Weekly News

1. Homosexuals Squelch Facts About MRSA Outbreak, Conservatives Say – February 2, 2008

(CNSNews.com) – Conservative groups say the truth about a new "multi-drug resistant microbe" prevalent among homosexual men is not being presented to the public because of political correctness.

Almost two weeks ago, researchers announced they have isolated a new form of MRSA, or methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, an infection that is spreading through San Francisco's homosexual community and could spread to the general community.

"These multi-drug resistant infections often affect gay men at body sites in which skin-to-skin contact occurs during sexual activities," said Binh Diep, the University of California-San Francisco scientist who led the team that made the finding.

In fact, the researchers determined that this variant of MRSA infection is 13 to 14 times more prevalent in homosexual men than for the general population.

But the media are now obscuring that fact, according to Matt Barber, director of cultural policy for Concerned Women for America (CWA).

"The real story here is the way that the media have whitewashed this outbreak," Barber told Cybercast News Service. "It is amazing to see what they've done with this."

Barber said the initial reporting of the outbreak was "pretty solid" and news accounts related the facts "as is," but the coverage began to change after conservative groups like CWA noted that this variant is primarily spread by men having anal sex.

"The Human Rights Campaign (HRC) and other organizations began to jump up and down a bit and scream, and /The New York Times/ and other organizations started to back-pedal," Barber said.

"The story was no longer the dangers associated with the outbreak – and the behaviours associated with it," said Barber. "The story now became about how groups like mine were supposedly misrepresenting the outbreak as some sort of 'new gay plague' or 'the new AIDS' – things we never said."

Indeed, HRC accused CWA and others of being "anti-gay bigots" for recommending that one way to stop this outbreak of the infection is for homosexual men to curtail having anal sex – at least for a while.

"Serious medical issues deserve serious consideration, not wildly off-the-mark press releases from anti-gay groups trying to capture media attention," HRC President Joe Solmonese said in a news release.

"We saw this kind of hysteria in the early 1980s around HIV/AIDS, and I'll be damned if we will sit idly by in 2008 and let them perpetrate that type of anti-gay hysteria without calling them out on it," he said.

Since the homosexual backlash, the University of California-San Francisco has apologized for the fact that the study mentions homosexual men.

"We regret that our recent news report (1-14-08) about an important population-based study on MRSA USA300 with public health implications contained some information that could be interpreted as misleading," the university's Web site said.

"We deplore negative targeting of specific populations in association with MRSA infections or other public health concerns, and we will be working to ensure that accurate information about the research is disseminated to the health community and the general public," it added.

Even the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has taken a somewhat politically correct line. In a statement issued recently on the new outbreak, the government agency said it is "not a sexually transmitted disease in the classic sense" – and that spread of the bacteria could be stopped by washing hands and covering open wounds.

"We never suggested that it was a sexually transmitted disease," CWA's Barber countered. "We only talked about the specific behaviours that are causing this infection to spread."

Internationally known infectious disease specialist Dr. John Diggs is siding with the conservatives. The Massachusetts-based physician said treating any infection in a politically correct manner could be dangerous. Treating MRSA that way could prove fatal.

"This outbreak is especially troubling because it is a community-based form of MRSA," said Diggs, who is an executive committee member of the Physicians Consortium. "Until recently, MRSA has typically been confined to hospitals. The implications are very serious, because we don't know exactly where this is going to go."

Medically speaking, any break in the skin that is exposed to the organism can then set off an infection, which can destroy "a lot of tissue" before it's brought under control, Diggs said.

"You can take something that was relatively isolated in a small place, and suddenly, when it spreads to the general population, things such as school wrestling matches, or football games or basketball games or other sporting events, can take on a spectre – they can become deadly," he added.

The fact is, the epicentre for this outbreak is among men who are having sex with men, Diggs told Cybercast News Service. Researchers identified the rates of drug resistance on the basis of ZIP codes, not ideology.

"The particular ZIP codes they looked at were ones that were associated primarily with men who were having sex with other men," he said, "the Castro district in San Francisco and also a healthcare center called the Fenway, here in Massachusetts, in Boston."

Diggs noted that the study itself pointed out that the infection manifests as "an abscess in the buttocks, genitals or perineum" and concluded that it "probably started out in San Francisco, and has been disseminated by the frequent cross-coastal travel" of homosexual men traveling from San Francisco to Boston.

"Men who practice anal sex, men who have promiscuous sex, men who have multiple partners in short periods of time are much more likely to spread this disease," he said. "It's not because of who they are. It's because of that they do."

"Now I know that a lot of people have attacked those who have brought this to people's attention as being homophobic, but the real issue – and you have to face the facts – is that men who have sex with men have very high rates of sexually transmitted disease," Diggs said.

"When you face that reality, then you have to start taking a serious look and deciding that the best public health intervention is to discourage behaviour that causes the infection to spread."

The biggest problem with this new strain – as with any variant of MRSA, Diggs said, is that it is increasingly difficult to find drugs that will effectively combat the problem.

In subjecting Catholic Insight magazine to investigation on baseless charges of homophobia, the Canadian Human Rights Commission is once again trampling upon the very human rights and fundamental freedoms it is supposed to uphold. The sooner this oppressive Commission and its provincial counterparts are abolished, the better.

Catholic Insight is the latest in a long line of publications to run afoul of Canada's human rights commissions. Among the other victims are Maclean's magazine, The Western Standard, the Calgary Herald and the Saskatoon Star Phoenix. Some journalists have been so intimidated by Canada's human rights thought police that they no longer dare to publish anything that might offend the sensibilities of Muslim zealots, homosexual activists or any other group that qualifies for special treatment in the freedom-stifling, federal and provincial, human rights codes that have sprung up over the past 50 years.

Yet it's open season on the Catholic Church for anti-Catholic bigots. No Canadian human rights commission has ever reprimanded anyone for expressing hatred or contempt for Christianity. To the contrary, as the attack on Catholic Insight indicates, these commissions have specialized in attacking Canadians who uphold the traditional principles of Judeo-Christian morality.

In 2005, the Alberta Human Rights Commission placed Catholic Bishop Fred Henry of Calgary under investigation for opposing same-sex marriage in a pastoral letter and a column in the Calgary Herald. Following several months of harassment, the Commission dropped the case when the two complainants against him withdrew their charges.

Stephen Boissoin has not been so fortunate. After a five-year investigation, he was found on November 30, 2007, by an Alberta Human Rights Panel to have expressed hatred and contempt for homosexuals in a letter to the editor of the Red Deer Advocate that he wrote in his capacity as a Baptist minister. Among the statements held against Boissoin was his warning: "From kindergarten class and on, our children, your grandchildren are being strategically targeted, psychologically abused and brainwashed by homosexual and pro-homosexual educators."

Such rulings have sent a chill through faithful clerics throughout the country. In testimony before the Senate Committee on Legal and Constitutional affairs on July 13, 2005, Marc Cardinal Ouellet, the primate of Canada, said: "A kind of climate is developing in which people no longer dare say what they think. Even from the pulpit, we feel threatened if we recall the sexual morality of the Church. That is also part of religious freedom. Even in our churches, these words are troubling, and we feel accused of homophobia, hatred of or hurting homosexuals."

Of course, not all clerics have reason to fear oppression by a human rights tribunal: Liberals who have embraced the gay rights ideology are quite safe. Indeed, some trendy clerics have abetted the human rights inquisitors in oppressing their faithful fellow Christians.

A notorious case in point is The Very Rev. Dr. Bruce McLeod, former moderator of the United Church of Canada. In 2001, he testified before the Ontario human rights tribunal against Scott Brockie, an Evangelical Protestant, who was subsequently found guilty of discriminating against homosexuals for having refused on religious grounds to print materials for the Canadian Lesbian and Gay Archives.

It will ever be thus, it seems. Down through the centuries, faithful Christians have been persecuted by heretics who conform their thinking to the current pattern of the world rather than uphold that good and acceptable and perfect word of God as revealed in Sacred Scripture.

Father Alphonse de Valk, the editor of Catholic Insight, is made of stern stuff. He can be counted upon not to capitulate under pressure by the Canadian Human Rights Commission, but to stand firm in upholding the truths of Christian faith and morality as authoritatively expounded by the sacred Magisterium of the Catholic Church.

And in doing so, Father de Valk should have the solid support of all Canadians who affirm the inalienable rights of all people to freedom of thought, belief, opinion and expression. Certainly, conscientious Christians should never fail in their duty to defend and affirm the faith in public after the manner urged by Abraham Lincoln: "With malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right as God gives us to see the right."

3. Introduction Of A Groundbreaking Private Member's Bill – January 31, 2008

A Liberal MP from Victoria, has introduced a private member's bill that is as groundbreaking as it is concise:

That, in the opinion of the House, subsection 13(1) of the Canadian Human Rights Act should be deleted from the Act.

1. It's evidence that the "undernews" of the abusive, unaccountable conduct of the human rights commissions has caught the attention of at least one MP (we can assume Sen. Anne Cools is watching things, too).

2. That MP is a socially progressive Liberal (formerly a red Reformer), whose human rights credentials with the Left are impeccable. Not only has he made international human rights one of his causes in Parliament, but also he has personally walked the talk, serving on various Doctors Without Borders missions.

3. If a progressive, young, hip Liberal MP from an urban seat feels comfortable proposing this bill, it is a sign that reforming these commissions is politically safe, even for a Conservative government still worried about being tagged as "anti-human rights". Martin is a political entrepreneur who goes for winning opportunities. He once ran for the leadership of the Canadian Alliance; he crossed the floor to the Liberals and was rewarded by them; he has a very friendly relationship with the press. The man picks political winners. That alone is a signal to other MPs that it's safe to stand and be counted on this fight.

4. By taking the initiative – and beating other MPs, especially Conseratives, to the punch – Martin will get some well-deserved credit for leadership. But he'll also make it easy for Conservative MPs, even the Conservative government itself, to "follow" his example, rather than to lead. In a way, Martin takes the political risk; by supporting him, the Tories are merely sensible and bi-partisan followers. He's the point-man.

5. The fact that Martin is a "visible minority" is irrelevant to most normal Canadians, but to the identity politics Left, it's a sign of his moral virtue, and thus makes him even more politically safe.

Congratulations to Martin for doing the right thing. But more than that: he has given the government itself a political opening to amend this awful law. The Conservatives should ensure that Bill M-446 goes to a vote, and every one of them – as well as other MPs of good faith from every party that cares about freedom – should join with Martin to make his amendment law.

The new and young generation are now stepping up to the line to take the reins of protecting life and women. Here is a new web site and organization that has the zeal and a specific interest for women. Check out their site! http://www.prowomanprolife.org/

January 14, 2008 (Ottawa) — Today marks the launch of Canada’s first pro-woman pro-life group, ProWomanProLife, which can be found online at http://www.prowomanprolife.org.

ProWomanProLife celebrates women, life and freedom and is being launched to mark the Morgentaler decision of January 28, 1988, which removed all restrictions on abortion in Canada at any stage of a pregnancy.

The founding director of ProWomanProLife, Andrea Mrozek, says it is time women took a non-partisan, non-religious stand against the idea that abortion is good for women and furthermore, not just a choice, but a “right.” We have no hidden agenda here but a very open one: To eradicate abortion in Canada, not by legislation or force, but because that is what women choose. Women should band together to remove abortion from our cultural landscape,” she says. Mrozek is joined by a board of five professional women: Brigitte Pellerin in Ottawa, Raji Shankar in Toronto, Rebecca Walberg in Winnipeg and Dr. Sheryl Alger and psychologist Teresa Fraser in Calgary.

Mrozek notes that abortion has become a pressing issue of freedom of speech. “Pro-lifers are told what they can and can’t say in politics, and pro-life clubs are currently being banned on our university campuses. No Canadian should be comfortable with this suppression of dialogue, irrespective of how they feel about abortion,” Mrozek said.

To address the freedom of speech issue as well as the harm that abortion does to women, children and families, ProWomanProLife will blog with abandon. Our long-term goal is to become a charity that offers women better choices. But the first step is to raise our voices against the conventional, harmful wisdom that a willingness to kill her unborn child liberates a woman.

For further information please contact founding director Andrea Mrozek at 613-875-5888 or at andrea@prowomanprolife.org.

ProWomanProLife.org is the grassroots endeavour of the founding board, is not affiliated with any other organization and depends entirely on donations of time and money from individuals.

In research by Dr. M. Blurton-Jones at University of California, Irvine, neuro adult stem cells have actually restored memory lost from an injury. There have been well-publicized studies of such stem cells restoring lost of motor function, but this is the first one relating to memory.

The embryonic stem cell debate is over. This is a judgment that is being made by many experts and organizations around the world. The research of Dr. J. Thompson and Dr. S. Yamanaka, done independently, just published in the journals Science and Cell, respectively, has shown that with a fairly simple process, embryonic type stem cells can be produced directly from ordinary human skin cells. This now can be done without creating or killing human embryos. We hold our breath and pinch ourselves to be sure that this in fact is what everyone says it is, for it is a historic achievement. This has dramatically expanded the scientific possibilities for stem cells and it has done it within a completely ethical pattern. This however does not completely clear the way for the use of embryonic type stem cells, for very possibly the tendency for these cells to form tumours may well also be present in these new cells. If so, they still could not be usable in human trials. Even if that is true, however, the remarkable continuing discoveries around the legitimate use of adult stem cells continue. For all of this, we can be thankful.

Thought: MOTHER TERESA: "America needs no words from me to see how your decision in Roe v. Wade has deformed a great nation. The so-called right to abortion has pitted mothers against their children and women against men. It has sown violence and discord at the heart of the most intimate human relationships. It has aggravated the derogation of the father's role in an increasingly fatherless society. It has portrayed the greatest of gifts – a child – as a competitor, an intrusion, and an inconvenience. It has nominally accorded mothers unfettered dominion over the independent lives of their physically dependent sons and daughters." – Mother Teresa

Table Of Contents:

1. Australia Catholic Bishop Blasts Taxing Families With Additional Children

2. Young People Less Supportive Of Abortion

3. Why You Should Not Use Birth Control Patch?

4. European Bishops Criticize EU Marriage Policies

5. Germans Overwhelmingly Oppose Embryo Research

6. Vatican Condemns Cloning Research

7. As Abortion Rate Drops, Use Of RU-486 Is On Rise

8. Chinese Celebrities Face One-Child Crackdown

9. Doctors And The Death Penalty

10. Euthanasia – An Uncontrollable Power Over Death

11. No Choice For Teen Mothers

12. When Did You Begin?

Focus On Asia: "Empathy, common sense lacking" – It's said that applause for Stalin's speeches went on for so long because nobody wanted to be seen as the first to stop applauding. Japanese salarymen might be reluctant for similar reasons to leave the workplace. Whatever the reason, everyone seems to agree that too much of the burden of "parenting" falls on Japanese women. So what are they doing wrong?

http://www.worldpress.org/link.cfm?http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/japantimes/~3/221858170/rc20080124a2.html

Item #1. Australia Catholic Bishop Blasts Taxing Families With Additional Children

A Catholic leader in Australia is blasting an idea that has taken hold there that families who have more than two children should face additional taxes. A university professor originally floated the idea in December by suggesting couples should pay a $5,000 tax for supposedly hurting the environment.

Item #2. Young People Less Supportive Of Abortion

New data shows young people are less supportive of abortion rights than the middle-aged. This news comes alongside a report that the number of abortions has dropped.

Item #3. Why You Should Not Use Birth Control Patch?

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is warning women that using birth control patch as a contraceptive method increases their risk of developing venous thrombo-embolism (VTE). The condition is better known as blood clots and can even prove fatal.

The FDA issued this warning while approving labelling changes to Ortho Evra Contraceptive Transdermal (Skin) Patch. The new label will reflect the findings of a new study where women using the birth control patch were at a higher risk of developing lethal blood clots as compared to women using the Pill.

Item #4. European Bishops Criticize EU Marriage Policies

The report says that in the field of matrimonial matters, "[national] diversity has to be respected and family law is and must remain the sole competence of member states." The bishops found that some legislative proposals of the European Commission for increased cross-border legal cooperation come close to encroaching on the exclusive right of member states to make their own family policy. Moreover, EU policy in the areas of employment, social protection, and poverty reduction ignore the importance of marriage altogether, they said.

Item #5. Germans Overwhelmingly Oppose Embryo Research

Opposition to in vitro fertilization is rising in Poland, although it still represents a minority opinion, according to a recent survey.

Item #6. Vatican Condemns Cloning Research

The Vatican has condemned the cloning of human embryos, calling it the "worst type of exploitation of the human being".

"This ranks among the most morally illicit acts, ethically speaking," said Monsignor Elio Sgreccia, president of the Pontifical Academy for Life; the Vatican department that helps oversee the Church's position on bioethics issues.

A US company said it used cloning technology to make five human embryos, with the eventual hope of making matched stem cells for patients.

Item #7. As Abortion Rate Drops, Use Of Ru-486 Is On Rise

The French abortion pill RU-486, on the market since 2000, has become an increasingly common alternative, making abortion less clinical and more private. At a time when the overall number of abortions has been steadily declining, RU-486-induced abortions have been rising by 22 percent a year and now account for 14 percent of the total – and more than one in five early abortions performed by the ninth week of pregnancy.

Full article at washingtonpost.com:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/01/21/AR2008012102075.html

Item #8. Chinese Celebrities Face One-Child Crackdown

Their wealth and fame buy apparently endless privilege – but celebrities' perks do not extend to having larger families, Beijing authorities have warned. Stars of sport and pop who violate the one-child policy will face harsher fines and tarnished credit records, according to a senior family planning official. The authorities believe the rich and famous are setting a bad example to ordinary Chinese couples, and barely notice the financial penalties because of their wealth.

Full Article at Guardian Unlimited:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/china/story/0,,2244428,00.html?gusrc=rss&feed=12

Item #9. Doctors And The Death Penalty

More than 3,000 U.S. citizens are living on "death row" in prisons, awaiting execution. They have each been there an average of just over 12 years since sentencing. As they languish, legal battles continue over the constitutionality of both the death penalty and the means of execution. And as these legal battles have escalated, it looks like physicians are being drawn into the controversy.

Item #10. Euthanasia – An Uncontrollable Power Over Death

The teaching approach also has changed. Now classes will begin by teaching about marriage and theology of the body, leading up to the conclusion that the use of artificial contraception is morally wrong, said executive director Andy Alderson.

Item #11. No Choice For Teen Mothers

The topics of unplanned pregnancy and teen motherhood have always been politically sensitive ones for our morally schizophrenic nation, a nation that has the highest rate of teen pregnancy of any developed country. On the one hand, conservatives hold that the skyrocketing rates of teen pregnancy are the fault of comprehensive sex education programs, laissez-faire attitudes toward contraception and abortion, and a general aimlessness in matters of sexual morality. However, once conceived, the unborn baby is a human person whose intrinsic worth must be recognized, even if the teen mother elects to put the child up for adoption.

Item #12. When Did You Begin?

In reality, respect for human life is called for from the time that the process of generation begins. From the time that the ovum is fertilized, a life is begun which is neither that of the father nor of the mother, it is rather the life of a new human being with his own growth. It would never be made human if it were not human already.

View entire text at LifeIssues.net: http://www.lifeissues.net/writers/edi/edi_18lifebegin.html

You Can Change Society:

1. Be Informed: "My people are destroyed from lack of knowledge." Hosea 4:6. Visit Lifeissues.net Website for insights into current Life Issues www.lifeissues.net.

2. Pray Daily: for the courage to be God's presence in society and to strongly support those who are deemed "unworthy of life". "If My people who are called by My Name, will humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land." 2 Chronicles 7:14

3. Become Involved: "Journey for Life into the Heart of Asia" is a project, which appeals for donations to help finance plane travel for lectures and seminars to developing countries in Asia. Strong focus is placed on reaching Asian Catholic Major Seminaries, Universities, Parishes, Hospitals and Family/Pro Life related groups. The lectures emphasis "The Asian Family at Crossroads: Pro Life Trends and Challenges". For inquires about no-cost Pro Life Talks to your group in Asia: contact Fr. Jerry at jerry@star.quolia.com . To become a supportive Missionary participant for this project in Asia, kindly send your donations directly to: Fr. Jerry Novotny, OMI; LifeIssues.net, Editor; Akebono-cho 1-15-9; Kochi City, Japan, 780-8072; (or transfer donation directly to ProLife bank account: Jerome Novotny, Shikoku Bank, Asakura Branch, No. 102-1-0080824)

Contact Editor: Jerry Novotny, OMI; Akebono-cho 1-15-9; Kochi City, Japan, 780-8072; Tel/Fax: 088-843-0406; E-Mail:jerry@lifeissues.net

Abortions Not Morally Acceptable: A poll by the Folha de Sao Paulo newspaper, considered the most pro-abortion daily in the country, has revealed the results of a national poll. It found that only 3% of the Brazilian people consider abortion to be "morally acceptable" while 87% completely reject it.

Amniocentesis Kills Babies: A new analysis by Dr. H. Meire published in the British Medical Ultrasound Society Journal reported an alarming fall out. The risk of amniocentesis to the unborn has always been known and has hovered at approximately one dead baby for every one hundred amniocentesis done. Now he calculates the cost of locating a Down syndrome baby in the womb. According to his calculations, 160 healthy babies are lost for every 50 Down syndrome cases detected by amniocentesis. As we know, upwards of 80% of such affected babies then are directly killed by abortion. But this is the first time the actual toll of normal babies has been publicized.

Thought: "Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter." --Martin Luther King Jr., 1929-1968

Table Of Contents:

1. 'Kidney Racket' Exposed In India

2. Number Of New HIV Cases In South Korea Decreasing

3. HIV/AIDS And The Stigma

4. Church Opposes Cloning Humans To Produce Babies

5. Nitschke's Suicide Films May Air In NZ

6. Children Die In Sri Lanka Bus Blast

7. Sedentary Life 'Speeds Up Ageing'

8. Physicians Given The Right To Kill, Lawyer Says

9. Germans Overwhelmingly Oppose Embryo Research

10. Euthanasia: An Uncontrollable Power Over Death

11. Irving Comments: Dr. Stojkovic And IVF Serbia

12. Experimental 'IVM' Incorporates Erroneous Human Embryology 101

Focus On Asia: "Australia rules out Aboriginal compensation" - Australia's government on Tuesday promised an apology for Aborigines forcibly taken from their homes under past assimilation policies, but ruled out compensation payments for the "Stolen Generation" children.

http://www.worldpress.org/link.cfm?http://www.nzherald.co.nz/index.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10489423&ref=rss
Item #1. 'Kidney Racket' Exposed In India

Police in India have issued an alert for a doctor alleged to be involved in an organ-trading racket. Last week, police in Gurgaon, a suburb of the capital Delhi, raided a house, which was used to carry out illegal kidney transplants. Hundreds of poor labourers were tricked into selling kidneys, officials say.

Item #2. Number Of New HIV Cases In South Korea Decreasing

The number of new HIV cases reported in South Korea in 2007 decreased for the first time since the country recorded its first case in 1985, according to a report released on Tuesday by the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Korea Times reports.

Item #3. HIV/AIDS And The Stigma

People living with HIV/AIDS are humans and so should be treated as such. Most times I ponder if malaria is not a killer disease that kills every passing minute of the day. People prefer mingling with those suffering from malaria than those with HIV/AIDS not just a disease like every other?

View full text at The Tide Online:

http://www.thetidenews.com/article.aspx?qrDate=01/28/2008&qrTitle=HIV/AIDS%20and%20the%20stigma&qrColumn=OPINION
Item #4. Church Opposes Cloning Humans To Produce Babies

"The United Methodist Church position on this issue is very clear," said Linda Bales, director of the Louise and Hugh Moore Population Project at the United Methodist Board of Church and Society. "Our opposition to such developments is based on a belief that God is the creator, and our identity as humans is much more than our genetic inheritance, our social environment, or the sum of the two."

Item #5. Nitschke's Suicide Films May Air In NZ

Euthanasia advocate Dr Philip Nitschke said he had been warned by Australian authorities not to screen the films, The Single Shot and Doing it with Betty, but believed he could show them in New Zealand.

Item #6. Children Die In Sri Lanka Bus Blast

Eleven schoolchildren are among at least 18 people killed in a bomb attack on a bus in northwestern Sri Lanka, the Roman Catholic Church says.

Item #7. Sedentary Life 'Speeds Up Ageing'

An active lifestyle has been linked to lower rates of cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes and cancer. However, the latest research suggests that inactivity not only makes people more vulnerable to disease, but may actually speed up the ageing process itself.

Item #8. Physicians Given The Right To Kill, Lawyer Says

This is an article from the Winnipeg Free Press. It is fair. If the Manitoba College of Physicians and Surgeons can get away with this end-of-life treatment policy and set this precedent in Canada - then we will be in serious trouble in Canada. This issue started as an issue of concern for Samuel Golubchuk, it is now an issue of concern for everyone.

Item #9. Germans Overwhelmingly Oppose Embryo Research

An opinion poll in Germany has shown strong public opposition to using human embryos as test subjects for research. Given Germany's still painful past experiences with the eugenics movement, opposition remains high and is increasing with the advent late last year of new methods of creating embryo-like iPS (induced pluripotent stem) cells from adult tissue.

Item #10. Euthanasia: An Uncontrollable Power Over Death

In the debate on euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide, there is frequent discussion of the validity of the slippery-slope argument. It is my conviction that, in theory and in practice, a sincere attitude in favour of the termination of life of people afflicted with unbearable suffering is intrinsically linked to the expansion of this attitude to favour the termination of the lives of more and more patients for more and more clinical and social indications. The pro-euthanasia mind-set rests on a widespread ignorance of the clinical benefits of palliative treatment, probably one of the most rapidly advancing branches of medicine, and its importance in the provision of humane care. In some countries, the prevailing disregard of palliative care leads to the bitter and pessimistic conviction that mercy killing is the only choice in the face of unendurable pain or refractory symptoms. In this short essay, some reasons are given to show that, once accepted as ethically defensible, euthanasia and physician assistance in suicide become uncontrollable.

Item #11. Irving Comments: Dr. Stojkovic And IVF Serbia

Dr. Miodrag Stojkovic's efforts to bring IVF to Serbia should be closely scrutinized by the government and by the people for any possible violations of a woman's informed consent.

Item #12. Experimental 'IVM' Incorporates Erroneous Human Embryology 101

Aside from obvious ethical issues, the following article on experimental IVM – a new method used to mature oocytes in vitro for IVF "fertility treatments" – quotes erroneous human embryology. Where the article obtained such scientific mis-information – that diploid oocytes become haploid by some "hormonal signal" while still maturing in the ovary – is speculative, but it does raise the question again as to whether or not these IVF/IVM researchers and clinicians are academically credentialed in human embryology and human genetics, and thus really know what they are doing.

You Can Change Society:

1. Be Informed: "My people are destroyed from lack of knowledge." Hosea 4:6. Visit Lifeissues.net Website for insights into current Life Issues www.lifeissues.net .

2. Pray Daily: for the courage to be God's presence in society and to strongly support those who are deemed "unworthy of life". "If My people who are called by My Name, will humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land." 2 Chronicles 7:14

3. Become Involved: "Journey for Life into the Heart of Asia" is a project, which appeals for donations to help finance plane travel for lectures and seminars to developing countries in Asia. Strong focus is placed on reaching Asian Catholic Major Seminaries, Universities, Parishes, Hospitals and Family/Pro Life related groups. The lectures place emphasis on "The Asian Family at Crossroads: Trends and Challenges". For inquires about no-cost Pro Life Talks to your group in Asia: contact Fr. Jerry at jerry@star.quolia.com . To become a supportive Missionary participant for this project in Asia, kindly send your donations directly to: Fr. Jerry Novotny, OMI; LifeIssues.net, Editor; Akebono-cho 1-15-9; Kochi City, Japan, 780-8072; (or transfer donation directly to ProLife bank account: Jerome Novotny, Shikoku Bank, Asakura Branch, No. 102-1-0080824)

Contact Editor: Jerry Novotny, OMI; Akebono-cho 1-15-9; Kochi City, Japan, 780-8072; Tel/Fax: 088-843-0406; E-Mail:jerry@lifeissues.net

7. MDs Have Final Say On Statement That Clarifies End-Of-Life Policy – January 30, 2008

Comment By Alex Schadenberg; Executive Director; Euthanasia Prevention Coalition

Whereas the statement by the Manitoba College of Physicians and Surgeons is written as a general policy, the policy may influence the decision of the courts concerning the Golubchuk case and should have been delayed until the courts had decided the outcome of the Golubchuk case.

The Euthanasia Prevention Coalition intervened in the case of Hawryluck vs. Scardoni in January 2004 in Toronto. We understand the precedents that exist concerning end-of-life care decisions in Canada.

The Euthanasia Prevention Coalition disagrees with the policy of the Manitoba College of Physicians and Surgeons. We uphold the rights of the family to be the primary decision makers in relation to end-of-life care. The family is more likely to uphold and respect the values of their members.

The position of the Euthanasia Prevention Coalition reflects the general opinion of most Canadians. A recent opinion poll found that 68% of Canadians believe that end-of-life care decisions should primarily rest with the family and not doctors who often doesn't even know the person.

The Euthanasia Prevention Coalition is primarily concerned about vulnerable members of our society, people with disabilities, the frail elderly, people living with chronic conditions or depression, etc. The "quality of life" of vulnerable people are often viewed as negative based on false ideas or ideologies related to the life experience of these people. We predict that many people will be denied basic end-of-life care due to conditions that are not related to their actual prognosis.

The decision of the Manitoba College of Physicians and Surgeons will extend a patriarchal attitude towards the care of the most vulnerable in our society, people who need to be protected.

Decisions related to end-of-life care are very sensitive and personal and need to be made by family members.

The new policy of the Manitoba College of Physicians and Surgeons makes it more important than ever that you have a copy of the Life-Protecting Power of Attorney for Personal Care. This document is designed to protect your values in relation to end-of-life care. It can be obtained from the Euthanasia Prevention Coalition at: 1-877-439-3348 orinfo@epcc.ca

The ultimate decision about whether to continue life-sustaining treatment lies with the physician, according to new statement released by the College of Physicians and Surgeons this morning. Physicians don't have to agree with a patient's family before withdrawing the treatment, said Dr. Bill Pope, registrar of the College.

The new regulations outline a process physicians must follow when withdrawing life support from patients.

In the event physicians and families cannot agree over whether to pull the plug, physicians must assess the patient's medical condition, consult with another physician, and communicate with the patient's family.

Although Pope said the process allows patients and their families to openly communicate with physicians about their concerns and wishes, the ultimate decision rests with the physician.

Pope noted these types of conflicts are rare, and hopes the new process will minimize potential disagreements between patients and families in the future.

Pope said more than 100 stakeholders have been working to draft the regulations over the past three years, and is not a response to the recent case before the courts.

Recently, relatives of 84-year-old Samuel Golubchuk challenged the decision of Grace Hospital physicians to discontinue the man's life support.

Golubchuk suffered brain injury in June 2003 after a fall, but could still communicate and understand. He was admitted to Grace Hospital last October with pneumonia and pulmonary hypertension and was placed on life support Nov. 3.

Pope said if the judge rules in favour of a patient's family, the College will review their end-of-life regulations.

In recent news we read about PBA, Bisphenol in plastic containers, leaching a look-alike hormone that imitates estrogen into the contents of the plastic container. If you do a search under Tuft's University, Dr. Soto you'll find out more about this phenomena. Further searches reveal a connection that tells us that estrogen is linked to breast cancer and in fact over abundance of estrogen feeds the cancer. Hence the link between estrogen and breast cancer. The recent news has kept the focus on baby bottles and containers. In fact we are surrounded by products containing this kind of plastic. One popular source is the liner in tin cans. Never buy a dented can, never microwave in plastic, and try not to store food in plastic. Especially soft plastic if I read the information correctly.

Here is another case from PRI about Misoprostol used to relieve gastric ulcers, it has been used in BC as an abortifacient for sometime now, but now has caught the eye of the radical pro-abortion or pro-choice lobby. Where is it all going to end, will it be another Gibeath? – Herm

The topics of unplanned pregnancy and teen motherhood have always been politically sensitive ones for our morally schizophrenic nation, a nation that has the highest rate of teen pregnancy of any developed country. On the one hand, conservatives hold that the skyrocketing rates of teen pregnancy are the fault of comprehensive sex education programs, laissez-faire attitudes toward contraception and abortion, and a general aimlessness in matters of sexual morality. However, once conceived, the unborn baby is a human person whose intrinsic worth must be recognized, even if the teen mother elects to put the child up for adoption.

Liberal feminists, on the other hand, believe that these rates of unplanned pregnancy arise from a pervasive ignorance of the mechanics of sex, and an even more widespread ignorance of contraception. It should be the individual choice of every teenager, they say, whether or not they keep, abort, or put their baby up for adoption. This choice is their inalienable right, unassailable by state, spouse, boyfriend or even parent.

Closer examination of this feminist position shows that feminists, too, have very strong ideas as to what teen mothers should do with their babies. They should abort them.

Apparently pregnancy is the one option women are not allowed to choose.

Consider the recent rash of highly-publicized celebrity teen pregnancies. From Keisha Castle-Hughes, the 16-year-old who portrayed the Virgin Mary in The Nativity Story, to Jamie Lynn Spears, the younger sister of infamous pop star Britney Spears, more and more teen celebrities are announcing unplanned pregnancies—and choosing not to get abortions. In addition, Hollywood seems to have jumped on the bandwagon, releasing several films in the last year that deal favourably with this subject. Movies like Bella, Knocked Up, Waitress, and most recently Juno all showcase young single mothers who face unexpected pregnancies, and all choose to carry the baby to term.

Oftentimes these the creators of these films, like the young pregnant celebrities, wouldn’t call themselves pro-life or even very conservative. Nevertheless, the choice to keep their new life, in reality or onscreen, was the path that they chose.

The outrage arising from the feminist community is truly breathtaking. Feminists are bemoaning, not that these girls have no choice, but that they have refused to make the right one.

"Having to be a selfless parent is totally contradictory to the development of a teenager," psychotherapist Linda Perlman Gordon said to AP, concerning the pregnancy of Jamie Lynn Spears. "To do it right, she's got to subsume her needs. She's going to have to give up the part of growing that would have allowed her to become an autonomous, independent person."

Demie Kurtz, a feminist sociologist from the University of Pennsylvania, agrees. "Do we want to put burdens on these teenage girls by encouraging them to think that having a baby is cool?" she asks. "There should be a responsibility to portray a young person who makes a reasonable choice to have an abortion, or take the morning-after pill."

Never mind that these are women would have been quick to defend a woman's right to abort her child against the "judgment" of pro-lifers. It is ironic that when a teen mother chooses not to kill her unborn baby, the purported defenders of women's choice are the first to judge her.

Incredibly enough, this umbrage extends even to young teens who choose to put the child up for adoption. It would seem that feminists are not simply looking to spare teens from the vagaries of single motherhood, but they are firmly set against them having babies at all.

The film Juno, for instance, involves a young girl who contemplates an abortion, only to decide at the last minute to give and give the child to a well-to-do woman who has been trying to adopt. Juno took a beating by many feminists, who disliked the fact that the film's title character decided to have her baby, even though she gave him up for adoption.

"The movie made me really mad," writes "Mark" of The L Magazine's Blog About Town. "At first, we laugh at the solitary picketer [a pro-life protester outside the abortion clinic] . . . and while we're chuckling to ourselves, whoops, turns out Juno, good as she is at heart, gets cold feet about the whole baby-killing thing."

The assertion that the otherwise "good-hearted" Juno loses credibility by refusing to kill her child is breathtaking in its ideological myopia. Although this writer would undoubtedly call himself "pro-choice," what he advocates is no choice at all. Abortion is the only responsible option for unwed teen mothers, he implies. Even adoption is out of the question.

Frighteningly, these incidents only bring out a trend that has already been festering amidst the abortion debate. These feminists are tied so tightly to the abortion agenda that all roads must lead there. In these cases, abortion is a kind of perverse "street creed," a rite-of-passage that a girl, if she is really serious about her femininity, will have to undergo. When feminists tremble at the thought that pregnancy might become "cool," what they are really afraid of is the idea that a young girl might catch a glimpse the lingering beauty of motherhood. When that happens, she will reject abortion for what it is: the murder of an innocent child.

PRI is a 501(c)(3) educational organization. If you would like to make a tax-deductible donation to PRI, please go to our Donations Page. All donations (of any size) are welcomed and appreciated.

The pro-life Population Research Institute is dedicated to ending human rights abuses committed in the name of "family planning," and to ending counter-productive social and economic paradigms premised on the myth of "overpopulation." Find us at www.pop.org .

10. Physicians Given The Right To Kill, Lawyer Says – January 31, 2008

From Alex Schadenberg; Euthanasia Prevention Coalition; info@epcc.ca; 1-877-439-3348.

Normally I only send out one action item on an irregular basis. Today you are asked to do two things.

• First: Please go to the Winnipeg Free Press website and scroll down to the poll question. Please vote no!

Do you agree with the College of Physicians and Surgeons that the ultimate decision to continue life-sustaining treatment lies with the doctor? http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/

• Second: I have just learned about the case of Lauren Richardson in the State of Delaware .

Lauren Marie Richardson is a twenty-three year old woman who suffered an anoxic brain injury after an accident on August 28, 2006.

Lauren's life is endangered by a recent court decision made by Master Sam Glasscock III, by which her feeding tube will be removed. As a disabled citizen, she is defenceless against the court-approved, imposed act of dehydration and starvation intended to cause her death.

Lauren gave birth to a baby girl during this ordeal, and has not been allowed to see her child. This little baby girl needs a chance to know her mother. We appeal to each person with compassion and love to understand why we wish to bring Lauren home and care for her.

Lauren's situation is greater than you can imagine. Her story should be told, and we pray that it has a happy ending.

If there is anyway you can help, please do so, if not please circulate the information about Lauren to all of your contacts. There needs to be a huge response to save Lauren's life.

• This is an article from the Winnipeg Free Press. It is fair. If the Manitoba College of Physicians and Surgeons can get away with this end-of-life treatment policy and set this precedent in Canada - then we will be in serious trouble in Canada. This issue started as an issue of concern for Samuel Golubchuk, it is now an issue of concern for everyone.

Physicians given the right to kill, lawyer says – Thu Jan 31 2008 – By Jen Skerritt

GIVING doctors the power to decide whether someone's life is worth living is criminal, the lawyer for the Winnipeg family at the centre of an end-of-life dispute said Wednesday.

Neil Kravetsky, who is representing relatives of 84-year-old Samuel Golubchuk, called the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Manitoba's new end-of-life guidelines terrible, saying they "smack of subjectivity" and give doctors a green light to commit crimes.

The guidelines say the minimum goal of life-sustaining treatment is for patients to recover to a level where they can be aware of themselves, their environment and their existence.

Kravetsky said this minimum goal allows doctors to make value judgments and withdraw treatment should they see fit -- with or without the patient's and family's approval.

"By using those subjective tests as to what the minimum goals are, they're leaving it up to doctors to make a decision on that person's quality of life," he said.

"If without the consent of someone you intrude on their treatment by removing them from it, it is no different than putting a pillow over their face."

Golubchuk is at the centre of a controversial legal battle that has pinned a medical decision against a patient's right to decide to continue treatment.

Golubchuk's relatives sought a court injunction in December after Grace Hospital physicians wanted to remove the man's feeding tube and ventilator that was keeping him alive. Kravetsky said discontinuing life support goes against Golubchuk's religious beliefs as an Orthodox Jew.

Golubchuk suffered a brain injury in June 2003 after a fall, but could still communicate and understand. He was admitted to hospital last October with pneumonia and pulmonary hypertension and was placed on life support Nov. 3.

Two weeks after the court injunction, Golubchuk's neurological condition improved and was seen by medical staff to be "awake. "

While the college's guidelines for doctors state that Manitoba law upholds the right for physicians to decide to withdraw treatment, Kravetsky said that is simply untrue.

Medical ethicist Pat Murphy said the college has put patients at an instant disadvantage.

"You and I didn't elect the college," Murphy said. "Discussions around withholding or withdrawing life-sustaining treatment aren't solely medical decisions."

11. Remarks By Supreme Knight Carl A. Anderson At 2008 March For Life – January 22, 2008

The abortion rate in the U.S. fell to a 30-year low in 2005, according to the Guttmacher Institute, an affiliate of Planned Parenthood. That year, 1.2 million preborn babies were killed, compared to a high of 1.6 million in 1990.

During the 1980s, one in three pregnant women chose abortion; today, it's one in five.

The National Right to Life Committee (NRLC) said pro-life educational outreaches and legislative initiatives are to thank.

"What the pro-life movement has done, and continues to do, is save hundreds of thousands of lives," said Randall K. O'Bannon, NRLC director of education and research. "Falling abortion rates are a sure sign that, given truthful information about abortion, about its impact on their lives, about the child growing inside them, and given even the slightest help and encouragement, many women will choose life."

Twenty-six states provide women seeking abortion with information about its risks and alternatives. Ten states allow women to view ultrasound images of their preborn child. In addition, 35 states have laws providing for parental involvement in a minor daughter’s abortion decision.

Carrie Gordon Earll, senior bioethics analyst for Focus on the Family Action, said the pro-life message resonates with the public.

“Polls continue to find that most Americans support restricting abortions to what are called ‘hard cases,’ such as rape, incest and to save the life of the mother,” she said. “The fact that such proposed abortion bans still have public support is quite a testament to the influence of the pro-life voice.”

The Guttmacher report follows recent news that the U.S. is experiencing its highest birthrate in 45 years.

In Kansas, Johnson County District Attorney Phill Kline is doing his part to protect the preborn. In October, Kline filed 107 charges against Planned Parenthood, accusing it of performing illegal late-term abortions.

In court Wednesday, Kline said Planned Parenthood “manufactured” records related to some abortions performed in 2003. When the case goes to trial, Kline plans to call as witnesses two of the clinic’s attorneys.

I) Good Intentions Gone Astray – The Early Learning & Childcare Act
II) What We Can Learn From Quebec’s $7 Childcare
III) Recent Research On Daycare And Parental Preferences In Care Giving
IV) Take Action: See How Your MP Voted And Send Your 1 Click Letter Opposing Bill C-303

“Parents are not convinced that institutions are best for their young children. In fact, Canadian research shows that group day care is the last form of care parents choose – after a spouse, family members, or home care in the community.”

Andrea Mrozek, Institute of Marriage and Family Canada, Manager of Research and Communications

Please add mail@unitedmothers.ca to your contacts/safe list
to ensure newsletter delivery

Within the next 10 days a Private Members’ Bill, which would enshrine universal, not-for-profit (government controlled) childcare in Canada at taxpayers’ expense is expected to have 3 rd reading and final vote. Cost estimates range from $10 – $15 billion annually.

The bill is expected to pass unless some of the MPs who currently support the bill can be persuaded to change their vote, or “miss” the vote.

Victoria MP Denise Savoie’s (NDP) Bill C-303 provides no support for other care-giving options such as parents who choose to stay home to care for their children, relative care, neighbour care, or private licensed childcare (only grandfathering existing ones).

According to Statistics Canada only 13.1 % of children are in the form of institutional childcare that Ms. Savoie advocates.

The bill disregards both parental rights and what most parents want for their children. It infringes on provincial jurisdiction and shows a profound disrespect for Canadian taxpayers.

Most troubling, C-303 fails to consider fully what is in the best interest of children. The preamble implies that one of the goals of quality “child care” is to ensure that parents can be away from their children earning money! How does increasing the level of parental absence serve the best interests of children?

MPs voted 138 – 112 in favour of this bill, at 2 nd Reading on November 21, 2007, with NDP, Liberal and BLOC support. Only the Conservatives oppose the bill.

I) Good Intentions Gone Astray – The Early Learning And Childcare Act
“An Act to establish criteria and conditions in respect of funding for early learning and child care programs.”

The “Early Learning and Childcare Act”, is focused on only one very narrow view of childcare – a one-size-fits all institutional approach to care-giving which disregards parental choice and preferences, and empowers the government to set and monitor national standards.

Childcare advocates and MPs who support n ational government operated childcare are generally well-intentioned. They would like the government to step in to ensure that all caregivers are certified and children receive, at the very least, a set standard of care. They are concerned about the lack of available spaces in “quality” childcare facilities. They are aware of the sub-standard care that some children receive in care-giving environments, and they recognize there are children and families at risk who could benefit from additional support.

II) What We Can Learn From Quebec’s $7 Childcare
“For almost every measure, we find that the increased use of childcare [in Quebec] was associated with a decrease in their well-being relative to other children.”

Launched in 1997, Quebec’s childcare program is often held up as a model for the rest of Canada.

Quebec parents pay $7/day, the province pays $47.50 more, and thus the actual cost is $54.50 per day. Annual Cost of childcare in Quebec is $14,224 per child ($12, 397 province & Parent $1,827.)

Quebec’s $7 per day childcare costs taxpayers $1.5 billion annually, (National Post March 22, 2006).

Staff to child ratio in Quebec day care
1 year old – one worker for five children
3 year old – one worker for eight children
5 year old – one worker for ten children

Here is a summary of the findings of a July 2005 study by the C.D. Howe Institute analyzing the effects of childcare policy in Quebec.

Impact on Children
Levels of aggressive behaviour among two-to-four-year olds in Quebec rose by 24 percent, compared to just one percent outside Quebec.

Quebec children registered a substantial increase in hyperactivity, fearfulness and anxiety, combined with a decline in certain social and motor skills.

Throat and nose infections in newborns to two year olds rose by about 20 per cent in Quebec and remained unchanged in the rest of Canada.

Impact on Parents
“Our analysis also suggests that the new child-care program led to more hostile, less consistent parenting, worse parental health and lower-quality parental relationships.”

The proportion of Quebec mothers working outside the home rose by 21 percent – more than twice the rate in the rest of Canada.

They also found that the Quebec program failed to address the needs of those children most at risk, but rather heavily subsidized the cost of childcare for middle and high-income families.

III) Recent Research On Daycare And Parental Preferences In Care Giving
“The overall results clearly indicate that parental choice is paramount in the minds of Canadians. They prefer to either take care of their children themselves or have a family member do it for them.”
David Quist, Institute of Marriage and Family Canada, Executive Director

In 2006, the Institute of Marriage and Family Canada commissioned GPC Research to conduct a survey about Canadians’ child care “preferences.”

They found that 77.9% of respondents preferred to have one parent stay home to look after his or her pre-school children.

For those where the stay-at-home option was not viable, over half (52.7 %) said they preferred to have a relative look after their children, followed by a neighbour’s home 20.4%, non-profit day care 16.6%, and for-profit daycare 6.9%.

According to Statistics Canada, the most popular form of childcare in Canada is… Parents!
46.4% of Canadian children between 6 months and 5 years are cared for by a parent in the home.

Of the remaining 53.6%, what form of childcare are they receiving?
33.9% Someone else’s home by a non-relative
31.5% Cared for by a relative (17.1% Someone else’s home by a relative; 14.4% Child’s home by a relative.)
25.0% Daycare Centre*
09.5% Child’s home by a non-relative

* Thus, in Canada less than 15 % of childrenbetween 6 months and 5 yearsare actually in institutional daycare, which is the only type of care Bill C-303 recognizes.
http://www.statcan.ca/Daily/English/050207/d050207b.htm

Vanier Institute of The Family indicates that 90 percent of Canadians rank daycare centres as their fifth choice in child-care options. (From most popular to least popular were: parent, grandparent, another relative, home daycare, daycare centre, friends, and lastly a sitter.)
http://www.vifamily.ca/newsroom/press_feb_10_05_c.html#endnote

A leaked Federal discussion paper from the Department of Health in 1999 estimated the cost of a universal institutional day care at $12 to $15 billion dollars per year.

IV) Take Action: See How Your MP Voted And Send Your 1 Click Letter Opposing Bill C-303
Bill C-303 is expected to have 3 rd reading and final vote within the next 10 days.

At 2 nd Reading on November 21, 2007, MPs voted 138 – 112 in support of this bill, having the support of the NDP, Liberals and BLOC.

With only the Conservatives opposing the bill, it is likely to pass unless some of the MPs who currently support it can be persuaded to change their vote, or “miss” the vote, and all MPs who support it ensure that they are in attendance. (Conservatives have only 124 seats in the 305 seat Parliament.)

(If they voted “yea” it means they support universal, state controlled daycare. If they voted “nay” it means they oppose it.)

Step 3: Forward this email to others and encourage them to send their own 1 click letters opposing C-303.

V) Partner With Us In 2008
To be as effective as we must be in our work to defend children, family, faith and freedom in 2008, it is critical that we receive your support.

By committing as little as $8 a month ($25/quarter) you will greatly help us in our efforts to impact our nation for the better. Please consider becoming a quarterly door today.

To donate by mail: United Mothers; P.O. Box 234; 339-10 Ave., S.E.; Calgary, AB; T2G 0W2

United Mothers is a registered not-for-profit organization. However, due to the advocacy-based nature of our work, we are unable to issue tax receipts.

For more than 35 years, pro-lifers have struggled to choose the best tactics and strategies while hoping to reach a point in America’s history where abortion would become anathema to the public as well as lawmakers and judges. In the ongoing quest to focus on a project or proposal that might facilitate this goal, it would seem that many have lost their way.

Pro-life efforts commence from the simple truth, revealed to one and all in basic biology, that each human being begins his or her life at fertilization. Indeed, we know that an individual has his/her personal DNA and his/her identity engraved on that first single cell which results from the union of a human sperm and a human egg. Philosophically, we recognize him/her as a person who deserves to be protected in law and by the culture in which he/she resides.

Not a single pro-life person I have met has ever doubted that basic fact. And so it makes perfect sense to say that pro-life integrity is the complete, principled recognition and the defense of each and every person’s right to life from the instant his or her life begins until his or her natural end. This principle is confirmed in the natural law and is reflected in such basic documents as the Constitution of the United States.

But translating this ideal into political and social proposals appears to have created a problem that is growing by leaps and bounds. For example, just five days before the 35th Annual March for Life, the Catholic bishops of Georgia issued a statement in which they officially opposed a state legislative proposal that would legally protect preborn children from the beginning of their lives. Georgia’s proposed House Resolution 536 would legally declare every human being a person from the moment of fertilization until natural death. It would, in simple terms, express the truth that is fundamental to pro-life efforts: it would leave no innocent person behind.

Even so, the Georgia bishops, Archbishop Wilton Gregory and Bishop Kevin Boland, said that the proposal “does not provide a realistic opportunity for ending or reducing abortion in Georgia.” The bishops went on to say that they would not “retreat” from the goal of protection, but that they would support “legally feasible means for bringing about an end to legalized abortion.”

This is extremely troublesome. It convinces me once again that pro-life strategists are losing their way and perhaps have lost sight of the goal. The Georgia Catholic bishops, like others around the country, have been advised that the timing is not right. And yet, by setting aside this basic principle upon which the culture of life is based, they are setting aside the ultimate goal we strive to achieve.

Pro-life leaders in Georgia, as elsewhere around the nation, are committed to advancing the goal, raising the bar and demanding consistency from those in public office. They have chosen the state constitutional amendment course because it provides a golden opportunity to discuss the humanity of the preborn child, the wrongness of abortion in every case and the beauty of parenthood, which is tragically contradicted by choosing to abort one’s preborn child. While such strategies as the pursuit of a real pro-life amendment should be met with wild enthusiasm and unity of purpose, the opposite has been the case not only in Georgia, but in Colorado, Michigan and elsewhere.

After 35 years of political business as usual in the pro-life movement, we have before us a huge problem that requires a radical solution. If we are honest in asking ourselves why the pro-life movement has been unable to transform our home-team advantage into cultural conversion and practical steps toward the goal, we would have to admit failure.

We claim peripheral victories now and then and many of us seem pleased with that. However, while we may be saving a few preborn children from abortion with some minor regulations on abortion, what is happening to the big picture? Why do we concede to so-called political timing and human judgment?

If you think in the context of what has actually been achieved for the babies through politics over 35 years, you really would have to conclude that something is rotten in government and a dramatic shift is needed – a shift in tactics, strategy and focus.

This is why so many state pro-life advocates have banded together in coalitions, looked at legal personhood and chosen to pursue it. These people see a golden opportunity to express pro-life integrity in the law and are willing to do what it takes to get the task completed.

Returning to Georgia for a moment, it is easy to see that the death peddlers are frightened for one simple reason: it would put them out of business. That is why the director of public policy for Planned Parenthood of Georgia, calls the proposed amendment “extreme.”

Yet there is nothing extreme about focusing on the humanity of the child and legally protecting every innocent person from America’s largest abortion chain.

Therefore, I ask my fellow pro-lifers to consider the following recommendations as the starting point for revitalizing our efforts:

Pro-lifers need to raise their political sights and demand consistency from those running for political office. We should not settle for anything less than pro-life integrity.
We all need to stop talking about restricting abortion and begin abolishing it. The legalized death of even one innocent human being is unacceptable and we should be making that point over and over again.
Each of us needs to feel, in the depths of our souls, the urgency that is so obvious when we realize that every single day in our nation 3,288 little children lose their lives in the most gruesome acts of murder known to man.

It is time for a change in pro-life strategy and tactics. It is time for tried and true wisdom as we recollect ourselves and renew our sense of what it means to be pro-life. The greatest doctrine on pro-life integrity is taught by the Catholic Church. Her teachings are grounded not only in the natural law, but common sense. Turning to her vast collection of teachings, we find one of those fundamental facts upon which we should reflect at this crucial time in history. As it says in Gaudium et Spes (The Joys and theHopes), “a monumental struggle against the powers of darkness pervades the whole history of man. The battle was joined from the very origins of the world and will continue until the last day, as the Lord has attested. Caught in this conflict, man is obliged to wrestle constantly if he is to cling to what is good, nor can he achieve his own integrity without great efforts and the help of God’s grace.”

The temptation to be satisfied with some ineffective minimum is unworthy of our time on earth. Let us move on toward the only goal worth pursuing: the legal protection of each and every innocent person, born and preborn. Pro-life integrity and all that it means is achievable today. Let us not wait a moment longer.

15. Whys & Wherefores Of Toxicity Of Plastic Containers, An Essay- February 6, 2008

Campaign Life Coalition National Newsletter (Current)