by Ohio abortion practitioner Martin Haskell, who admits that he performs it on mostly healthy women and healthy babies.

Read the complete story here.

Cross-posted from Choose Life.

UK physician and former head of the Voluntary Euthanasia Society Dr Michael Irwin was in the news last spring for his "Final Choice" holiday tour where the return trip is in a casket. Now he's being brought before the General Medical Council and may lose his medical license for his involvement in a plan to assist a friend's suicide.

Continued on Marlowe's Shade

My thoughts exactly:

Concerned Women for America (CWA) urges President Bush to ignore the left's predictable threats to filibuster his next Supreme Court nominee. Selecting the right Supreme Court nominee must not be jeopardized by unprincipled partisan threats.

"Unless the President nominates Howard Dean, Barbra Streisand or Al Gore, the Democrats can be expected to filibuster," said Jan LaRue, CWA's chief counsel. "Any nominee who thinks the text of the Constitution should be taken more seriously than a supermarket tabloid is filibuster fodder. It isn't about the nominee--it's about the President. And the seven Republicans in the 'Gang of 14' need to remember that."

Stand True Ministries is gearing up for the second annual Students' Day of Silent Solidarity on Tuesday, October 25. On this date, students from hundreds of campuses in both the United States and Canada will take a vow of silence to express their contempt for the murderous act of abortion that has claimed one-third of their generation and continues to take the lives of over 4,000 babies per day in the United States alone.

South Africa's Christian Action organization sent out an invitation calling pro-life Christians in their country to participate in the annual Life Chain event on Sunday 2 October 2005:

If you are in Cape Town, we certainly hope that you will make the time to join us at the entrance to the Waterfront in Buitengracht Street, downtown Cape Town, on Sunday 2 October at 1:45PM. We also trust that you have been able to encourage your church leaders to promote and pray for the Life Chain. Do bring as many friends and family with you as possible.

The Life Chains which will be held throughout the country on 1 and 2 October will be one of the positive and practical ways that we can stand up for the sanctity of life and speak up for the right to life of pre-born babies.

Carnival #3 will be up at The Stem Cell Extremist on Wednesday the 28th.

Send any posts you have written on any pro-life topic . That covers a lot of ground, so there should be lots and lots of posts!

Send them to me by Tuesday evening and watch your traffic stats fly through the roof!

The Wisconsin State Senate will take up separate bills Tuesday that would place a complete ban on human cloning and facilitate the donation of newborn umbilical cord blood in Wisconsin.

A Pennsylvania woman with heart failure has significantly improved after undergoing a stem cell treatment in Thailand called "VesCell™". According to a company press release, testing at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center has confirmed the patient's improvement.

Jeannine Lewis suffered from non-ischemic cardiomyopathy. She was in Class III-IV heart failure (the borderline of needing a heart transplant) and on maximal oral medical therapy. Her preoperative echocardiogram showed an Ejection Fraction (EF) of 25-30 percent. After three months, MRI results show that her EF has improved to 41 percent and doctors have reclassified her to Class I heart failure – a significant improvement. Her shortening fraction and stroke volume have also increased.

Bioethicist Wesley J Smith posted this stunning article in his blog Secondhand Smoke this weekend:

Up to now, embryonic stem cell advocates have claimed that they are only interested in stem cells harvested from embryos at the blastocyst (or five-to six-day) stage. They have denied any intention of implanting embryos either in the uterus of a volunteer or in an artificial womb in order to harvest cells, tissues, or organs at more advanced stages of embryonic development or in the fetal stage. Advocates are well aware that most Americans, including those who are prepared to countenance the destruction of very early embryos, are not ready to approve the macabre practice of "fetus farming." However, based on the literature I have read and the evasive answers given by spokesmen for the biotechnology industry at meetings of the President's Council on Bioethics, I fear that the long-term goal is indeed to create an industry in harvesting late embryonic and fetal body parts for use in regenerative medicine and organ transplantation.

More at Marlowe's Shade

The International Life Chain is October 2, 2005, from 2:30 – 3:30 PM in each time zone across the U.S. and Canada. Prolifers in each city, town, and hamlet are urged to participate in what is also called “a national prayer chain,” held on city sidewalks.

Over 900 cities and towns will participate this year. See www.LifeChain.Net or www.NationalLifeChain.org for information about your city.

According to Life Chain organizers, the national pro-life witness saves preborn lives and changes receptive hearts. While standing for one hour in meditation and prayer, participants hold signs that include Abortion Kills Children, Jesus Forgives and Heals, Adoption the Loving Option, and I Regret My Abortion. Supplemental (plastic) yard signs are available through www.10-Commandments.com.

Individuals desiring to include their city or town in National Life Chain Sunday 2004 should contact the national Life Chain office (530-671-5500 or email NationalLifeChain@otnusa.com) and visit www.NationalLifeChain.org for the all-important Life Chain Manual. The materials and personal assistance needed are free of charge, and Life Chain organizers who begin late should hold their Life Chain on October 30 (the alternate date), rather than October 2. Either date is ideal for protecting precious unborn children and their mothers.

Family Research Council reported in yesterday's Washington Update that Monday, Sept 26 is Family Dinner Day, sponsored by the CASA Organization. This is certainly a celebration worth celebrating not only on Sept 26, but every day! Not only do children, especially teens, benefit greatly from the family meal, but this concept is integral to our very beings.

LifeSiteNews has an excellent article covering reports of forced abortion in China:

Time magazine ran a piece, titled, “Enemies of the State? How local officials in China launched a brutal campaign of forced abortions and sterilizations,” a topic that is largely taboo in abortion-supporting popular media.

Beginning with a graphic and horrifying account of a forced abortion by government population control officials, the Time piece confirmed in the mainstream media what pro-life activists have been trying for years to expose. China’s one-child population control policy has created a horrific environment of terror, violence and infanticide in which mothers must go underground or flee the country to save the lives of their unborn children.

While implying that without controls, China’s “over-population” problem could expand into a “Malthusian nightmare,” Time reported that despite legal reforms, the violence is still common. Drowning newborns, dragging unwilling women into abortion facilities, forcing sterilizations, jailing parents and beating their relatives to death, extorting exorbitant fees from peasants who want to give birth without being arrested, the piece implied, are still carried out under a government that often turns a blind eye.

Pro-life advocates protested an "ethics" conference in Minnesota featuring Terri Schiavo's estranged husband and Dr. Ronald Cranford, a renown euthanasia advocate and outspoken supporter of ending Terri's life.

"Terri didn't die an awful death," Michael Schiavo told the conference attendees. As she died, "I laid a red rose in her hand and said goodbye."

Terri's brother, Bobby Schindler, told a different story at a recent meeting in Phoenix sponsored by Arizona Right to Life.

By now most our readers are aware that the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee recommended the confirmation of John Roberts as Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court. The news was welcomed by the majority of pro-life and pro-family organizations and looked upon as a victory by many conservatives.

However, press reports reflect the strategy by liberals and abortion supporters to use the current nomination process to establish a more favorable footing for the future battle over Justice Sandra Day O'Connor's replacement:

(…) Democrats voiced concerns about Roberts' commitment to civil rights and women's rights, based largely on memos he wrote as a young attorney two decades ago in the Reagan administration.

(…) They also complained about his refusal at his confirmation hearing to disclose how he might rule on some hot-button legal issues, such as abortion rights.

(…) Others, including major liberal groups, contend Democrats should muster as much opposition as possible to send a message to Bush that in order to avoid a major fight he should send up a noncontroversial nominee.

LATimes.com | Commentary | Let's take abortion away from the court, by David Gelernter:

JOHN G. ROBERTS JR. will be confirmed and become chief justice — though some of his opponents noisily insist they don't trust him to leave Roe vs. Wade and abortion rights undisturbed. Instead of heckling Roberts, they ought to ask themselves why abortion rights should be up to the Supreme Court in the first place, and not to the American people and their elected representatives.

The abortion issue is a catastrophic wound in U.S. cultural life. It has inflicted unending battles on American society ever since the Supreme Court seized control of the issue from state legislatures in 1973 — in one of the grossest power grabs American democracy ever faced.

Young people pondering U.S. democracy today might easily conclude that all really important laws must be decreed by the high court.

However, nothing gets the Court watchers hyperventilating like abortion. Striking down Roe & Doe wouldn't end judicial tyranny, but it would certainly be a step in the right direction.

The Age reports that Australian company Mesoblast is set to begin a new trial of an adult stem cell therapy.

Adult stem cell specialist Mesoblast can start testing its technology in humans, after receiving ethics approval for its first orthopaedic study....

The independent trial will involve up to 10 patients with long bone fractures that have failed to heal properly and will primarily test the safety of the stem cell therapy. Results could be available by July.

Pre-clinical animal studies have already shown that Mesoblast's technology is safe and able to generate new bone growth, but this trial will be the first time that it is tested in humans....

The trial, which will start as soon as the first patient is recruited, will involve extracting the subject's own stem cells, harvesting and expanding them at the Peter MacCallum Cancer Institute's cell therapies division, and then implanting them back into the affected area of the body.

This process should take about eight weeks.

If you saw the headline "Irish favour legalising abortion," what would you think the majority of people in Ireland would favor doing with regards to abortion? Now this shouldn't really be a trick question but you never know with the media.

Check out this article whose title openly declares "Irish favour legalising abortion" but then the first sentence states,

Irish voters under 35 strongly favour legalising abortion, but if a referendum on permitting abortion was held now it would be defeated, according to an opinion poll.

The article goes to state that the poll found that 47% of people surveyed favored keeping Ireland's prolife law while only 36% would support a referendum to change the law.

So then the headline should have actually been something like "Irish don't favour legalising abortion," right?

From LifeSite

Pressure on China continues to mount over it's abortion policies and abuses.

Pro-life protesters outside the Chinese embassy in the UK have been given an historic thumbs-up by authorities who have normally discouraged or arrested those who tried to draw attention to human rights atrocities in the Communist country.

Read the rest at Marlowe's Shade

Ya think? Could it be possible?

Here is a perfect example of using non-specific language to obscure the truth.

Embryonic stem cells are controversial because of origin. Most are leftovers from fertility clinics, allowed to grow in culture several days beyond fertilization.

In turn, the group has turned to Harvard Medical School lawyer and ethicist Louis M. Guenin to draft the language of the ballot measure, seeking to avoid what happened to a California version of publicly financed stem cell research - still without funding three years after it was approved.

To begin with, Aaronson's proposal would put the Florida Department of Health in charge of issuing money to qualified scientists and would issue the grants only to nonprofit research institutions.

And to avoid what is a moral dilemma for many, including Governor Jeb Bush, Aaronson's proposal states that the only embryos used will be those donated by women who individually specify that those cells will not be implanted in any other woman's womb."

Furthermore that line of reasoning, that the embryos aren't really people because they won't be implanted in a womb, is completely fallacious and won't remove any controversy from the issue. As the President's Bioethics Council noted:

The fact that embryos have been created outside their natural environment-which is to say, outside the woman's body-and are therefore limited in their ability to realize their natural capacities, does not affect either the potential or the moral status of the beings themselves. A bird forced to live in a cage its entire life may never learn to fly. But this does not mean it is less of a bird, or that it lacks the immanent potentiality to fly on feathered wings. It means only that a caged bird-like an in vitro human embryo-has been deprived of its proper environment.

Although legislation and judicial acts at the federal level often receive the most attention, it is the local level that gives pro-life individuals the greatest chance for making a difference by talking one-on-one to their neighbors and directly supporting legislation aimed at protecting life.

Those in Wisconsin have a great opportunity to take a stand on behalf of unborn children through three different bills currently being considered by the state legislature. Next Tuesday, September 27, the Senate will take up AB 207 (the Hundertmark/Roessler Conscience Protection Act), AB 499 (the Kestell/Leibham Cloning Ban Bill), SB 138 (the Grothman/Nischke Unborn Child Pain Awareness Act) as well as AB 270 (the Wieckert/Leibham Cord Blood Bill).

The Chicago Sun-Times reports today that France will offer new financial incentives for mothers to have third children. Reports the Sun-Times:

France isn't alone in worrying about the need to encourage births. Across Europe [there is]... a decline in fertility rates that some fear could lead to economic decline.

In the 25-nation European Union, the average fertility rate has sunk below 2.07 children per woman -- the minimum needed to prevent a drop in population without immigration.

"It is a kind of creeping crisis," said Jan Hoem, a director of the Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research in Germany, where the fertility rate of around 1.3 is among Europe's lowest....

The family-friendly policies have helped keep France's fertility rate among the highest in Europe -- 1.9 children per woman, second only to Ireland's 2.0 but still below the 2.07 level needed to keep population stable.

The EU average is around 1.5, dropping to less than 1.3 in some countries.

Why aren't headlines screaming about the underpopulation crisis?

Part-Time Pundit is hosting the Second Carnival of Life. For information on the Carnival see this post.

Pia de Solenni cuts through the fog created by Susan Wood to give the basic facts about the "morning after" pill -- facts deliberately hidden by NARAL, Planned Parenthood, and the rest of the usual suspects...including aforesaid Ms. Wood. This is a very good piece from the American Spectator. I print below a couple of paragraphs but you should certainly check out the whole article. Read it right here.

Californians are currently debating Proposition 73, to be voted on in November, that would mandate parents be notified before their minor daughters abort. Here's what Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger had to say about it yesterday, according to the Sacramento Bee:

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said Tuesday he supports the primary aim of a ballot initiative that would make most abortions for minors illegal without prior notification of the girls' parents or guardians, saying he'd "kill" someone who took one of his own daughters for an abortion without informing him.

"I have a daughter," Schwarzenegger said in an interview with The Bee. "I wouldn't want to have someone take my daughter to a hospital for an abortion or something and not tell me. I would kill him if they do that."

Schwarzenegger, who has two teenage daughters and two preteen sons, said in response to a follow-up question that he didn't literally mean he'd kill someone. But, in some of his first public comments about the substance of Proposition 73, the Republican governor left little doubt how he feels about young girls getting abortions without their parents being notified ahead of time.

"It will be the ultimate of being outraged about it and angry about it," he said.

"They call me when my daughter falls off the jungle gym in the school and they say, 'What do you want us to use? Can we put a Band-Aid on it? Do you want to come in? She's crying a little bit.'

"They call us about everything. I don't want them in that particular incident not to call us."

If one of his daughters sought an abortion on her own, he said, "then I would deal with that also."...

Despite what he called his belief in "the concept" of Proposition 73, Schwarzenegger, who supports a woman's right to have an abortion, said he's not sure whether he'll endorse the measure.

Schwarzenegger is already pushing four initiatives on the special election ballot Nov. 8, and he may not want to divert attention from those, he suggested. But he also knows the abortion measure is a potential wild card come November, when some political experts say it could be a big draw for conservative Republicans.

Such voters make up the core of Schwarzenegger's political support these days....

One tactic of the right-to-die movement is to point to illegally assisted suicides and use this criminal behavior to justify legalizing it. Aside from the fact that this method negates the rule of law in all areas, it also shifts the focus from the reasons why the laws are there in the first place.

Yesterday's LifeSite article on Vancouver euthanasia activist Russell Ogden illustrates this well:

Ogden’s continuing research reveals that euthanasia is far from the warm fuzzy Hallmark card experience most euthanasia activists would have the public believe. Ogden’s 1994 master’s thesis showed that many “botched” acts of euthanasia resulted in “horrific” acts of violence. Martindale writes that half of the 34 euthanasia cases Ogden studied were “botched” and “resulted in increased suffering.”

Continued at Marlowe's Shade

The New York Times reported September 13 that "March of the Penguins" is the second highest grossing documentary of all time, behind "Farenheit 911."

The NYT gave credit for its popularity to conservatives, verging on mocking us for making cultural analogies to the instinctive family routines of penguins, but not quite.

Leave that to tailgating secularist columnists, who can't stand the thought of Christians seeing Intelligent Design and lessons for humans in nature, such as protecting our young, if the lessons have anything to do with Biblical morality.

The liberal thought police from the Arizona Republic and New York Daily News take me and others on for promoting MOTP to fellow conservatives. Read about it on jillstanek.com.

Also read my latest column on WorldNetDaily.com. It traces the career of US Senator Dick Durbin - from master of ceremonies at pro-life banquets to ruthless pro-abort who even voted against the partial birth abortion ban.

After reading one abortion provider's reaction to an Ohio prolife law, it seems obvious to me that the pocketbooks of abortion providers are the biggest victims.

``I am choosing to close my door,'' Jackson said, ``because I'm not willing to offer my services in a lesser way than I have before.''

In other words, "This legislation makes it more difficult for me to make money. I'm closing up because my business will suffer."

Abortion clinic director Debi Jackson continues:

`I would have to essentially become an abortion mill,'' Jackson said, adding that the new rules would push the cost of an abortion from about $450 to $550.

I would really like Jackson to explain how a law that requires that a doctor (instead of any clinic counselor) meet with a woman 24 hours before her abortion and changes the parental consent law would make her abortion clinic into more of a "mill."

The article also quotes Carol Westfall, another abortion clinic director, who was last heard saying, "My opinion is, the judge should be lynched."

Pro-Life Wisconsin is publicly asking a legislative committee to ban "wrongful birth" and "wrongful life" lawsuits – suits which allow parents to sue for the "damage" of their disabled child’s birth.

Currently, Wisconsin laws allow parents to sue a doctor for damages if they can show a lack of information led them to give birth rather than abort their unborn (diabled) baby.

"Wisconsin must reject the sick and dangerous idea that it is better for someone to be dead than disabled," said Pro-Life Wisconsin State Director Peggy Hamill.

In the latest on-line edition of the journal Stem Cells is an editorial announcing the pressing need to outline ethics for future trials of human embryonic stem cell derived therapies.

Increased funding and continued scientific progress have opened a new era in the ethics of human embryonic stem cell (hESC) research. These developments will reframe the ethical debate, which to date has focused on the moral status of the embryo and the acceptability of using embryos for research purposes. Although such philosophical questions have not been resolved, the issue is no longer if hESC research should proceed, but rather how it should
proceed. The rapid pace of research makes it imperative to look ahead to the ethical issues generated by the expected use of hESC for transplantation.

And here we are witnessing the "invisible hand" of technology and scientific progress. Because it is possible, it becomes necessary. We haven't even determined if this is a race which should be run, and yet, because funding and research is racing ahead, we now have to decide how the race should be run.

I'd prefer to finish the first debate first. Afterall, what good are guidelines going to do if the course of the race actually runs off of a cliff?

Calling all Pro-life websites, bloggers and organizations!

Join us at MarchTogether.com for the next Call for Life on October 7th. What is Call for Life, you ask? It is an exciting new project to end abortion through the unified voices of U.S. citizens and pro-life organizations collectively lobbying our representatives for change. Here's how it works:

On the first Friday of every month, individuals will take 15 minutes out of their busy schedules to call at least one state or federal representative, their governor, and one abortion provider asking them to put an end to abortion.

From LifeSite.

Several Chinese population control officials in Linyi have been arrested or fired after reports surfaced that they were involved in forced abortions and sterilizations. The surprising actions came after a local advocate who exposed the problems was detained under house arrest for 30 hours.

An official Chinese media outlet reports that the abuses were taking place in the eastern province of Shandong. Chen Guangcheng, the detained activist, told Time magazine in an interview before the arrest that 7,000 area people had been sterilized against their will.

But which kind of stem cells?

Fox News | Adult Stem Cells May Help Spine-Injured Mice:

In lab tests, mice with spinal injuries had some improvements after getting injections of adult human neural stem cells.

The mice showed evidence of spinal-cord-lesion repair and better mobility, report Aileen Anderson, PhD, and colleagues.

National Geographic News | Stem Cells Repair Damaged Spinal Cords in Mice:

A new study shows that human stem cells injected into mice can repair damaged spinal cords and help partially paralyzed mice walk again.

Although many questions remain unanswered, the research raises the hope of using stem cells to help people with spinal cord injuries.

"We're very excited about these stem cells," said Aileen Anderson of the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at the University of California, Irvine. "We're really on the cusp of making some big leaps forward."

...

For their experiment, the UC Irvine researchers used fetal brain stem cells provided by StemCells Inc., a Palo Alto, California-based company. The scientists injured the spinal cords of mice and nine days later injected them with the stem cells.

CNSNews correspondent Dawn Rizzoni reports on Planned Parenthood's exploitation of the Katrina tragedy to raise funds:

(CNSNews.com) - Planned Parenthood Federation of America, the nation's number one provider of abortions, is "exploiting the tragedy of Hurricane Katrina for its own financial gain," according to pro-life activists.

Stop Planned Parenthood International (STOPP), a division of the pro-life group American Life League, points to Planned Parenthood's website, which asks for donations to help hurricane victims in the Gulf Coast region.

Archbishop Pell of Australia is seeking a ban on EMBRYONIC stem cell research, noting that:

the destruction of embryos for science has created "a class of human life which is statutorily expendable".

In his submission to a Government inquiry into laws covering cloning and the use of embryos for research, Australia's most senior Catholic leader said the scientific justification for using embryos had diminished since the laws were passed in 2002.

From The Times Online via Mark Nicodemo

A disturbing story and a real hero for the Culture of Life.

HORRIFYING revelations of forced abortions and compulsory sterilisation in China embarrassed the Beijing government last week just as President Hu Jintao took the international stage. The exposure of practices that break China’s own laws governing birth control was the work of a blind man who has led a campaign to bring officials to justice for their crimes.

(LifeSiteNews.com) – The White House has once again denied the controversial United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) financial backing – for the fourth year running, despite assurances from the UNFPA that it is not involved in coercive abortion in China. The UNFPA would normally receive $34 million; instead, $25 million will be redirected to the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).

US law prohibits the country from contributing to any organization that participates in coercive abortion – a practice widely acknowledged in Communist-ruled China. Despite alleging that they have no participation in this practice – as a press release from the UN dated today claims – other groups continue to document evidence that the UNFPA is directly involved in funding and aiding China’s coerced abortion program.

The first ever GodBlog Convention will be held at the Torrey Honors Institute of Biola University in La Mirada, California on October 13th through October 15th, 2005. The conference is designed to establish and cultivate relationships within the Christian blogging community and to provide opportunities for Christian bloggers to think about their role within the broader blogging world.

This will be a great opportunity for Christian pro-lifers to learn, network and strategize about how the blogosphere can be used to communicate a Christian pro-life message that will engage the non-Christian culture, heal the broken hearted, catalyze change and motivate action. It is also an opportunity for pro-life organizations and ministries to discover how bloggers and blogging technology can benefit their web presence.

The good news is that it is not too late to register (click here).

Update: if you plan on attending email me (prolifeblogs at gmail dot com).

A new report in the New England Journal of Medicine says China should scrap its one-child population control policy that has resulted in forced abortions and sterilizations for those who violate it. The respected medical publication says more wealth and freedom in China means the policy is outdated. - more from LifeNews

In a recent press release, Barbara Coombs Lee the CEO of Right-to-die group Compassion & Choices took advantage of reports of doctors euthanizing patients to position her group's physician assisted suicide agenda.

Opponents of assisted suicide were swift to respond:

In response to Ms. Coombs Lee's statement, Marilyn Golden of the Disability Rights, Education and Defense Fund noted, "The circumstances of the New Orleans hurricane were so unusual that it is completely inappropriate to draw any general policy conclusions (about assisted suicide) from what happened."

More at Marlowe's Shade

The National Pro-life Alliance -- a 600,000-member organization dedicated to overturning Roe v. Wade and ending abortion-on-demand -- announced today that it is expanding its work in support of Supreme Court Chief Justice nominee John G. Roberts with a national media campaign aimed at fourteen U.S. Senators in eight states.

Coinciding with the opening of Senate hearings on the nomination of Judge Roberts, the organization has budgeted $570,000 for TV and newspaper ads in Delaware, Maine, Michigan, Montana, New York, Rhode Island, Washington and Wisconsin.

The ads can be viewed on the organization's website (click here).

Annie from AfterAbortion writes about the upcoming movie "A Distant Thunder":

"This film was produced by professional Hollywood filmmakers for today's visually- oriented culture. [The character] Ann Brown, a successful pro-choice prosecutor, is asked to take a complex case involving partial birth abortion. She reluctantly agrees to take the case which becomes a life-changing journey for her. This fast-paced, sometimes graphic thriller will especially interest today's youth."

The film will be available Oct. 5. I warn women especially those who've had an abortion to be prepared to not look at the screen at points but to listen at least to audio of the "Conversation with the Filmmakers."

They say there's no right or wrong, no propaganda, no prolife or prochoice, but "pro-education": facts tied into a fictional story. The few scenes I saw were frightening (and not of an actual PBA procedure).

It's clearly a psychological thriller, one I even may not have the stomach to watch. Too close to home...

A piece by Ronald Bailey from Reason gushes all over Woo Suk Hwang (the South Korean researcher who cloned (among other things) a dog). It reports on a speech he gave while accepting an award from The Alliance for Aging Research (one of those outfits that thinks people ought to never die).

Hwang noted that with cloned stem cells we would be "treating our bodies with our own perfectly matched cells,"

Well, no not really. Technically, we would be treating our bodies with our own twin's cells. That may seem nuanced, but the difference is vast. It is the difference between using my body and using another's body that was destroyed in the process.

However, considering his results so far, Hwang may actually succeed in using human embryonic stem cells as a treatment. "I promise that our medical researchers are working non-stop," concluded Hwang.

So saying there has not been a single trial of an embryonic stem cell therapy may be a lot like saying in 1902 that "heavier than air flight is impossible." It's true until it's not.

I don't think our main line of reasoning is that it WON'T work, but rather that it is an immoral choice. Whether is works or not is secondary. First we have to decide is it "right" or not.

But, in the mean time while we debate the ethical ramifications of ripping apart human embryos for "therapies", why don't we focus our limited resources on adult stem cells; cells that are already curing 65 different diseases and showing more promise every day.

On my way home from meeting a friend this evening, I sat on the train (subway) with Planned Parenthood propaganda staring me in the face. "Birth control gives me the power to plan my future," they boast. "Planning is power. PPNYC." Ugh!

Outraged, I called my friend Joe, a seminarian and student at Ave Maria University. I expressed my disbelief, being sure that I was within earshot of the other passengers of the train. "What a load of lies!" I exclaimed. I was half tempted to rip the sign down, however I decided it would not be prudent to demonstrate such rage or violence.

From Tony Perkins' Washington Update:

Judge Roberts should feel lucky that Ohio abortionist Carol Westfall does not sit on the Senate Judiciary Committee.

[snip]

Ms. Westfall, executive director of two abortion clinics in Ohio, called for the actual lynching of a female judge who upheld commonsense legislation dealing with parental notification and informed consent of women regarding the consequences of and alternatives to abortion.

[snip]

Reacting to the U.S. District Court in the Cincinnati ruling, Director Westfall said, "My opinion is the judge should be lynched." I am sure Ms. Westfall and the ACLU feels betrayed since they know the courts are their only hope for imposing their radical pro-abortion [agenda] on the American people. Ms. Westfall should perhaps worry less about performing more abortions and more about her own future. Threatening a federal judge can carry a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a fine of $250,000.

Read the complete story.

Cross-posted from Choose Life.

Last night, federal Judge Denise Page Hood ruled that Michigan's Legal Birth Definition Act was unconstitutional. Here's the AP article. For a summary of how the law was enacted (via petition drive) and the background, check out Right to Life of Michigan's web page.

Hood's opinion has yet to be posted on the Eastern District Court's web site but reading some of the language quoted in the AP article seems to indicate that judge (who took 3 months to write the opinion) was more than a little befuddled with the law.

ProLifeBlog's Naaman gets a hat tip in this LifeSite article:

...Roberts today told senators that any Supreme Court opinions he has on euthanasia “won’t be based on my personal views,” adding that “They will be based on my understanding of the law

More at Marlowe's Shade

I just discovered (even though they probably did this a while ago) the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops have posted the transcripts of the hearings on the Partial Birth Abortion Ban Act. The transcripts include days of testimony in the spring of 2004 by abortionists regarding how they perform late-term abortions.

The transcript from the New York trial includes Judge Richard Casey's probing questions of abortion providers regarding how they describe the procedures to women and if they discussed the possibility of fetal pain. I'm just posting a few quotes but there are so many more that show the moral depravity of individuals who perform abortion and the outrageous and almost incomprehensible evil of this procedure.

Read the rest at Jivin Jehoshaphat

Operation Rescue is very concerned about Judge Roberts' respect for precedent and its application to Roe v. Wade:

“Operation Rescue would like to remind Judge Roberts that while Roe v. Wade is indeed legal precedent, it is very bad precedent,” said OR President Troy Newman. “Today, we know much more about the development of the baby in the womb and the heinous nature of the abortion process. This knowledge has made Roe unworkable.”

“We look forward to further questioning by the Judicial Committee and anticipate Robert’s answers to questions posed by pro-life senators, which will hopefully clarify Roberts responses to questioning by pro-abortion senators,” said Newman.

San Francisco Chronicle | Roberts: Precedent Settles Abortion Ruling:

Supreme Court nominee John Roberts said Tuesday that the landmark 1973 ruling legalizing abortion was "settled as a precedent," as he was immediately pressed to address the divisive issue on the second day of his confirmation hearings.

"It's settled as a precedent of the court, entitled to respect under principles of stare decisis," the concept that long-established rulings should be given extra weight, Roberts told the Senate Judiciary Committee.

On the other hand, the Family Research Council issued a statement in support of Judge Roberts' remarks. At such times, what is an anti-abortion zealot like me to do? Well, how about we look for what Judge Roberts actually said?

From The Guardian via Discarded Lies

"A lot of the research is still carried out in the traditional manner using skin from the executed prisoner and aborted foetus." This material, he said, was being bought from "bio tech" companies based in the northern province of Heilongjiang, and was being developed elsewhere in China.

He suggested that the use of skin and other tissues harvested from executed prisoners was not uncommon. "In China it is considered very normal and I was very shocked that western countries can make such a big fuss about this," he said. Speaking from his office in northern China, he added: "The government has put some pressure on all the medical facilities to keep this type of work in low profile."

Read the rest at Marlowe's Shade

Jill Stanek continues to call prolifers to aid a Baton Rouge pregnancy resource center that was devasted by Hurricane Katrina. Cindy Collins, the PRC's executive director writes:

Our CPC has been serving the Slidell and surrounding area for 20 years. We averaged between 100 to 160 clients per month... over 20,000 since 1986... over 8500 babies born.

Slidell is a suburb of New Orleans that sits on 3 interstates - and Lake Pontchartrain.

Many of our volunteer staff has also been displaced. Their work throughout the years has been a sacrifice of love. Please let your email list know that it is not only the CPC facilities and services that have been effected, it is also the staff and volunteers, many who have supported the work of the CPCs over the years. Homes and businesses where washed away and family members displaced.

In addition to complaining about the tenets of the modern Girl Scouts organization (secularism, abortion rights, disdain for religion and traditional morality, etc.), conservatives should be loudly and enthusiastically heralding a tremendous alternative as well.

That alternative? The American Heritage Girls. Check out their Vision Statement:

Supreme Court nominee John Roberts on Tuesday said the infamous Roe v. Wade decision, which brought abortion to the United States, was settled precedent. He also re-iterated and emphasized statements made on Monday regarding the role of prior Supreme Court rulings.

"It's settled as a precedent of the court, entitled to respect under principles of stare decisis," the concept that long-settled decisions should be given extra weight, Roberts told the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Roberts also noted that the Supreme Court itself upheld the basics of Roe v. Wade in a 1992 case, Casey v. Planned Parenthood.

Xinhua | 70,000 Nepali women go for unsafe abortion:

Though the Nepali government has set up facilities for safe abortion, there are still scores of women, who go for unsafe and illegal facilities in Nepal, an official at Koshi Zonal Hospital said here Sunday.

"The government and independent data show that 70,000 women undergo abortion every year in Nepal," Ganesh Gurung, medical superintendent at the hospital, told reporters.

Those wishing to terminate pregnancy include women from all hierarchies of the society, from the poverty stricken illiterate ones to the educated, Gurung noted, adding, those seek the help of quacks because of social stigma.

The women's need to undergo unsafe abortion is mostly induced by the desire to keep their pregnancy a secret or conceived through illicit relationship.

To the right is a photo of the Slidell, LA, pregnancy resource center, sent by Cindy Collins, its director.

Please go to www.jillstanek.com to read the prc volunteer needs and physical donations needs.

The Supreme Court nomination hearings for Judge John Roberts began yesterday with opposing statements from members of the Senate Judiciary committee that included several reference to abortion and the infamous Roe v. Wade decision. However, it seems clear that Roberts will not disclose his view on abortion, the unborn or Roe v. Wade, considering his assertion that his probable seat as Chief Justice would be taken with "no agenda". Roberts told the committee,

Judges and justices are servants of the law, not the other way around. Judges are like umpires. Umpires don't make the rules; they apply them.

The role of an umpire and a judge is critical. They make sure everybody plays by the rules.

But it is a limited role. Nobody ever went to a ball game to see the umpire.

Judges have to have the humility to recognize that they operate within a system of precedent, shaped by other judges equally striving to live up to the judicial oath.

[snip]

Mr. Chairman, I come before the committee with no agenda.

I have no platform.

Judges are not politicians who can promise to do certain things in exchange for votes.

I have no agenda, but I do have a commitment. If I am confirmed, I will confront every case with an open mind. I will fully and fairly analyze the legal arguments that are presented. I will be open to the considered views of my colleagues on the bench. And I will decide every case based on the record, according to the rule of law, without fear or favor, to the best of my ability. And I will remember that it's my job to call balls and strikes and not to pitch or bat.

Late last night, five-week-old Susan Anne Catherine Torres passed away from heart failure at Children's National Medical Center in Washington, D.C., following emergency surgery to repair a perforated intestine. The surgery was attempted after a sudden deterioriation in her condition over the weekend.

After the efforts of this summer to bring her into the world, this is obviously a devastating loss for the Torres and Rollin families. We wish to thank all of you who have sustained us in prayer over the past 17 weeks. It was our fondest wish that we could have been able to share Susan's homecoming with all of you.

The family will be making no further statements at this time. All media inquiries can be directed to Children's National Medical Center.

Related: Baby Susan Torres has died

Susan Anne Catherine Torres, who was born Aug. 2 to a severely brain-damaged woman who carried the pregnancy for three months while kept on life support, died Sunday night in Washington, her family said in an email Monday.

The Torres family said in a statement that Susan died of heart failure after emergency surgery to repair a perforated intestine. A spokeswoman at St. Rita's Church in Alexandria said parishioners were told of the child's death during the morning Mass.

The infant's condition had deteriorated rapidly over the weekend, according to the family.

The girl was born Aug. 2, two months premature after a harrowing pregnancy in which the mother, Susan Rollin Torres, was kept on life support for more than three months after a dormant melanoma spread to her brain and left her unconscious since May. The mother died shortly after her daughter's birth when she was taken off life support.

The 17,000-member Christian Medical Association (CMA) today highlighted the hypocrisy of The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) in pushing for legislation to force conscientiously opposed physicians into referring their patients for abortions.

CMA Executive Director Dr. David Stevens said, "For years now, ACOG has tried to promote abortion on demand as a matter of free choice. We've always known that abortion affords no choice or rights to a developing baby. Now we learn that ACOG would also strip choice and rights away from the very physicians it claims to represent. This is not only the height of hypocrisy; it is also a sure-fire way to lose more physician members who value their constitutional and professional rights of conscience."

Scientists from the Roslin Institute, from whence the deceased Dolly the sheep was produced, have been working on getting embryonic stem cells from human embryos created via parthenogenesis. Parthenogenesis is the process of getting an egg to divide and grow without sperm.

"So far they have been able to make six embryos of about 50 cells apiece from 300 eggs.

In order to get stem cells embryos of at least 100 cells are needed."

Thanks very much to Catholic Exchange for posting information on the financial plight of hurricane-devastated pregnancy resource centers. CE asked me to write an article, which is posted as its top story today.

Please donate at www.ctlm.org.

From Daily Mail via LifeSite

Doctors working in hurricane-ravaged New Orleans killed critically ill patients rather than leaving them to die in agony as they evacuated hospitals, The Mail on Sunday can reveal. With gangs of rapists and looters rampaging through wards in the flooded city, senior doctors took the harrowing decision to give massive overdoses of morphine to those they believed could not make it out alive.

More at Marlowe's Shade

Help! Pro-lifers must come to the aid of the pregnancy resource centers in Mississippi and Louisiana.

Donations are going everywhere – except prcs!

I spoke with Dorothy Wallis of the Caring to Love prc in Baton Rouge this morning, and she reported having only received $5,000 in online donations since setting up an online hurricane prc relief fund.

This is frankly abysmal, it pains me deeply to say. These prcs need hundreds of thousands of dollars not only to rebuild but also to serve an extremely abortion vulnerable population in the coming weeks.

The sicko pro-aborts are giving away morning after pills and free abortions.

Have you donated to their pro-life counterparts - the devastated hurricane area pregnancy resource centers?

For an update on prc volunteer and physical donation needs, please visit jillstanek.com.

Since the tragic death of Terri Schiavo, many more cases have come to light of euthanasia and assisted suicide, such as Sun Hudson from Texas. Sadly, many of our brothers and sisters die every day out of misguided mercy, lack of understanding of humanity, or just plain greed.

A case was brought to my attention today about a man in Florida named Scott Thomas. Scott suffered a blow to his head in early September 2004, and has been in successful rehabilitation since that time. He has been sustained through a feeding tube although he is able to swallow. According to the website, during his time in the hospital and in rehabilitation, Scott's wife Eliza has been vying for custody in order to have her husband's feeding tube removed.

I think this is probably one of the more clever pro-choice bumper stickers out there. At a quick glance, it appeals to our idea of fairness and how much responsibility and trust a person should be given. Those who are trusted with important tasks should also be entrusted with "simple decisions." If we can't trust a person to make a "simple choice," then how could we ever entrust them to the immensely more important task of raising a child?

The bumper sticker displays one of main tactics of the pro-choice movement. Don't talk about what the choice actually is. Just emphasize that it is a "choice." The immense problem with this bumper sticker's message is when someone asks "what choice?"

Read the rest at Jivin Jehoshaphat

The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops has a very thoroughly researched article up discussing "research cloning" and current state legislation regarding cloning. We are on the "The Legislative Slippery Slope to Fetus Farming", as the USCCB puts it.

Until recently, groups promoting research cloning, such as the Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO), supported state and federal bills that prohibit implanting a cloned embryo in a womb. For example, in Congress they supported the “Human Cloning Ban and Stem Cell Research Protection Act” of 2003 (S. 303). That bill actually allowed the human cloning procedure, calling it “nuclear transplantation,” but banned two things: (1) “implanting or attempting to implant the product of nuclear transplantation into a uterus or the functional equivalent of a uterus”; and (2) maintaining such a cloned human embryo for “more than 14 days from its first cell division,” not counting time spent in a freezer.3

BIO told the President’s Council on Bioethics in June 2003 that it supported this 14-day limit – adding that this may be reconsidered “umpteen years” from now in light of new facts.4

Yet months before making these remarks to the President’s Council, BIO was urging its state affiliates to help pass laws violating this 14-day limit. The national group recommended a new California law on cloning as a “model” for other states.5 That law authorizes “research involving the derivation and use of human embryonic stem cells, human embryonic germ cells, and human adult stem cells from any source, including somatic cell nuclear transplantation.”6 California law also bans initiating a pregnancy using a cloned human embryo, but only if that pregnancy “could result in the birth of a human being.”7

In fact, the same official who presented BIO’s testimony to the President’s Council on Bioethics had already testified in support of a New Jersey bill with this same broad language.8 After critics pointed out that the New Jersey bill did not even really ban “reproductive” cloning, the bill’s sponsors made its extreme scope even clearer. The final law bans “cloning of a human being,” defined as “the replication of a human individual by cultivating a cell with genetic material through the egg, embryo, fetal and newborn stages into a new human individual.”9 Developing the cloned embryo to any point short of this to harvest cells and tissues is allowed, and the governor later decided it could be publicly funded. Only letting the cloned human survive “through” this entire process is prohibited.

Read more at the USCCB Pro-life Activities site.

From Expatica

Actually that is an understatement.

There are 30 requests for assisted suicide lodged on average with the euthanasia committee every month.

However, commission chief Wim Distelmans suspects that many more people are undergoing euthanasia.

"If we compare our situation with the situation in the Netherlands, we can assume that the actual number of people undergoing euthanasia is five times as high or about 150," Distelmans said.

More on Marlowe's Shade

WASHINGTON, DC, September 7, 2005 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Speaking at the National Press Club Tuesday, former Supreme Court nominee Robert Bork said that the likelihood that the Roe v Wade Supreme Court decision permitting abortion would be overturned within the next ten years is "virtually nil."

Welcome to the First Carnival of Life; a collection of Pro-Life posts from around the blogosphere. For more information on the carnival and the schedule see this post.

Heart speaks to Heart | Why This Young Woman is Pro-Life:

I believe I know more people who have been sexually active, who have been pregnant, who have had abortions, or kept their babies, or chosen adoption than my mother or my mother's friends did. I have witnessed the effects of the abortion revolution her generation brought about, and I say it has not solved anything. Abortion on demand has not made men respect women more, it has not made it easier for women to refuse unwanted sexual advances, it has not reduced the consequences of early sexual activity and pregnancy, it has not healed the emotional wounds of rape and incest victims....it has not given women the freedom to be men. We just aren't designed like that. We're designed to love and create, not destroy.

Do read the whole thing.

H/T to AfterAbortion, specifically this comment thread....

(cross-posted to Naaman the Ex-Leper)

Dear Pro-lifers,

Louisiana and Mississippi pregnancy resource centers are in desperate need of our help. Four New Orleans area pregnancy resource centers were destroyed by Katrina, and it is unclear how incapacitated the Mississippi PRCs are, because no one has been able to get through to any of their directors.

That's the bad news. The good news is that five of eight Louisiana abortion clinics were also destroyed.

The PRCs in Baton Rouge, Shreveport, and other outer Louisiana areas have been inundated by families needing diapers and formula. Area hospitals are also asking the centers to recover post-partum patients.

The formula companies say they have sent huge shipments to the area, but they're not getting to the PRCs.

I spoke with three PRC directors in Louisiana yesterday, and they gave me a list of their greatest needs. We are going to collect donations in the Chicago area over the weekend at Parkview Christian Church (11100 Orland Parkway, Orland Park, Illinois 60467), and a semi is going to deliver them to Louisiana on Monday (September 12).

Here are the needs, in order of urgency:

1. Formula: Advanced Similac with iron; Enfamil with iron; any other formulas - dry, condensed, or ready to serve

2. Diapers, especially newborn

3. Infant car seats

4. Pedialyte

5. Bassinets

6. Baby wipes

More than that, the PRCs desperately need money. They need to finance mobile medical units to go into the devastated areas as they are accessible. A director told me that there is lots of giving going on to churches and relief agencies, but the PRCs are being overlooked.

Donate directly online to: www.ctlm.org. These funds will go to finance mobile medical units and restore pregnancy care centers.

We also need money to pay for the semi truck gas. (The truck and driver's time are being donated.) Donations for gas can be made to Concerned Women for America of IL, P. O. Box 188, Palos Heights, IL 60463.

There is also a need for volunteers to go to Louisiana and stay for a week or two or longer, particularly men for protection. A nurse at the Shreveport PRC says she will help find housing.

Dorothy Wallis, director of Caring to Love Ministries in Baton Rouge, told me that Planned Parenthood was on the ground within 72 hours, handing out morning-after-pills at the shelters.

The only things standing in the way of spreading God's truth and love to these abortion-vulnerable familes are money and hands. Please help.

Thank you very much,

Jill Stanek

As the Missouri Legislature began its special session Tuesday, Gov. Matt Blunt and legislative leaders sought to make clear that an anti-abortion bill won't delve into stem cells this time around.

Blunt reiterated his opposition to any proposals that would ban a certain kind of early stem cell research known as somatic cell nuclear transfer, or therapeutic cloning.

"We should not criminalize responsible scientific research here in our state, and that includes somatic cell nuclear transfer," Blunt told the board of the Missouri Biotechnology Association, a trade organization for several dozen life sciences businesses.

So the governor wants to keep cloning for cures and cash legal, although cloning for babies would be off-limits. Is there a difference?

Obviously there is a difference in outcomes. In therapeutic cloning, the resulting embryo is dissected at day 5 of its development when the inner cell mass is withdrawn. Those stem cells are then grown into cells lines from which any sort of tissue may be developed. Or so the theory goes.

In reproductive cloning, the resulting embryo is put back into a womb and allowed to mature until natural birth.

Though the intent of the projects are different, the technique is identical. Somatic Cell Nuclear Transfer. It goes by a lot of different names these days: all thought up by people who are trying to convince us that there is a real technical difference between therapeutic and reproductive cloning. They are lying.

Read the rest at The Stem Cell Extremist

Philly.com | Neutralizing the abortion issue:

THE U.S. Constitution's express provision for amendment requires strong and broad popular support for change.

However, if a mere five of the nine justices of the Supreme Court agree, a major change can occur without popular support. In 1973, in Roe v. Wade, the court changed the Constitution when it created a right to abortion.

It did so under the guise of interpretation despite the absence of any direct supporting text. Since Roe, conservatives have sought to reverse that change by pushing for the appointment of justices believed to be against abortion. Liberals have pushed equally as hard for justices who are expected to support an abortion right.

From LifeSite

BALTIMORE, September 6, 2005 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Human embryonic stem cells have long been known to be unstable and difficult to control. In some cases, where they have been used directly in therapeutic trials, the use of embryo stem cells has been disastrous for patients. Now a researcher from Johns Hopkins University, an institution that has backed the use of embryos for research, has found that embryonic stem cells that are cultured in the lab accumulate genetic changes that may be linked to cancer.

Like a genetic game of “telephone” the longer the cells are cultivated, the more the genetic errors grow. Says Dr. Aravinda Chakravarti a geneticist at the Institute of Genetic Medicine of Johns Hopkins University in a report in the journal Nature Genetics, “These mutations we are finding are a much bigger problem.”

Read the rest at Marlowe's Shade

Arizona Right to Life's 27th annual state conference is this Saturday and includes a lineup of national and local speakers on a range of topics including abortion, euthanasia, human cloning, stem cell research and winning the culture war.

From LifeNews

When Texas lawmakers made the decision to withdraw state taxpayer funding from Planned Parenthood offices around the state through the family planning program, they may not have known how soon it would have an impact. Officials at the nation's largest abortion business say they are shutting down one south Texas office and may close others.

Citing a $200,000 funding cut to its Hidalgo County chapter, Planned Parenthood closed it's clinic this week in Pharr, Texas a suburb of McAllen.

Cross-posted from Choose Life.

The first Carnival of life is tomorrow. Send your submissions to carnival - at - prolifeblogs.com

Planned Parenthood's research arm, the Alan Guttmacher Institute, has released a new study on the reasons why women have abortions. The last time they released a study like this was in 1987. When women were allowed to list multiple reasons for why they had an abortion, reasons like "Having a baby would dramatically change my life," "Can't afford a baby now," and "Don't want to be a single mother/having relationship problems" came out on top.

Other notable statistics:

6% of women said their parents wanted them to have an abortion
14% of women said their husband or partner wanted them to have an abortion
25% of women said that they didn't want people to know they had sex or were pregnant.

Two new reports from the Netherlands show a staggering prevalence of physicial assisted "suicide" and euthanasia among children.

The first study was based on questionnaires that followed death certificates:

The death certificate study showed that 36% of all deaths of children between the ages of 1 and 17 years in the study period were preceded by an ELD (Table 1). Of all deaths, 12% concerned a nontreatment decision and 21%, the use of drugs to alleviate pain or other symptoms with a possible life-shortening effect. Some 2.7% of all deaths involved physician-assisted dying, of which 0.7% took place at the request of the patient (euthanasia) and 2.0% did not. The latter cases were all performed at the explicit request of the family.

The second was direct interviews with doctors:

In the interviews, 76 of the most recent cases in which an ELD had preceded the death of a child were discussed: 20 cases of physician-assisted dying where a drug was used with the explicit intention to hasten death, 12 cases of deep sedation while forgoing artificial nutrition or hydration, and 44 cases of nontreatment decisions (Table 3) (Figure). In 2 of the cases of physician-assisted dying, the decision was made at the explicit request of the child; 1 of these concerned a case of euthanasia performed by a family doctor in which the respondent was involved. Another 16 cases followed an explicit request for physician-assisted death by the parents, of which 2 respondents reported having been involved in cases where a family doctor had ended a child’s life. In 2 other cases, the decision was made without an explicit request from either the child or the parents.

More on Marlowe's Shade

Spotlight on Darfur 1 is the first in a monthly series featuring posts by various bloggers on the Darfur genocide crisis. This first Spotlight contains the work of 14 diverse bloggers from different backgrounds and countries. No one group or organisation is represented, but all share a common concern for Darfur and an intention to keep Darfur in focus.

Current estimates are that up to 3 million people are homeless due to the genocide, with many in refugee camps. Security is a problem and violence and lack of food are major issues. You can read posts on the current situation, the political and ethical issues, different forms of activism, and the position of the media, at Spotlight on Darfur 1.

Professor Robert Winston, president of the British Association for the Advancement of Science (BA), believes that experiments with embryonic stem cells are important and could eventually lead to ground-breaking advances in medicine and biology. However, he's concerned that embryonic stems cells have been hyped for political reasons, and that there will be a backlash against ES research when it fails to provide new treatments.

Did you know that they fund some research on embryonic stem cells?

Well, don't worry, you can still fulfill your pledge with a good conscience. An MDA spokeman wrote:

Although the vast majority of MDA's stem cell research involves "adult-derived" cells (from sources such as bone marrow)[which is perfectly ethical and we can support], a small number of MDA-funded projects do use embryonic stem cells.

We understand and respect the feelings of those who feel they cannot support research with these cells. You should know that you can still support incredibly important MDA programs such as summer camp, clinic visits and wheel chair purchases, which cost the Association more than $70 million annually, by marking clearly on your pledge card "for services only."

President Bush nominated Judge John G. Roberts Jr. today to replace Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist, whose death late Saturday opened a second vacancy on the Supreme Court and a new front in the ideological battle over the judiciary.

"In his extraordinary career, Judge Roberts has argued 39 cases before the nation's Highest Court," Bush said Monday at the White House. "When I nominated him to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, he was confirmed by unanimous consent. Both those who've worked with him and those who have faced him in the courtroom speak with admiration of his striking ability as a lawyer and his natural gifts as a leader. Judge Roberts has earned the nation's confidence and I'm pleased to announce that I will nominate him to serve as the 17th chief justice of the Supreme Court."

President George W. Bush issued the following statement on the passing of Chief Justice William Rehnquist.

PRESIDENT BUSH:

Our nation is saddened today by the news that Chief Justice William Rehnquist passed away last night.

Laura and I send our respect and deepest sympathy to this good man's children, Jim, Janet and Nancy. We send our respect to all the members of the Rehnquist family.

William H. Rehnquist was born and raised in Wisconsin. He was the grandson of Swedish immigrants. Like so many of his generation, he served in the Army during World War II. He went on to college with the help of the G.I. Bill.

He studied law at Stanford University. He graduated first in his class. That included his future colleague Sandra Day O'Connor.

Judge Rehnquist and his late wife, Nan, raised their family in Phoenix, where he built a career as one of Arizona's leading attorneys.

He went on to even greater distinction in public service: as an assistant U.S. attorney general, associate justice of the Supreme Court and, for the past 19 years, chief justice of the United States.

He was extremely well-respected for his powerful intellect. He was respected for his deep commitment to the rule of law and his profound devotion to duty.

Continue reading at Choose Life.

After presiding over the Supreme Court for nearly 19 years, Chief Justice William Rehnquist has died today at the age 80.

According to Supreme Court spokeswoman Kathy Arberg, he was surrounded by his three children when he died in Arlington. "The Chief Justice battled thyroid cancer since being diagnosed last October and continued to perform his dues on the court until a precipitous decline in his health the last couple of days," she said.

Rehnquist was appointed to the Supreme Court as an associate justice in 1971 by President Nixon and took his seat on Jan. 7, 1982. He was elevated to chief justice by President Reagan in 1986. According to the Chicago Tribune, the only chief justice older than Rehnquist was Roger Taney, who presided over the high court in the mid-1800s until his death at 87. Rehnquist was also closing in on the record for longest-serving justice. Only four men were on the court 34 years or longer.

San Francisco Chronicle | Chief Justice Rehnquist Dies at Home:

Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist died Saturday evening at his home in suburban Virginia, said Supreme Court spokeswoman Kathy Arberg.

A statement from the spokeswoman said he was surrounded by his three children when he died in Arlington.

StemPAC, the media and even some opponents of embryonic stem cell research often frame the controversy in the language of “rights”. As the controversy is usually depicted the “right to life” of the embryo opposes the “right to a healthy life” of the sick child. Within this frame the ultimate question then becomes “Whose life is of greater moral worth, the embryo or the sick person?” Such a framing is a dead end for all of us; it leaves us stuck in a moral morass.

Rather than ‘competing rights’ the heart of this issue is really over the dehumanization of humanity.

But let’s be very clear about what that means. Being sick, suffering and even dying do not, in any way, make a person less human. My neighbor with cancer is not less of a human because of the illness she suffers from. A person with Parkinson’s does not become less and less human as the disease progresses. And death, rather than dehumanizing, is, in truth, one of the defining characteristics of our humanity. These things, as awful as they are, are part and parcel of being human. In a very true way, and a way that is often impossible to articulate, suffering is also a hallmark of being human. Suffering never dehumanizes us, rather, it is how people treat us that leads to dehumanization.

In that respect, creating a class of humans whose sole function will be to act as objects of our will is the very definition of dehumanizing. It is especially bothersome when that class is made up of embryos- the very beginning of human life. When we manufacture and manipulate the beginning of human life to make it serve our ends we are forever changed. No society that allows such use of humans can remain free from the dehumanizing effect. If we become logically and morally comfortable with destroying “left-over” five-day old blastocysts from IVF clinics, what will stop us from creating embryos for the sole purpose of destroying them? What will logically stop us from doing the same thing to 15-day-old embryos or 90-day-old fetuses? How will we stop the train? In a very real way our freedom is lost. Once we become comfortable with the dehumanization of one group of people, we are all dehumanized.

And that, I believe, is how the debate should be framed. Are we willing to endure our loss of freedom, our dehumanization to a science that demands to be served by man rather than serving man? As Leon Kass put it “Engineering the engineer as well as the engine, we race our train we know not where.”

Port Huron Times-Herald | Pro-lifers must consider fiscal effects of outlawing abortion:

With the retirement of Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, both sides of the abortion issue are anxious to see if her successor will aid in a repeal of Roe v. Wade. If this happens, our government must go all the way in recognizing fetal rights, including rights of life, citizenship, safety and economic consideration. Anything less is hypocritical.

This was an email alert sent by Tom Glessner, President of NIFLA, this morning:

From: NIFLAMbrSvcs@aol.com Sent: Friday, September 02, 2005 8:40 AM To: NIFLAMember@aol.com Subject: NIFLA: URGENT PLEA!

Dear NIFLA Member,

I am writing to you to ask for your immediate help for our sister pregnancy centers that have been devastated by the recent hurricane that engulfed Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabamba.

Dorothy Wallis, NIFLA board member and pregnancy center director in Baton Rouge has reported of the devastation. Baton Rouge has become a refuge camp and Dorothy's pregnancy center is now a distribution center for the many needy. She writes the following plea to me:

Tom,

This is beyond belief! I have never seen anything like this in my life. Military helicopters flying by constantly (like the old MASH incoming wounded copters), destitute people stopped by the interstate, no food, no home and many have lost loved ones who failed to heed the warning to comply with a mandatory evacuation. All I can say is Help!!!! We need help.

They are calling New Orleans a "Black Hole." Since five Pregnancy Resources Centers in the Greater New Orleans and Slidell areas have become virtual black holes, and all of St. Tammany Parish is closed, Pregnancy Resource Centers in those areas are no longer available to meet the needs of their abortion vulnerable population who have evacuated to greater Baton Rouge. The cell phones are dead or either jammed. I have desperately been trying to call my fellow directors to make sure that they are okay.

I have heard from Kay, the director in New Orleans who fled to Houston. Her three clinics are under water. The La Place center has water damage and I still have not been able to reach Emily. In New Orleans, Susan nor her staff can be reached.

I have connected with Browne's daughter and she said that they are awaiting news on how bad their damage is.

As for Covington and Slidell, I have been trying to call Cindy and Rachel via cells since Monday to no avail.

As for Tangipahoa, there is certain wind, tree and flood damage that could prevent any assistance in these areas for at least eight weeks.

New Orleans refugees are being told that the city is completely submerged, and the earliest they will be allowed back in the city is three months. Even then, their will be no home or sentimental possessions to return to. Tom, I will keep you abreast when I hear from everyone.

Ona side note, please pray for me. In our local maternity wards mothers are delivering in the hall ways. The hospitals are sending their post delivery patients to us for care. The American Red Cross sent 8 families today. The Crisis Pregnancy Centers of Baton Rouge are now responsible for meeting the needs of refugee women and children.

Caring to Love Ministries and the Care Pregnancy Clinic is quickly supplying the demands of many of the families seeking the much needed assistance. But we cannot do it without your help! I am grateful to Michelle Sigler who called me today from New Beginnings CPC in West Virginia. She is in the process of sending 2 empty semi's with diapers, formulas, wipes and water to us. Thank God for her!

I felt the need to ask you and NIFLA for help! I have set up a special Hurricane Relief Fund for on line donations via paypal at www.ctlm.org.

In addition to the Hurricane crisis, in six weeks many will be experiencing a crisis pregnancy and we need to be there for them. The abortion clinics prey on the young girls that are vulnerable in crisis situations. New Orleans had 5 Abortion clinics, with us having one and a half. We need to make our presence known to a dislocated population in excess of 1 million. Again, please pray for me as we rise to the occasion. Help!

Again, donations for the Hurricane Relief Fund are setup through our website at www.ctlm.org. Donated funds can be paid via paypal. Our physical address is 3813 N. Flannery Rd., Baton Rouge, LA 70814.

Thank you,

Dorothy Wallis
President CEO
Caring to Love Ministries
dwallis@ctlm.org
225-275-4961

Side note: The paypal site is experiencing a lot of problems right now because the phone lines are down in most of the area. They are working with paypal and encouraging us to continue trying. You can also mail a check to the physical address or give it to me to mail in the package.

An op ed writer in yesterday's TimesHerald.com justified the need to continue aborting due to the fiscal drain these children would otherwise cause us. They would be financial burdens to our taxes, insurance, and foster care system, so the writer postulates.

She does spin one point I say great to:

If legally-recognized "life" begins at conception, there will be serious economic ramifications. Currently, dependent exemptions on taxes are only permitted for children that are alive outside the womb. But if life starts at conception, so too should "dependent" status.

However, she glaringly overlooks our dried-up Social Security system, precisely so because the payers have been killed by abortion.

She also overlooks the growing crisis of lack of young medical workers to care for the old, fat-cat pro-aborts. Etc., etc., etc.

Dr. Allan Carlson of the Howard Center estimated last year that the cumulative lost income of 45 million aborted children is nearly $4 trillion. He estimated the lost net Social Security income will be $118 billion in 2010.

To read Dr. Carlson's paper, including endnotes, go to my blog.

From LifeNews

After lying low for a while after his pivotal role in Terri Schiavo's execution, George Felos has surfaced:

During the international debate over the euthanasia of Terri Schiavo, considerable attention was focused on the involvement of her estranged Michael's lead attorney George Felos' involvement in activities backing assisted suicide. Now, Felos has been named to the board of directors of a group that backs euthanasia. Project Grace, which stands for Guidelines for Resuscitation And Care at End-of-life, quietly named Felos to its board within days of Terri's late March death from starvation and dehydration.

Read the rest at Marlowe's Shade

Washington Post | Access to Abortion Pared at State Level:

This year's state legislative season draws to a close having produced a near-record number of laws imposing new restrictions on a woman's access to abortion or contraception.

Since January, governors have signed several dozen antiabortion measures ranging from parental consent requirements to an outright ban looming in South Dakota. Not since 1999, when a wave of laws banning late-term abortions swept the legislatures, have states imposed so many and so varied a menu of regulations on reproductive health care.

"Did you escape the hurricane without your birth control?" asks Planned Parenthood of Houston and Southeast Texas.

"As a courtesy to women fleeing Hurricane Katrina, we will offer one free cycle (one month) of birth control or one free Emergency Contraception kit to women" who come to a Houston-area Planned Parenthood clinic and produce a valid Louisiana or Mississippi driver's license.

When the Berne (Switzerland) Fine Arts Museum decided to toss to a panel of "experts" the controversy over a visting art exhibit -- an exhibit that featured an unborn child's head gruesomely attached to a seagull's torso -- one could have easily guessed the outcome. And so, yes...the exhibit is back, complete with testimonials from said "experts" in theology, art, philosophy, media and who knows what else.

The exhibit is also back with greatly added media attention, causing some to believe the temporary removal was more about publicity than it was about sensitivity to the public.

A Macomb County teen who killed his 25 week unborn son with his girlfriend's consent by beating her abdomen with a souvenir-style baseball bat over the span of weeks pleaded no contest to the charges and will serve two years of juvenile probation.

Here's the Macomb Daily story.

HT: LifeNews

Related:
Terminating pregnancy with a baseball bat
You've got to be kidding me
Consent is not a defense for baseball bat abortion

Yesterday's Miami Herald included a scorching editorial against the FDA's decision to delay approval of the morning-after pill for over-the-counter sales. Begins the piece:

Blame abortion politics for the Food and Drug Administration's unconscionable delay in approving Plan B -- the "morning after" pill -- for over-the-counter sales. Nothing else can justify FDA Commissioner Lester Crawford's recent announcement that approval is on indefinite hold.

First, it works both ways, Miami Herald. Where were you when the FDA caved to abortion politics when it illegally approved RU-486 under President Clinton?

Second, excuse me, "unconscionable"?

CWA outlines what would have been unconscionable on the FDA's part, which includes approving a megadose female hormone pill that has had NO long-term testing conducted, particularly on adolescent girls.

Further, pregnancy rates have gone UP where MAP is available OTC, where it is interestingly advertised in men's magazines, and the World Health Organization says there is a higher rate of ectopic pregnancies with use of MAP.

Someone in Miami, write a rebuttal! Email me if you'd like help: jillstanek@comcast.net

From The Washington Times

Nigel Cameron, who also has a bio-ethics blog on the Christianity Today site called Life Matters, cites breakthroughs in stem cell research to create embryonic-like stem cells that would be pluripotent, but could be reproduced from ordinary cells. There is an ethical catch though.

The current fight is about whether to use federal dollars to fund experiments using "spare" embryos from in vitro clinics. There is no federal law preventing researchers from using these embryos with private funding. The president has promised to veto a bill that would overturn his compromise and force taxpayers to fund using human embryos for medical research despite their belief it is a grave wrong. The bill narrowly passed in the House and awaits Senate action. But even if it passes the Senate, the votes to override a presidential veto aren't there.

That's one reason there is so much interest in "alternative" ways of getting embryonic-type or "pluripotent" stem cells (cells that can become any type of tissue in the body) -- ways that don't involve destroying embryos.

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