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News Ticker provided by
LifeSiteNews.Com
- Euthanasia Prevention – Hastings Essay & More – October 2, 2009
- Bill C-384 – Private Member’s Bill To Legalize Euthanasia & Assisted Suicide
- Persons With Disabilities Protest Bill C-384
- 40 Days – September 22, 2009
- Ignite Our Culture 2009 Halifax Conference – Live Free Or... Fight – September 22, 2009
- Life Chain 2009 – September 22, 2009
- LifeIssues.Net Newsletter #438 – August 30, 2009
- Lifeissues.Net Newsletter #441 – September 20, 2009
- Notre Dame President To Join Anti-Abortion March – September 22, 2009
- This Is A Late Bulletin – September 22, 2009
News Archives.htm from 2003 to the present.
1. Euthanasia Prevention – Hastings Essay & More – October 2, 2009(This is an important document that I urge you to review and to contact your MP about. It points to all the weaknesses of Bill C-384) and the weaknesses of human beings’ role playing in the journey of life – a role which belongs to God. – Herm Wills
This document includes links to an essay by Barbara Farlow which was recently published in the Hastings Center Report. It is an excellent article about what happened to her family concerning the death of their daughter Annie. Follow this link: Hastings Essay.
There is also a link to the media release concerning the ‘First hour of debate for Motion 388’. Motion 388 is by Harold Albrecht MP (Kitchener Conestoga) who is attempting to clarify the criminal code concerning the crime of counseling suicide via the Internet or other communications devices. He is responding to the death of Nadia Kajouji who committed suicide in March 2008 after being counseled / urged to commit suicide by an Internet suicide predator who has now been connected to at least 5 suicide deaths. Follow this link: M388 Debate.
There was a press conference today (October 1) at the parliamentary press gallery that featured Dr. José Pereira who is a palliative care specialist at the Elizabeth Bruyere hospital in Ottawa. Dr. Pereira is unique by the fact that he worked for nearly 3 years in a hospital in Switzerland which allowed assisted suicide. The text of this press conference is linked under the title: Bill C-384 - Private Member’s Bill To Legalize Euthanasia & Assisted Suicide.
The Canadian Medical Association has distributed a letter to Members of Parliament concerning their opposition to Bill C-384. A link to the letter is linked under the title: CMA Letter – Bill C-384.
Steve Passmore, a person with a disability, will be protesting Bill C-384 on parliament hill during the debate tomorrow. A link to our media release can be found under the title: Persons With Disabilities Protest Bill C-384. Steve's message is clear and to the point. He is saying that Bill C-384 threatens his life and the life of people with disabilities.
This is the link to watch the first hour of debate for Bill C-384 – Francine Lalonde's private members bill to legalize euthanasia and assisted suicide in Canada. The debate will be live at 1:30 to 2:30 pm (eastern standard).
The Euthanasia Prevention Coalition and the Manning Centre for Building Democracy are organizing a non-partisan Wilberforce Weekend strategy seminar in Ottawa – November 13 - 14, 2009 at the University of Ottawa. The purpose of the Wilberforce Weekend is to bring people together from differing backgrounds to examine the strategies that William Wilberforce employed in his campaign to outlaw slavery. We will then examine the issues of euthanasia and assisted suicide within a Wilberforce framework. The Wilberforce Weekend is a national seminar to explore and enhance transformative cultural and public policy advocacy on behalf of people with disabilities, those who are chronically ill, dying or otherwise medically at risk.
The registration fee for the Wilberforce Weekend is $99. We are encouraging every concerned supporter, people with disabilities and students to attend the seminar.
Our yearly Classic Art Christmas Card fundraiser is now online.
Please read the following article and help us defeat Bill C-384. Donations can be made to the Euthanasia Prevention Coalition by PayPal through our website or by credit card by calling the office at: 1-877-439-3348. The cost for a yearly membership is $25.
With your help, we will defeat Bill C-384.
On October 2, Bill C-384, the private members bill to legalize euthanasia and assisted suicide will receive its first hour of debate. C-384 was introduced on May 13 by Bloc Québécois MP Francine Lalonde. Since then many groups and individuals have helped the Euthanasia Prevention Coalition defeat C-384 by sending Stop Bill C-384 postcards, sending hand-written letters, or meeting with their member of parliament.
The number of members of parliament (MP) who were visited or who responded to letters from their constituents is truly impressive. This has given the Euthanasia Prevention Coalition enough information about the position of MP’s that we are predicting that we will defeat Bill C-384. Many MP’s have still not been visited by a constituent or effectively lobbied.
This is not the time to rest or relax.
Success will only happen when people from different groups and perspectives are actively involved in the campaign. We need to work even harder to convince a larger majority of MP’s that they should oppose euthanasia, assisted suicide and Bill C-384. The greater the victory the less likely we will face a new threat of legalization after the next election.
To convince your Member of Parliament to vote against Bill C-384 you will need to follow some key points:
1. What is Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide?
Euthanasia is when one person is directly and intentionally causes the death of another person for reasons related to suffering. It is important to note that legalizing euthanasia will give physicians the right to directly and intentionally cause your death. Euthanasia is usually done by a lethal injection.
Assisted Suicide is when one person is directly and intentionally involved with knowingly causing the death of another person. Many people confuse assisted suicide with suicide but the circumstance is different. Suicide is when a person kills oneself whereby assisted suicide is when another person is directly and intentionally involved with causing your death.
2. Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide will disproportionately affect vulnerable persons.
The Miriam-Webster dictionary defines vulnerable as: "capable of being physically or emotionally wounded". When is a person vulnerable? Human experience and social history tells us that people become more vulnerable when they are in some way devalued as persons or when they become highly dependent on others for their basic needs.
People with disabilities will often speak about their life experiences in relation to how they were treated when they were in vulnerable or dependent situations. The reality is that social systems are needed to protect people when they are vulnerable. Offering death to a person who already has been made to feel like a burden on others, or offering death to a person who is experiencing uncontrolled pain, is more likely to result in a decision of death rather than demanding the necessary care that should be expected for a person in need.
3. Won’t the safeguards in C-384 protect the vulnerable?
The safeguards in bill C-384 are written in ‘double-speak’ meaning that they sound nice but do not actually provide protection.
C-384 allows euthanasia and assisted suicide for people who are not terminally ill but suffering chronic physical or mental pain. People suffering from mental pain would often be deemed incompetent to make significant life decisions but C-384 opens the door to them dying by lethal injection (euthanasia).
C-384 also allows euthanasia and assisted suicide for people who have expressly refused appropriate treatments that are available. This means that the person with mental pain could die by a lethal injection (euthanasia) even though effective treatment is available to alleviate them of their distress.
C-384 bases competency on whether a person "appears to be lucid." Therefore the person who is experiencing mental pain can die by lethal injection (euthanasia) when they "appear to be lucid."
C-384 is not limited to terminally ill people but it also doesn’t define the term terminal illness. Therefore a person would be able to die by lethal injection (euthanasia) soon after learning of a terminal diagnosis. The fact is that most people experience a short-term shock when they learn of a terminal diagnosis but soon after come to accept that their remaining life is not too bad or decide that they have unfinished business. My step-father died 28 months after being diagnosed with terminal cancer. His quality of life was excellent during most of that period.
C-384 will also allow euthanasia tourism, euthanasia clinics, and when a physician deems that a person does not qualify for euthanasia, the bill does not stop doctor shopping. In Oregon the euthanasia lobby group Compassion & Choices facilitated 53 of 60 assisted suicide deaths by referring the person to a physician who supports assisted suicide or by counseling them in the process.
We are opposed to C-384 not only because it is written in a permissive manner but primarily because it would allow the direct and intentional killing of the most vulnerable members of society.
We will defeat C-384, but we also need to stop the movement to legalize euthanasia and assisted suicide in Canada. C-384 gives you an opportunity to speak to your MP in a clear and convincing manner.
The Euthanasia Prevention Coalition will send you a Stop Bill C-384 information package upon request and we are distributing the Stop Bill C-384 postcards at $10 per 100 cards, plus postage.
Euthanasia Prevention Coalition, Toll Free: 1-877-439-3348 Email: info@epcc.ca2. Bill C-384 – Private Member’s Bill To Legalize Euthanasia & Assisted SuicidePress Briefing by Bruyère Continuing Care Officials – Wednesday, October 1, 2009
Introduction of Jean Bartkowiak and Dr. José Pereira:
Suzanne Charest, Communications Manager, Bruyère Continuing CareJean Bartkowiak
On behalf of Bruyère Continuing Care, a health care organization that is the champion of aging Canadians and those requiring Continuing Care, I would like to say that we strongly disagree with Bill C-384 which aims to legalize both euthanasia and assisted suicide in our country. As a health care organization that provides complex continuing care, palliative care, stroke and geriatric rehabilitation, long-term care and family medicine, our raison-d’être is to provide compassionate care to our community’s most vulnerable.
En tant que société, nous avons une obligation de prendre soin des autres; ce projet de loi pourrait avoir des répercussions irréversibles et très sérieuses qui ne se limiteraient pas qu’aux patients en soins palliatifs.
As one of the largest Academic Continuing Care organizations in our country, we believe in alleviating suffering by providing quality innovative care. Our mission is one of a commitment to improving the quality of life of our patients and residents. We do this by providing compassionate, exemplary care and by promoting excellence through teaching, education and research.
Nous Nous nous efforçons d’améliorer leur qualité de vie.
Nous devrions plutôt améliorer nos connaissances sur les soins dont ils ont besoin pour alléger la douleur et la souffrance, tant au plan physique que psychologique.
We must not abandon these vulnerable people through assisted suicide or euthanasia, but instead embark on a quest to find better ways to maintain their dignity and quality of life.
The reality is that our health care system needs to protect the most vulnerable in our society, be they people with disabilities or terminally ill patients.
Palliative care is needed in Canada, not necessarily in acute care hospitals, but in more cost-effective settings, such as continuing care facilities, hospices and through home care.
We should also never lose hope. I was very touched when a present and former patient of one of our facilities recently married. They both live with chronic conditions, yet chose to embrace life and love. These two young people send a powerful message of hope to us all.
Le projet de loi C-384 pourrait miner la confiance et la relation de soins entre les médecins et les patients. Soins continus Bruyère s’y oppose fermement. Le projet de loi C-384 ouvre une boîte de Pandore, qui aurait des répercussions extrêmement négatives, et cette boîte de Pandore ne pourra jamais être fermée.
Now I will let one of our physicians leaders, Dr. José Pereira share some of his experiences with you.
Dr. José Pereira
I have seen many people die and worked together with colleagues from different disciplines, nurses, social workers, chaplains, therapists, to alleviate the suffering of these persons as best we could.
For the last 14 years I have worked as a palliative care physician, medical teacher and researcher. I have had the privilege of caring for thousands of people with incurable illnesses as a member of palliative care teams. I have seen thousands of patients dying with dignity, receiving good palliative care. I have witnessed first-hand many dignified deaths. I have also witnessed some difficult deaths.
Caring for these patients has taught me two important things; good palliative care can make a big difference, and research into better understanding these persons’ needs and improving their care is worthwhile.
I have another unique experience; for almost 3 years I worked as a Palliative care physician in Switzerland, a jurisdiction that allows assisted suicide. These experiences bring me here today because I feel now more than ever before that the best way to help dying patients is to improve their care, not to terminate their lives.
There are several serious flaws in Bill C-384.
The bill is not limited to patients with a terminal illness. It allows any person with physical or mental pain to receive euthanasia or physician assisted suicide. This means that even a young adult with depression or an elderly person who is tired of living or feeling alone may be euthanized.
It allows people to refuse appropriate treatments that would alleviate their suffering, opting to be euthanized instead. This is particularly alarming when we know that depression is treatable.
The bill does not define what is meant by terminal illness. I have seen many people who, when diagnosed with cancer for the first time, feel as though their world has fallen apart around them and that all hope is lost. During this time of intense fear and anxiety they may ask to be euthanized, even though current treatments could either cure their cancer or control it for many years. Moreover, we as health professionals are very inaccurate in predicting how long someone has to live. One of the first persons, for example, that we admitted to a new palliative care unit that we opened in Calgary a few years ago was a man with advanced prostate cancer. He was admitted for us to control his pain. He thought that he was dying. We controlled his pain and he went on to live for several more years. He would occasionally come to visit us on the unit and celebrate the added time he had with this family and loved ones.
The bill states that persons who “appear to be lucid” have the capacity to request euthanasia. It is open to abuse and misinterpretation. It would not even meet the current established standards for persons to sign consent to have an operation or receive treatment or participate in research.
Legalizing euthanasia and assisted suicide places the most vulnerable at risk, particularly the elderly and disabled. In the Canton of Vaud in Switzerland, the pro-assisted suicide movement is initiating a referendum that, if accepted, would force long term care facilities and nursing homes to allow assisted suicide within their walls or lose their accreditation status. Elderly persons living in these facilities, especially the lonely or those who feel they are a burden to their families and to society, will over time feel obliged to request assisted suicide.
Consider the implications of this, particularly in the context of significant needs that our aged will continue to experience in the future, recently highlighted by the Senate special committee co-chaired by the honourable Senator Sharon Carstairs on the Care of the Elderly in Canada.
There are therefore many loopholes in this bill, loopholes which put many other people at risk. But my concern, based on what I have witnessed and have studied, is that it is impossible to develop foolproof safeguards to prevent abuse of laws legalizing euthanasia or assisted suicide.
Foolproof safeguards in these laws are almost impossible.
Let me give you some examples.
- One of the main criteria established by the University Hospital of Lausanne when they allowed, under exceptional circumstances, assisted suicide within the hospital was the presence of a terminal illness. Yet one of the first patients referred to the process was a patient with depression.
- In the Netherlands, within only a few years of legalizing euthanasia and assisted suicide on the basis that it would be limited to terminally ill persons from the age of 12 years and upwards, the Groningen protocol was established that allows severely handicapped young children to be euthanized.
- In Belgium, within 3 years of legalizing euthanasia, again on the basis of being limited only to terminal illness, it was broadened to include persons with dementia.
- In the Netherlands, 500 to 700 people are euthanized annually, without the appropriate consent that is required by the law.
- In Oregon, people seeking assisted suicide have to be assessed by a physician as a safeguard to ensure that only those with intolerable suffering access assisted suicide. However, the assisted suicide lobby group facilitated 53 out of 60 assisted suicide deaths by referring the person to a physician who supported assisted suicide.
Legalizing euthanasia and assisted suicide therefore places some people at risk.
The Social Slippery Slope
Although data from Oregon and the Netherlands would indicate that there is no significant increase in the number of persons being euthanized or receiving assisted suicide over time when these practices are allowed, I have observed a slippery slope in other forms, a slippery slope that Dr. Nulla Kenny, a Canadian ethicist, calls a social slippery slope.
In Geneva, within a few months of the University Hospital allowing assisted suicide within its walls for exceptional cases, the community-based palliative care service was disbanded. The number of palliative care physicians was also reduced. The broadening of criteria to include non-terminally ill persons, including, those with depression and dementia, is another case in point as is the hundreds of persons in the Netherlands being euthanized without clear consent.
In Switzerland, only a handful of cantons have integrated palliative care formally within their health care systems, yet assisted suicide is available in all of them. Most of their private health insurances do not even cover palliative care.
None of the 5 medical schools there offers adequate palliative care education in their medical schools and the ‘hours available’ falls very short of the recommended European standards.
We therefore need to ensure that all Canadians have access to good palliative care.
Nine years ago, a senate subcommittee chaired by the honourable Sharon Carstairs, made several recommendations to ensure that every Canadian had access to quality ‘end of life’ care.
While we have made significant strides, and have shown international leadership in several areas, many gaps still remain. Resources are sometimes not made readily available to adequately trained nurses, social workers, chaplains, psychologists and therapists.
In some parts of our country, dying patients have no choice but to be cared for in acute care hospitals, at very high costs, instead of dying at home or in palliative care units and hospices because of a shortage of these facilities. Several important medications to alleviate the burden of symptoms are still not covered. We lack a national strategy with sufficient funding.
Such a strategy could be tasked to inform Canadians about palliative care and their rights, including the right to withdraw futile treatment that is unnecessarily prolonging their lives. It could be used to address the many misperceptions that exist about palliative care, including the one that morphine shortens people’s life, which, has been proven to be untrue.
We have seen how projects such as the Pallium Project, have developed Canadian homegrown educational programs for doctors, nurses and pharmacists to learn together.
Addressing intolerable suffering
We cannot ignore our fellow citizens with terminal illnesses who experience intolerable suffering. How then can we better relieve their suffering?
Canada has an international reputation for leadership in palliative care. Now is the time for us to step up again and respond to the calls for legalizing euthanasia and assisted suicide, not by legalizing these acts, but by investing in the research that will improve our care. I am positive that we can do this.
I firmly believe that we have not reached the limits of what palliative care can offer. We need to respond by increasing our efforts to find better and more effective treatment through research, training and adequate resources.
In Switzerland where I worked, a middle aged man with advanced lung cancer and experiencing severe pain was admitted to our hospital. He was a member of the pro-assisted suicide society and asked that we give him access to assisted suicide as it was his right. We convinced him to allow us to try and control his pain. Within a day it was controlled. He rescinded his request for assisted suicide and went home a few days later.
We need to improve the care we provide, not terminate it.
In closing, this bill brings to our attention the burden of suffering in our country. We need to respond not by terminating care through euthanasia or assisted suicide, but rather by improving care.
3. Persons With Disabilities Protest Bill C-384
Media Release – Thursday, October 1, 2009
Steve Passmore, a person with a disability, will voice his opposition to Bill C-384 – the bill that would legalize euthanasia and assisted suicide – and that represents a threat to persons with disabilities.
Mr. Passmore will be available for media interviews near the front steps of Parliament hill, Ottawa, from 12:30-3:00 pm on Friday, October 2.
His protest is based on the fact that Bill C-384 directly threatens his life and the lives of people with disabilities.
The Euthanasia Prevention Coalition is a broadly based network of groups and individuals working to create an effective social barrier to euthanasia and assisted suicide.
The Euthanasia Prevention Coalition and the Council of Canadians with Disabilities recognize that Bill C-384 directly threatens the lives of people with disabilities.
Contact Steve Passmore at: 1-289-339-0718
Contact Alex Schadenberg, executive director of the Euthanasia Prevention Coalition at: 1-877-439-3348
Euthanasia Prevention Coalition
Contact: 1-877-439-3348, email: info@epcc.ca, Website: www.epcc.ca
4. 40 Days – September 22, 2009
September 23rd to November 1st, 2009
Vision and Mission
40 Days for Life is a focused pro-life campaign with a vision to access God’s power through prayer, fasting, and peaceful vigil to end abortion. The mission of the campaign is to bring together the body of Christ in a spirit of unity during focused 40 day campaign of prayer, fasting, and peaceful activism, with the purpose of repentance, to seek God’s favor to turn hearts and minds from a culture of death to a culture of life thus bringing an end to abortion Campaign Components.
One of the strengths of 40 Days for Life is its simplicity. The campaign is made up of three key components:
1 & 2 – Prayer and Fasting: inviting people of faith throughout our city and across the country to join together for 40 days of fervent prayer and fasting for an end to abortion
3 – Peaceful Vigil: standing for life through a 40-day peaceful public witness outside the localWhy 40 Days?
God has used the period of 40 days throughout history to bring about major transformation… Noah experienced transformation during 40 days of rain. Moses was transformed by 40 days on Mount Sinai. David was transformed by Goliath’s 40 day challenge. Elijah was transformed when God gave him 40 days of strength from one meal. Nineveh was transformed when God gave the city 40 days to remain faithful. Jesus transformed the world following His 40 days in the desert. The disciples were transformed after spending 40 days with Jesus following His resurrection.
What will God accomplish when people of faith across our community and beyond unite for 40 days of prayer and fasting, pulling out all the stops to end the violence of abortion? We don’t know, but we’re sure excited to find out!
Halifax’s 40 Days takes place at the VGH in Halifax, on South St. outside the parking lot.
To sign up go to:http://halifax40daysvigilscheduling.blogspot.com/ or call Ellen 861-1982.
5. Ignite Our Culture 2009 Halifax Conference – Live Free Or... Fight – September 22, 2009
Ignite Our Culture 2009 Halifax Conference
Live Free or ... Fight
Fri. and Sat, Sept. 25-26, 2009INTRODUCTION
The ECP CENTRE's first Eastern Canada conference – in Halifax – is going to be an exciting event.
Canada's pre-eminent Freedom Fighter Ezra Levant will be our feature speaker on Saturday.
You will also hear from two other champions of freedom: Connie Fournier of freedom blog, Free Dominion, and Scott Brockie, an entrepreneur who was dragged through Ontario's human rights system by a homosexual activist, but who has lived to tell the story.
At this conference, you will learn about the ongoing assault against our fundamental liberties in Canada. You will learn about the necessary link between our Judeo-Christian heritage and our tradition of liberty. You will learn about the link between the love of one's child and a parent's commitment to pick up his sword in this battle.
If you are a freedom fighter, this conference will encourage and strengthen you in this difficult battle. You will hear from motivating speakers and you will be able to network with other like-minded attendees.
If you aren't active in the battle for freedom in Canada, but you want to learn more about the need for more people working to advance Judeo-Christian ethics and culture in Canada, you will also want to be a part of this conference.
This two-day conference will include workshops. Christian Heritage Party leader, Nova Scotian Jim Hnatiuk, will be speaking. We are waiting for responses from other invited speakers. A Conservative MP has also been invited to address the conference.
Christian and conservative organizations will be represented. We have other exciting plans that we hope to add as they become confirmed.
If you live in Nova Scotia, New Brunswick or Prince Edward Island, we look forward to meeting you at our ECP Centre Live Free or... Fight "Ignite Our Culture" Conference on Sept. 25-26.
Please spread the word. Please forward this message to your friends and networks. Thank you for your support. If you have any problems registering for the conference online, please contact us for help at info@ecpcentre.com or 613-496-0091.
LOCATION
321 Main Ave.
Halifax, Nova Scotia, B3S 0B5
get directionsITINERARY
FRIDAY
6:00pm – Doors open
9:00pm – Wrap-up
SATURDAY
8:00-9:00 – Registration / Breakfast / Book tables open
9:00-9:30 – SESSION 1 – Scott Brockie
9:35-10:05 – Workshops – 2 to choose from
10:10-10:40 – SESSION 2 – Connie Fournier
10:40-11:00 – Break – Book tables open
11:00-Noon – SESSION 3 – Ezra Levant speech with Q&A
Noon-1:30 – Lunch
1:30-2:15 – Q&A panel with Ezra, Connie and Scott
2:15-2:30 – No Apologies – The ECP Centre's alternative media project
2:30-2:45 – Break
2:45-3:15 – Workshop – 2 to choose from
3:15-3:45 – ECP wrap-upTICKETS & PRODUCTS
Full price conference ticket: $75
Student price: $60
Early Bird price (over 10% saving): $65
Early Bird deadline is Sept. 5
www.ecpcentre.com6. Life Chain 2009 – September 22, 2009
Life Chain is an International event taking place on October 4th. While other Life Chains do take place at different times. In Nova Scotia this year will be October 4th, at various locations throughout the province.
The Halifax chain will take place on Robie St. side of the Commons between 2:20 and 3:30 PM.
Won't you consider joining in on the prayer for the unborn along with other faithful Christians? Just one hour in silent public prayer.7. LifeIssues.Net Newsletter #438 – August 30, 2009
Greetings from LifeIssues.net
Dear Friends for Life,
Women seeking abortions in South Dakota must be told that abortion "will terminate the life of a whole, separate, unique, living human being." Despite Planned Parenthood's lawsuit claiming that it is unconstitutional to require women receive such a disclosure, the constitutionality of that portion of the 2005 law requiring that complete information be given before an abortion was affirmed by a federal judge on August 20. The affirmation that abortion terminates the life of a human being was described as a "huge, fatal blow" for abortion promoters and "a step forward in the 'unraveling' of Roe v. Wade".
"Abortion Equals More Violence" – A study released in April by Drs. Priscilla Coleman and Vincent Rue has shown that after a woman has an abortion, the couple is more than twice as likely to argue when discussing future children and nearly three times as likely to experience domestic violence, this compared to women who have carried their pregnancy to term and are raising the child. (Public Health, March 24)
"U.S. Aggressively Pushing Abortion Agenda in U.N." – Austin Ruse of C-Fam has stated, "Obama's administration is gearing up to make a frightening new global attack on the unborn child." He said he, "Watched in horror as the previous pro-life positions of the U.S. were overturned in an instant by radical feminists representing the new Obama administration. The U.S. will now join the U.N. bureaucracy, Canada, and the European Union as aggressive promoters of abortion all over the world."
God Bless, Jerry Novotny, OMI
(Truth) "What on God's good earth is more glorious than this: to be a mother?" – Josef Cardinal Mindszenty
LifeIssues.Net Newsletter #438 – August 30, 2009
Table Of Contents:
1. A Gruesome Harvest: Aborted Fetuses And Their Organs
2. Educators Face Jail For Praying
3. Protesters Gather At Planned Parenthood In Naples, A Day After Abortion Announcement
4. American Psychiatric Association Continues Denying Abortion's Mental Health Risks
5. New Abortion Center In New York Targets Brits Who Want Sex-Selection Abortions
6. Controversy Surrounds 'Guilt Inducing' Veterans Affairs Booklet On End-Of-Life Issues
7. Amazing Life Inside The Womb
8. A Peek Into Fetal Memory
9. Cameron Todd Willingham Case: Expert Says Fire For Which Father Was Executed Was Not Arson
10. Is It Time To Stop Taking The Pill? A New Book Asks Whether The Tide Of Risks Has Gone Too Far
11. Morning-After Pill Is Abortifacient, Say Experts In Nicaragua
12. Morning-After Pill 'Should Be Available To Girls In School'?Focus On Asia: "Thai government gives the OK for executions" – The government of Thailand has resumed its former practice of executing certain prisoners. After a six-year amnesty against capital punishment, two men were executed by lethal injection at Bang Khwang prison on Monday. Bundit Jaroenwanit, aged 45, and Jirawat Poompreuk, aged 52, were convicted of drug trafficking on 29 March 2001 and subsequently sentenced to death. Although Thailand continued to hand down death sentences, the authorities have been swayed since 2003 by the abolitionist movement.
Item #1. A Gruesome Harvest: Aborted Fetuses And Their Organs
For years, scientists and celebrities supporting embryo-destructive stem cell research have used two arguments. First – blind to the destruction of the embryo itself – they argue embryonic stem cell research will save lives. Second, they maintain that embryos leftover from fertility treatments will otherwise be wasted. Now, one stem-cell expert is using these same arguments to promote harvesting organs from aborted fetuses.View full article at BreakPoint
Item #2. Educators Face Jail For Praying
The case involves a northern Florida school principal and an athletic director who are facing criminal charges and up to six months in jail over their offer of a mealtime prayer according in the "The Washington Times" (August 14, 2009.) Pace High School Principal Frank Lay and the school athletic director, Robert Freeman, who go on trial on September 17th of course have the support of the local community.Persecution against Christians in America has reached such a point that a federal judge is actually threatening educators who just wanted to pray at a school event with up to six months in jail; a fine of $5,000 and loss of some 40 years of retirement benefits in the case of one of these men. The Founders of this nation would be appalled at the lack of religious freedom in the country they began over a couple centuries ago. The ACLU brought charges before Judge Rodgers against these two Christians for having the audacity to pray at a school event.
View full article at Sundaymail.co.ukItem #3. Protesters Gather At Planned Parenthood In Naples, A Day After Abortion Announcement
Anti-abortion advocates gathered outside of Planned Parenthood in Naples on Saturday to express their disgust and opposition to news that the clinic will begin offering abortion services on Sept. 14. "I was absolutely and totally upset and sick to my stomach that this is going to happen here," said Eileen Hennessy, a director at Naples Pro-life Council. "This is a tragedy. We're heartbroken."View full article at naplesnews.com
Item #4. American Psychiatric Association Continues Denying Abortion's Mental Health Risks
Ignoring both peer-reviewed studies showing such risks and the direct evidence of millions of women who suffer from an abortion they now regret, the American Psychiatric Association continued denying any abortion-adverse mental health risk at its annual convention.View full article at LifeNews.com
Item #5. New Abortion Center In New York Targets Brits Who Want Sex-Selection Abortions
A new abortion business in Manhattan is appealing to residents of Britain who want a sex-selection abortion. The abortion center uses pre-implantation genetic diagnosis (PGD), which is banned in England, to determine the sex of the unborn baby and allows couples to have an abortion if they want a child of another gender.View full article at LifeNews.com
Item #6. Controversy Surrounds 'Guilt Inducing' Veterans Affairs Booklet On End-Of-Life Issues
A booklet from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs on end-of-life issues asks its veterans to consider under what circumstances their life might not be "worth living."See the full article at CAN
Item #7. Amazing Life Inside The Womb
This is really amazing... The video is very touching and the song will grab you as well. The song is performed by a family of six, conveniently called MuSix, performing their song "My Tears". Let's continue to pray and work for a Pro-life America! Hat tip to Catholic Fire for this one!Article is located at salesianity.blogspot.com
Item #8. A Peek Into Fetal Memory
Pregnant mothers the world over can often be found talking or singing to their babies in the womb. But as tender as those moments may be, is anyone besides Mom and Dad actually remembering them? New research says yes.A team of medical researchers in the Netherlands combined sonogram technology with sound and vibration stimulation to discover that 30-week-old fetuses demonstrate short-term memory. By 34 weeks, these babies in utero are able to store and retrieve that information up to four weeks later, according to the study published in the medical journal Child Development.
Article can be found at BreakPoint
Item #9. Cameron Todd Willingham Case: Expert Says Fire For Which Father Was Executed Was Not Arson
In a withering critique, a nationally known fire scientist has told a state commission on forensics that Texas fire investigators had no basis to rule a deadly house fire was an arson – a finding that led to the murder conviction and execution of Cameron Todd Willingham. Willingham, the father of three children, was executed in February 2004. He protested his innocence to the end.View entire text at chicagotribune.com
Item #10. Is It Time To Stop Taking The Pill? A New Book Asks Whether The Tide Of Risks Has Gone Too Far
The Pill: Are You Sure It's For You?, a new book out next month, queries why the Pill is so readily prescribed across the developed world when its negative side-effects are so frequent and sometimes fatal, and its effectiveness in preventing pregnancy less than perfect.View entire text at Mail Online
Item #11. Morning-After Pill Is Abortifacient, Say Experts In Nicaragua
Dr. Rafael Cabrera, president of the Association for Life, said science has shown that one of the actions or effects of the pill is to block implantation of the embryo in the womb, which translates into an "abortifacient action," since human life begins at conception."We can say that an abortion does not occur just because one takes the pill, since sometimes it is taken when ovulation has already passed, but if it is taken one day before or six days after ovulation, there is an 80% chance it will cause an abortion," Dr. Cabrera said.
View entire text at CAN
Item #12. Morning-After Pill 'Should Be Available To Girls In School'?
Secondary school nurses should be free to administer the morning-after pill to help cut Scotland's teenage pregnancy rate, according to a sexual health doctor. A spokesman for the Catholic Church in Scotland responded: "The morning-after pill is like the equivalent of putting an ambulance at the foot of a cliff instead of putting a fence at the top.View entire text at The Herald
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. All prior email Newsletters Archives are located online.
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: Several years ago Fr. Jerry created a project entitled, "Journey for Life into the Heart of Asia". It 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: Life Issues Trends and Challenges". In October, Fr. Jerry will be in Pakistan for 2 weeks. November in Malaysia.For information about no-cost Pro Life Talks to your group in Asia: contact Fr. Jerry at jerry@shirt.ocn.ne.jp.
To become a supportive Missionary participant for this Asian project, kindly send your donations 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).
Get a weekly dose of clear thinking: subscribe to our free Lifeissues newsletter! Sign up on main page of www.LifeIssues.net. Pass this free service to your friends and various groups.
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 (or) jerry@shirt.ocn.ne.jp.
Websites by Editor:
English LifeIssues Site: http://www.lifeissues.net,
Japanese LifeIssues Site: http://www.japan-lifeissues.net,
OMI Site: http://www.omijapankorea.net/index.html.8. Lifeissues.Net Newsletter #441 – September 20, 2009
Greetings from LifeIssues.net
Dear Friends for Life,
China's one child policy is rigid. Fines for having an illegal child in China are now three to five times the average family's annual income. The equivalent fine in the U.S. would be 150 to 250 thousand dollars. Couples encumbered by such fines have to mortgage their future for literally decades in order to pay the fines.
Gender selection abortion turns legal in Sweden as the slippery slope continues. Swedish health authorities have ruled that it is not illegal to kill a healthy unborn child simply based on its gender. The case involved was a woman who already had two daughters and was expecting a third. She asked for an abortion and the medical board responded that such a request must be accommodated.
Amniocentesis kills babies. A new study in Britain confirms statistics on this issue. About 660 babies each year in the UK are found through this test to have Down syndrome and an additional 400 normal babies, who are tested and cleared, die as a result of the test. So for every three babies found through this test to have Down syndrome, (four-fifth are killed), two normal babies are lost through miscarriage resulting from the test.
Continue to inform others and pray for our unborn children in the battle between the Culture of Life vs. the Culture of Death.
God Bless, Jerry Novotny, OMI
(Awareness) Pope John Paul II wrote in his March 25, 1995 encyclical Evangelium Vitae (The Gospel of Life): "We are facing an enormous and dramatic clash between good and evil, death and life, the 'culture of death' and the 'culture of life.' We find ourselves not only 'faced with' but necessarily 'in the midst of' this conflict. We are all involved and we all share in it, with the inescapable responsibility of choosing to be unconditionally pro-life." n. 28
LifeIssues.net Newsletter #441 – September 20, 2009
Table Of Contents:
1. Contraceptive Emotional And Personality Damage In Women
2. The Theology Of The Body And Family
3. British Doctors Left Premie To Die: At 21 Weeks 5 Days, Baby Boy "Just A Fetus"
4. More Than 40,000 Japanese Aged 100 Or Over: Survey
5. Surgeon Says Abortion Ups Breast Cancer Risk, Full-Term Pregnancy Helps Lower It
6. New Report Exposes Forced Abortions, 64 Percent Of Women Feel Pressure
7. Abortion Hot Lines: A New Attack On The Unborn
8. HIV: The Biggest Threat To Pregnant Women
9. 85% Say Abortion Is Morally Wrong
10. "We Should Prize Human Life And Count It As Precious, No Matter How Much Of It We Have"
11. Bereaved Mother's Campaign Against Medical Guidelines That Allow Premature Babies To Die
12. Indian Abortion Proponents "Stumped" By Growing Dearth Of Girls Due To Sex-SelectionFocus On Asia: "Thousands of farmers selling wives shock India" – The worst drought hit north India this year. Due to failing crops, Indian debt-ridden farmers in Bundelkhand, Uttar Pradesh, have reportedly been selling their wives and daughters to their money-lenders in recent months. Thousands of farmers in the region are involved, and the situation has spiralled into a major political crisis in India.
Item #1. Contraceptive Emotional And Personality Damage In Women
Systematic contraception – and sterilization – is part of modern life. Tens of millions of women the world over, inside and outside marriage, are on hormonal contraception (mostly, the pill) and as far as powerful organizations as the UNFPA and IPPF are concerned, many more millions must be added. In countries with intensive pill habits like the Netherlands, there are still increases in pill use among adolescent girls (27% between 1990 and 2000), so that half of them are now on the pill. With few exceptions, this does not seem to alarm anyone, because modern contraception is believed to be wonderful progress and beneficial to the woman.View full article at The Edith Stein Foundation
Item #2. The Theology Of The Body And Family
Of course, contraception is precisely the withholding of fertility in the midst of expressing a total self-gift, body and soul, to our spouses. To withhold anything in this total self-surrender is a falsification of the love-act. Such an act, falsified as it is, is no longer love, a self-gift. Rather, it becomes a using of oneself and one's partner. But we dare not use ourselves or another human person. The theology of the body and the theology of the family offer a new and very interesting way of looking at the human person as an individual and in relationships.View full article at The Edith Stein Foundation
Item #3. British Doctors Left Premie To Die: At 21 Weeks 5 Days, Baby Boy "Just A Fetus"
A young British mother has criticized medical guidelines that, she said, resulted in doctors refusing treatment and leaving her newborn premature son to die. 23 year-old Sarah Capewell told media that her son Jayden, born at 21 weeks and five days gestation, was refused intensive care because he was two days under the limit set by Nuffield Council on Bioethics, a UK bioethics think tank that creates guidelines for medical practice.Comment: This is how an actual "death panel" works. – Nancy Valko, RN
View full article at LifeSiteNews.com
Item #4. More Than 40,000 Japanese Aged 100 Or Over: Survey
More than 40,000 Japanese people are aged 100 or over, up 10 percent over last year, a government survey showed on Friday, in the latest reminder of the economic problems facing the world's most rapidly aging country.View full article at Reuters
Item #5. Surgeon Says Abortion Ups Breast Cancer Risk, Full-Term Pregnancy Helps Lower It
A prominent breast cancer surgeon and professor has written a new article for a medical publication saying that abortion increases a woman's risk of contracting breast cancer. On the other hand, miscarriage has no effect while a full-term pregnancy lowers the breast cancer risk.Dr. Angela Lanfranchi is a surgeon who deals with breast cancer and is also an Assistant Professor of Surgery at the Robert Wood Johnson Medical School and president of the Breast Cancer Prevention Institute. She published a paper this week in the medical journal Linacre Quarterly that shows how different pregnancy outcomes influence breast cancer risk.
Citing 52 years of breast cancer research, she said the evidence shows that, during pregnancy, unborn children "produce hormones that mature 85 percent of the mother's breast tissue into cancer-resistant breast tissue."
View full article at LifeNews.com
Item #6. New Report Exposes Forced Abortions, 64 Percent Of Women Feel Pressure
A new report issued today focuses on the epidemic of forced abortions in the United States. The Elliot Institute, an Illinois-based organization that researches abortion's impact on women, finds as many as 64 percent of women say they have felt pressure to have an abortion.See the full article at LifeNews.com
Item #7. Abortion Hot Lines: A New Attack On The Unborn
The International Planned Parenthood Federation and its allies have come up with a clever new tactic in its war on the unborn. They have decided to simply ignore existing laws protecting the sanctity of life and set up abortion hot-lines to encourage women to abort themselves. Women who call these hot-lines are told about the abortifacient drug, misoprostol. They are briefed on how they can obtain it, and how they can use it to abort themselves.Article is located at LifeIssues.net
Item #8. HIV: The Biggest Threat To Pregnant Women
HIV is the leading cause of maternal mortality in South Africa, according to a five year study of maternal mortality at one of the country's largest hospitals. Published in the August 2009 issue of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, the study found that the maternal mortality ratio was more than six times higher in HIV-positive women than in HIV-negative women, and nearly half of the overall deaths were from HIV related causes, such as tuberculosis and pneumonia.Article can be found at Women Deliver
Item #9. 85% Say Abortion Is Morally Wrong
Most adult Jamaicans polled on the controversial issue of abortion said they agree that the practice is morally wrong, a survey conducted by Don Anderson has found.According to the poll, when respondents were asked to state the extent of their agreement with the statement 'Abortion is morally wrong', 73 per cent said they strongly agreed, 12 per cent said they agreed somewhat, while nine per cent strongly disagreed and six per cent said they disagreed somewhat.
"The general consensus was that abortion was morally wrong," said the pollster. "Eighty-five per cent of all persons interviewed expressed this view.
View entire text at Jamaica Observer
Item #10. "We Should Prize Human Life And Count It As Precious, No Matter How Much Of It We Have"
Britain's population has passed 60 million, but people should ignore the doom-mongers, because this is something to celebrate, not to be scared by. So says Felipe Fernandez-Armesto, the author of Civilizations and Food: A History. The good news, he says, is that Britain's population has climbed to a healthy level.View entire text at Family and Life
Item #11. Bereaved Mother's Campaign Against Medical Guidelines That Allow Premature Babies To Die
A mother whose prematurely-born boy died after being denied treatment has condemned guidelines given to doctors. Jayden, the son of Sarah Capewell of Great Yarmouth, England, was denied treatment because he was born earlier than 22 weeks, the cut-off point for treatment under the guidelines. Miss Capewell claimed that doctors told her that Jayden "hasn't got a human right, he is a foetus".View entire text at telegraph.co.uk
Item #12. Indian Abortion Proponents "Stumped" By Growing Dearth Of Girls Due To Sex-Selection
India's feminists and population control-pushing government are "stumped" by the dramatic drop of female births among the wealthier classes due to sex-selective abortions, reports the Globe and Mail's Indian correspondent Stephanie Nolen. Due to a 'son preference' in Indian culture, the use of new technologies to detect and abort baby girls has become widespread.Technically it has been illegal in India to tell couples the sex of their unborn child or to abort based on sex since 1994. This law, however, is rarely enforced. Consequently, sex-selective abortion practices are rampant and the ratio of girls to boys is continuing to fall. India's 2001 census revealed that there were only 927 girls aged 0-6 per 1,000 boys, a marked drop from the 1991 census, which found 945 per 1000. This means that in that decade there were 35 million fewer females registered in the country than males, according to Canada's International Development Research Centre.
The statistics in certain areas are shocking. The IDRC revealed last year that the wealthier urban families of the Indian Punjab have merely 300 girls for every 1,000 boys. In South Delhi, the ratio is 832:1000, and in the state of Haryana it's 822:1000.
View entire text at LifeSiteNews.com
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 . All prior email Newsletters Archives are located online.
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: Several years ago Fr. Jerry created a project entitled, "Journey for Life into the Heart of Asia". It 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: Life Issues Trends and Challenges". In October, Fr. Jerry will be in Pakistan for 2 weeks. November in Malaysia.For information about no-cost Pro Life Talks to your group in Asia: contact Fr. Jerry at jerry@shirt.ocn.ne.jp.
To become a supportive Missionary participant for this Asian project, kindly send your donations 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).
Get a weekly dose of clear thinking: subscribe to our free Lifeissues newsletter! Sign up on main page of www.LifeIssues.net. Pass this free service to your friends and various groups.
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 (or) jerry@shirt.ocn.ne.jp.
Websites by Editor:
English LifeIssues Site: http://www.lifeissues.net,
Japanese LifeIssues Site: http://www.japan-lifeissues.net,
OMI Site: http://www.omijapankorea.net/index.html.9. Notre Dame President To Join Anti-Abortion March – September 22, 2009
After being criticized for inviting President Barack Obama to the University of Notre Dame, University President, Reverend John Jenkins, informed students and others through an e-mail that he would attend the annual March for Life in Washington, D.C. and extended an invitation for others from Notre Dame to attend the protest. Read more… and http://bit.ly/KCOnf
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10. This Is A Late Bulletin – September 22, 2009Greetings friends,
We decided at the last minute today to cancel the Halifax conf. because he had less than 30 full conf. Tickets sold with less than a week to go and that covered less than 20% of our conf. costs, so we had to make the difficult decision. Thank you very much for your help in trying to raise awareness for the conf. Let's keep praying and working for a Christian reformation in Atlantic Canada.
Tim
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