July 2007 Archives

Posted by Ruben on ContraceptionBlog.com, the official blog of the No Room for Contraception Campaign.

After being off of the market since 1995, the Today (r) Sponge contraceptive was reintroduced this past May.

A recent press release announcing a new marketing effort for the contraceptive paints a rosy picture of the effectiveness of this method.

The Today(r) Sponge is safe, effective and has been used by millions of women. In clinical trials, the Today(r) Sponge has proven to be 89% - 91% effective in preventing pregnancy with no serious adverse events reported in over 1800 Today(r) Sponge users(1).

Yet this press release doesn't tell the whole story. The 89% - 91% figures are for perfect use, and do not reflect real world ("typical") failure rates. For women who haven't given birth, sponge contraceptives have a "typical" failure rate of up to 16%, and for women who have, the failure rate is as high as 32% (Hatcher et al., 2000)

If this contraceptive becomes popular among younger, unmarried women, it is highly probable that their pregnancy rates will rise- especially if it is adopted by poor, cohabitating teens. This group already has a terrible track record with the pill and condoms, methods with lower typical failure rates.

Source:

Hatcher, R, et. al, Contraceptive Technology, 18th Revised Edition, Ardent Media, Inc, New York 2004.

The Franciscan Friars of the Renewal (CFRs) are sponsoring the "Future Depends on Love" Tour starting on Aug 3 in Philadelphia and ending on Aug 11 at the National Shrine in Washington, DC. The Tour will feature a series of talks, prayer vigis and a pilgrimage to help bring an end to abortion. Complete details including the novena prayer are found on their website.

Love... that's what this culture lacks. True love is the only way to build a culture of life.

The Tour is taking place Aug 3-11 with lectures in towns between Philadelphia and Washington, DC. Please join us.

In an attempt to raise Russia's low birth rate, the "Nashi" youth movement organized camps where young Russians are encouraged to marry and procreate for the motherland.

Remember the mammoths, say the clean-cut organisers at the youth camp's mass wedding. "They became extinct because they did not have enough sex. That must not happen to Russia".

Obediently, couples move to a special section of dormitory tents arranged in a heart-shape and called the Love Oasis, where they can start procreating for the motherland.

A Rand brief provides some of the reasoning behind the effort to encourage more births.

Both to mitigate health problems resulting from abortion and to boost the Russian fertility rate (which, at less than 1.2 lifetime births per woman, is one of the lowest in the world), some Russian officials are seeking curbs on both abortion and contraception. Some Russian nationalists, seeing in declining birth rates "a plot to smother Russia in its cradle," have, with the backing of the Russian Orthodox Church, campaigned successfully for reductions in funds for family planning programs. The chief obstetrician of the Russian Ministry of Health succinctly summarized the Russian political problems confronting family planning programs when he quoted lawmakers telling him "few enough of us were being born as it is, and then you come along with your [family planning] program."

Unfortunately, government run programs have limited effectiveness in opening people's hearts to the gift of children. Nationalism isn't the best reason for creating children, and is somewhat scary to say the least. Children aren't commodities for the state - they gifts from God.

It's one thing to oppose abortion and contraception, and another thing to raise an army of young nationalists...

Click here to go to ProLifeNews.tv & watch live of David Bereit from 2:00 - 2:45 pm.

Wichita, KS - July 30, 2007 Sidewalk counselors report that they believe post-viability abortions resumed last week at Women's Health Care Services (WHCS) for the first time since 19 criminal charges were filed against owner George R. Tiller for committing illegal abortions.

Sidewalk counselor Donna Lampkin, who maintains a near-daily schedule outside Tiller's facility, told Operation Rescue that she observed that the pattern of patients returning to the clinic over several days resumed last week with vehicles arriving from a number of states - a pattern that indicates post-viability abortions are being done.

From The Politico, yesterday:

Sen. Arlen Specter (R-PA) plans to review the Senate testimony of U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Samuel A. Alito to determine if their reversal of several long-standing opinions conflicts with promises they made to senators to win confirmation....

The idea for a review came to Specter when he said he ran into Justice Stephen G. Breyer at the Aspen Ideas Festival in Colorado.

Breyer, an appointee of President Bill Clinton, drew attention last month for suggesting that Roberts and the conservative majority were flouting stare decisis, the legal doctrine that, for the sake of stability, courts should generally leave past decisions undisturbed....

"I only noticed it in a couple of cases," Specter said of the court overturning or undermining precedents. But Breyer, in their Aspen conversation, said "there were eight."

The liberal concern for stare decisis is code for wanting Roe v. Wade left alone, which is pathetic. They know the ruling can't stand on its own.

Most disturbing is Breyer's overt attempt to undermine Roberts and also influence the political process in judicial selections, altogether compromising the separation of powers.

There was also this:

The Specter inquiry poses a potential political problem for the GOP and future nominees because Democrats are increasingly complaining that the Supreme Court moved quicker and more dramatically than advertised to overturn or chip away at prior decisions.

I didn't see before how a Bush nominee who was strict constructionist could make it out of the Democrat-controlled Senate alive. Now it seems impossible. On the bright side, Bush's legacy is already clear.

I recently heard the next Supreme nomination will be fought like the Battle of Armageddon, since the next justice could provide the Roe v. Wade tipping vote. Well, the Battle has just begun, even before there is a nominee to draw and quarter. Unable to get Supreme nominees to show their Roe hand, Democrats relied on their answers re: stare decisis. Now they'll say they can't count on that.

And stare decisis? Good thing it's not a rule written in stone. If so, Dred Scott would still be the ruling of the land, and we wouldn't have Brown v. Board of Education, which overturned Plessy v. Ferguson.

Interestingly, Roberts was asked during his confirmation hearings if he supported the Brown v. Board of Education decision.

Liberals should be asked the same question.

[Specter photo and caption are courtesy of The Politico.]

(NEW YORK -- C-FAM) Overturning a prior decision by the NGO accrediting committee, the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) voted to grant official consultative status to the Coalition Gaie et Lesbienne du Quebec (CGLQ) and the Swedish Federation for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Rights (RFSL) in Geneva last week.

The voting process was mired in confusion over unclear language. Several delegate requests for clarification interrupted the roll-call vote and led Pakistan to call for a point of order and ask for a re-vote. No re-vote was taken. The motion to grant ECOSOC status passed with 22 countries voting in favor, 13 against, 13 abstaining and 6 absent.

An attorney for one NGO at the Geneva meeting told the Friday Fax, "Increasingly in the past several months, at meetings such as the CSW [Commission on the Status of Women], the Human Rights Council and now the ECOSOC council, there have been serious issues regarding transparency in the voting process. After witnessing several of these types of incidents, one has to wonder whether voting at the UN really matters or if the result is preordained."

The International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (IGLHRC) and ARC International launched intense lobbying campaigns preceding the ECOSOC vote to ensure that both groups' applications would be approved.

In January, the 19-member NGO accrediting committee, a subcommittee of the ECOSOC, rejected CGLQ's application and deferred RFSL's request. Despite the fact that there had been a thorough examination of the evidence, the representative of the United Kingdom charged that the rejection of the homosexual rights groups was "straightforward discrimination."

Debates within the NGO accrediting committee meetings over applications from homosexual rights groups have become increasingly heated in the last few years. While the ECOSOC council almost always accepts subcommittee recommendations, it has made exceptions twice in the last year in order to accredit radical homosexual groups.

The International Lesbian and Gay Association (ILGA), an NGO that was stripped of its ECOSOC status because of ties to pedophilia and whose repeated attempts to regain ECOSOC status have been denied, launched an international campaign in 2006 to encourage all of its 550 affiliate organizations to submit NGO applications for UN consultative status. Many have applied and been accepted.

ECOSOC members voting in favor of granting status to CGQL and RFSL included the United States, the United Kingdom, Albania, Austria, Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Guinea-Bissau, Iceland, Japan, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Portugal and Romania.

Voting against were Algeria, Belarus, Benin, China, Guinea, Indonesia, Iraq, Pakistan, Russian Federation, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sri Lanka and Sudan.

Speaking to the press after the ECOSOC vote, CGLQ's executive director and ILGA North America representative, Yvan Lapointe, said that his group now plans to use the UN as a platform for spreading "homosexual rights" to many of the same countries that voted against it.

Good news on the homefront...a boom of new babies are being born on U.S. military bases, according to the Associated Press.

How fitting.

Those who unselfishly serve our country and sometimes face death are procreating and welcoming bundles of new life to America. In Iraq, many dodge bullets as they nation build. When our fighting men and women come home, they're building their families.

The military hospital in Fort Campbell, Ky., "expects to deliver 210 babies a month soon, nearly twice the usual number of deliveries," reports the AP.

Brahms' lullaby plays over the public address system in Fort Campbell's hospital some seven times a day, each time a baby is born. A hospital spokesperson told the AP that they expect to deliver close to 2,300 babies this year, compared to 1,352 last year. That's a lot of lullabies.

Baby deliveries also rose considerably in military hospitals on Fort Stewart, Ga., and Fort Hood, Texas, bases.

May their babies bring our troops much joy and many blessings.

(c) 2007 Marybeth T. Hagan

Crossposted at http://www.mothermayibeborn.com

Erik Scheidler and Jack Ames

The Washington D.C. area Face the Truth Tour is hosted by DefendLife.org and will be held next week from July the 30th to August the 3rd. Stops will include Charlestown, WV, Naval Observatory, Holocaust Museum, Harford Comm. College and many more. Go to DefendLife.org for the entire schedule and to read more.

A Face the Truth Tour is an event where Pro-Life people show up at heavily trafficed areas, pull out large signs of aborted babies, and proceed to show people driving and walking by what abortion really is. This event is held around the country in different cities.

This year, ProLifeNews.tv will be broadcasting live video and audio from the field so people can see what a Face the Truth Tour really looks like. Go to the ProLifeNews.tv website on Monday for broadcast times and events.

The event is highly controversial, even in the Pro-Life movement. Many people say that the signs shouldn't be used in public because children might be exposed to them. Pro-Life people who use the signs say that not only have they saved lives after men and women have seen them, but that they are necessary to show people what the truth of abortion looks like.

Click here to continue reading at ProLifeNews.tv

Stand True Ministries will lead a protest at the MTV studios in Times Square on Friday, July 27th

"For years MTV has believed that they own this generation and have fed them complete garbage," said Bryan Kemper, President of Stand true Ministries. "MTV tries to portray themselves as hip and cutting edge, but they are nothing more than smut peddlers, and their target audience is the youth of America."

Click here for more information on how you can join them

New Jersey Department of Health officials recently found another abortion facility, Alternatives Clinic in the state's casino capital Atlantic City, to be a reproductive health hazard.

Alternatives gave new meaning to alternative medicine.

According to the Associated Press, violations at this abortion clinic included "Blood under operating tables, rusty IV poles, expired drugs and shoddy patient records," plus:

• A scrub area used for storage.


• Unlabeled drug-filled syringes.


• Sterile tubes in open packages.


• Soiled table pads.


• Nurses with expired licenses.


• An overcrowded, not private, recovery room.

This AC clinic is not the only one where women having abortions in the Garden State take a gamble. Rasheedah Dinkins, 20, nearly died after having an abortion at the Metropolitan Medical Associates clinic in Englewood. The Health Department shut down the "most experienced provider in NJ for over 30 years" earlier in 2007.

Metropolitan's abortionists are back in business and still offer their "Special Online Discount" on abortions coupon.

Life is cheap.

(c) 2007 Marybeth T. Hagan

Crossposting with http://www.mothermayibeborn.com

Ah, the pureness and goodness of abortion.

On July 18, an abortionist who goes by the name of Beket blogged at Daily Kos that getting one is equivalent to attaining angelic status:

[T]hey are kind of like in that old movie "It's a Wonderful Life," in which every time a bell rang an angel got his or her wings. [F]or many a woman the experience of having an abortion isoften one way of claiming her wings - her wings of independence....

So abortion mill workers, who help women become angels, must be so righteous one should wear sunglasses in their presence or risk being blinded by their radiance.

That's what feminists would have us think of the July 17 arrest of Gloria Gray, office manager of West Alabama Women's Center in Tuscaloosa. Reported Ms. Magazine:

Gloria Gray was arrested when a group of anti-abortion protesters trespassed on her property. Gray's attorney made the following statement, "In Gloria's efforts to aid the police and to let them know that the extremists were trespassing on her property, she was arrested for asserting her rights."...

Oh, the injustice, the unfair treatment of police toward the Mother Teresa of abortion workers, aptly named Gloria, who was trying to single-handedly protect her mill from anti-abortion rioters while guiding police, apparently indeed blinded by her presence, to their location....

I contacted the pro-lifer actually involved in the altercation with Gray, David Lackey.

Lackey said...

Continue reading my column today, "Shout and twist," on WorldNetDaily.com.

[Hat tip for Beket quote: JivinJehoshapat]

In case you missed it, here's an excellent post demonstrating logical fallacies that are often used in debates related to life issues.

A widely reported Associated Press story, "Experts: More Women Over 30 Are Seeking Help for Eating Disorders," made no mention that some women suffer from such disorders after abortions.

Sadly, the eating disorder/post-abortion problem link is one of those subjects deemed not worthy of discussion outside of pro-life circles, much like the premature birth/previous abortion link.

Theresa Burke describes her discovery of the connection between eating disorders and past abortions early in the groundbreaking book Forbidden Grief: The Unspoken Pain of Abortion that she wrote with David C. Reardon.

Reardon includes eating disorders in his article "A List of Major Psychological Sequelae of Abortion" on The Elliot Institute's website. "For at least some women, post-abortion stress is associated with eating disorders such as bingeeating, bulimia, and anorexia nervosa," Reardon wrote.

Meanwhile, the mainstream media dare not speculate that women's eating disorders could be connected to abortions in their past. Such speculation would upset politically correct comfort levels.

Holding back this information does women a grave disservice.

Knowledge of the eating disorder/abortion link might help some women grow more mentally healthy plus put on a few pounds.

(c) 2007 Marybeth T. Hagan

(NEW YORK -- C-FAM) Claiming that "the tide has turned" in favor of homosexual rights at international institutions, University of British Columbia professor Douglas Sanders' recent paper on "Sexual Orientation in International Law" published by the International Lesbian and Gay Association (ILGA) includes a detailed history on how homosexual rights have advanced in Europe and how the European example could be followed at the United Nations.

Sanders, the first openly gay individual to address the UN and deliver a speech on homosexual issues, concedes that "sexual orientation" and "gender identity are not mentioned in any of existing international human rights instruments" but that "through invoking provisions on personal privacy and general provisions on equality," homosexuals have been able to gain some recognition in the international human rights arena. Many Member States of the UN would disagree with Sanders analysis. The European Union is another story, though.

The Atlantic City Press lists the reasons why the Alternatives abortion clinic was shut down. Violations included "blood-stained operating tables," "expired drugs" and the absence of a scrub sink. The state health department found these violations after inspecting the clinic for the first time in six years.

The report also cited several sanitary issues, including "what appeared to be dried blood under the leg pads" on the procedure tables. Dust, rust, dirt and debris also were found on some equipment, and floors in the operating room, laboratory and recovery room were "soiled and stained."

Some of the sterilization problems may have stemmed from the clinic's lack of hot water. State standards require a licensed clinic to have hot water between 105 and 120 degrees. Based on routine water temperature checks during the past four years, the clinic failed to meet that standard 89 percent of the time, failing every check in 2004, 2005 and 2007.

Alternatives is the second abortion clinic which has been temporarily shut down by the New Jersey Health Department in the last year.

A liberal friend of mine recently asked me what I thought about doctors refusing to prescribe "emergency contraception" such as Plan B to rape victims. He referred to an MSNBC article on the subject.

In summary, a woman who had been raped went to an emergency room where she talked to a rape counselor and was examined by an ER doctor. The rape victim asked for the morning-after pill, and the doctor refused to prescribe it, allegedly because it was against his religion. She went back to the rape counselor who referred her to another doctor who wrote the prescription.

This happened a few years ago. Plan B is now available over the counter to people 18 and older.

The issue, however, remains. Should a person's desire for some form of medical care force the doctor to act against his or her conscience?

I believe the answer is a clear and resounding "No."

This week the pro-life billboard you see at left goes back up outside an Atlanta abortion center, giving a vibrant voice to babies in the womb.

For eight weeks in May and June of this year, the billboard stood directly across the street from the entrance to the Piedmont Pointe shopping center, which contains Summit Medical Associates, Abortion Advice Services, and one office of Atlanta SurgiCenter, among other businesses.

The billboard is paid for by Let Her Live, a non-profit group in South Carolina that aims to post these billboards in the immediate vicinity of abortion centers across the country as silent witnesses against the killing of the unborn. In addition to advertising the Let Her Live website, the billboard lists a pro-life hotline run by the Pregnancy Resource Center of Gwinnett.

While the impact of this billboard is impossible to measure, we know it is seen by thousands of people who drive Atlanta's busy Piedmont Avenue every day. It is also seen daily by the abortion clinic employees and by anyone who visits the clinic. Additionally, we know of two phone calls to the hotline during the billboard's last showing, and of a complaint from a media executive.

On Friday night, PBS aired a show focusing on abortion. It's entitled "Post Abortion Politics" and you can watch it online. After watching a couple of minutes of it, I was left wondering if anyone at PBS realizes how biased they are and how obvious those biases are to their audience.

The program portrays work by prolife organizations focused on how abortion affects women as "a seismic shift in strategy." A seismic shift in strategy? Prolifers have been noting how abortion hurts women for decades. PBS also seems to think prolifers think abortion should be illegal because it hurts women. This shows a very weak understanding of how prolifers view this issue. I don't know if I ever recall a prolifer or a prolife organization saying abortion should be illegal because it hurts women.

by Fredi D'Alessio

The Millennium Campaign (MC), an initiative of the United Nations, "inspires and encourages people's involvement and action for the realization of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)."

On its website, the MC claims that improving the sexual and reproductive health of men, women and young people is essential for achieving all of the MDGs and that governments should "ensure universal access to reproductive health by 2015," as a target to measure progress towards achieving the MDGs at the national level, as well as in international and regional forums.

The MC further suggests that non-government organizations (NGOs) working in the areas of sexual and reproductive health (SRH) and rights, environmental sustainability, gender equality, development and other issues related to the MDGs, should develop a common strategy to ensure that sexual and reproductive health is integrated into community, regional, and national-level campaigns and initiatives so as to achieve the MDGs.

But what exactly is meant by "sexual and reproductive health" when used in this context at the United Nations? John Mallon, contributing editor for "Inside the Vatican" magazine, sums it up this way. "The first thing that strikes an objective reader in Adding it Up: the Benefits of Investing in Sexual and Reproductive Health Care, by the Alan Guttmacher Institute (AGI), is the presupposition that 'sexual and reproductive health' is a good thing. Normally, any kind of health is self-evidently a good thing but, as defined by AGI and their allies at the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and the International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF), 'sexual and reproductive health' consist of pouring huge quantities of contraceptive chemicals and devices into the world along with so-called 'safe' abortion. 'Health' in this sense, consists in disabling the reproductive system rendering it, in fact, unhealthy. This is frequently done in opposition to the cultural, moral and religious values of the peoples concerned, rendering these programs not only imperialistic but in some cases tyrannical."

The Millennium Project (MP), which was commissioned by the United Nations Secretary-General and is headed by Professor Jeffrey Sachs, stresses that expanding access to sexual and reproductive health information and services is a "quick win," a cost-effective action that can put countries on the road towards achieving the MDGs. The MP recommends that universal access to reproductive health services be added as one of the targets of the MDGs under Goal 5, so-called "To improve maternal health".

At the request of the UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, the UN Millennium Project identified practical strategies, which it describes in Investing in Development: A Practical Plan to Achieve the Millennium Development Goals. This document underscores the importance of sexual and reproductive health for the attainment of the Millennium Goals.

I know Clayton Cramer means well but one of his latest posts is off base regarding the 2008 presidential race and Bryan Fischer's column thereon. Fischer expressed his honest belief that Rudy Giuliani could not win the Presidency and would never have Fischer's vote. Clayton responds:

A few years back, gun owners self-righteously withheld their votes from George Bush, Senior. I understood their disgust, and I could not develop any enthusiasm for him, either. But the net effect of gun owners refusing to vote for Bush, who was a weak supporter of gun control, was to put in office Bill Clinton-an enthusiastic supporter of gun control.

We have been quietly testing a new feature at prolifeblogs.com that we're excited to announce to our readers and bloggers. Prolifeblogs.com is now accepting article submissions (posts) through this online form.

No longer do you need a blog or a personal website to become a blogger at prolifeblogs. You can post articles right here.

Perhaps you are a blogger whose excellent pro-life posts have gone unnoticed. You can now cross-post them.

You might manage a pro-life organization's website and want to gain further publicity for articles, events or action items. Submit your write-ups.

The one caveat, of course, is that all submissions must be pro-life, well written and strike one of our authors/editors as news worthy.

In an astute article published by the Politico, the Family Research Council's Chris Gacek suggests that April's Supreme Court decision to uphold the "partial-birth abortion ban" may have opened a new phase in abortion jurisprudence - "one in which abortion is largely permitted though disdained."

Here's what's interesting:

... What may be surprising is how greatly both sides of the abortion debate may have misread Kennedy in the past.

Many well-informed observers believe that Kennedy was set to overturn Roe v. Wade in 1992 in the case of Planned Parenthood v. Casey. At some point while the decision was being written, he changed sides and joined Justices Sandra Day O'Connor and David Souter in their decisive plurality opinion that affirmed Roe while emphasizing each state's "legitimate and substantial interest in preserving and promoting fetal life."

Don't miss the rest of Gacek's article - click here.

According to their own 2005-2006 Annual Report, Planned Parenthood received over a third of their income--$300 million-from government funding. Although the government monies are prohibited by law from being used for abortions, that funding still helps Planned Parenthood in its overall operations.

Rep. Mike Pence (R-IN) is offering an amendment to the Labor-Health and Human Services Appropriations bill that would prevent taxpayer dollars from being used to fund Planned Parenthood or its affiliates. Your support on this crucial amendment is needed.

Call your Representative TODAY and tell them to stop the flow of taxpayer money that is being funneled to the nation's largest abortion chain.

Click here to look up your representative's phone number.

Source: Family Research Council

The right to choose abortion is not enough for longing-to-be-First-Lady Elizabeth Edwards. She and her presidential hopeful husband John want to offer a health care plan that would pay for abortions.

Edwards spoke for her husband when she joined other Democratic presidential hopefuls, Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) and Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.), in addressing the abortion-friendly Planned Parenthood Action Fund group, reported the Chicago Tribune.

John Edwards' proposal would be "a true universal health-care plan," one providing insurance coverage for "all reproductive health services, including pregnancy termination," his wife said.

The Edwards' bold assumption -- that we the people would not mind paying for abortions -- made no mention of the cost of this plan or that taxpayers' pockets would be picked to pay for it.

Please note that Edwards is not the only Democratic presidential hopeful who wants to spread the hopelessness of abortion around.

Obama said that his insurance plan would include "reproductive-health services." The Tribune later contacted Obama's office and a spokesperson said abortion was part of his package.

Clinton has not yet released her health-care wish list this time around, but she "provided a bruising critique of Bush adminsitration policies and Republican conservatives on abortion rights and contraception policy," wrote the Tribune's Mike Dorning.

Edwards' wife and Obama danced around the word "abortion" during their remarks to PPAF about their health care plans. Clinton danced around presenting her health care plan to her PPAF pals.

All are out of tune with voters who believe in the right to be born.

(c) 2007 Marybeth T. Hagan
http://www.mothermayibeborn.com

SIRIUS RADIO show (get a 3-day pass to listen)

On Tuesday, July 24th, from 12-1pm, Theresa Bonopartis of Lumina/Hope & Healing after Abortion and some of the Sisters of Life will be on a Sirius radio program titled "Coming Home".

Sister Maria Pappas hosts the show which will address post abortion syndrome and the resources available to those suffering.

If you're interested in listening you can get a free 3 day pass.

Theresa can be reached at 1-877-586-4621 or emailed at lumina@postabortionhelp.org

Cross-posted on After Abortion blog

U.S. Senators Sam Brownback (R-KS) and Edward Kennedy (D-MA) today reintroduced the Pre-natally and Post-natally Diagnosed Conditions Awareness Act, legislation which would require that families who receive a diagnosis of Down syndrome or any other condition, pre-natally or up until a year after birth, will be given up-to-date information about the nature of the condition and connection with support services and networks that could offer assistance.

Those of us who advocate for the rights of the unborn, as well as for the rights of people with Down syndrome have been preparing for this. I see us organizing a welcome kit to parents expecting a child with Down syndrome, containing the book Gifts, the DVD Mr Blue Sky, my upcoming book, and lists of national and local Down syndrome advocacy groups, as well as pre-natal support groups like Be Not Afraid.net and Pre-natal Partners for Life. This support will also include contact information of parents like me, who can honestly tell what raising a child with Down Syndrome is like, for example read my piece, "A Special Mother is Born" published in May/June Faith and Family magazine on the birth of my daughter Christina.

Cross-posted: causa nostrae laetitiae

After his release from prison on June 1 for "good behavior," Jack Kevorkian, a.k.a. Dr. Death, resumed his promotion of assisted suicide as a humane conclusion for the terminally ill. He told Larry King that he felt it was important to speak to young people in high school and college about these issues.

Apparently the University of Florida agrees. According to the Terri Schindler-Schiavo Foundation, Dr. Kevorkian, a convicted felon and defrocked doctor, is scheduled to speak to the students there and will be paid $50,000 to do so by the University of Florida student government association.

Here's a recent letter from the Foundation's Bobby Schindler concerning the online petition that asks the University to rescind the invitation to Kevorkian:

You might have already heard that we started a petition against Kevorkian speaking at the University of Florida . If you can believe it, he's being paid $50,000 to do so.

If you haven't seen the petition I would love for you to take part in it and sign. Also, if you would also consider forwarding to others that might want to sign it...

Click Here to Sign Dr. Death Petition

It is starting to stir up some media as well.

Here is just one from the local paper where the University of Florida is located.

God bless,

Bobby

Mark Gietzen with Kansas Coalition for Life places 167 crosses in front of Tiller's abortion facility every morning. This number represents how many people are killed at this facility every month.

Almost 2500 Pro-Life Leaders, individuals and organizations from around America have already signed the Kansas Coalition for Life 2007 Pro Life Signature-Ad. This yearly ad is placed in top publications, national and local, including The National Catholic Register, The Wanderer Newspaper, Other Diocesan Newspapers, other Small Regional Newspapers and more.

B. Hussein Obama is an extremely inexperienced, screamingly liberal candidate who doesn't do a good job of hiding his radicalism - John Hawkings

Yes, it's true. Obama supports government directed sex education for Kindergartners. He also envisions a social contract the involves forcing taxpayers to fund child killing in the womb.

So what does his strength of his candidacy reveal about the state of the Democratic party?

Voices of sanity rise in a USA Today story examining the methods and ethics of testing to determine a preborn baby's gender.

"It's sort of a Wild West out there," medical geneticist Diana Bianchi of the Tufts-New England Medical Center in Boston told the newspaper.

Pro-lifers will find this portion of the USA Today story of interest:

Bianchi and Kathy Hudson, director of the Genetics and Public Policy Center in Washington, D.C., note that no government agency regulates the tests, so there's no quality control.

"These tests sort of shine a spotlight on inadequacies across the whole area of genetic tests," Hudson says.

Even if the tests were highly accurate, she says, "the question is: How are people going to use that information? I think it would be troubling if people were selectively terminating pregnancies based on the gender."

Jesse Reynolds, a policy analyst at the Center for Genetics and Society in Oakland, argues that "there are sex-selective abortions throughout the world. We shouldn't simply dismiss this as a problem that's 'over there.'

A mindset that rationalizes aborting a preborn infant because he or she is not a she or he is simply an extension of the rationale for the right to choose abortion over birth for our posterity.

A society that welcomed all babies would not tolerate this insanity.

(c) 2007 Marybeth T. Hagan
http://www.mothermayibeborn.com

Attention TEENS!!! What are you doing to beat the heat this summer? Want to make a difference in your world, but you don't know where to begin?

Generation Life has the answer! The Generation Life "How to Save a Life" summer is coming up this weekend! And, it's not too late to register!!!

Back by popular demand, the Generation Life summer conference will give you the knowledge, courage and peer support to build a culture of life in your family, school and community. Come learn how to put your pro-life views into action and be a voice for the unborn and for women.

July 16, 2007 Birmingham, Alabama

In the city where Dr. Martin Luther King focused world attention on the civil rights movement and the injustices against our Black American brothers and sisters, Operation Save America has come to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the remaining
two killing mills.

Where Birmingham once had seven abortion clinics shedding innocent blood,
two of the south's most notorious abortionists have closed up shop and only
two clinics remain.

Today hundreds of pro-life Christian street activists marched through downtown
Birmingham and stood boldly preaching the gospel to the New Woman, All Women
"Health?" Care clinic.

Diane Derzis, owner of the death camp, had quite a day.

From Operation Rescue:

Approximately 300 people, most wearing red cloth tape printed with the word "LIFE" over their mouths, have surrounded Women's Health Care Services, the largest late-term abortion mill in the nation to pray for an end to abortion and that 19 criminal charges filed against the clinic owner, George Tiller, would stick.

About a dozen young people from a California youth group called the Survivors, lay on the sidewalk in the fetal position surrounded by chalk lines, such as would be seen around a body at a murder site. They are covered with red cloth to symbolize the innocent blood that is shed and to protest the killing of innocent pre-born children.

With live Christian music playing on a sound system, hundreds who have come to Wichita with The Cause on their "God's Summer of Love" tour, prayed and read their Bibles while others attempt to dissuade women from entering the clinic for late-term abortions that Operation Rescue believes are a continued violation of the Kansas ban on post-viability abortions.

"The way the charges were filed against Tiller, he is allowed to continue doing the same procedure for which he has been charged. We think that is crazy, and a total miscarriage of justice," said Newman. "Those gathered here today are expressing broken hearts for the lives that are needlessly and brutally killed, and are beseeching the Heavens for mercy for the innocent victims and justice for the perpetrators."

The prayer siege, part of the Wichita Awakening hosted by Operation Rescue, is ongoing and is scheduled to conclude at 4 PM today.

The Wichita Awakening will finish the evening with a Praise and Worship Service at 7PM at the Mid- American Indian Center. A similar service Sunday evening drew a crowd of 570.

Wichita, Kansas - Hundreds gathered to pray for an end to abortion and to seek revival outside late-term abortionist George Tiller's infamous abortion mill. (Operation Rescue HT: Jill Stanek)

Saturday evening about 500 Christians surrounded Tiller's infamous abortion clinic to pray for closure of the site of alleged illegal late-term abortions and the death of a 19-year old Down Syndrome woman from a botched 3rd trimester procedure.

Despite transportation problems, about 130 Christians braved high heat and humidity to attend prayer led by Concerned Women for America President Wendy Wright, who flew in from Washington, DC to join other pro-life dignitaries, including Norma McCorvey, the former "Roe" of Roe v. Wade, in calling for a speedy prosecution of Tiller and a closure of his abortion practice.

A group of 570 mostly young people gathered Sunday evening at the Wichita Awakening to accept the challenge from Norma McCorvey, the former "Roe" of Roe v. Wade, that those born after the 1973 Supreme Court decision should partner with her generation to see an end to abortion.

Late-term abortions are expected to begin today, when the Wichita Awakening has planned an all day prayer vigil beginning at 8:30 AM. The event will culminate with a prayer and praise service at 7 PM on tonight at the Mid-America Indian Center that will feature well-known Christian musicians and hundreds of youth from Wichita and across the nation.

More Information: Operation Rescue

Healthcare providers stopped feeding Terri Schiavo for the purpose of ending her life. Terri's brother, Bobby Schindler, and Presidential candidate Sam Brownback called this "killing" today at West Des Moines' Crossroads Fellowship Church (this article ). I agree with them.

"Her life remained sacred to the very end," Brownback was quoted by the Desmoines Register as saying. "Whether it's a child in the womb or it's somebody that has had a very difficult situation...she nonetheless remains a person and she shouldn't be artificially, or by humans, terminated. Instead, we should protect these lives."

Mi Yong Kim, an abortionist who used to perform abortions at Eaton Place in Virginia, has voluntarily surrendered her license. She has had extensive healthcare violations which led to this action.

From the Virginia Health Provider website:

LICENSE # 0101023297
Issue Date: 6/11/1973
Expiration Date: 5/18/2007
Status: Surrendered

It isn't the first time Kim has had problems.

Click here to continue reading at ProLifeNews.tv.

Barbara (MommyLife) conveys a heartfelt letter from her daughter to an expectant mother:

I do know that your baby needs you. Do not allow fear and worry to steal from the joy of this new life. I know you are capable of being a loving, nurturing mother. Psalm 73:26 says, "My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever."

According to Korean High Court, you become a person at a time coinciding with your mother's contractions:

On July 9 the Supreme Court of South Korea stated that a human fetus is not a human person until the morning that the mother goes into labor, JoongAng Daily reports.

[snip]

The decision was in accordance with past court rulings in 1982 and 1998, which stated that an unborn child could only be ruled a person after labor begins. Commenting on the present legal position, Presiding Judge Park Si-hwan declared, "Right now, it is too early to change Korea's legal point of view that an unborn child is not a human being."

The Minnesota Supreme Court on Thursday reversed the convictions of two pro-life advocates who had been charged with creating a public nuisance and violating a city sign ordinance while engaging in pro-life speech. Our readers will not be surprised to learn that it was an Alliance Defense Fund-allied attorney who represented the two men:

"Pro-life advocates cannot be singled out for unfair treatment under the law," said ADF-allied attorney Charles Shreffler of the Minneapolis-based firm of Mohrman & Kaardal, P.A. "We're pleased that the court reversed these convictions and that three of the justices expressed a strong affirmation for the First Amendment rights of peaceful pro-life advocates."

The Minnesota Supreme Court reversed that decision Thursday, ruling that the state had failed to prove an essential element of the public nuisance charge. Three of the justices filed a concurring opinion affirming the First Amendment rights of the men to display the signs.

"This decision reminds law enforcement officers that they cannot arrest and prosecute pro-life advocates because those officials take offense at the content of their speech," Shreffler is quoted by the ADF as stating. "The state simply could not provide the necessary evidence that these men should have been convicted under the ordinances for displaying their pro-life signs."

A copy of the opinion issued in State of Minnesota v. Otterstad can be read at www.telladf.org/UserDocs/OtterstadOpinion.pdf. The Washington, D.C., firm of Robbins, Russell, Englert, Orseck & Untereiner assisted in petitioning the Minnesota Supreme Court for review.

The case is significant for those who rely on the First Amendment to protect their speech and who were intimidated by the actions of the Anoka police nearly three years ago. I applaud the efforts of these three men and the ADF but am saddened that in it took almost three years in the Land of the Free to affirm such a basic right.

Source: ADF News Release

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Spotlight

37 Lawsuits Filed Against Makers of NuvaRing:  The law firm Blau & Brown filed 37 lawsuits in Essex County Superior Court and Newark federal court against Organon, USA, makers of the NuvaRing contraceptive.  The lawsuits claim NuvaRing caused blood clot complications, including death. [Read More]

Birth-control pills poison everyone? "According to the National Catholic Register, EPA-funded scientists at the University of Colorado studied fish in a mountain stream near Boulder, Colo., two years ago. When they netted 123 trout and other fish downstream from the city's sewer plant, they found 101 were female, 12 were male, and 10 were strange "intersex" fish with male and female features..." [Read More]

Other Stories

• UK: 11 year olds could be offered morning after pill. Children as young as 11 could be offered contraceptives at school without their parents' knowledge....  [Read More] 
• Tancredo Accepts Thousands From Founder of Planned Parenthood Network. Brownback campaign questions why donations from major abortion advocate are being accepted; requests Tancredo donates money to Iowa Crisis Pregnancy Centers... [Read More] 
• Rider banned over birth-control advice.  A 76 year old woman has been banned from a Utah bus station after giving birth control advice to Hispanic passengers and women with large families... [Read More] 


• 
  New Book: Love & Fertility: "Women no longer need to be slaves to the pharmaceutical industry," said Mercedes Arzu Wilson, president of Family of the Americas Foundation and author of the newly released book, Love & Fertility... [Read More]

Click here to subscribe to the NRFC newsletter and news updates.

Kansas Senator and Republican conservative presidential hopeful Sam Brownback will be embarking on a Pro-Life, Whole-Life Tour, a series of campaign events featuring pro-life activists Bobby Schindler, the brother of the late Terri Schiavo, and Francis Bok, an escaped slave from the Sudan. - North Country Gazette

Check out the Daily Brownbacker for more information.

After his release from prison on June 1 for "good behavior," Jack Kevorkian, a.k.a. Dr. Death, resumed his promotion of assisted suicide as a humane conclusion for the terminally ill. He told Larry King that he felt it was important to speak to young people in high school and college about these issues.

Apparently the University of Florida agrees. According to the Terri Schindler-Schiavo Foundation, Dr. Kevorkian, a convicted felon and defrocked doctor, is scheduled to speak to the students there and will be paid $50,000 to do so by the University of Florida student government association.

The Foundation has released an alert and posted a online petition that asks the University rescind the invitation to Kevorkian. Would you take a moment and consider signing it? (click here)

As you do, consider how inappropriate it is for Kevorkian to be treated as a crusader for patient's rights given his distorted view of human dignity and role in the deaths of numerous patients (he claimed participation in 130 suicides and challenged prosecutors to issue charges).

A Michigan judge in 1999 sentenced Kevorkian to 10 to 25 years in prison for second degree murder and three to seven years for delivery of a controlled substance. At the time, he was denied bail due to his vow to keep assisting patient suicides.

Kevorkian is now out of prison, having agreed to stop directly helping people commit suicide he continues to exploit the publicity of his premature release by promoting the actions that landed him in prison.

Again, please take a few minutes to consider the online petition that asks the University of Florida to remove this unrepentant felon from the podium.

Until last week, podiatrists cutting out ingrown toenails were more regulated in Missouri than abortionists cutting out preborn babies....

But on July 6, Gov. Matt Blunt signed legislation into law mandating that facilities where babies are scrapped will have to meet the same criteria as facilities where teeth are scraped.

That's tough to argue against, but Planned Parenthood, which owns two of the four affected abortion mills, may sue to block it.

According to the Associated Press, PP "claimed the law could force it to spend up to $2 million to remodel one of its clinics and halt medical abortions at another site."

Just how shoddy can a mill be if it will cost $2 million to make it as safe and clean as a facility where pink eye is treated?

But PP strenuously objected, saying....

Continue reading my column today, "Those onerous barriers to abortion" on WorldNetDaily.com.

Prenatal testing, whereby tests are performed in utero to verify the health of the child, is now considered standard prenatal care. Unborn children have been screened in the womb for Down Syndrome in women over 35 for many years. However, just this year, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists has started to recommend that doctors perform a new screening procedure on all pregnant women, regardless of age. These tests raise the question of what would happen if a family finds that their child does have Down Syndrome or other disabilities. Is this information sought in order to better prepare parents or to abort less-than-perfect children before they are born?

Testing Procedures

Until just recently, the Down Syndrome test was performed in the second trimester by amniocentesis. Suggested between 15 and 20 weeks of gestation, this procedure uses a needle to penetrate the amniotic sac, drawing amniotic fluid for testing. One of every 200-400 procedures results in a miscarriage. The baby is also at risk for being pricked by the needle as it enters the amniotic sac.

A study conducted a couple years ago on 38,000 American women revealed that Down Syndrome can be detected at just 11 weeks after conception. The test consists of a first-trimester sonogram and two blood tests. This test is slightly more accurate than the current quadruple test offered at 16 weeks gestation, but a 5% false positive rate remains inherent in the test results.

Once the test determines that a woman is carrying a child with Down Syndrome, doctors often do not know how to relay that information. Women report a high level of dissatisfaction. Many parents of children with Down Syndrome share stories of doctors starting with "I'm sorry" or "I have bad news." One woman who decided she would continue her pregnancy spoke of her doctor reminding her that she could still undergo a late term abortion if the ultrasound indicated that the baby would need heart surgery (as many infants with Down Syndrome do within the first year of birth).

Effects on Down Syndrome Babies

Unfortunately, many families who find that they have a child who is "imperfect" choose to end that baby's life through abortion. About 90% of parents who find that their child has Down Syndrome choose to abort that child. A parent's subjective view of the child's quality of life, often coupled with pressure from the medical community, becomes the determining factor for whether that child is allowed to live. Prenatal diagnosis is not a perfect science, and many times, unborn children thought to be disabled are born without medical complications or disabilities.

This new test for Down Syndrome, coupled with the extremely high rate of abortion for babies with Down Syndrome, means that these children will likely grow up in a world with few people who are like them. There are currently about 350,000 people with Down syndrome. With a diminishing population, many parents are concerned that there will be less institutional support and reduced funds for medical research.

The New York Times also described a general unease about "drawing the line between preventing disability and accepting human diversity." They reported about one mom's concerns, "If all these people terminate babies with Down Syndrome, there won't be programs, there won't be acceptance or tolerance."

Support and Information

Many parents of children with Down Syndrome are convinced that more women would choose to carry their children to birth if they actually knew what parenting a child with Down Syndrome was like. These parents are now taking a role in helping to offer a positive perspective in the face of daunting statistics and doctors who share only the difficult aspects of raising a child with Down Syndrome. Volunteers are asking obstetricians to send parents to talk to these experts on Down Syndrome when an unborn baby is diagnosed with Down Syndrome. They are also building networks so that new parents can meet with veteran parents of children with Down Syndrome for support.

Source and more information: Texas Right to Life

WASHINGTON, D.C.--Newly enacted legislation in Missouri says:

"No school district or charter school, or its personnel or agents, shall provide abortion services, or permit a person or entity to offer, sponsor, or furnish in any manner any course materials or instruction relating to human sexuality or sexually transmitted diseases to its students if such person or entity is a provider of abortion services."

"The elected officials in Missouri understood the conflict of interest that exists when Planned Parenthood is allowed to teach or provide material for sex education classes," said Sedlak. "To have an entity that profits from the sale of birth control and abortion teaching our children about sex is ludicrous."

Posted by Ruben on Contraceptionblog.com

Jennifer Roback Morse wrote an excellent commentary on getting the government out of promoting "comprehensive" sex ed programs and contraceptives.. Here are some excepts:

The commonly quoted failure rates of 8% for the Pill and 15% for the condom are inflated by the highly successful use by middle-aged, middle-class married couples. Yet, the government promotes contraception most heavily among the young, the poor and the single. The "overall failure rates" are simply not relevant to this target population.

A poor cohabiting teenager using the Pill has a failure rate of 48.4%. You read that correctly: nearly half of poor cohabiting teenagers get pregnant during their first year using the Pill. If she kicked her boyfriend out of the house, or if she married him, her probability of pregnancy drops to 12.9%. At the other extreme, a middle-aged, middle-class married woman has a 3% chance of getting pregnant after a year on the Pill.

Over 70% of poor, cohabiting teenagers using condoms, will be pregnant within a year. By contrast, the middle-aged, middle-class married woman has a 6% chance of pregnancy after a year of condom use.

Contraceptive failure doesn't always lead to abortion, but it certainly sustains the demand (at least among adolescents and young adults.)

"Generic" sex ed isn't at issue here, after all teaching teens about their bodies is ok. The real controversy centers around so called "comprehensive" sex ed programs which teach teens how to try circumvent the natural functions of their bodies via contraceptives.

Further resources:

• Comprehensive-Sex-Ed.com


• The Bait & Switch of Sex Ed


• Contraception and Abortion


• Teaching Teens Fertility Awareness

"Building a Legacy of Life... Meeting New Challenges through Education"

Arizona Right to Life's 29th annual pro-life conference will be held September 7-8 at the Chaparral Suites Resort in Scottsdale, Arizona. With world-class speakers from around the country presenting on issues like abortion, euthanasia, stem cell research and bioethics, post-abortion healing, and the vital roles of the crisis pregnancy centers - this conference may be the best ever!

It is important that adults and youth alike stay informed, motivated, and active in defending life, because we can only be truly successful if we are prepared. Featuring renowned speakers like Ken Blackwell of the Family Research Council, Mark Crutcher of Life Dynamics, Inc., Janet Folger of Faith2Action, and many, many more - this conference will help you develop the tools and techniques that are vital to defending life.

The conference's break-out format means there's never a dull moment - and you can learn about the topics that matter most to you.

A special Friday Night engagement includes a speakers' roundtable discussion and dinner with keynote speaker Ken Blackwell. Admission for Saturday's conference includes a continental breakfast, plated lunch, and an afternoon dessert reception.

If you've never been to one of our conferences before, you need to be at this one!

More Information: click here

From ProLifeAction.org

Ann Scheidler

On the heels of the Supreme Court ruling upholding the federal ban on Partial Birth Abortion, it is urgent that we show our fellow citizens that all forms of abortion are brutal and ought to be likewise outlawed. Join the Pro-Life Action League as we expose the truth of what abortion does to its unborn victims during our eighth annual Face the Truth Tour throughout northeastern Illinois.

The complete itinerary for the 2007 Tour has just been published and is now available online. The Tour will begin Saturday, July 7 in Joliet, which drew the largest number of volunteers during last year's Tour.

From Generations for Life:

Our Face the Truth Tour starts tomorrow and runs through next Saturday, July 14.

If you're anywhere near Chicago, join us! If not, please say some prayers for us -- and, even more importantly, pray that many people's hearts will be changed by seeing the ugly reality of abortion.

Not only is embryo screening immoral but recent studies indicate that it doesn't work and may actually lead to a greater incidence of miscarriage:

An older woman's slim chances of getting pregnant could be made worse if embryos are screened for defects before being implanted into the womb, doctors said Wednesday.

Pregnancy and live birth rates were substantially lower among women whose embryos were screened compared with those whose were not, according to a study presented Wednesday at a Lyon meeting of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. -- That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, -- That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.

Excerpted from the Declaration of Independence, July 4, 1776

How convenient it would be for some if reality reshaped itself to match politically motivated redefinitions. Wesley Smith points us to Princeton biologist Lee Silver who admits that the term "pre-embryo" is political in his book Remaking Eden:

I'll let you in on a secret. The term pre-embryo has been embraced wholeheartedly...for reasons that are political, not scientific. [My emphasis.] The new term is used to provide the illusion that there is something profoundly different between what we nonmedical biologists still call a six-day old embryo [the blastocyst] and what we and everyone else call a sixteen-day old embryo [an embryo that has begun to develop differentiated tissues]. The term pre-embryo is useful in the political arena--where decisions are made about whether to allow early embryo (now called pre-embryo) experimentation--as well as in the confines of a doctor's office, where it can be used to allay moral concerns that might be expressed by IVF patients. "Don't worry," a doctor might say, "It's only pre-embryos that we're manipulating and freezing. They won't turn into real human embryos until after we've put them back in your body."

Either because of laziness or dishonesty, Jill of Feministe has a post which falsely claims the head of "Virginia Right to Life" supports the actions of people who sent letters containing white powder and threatening notes to Planned Parenthood.

All from extremists, right?

On the same radio station, Donald Spitz, head of Pro-Life Virginia said he supported the action of the person who had sent the letters.

If Jill had taken the time to even look up "Virginia Right to Life" she would have discovered that "Virginia Right to Life" isn't even the name of National Right to Life Committee's affiliate for Virginia. NRLC's affiliate is the Virginia Society for Human Life and their president is a woman named Brenda Fastabend. Jill would have also discovered that the Virginia Society for Human Life has a statement against violence.

I've posted a comment on her blog so hopefully she will correct her error and apologize.

UPDATE: Jill has updated her post to correct her errors but I see nothing noting the update or apologizing for her frivolous attack in either the post or in the comments.

The results of a recent CDC survey reveal that approximately 96 percent of adults aged 20-59 have had ever had sex. Of all those surveyed, almost 82 percent had sex before or at 20 years of age. Of those who ever had sex, approximately 85 percent did so before or at age 20 - most of which was premarital. (An earlier Guttmacher study found that by age 20, 77 percent of respondents had sex, and 75 percent had premarital sex.)

The numbers are even higher for the younger subgroup - approximately 91 percent of those aged 20-29 had sex, and 91 percent of them had it by or at age 20.

This isn't surprising in a culture that promotes hook ups, cohabitation, contraception, and abortion. What is surprising is that 100 percent of adults haven't had sex by age 20.

Some might argue that there isn't anything wrong here, that this is normal and healthy behavior.

The problem with that argument is that this behavior is not healthy - it results in disease transmission, demand for abortion, out-of-wedlock pregnancy, broken hearts, and unhappiness.

According to the Office of National AIDS Policy, one quarter of all new HIV infections occur in people under the age of 21. Approximately 75 percent of Human Papillomavirus (HPV) infections, which increase the risks of cervical and oropharyngeal cancers, occur in people aged 15-24.

Disease isn't the only problem - there are mental consequences of premarital sex as well. For example, sexually active teens are more likely to attempt suicide than those who are not. Adolescent women who engage in premarital sex are three times more likely to experience depression as those who don't. Abortion also poses a threat, as it is associated with an increased risk of depression and anxiety.

These are just a few of the problems associated with premarital sex - there are numerous other problems as well.

While this behavior may be "normal" in a sexually corrupt culture, it's anything but healthy. There isn't a healthy reason for young people to engage in premarital sex to begin with - in fact; it is a threat to public health.

While contraceptives don't cause teens to have sex, they do enable them to do so, a point those on both sides of the issue seem to miss.

There is a healthy fear in the pro-life movement that addressing contraception may be counterproductive in the efforts to win public opinion. This fear is partially based upon the idea that the public won't tolerate a ban on contraception.

Unfortunately, this well founded fear has often resulted in near silence about the negative aspects of contraceptives, including the role it plays in adolescent sexual decisions.

How do contraceptives impact on these decisions? Simply put, contraceptives (and abortion) act as an "insurance policy" against unplanned pregnancy (and birth), lowering the perceived risks of premarital sexual activity. This "policy" enables people who would normally not engage in sexual activity to do so. Unfortunately for many, these policies often fail, resulting in pregnancy and disease transmission.

Religious beliefs also have a role in the avoidance of this issue - many non-Catholic denominations approve of contraceptive use among married couples, so they are reluctant to even speak out on the issue to begin with. The thinking is that the prohibition against premarital sex already covers the use of contraceptives, and that use by unmarried teens is implicitly forbidden. Yet that ignores the public health crisis that exists in part due to easy access to contraceptives by teens.

Many pro-life advocates do not see contraceptive use as an urgent problem to address. Yet easy access to contraceptives by teens, without parental consent, enables many of them to become sexually active to begin with. And in the near future, many of these same teens will end up at abortion and STD clinics.

Requiring parental consent for contraceptives has the potential to preclude abortion and disease transmission for teens that are not yet sexually active. It can also put a serious dent in the health crisis posed by teen sexual activity.

It's a shame that so many people have sex by age 20 - not only for what some may call puritanical reasons, but for the fact that this only perpetuates the long standing health crisis fostered by teen sexual activity. But until the public learns about the many downsides of teen access to contraceptives, the crisis isn't going to improve significantly.

(c) 2007 Ruben Obregon

h/t to Tim from prolifeblogs.com for pointing out the errors in the original commentary

This past Friday a group of pro-lifers, including a blogger from Prolifeblogs.com, showed up to intervene at an abortion clinic in Chester County, Pennsylvania. While some blocked entrances others counseled patients.

One has to wonder if this is the beginning of a revival of clinic blockades, also known as rescues, or if it's just a limited use of this tactic.

Read more at

Pro-Life Protests Charge Weekend With Controversy

Coleraine, Ireland - The director of Northern Ireland's leading pro-life group Precious Life was assaulted by police while being arrested for showing a pro-life display. The incident happened when police seized a display board in Coleraine town centre this afternoon (Saturday June 30). Bernadette Smyth received extensive bruising to her arm and had to undergo an examination by the police doctor. The 'Life Display' showed pictures of babies in the womb; information for woman suffering after abortion; and babies killed by abortion.

The following press release by Wisconsin Right to Life appropriately condemns those who honor Paul Hill, a murderer who claimed to be doing the will of God when he killed an abortionist in 1994.

Wisconsin Right to Life has learned that four groups, who wrongly call themselves "pro-life, will be in Milwaukee from July 26-29 to honor Paul Hill, a terribly misguided individual who was executed in Florida for murdering abortionist John Britton in 1994.

The three day event is being called "Paul Hill Days" and will include an "reenactment of 7-29-1994," (referring to an reenactment of the murder of Britton by Hill thirteen years ago on that date.)

"It is terrifying that a 'reenactment' of the murder will take place in our state. It should be condemned by pro-life people of good will everywhere," said Barbara Lyons, Executive Director for Wisconsin Right to Life. "Wisconsin Right to Life has consistently spoken out against violent individuals like Paul Hill who inappropriately use the name of the pro-life movement in carrying out their deplorable acts."

The organizations sponsoring "Paul Hill Days" are
"Paul Hill Memorial," "Children Need Heroes," "Street Preach," and Pro-Life Virginia.

The pro-life movement is guided by the belief that each and every human life has intrinsic value and that the efforts to protect human life should be carried out in a peaceful, legal, non-violent manner.

Jesse Ramirez unintentionally became the center of significant controversy after a car accident left him in a "minimally conscious" state. Ten days into his recovery his wife decided to withdraw what I consider to be basic care by removing his feeding tube. Jesse was also transferred to a hospice.

In response, his family took legal action and, with the assistance of the Alliance Defense Fund, were successful in restoring basic care. In addition, the presiding judge appointed Judith Morse as Jesse's guardian ad litem with the agreement of the parties

Late last week, an attorney knowledgeable about the case provided an insightful view of Jesse's situation in this article, clearing up a number of misimpressions and mistakes made in the reporting of the case. For instance, a gag order was never put in place and, from a legal perspective, Jesse's wife never had the authority to direct medical personnel to remove his feeding tube. In addition, reports of Jesse waking up (more here) appear to have been somewhat inaccurate:

On Tuesday, June 26, 2007, the parties gathered for another hearing. After the parties met behind closed doors for about an hour, Ms. Morse presented her report in court. She noted that the parties had agreed (1) that she would select a neurologist to evaluate Jesse's current condition, (2) that she would select a third party to serve as Jesse's guardian, (3) that they would dismiss Scottsdale Healthcare and Hospice of the Valley from the case, and (4) that all further communications with hospice or hospital employees would be through counsel.

Then Ms. Morse reported that she had already located a neurologist who would evaluate Jesse's condition. In fact, after a preliminary examination over the weekend, he had concluded that Jesse was conscious and responsive. Ms. Morse summarized the doctor's findings by saying that Jesse is aware of who he is, aware of who his family is, and is responding to oral commands. As a result, she noted that Jesse will soon be transferred to another facility for rehabilitation, therapy, and further medical care.

Those following the case should read the entire article (click here).

We continue to receive reports regarding Jesse's treatment and hope to provide an update for our readers in the next couple of days.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 7/01/07

Seventy-five pro-life teachers, parents and children successfully picketed the NEA convention in Philadelphia on Sunday, July 1. Aged eight to eighty, they took positions on all four corners of Arch & 11th Streets, displaying high-visibility signs and posters easily seen by thousands of NEA Delegates disembarking from shuttle buses or entering and leaving the massive PA Convention Center's doorways.

Pro-lifers and delegates were interviewed by reporters and photojournalists from FOX, Philadelphia Bulletin, Washington Times, Catholic Standard & Times, etc. Many delegates openly expressed disbelief, skepticism, and even shock, at the revelation that NEA was involved in abortion at all - much less in an advocacy role - much less pro-abortion. They were totally unaware of NEA's long-standing "Family Planning Resolution" supporting "reproductive freedom" and "all methods of family planning" - including abortion. Some refused to accept the well-documented fact that NEA is one of Planned Parenthood's primary advocates and actually co-sponsored huge pro-abortion rallies in Washington in April 2004, April 1992, and November 1989.

A few belligerent delegates verbally berated the pro-lifers, accusing them of "lying". Others thanked pro-lifers for bringing NEA's abortion activism into sharp focus. Some said they would raise the issue on the Convention Floor and attempt to have NEA totally abandon its pro-abortion agenda and activism. Bob Pawson, National Coordinator of PLEAS and NJEA member, said, "We joined NEA for collective bargaining representation; not to be misrepresented on socio-political or moral issues like abortion, homosexuality, or who to vote for. Respect the diversity of 3.2 million members. Totally disengage NEA from the abortion issue. Become truly neutral and completely non-involved." "The NEA leadership's pro-abortion agenda is a perverse way of protecting our jobs. Babies are our business; our only business. For NEA to condone, much less promote, killing babies in their wombs is not only a moral outrage; it's economic suicide. Abortion costs us our jobs."

In this emotional, power-packed video interview, Attorney David Gibbs III, lead attorney in the fight to save the life of Terri Schiavo, explains what really happened behind the scenes in the case and why it matters to all of us. HT: Jacobse