December 2011 Archives

December 28, 2011/Albuquerque, NM --

Project Defending Life has confirmed that abortionist Bruce Ferguson is retiring on December 30th, 2011, and will no longer be performing abortions. His Albuquerque abortion clinic will also close. According to his website, he has been performing abortions for 30 years.

In a phone call, Ferguson told an undercover investigator that he was retiring due to his health, the health of his family, and his own his "sanity." He stated, "Someone else needs to carry the burden now." Ferguson also mentioned as a reason for his retirement a steady decline in abortion patients each year, which is a trend that is being seen nationally.

Watch a video featuring a recording of these statements.

Project Defending Life and Operation Rescue have been keeping the public informed about the dangerous conditions at two other Albuquerque abortion clinics. It appears that after receiving this life-saving information women are not flooding Bruce Ferguson's office, but are opting out of abortion altogether.

"Abortion is not good for anyone, not for babies, not for women, and according to Bruce Ferguson, someone who would know, abortion is not good for the doctors performing them," stated Bud Shaver, spokesperson for Project Defending Life. "We are happy to learn that our efforts to inform women of the dangers of abortion are having an impact and that fewer women are aborting their babies."

Operation Rescue learned earlier this year that Ferguson had been seeking out-of-state employment as a part-time abortionist.

"As abortionists like Ferguson quit, retire, or are stripped of their licenses, they are not being replaced," said Operation Rescue President Troy Newman. "It sounds like Ferguson has called it quits, but we need to remain vigilant because, with the shortage of abortionists, Ferguson could turn up somewhere else. Given his apparent emotional state, that would be dangerous for women."

Project Defending Life is committed to serving the pregnant women of New Mexico and is continuing their effort to expose how abortion destroys all the lives involved in this horrific procedure.

"In 2011 our prayers and efforts to end abortion in New Mexico are becoming a reality. This is great news for the women and pre-born children of New Mexico. Abortion bears many consequences and one less 'doctor' to provide them is a benefit to all women," stated Fr. Stephen Imbarrato, Director of Project Defending Life. "In fact, this is the second abortionist this month to retire and close down in the state of New Mexico."

Earlier this month, Santa Fe abortionist Lucia Cies retired. The closure of her abortion clinic made Santa Fe an abortion-free community.

December 26, 2011/Stockton, CA/Operation Rescue --

A young woman sporting a Christian fish symbol on the back of her car walked past sidewalk counselors just before Christmas on Thursday, December 22, and into the Stockton Pregnancy Control Medical Clinic abortion facility. An hour and a half later, she was wheeled out on a gurney and loaded into an awaiting ambulance for emergency transport to a nearby hospital.

The woman had told pro-life activist Don Blythe as she entered the clinic that she was "quite confident" and "happy" with her decision to abort. Blythe had attempted to offer her practical help and information in an attempt to help her save the life of her baby.

"It is so sad that a baby died and a mother was seriously injured after being warned of abortion dangers. I wonder how confident she is in her abortion decision now. This is a Christmas tragedy that will haunt her for the rest of her life," said Operation Rescue President Troy Newman.

"There is also a lesson for the Christian church in America in this incident: You are not immune from the problem of abortion and until the pulpits take a stronger stand against this sin, abortion tragedies like this will continue in your congregations."

The abortionist believed to have been on duty at the time of the life-threatening abortion complication was Christopher Mills, an abortionist who has been working in the abortion industry for 30 years.

Blythe told Operation Rescue that women frequently stop to tell him of their abortion horror stories experienced at Stockton Pregnancy Control. He said ambulance visits to that clinic are not rare.

"Life-threatening abortion injuries and abortion-related deaths have become so common that they make the pre-Roe back alley abortionists look good," said Newman. "The way to ensure the public safety is to close the abortion clinics and extend true help to women that is not going to land them in the hospital or in the grave."

KANSAS CITY, Kan., Dec. 27, 2011/Christian Newswire --

The Life Legal Defense Foundation will assist pro-life activist Mary Anne Sause, who was a victim of a physical attack by the manager of an abortion clinic, with her testimony at the manager's upcoming criminal trial scheduled for December 28 in Kansas City municipal court.

"Witnesses saw and reported the attack, and we want to make sure that Ms. Sause gets the justice she deserves," said Dana Cody, Executive Director of the Life Legal Defense Foundation. "This is especially traumatic because she's been a victim of rape, and she shouldn't have to suffer again at the hands of an abuser."

Sause was putting pro-life signs away in her car after standing with them near the Central Family Medicine abortion clinic, located at 720 Central Avenue in Kansas City. The manager, Mark Pederson, approached her car and took pictures of her license plate. Then he body-slammed her to the ground, and witnesses heard her screams. His criminal trial will be on December 28.

"The Life Legal Defense Foundation is ready to assist Ms. Sause and her attorney when further legal action is taken," said Cody.

December 23, 2011/Family Research Council --

Christmas is a great reminder of how powerful the gift of life can be. Unfortunately, the lives of the most powerless are constantly under threat in a nation where Roe v. Wade is the law of the land. The new year is just around the corner, and with it National Sanctity of Life Month (January). We need your help in showing the world why we're pro-life, and that human beings have dignity from conception to death.

Please join us in FRC's "I'm Pro-life Because..." campaign. Here's how:

1. Pose in a picture with your ultrasound (or first newborn photo) or have your children pose with their first photo.

2. Let us know in 140 characters or less why you are Pro-Life!

3. Choose two words to describe each individual pictured (examples: Musician, Son or Painter, Mother). Include your age of your infant picture, or the week of the pregnancy in your ultrasound.

4. Submit your words and photos (one photo per person, please) via email to: photos@frc.org

Over the next few weeks, we will showcase these powerful images to show the uniqueness and value of every human life.

Be creative in telling your story in a single image! Gather your children to take a group picture with their own ultrasounds or newborn photos, or take fun pictures of them playing happily with their ultrasound photos nearby. Take your own photo with your ultrasound or infant picture while at work or doing a favorite activity or hobby. Take the pictures in settings that portray what you love, and what your life means. Some of the more poignant photos will be featured in FRC publications and advertisements.

Merry Christmas, and Happy New Year!

Sincerely,
Your Friends at Family Research Council

Tom McFeely/NEW YORK, December 23/C-FAM --

For decades, a basic tenet of the international population-control lobby has been that declining fertility rates will generate a more stable international order. But according to an impressive panel of scholars who have contributed to a new book, this scenario of "geriatric peace" is untenably optimistic.

Population Decline and the Remaking of Great Power Politics is a collection of nine research essays, published by Potomac Books and edited by C-FAM senior vice president Susan Yoshihara and C-FAM senior fellow Douglas Sylva. In the book's foreword, demographer and political economist Nicholas Eberstadt applauds its contributors for tackling the "profound and as-yet unanswered questions" associated with population decline and international politics.

The prevailing assumption that relatively old countries are predisposed automatically to peace is not historically defensible, as Population Decline and the Remaking of Great Power Politics points out. In the last century relatively aged regimes like Nazi Germany and Serbia in the 1990s were notable for their aggression against younger neighbors, and in classical history democratic Athens reacted to the demographic shock of a devastating plague by initiating a series of costly and ill-judged military actions.

Population Decline and the Remaking of Great Power Politics begins with three chapters, written by Phillip Longman, James R. Holmes and Francis Sempa, that set forth an analytical framework for assessing the interaction between geopolitics and demographic decline. The rest of the book is devoted to case studies of six key global actors: Russia, Europe and Japan, which are all wrestling with below-replacement fertility rates; the rising Asian powers of China and Japan, whose futures will be differentiated by strikingly different demographic profiles; and the United States, whose "demographic exceptionalism" makes it the only major developed power to resist depopulation.

In Russia, births declined by a stunning 50% during the period 1987-1999. Murray Feshbach analyzes the effects of this baby blight in the context of military recruitment. Exacerbated by the widespread incidence of HIV and tuberculosis, the country's severe shortage of fit young males "will lead to a more tenuous situation in Russian society, including the military, than the economic dimension would portend," Feshbach predicts....

Read entire article here.

SIOUX CITY, Iowa, Dec. 21, 2011/Christian Newswire --

An ambulance responded to an emergency call from Planned Parenthood of the Heartland in Sioux City, Iowa, at approximately 1:30 pm on Tuesday and transported a patient to a local hospital. Sidewalk counselors recalled seeing the same woman earlier in the day as she entered the clinic for an abortion. Her condition is unknown at this time.

Sherill Glassmaker, a pro-life activist who was just leaving a neighboring pregnancy resource center, noticed the ambulance in the parking lot and began taking pictures to document the incident.

A paramedic working for Siouxland Paramedics took time out from his job to approach Glassmaker and complain about her presence, but did acknowledge that he was responding to a 911 call for emergency medical assistance.

As Glassmaker prayed aloud for the injured patient, Planned Parenthood's security guard mocked and threatened to file charges against her in an obvious effort to intimidate her for documenting the incident.

Abortionist Nicola Moore, a Massachusetts abortionist who flies to the mid-west to do abortions for Planned Parenthood of the Heartland, was believed to be the abortionist on duty at the time of the incident.

Operation Rescue had earlier "outed" Moore as the "Fly in Abortionista" featured in a recent magazine article. An Operation Rescue undercover investigation revealed that Planned Parenthood was engaged in the experimental "telemed abortion" scheme, in which dangerous abortion pills are dispensed to women over an Internet connection without the presence of a licensed physician or a physical examination by qualified personnel.

"According to our investigations, Planned Parenthood of the Heartland has long been engaged in practices that endanger the lives of women. This is yet another reason why Planned Parenthood does not deserve even one cent of our tax dollars," said Cheryl Sullenger, Senior Policy Advisor for Operation Rescue.

"Women who patronize Planned Parenthood or any other abortion clinic literally risk their lives. We plan to file complaints concerning this incident with the appropriate Iowa oversight agencies in order to protect women from Planned Parenthood's unscrupulous practices."

AUSTIN, Texas, Dec. 20, 2011/Christian Newswire --

The Texas Medical Board has set new hearing dates for two abortionists related to complaints filed by Operation Rescue as a result of an undercover investigation conducted earlier this year.

Franz Theard and Douglas Karpen have both been scheduled for hearings on May 16, 2012. Theard is accused of coaching minor girls to cross state lines to avoid Texas parental notification laws and with illegally disposing of aborted baby remains. Karpen is accused of violating the state's informed consent laws, but has a sordid history of abortion abuses dating back to 1988.

Operation Rescue has also been notified that the case against abortionist H. Brook Randal remains active, but has not yet been set for hearing.

"The fact that these hearings are being deferred months into the future shows that the charges against them are being taken very seriously," said Operation Rescue President Troy Newman. "We are happy that the Board is pursuing these cases, but of course we wish things were moving a little quicker."

In all, ten abortionists face hearings to answer to Medical Board questions about their shoddy abortion practices.

Three abortionists, Robert Hanson, Alan Molson, and William W. West, Jr., already faced hearings on October 28, 2011. Newman appeared before the Board at that time and gave a witness statement against each abortionist. Publication of the results of those hearings is expected in February.

Hearings against an additional four abortionists, Pedro J. Kowalyszyn, Sherwood C. Lynn, Margaret Kini, and Robert L. Prince were delayed from their original October date and have not yet been reset.

Operation Rescue and The Survivors conducted a three-month undercover investigation of numerous Texas abortion clinics from December, 2010, through February, 2011. The research teams discovered abuses at every abortion clinic they investigated. Operation Rescue then filed complaints with the appropriate governmental oversight agencies.

In addition to ten abortionists facing Medical Board action, Operation Rescue's complaints have netted $83,000 in fines against two abortion clinics and the waste disposal company Stericycle for the illegal disposal of aborted baby remains.

"The fact that ten abortionists face discipline and three businesses have been heavily fined substantiates our claims that America's abortion clinics routinely operate outside the law. Our investigations touched on randomly selected abortion clinics, but there is no doubt that similar or worse abuses could be discovered if every American abortion clinic was investigated," said Newman. "We pray these cases in Texas will send a strong message to abortionists everywhere that they are not above the law and that sooner or later, they will be brought to justice."

During my training, I remember dreading those patient visits where I was expected to provide "safe sex" counseling to my patients. It wasn't necessarily the awkwardness of speaking about such matters to a complete stranger so much as it was the difficult position of trying to meet the expectations of my evaluators without personally contributing to this irrational and flawed set of beliefs held by the "secular" medical establishment.

Ironically, the ones promoting biased, false, and misleading information are not the abstinence-based programs, but the condom devotees who arrogantly discredit such abstinence-based programs as failing to provide medically accurate material. In other words, the most scientifically accurate answer to the problem of sexually transmitted diseases and so-called "unwanted" pregnancies is not a wider distribution of condoms and more promulgation of condom awareness.

Undeterred by objective data to the contrary, we are still taught "if only we have enough faith in condoms, we will be saved; don't get bogged down and encumbered by scientific data, just believe and you will see..." What is the fruit of the worldwide conversion of hearts to a sincere faith in latex? Are we still cursed with HIV and AIDS because there remain a few infidels who obstinately insist on that dreary scientific evidence showing that self-mastery and marital fidelity is the real answer?

Consider the following epidemiologic data. In 1987 (shortly after the discovery of HIV), two Asian nations of similar population had approximately the same number of HIV patients. In Thailand there were 112 cases and in the Philippines there were slightly more -135 cases. Over the next 16 years, these two countries approached the problem with very different tactics.

The government of Thailand embraced the theology of condoms and successfully implemented a "100% condom use" campaign wherein every man, woman, and child had ready access to a superabundance of condoms and where thoroughly indoctrinated on the apparent benefits of latex barriers. In the Philippines, however, something very unusual happened when their government rejected the internationally popular condom movement and decided instead to promote sexual abstinence and marital fidelity.

How did these two radically different tactics fair [sic]? By 2003, Thailand had 570,000 people with HIV, whereas the Philippines had 9,000 people with HIV. In other words, the rate of HIV was 80 times higher in Thailand! Fortunately, this remarkable contrast didn't go unnoticed by all of the mainstream media. A 2003 New York Times article in 2003 reported on this unexpected data in the Philippines. However, the author was clearly perplexed and unable to see the logic and reason behind it. In pitiful desperation, he suggests a theory that prostitutes in the Philippines must be less promiscuous! Would he further conclude that we should encourage prostitutes to be more chaste, all the while standing by the belief that teaching the same to school children is irresponsible and dangerous? Absurdity upon absurdity....

The medical community has had to reform itself in a similar way over the past century with another issue. I speak now of a behavior that is even more habit-forming than the various sexual behaviors so vigorously promoted by the more influential members of modern society--cigarette smoking....

Read entire article here.

DONGSHIGU VILLAGE, China, Dec. 16, 2011/Christian Newswire --

Batman star Christian Bale traveled nine hours from Beijing to visit blind forced abortion opponent Chen Guangcheng. Bale said, "What I really wanted to do was shake the man's hand and say 'thank you,' and tell him what an inspiration he is."

Bale never got the chance. He was roughed up and forced away from Chen's village, according to a CNN report.

Bale was in Beijing, China for the premier of The Flowers of War, a drama about the 1937 Rape of Nanjing. About his attempt to visit Chen, Bale stated, "I'm not brave doing this . . . This was just a situation -- I can't look the other way."

According to Reggie Littlejohn, president of Women's Rights Without Frontiers, "Christian Bale is right that the true heroes are the Chinese citizens who have been beaten and detained trying to visit Chen, and yet Bale is a hero as well. He is starring in the most expensive film ever made in China, which China hopes will win an Academy Award. Nevertheless, he has the courage to stand against official injustice and has greatly raised the visibility of Chen's case."

Littlejohn contrasted Bale's actions with those of Relativity Media. "Christian Bale has used his star power to shine a light on the unjust treatment of Chen Guangcheng. In contrast, Relativity Media filmed 21 and Over in Linyi, where Chen is languishing under house arrest. They did nothing to help Chen. I hope that moviegoers will demonstrate their concern for Chen Guangcheng at the box office by boycotting '21 and Over.'"

Christian Bale is not the only one who has focused attention on Chen Guangcheng. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and U.S. Ambassador to China Gary Locke have both recently spoken on his behalf.

The flow of Chinese citizens to visit Chen despite the risk of beatings and detention, and the Chinese and international "Sunglasses" campaigns, have raised the visibility of Chen's case as well. These campaigns can be found here and here.

Chen Guangcheng exposed the systematic use of forced abortion and sterilization in Linyi City in 2005. For four years and three months, he was jailed, tortured and denied medical treatment. Since his release he has languished under strict house arrest.

Watch the 3-minute Free Chen video here.

Sign a petition to free Chen here.

WASHINGTON/December 14, 2011/NRLC --

The political arm of the nation's largest pro-life organization, the National Right to Life PAC (NRL PAC), today joined with the Nebraska Right to Life Political Action Committee in announcing that both organizations will oppose Senator Ben Nelson (D) for re-election in November 2012 general election.

Both National Right to Life and Nebraska Right to Life consider the vote on the so-called "Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act" (PPACA) ("Obamacare") to be an absolutely critical vote to the right-to-life movement. As enacted into law, the Obama health care law contained multiple provisions authorizing subsidies for abortion, and also provisions that opened the doors to abortion-expanding administrative actions. In addition, the law would lead to government-imposed rationing of lifesaving medical treatment.

"Ben Nelson was the deciding vote to make the Obama health care law the law of the land, and in the current Congress, Nelson has a 0% pro-life voting record," said National Right to Life Executive Director David N. O'Steen, Ph.D. "Ben Nelson cannot win in Nebraska without pro-life support and he won't have it. No pro-lifer should even consider supporting Ben Nelson for re-election."

"Ben Nelson's vote for the pro-abortion, pro-rationing Obama health care law was a total betrayal of pro-life principles and a total betrayal of pro-life voters who stood by him in the past," added Julie Schmit-Albin, executive director of Nebraska Right to Life. "Nebraska is a pro-life state and deserves better."

December 14, 2011/Philadelphia, PA/Operation Rescue --

The wife of accused murderer Kermit Gosnell admitted guilt Tuesday in a horrific criminal late-term abortion case that shocked the nation with grisly details of hundreds of infant murders that authorities say took place in a filthy abortion West Philadelphia mill now known as a "house of horror."

Pearl Gosnell, 50, pled guilty to performing an illegal abortion on a baby over 24 weeks and two counts of conspiracy and participating in a corrupt organization. The charges qualify her for up to 54 years in prison, but Judge Benjamin Learner told her she is likely to receive much less time when she is sentenced in February 15, 2012. Defense attorneys confirmed that she will not testify against her husband.

Pearl Gosnell, a cosmetologist by training, assisted her husband with the latest of abortions at his ill-kept Women's Medical Society mill on Sundays, when the other staff were not present, according to a grand jury report. The viable babies were delivered alive then murdered by "snipping" their spinal cords with scissors. Authorities discovered the severed feet of larger babies kept in jars lining shelves in the clinic during a raid that uncovered the macabre illegal abortion scheme, which led to the arrests of Gosnell and eight of his employees, including Pearl.

Gosnell, 70, is charged with seven counts of murder on viable infants and one count of murder for killing abortion patient Karnamaya Mongar with a drug overdose. His capital murder trial is expected to take place in March, 2013. He could face the death penalty if convicted.

"We look forward to a full airing of the evidence in a court of law so Americans can come face to face with the atrocity of abortion. As disturbing as this case is, we know that what went on at Gosnell's abortion mill is little different than what goes on at late-term abortion mills around the country. The public needs to know the varnished truth," said Operation Rescue President Newman. "This case also serves as a warning to abortionists who break the law. Sooner or later you will get caught."

So far, six of Gosnell's co-defendants have taken plea bargains in exchange for their cooperation and testimony against Gosnell at the time of his trial. The remaining two are expected to also agree to plea deals to avoid having to be tried with Gosnell and face the likelihood of harsher sentences.

View mug shots of the accused
View actual images of Gosnell's murder victims
Read the 281-page Grand Jury Report

The recent overruling of the FDA decision to sell Plan B over the counter (OTC) to children as young as eleven years of age has engendered no small amount of outrage by proponents of the FDA plan, and HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius has come in for severe criticism from women's health and advocacy groups. Setting aside for a moment the undercurrent of abortion and the distrust between warring parties over the issue, this decision by Secretary Sebelius is a victory for the very children the FDA purports to serve and protect.

According to FDA labeling on Plan B:

Ectopic pregnancies account for approximately 2% of all reported pregnancies. Up to 10% of pregnancies reported in clinical studies of routine use of progestin-only contraceptives are ectopic.

That represents a five-fold increase in the incidence of a potentially fatal side effect of the drug's usage in those taking the drug. The very issue proponents of OTC Plan B sale cite for selling to young adolescents, their fear of parental knowledge and involvement in their sex lives, heightens the risk of fatality in the very young.

Aiding and abetting the young in skirting parental involvement fosters a do-it-yourself gynecology where side-effects such as cramping, nausea, vomiting, and bleeding can serve to reinforce and heighten the fear and distrust that led to the child's self-medication in the first place. Plan B taken by a child with an existing and untreated endometriosis can lead the child into thinking that the lower abdominal pain and heavy bleeding of a resulting ectopic pregnancy may well be her monthly norm. Such a mistake can be fatal, but what is an already fearful and distrustful child to do? It is entirely unreasonable to expect children, who are notoriously ignorant of their changing physiology, to engage in self-differential diagnosis and admit their clandestine activities to the parents they fear and distrust....

Continue reading here.

SAN FRANCISCO, Dec. 8, 2011/Christian Newswire --

Yesterday, U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius overruled a Food and Drug Administration plan to make the Plan B morning-after pill available over-the-counter to girls of any age.

"Thank goodness," said bestselling author Teresa Tomeo. "It's good news that the Department of Health and Human Services said no to the FDA recommendation that the Plan B contraceptive pill be made available to minors over-the-counter."

"I do not believe enough data were presented to support the application to make Plan B One-Step available over-the-counter for all girls of reproductive age," HHS Secretary Sebelius said in discussing her decision. The drug will remain available without a prescription only for girls and women ages 17 and older who show ID to prove their age.

"It's interesting that Kathleen Sebelius can realize the potential danger for younger girls but not for those over 17," Tomeo continued. "The drug contains a higher level of a hormone found in some birth control pills, and it sends the wrong message to older teens who can still go into the local corner drugstore and buy the controversial pill. The entire thought process here defies common sense."

In her new book Extreme Makeover, available now from Ignatius Press, Tomeo reports on the impact of the feminist movement and the media on today's culture. Tomeo talks about ways that women, children and families can make an "extreme makeover" to rid themselves of the messages and toxic images that bombard them daily, and instead embrace the truth about themselves and their dignity.

We all know about China's one-child policy.

Vietnam is revisiting implementing a two-child policy.

India is also proposing a two-child policy even in the wake of India's decreasing population and a huge gender discrepancy due to female infanticide and sex selected abortion eliminating females.

I am the mother of 7 children. When people ask me how many children I have, they gasp. Why do they gasp? They respond this way because large families in America do not represent the ideal. Why are they not ideal? Why has the concept of family size over 2.5 children become less than ideal? What is the 'ideal' family size?

My journey into motherhood has been extra-ordinary. At the age of 18 I had an abortion. After years of healing and getting over the significant guilt and regret in my life through counseling and therapy, I realized that my decision to abort was very much influenced by some external influence that was difficult to identify. Was it just the media? Or was there some other form of manipulation pushing me into an unwanted choice (see Planned Parenthood/Margaret Sanger's quotes)? I knew that my situation as a single young woman was not 'ideal.' Years later after I was married I was blessed with a more 'ideal' situation and gave birth to my daughter and a few years after that, a son. With the perfect family, a boy and a girl, the idea of expanding my family just didn't make sense in the world I lived in at the time. Everyone I knew had less than 2 children. I somehow believed that the ideal family size was 2 children (a boy and a girl). Still, somehow I miraculously was drawn to grow my family even more, this time via adoption.

In 2005, our quest took us to Guatemala. Our daughter Matea was not born in the most 'ideal' situation. Her mother was 14 years old and lived in a very impoverished area of Guatemala and decided to relinquish her rights as her mother. Then we were a family with three children hovering slightly beyond the ideal but still acceptable to most outsiders. In 2007, while performing at a fundraising concert for Zimbabwe we were made aware of the millions of children orphaned globally. Indignant, I proclaimed "The statistics that show by 2010 there will be 150 million orphans is just an incorrect figure." I would discover that week after doing some research that the number was only incorrect due to the fact that it was an underestimated projection. When we announced our intentions to adopt 3 children to friends and extended family, there was obvious concern and resistance. I believe all of my friends would admit there was a sense of disbelief that anyone in their 'right' American minds would volunteer to double the size of their family. In spite of resistance we headed to Ethiopia in 2008 and completed the adoption of a sibling group of 3 who had been orphaned due to AIDS.

As a family of 6 children, we turned heads and often drew comments such as 'better you then me'...followed by a laugh. This year we adopted our youngest child (age 5) from Ukraine. Our son, Alec is HIV positive and had spent his entire life in an orphanage. We considered this a far from ideal life for him and brought him into something he had never experienced in his young life... a family. We now are considered by most to be way beyond the norm with 7 children in our family.

This past week two worlds that I advocate in collided in front of my eyes. I believe up until today I was one of the few people hovering in these two circles of pro-life and orphan advocacy to notice this collision.

ADOPTION
First, my dear friend, Carolyn Twietmeyer from PROJECT HOPEFUL, was invited to the White House to discuss concerns related to HIV orphans and restrictions of family size for people wanting to adopt via foster care and internationally. In my home state of Illinois, where Carolyn currently lives, families who want to adopt internationally must receive approval from the Department of Children and Family Services. This is not the case in every state. Most states like NC, where I reside with my family, the only requirement for international adoption is an approval by a certified state approved social worker. There is no family size restriction for international adoption. In Illinois however, in addition to DCFS approval, the family has to have a foster care license to adopt through social services. However, Illinois families are not permitted to adopt internationally in countries that offer guardianship only. Most states permit families to adopt under these circumstance and re-adopt within the state they reside. The restrictions also do not allow a family to have more than 8 children in the household. AND each special needs child counts as two in the eyes of the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services....

Continue reading here.