tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-57012156139926495592024-02-06T20:03:15.433-08:00Pro-Life NotebookUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger63125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5701215613992649559.post-58232316269203742132016-03-01T09:30:00.000-08:002016-03-01T09:30:01.534-08:00The 6 Ways Homosexual Activists Manipulate Public Opinion<div style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 18px; margin-bottom: 20px;">
Anyone who is concerned about the influence of the homosexual agenda on reshaping traditional values must become intimately familiar with the major tactics that homophiles commonly employ in order to anticipate them and respond in charity and truth. Homophile strategists are very adept at manipulating public opinion with an arsenal of six tactics that are based upon deceptions and half‑truths:</div>
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<li style="box-sizing: border-box;">Exploit the “victim” status;</li>
<li style="box-sizing: border-box;">Use the sympathetic media;</li>
<li style="box-sizing: border-box;">Confuse and neutralize the churches;</li>
<li style="box-sizing: border-box;">Slander and stereotype Christians;</li>
<li style="box-sizing: border-box;">Bait and switch (hide their true nature); and</li>
<li style="box-sizing: border-box;">Intimidation.</li>
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One reason these tactics have worked so well is that homophile activists have succeeded in marketing a harmless and friendly image of their movement. They have lulled people into thinking that the wider society will not be adversely affected by their radical social agenda. Homosexual strategists have, in many cases, toned down their extreme rhetoric and have cloaked their agenda in soothing language. Over time, however, many have begun to think of themselves and others as “homophobes” or “haters” if they oppose any aspect of the homosexual rights agenda — or, incredibly, even if they question it in their own minds.</div>
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<span style="color: #333333;">Generals and attorneys often wish that their opponents would write a book. Interestingly, leaders of the “homosexual rights” movement did exactly that. Marshall Kirk and Hunter Madsen clearly laid out this agenda in the marching orders of the movement, <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">After the Ball: How America Will Conquer Its Fear & Hatred of Gays in the 90s.</em>[1] </span><span style="color: red;">This volume is an absolute treasure chest of information for those pro-family stalwarts who are actively engaged against the homosexual rights agenda.</span></div>
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By far the most popular homophile tactic is the claim to victim status, which is a very powerful, almost paralyzing, weapon that gives them a distinct advantage in the public square. Kirk and Madsen summarize the potent effectiveness of the victim status:</div>
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In any campaign to win over the public, gays must be portrayed as victims in need of protection so that straights will be inclined by reflex to adopt the role of protector. … The purpose of victim imagery is to make straights feel very uncomfortable; that is, to jam with shame the self-righteous pride that would ordinarily accompany and reward their antigay belligerence, and to lay groundwork for the process of conversion by helping straights identify with gays and sympathize with their underdog status. … the public should be persuaded that gays are victims of circumstance, that they no more chose their sexual orientation than they did, say, their height, skin color, talents, or limitations. … gays should be portrayed as victims of prejudice.</div>
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Does this sound familiar? It does if one pays attention to any mainstream media coverage of these controversial issues as they play out in law and society. But the victim status requires a story to back it up. Thus, perhaps the most common lament of the garden-variety homophile revolves around the alleged “tidal wave of anti-gay” hate crimes.</div>
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An analysis of FBI statistics on hate crimes committed against homosexuals during the time period 2000-2008 shows that the probability of any individual homosexual being the victim of a hate crime <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">during his or her entire life span</em> is slightly more than one percent.[2] Interestingly, “gays” are more likely to commit hate crimes against “straights” than “straights” are to commit hate crimes against “gays.” According to the FBI, there are 3.98 hate crimes committed by each million heterosexuals annually against homosexuals, and there are 4.44 hate crimes committed by each million homosexuals annually against heterosexuals.[3]</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="background-color: white; text-align: start;">The Gay Rights movement's </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; text-align: start;"> marching orders.</span></span></td></tr>
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Violence against homosexuals by others gets all the press, but it is interesting to note that the great majority of anti-”gay” violence is committed by other “gays.” The National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs (NCAVP) is the leading tracker of violence against “gays” in the United States. According to the NCAVP’s statistics on anti-”gay” violence, 83 percent of all violence committed against “gays” is carried out by <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">other</em> “gays” in domestic situations. This does not even count “gay-on-gay” violence committed outside the home.[4]</div>
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<span style="color: red;">This confusion is now pervasive in society, and questioning the agenda is simply not to be tolerated – especially among America’s youth.</span></div>
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For example, the classical notion that universities should be “arenas for the free exchange of ideas” has been completely discarded in the United States. More than three-fourths of U.S. colleges and universities now possess codes of conduct that ban behavior and speech based upon, including many other things, “homophobia.” The danger that these codes represent to academic freedom far outweighs their usefulness. This has already been amply demonstrated, as many colleges have severely punished students for merely desiring to <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">debate</em> the topic of homosexuality.</div>
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The squashing of dissenting views on homosexuality in the classroom has been going on for decades now. In 1991, a student at the University of Michigan announced his intention to establish a counseling program to help homosexuals leave their lifestyle. He was dragged before a panel of university administrators, unanimously found guilty of “sexual harassment,” and was thrown out of the university.[5] In 2000, the Student Judiciary of Tufts University voted officially to “derecognize” the Tufts Christian Fellowship (TCF) club for taking into account, for purposes of selecting leaders, the beliefs of a member whose views of Scripture and homosexuality were opposed to their own.[6] The TCF was stripped of funding, not permitted to use the Tufts name, not permitted to meet in any room that required a reservation, and not allowed to advertise or announce any of their events or meetings. In 2011, a Fort Worth, Texas high school student was suspended from school for reportedly saying, “I’m a Christian, and I don’t think being gay is right,” during a class discussion.[7] And teachers don’t have it any easier. In 2010 a professor at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign was accused of “hate speech” and relieved of his teaching duties for teaching Catholic doctrine on homosexuality in his Introduction to Catholicism class.[8]</div>
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Political science professor Jean Betheke Elshtain, while highlighting the dangers presented by codes against racism, also points out the difficulties associated with <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">all</em>punitive codes of this nature: “My hunch is that, over the long haul, the upshot of such endeavors [college speech codes] will not be a purified, racist-free, collective student consciousness, but a simmering backlog of resentment at being labeled as a racist, even if one has never committed a racist act or uttered a racist slur.”[9]</div>
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<span style="color: red;">No one should attempt to deny homosexuals their basic human rights; which are the same basic rights that we all have as being sons and daughters of God. But it has gotten to the point where we have to fight to preserve our own basic rights — the rights to free speech, religion, assembly, and teaching our own children our values – in order to protect our own families and institutions.</span></div>
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Those who promote homosexuality are forcibly tearing away more and more of the rights of Christians, and the situation is rapidly deteriorating. Who could have possibly imagined just a few years ago that companies would start firing people for writing pro-family articles on their own time, or business owners would be sued for refusing to participate in homosexual union ceremonies?</div>
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Now is the time to draw the line, to stand and defend our families and our rights without apology in the public square.</div>
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[1] Marshall Kirk and Hunter Madsen. <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">After the Ball: How America Will Conquer Its Fear & Hatred of Gays in the 90s</em> [New York City: Plume Books], 1989.</div>
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[2] Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) annual report entitled “Hate Crime Statistics.” Table 1, “Incidents, Offenses, Victims, and Known Offenders by Bias Motivation.” http://www.fbi.gov/ucr/ucr.htm.</div>
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[3] Ibid.</div>
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[4] The National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs (NCAVP). <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Domestic Violence: 2003 Supplement.</em></div>
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[5] Paul Weyrich. “Politically Correct Fascism on Our Campuses.” <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">New Dimensions Magazine</em>, June 1991, page 44.</div>
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[6] Foundation for Individual Rights in Education. “Victory At Tufts; Evangelical Christian Group Regains Recognition.” May 16, 2000. http://thefire.org/article/137.html.</div>
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[7] “Student’s Homosexuality Comment Leads To Suspension.” CBSDFW.com, September 21, 2011. http://dfw.cbslocal.com/2011/09/21/students-homosexuality-comments-lead-to-suspension-first-amendment-discussion/.</div>
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[8] Adam Cassandra. “University Reinstates Professor Terminated for Teaching Catholic Doctrine on Homosexuality.” <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">CNSNews.com,</em> August 1, 2010. http://cnsnews.com/news/article/university-reinstates-professor-terminated-teaching-catholic-doctrine-homosexuality.</div>
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[9] Stephen Goode. “Efforts to Deal With Diversity Can Go Astray.” <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">Insight Magazine</em>, September 10, 1990, pages 15 to 19.</div>
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<em style="box-sizing: border-box;">This article was adapted from its original version in the Spring 2012 issue of FrontLines, the official magazine of Human Life International. You can sign up to receive FrontLines <a href="http://www.hli.org/index.php/component/content/article/902-sign-up-to-receive-hli-publications-via-mail" style="background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #007eac; text-decoration: none;">here</a>. Dr. Brian Clowes is the director of education and research at Human Life International (HLI).</em></div>
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<em style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="font-style: normal;">May 31, 2012 (</span><a href="http://www.hliworldwatch.org/" style="background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #007eac; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none;">HLIWorldWatch.org</a><span style="font-style: normal;">) -</span></em></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5701215613992649559.post-24804829981816533612016-02-24T14:12:00.002-08:002016-02-24T14:12:59.333-08:00Pagans join increasingly diverse pro-life youth movement led by atheists and feminists<span style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17.5636px;">An article in which pagans @ North Harris (Lone Star) in Texas, students from </span><a class="profileLink" data-hovercard="/ajax/hovercard/page.php?id=162561253832327" href="https://www.facebook.com/FrassatiCatholicHighSchool/" style="background-color: white; color: #3b5998; cursor: pointer; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17.5636px; text-decoration: none;">Frassati Catholic High School</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17.5636px;"> in Texas, and the Pro-life tidal wave are on the same page.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17.5636px;">I found the article via my very pro-abortion cousin in Ohio. LOL </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17.5636px;">Small world. </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17.5636px;">My cousin seemed unaware of the magnitude of the pro-life movement. I guess that pro-aborts are completely out of the loop bc they rely on popular media for their info?</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17.5636px;">GREAT PIC of Frassati students btw! Here it is (with link back)</span><br />
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<div style="background-color: white; background-repeat: no-repeat; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: 'Noto Serif', georgia, serif; font-size: 1.125rem; font-stretch: normal; line-height: 28px; margin-bottom: 26px; padding: 0px; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="background-repeat: no-repeat; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: oblique; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline;"><strong style="background-repeat: no-repeat; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline;">‘I hope that our courage will awaken other fellow pagans to do the right thing’</strong></span></div>
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<span style="background-repeat: no-repeat; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline;">A movement long dominated by conservative Christian voices is making room for young nonreligious and even pagan voices.</span></div>
<span style="background-repeat: no-repeat; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: inherit; font-size: 1.125rem; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline;">Last month’s events around the annual March for Life, which marks the anniversary of </span><span style="background-repeat: no-repeat; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: inherit; font-size: 1.125rem; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: oblique; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-repeat: no-repeat; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline;">Roe v. Wade</span></span><span style="background-repeat: no-repeat; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: inherit; font-size: 1.125rem; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline;">, included activism by young pro-life pagans in Texas and secular opponents of abortion nationwide.</span><br />
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<a href="https://www.facebook.com/tarquis.thomas?fref=ufi&rc=p" style="background-color: white; background-repeat: no-repeat; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: 'Noto Serif', georgia, serif; font-size: 18px; font-stretch: inherit; font-weight: bold; line-height: 28px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; transition: color 0.2s, background-color 0.2s, opacity 0.2s; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank"><span style="background-repeat: no-repeat; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: 400; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline;">Tarquis Stargift Thomas</span></a><span style="background-color: white; background-repeat: no-repeat; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: "noto serif" , "georgia" , serif; font-size: 18px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 28px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline;">, a nursing student at Lone Star College-North Harris, became a minor pro-life celebrity when the Texas Young Republican Federation </span><a href="https://twitter.com/TexasYRs/status/691040366368129025" style="background-color: white; background-repeat: no-repeat; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: 'Noto Serif', georgia, serif; font-size: 18px; font-stretch: inherit; font-weight: bold; line-height: 28px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; transition: color 0.2s, background-color 0.2s, opacity 0.2s; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank"><span style="background-repeat: no-repeat; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: 400; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline;">tweeted</span></a><span style="background-color: white; background-repeat: no-repeat; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: "noto serif" , "georgia" , serif; font-size: 18px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 28px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline;"> out her photo at the Texas Rally for Life along with a Catholic group.</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17.5636px;"> </span><br />
<span style="color: #141823; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 17.5636px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: white; background-repeat: no-repeat; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: "noto serif" , "georgia" , serif; font-size: 18px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 28px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline;">The photo of Thomas got picked up by </span><a href="https://www.facebook.com/ProLifeTexas/photos/a.146222382240445.1073741826.146217615574255/447095115486502/?type=3&theater" style="background-color: white; background-repeat: no-repeat; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: 'Noto Serif', georgia, serif; font-size: 18px; font-stretch: inherit; font-weight: bold; line-height: 28px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; transition: color 0.2s, background-color 0.2s, opacity 0.2s; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-repeat: no-repeat; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: 400; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline;">Pro-Life Texas</span></a><span style="background-color: white; background-repeat: no-repeat; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: "noto serif" , "georgia" , serif; font-size: 18px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 28px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline;">, where Thomas and other pro-life pagans found it. “Science proves we are all created equal in the same matter,” <a href="https://www.facebook.com/ProLifeTexas/photos/a.146222382240445.1073741826.146217615574255/447095115486502/?type=3&comment_id=450309865165027&comment_tracking=%7B%22tn%22%3A%22R4%22%7D" style="background-repeat: no-repeat; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: bold; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; transition: color 0.2s, background-color 0.2s, opacity 0.2s; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">she wrote</a>. “Oh Goddess thank you. I hope that our courage will awaken other fellow pagans to do the right thing and see that abortion truly harms women,” with the hashtag #prolifemovementinclusive.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi02lgCduUtR7VajXZCwqACyjxfKwWsoE-jO6fIPgaVo9gmaGrAlPZ_z3vh1WU3_WnzZjAgGLKhnTzAqrvxVRSjyg6kwxhRnqVvAmevMLRMnxt8A26N9P-a9IIxsbdSSTXGWdUdpSNU7Ds/s1600/12512712_447095115486502_8606705834205309832_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="241" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi02lgCduUtR7VajXZCwqACyjxfKwWsoE-jO6fIPgaVo9gmaGrAlPZ_z3vh1WU3_WnzZjAgGLKhnTzAqrvxVRSjyg6kwxhRnqVvAmevMLRMnxt8A26N9P-a9IIxsbdSSTXGWdUdpSNU7Ds/s320/12512712_447095115486502_8606705834205309832_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="background-color: white; background-repeat: no-repeat; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: "noto serif" , "georgia" , serif; font-size: 18px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 28px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></span>
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<div style="background-color: white; background-repeat: no-repeat; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: 'Noto Serif', georgia, serif; font-size: 1.125rem; font-stretch: normal; line-height: 28px; margin-bottom: 26px; padding: 0px; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="background-repeat: no-repeat; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline;">Her friend Melody Ellen also </span><a href="https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10102182972377995&set=o.194330180600523&type=3" style="background-repeat: no-repeat; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: bold; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; transition: color 0.2s, background-color 0.2s, opacity 0.2s; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank"><span style="background-repeat: no-repeat; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: 400; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline;">shared a picture of them</span></a><span style="background-repeat: no-repeat; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline;"> at the rally with the Facebook page for</span><a href="http://www.prolifepagans.com/about-us-2" style="background-repeat: no-repeat; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: bold; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; transition: color 0.2s, background-color 0.2s, opacity 0.2s; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank"><span style="background-repeat: no-repeat; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: 400; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline;">Pro-Life Pagans</span></a><span style="background-repeat: no-repeat; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline;">, </span><a href="https://www.facebook.com/ProLifePagans/info/?tab=page_info" style="background-repeat: no-repeat; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: bold; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; transition: color 0.2s, background-color 0.2s, opacity 0.2s; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank"><span style="background-repeat: no-repeat; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: 400; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline;">founded in 2011</span></a><span style="background-repeat: no-repeat; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline;"> to “</span><span style="background-repeat: no-repeat; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline;">unify pagans who are pro-life, but feel they are alone,” and encourage them to join the broader pro-life movement.</span></div>
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Thomas and Pro-Life Pagans did not respond to interview requests by <span style="background-repeat: no-repeat; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: oblique; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline;">The College Fix</span>.</div>
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Students from religious groups were also amply represented at the Texas Rally for Life.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbaK_5LRbgzG3mBanLWxFxQ_5QUa2n-j3rlgLIuzRUA6srfKYGY1yTvH66_nBemPc395x7WUpzX2TaqBpowjR-JO61cACSirx0yYVvC11EZWv7ERM6G3b61qa2qvqwrlZhKP3i_BQrsLo/s1600/Frassati+ProLife+March+2016.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbaK_5LRbgzG3mBanLWxFxQ_5QUa2n-j3rlgLIuzRUA6srfKYGY1yTvH66_nBemPc395x7WUpzX2TaqBpowjR-JO61cACSirx0yYVvC11EZWv7ERM6G3b61qa2qvqwrlZhKP3i_BQrsLo/s640/Frassati+ProLife+March+2016.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<div style="background-color: white; background-repeat: no-repeat; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: 'Noto Serif', georgia, serif; font-size: 1.125rem; font-stretch: normal; line-height: 28px; margin-bottom: 26px; padding: 0px; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="background-repeat: no-repeat; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline;">Secular Pro-Life, founded in 2009 by then-University of Virginia law student Kelsey Hazzard, also participated in March for Life activities. Hazzard and others regularly speak on college campuses, including </span><a href="http://blog.secularprolife.org/2016/02/video-presentation-at-nicholls-state.html" style="background-repeat: no-repeat; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: bold; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; transition: color 0.2s, background-color 0.2s, opacity 0.2s; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank"><span style="background-repeat: no-repeat; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: 400; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline;">Nicholls State University</span></a><span style="background-repeat: no-repeat; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline;"> in Louisiana this week.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; background-repeat: no-repeat; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: 'Noto Serif', georgia, serif; font-size: 1.125rem; font-stretch: normal; line-height: 28px; margin-bottom: 26px; padding: 0px; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="background-repeat: no-repeat; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline;">Hazzard wrote a piece for </span><span style="background-repeat: no-repeat; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: oblique; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="http://www.opposingviews.com/i/religion/you-can-be-atheist-and-still-be-pro-life" style="background-repeat: no-repeat; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: bold; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; transition: color 0.2s, background-color 0.2s, opacity 0.2s; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank"><span style="background-repeat: no-repeat; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: 400; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline;">Opposing Views</span></a></span><span style="background-repeat: no-repeat; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline;"> around the </span><span style="background-repeat: no-repeat; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: oblique; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-repeat: no-repeat; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline;">Roe</span></span><span style="background-repeat: no-repeat; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline;"> anniversary arguing that support for abortion rights is </span><span style="background-repeat: no-repeat; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline;">often “influenced by beliefs of a fundamentally supernatural character.”</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; background-repeat: no-repeat; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: 'Noto Serif', georgia, serif; font-size: 1.125rem; font-stretch: normal; line-height: 28px; margin-bottom: 26px; padding: 0px; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="background-repeat: no-repeat; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline;">Mainstream pro-life organizations are increasingly working with the nontraditional groups.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; background-repeat: no-repeat; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: 'Noto Serif', georgia, serif; font-size: 1.125rem; font-stretch: normal; line-height: 28px; margin-bottom: 26px; padding: 0px; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="background-repeat: no-repeat; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline;">Students for Life works with 930 colleges and high schools across the country, Kristina Hernandez, director of communications, told </span><span style="background-repeat: no-repeat; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: oblique; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-repeat: no-repeat; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline;">The Fix</span></span><span style="background-repeat: no-repeat; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline;"> in an email. Currently it’s working with Secular Pro-Life and </span><span style="background-repeat: no-repeat; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: oblique; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="http://www.lifemattersjournal.org/" style="background-repeat: no-repeat; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: bold; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; transition: color 0.2s, background-color 0.2s, opacity 0.2s; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank"><span style="background-repeat: no-repeat; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: 400; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline;">Life Matters Journal</span></a></span><span style="background-repeat: no-repeat; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline;">, which promotes a “consistent life ethic” and </span><a href="http://www.lifemattersjournal.org/#!team/c17er" style="background-repeat: no-repeat; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: bold; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; transition: color 0.2s, background-color 0.2s, opacity 0.2s; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank"><span style="background-repeat: no-repeat; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: 400; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline;">whose leaders</span></a><span style="background-repeat: no-repeat; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline;"> are largely recent college graduates.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; background-repeat: no-repeat; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: 'Noto Serif', georgia, serif; font-size: 1.125rem; font-stretch: normal; line-height: 28px; margin-bottom: 26px; padding: 0px; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="background-repeat: no-repeat; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline;">These partners use nontraditional and non-faith based outreach “to recruit people into the pro-life movement who are oftentimes missed by the more conservative mainstream national pro-life organizations,” said Hernandez.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; background-repeat: no-repeat; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: 'Noto Serif', georgia, serif; font-size: 1.125rem; font-stretch: normal; line-height: 28px; margin-bottom: 26px; padding: 0px; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="background-repeat: no-repeat; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline;">Students for Life has also worked with Democrats for Life “in the past,” she said.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; background-repeat: no-repeat; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: 'Noto Serif', georgia, serif; font-size: 1.125rem; font-stretch: normal; line-height: 28px; margin-bottom: 26px; padding: 0px; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="background-repeat: no-repeat; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: oblique; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline;"><strong style="background-repeat: no-repeat; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline;">‘We have to reach out to every community and subculture’</strong></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; background-repeat: no-repeat; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: 'Noto Serif', georgia, serif; font-size: 1.125rem; font-stretch: normal; line-height: 28px; margin-bottom: 26px; padding: 0px; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="background-repeat: no-repeat; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline;"></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; background-repeat: no-repeat; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: 'Noto Serif', georgia, serif; font-size: 1.125rem; font-stretch: normal; line-height: 28px; margin-bottom: 26px; padding: 0px; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="background-repeat: no-repeat; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline;">Though Secular Pro-Life doesn’t have “any official connection” with Pro-Life Pagans, Hazzard told </span><span style="background-repeat: no-repeat; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: oblique; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-repeat: no-repeat; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline;">The Fix</span></span><span style="background-repeat: no-repeat; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline;"> in an email, “I’m sure we have some membership overlap, and we share each other’s Facebook posts from time to time.”</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; background-repeat: no-repeat; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: 'Noto Serif', georgia, serif; font-size: 1.125rem; font-stretch: normal; line-height: 28px; margin-bottom: 26px; padding: 0px; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="background-repeat: no-repeat; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline;">Hazzard cited “one woman who is active in Pagan pro-life work” who is on the advisory board “for an upcoming Secular Pro-Life project to celebrate the 40</span><span style="background-repeat: no-repeat; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline;">th</span><span style="background-repeat: no-repeat; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline;"> anniversary of the Hyde Amendment,” which cut off federal funding for abortion in most circumstances.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; background-repeat: no-repeat; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: 'Noto Serif', georgia, serif; font-size: 1.125rem; font-stretch: normal; line-height: 28px; margin-bottom: 26px; padding: 0px; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="background-repeat: no-repeat; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline;">It’s important to work with diverse pro-life groups, because “if we’re going to make abortion unthinkable, we have to reach out to every community and subculture,” she said.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; background-repeat: no-repeat; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: 'Noto Serif', georgia, serif; font-size: 1.125rem; font-stretch: normal; line-height: 28px; margin-bottom: 26px; padding: 0px; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="background-repeat: no-repeat; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline;">Groups like Pro-Life Pagans “are doing a great job reaching a portion of people who are often overlooked yet need this message just as much as the rest of us,” Destiny Herndon-De La Rosa, the founder and president of New Wave Feminists, told </span><span style="background-repeat: no-repeat; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: oblique; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-repeat: no-repeat; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline;">The Fix </span></span><span style="background-repeat: no-repeat; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline;">in an email.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; background-repeat: no-repeat; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: 'Noto Serif', georgia, serif; font-size: 1.125rem; font-stretch: normal; line-height: 28px; margin-bottom: 26px; padding: 0px; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="background-repeat: no-repeat; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline;">“This is a human rights issue and all humans, no matter their color or creed, should be fighting to free society from the lie that women need abortion to be fully liberated,” she said.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; background-repeat: no-repeat; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: 'Noto Serif', georgia, serif; font-size: 1.125rem; font-stretch: normal; line-height: 28px; margin-bottom: 26px; padding: 0px; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="background-repeat: no-repeat; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline;"></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; background-repeat: no-repeat; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: 'Noto Serif', georgia, serif; font-size: 1.125rem; font-stretch: normal; line-height: 28px; margin-bottom: 26px; padding: 0px; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="background-repeat: no-repeat; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline;">New Wave Feminists participated in the March for Life in Washington.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; background-repeat: no-repeat; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: 'Noto Serif', georgia, serif; font-size: 1.125rem; font-stretch: normal; line-height: 28px; margin-bottom: 26px; padding: 0px; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="background-repeat: no-repeat; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline;">The group, whose motto is “</span><a href="http://www.newwavefeminists.com/" style="background-repeat: no-repeat; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: bold; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; transition: color 0.2s, background-color 0.2s, opacity 0.2s; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank"><span style="background-repeat: no-repeat; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: 400; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline;">Badass. Prolife. Feminists</span></a><span style="background-repeat: no-repeat; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline;">,” has spoken at several Students for Life and Pro-Life Texas events.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; background-repeat: no-repeat; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: 'Noto Serif', georgia, serif; font-size: 1.125rem; font-stretch: normal; line-height: 28px; margin-bottom: 26px; padding: 0px; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="background-repeat: no-repeat; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline;"></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; background-repeat: no-repeat; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: 'Noto Serif', georgia, serif; font-size: 1.125rem; font-stretch: normal; line-height: 28px; margin-bottom: 26px; padding: 0px; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="background-repeat: no-repeat; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline;">“New Wave Feminists use humor to deconstruct the pro-abortion ties of the feminist movement,” SFL’s Hernandez said. “They show that true feminism is coming out from under the patriarchal construct of abortion that enslaves women, and that you can do it with a laugh.”</span></div>
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<span style="background-repeat: no-repeat; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="background-repeat: no-repeat; border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-source: initial; border-image-width: initial; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 18px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 28px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "noto" serif , "georgia" , serif;">http://www.thecollegefix.com/post/26307/</span></span></div>
<div class="about" style="background-color: white; background-repeat: no-repeat; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #666666; font-family: 'Roboto Condensed', helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 0.875rem; font-stretch: normal; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; text-transform: uppercase; vertical-align: baseline;">
ABOUT THE AUTHOR</div>
<div class="name" style="background-color: white; background-repeat: no-repeat; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #fb0000; font-family: Roboto, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 1.5rem; font-stretch: normal; font-weight: 700; line-height: 30px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline;">
<a href="http://www.thecollegefix.com/post/author/samantha-watkins-pt-loma-nazarene-university/" style="background-repeat: no-repeat; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #fb0000; font-size: 1.625rem; font-stretch: normal; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; text-decoration: none; transition: color 0.2s, background-color 0.2s, opacity 0.2s; vertical-align: baseline;">Samantha Watkins</a></div>
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<span style="background-repeat: no-repeat; border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-source: initial; border-image-width: initial; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 18px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 28px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline;"></span></div>
<div class="description" style="background-color: white; background-repeat: no-repeat; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #666666; font-family: 'Noto Serif', georgia, serif; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 22px; margin: 0px 0px 18px; padding: 0px; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline;">
Samantha Watkins is a broadcast journalism and theatre double major at Point Loma Nazarene University. She is the director of activities and design, editor for the features section of <span style="background-repeat: no-repeat; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: oblique; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline;">The Point</span>, manager of <span style="background-repeat: no-repeat; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: oblique; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline;">Coastline News</span>, and is part of Turning Point, a dance ministry on campus. Samantha can also be seen on stage acting at Salomon Theatre.</div>
<i class="_4-k1 img sp_fM-mz8spZ1b sx_62a652" style="background-color: white; background-image: url("/rsrc.php/v2/yx/r/pimRBh7B6ER.png"); background-position: 0px -204px; background-repeat: no-repeat; background-size: auto; color: #141823; display: inline-block; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; height: 16px; line-height: 17.5636px; vertical-align: -3px; width: 16px;"><u style="left: -999999px; position: absolute;">heart emoticon</u></i>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5701215613992649559.post-81298811493570908012016-01-24T17:53:00.000-08:002016-01-24T17:53:15.116-08:00The Early Church on Abortion: 8 Quotes Before AD 400You shall not kill the child by obtaining an abortion. Nor, again, shall you destroy him after he is born.”<br />
St. Barnabas (“Epistle of St. Barnabas,” c. 70-100 A.D.)<br />
<br />
“You shall not murder a child by abortion nor kill one who has been born.”<br />
“The Didache [The Teaching Of The Twelve Apostles]” (c. 80-140 A.D.)<br />
<br />
“Women who were reputed believers began to resort to drugs for producing sterility. They also girded themselves around, so as to expel what was being conceived. For they did not wish to have a child by either slave or by any common fellow – out of concern for their family and their excessive wealth. See what a great impiety the lawless one has advanced! He teaches adultery and murder at the same time!”<br />
St. Hipploytus (“Refutation Of All Heresies,” c. 225 A.D.)<br />
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“He [the schismatic Novatian] struck the womb of his wife with his heel and hurried an abortion, thereby causing parricide.”<br />
St. Cyprian of Carthage (“Epistle 52 To Cornelius,” c. 251 A.D.)<br />
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“A woman who deliberately destroys a fetus is answerable for murder. And any fine distinction as to its being completely formed or unformed is not admissible amongst us.”<br />
St. Basil the Great (“Epistle 138,” c. 375 A.D.)<br />
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“Others drink for sterility and commit murder on the human not yet sown. Some when they sense that they have conceived by sin, consider the poisons for abortion, and frequently die themselves along with it, and go to Hell guilty of three crimes: murdering themselves, committing adultery against Christ, and murder against their unborn child.”<br />
St. Jerome (“Epistle 22,” c. 380 A.D.)<br />
<br />
“The rich women, to avoid dividing the inheritance among many, kill their own fetus in the womb and with murderous juices extinguish in the genital chamber their children.”<br />
St. Ambrose (“On the Hexaemeron,” c. 386 A.D.)<br />
<br />
“To destroy the fetus ‘is something worse than murder.’ The one who does this ‘does not take away life that has already been born, but prevents it from being born.'”<br />
St. John Chrysostom (“Homilies on Romans,” c. 391 A.D.)<br />
<br />
source: http://www.stpeterslist.com/1504/the-early-church-on-abortion-8-quotes-before-ad-400/<br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5701215613992649559.post-33015036888985356512014-03-02T23:56:00.001-08:002014-03-02T23:56:26.824-08:00"Pro-Choice" Deny Association w/ "Pro-Abortion"<div class="mbs _5pbx userContent" data-ft="{"tn":"K"}">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://fbcdn-sphotos-e-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash3/t1/s403x403/1688389_10203344647555707_973042857_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="The interesting thing is, when people advocate other causes, you don't hear them desperately trying to distance themselves from the activity under discussion. People who support capital punishment don't bristle at being called pro-death penalty. People who work for the protection of animals don't become infuriated if you refer to them as pro-animal. Those who support the Second Amendment don't attack you for calling them pro-gun, and the list goes on and on. The only exception to this is people who support abortion. On one hand they will viciously defend its legality while, on the other hand, doing everything humanly possible to deny any association with it.
The message in this is clear. Simply put, even these people realize that abortion is indefensible.
But beyond that, here's the issue I want to raise. Today, about 3500 American babies are going to have their legs torn off, their arms ripped out of the sockets, their chests crushed and their skulls split open. And when the day is over, most of their corpses will either be ground up in garbage disposals and flushed down the sewer system or tossed into dumpsters to be eaten by rats. Then tomorrow, another 3500 victims will be teed up, and the day after that another 3500, and the day after that another 3500, and so on.
What I want to know is this: for those defenseless babies, what is the difference between pro-abortion and pro-choice?
-- Mark Crutcher
Read the rest: http://www.lifeissues.net/writers/brown/brown_141distinction.html" border="0" class="_46-i img" height="284" src="https://fbcdn-sphotos-e-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash3/t1/s403x403/1688389_10203344647555707_973042857_n.jpg" style="left: -2px; top: 0px;" width="403" /></a></div>
<div class="text_exposed_root text_exposed" id="id_531432572b0f64256706789">
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"> </span></div>
<div class="text_exposed_root text_exposed" id="id_531432572b0f64256706789">
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">The
interesting thing is, when people advocate other causes, you don't hear
them desperately<b> trying to distance themselves from the activity under
discussion. </b></span></div>
<div class="text_exposed_root text_exposed" id="id_531432572b0f64256706789">
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">• People who support capital punishment don't bristle at being
called pro-death penalty. </span></div>
<div class="text_exposed_root text_exposed" id="id_531432572b0f64256706789">
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">• People who work for the protection of animals
don't become infuriated if you refer to them as pro-animal. </span></div>
<div class="text_exposed_root text_exposed" id="id_531432572b0f64256706789">
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">• Those who
support the Second Amendment don't attack you for calling them pro-gun,
and the list goes on and on. </span></div>
<div class="text_exposed_root text_exposed" id="id_531432572b0f64256706789">
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"> </span></div>
<div class="text_exposed_root text_exposed" id="id_531432572b0f64256706789">
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">The only exceptio<span class="text_exposed_show">n
to this is people who support abortion. On one hand they will viciously
defend its legality while, on the other hand, doing everything humanly
possible to deny any association with it.<br /> <br /> The message in this is clear. Simply put, <b>even these people realize that abortion is indefensible.</b><br /> <br />
But beyond that, here's the issue I want to raise. Today, about 3500
American babies are going to have their legs torn off, their arms ripped
out of the sockets, their chests crushed and their skulls split open.
And when the day is over, most of their corpses will either be ground up
in garbage disposals and flushed down the sewer system or tossed into
dumpsters to be eaten by rats. Then tomorrow, another 3500 victims will
be teed up, and the day after that another 3500, and the day after that
another 3500, and so on.<br /> <br /> What I want to know is this: for those defenseless babies, what is the difference between pro-abortion and pro-choice?<br /> <br /> -- Mark Crutcher <br /> <br /> Read the rest: <a href="http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.lifeissues.net%2Fwriters%2Fbrown%2Fbrown_141distinction.html&h=wAQHUbD9o&enc=AZM_pcSWrkIzEomqr6d6DbWJJaMxgChy4L7It8o-Rtvx68dJ-y2eg3VYcC38MHhCYmfUjwSHW0NgUHdC49QZebujq0QiEZAk_EKVVuvdMaV8iQstdVQZ-9l351gXXU4V-Www6B7qNomn-fDwBeL83sGc&s=1" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://www.lifeissues.net/writers/brown/brown_141distinction.html</a></span></span></div>
<div class="text_exposed_root text_exposed" id="id_531432572b0f64256706789">
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span class="text_exposed_show"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><a class="UFILikeLink" data-ft="{"tn":"?"}" data-reactid=".hc" href="https://www.facebook.com/#" role="button" title="Unlike this"></a> </span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5701215613992649559.post-7130531866088885912014-03-02T23:50:00.002-08:002014-03-02T23:50:52.671-08:00PP President Cecile Richards - "When life begins not ‘really relevant’"<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span data-ft="{"tn":"K"}" data-reactid=".hd.1:3:1:$comment10203344647555707_4560574:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.0:$comment-body"><span data-reactid=".hd.1:3:1:$comment10203344647555707_4560574:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.0:$comment-body.0"><span data-reactid=".hd.1:3:1:$comment10203344647555707_4560574:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.0:$comment-body.0.$text0:0:$0:0">The
current head of Planned Parenthood knows that based on science that
life begins at the moment of conception, but she struggled pathetically
trying to avoid this topic during a recent interview . . . . </span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span data-ft="{"tn":"K"}" data-reactid=".hd.1:3:1:$comment10203344647555707_4560574:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.0:$comment-body"><span data-reactid=".hd.1:3:1:$comment10203344647555707_4560574:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.0:$comment-body.0"><span data-reactid=".hd.1:3:1:$comment10203344647555707_4560574:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.0:$comment-body.0.$text0:0:$0:0"> </span><br data-reactid=".hd.1:3:1:$comment10203344647555707_4560574:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.0:$comment-body.0.$text0:0:$1:0" /><a class="" data-reactid=".hd.1:3:1:$comment10203344647555707_4560574:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.0:$comment-body.0.$range0:0" dir="ltr" href="http://www.lifesitenews.com/news/video-planned-parenthood-prez-cecile-richards-when-life-begins-not-really-r" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://www.lifesitenews.com/.../video-planned-parenthood...</a></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><strong><a href="http://www.lifesitenews.com/news/video-planned-parenthood-prez-cecile-richards-when-life-begins-not-really-r" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Video: Planned Parenthood Prez Cecile Richards, When life begins not ‘really relevant’ to...</a></strong></span> </div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span class="caption" data-ft="{"tn":"L"}"><a href="http://www.lifesitenews.com/" rel="nofollow nofollow" target="_blank">www.lifesitenews.com</a></span></span><div class="mts uiAttachmentDesc translationEligibleUserAttachmentMessage" data-ft="{"tn":"M"}">
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">“Every woman needs to make their own decision,” she said.</span></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5701215613992649559.post-73894434490051396302013-09-05T08:43:00.001-07:002013-09-05T08:52:48.549-07:00Fetal Pain
September 4, 2013 (<strong><a href="http://www.nationalrighttolifenews.org/news/2013/09/all-you-pretty-much-need-to-know-about-the-reality-of-fetal-pain-in-one-story/#.UiiQmD_3NpM">NRLC</a></strong>)
- <br />
<div class="author">
by <a href="http://www.lifesitenews.com/author/guest/dave-andrusko/">Dave Andrusko </a></div>
<div class="author">
<br /></div>
Over the past decade NRL News and NRL News Today have collectively
carried dozens and dozens and DOZENS of articles about the topic of the
capacity of the unborn child to feel pain. So when colleagues tell you
on your return to work of a must-read article, the first temptation
might be to expect too little rather than too much. But after reading
Eric Schulzke’s “The disputed science of fetal pain,” I can see why they
say the article is balanced—a rarity—and comprehensive—even rarer.<br />
Schulzke cleverly works backwards. He starts with newborns who were
born premature. Their parents are absolutely convinced their twin sons
experienced pain at birth. “The pain markers went well beyond facial
cues,” Schulzke writes. “Even routine blood draws or IV insertions could
cause measurable reactions.”<br />
<br />
And in stark contrast to what prevailed not so long ago, “Anesthesia is
now routine for both neonatal and fetal surgery, but a generation ago
newborns were thought to not perceive pain, and they routinely underwent
surgery without anesthesia.” That would be considered barbaric today.<br />
He interviewed Dr. Ray Paschall about fetal surgery and the use of
anesthesia. Dr. Paschall has performed around 260 surgeries on babies
before birth and “was part of a team that developed fetal surgery for
myelomeningocele, a type of spina bifida, where the spine fails to close
correctly, leaving it exposed to corrosive amniotic fluid.”<br />
<br />
Schulzke notes that “Pre-birth intervention has been found to
significantly improve outcomes. The target age for these surgeries,
Paschall said, is between 21 and 25 weeks of gestational age, which
happens to be precisely the age targeted in fetal pain abortion
legislation.” He “firmly believes” they feel pain.<br />
<br />
You can <a href="http://m.deseretnews.com/article/865585688/The-disputed-science-of-fetal-pain.html">read this fascinating account</a> in its entirety so let me summarize some of what the story accomplishes.<br />
<br />
It takes on the principle arguments against the idea that the unborn
child can feel pain beginning at 20 weeks fetal age (equivalent to “22
weeks of pregnancy”). For starters, Paschall is deeply skeptical of
those who argue that “the unborn fetus is immersed in a mix of fluids
that chemically induce sleep, meaning that even if the brain wiring were
in place, the fetus will still be oblivious.”<br />
We have discussed this absurd contention at much greater length
elsewhere. (See “Royal College of Ob-GYN ‘Fetal Awareness’ Report Does
Nothing to Rebut Conclusion Unborn Can Experience Pain at 20 Weeks.”)<br />
<br />
He also helpfully juxtaposes the work of Dr. Kawaljeet Anand, who
affirms the reality of fetal pain, and a 2005 co-authored article
published in Journal of the American Medical Association. Anand’s
research is head and shoulders more persuasive, beginning with a
landmark 1987 article in the New England Journal of Medicine in which
“Anand proved that newborns not only perceived pain,” Schulzke writes,
“but that they were literally dying from it.”<br />
<br />
Schulzke adds, “In one of his studies, mortality dropped from 25 to 10
percent just through using anesthesia. By the turn of the 21st century,
thanks largely to Anand, newborn anesthesia was standard.”<br />
<br />
Anand then moved on to the question of pain experienced before birth.
Not only did he find that it was a reality, Anand “argued that a fetus
or premature newborn may actually feel pain more intensely than an older
newborn,” Schulzke writes. “He asserted in 2007 congressional testimony
on fetal pain legislation that ‘a fetus at 20 to 32 weeks of gestation
would experience a much more intense pain than older infants or children
or adults’ because certain pain mechanisms are in play much earlier,
while ‘fibers which dampen and modulate the experience of pain’ are
delayed until between 32-34 weeks.”<br />
<br />
The reader is exposed to an important shift in the debate over fetal
pain. The centrality of the cortex to pain has been challenged, indeed,
one could argue, debunked by research that demonstrated children born
without a higher brain structures (‘decorticate’ patients) are capable
of experiencing pain and also other conscious behaviors.<br />
<br />
In many ways, the most instructive portion of the story is that
Schulzke explains the fork in the road over the debate about fetal pain.
He quotes Maureen Condic, a neurobiologist at the University of Utah
Medical School, who has testified before Congress on the question.<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<em>“’One camp gives a fundamentally psychological definition of pain
perception,’ she said. ‘They say that to experience pain you must have
conscious awareness. That, they argue, requires life experience to put
sensations in context.’</em><br />
<em>“On the other side are those who, like Condic, see pain mainly as a
biological reaction to trauma, one easily centered in the thalamus long
before (and long after) the cortex is involved.”</em></blockquote>
Equally important Schulzke delves into the issue of where the deniers
like Professor Stuart Derbyshire will eventually wind up. Derbyshire
wrote in a widely-cited 2006 British Medical Journal piece that<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<em>“If pain also depends on content derived from outside the brain,
then fetal pain cannot be possible, regardless of neural development.”</em></blockquote>
Schulzke draws the inevitable conclusion: “Not even a complete link
between the cortex and thalamus would thus satisfy Derbyshire, who
insists that pain requires experience only gained with time. Even a
full-term newborn fails that test.” (my emphasis)<br />
<br />
A terrific overview that addresses a ton of issues in a thorough but understandable way. Take ten minutes out and read “<a href="http://m.deseretnews.com/article/865585688/The-disputed-science-of-fetal-pain.html">The disputed science of fetal pain</a>.”<br />
<br />
<em>Reprinted with permission from <a href="http://www.nationalrighttolifenews.org/news/#.UiiSGD_3NpM"><strong>NRLC</strong></a></em><br />
<br />
<em><strong>http://www.lifesitenews.com/news/all-you-need-to-know-about-fetal-pain-in-one-story </strong></em>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5701215613992649559.post-35441917833959592352012-10-15T22:18:00.001-07:002012-10-15T22:18:18.322-07:00Girl Scouts, Sullied<table class="contentpaneopen"><tbody>
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<span class="small">Friday, 03 June 2011
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<div class="firstletter">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">A
Catholic bishop just released a warning to Catholic parents about – of
all things – the Girl Scouts. Auxiliary Bishop James Conley of Denver
praises the Girl Scouts for forming “the young person in a spirit of
service” and a “sense of duty to the wider community.” The group also
“builds character and cultivates civic pride.” </span></span></div>
<div class="firstletter">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"><br />
</span></span></div>
<div class="indent">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">But,
says Conley, “over the past year, a growing number of Catholic parents
and youth ministers have shared concern with me. Their unease involves
the Girl Scouts and especially the World Association of Girl Guides and
Girl Scouts (WAGGS).” </span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></div>
<div class="indent">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">Conley
says parents should explore the Girl Scouts and WAGGS websites and pay
attention to all the links, which will be a “sobering experience.” </span></span></div>
<div class="indent">
<br /></div>
<div class="indent">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">He
quotes one youth minister:</span></span></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<div class="indent">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">“It’s hard to imagine that a girl who
remains involved with Girl Scouts into young adulthood won’t eventually
learn of the connection her organization has with ‘pro-choice,’
pro-contraception, and ‘reproductive freedom’ groups. Having been
influenced by GSUSA, she’ll be more receptive to this agenda. And if she
was introduced to GSUSA through her parents and her local parish, then
that will inevitably create contradiction between her Catholic faith and
her Scouting experience.”</span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></div>
</blockquote>
<div class="indent">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">This
is strong language from a respected Catholic bishop, but he likely will
not be the only one stepping up to warn Catholic parents about what has
happened to the Girl Scouts. Many other bishops are now reviewing their
diocese’s connection with this once esteemed institution. </span></span></div>
<div class="indent">
<br /></div>
<div class="indent">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">Scrutiny
of the Girl Scouts increased exponentially over the past year and a
half since the group I lead, C-FAM (Catholic Family and Human Rights
Institute) reported on a Girl Scout panel held at – where else? – the
United Nations. We have watched the Girl Scouts for years as they have
participated in the annual U. N. Commission on the Status of Women, what
can only be described as a pro-abortion jamboree. </span></span></div>
<div class="indent">
<br /></div>
<div class="indent">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">Two
years ago we sent some high school students into the Girl Scout panel,<b> a
panel where parents are not allowed</b>. These wholesome young girls from a
Catholic high school in Rhode Island said the panel was “creepy,”
including <b>odd role-playing about their bodies.</b></span></span></div>
<div class="indent">
<br /></div>
<div class="indent">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">A
year ago, one of our colleagues was sufficiently concerned that she
went to the U. N. Girl Scout panel. She sat down, but was immediately
asked to leave by the Girl Scout handlers.<b> No parents allowed.</b> So she
hung around outside the locked door and when the meeting broke up she
immediately went inside. <b>What she found shocked her, a stack of
brochures called “Healthy, Hot, and Happy,” which, among other things
extols the virtues of anal sex. The brochure, produced by Planned
Parenthood</b>, is intended for adolescents with HIV/AIDS. <br />
</span></span></div>
<div class="indent" style="text-align: center;">
<img alt="" height="194" src="http://www.thecatholicthing.org/images/stories/hhh.jpg" width="259" /> <span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><strong><br />
The offending brochure</strong></span></span></div>
<div class="indent">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">What
was this material doing at a closed-door Girl Scout panel? For that,
one has to look at what has been a long time relationship between the
Girl Scouts and Planned Parenthood. </span></span></div>
<div class="indent">
<br /></div>
<div class="indent">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"><b>In
2004 a Girl Scout troop in Texas held a conference at which they
distributed sexually graphic brochures, not unlike the one at the U. N.
Girl Scout panel.</b> This caused a nationwide stink including a boycott of
Girl Scout cookies. Girl Scouts USA President Kathy Cloninger appeared
on the </span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y3BTdRb03UM" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">Today Show</span></span></a><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"> to try and calm everybody down. </span></span></span></div>
<div class="indent">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">Cloninger
actually admitted, however, that the Girl Scouts work with Planned
Parenthood: </span></span></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<div class="indent">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">“We have relationships with our church communities, with
YMCAs, and with Planned Parenthood organizations across the county, to
bring information-based sex education programs to girls.” </span></span></div>
</blockquote>
<div class="indent">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">Even
during the present crisis, the Girl Scouts have not denied or clarified
this statement. They do say the Girl Scouts does not have a <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">formal</i> relationship with Planned Parenthood. Lots of wiggle room in that word “formal.” </span></span></div>
<div class="indent">
<br /></div>
<div class="indent">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">After
the report about their panel at the United Nations and the vulgar
brochures, Girl Scout flacks in New York swung into action and offered
various justifications. They have claimed that the brochures weren’t in
the room, that someone else must have left them there, that if they were
in the room the Girl Scouts did not distribute them – and so on. </span></span></div>
<div class="indent">
<br /></div>
<div class="indent">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">A
group called the National Federation of Catholic Youth Ministries has
given cover to the Girl Scouts. This group supports and promotes
scouting among Catholic schoolgirls. But they are folks who are supposed
to be watching out for our girls. Its Executive Director, Robert
McCarty, did his own “investigation” and, no surprise, gave the Girl
Scouts a clean bill of health. What’s more, the report attacked C-FAM
for making the initial report. Did his report address the comment by
Kathy Cloninger that the Girl Scouts have a relationship with Planned
Parenthood? Or any of the evidence that Girl Scout troops actually run
programs with Planned Parenthood? Not a peep. </span></span></div>
<div class="indent">
<br /></div>
<div class="indent">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">I
suspect that at the U. N. Planned Parenthood, being quite cozy with the
Girl Scouts, said something like, “can we put these brochures in the
room for your conference” and the Girl Scout leaders told their Planned
Parenthood friends, “sure no problem,” all the while thinking that no
one was watching. </span></span></div>
<div class="indent">
<br /></div>
<div class="indent">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">But
this is only the tip of the iceberg. Many Catholic parents – and now
bishops – are waking up the fact that the Girl Scouts at the national
and international level have been taken over by the pelvic left, who are
busy trying to indoctrinate our girls with their agenda. </span></span></div>
<div class="indent">
<br /></div>
<div class="indent">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">Parents
should know that there are alternatives to the Girl Scouts. American
Heritage Girls, for instance, is quite wholesome and free of the
questionable ideology that has infiltrated Girl Scouts USA. American
Heritage Girls even signed a letter of cooperation with the Boy Scouts,
who have remained so true to their mission they are regularly attacked
by the usual crew.</span></span></div>
<div class="indent">
<br /></div>
<div class="indent">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">It
is not too late to save the Girl Scouts, but only if people inside and
outside the organization take action to stop the corruption of yet
another American institution. </span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"><b><i><br /><br />
</i></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"><b><i> </i></b></span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"><i><span class="small">By Austin Ruse </span>
</i><b><i> </i></b></span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"><i>Austin Ruse </i><i>is the President of the New York and Washinton,
D.C.-based Catholic Family & Human Rights Institute (C-FAM), a
research institute that focuses exclusively on international social
policy. The opinions expressed here are Mr. Ruse’s alone and do not necessarily reflect the policies or positions of C-FAM.
</i></span></span></span></i></span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"><i> </i></span></span></span></i><b><i> </i></b></span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b><i>
SOURCE: <a href="http://www.thecatholicthing.org/columns/2011/girl-scouts-sullied.html">http://www.thecatholicthing.org/columns/2011/girl-scouts-sullied.html</a></i></b></span><i> </i></span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"><i> </i></span></span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"><i>©2011 The Catholic Thing. </i>All rights reserved. For reprint rights, write to: </span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><a href="mailto:info@frinstitute.org"><span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"><span style="text-decoration: none;">info@frinstitute.org</span></span></span></a></span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"><i>The Catholic Thing </i>is a forum for intelligent Catholic commentary. Opinions expressed by writers are solely their own.</span></span></span></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5701215613992649559.post-59858283551694153952012-09-11T21:34:00.003-07:002012-09-11T21:34:51.977-07:00Contraception, Politics, and CultureCatholics have been energized politically since the revelation of the
religious-liberty-destroying HHS mandate forcing contraception coverage
in violation of the consciences of Catholic employers. While it is
clear to most orthodox Catholics, some Protestants, and those
well-versed in Constitutional law that the HHS mandate is abhorrent, it
is equally clear that <a href="http://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2012/09/wow-bill-oreilly-stunned-with-caroline-kennedys-rebelious-dnc-speech-against-catholic-church-doctrine-video/" target="_blank" title="O'Reilly blasts Caroline Kennedy">nominal Catholics</a>, <a href="http://www.umc.org/site/apps/nlnet/content.aspx?c=lwL4KnN1LtH&b=5066539&ct=6467671&notoc=1" target="_blank" title="UMC">other Protestants</a>, and secular society see no problem with contraception as health care.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLtnJobS2Sr6WN12bkq-QZAaSGCqTthxavnkdhjupWTdd78l3e1my1FsMuP1JYQQFzHzAYVAG7xYtmqTVjwd8yoDM2eL-PTSWaP-rbSp5P7OqNObTBD18M4mi2qqg0hAOkg5LBALC3rfo/s1600/Pope+Paul+VI+Paulaudenece1977.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLtnJobS2Sr6WN12bkq-QZAaSGCqTthxavnkdhjupWTdd78l3e1my1FsMuP1JYQQFzHzAYVAG7xYtmqTVjwd8yoDM2eL-PTSWaP-rbSp5P7OqNObTBD18M4mi2qqg0hAOkg5LBALC3rfo/s1600/Pope+Paul+VI+Paulaudenece1977.jpg" /></a></div>
<div class="wp-caption-text">
<br /></div>
</div>
There is something to be said for winning small battles, and for
winning political battles, and I certainly don’t want Catholics or the
Bishops to let up their pressure on the Obama administration for forcing
its mandate on us. I think it is shortsighted, though, to see the
endgame as simply overturning the mandate; similarly, I don’t think it
suffices to express our dissent from the mandate as simply because “it
violates our first amendment rights.” A huge proportion of the
population not only doesn’t see anything wrong with contraception, but
considers it a great good for society. I imagine most of these people
think it is just as odd for Catholics to be against contraception as it
is for the Amish to be against electricity. Therefore, we need to not
only explain why we are against the contraception mandate, but why we
are against contraception itself (which T&C bloggers have done many
times; some examples are <a href="http://truthandcharity.net/contraception-and-the-church-one-pill-two-pill-red-pill-blue-pill/" target="_blank">here</a>, <a href="http://truthandcharity.net/contraception-its-complicated/" target="_blank">here</a>, and <a href="http://truthandcharity.net/contra-contraception/" target="_blank">here</a>).<br />
<br />
In discussions among faithful Catholics about contraception, the
point usually gets made that we do not hear enough about the evils of
contraception from the pulpit. Not being a priest myself, I can only
speculate on why this might be: 1) some priests do not know (I can’t
imagine) or 2) do not agree with the Church’s teaching, continuing the
“tradition” of dissent from <a href="http://www.ewtn.com/library/encyc/p6humana.htm" target="_blank" title="EWTN Humanae Vitae">Humanae Vitae</a>,
but the most likely reason seems to be that 3) priests do not want to
alienate their flock, the vast majority of whom (they assume) buy into
the secular mindset that contraception is kosher.<br />
Why would priests assume this? Well, again, in discussions among
faithful Catholics about contraception, the point also usually gets made
that “90% of Catholics contracept.” It isn’t clear where this high
percentage comes from, but our priests deserve to know about recent
polls that refute it. <a href="http://truthandcharity.net/98-of-catholics-not-a-chance/" target="_blank" title="50% use NFP">Matt mentioned one a while ago</a>, and <a href="http://www.catholicvote.org/discuss/index.php?p=35520" target="_blank" title="The Truth About Catholic Women and Contraception">Emily at CatholicVote mentioned another last week</a>:<br />
<blockquote>
The data confirms that most Catholic women do not fully
support the Church’s teachings on contraception and natural family
planning. <strong>However, Catholic women who regularly participate in the Church’s sacramental life</strong> (Mass and Confession) <strong>agree</strong> with the teachings on contraception and family planning <strong>in significantly higher numbers</strong>
than women overall. Moreover, many Catholic women express partial
agreement with these teachings and show encouraging receptivity to
learning more about them. This receptivity offers the Church a
previously unrealized opportunity to communicate those teachings more
persuasively and effectively… </blockquote>
<blockquote>
Our data suggests that the Church might do well to focus pastoral
outreach on the “soft middle,” women who neither embrace the Church’s
teaching on contraception, nor reject it out of hand. A strong plurality
(44%) of church-going women express a nuanced view of Church teachings,
saying they accept “parts” but “not all” of the teaching on
contraception. These women embrace their faith (90% overall say their
Catholic faith is an important part of daily life) and few show hardened
opposition to the Church’s authority (just 18% say their partial
rejection of the Church’s teaching is because they do not accept the
Church’s moral authority on these issues). </blockquote>
<blockquote>
Fifty-three percent of weekly Mass-goers who accept parts but not all
of Church teaching indicate some openness to learning more about the
Church teachings on contraception. And two-thirds (67%) of these
receptive women are already connected in some way to parish life. In
short, they are reachable, given the right message and approach. The
most persuasive messages may be more practical and benefits-oriented
than spiritual or authoritative. Women show interest in hearing
testimonies from other couples on the health and relationship benefits
of natural family planning (23%) and natural family planning’s
effectiveness (22%). They also indicate interest in a doctor’s
recommendation of natural family planning and its effectiveness (23%)
and studies that show natural family planning is highly effective (22%).</blockquote>
The research doesn’t paint the rosiest of pictures; Catholics have
not been immune from the sexual licentiousness our culture has been bent
on promoting for the past half-century. But I think the following
conclusions can certainly be made:<br />
<ol>
<li><strong>If priests do not talk to their congregations about contraception, the culture will.</strong>
I can’t imagine another issue of Church teaching where priests would
defer to the majority opinion on the matter. The culture doesn’t seem
too keen on accepting that Jesus is really present in the Eucharist or
that he was God as well as man, but no priest would back down on these
teachings. While every priest would promote <a href="http://www.vatican.va/archive/ccc_css/archive/catechism/p3s2c2a8.htm" target="_blank" title="You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor">the eighth commandment</a>, what is contraception if not lying with one’s body?</li>
<li><strong>The people in the pews every week are a much more sympathetic audience than priests may think.</strong>
Even if a large proportion of Catholics use contraception (which is
disputed), the proportion falls dramatically when you look at regular
Mass attendees. And even among those who don’t fully agree with the
Church’s teaching, many are open to hearing more.</li>
<li><strong>Educating the parish is <em>not</em> just the priests’ job.</strong>
The laity, who may have more medical knowledge or practical experience
with NFP and the side-effects of contraception, need to step up as
educators, mentors, and friends for those who struggle with the Church’s
teaching or with using Natural Family Planning.</li>
</ol>
So be emboldened, priest-readers of T&C. Many in the pews <em>agree</em> with the Church’s teaching on contraception, many<em> want</em> to
hear more about the Church’s teaching on contraception, and very few
adamantly disagree with it. Don’t be concerned that some may think <a href="http://www.usccb.org/bible/john/6" target="_blank" title="John 6:68">“this saying is hard; who can accept it?”</a> When you preach on this subject, you will be preaching to the choir but the choir will thank you for it.<br />
<br />
<div class="post_info">
Posted by <a href="http://truthandcharity.net/author/tshaughn/" rel="author" title="Posts by Tim Shaughnessy">Tim Shaughnessy</a> on Sep 10, 2012 in <a href="http://truthandcharity.net/category/4culture/">The Faith</a></div>
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<a href="http://truthandcharity.net/contraception-politics-and-culture/">Truth and Charity </a> </div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5701215613992649559.post-64537414182419721502012-09-10T13:03:00.002-07:002012-09-10T13:03:32.426-07:00Abortion Laws for Teens by State<div style="text-align: center;">
<span class="commentBody" data-jsid="text">Here is a list of abortion
standards, state by state.</span><span class="commentBody" data-jsid="text"><a href="http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fparentingteens.about.com%2Fod%2Fteenpregfact%2Fa%2Fabortion_laws.htm&h=eAQFvH-YPAQE0ydoBRisDAEff5qieTTeGBtJ76KSJWlLr0A&s=1" rel="nofollow nofollow" target="_blank"></a></span></div>
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<span><strong><a href="http://parentingteens.about.com/od/teenpregfact/a/abortion_laws.htm" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Abortion Laws for Teens by State</a></strong></span></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5701215613992649559.post-69167597763757520222012-04-25T08:03:00.000-07:002012-04-25T08:03:35.700-07:00A Picture is Worth 1000 Words<h6 class="uiStreamMessage" data-ft="{"type":1}">
<span class="messageBody" data-ft="{"type":3}"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: small; font-weight: normal;">"I
know a former pro-choice nurse who was converted to a pro-life position
after seeing premature babies being frantically saved by a medical team
in one room, while down the hall, babies the same age were being
aborted."</span><br /> <br /> <span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-weight: normal;">~Randy Alcorn</span></span></span></h6>
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<span class="messageBody" data-ft="{"type":3}"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-weight: normal;"> </span></span></span></h6>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5701215613992649559.post-36569054720835034902012-04-14T01:24:00.001-07:002012-04-14T01:25:18.286-07:00Aborted Human Fetal Tissue Used By PepsiCo, Kraft, and NestleThe Obama Administration has given its blessing to PepsiCo to continue utilizing the services of a company that produces flavor chemicals for the beverage giant using aborted human fetal tissue. <i>LifeSiteNews.com</i> reports that the Obama <i>Security and Exchange Commission</i> (SEC) has decided that PepsiCo's arrangement with San Diego, Cal.-based Senomyx, which produces flavor enhancing chemicals for Pepsi using human embryonic kidney tissue, simply constitutes "ordinary business operations."<br />
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The issue began in 2011 when the non-profit group <i>Children of God for Life</i> (CGL) first broke the news about Pepsi's alliance with Senomyx, which led to massive outcry and a worldwide boycott of Pepsi products. At that time, it was revealed that Pepsi had many other options at its disposal to produce flavor chemicals, which is what its competitors do, but had instead chosen to continue using aborted fetal cells -- or as Senomyx deceptively puts it, "isolated human taste receptors" <br />
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A few months later, Pepsi' shareholders filed a resolution petitioning the company to "adopt a corporate policy that recognizes human rights and employs ethical standards which do not involve using the remains of aborted human beings in both private and collaborative research and development agreements." But the Obama Administration shut down this 36-page proposal, deciding instead that Pepsi's used of aborted babies to flavor its beverage products is just business as usual, and not a significant concern.<br />
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"We're not talking about what kind of pencils PepsiCo wants to use -- we are talking about exploiting the remains of an aborted child for profit," said Debi Vinnedge, Executive Director of CGL, concerning the SEC decision. "Using human embryonic kidney (HEK-293) to produce flavor enhancers for their beverages is a far cry from routine operations!"<br />
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To be clear, the aborted fetal tissue used to make Pepsi's flavor chemicals does not end up in the final product sold to customers, according to reports -- it is used, instead, to evaluate how actual human taste receptors respond to these chemical flavorings. But the fact that Pepsi uses them at all when viable, non-human alternatives are available illustrates the company's blatant disregard for ethical and moral concerns in the matter.<br />
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Back in January, Oklahoma Senator Ralph Shortey proposed legislation to ban the production of aborted fetal cell-derived flavor chemicals in his home state. If passed, S.B. 1418 would also reportedly ban the sale of any products that contain flavor chemicals derived from human fetal tissue, which includes Pepsi products as well as products produced by Kraft and Nestle<br />
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(<a href="http://www.naturalnews.com/034777_Pepsi_aborted_fetus_cells_soda_flavoring.html" target="_blank">http://www.naturalnews.com</a>).<br />
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Learn more: <a href="http://www.naturalnews.com/035276_Pepsi_fetal_cells_business_operations.html#ixzz1s07TanhM" style="color: #003399;">http://www.naturalnews.com/035276_Pepsi_fetal_cells_business_operations.html#ixzz1s07TanhM</a></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5701215613992649559.post-49032649392335817482012-03-15T10:12:00.002-07:002012-03-15T10:12:25.460-07:00First Lawsuit From Business Owner Challenges Obama HHS Mandate<em class="date">by Steven Ertelt | Washington, DC | LifeNews.com | 3/15/12 12:02 PM</em><br />
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<em class="date"></em>A first-of-a-kind federal lawsuit has been filed against the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) on behalf of a business owner who contends the HHS contraceptive mandate violates his constitutionally-protected religious beliefs.<br />
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While most of the attention on the controversial new mandate has been focused on religious groups who are opposed to the Obama mandate forcing them to pay for birth control and drugs that may cause abortions for their employees, this new lawsuit brings attention to religious employers who are not running church or church-related organizations.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.lifenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/judgepic7.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" class="alignleft size-full wp-image-19432" height="200" src="http://www.lifenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/judgepic7.jpg" title="judgepic7" width="200" /></a>The American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ), a pro-life legal organization that focuses on constitutional law, file the lawsuit on behalf of the Missouri employer. The lawsuit also requests that the court issue a permanent injunction prohibiting the HHS from requiring those who have religious objections to abide by the mandate, which requires employers to purchase health insurance for their employees that includes coverage for contraceptives, sterilization, and abortion-inducing drugs.<br />
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The ACLJ represents Frank R. O’Brien and O’Brien Industrial Holdings, LLC (OIH) – a holding company based in St. Louis, Missouri. O’Brien is chairman of OIH which operates a number of businesses that explore, mine, and process refractory and ceramic raw materials, with its products going to more than 40 countries.<br />
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The lawsuit marks the first legal challenge to the HHS mandate from a private business owner and his company. Until now, only religious organizations or institutions have brought lawsuits challenging the mandate.<br />
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“The HHS mandate would require business people like our client to leave their religious beliefs at home every day as a condition of doing business in our society,” said Francis J. Manion, Senior Counsel of the ACLJ who is representing O’Brien. “The HHS mandate tells people like Frank O’Brien that they have to choose between conducting their business in a manner consistent with their moral values, or conducting their business in a manner consistent with the government’s values. The constitution does not allow the government to impose such a choice.”<br />
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O’Brien, a Catholic, says his religious beliefs provide the framework for the operation of his businesses, which employ 87 people. The company website states the OIH mission “is to make our labor a pleasing offering to the Lord while enriching our families and society.” OIH’s statement of the company’s values begins with the following: “Integrity. Our conduct is guided by the Golden Rule and the Ten Commandments. We will not discriminate based on anyone’s personal belief system.”<br />
O’Brien also has implemented a variety of company-participating programs to assist employees in purchasing homes, saving for the college education of their children, and being able to retire.<br />
The lawsuit contends that the HHS mandate “imposes a substantial burden on Plaintiffs’ free exercise of religion by coercing Plaintiffs to choose between conducting their business in accordance with their religious beliefs or paying substantial penalties to the government.”<br />
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Manion rejects criticism that opposition to the mandate somehow prohibits others from obtaining insurance coverage they desire.<br />
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“O’Brien and other people of faith aren’t looking to stand in the way of anybody’s access to anything,” said Manion. “They just don’t want the government forcing them to pay for services that go against their sincerely-held beliefs. The State of Missouri has its own ‘contraceptives mandate,’ but, unlike the Obama Administration’s Department of HHS, Missouri respects and protects those employers, like Frank O’Brien, with religious objections. There is no good reason why the federal government couldn’t — and shouldn’t – do the same. The Constitution, in fact, demands nothing less.”<br />
<br />
<div>The lawsuit, posted <a href="http://c0391070.cdn2.cloudfiles.rackspacecloud.com/pdf/aclj-complaint-obrien-v-hhs-obama-abortion-pill-mandate.pdf" title="http://c0391070.cdn2.cloudfiles.rackspacecloud.com/pdf/aclj-complaint-obrien-v-hhs-obama-abortion-pill-mandate.pdf<br />
CTRL + Click to follow link">here</a>, asks the court to declare that the HHS mandate violates the First Amendment, the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, and the Administrative Procedure Act. The suit also requests the court to issue a permanent injunction to halt implementation of the HHS mandate for those who have religious objections.</div><div> </div><div>The lawsuit names as defendants, the Department of Health and Human Services and Secretary Sebelius; the Department of the Treasury and Secretary Geithner; and the Department of Labor and Secretary Solis. The ACLJ is being assisted in this lawsuit by the Fidelis Center for Law and Policy, a Chicago-based educational and advocacy group.</div><div> </div><div>Polling data shows Americans are <a href="http://www.lifenews.com/2012/03/13/americans-strongly-oppose-obama-mandate-new-poll-shows/">strongly opposed</a> to the Obama mandate. <a href="http://www.lifenews.com/2012/03/15/2012/02/22/poll-americans-oppose-obama-birth-control-coverage-mandate/">A February Rasmussen Reports</a> national telephone <a href="http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/questions/pt_survey_questions/February_2012/questions_morning_after_pill_february_20_21_2012">survey</a>finds 38 percent of likely voters think health insurance companies should be required by law to cover the morning after pill without co-payments or other charges to the patient. But 50 percent of Americans disagree and oppose this requirement while 13 percent are undecided.</div><div> </div><div>Also in February, <a href="http://www.lifenews.com/2012/03/15/2012/02/16/cnn-americans-oppose-obama-hhs-mandate-50-44-percent/">a CNN survey</a> indicated half of Americans oppose the new mandate pro-abortion President Barack Obama put in place that requires religious employers to pay for birth control or drugs that can cause abortions.</div><div> </div><div> The new Obama mandate that requires religious groups to pay for birth control and drugs that may cause abortions for their employees could result in fines as much as $<a href="http://www.lifenews.com/2012/03/15/2012/03/13/2012/03/12/2012/03/06/obama-mandate-could-fine-religious-groups-2000-per-employee/">2,000 per employee</a> or $100 each day if they refuse to comply.<br />
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Despite a vote in the Senate <a href="http://www.lifenews.com/2012/03/15/2012/03/13/2012/03/12/2012/03/07/2012/03/02/2012/03/01/senate-defeats-blunt-amendment-to-stop-obama-hhs-mandate/">against overturning it</a>, nation’s Catholic bishops and leading pro-life groups <a href="http://www.lifenews.com/2012/03/15/2012/03/13/2012/03/12/2012/03/07/2012/03/02/bishops-pro-lifers-vow-to-continue-fighting-obama-mandate/">vow to continue fighting</a> the Obama mandate that forces religious employers to pay for birth control and drugs that may cause abortion.<br />
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The mandate has already become the subject of <a href="http://www.lifenews.com/2012/03/15/2012/03/13/2012/03/12/2012/03/07/2012/03/02/2012/03/02/2012/03/01/2012/02/29/2012/02/28/2012/02/21/ave-maria-university-sues-obama-admin-over-hhs-mandate/">several lawsuits</a>.<br />
<br />
<strong><em><a href="http://petitionwire.blugap.com/petitions/22">Tell Obama: Stop This Pro-Abortion Mandate</a></em></strong><br />
Meanwhile, more than a dozen state attorneys general have signed onto a joint letter Nebraska Attorney General Jon Bruning <a href="http://www.lifenews.com/2012/03/15/2012/03/13/2012/03/12/2012/03/07/2012/03/02/2012/03/02/2012/03/01/2012/02/29/2012/02/28/2012/02/21/2012/02/21/2012/02/20/2012/02/08/attorney-generals-coordinate-lawsuit-against-obama-mandate/">started coordinating </a> against the controversial Obama mandate requiring religious employers to cover birth control and drugs that can cause abortions<br />
Bruning has contacted each of his colleagues in 49 states and has already been joined by a dozen, including South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson and Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott. Together, the three lawmakers have co-signed a letter to Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebilius, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, and Labor Secretary Hilda Solis over the Obama mandate.<br />
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Also, the largest Catholic pro-life group and Catholic television station have filed suit against the <a href="http://www.lifenews.com/2012/03/15/2012/03/13/2012/03/12/2012/03/07/2012/03/02/2012/03/02/2012/03/01/2012/02/29/2012/02/28/2012/02/21/2012/02/21/2012/02/20/2012/02/09/obama-promotes-controversial-mandate-to-democrats-some-balk/">new Obama mandate</a> that forces religious employers like them to pay for birth control and abortion-causing drugs in employee health insurance. The EWTN Global Catholic Network filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Birmingham, Alabama against the Department of Health & Human Services, HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, and other government agencies seeking to stop the imposition of the anti-conscience mandate as well as asking the court for a declaratory judgment that the mandate is unconstitutional.<br />
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Priests for Life, a New York based international pro-life organization of Catholic clergy and laity, filed a lawsuit against the Obama Administration in an effort to seek injunctive relief from impending regulations that would require the organization to pay for employee health insurance that covers abortion-inducing drugs, contraception, and sterilization.<br />
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<a href="http://www.lifenews.com/2012/03/15/2012/03/13/2012/03/12/2012/03/07/2012/03/02/2012/03/02/2012/03/01/2012/02/29/2012/02/28/2012/02/21/2012/02/21/2012/02/17/obama-admin-wants-lawsuit-dismissed-against-hhs-mandate/">The Obama administration asked a federal court</a> to dismiss yet another lawsuit filed against the Obama administration over its mandate.<br />
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This was its first opportunity to explain to the court and the country why the mandate is not illegal and unconstitutional. The Obama administration did not defend the constitutionality of the mandate, but said the lawsuit should be thrown out because the administration plans to revise the mandate to make it on insurance companies to pay for coverage rather than employers, who will still have to make referrals.<br />
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“Plaintiff’s challenge to the preventive services coverage regulations is not fit for judicial review because defendants [Obama and Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius] have indicated that they will propose and finalize changes to the regulations that are intended to accommodate plaintiff’s religious objections to providing contraception coverage,” the Department of Justice (DOJ) wrote in its brief to the Washington, D.C. District Court.<br />
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Obama officials claim the mandate does not put forth any “immediate injury” to religious groups.<br />
Luke Goodrich, Deputy General Counsel of the Becket Fund, which filed the lawsuit on behalf of Belmont Abbey College, a Catholic university, says he thinks the Obama administrations argument will not stand up in court.<br />
“It doesn’t argue that the mandate is legal; it doesn’t argue that the mandate is constitutional,” Goodrich said. “Instead, it begs the court to ignore the lawsuit because the government plans to change the mandate at some unspecified date in the future.”<br />
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“Apparently, the administration has decided that the mandate, as written and finalized, is constitutionally indefensible,” said Hannah Smith, senior counsel at The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty “Its only hope is to ask the court to look the other way based on an empty promise to possibly change the rules in the future.”<br />
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The panel that put together the mandate <a href="http://www.lifenews.com/2012/03/15/2012/03/13/2012/03/12/2012/03/07/2012/03/02/2012/03/02/2012/03/01/2012/02/29/2012/02/28/2012/02/21/2012/02/21/2012/02/20/2012/02/17/2012/02/16/panel-behind-obama-mandate-dominated-by-pro-abortion-orgs/">has been condemned</a> for only having pro-abortion members even though <a href="http://www.lifenews.com/2012/03/15/2012/03/13/2012/03/12/2012/03/07/2012/03/02/2012/03/02/2012/03/01/2012/02/29/2012/02/28/2012/02/21/2012/02/21/2012/02/20/2012/02/17/2012/02/16/cnn-americans-oppose-obama-hhs-mandate-50-44-percent/">polling shows Americans are opposed to the mandate</a>.<br />
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More than <a href="http://www.lifenews.com/2012/03/15/2012/03/13/2012/03/12/2012/03/07/2012/03/02/2012/03/02/2012/03/01/2012/02/29/2012/02/28/2012/02/21/2012/02/21/2012/02/20/2012/02/17/2012/02/17/2012/02/16/2012/02/15/fifty-members-of-congress-hold-press-event-on-obama-mandate/">50 members</a> of Congress banded together <a href="http://www.lifenews.com/2012/03/15/2012/03/13/2012/03/12/2012/03/07/2012/03/02/2012/03/02/2012/03/01/2012/02/29/2012/02/28/2012/02/21/2012/02/21/2012/02/20/2012/02/17/2012/02/17/2012/02/15/members-of-congress-demand-bill-to-stop-obamas-mandate/">at a press conference</a> to demand legislation to stop the new mandate <a href="http://www.lifenews.com/2012/03/15/2012/03/13/2012/03/12/2012/03/07/2012/03/02/2012/03/02/2012/03/01/2012/02/29/2012/02/28/2012/02/21/2012/02/21/2012/02/20/2012/02/17/2012/02/17/2012/02/16/2012/02/15/2010/11/07/obamaabortionrecord">pro-abortion President Barack Obama</a> put in place forcing religious employers to pay for insurance coverage including birth control and abortion-inducing drugs.<br />
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Congressman Jeff Fortenberry held a press conference with supporters of the bipartisan, bicameral Respect for Rights of Conscience Act. His legislation would protect the religious liberty and conscience rights of every American who objects to being forced by the strong-arm of government to pay for drugs and procedures recently mandated by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).<br />
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The Fortenberry bill currently has the support of approximately 220 Members of Congress and Senators, the most strongly-supported legislative remedy to the controversial HHS mandate. This measure would repeal the controversial mandate, amending the 2010 health care law to preserve conscience rights for religious institutions, health care providers, and small businesses who pay for health care coverage.<br />
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H.R. 1179 enjoys the endorsements of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, National Right to Life Committee, Americans United for Life, and other organizations. Numerous other organizations, including the Christian Medical Association and Family Research Council, have urged support of the bill.<br />
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Sen. Roy Blunt, a pro-life Missouri Republican, is putting forward the Blunt Amendment, #1520, again, and it is termed the Respect for Rights of Conscience Act. According to information provided to LifeNews from pro-life sources on Capitol Hill, the Blunt Amendment will be the first amendment voted on when the Senate returns to the transportation bill. The amendment would allow employers to decline coverage of services in conflict with religious beliefs.<br />
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Republicans are moving swiftly with legislation, amendments, and potential hearings on <a href="http://www.lifenews.com/2012/03/15/2012/03/13/2012/03/12/2012/03/07/2012/03/02/2012/03/02/2012/03/01/2012/02/29/2012/02/28/2012/02/21/2012/02/21/2012/02/20/2012/02/17/2012/02/17/2012/02/16/2012/02/15/2012/02/15/2012/02/10/obama-revises-mandate-free-abortion-causing-drugs-for-women/">the mandate</a>the Obama administration has put in place that forces religious employers to pay for birth control and abortion-inducing drugs for their employees.<br />
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The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops <a href="http://www.lifenews.com/2012/03/15/2012/03/13/2012/03/12/2012/03/07/2012/03/02/2012/03/02/2012/03/01/2012/02/29/2012/02/28/2012/02/21/2012/02/21/2012/02/20/2012/02/17/2012/02/17/2012/02/16/2012/02/15/2012/02/15/2012/02/13/2012/02/11/catholic-bishops-obama-rescind-your-pro-abortion-mandate/">issued a statement</a> saying Obama’s revised mandate involves “needless government intrusion in the internal governance of religious institutions” and it urged Congress to overturn the rule and promised a potential lawsuit.<br />
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Meanwhile, the Republican presidential candidates had been taking verbal swings at Obama for imposing the original mandate on religious employers, which is <a href="http://www.lifenews.com/2012/03/15/2012/03/13/2012/03/12/2012/03/07/2012/03/02/2012/03/02/2012/03/01/2012/02/29/2012/02/28/2012/02/21/2012/02/21/2012/02/20/2012/02/17/2012/02/17/2012/02/16/2012/02/15/2012/02/15/2012/02/13/2012/02/13/2012/02/10/2012/02/10/2012/02/08/poll-majority-of-americans-oppose-new-obama-hhs-mandate/">not popular in the latest public opinion poll</a> and which even <a href="http://www.lifenews.com/2012/03/15/2012/03/13/2012/03/12/2012/03/07/2012/03/02/2012/03/02/2012/03/01/2012/02/29/2012/02/28/2012/02/21/2012/02/21/2012/02/20/2012/02/17/2012/02/17/2012/02/16/2012/02/15/2012/02/15/2012/02/13/2012/02/13/2012/02/10/2012/02/10/2012/02/09/obama-promotes-controversial-mandate-to-democrats-some-balk/">some Democrats oppose</a>.<br />
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Congressman Steve Scalise <a href="http://www.lifenews.com/2012/03/15/2012/03/13/2012/03/12/2012/03/07/2012/03/02/2012/03/02/2012/03/01/2012/02/29/2012/02/28/2012/02/21/2012/02/21/2012/02/20/2012/02/17/2012/02/17/2012/02/16/2012/02/15/2012/02/15/2012/02/13/2012/02/13/2012/02/10/2012/02/10/2012/02/09/2012/02/09/2012/02/08/2012/02/08/2012/02/07/154-members-of-congress-object-to-pro-abortion-obama-mandate/">has led</a> a bipartisan letter with 154 co-signers calling on <a href="http://www.lifenews.com/2012/03/15/2012/03/13/2012/03/12/2012/03/07/2012/03/02/2012/03/02/2012/03/01/2012/02/29/2012/02/28/2012/02/21/2012/02/21/2012/02/20/2012/02/17/2012/02/17/2012/02/16/2012/02/15/2012/02/15/2012/02/13/2012/02/13/2012/02/10/2012/02/10/2012/02/09/2012/02/09/2012/02/08/2012/02/08/2012/02/07/2010/11/07/obamaabortionrecord">the Obama Administration</a> to reverse its <a href="http://www.lifenews.com/2012/03/15/2012/03/13/2012/03/12/2012/03/07/2012/03/02/2012/03/02/2012/03/01/2012/02/29/2012/02/28/2012/02/21/2012/02/21/2012/02/20/2012/02/17/2012/02/17/2012/02/16/2012/02/15/2012/02/15/2012/02/13/2012/02/13/2012/02/10/2012/02/10/2012/02/09/2012/02/09/2012/02/08/2012/02/08/2012/02/07/2012/01/22/obama-administrations-obamacare-birth-control-mandate-panned/">mandate</a> forcing religious organizations to include drugs that can cause abortion and birth control in the health care plans of their employees.<br />
<br />
The original mandate was so egregious that even the normally reliably liberal and pro-abortion USA Today <a href="http://www.usatoday.com/news/opinion/editorials/story/2012-02-05/contraception-mandate-religious-freedom/52975796/1">condemned it</a> in an editorial titled, “Contraception mandate violates religious freedom.”<br />
The administration <a href="http://www.lifenews.com/2012/03/15/2012/03/13/2012/03/12/2012/03/07/2012/03/02/2012/03/02/2012/03/01/2012/02/29/2012/02/28/2012/02/21/2012/02/21/2012/02/20/2012/02/17/2012/02/17/2012/02/16/2012/02/15/2012/02/15/2012/02/13/2012/02/13/2012/02/10/2012/02/10/2012/02/09/2012/02/09/2012/02/08/2012/02/08/2012/02/07/2012/02/07/2012/02/06/2012/02/01/2011/12/22/2011/08/01/obama-admin-will-force-coverage-of-birth-control-abortion-drugs/">initially approved</a> a recommendation from the Institute of Medicine suggesting that it force insurance companies to pay for birth control and drugs that can cause abortions under the Obamacare government-run health care program.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.lifenews.com/2012/03/15/2012/03/13/2012/03/12/2012/03/07/2012/03/02/2012/03/02/2012/03/01/2012/02/29/2012/02/28/2012/02/21/2012/02/21/2012/02/20/2012/02/17/2012/02/17/2012/02/16/2012/02/15/2012/02/15/2012/02/13/2012/02/13/2012/02/10/2012/02/10/2012/02/09/2012/02/09/2012/02/08/2012/02/08/2012/02/07/2012/02/07/2012/02/06/2012/02/01/2011/12/22/2011/10/21/2011/07/19/board-obamacare-should-force-coverage-of-birth-control-abortion-drugs/">The IOM recommendation</a>, opposed by pro-life groups, called for the Obama administration to require insurance programs to include birth control — such as the morning after pill or the <a href="http://www.lifenews.com/2012/03/15/2012/03/13/2012/03/12/2012/03/07/2012/03/02/2012/03/02/2012/03/01/2012/02/29/2012/02/28/2012/02/21/2012/02/21/2012/02/20/2012/02/17/2012/02/17/2012/02/16/2012/02/15/2012/02/15/2012/02/13/2012/02/13/2012/02/10/2012/02/10/2012/02/09/2012/02/09/2012/02/08/2012/02/08/2012/02/07/2012/02/07/2012/02/06/2012/02/01/2011/12/22/2011/10/21/2011/08/01/2011/03/24/one-year-later-abortion-funding-in-obamacare-still-a-concern/">ella drug</a> that causes an abortion days after conception — in the section of drugs and services insurance plans must cover under “preventative care.” The companies will likely pass the added costs on to consumers, requiring them to pay for birth control and, in some instances, drug-induced abortions of unborn children in their earliest days.<br />
<br />
The HHS accepted the IOM guidelines that “require new health insurance plans to cover women’s preventive services” and those services include “FDA-approved contraception methods and contraceptive counseling” — which include birth control drugs like Plan B and ella that can cause abortions. The Health and Human Services Department commissioned the report from the Institute, which advises the federal government and <a href="http://www.lifenews.com/2012/03/15/2012/03/13/2012/03/12/2012/03/07/2012/03/02/2012/03/02/2012/03/01/2012/02/29/2012/02/28/2012/02/21/2012/02/21/2012/02/20/2012/02/17/2012/02/17/2012/02/16/2012/02/15/2012/02/15/2012/02/13/2012/02/13/2012/02/10/2012/02/10/2012/02/09/2012/02/09/2012/02/08/2012/02/08/2012/02/07/2012/02/07/2012/02/06/2012/02/01/2011/12/22/2011/10/21/2011/08/01/2011/01/12/pro-life-groups-shut-out-again-from-urging-no-abortion-in-obamacare/">shut out pro-life groups </a>in meetings leading up to the recommendations.<br />
<br />
<b>SOURCE</b>:<br />
<a href="http://www.lifenews.com/2012/03/15/first-lawsuit-from-business-owner-challenges-obama-hhs-mandate/">http://www.lifenews.com/2012/03/15/first-lawsuit-from-business-owner-challenges-obama-hhs-mandate/ </a><br />
<br />
</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5701215613992649559.post-89987450457571053402012-02-28T11:00:00.001-08:002012-02-28T11:05:20.803-08:00Doctor Reminds Crowd Contraceptives Pose Real Medical Dangers<div style="border-bottom-style: dotted; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-left-color: rgb(102, 51, 102); border-right-color: rgb(102, 51, 102); border-top-color: rgb(102, 51, 102); color: #330033; font-family: Trebuchet MS, Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"><b> </b><br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b><a href="http://www.hliamerica.org/truth-and-charity-forum/doctor-reminds-crowd-contraceptives-pose-real-medical-dangers/#video?utm_source=2.21.12+-+HLIA+-+Newsletter+-+Doctor+Reminds+Crowd+Contraceptives+Pose+Real+Medi&utm_campaign=HLIA+Newsletter+Feb28&utm_medium=email">National Director Column</a> </b></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b>February 28, 2012 </b><br />
<i><b>also see: <a href="http://usccbmedia.blogspot.com/2012/02/six-more-things-everyone-should-know.html%20">6 More Things Everyone Should Know About the HHS Mandate </a></b></i><br />
<b><i>from USCCBlog</i></b></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b><br />
</b></div></div><span style="color: black; font-family: Palatino Linotype,Book Antiqua,Palatino,Times New Roman,Times,serif;"> </span><br />
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<tr><td class="yiv1689687956imgCaptionImg" colspan="1" rowspan="1" style="text-align: center;" width="130"><img alt="Arland Nichols HS sm" border="0" height="149" hspace="5" name="ACCOUNT.IMAGE.126" src="http://ih.constantcontact.com/fs006/1102788387271/img/126.jpg" vspace="5" width="120" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="yiv1689687956imgCaptionText" colspan="1" rowspan="1" style="color: #666666; font-family: Palatino Linotype, Book Antiqua, Palatino, Times New Roman, Times, serif; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-align: center;">Arland K. Nichols</td></tr>
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<div><span style="color: black; font-family: Palatino Linotype,Book Antiqua,Palatino,Times New Roman,Times,serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><b><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Dear Friends of Life and Family</span>, </b></span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Palatino Linotype,Book Antiqua,Palatino,Times New Roman,Times,serif;"> </span></div><span style="color: black; font-family: Palatino Linotype,Book Antiqua,Palatino,Times New Roman,Times,serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Palatino Linotype,Book Antiqua,Palatino,Times New Roman,Times,serif; font-size: 12pt;">Not only should Americans be aware of the attack on religious liberty by the Obama administration through the implementation of the HHS contraception mandate, the mandate also <a href="http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1109402135763&s=27890&e=001MxWUsLZzD_hyKsgzyfaHWbtKpT0ngKMdUgE8r_UiZoiTvdC44DPklWYa8jGhD7OigbmJFp1BW56aNNfMRGzDwW4IUKR-w9FPZ4sS0nZjOgYW9H6HVTJ5VNZ1S_mXVRV8wvyGIICp2usy95RkIJImpVmy8ooG5ZhRN8Q_FwL40N69_qvcDj23GgmOjTpm3fLG0yOwqG0yEl-bNgugbH1sqmWUJ-DiaOHhPto992M-HFWhhPbau3Y6W3dDKWs4us-Z0qD17TeHpbntpLXWfthnCH50aAGvIF0aRzmEtkBIdkhx3uH1xMD-4VDPJO3x36PIhQ9-Ztq8ex4w_p3fNUa_yCsVXPo3wY5s8XXEtDbJRP7mrjQkrOZSW_vKaiQCniQ2f7OuWhii00zuMZ6LTpm5xuuHikATjXjgjkJT_LdguCq25V0vJ_8dPFEzW7h3yDYxjxpg9Np57t0kitHAE8h1ifZzuyMOKDj_ouYgbDCSlKI=" rel="nofollow" shape="rect" style="color: blue; text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank">attacks women's health</a> by spreading disinformation about the risks associated with contraception use.</span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Palatino Linotype,Book Antiqua,Palatino,Times New Roman,Times,serif; font-size: 12pt;"><br />
</span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Palatino Linotype,Book Antiqua,Palatino,Times New Roman,Times,serif; font-size: 12pt;">The Institute of Medicine (IOM) recommendation adopted by HHS makes the claim that for women who use contraception "side effects are generally considered minimal." A sweeping statement such as this warrants detailed argumentation and support; instead, the citation for this statement constitutes three "educational pamphlets" from the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) and one other dated study. The public was repeatedly assured that the IOM report was an "exhaustive review of the scientific evidence." Yet one of the primary cruxes of the committee's argument -- and one which directly impacts the health of millions of American women -- is sustained by educational pamphlets (<a href="http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1109402135763&s=27890&e=001MxWUsLZzD_i18MsMk2Y0KhWjZ5z46nya8f5UgrHhUsYSvcrJ3vUW4UI9a116UDGJi-jb8bmYeweNG0HZcDcqQs94DWB4SUrNA2CvCVasofyOKED3JdVZY_RwzDfrujkXfyFZIOetM8l8w21D9SNqE5rJMCZ_q5yuUemAsaq3IbwGSg2cKFiKVnzgtBI9y9u1XMLOkcplwNm6NNPpM7OZjIgmq8yHfxJUr7N2APwV-PRMdVh-e1Op8RbQ4Qadf5XNm_5AU04aNL-aRXD4yGWD6-eY6xMIyYQudHdK5wurzBnKNjCfo4WmuwojGIbqRpFEnG3zT7iIAQXyDnhTUmrTcIfTcNYrcJvNyAkJCOFNxGVbt6oXzbgIrXwltL6QoS26wMBAXZVHCR_exI5JgEs9L-BjHwcok9PoTxn9_PjY-AmDhTk0s8Az5AS1l2Jca-9xBOIRX4lsuAqEPSacz6EiEsAo3R1zAbVaBIJ-Fsgd4r0=" rel="nofollow" shape="rect" style="color: blue; text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank">here</a>, <a class="yiv1689687956false" href="http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1109402135763&s=27890&e=001MxWUsLZzD_jeJI6R1oCC0auylRAPyHiwRvVO3qVhpSffR4efJVwID6RVWEeRK54tuvf8lLsGnEf3vi25OAhoQNs7eChpDNcgnDsLPoDT38UqJKcCjldK9L5N_eoWmgPdZr7SR5al2kTEQymncK-DD46hV_9TUJqANwKA9XZYh1bUmuPv2OG15UJ6Td2vf9eiPxGGjvr0QgoU0MSUfuQ8MtE_FraW2_AabuGwAIan5JY7hVVubRCxlLamlC5zeYxvucEd4d4nmjaolqmRLVY_IIxRwg9K6A7X87mEmp373K4arnAhwhte76nYkPobw5KembGXceidv26OGLcyW5tVe3jRCmyRZKDDO3c0Rt8rZ1oilgSzIHJiqjenNaEbCX-axhzuTSeE-H6lXTl7P651cQl-F7YE0EGc6FtKNoKp6c86kCgg4mI7XYWV-nF-5sOEci0PBneujiYBJ0QiqJClc62LSrNwAebW_LMMEavbe88=" rel="nofollow" shape="rect" style="color: blue; text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank">here</a> and <a href="http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1109402135763&s=27890&e=001MxWUsLZzD_jrmIihYU8agqL7UDTZgnvnWJvdnv88w6eZ4Kw3--U_NaOAHxID0iJN9GonILrXydWhziNbS5ECcOxRUndsi9cDAoPaIxPESWPTH182WOi9k1Zfxbn6xsYmGqLvChW6NhysMOF4txC7eo6Y791O5UCwikmI9cKz8F8BAzYfSbZDvAXagUIZ3qObu1I-aiUHMeJjRpsZqIVozQg0aFARVspTLlzhYB4smHWgrHqjtW6dVh18X7kGcwJtFQAhdplEWWV_sCpQZ73NIJOVFdXPjPxsCDLDrWY7B4M9qfbG5otKGBingsE6NVCil5SogEBz5EQ_N4uY-B8u1ydlSYHuSX5To4lt5n94mRZM-_KVreR9_pn_xr-PPgU1Jg98et-hcHu1gpMWwTiNpoNkXEZiN5-NPkf4AbDICZaH7eA59Z27wZyzFoHCFUDsLUCFTDHcDrN9XKNtHximdR95a2ZGkhH7zLsO_SGZqXFvL5joEWPiXSgCkab_aCW3pPIOU1b5qi1_EkPM15iiH4W_VIMiNx6sCtxplZLrhbMIf5WLTe_QlI7iCMhpah23rvX_28iGRjg2aSZxh5pZ5rUYCKcanlbR" rel="nofollow" shape="rect" style="color: blue; text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank">here</a>) which state at the bottom of each that the information given relies on "opinions on subjects related to women's health," and shockingly that "the average readability level of the series ... is grade 6-8." These promotional brochures do not cite even one scientific study.</span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Palatino Linotype,Book Antiqua,Palatino,Times New Roman,Times,serif; font-size: 12pt;"><br />
</span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Palatino Linotype,Book Antiqua,Palatino,Times New Roman,Times,serif; font-size: 12pt;">Thankfully, many medical professionals have not remained silent about the <a href="http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1109402135763&s=27890&e=001MxWUsLZzD_hR7x7_zss5EhKkyYzGtgTpI2y1c4H6rgpF3Ay3RNT1vMQZ_QAjkUbwP0KqBLrQdp8FFRH1VRjXl0BfOOjHYKaYomBOnZqvGxruwfyK5sAoluOlVkmNJjipW7xI5jIyAz4UhAeOd-HD0QBnZ9EtK17FQhGzTw3isxk7mrb2rgbO0L-PFzdXiPU1sqMER52OJPNQgFK26ueGNBdjPTghiTok7u12KOld72fusSw8sDgGNqs2K9JOnBS6UpW6NMWSPMyeVAB0AqfAZFNIA5dQsNTK5X1HYPb5GEitZI31sdAXf0DqlL51Bmy9xUmjwHiNs079V8TkuFFsIgsRm-r57cHwHU30kKhA1Tcjrq3cgkOiviFNFVC0v0-H3c2ePMdJYYTdgN1sBMvS9cmbKHoMcpXpynuMpTIgzvDzxJoorWyHYFhDYViP35wMv-FaEPeOyrU_r9amnxcLywZ3KZdcPnv3hXidOuoZBeiX3LKYH6P5Fb9eR1n-cKrcH0wmfFx2huo=" rel="nofollow" shape="rect" style="color: blue; text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank"><span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1330454299_8">dangers to women's health</span></a> being pushed for by the Obama administration. One of those medical professionals is Dr. Bill Mueller.</span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Palatino Linotype,Book Antiqua,Palatino,Times New Roman,Times,serif; font-size: 12pt;"><br />
</span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Palatino Linotype,Book Antiqua,Palatino,Times New Roman,Times,serif; font-size: 12pt;">Dr. Mueller, President of the <a href="http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1109402135763&s=27890&e=001MxWUsLZzD_hPxeDRiiISyCyjPg-9-eLl1ErlwvYzgh4lu2xrjM53ZB6Myb2_g1ZJFqcgMq7EgQ2zCm46wd9ypbx41l066orb65RdcLk-sV6FCYmw7l48XGyLvAg9Z4pUR-eWz_1QJEZHMoOPxJyzVxvdbKkJCvZWrS3lLep78WqAf90AvZbwCz5Po-wnX-on1lf8AJKQ8oc-Mj6yCzrcoZO0Rsid3ojYkR8uRGHjN3EatrRYJIXM-A-qovBJMBHSnJhG32ZxrgTKGECldlfsvDvawzZBP1xTXRCXikoA_LOvxS66yd4RrnZzwmPFndu7mPAQu8Kk9Jw4u2qUGhRS6NADaQ2r1TcMMkE4XQdCwzs=" rel="nofollow" shape="rect" style="color: blue; text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank"><span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1330454299_9">Catholic Physician Guild of San Antonio</span></a> and a friend of HLI America, recently spoke at a rally opposing the HHS contraception/abortifacient mandate in which he reminded the crowd about the medical dangers posed to women. The rally was organized by "<a href="http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1109402135763&s=27890&e=001MxWUsLZzD_iXHYoRG89s5qDnptPsAilYfWVjNDPsBG0dy0gK3Y6f8CgQzR8kUiY82hi6Nb_mFS8V9chFYOYD3rglEfgf_8GOE_9TTaqBHhyOs1XgCykEmj_LZ0dYMabDU2qzIRG4UuJUGiHMzavVXguF-xQMjKqG9b6Um_kKEDoF5xmGXcw1suh8KDuefdYCVClXcGgWN8bBXWTP6z6Bcnal1s-Enw6XkDCXY562Fn7F3Pu7z_b-7CvuPC0N_1jCWDJcamKD6b1lzHIwce7WLMk5Rqjf2bH9U1rWLz92s1aID2MBl_ZXAAuz9MSusMYKeFSEavsgTtajOhYsz7BHiJryrclelkI0xHIuMpOAdADzAB9NQ4aIGzrgIM9TLrzJ938Pqkn7jM-93QcqmtsHVoQxmf0j39LnlNnJFJRKIh0=" rel="nofollow" shape="rect" style="color: blue; text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank"><span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1330454299_10">Faith and Freedom First</span></a>" outside of the San Fernando Cathedral in San Antonio, Texas on February 18, 2012.</span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Palatino Linotype,Book Antiqua,Palatino,Times New Roman,Times,serif; font-size: 12pt;"><br />
</span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Palatino Linotype,Book Antiqua,Palatino,Times New Roman,Times,serif; font-size: 12pt;">During his speech Dr. Mueller told the crowd:</span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Palatino Linotype,Book Antiqua,Palatino,Times New Roman,Times,serif; font-size: 12pt;"><br />
</span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 30px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Palatino Linotype,Book Antiqua,Palatino,Times New Roman,Times,serif; font-size: 12pt;"><i>What you may not already know is that contraception poses real medical dangers, and this is why we all should be concerned. These dangers have been concealed by lies about the safety and necessity of contraception. These lies have misled Americans to believe that pregnancy is a disease. ... As a physician of good conscience, I am here to tell you that contraceptives increase a woman's risk for cancer, strokes, heart attacks, and even death. As a physician of good conscience, I am here to tell you that contraceptives can cause abortions before a woman even knows she is pregnant. As a physician of good conscience, I am here to tell you that women who think contraception will keep them safe in a relationship often end up used, abused and discarded by men who should be upholding the dignity of our sisters in Christ.</i></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Palatino Linotype,Book Antiqua,Palatino,Times New Roman,Times,serif; font-size: 12pt;"><br />
</span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Palatino Linotype,Book Antiqua,Palatino,Times New Roman,Times,serif; font-size: 12pt;">Medical journals have for years published study after study that indicates the deleterious side-effects of oral contraception, but none of these studies were cited in the IOM report. Just last year, the FDA <a href="http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1109402135763&s=27890&e=001MxWUsLZzD_hCBxLgXX0W_fjdOBP5gfAL8_kXakl1AhA8-y6fXI8mye4ZLCluw5JhmpNv0-s2TR84octzkaGbblyBl-R2lw51pctGU01YhgddKBnH8rVf_DVp3aJFaZrrDW3cBhHlSjoE6KyI3JzMdeQMLhOL0Y5mAGsBzgxiVG4awt12ASC6pgTI_T5RELzqqOYDiGqH-cpaEu2n6CM996hF-kxwZ2J-pisM_2mZbQvHKGdcdJbYM7cclljktE6QJyRTOtdEt1baiZs6gtY_TB3kEnLgfTIE6gvrR1SfcpHxegbSlcYyvamZtpFaEsMb5n_KIrtIrmbiGjJWYcvc6hzmKhdikMNO_4N0P8C08E9kyvmKiyqq4S61G1AoBo3X3EmWwMoNBqntrxtjYo_5qg==" rel="nofollow" shape="rect" style="color: blue; text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank">announced a safety-review</a> of the most popular oral contraceptives (Yaz, Yasmin, and Beyaz) on the market in response to recent studies that show that these drugs bring a two to three times greater risk of arterial clots compared to the already high risk associated with other forms of oral contraceptives. This review, conducted by the federal government itself, is not even cited by the IOM.</span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Palatino Linotype,Book Antiqua,Palatino,Times New Roman,Times,serif; font-size: 12pt;"><br />
</span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Palatino Linotype,Book Antiqua,Palatino,Times New Roman,Times,serif; font-size: 12pt;">Dr. Mueller deserves great credit for telling the truth about the danger that contraception poses for women's health in a forum where one might not expect to hear that message. I hope that his courage and clarity serves as an example to all physicians, as their leadership and expertise is desperately needed in this struggle. Please share this video (below) with physicians you know and ask that they consider taking a similar stand in support of women's health.</span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Palatino Linotype,Book Antiqua,Palatino,Times New Roman,Times,serif; font-size: 12pt;"><br />
</span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Palatino Linotype,Book Antiqua,Palatino,Times New Roman,Times,serif; font-size: 12pt;"><i>[Watch Dr. Mueller's full speech.]</i></span><br />
<i>[Dr. Mueller’s prepared remarks reproduced below]</i><span style="color: black; font-family: Palatino Linotype,Book Antiqua,Palatino,Times New Roman,Times,serif; font-size: 12pt;"><i> </i></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Palatino Linotype,Book Antiqua,Palatino,Times New Roman,Times,serif; font-size: 12pt;"><br />
</span></div><br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/h2P-7ImZA3w?rel=0" width="640"></iframe><br />
<br />
Good Afternoon!<br />
<br />
My name is Dr. Bill Mueller and I am very proud to be representing the Catholic Physicians Guild of San Antonio at this important event! Thank you to the Faith and Freedom Now coalition for organizing this rally and inviting me to speak today.<br />
<br />
You already know that the HHS-mandate violates the First Amendment.<br />
<br />
You already know that the HHS-mandate is an unjust attempt by the executive branch of the federal government to bypass Congress.<br />
<br />
You already know that the HHS-mandate is just one example of how the federal government is imposing controversial medical practices on employers by trying to pass it off as “health care.”<br />
<br />
What you may not already know is that contraception poses real medical dangers, and this is why we all should be concerned. These dangers have been concealed by lies about the safety and necessity of contraception. These lies have misled Americans to believe that pregnancy is a disease. Many Americans now believe that taking a “pill,” when you are not sick, is normal, that sex outside of marriage is okay and that young women are somehow “protected” from harm as long as they are “on the pill.” And now Obamacare and the HHS-mandate are attempting to impose access to contraception by trying to call it “standard preventive health care.”<br />
<br />
As a physician of good conscience, I am here to tell you that contraceptives increase a woman’s risk for cancer, strokes, heart attacks, and even death. As a physician of good conscience, I am here to tell you that contraceptives can cause abortions before a woman even knows she is pregnant. As a physician of good conscience, I am here to tell you that women who think contraception will keep them safe in a relationship often end up used, abused and discarded by men who should be upholding the dignity of our sisters in Christ.<br />
<br />
Now, Obamacare and the HHS-mandate are targeting organizations, companies and insurers who do not comply with deceitful bureaucratic regulations. I believe that Obamacare and the HHS-mandate is the first step in targeting medical professionals and their right to practice medicine according to their moral and ethical beliefs. Indeed, Obamacare and the HHS-mandate are targeting the First Amendment right to freedom of religion and conscience. Rights endowed to us by our Creator.<br />
<br />
And so today I urge you to stand up for our Constitution and the divine gift of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness; to stand up for the First Amendment rights to freedom of religion and conscience; and most importantly, to challenge a government that violates personal freedoms, misrepresents preventive medical services and endangers the viability of organizations that cannot and will not breach their principles.<br />
<br />
Finally, I leave you with a quote from Edmond Burke as a reminder of why we must act: “All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing.”<br />
<br />
Thank you all for being here today.<br />
<br />
Arland K. Nichols is the National Director of HLI America. He writes for the Truth and Charity Forum.<br />
<br />
Become a fan of HLI America on Facebook, subscribe to the Truth & Charity Forum via RSS, and follow HLI America on Twitter.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5701215613992649559.post-41587870449218037382012-02-09T21:23:00.000-08:002012-02-09T21:23:11.153-08:00Hands Off My Body<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/sFg2KlgI6so" width="560"></iframe>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5701215613992649559.post-88880632429402322612012-02-09T00:41:00.000-08:002012-02-09T00:41:18.248-08:00Abortion Linked to Breast Cancer (needs formatting)SOURCE: <a href="http://cjv123.hubpages.com/hub/Have-An-Abortion-GREATLY-Increase-Your-Risk-of-Breast-Cancer">http://cjv123.hubpages.com/hub/Have-An-Abortion-GREATLY-Increase-Your-Risk-of-Breast-Cancer</a><br />
<br />
<div class="modfloat full"><div class="module moduleImage" id="mod_10044349"><div id="imgs_10044349"><div id="img_url_3838125" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" class="full" height="521" src="http://s2.hubimg.com/u/3838125_f520.jpg" title="" width="520" /> </div><div class="caption_full" id="img_desc_3838125"></div></div></div></div>There is a most terrible irony about the pink ribbons everyone sees, football players who wear pink, “pink days” and other “pink” related products that “draw attention” to the cause of eradicating breast cancer. <a href="http://www.lifenews.com/nat6718.html">The irony is that there is a direct link between a woman having an abortion and the fact she’ll have a 40% increased chance of having breast cancer.</a><br />
This is regardless of whether or not the woman has subsequent live births/children which was once thought to be something that could reduce the risk. <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/idUS246688+31-Mar-2008+PRN20080331">This isn’t just one study. There are so many that support the direct link between abortions and a greatly increased risk of breast cancer that a microbiologist is going to post each study, one a day, until he has exhausted every single study out there. He estimates he won’t be finished doing this until January 2011.</a><br />
So why the irony? The Komen Foundation, one of the largest if not <i>the</i> largest fundraiser for breast cancer "research", gives money to Planned Parenthood.<br />
[See links listed at the end of this Hub]<br />
<a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/idUS246688+31-Mar-2008+PRN20080331">There is absolutely no doubt--if a woman has an abortion it greatly increases her risk for breast cancer. There is incontrovertible evidence that there is a suspected link between breast cancer and abortion.</a><br />
<a href="http://www.examiner.com/conservative-in-houston/susan-g-komen-foundation-explains-link-to-planned-parenthood">The Koman foundation admits to funding Planned Parenthood and defends the reasons why.</a><br />
On the surface, their arguments are sound. They give money to Planned Parenthood to pay “only” for screening for the poor to help prevent breast cancer.<br />
Yet there are two glaring problems with this letter. 1) <a href="http://www.lifenews.com/nat4978.html">Planned Parenthood’s greatest money-maker is in providing abortions.</a> What assurance (not provided in this letter) do we have that the money is being used for the things they list and not going towards abortions? They offer nothing. Their promise, that the funds they use is …<i>only for breast health education, screening and treatment programs is </i>insupportable.<br />
2) Unfortunately they actually perpetuate a lie in this same letter. I quote from this lie: <br />
<i>Another piece of misinformation being spread by many who criticize Komen for the Cure for its Planned Parenthood grants is that abortion causes breast cancer. Well conducted research consistently fails to support this claim. We agree with the bulk of scientific evidence – from the National Cancer Institute, Harvard, a rigorous study in Denmark and from Oxford University – that there is no conclusive link between breast cancer and induced abortion or miscarriage.</i><br />
<i></i><br />
This is simply not true. There most definitely is very credible evidence and the fact that they deny this is astounding.<br />
Why would it matter anyway - why do they defend abortion if the money they give to Planned Parenthood goes to “only” the limited services Planned Parenthood offers and not abortion? Why bother even addressing this issue in the first place if this money is directed specifically and only for the services they claim are being funded?<br />
If the pro-aborts are all about “choice” then why doesn’t The Komen Foundation give women the choice to know this very important information so that she can make an <b><i>informed choice</i></b>? Why does Planned Parenthood deny the increased risk of many more things than breast cancer risk directly related to abortion? <br />
<a href="http://www.plannedparenthood.org/health-topics/abortion/in-clinic-abortion-procedures-4359.asp">According to the Planned Parenthood website:</a><br />
Abortion is “<b><u>safe and effective</u></b>”. This is from the "teen" Planned Parenthood linked page. <br />
I just had my flu shot at Walgreens. There were signs and notices prominently displayed about the “possible risk” for having one of these shots. Before I was able to receive my shot I had to fill out a sheet of paper and sign that I had been informed about the risks. I can’t have a flu shot without being told repeatedly of the possible risks (far less risky than having an abortion I can guarantee no less the risk of long-term after-affects) yet why is there no such claims on the web site of Planned Parenthood?<br />
How can a procedure where they rip out a live baby from the womb of a woman in pieces -- be boldly called “safe and effective”? How can this be put on the Planned Parenthood website without any disclaimers whatsoever? It's outrageous! Well regardless, your tax dollars pay for it!<br />
One of the more egregious outrages is the fact that not only have so many of us been duped into buying “pink” products, but we have also been giving our tax dollars to fund abortions through Planned Parenthood, and other programs throughout the world. In fact one of the first things President Obama did as President was to <b><u>repeal</u></b> the so-called Mexico City rule, which prohibits U.S. aid from being used to fund abortion or abortion-promotion in foreign countries<br />
Now your tax dollars fund Mexican abortions as well as untold secret programs the Obama administration has developed to give your tax dollars for world-wide abortions.<br />
<a href="http://www.lifenews.com/obamaabortionrecord.html">President Obama has the distinction of being the most pro-active, pro-abort President ever to hold the office.</a> This includes his Obama healthcare bill that will - despite his promises and promises by Pelosi, Ried et al - fund abortions using tax payer dollars.<br />
<a href="http://www.firstthings.com/blogs/secondhandsmoke/2009/09/11/obamacare-federal-money-would-fund-abortion/">http://www.firstthings.com/blogs/secondhandsmoke/2009/09/11/obamacare-federal-money-would-fund-abortion/</a><br />
See also the links provided below.<br />
This is one of the worst insidious evils in our society and it needs to be eradicated. Shine the light of truth on this evil and it will not be able to stand! Think about doing your part, today.<br />
Let’s be a voice to save lives, let’s get the word out. Stop buying anything that is pink and related to these pink breast cancer “awareness” movements. Pass this Hub on, not because I want any personal recognition, but because I want to try and make a difference God willing. My mother is a breast cancer survivor. My treasured sister-in-law lost her mother to breast cancer. Her sister has breast cancer and she has had numerous brushes with this horrible disease. I'm praying for someone in my church who right now has breast cancer, a young, vibrant, absolutely beautiful woman.<br />
Breast cancer is personal to me.<br />
These women didn't have abortions, but what about those who have one without being informed they have a 40% chance of later having breast cancer as a result?<br />
I am passionately pro-life, however, I do not wish to criminalize abortions. I would never condemn anyone for having one. I care about these women. I care enough to want them to be <b><i><u>fully</u></i></b> informed about the procedure so that they truly have a choice about what they do.<br />
Please think about doing your part today - pass this on.<br />
<br />
Other helpful and informational links:<br />
<br />
Think before you buy pink: <a href="http://thinkbeforeyoupink.org/?page_id=13">http://thinkbeforeyoupink.org/?page_id=13</a><br />
Tax Dollars used for abortions:<br />
<a href="http://michellemalkin.com/2009/09/29/call-your-reps-no-on-obamacare-funds-for-abortion/">Michelle Malkin » Call your reps: No on Obamacare funds for abortion</a><br />
<a href="http://forums.catholic.com/showthread.php?t=475703">Obamacare in fact funds abortions [Fr. Z] - Catholic Answers Forums</a><br />
<a href="http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/2054293/does_obamacare_fund_abortions_americas.html?cat=75">http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/2054293/does_obamacare_fund_abortions_americas.html?cat=75</a><br />
Susan G. Komen gives millions of donation dollars to Planned Parenthood: <a href="http://gerardnadal.com/2010/04/07/susan-g-komen-gives-million-to-planned-parenthood/">http://gerardnadal.com/2010/04/07/susan-g-komen-gives-million-to-planned-parenthood/</a><br />
<a href="http://pinkmoney.org/komen_pp.htm">http://pinkmoney.org/komen_pp.htm</a><br />
<a href="http://pinkmoney.org/pinkmoney.htm">http://pinkmoney.org/pinkmoney.htm</a><br />
<a href="http://www.abortionbreastcancer.com/news/061110/index.htm">http://www.abortionbreastcancer.com/news/061110/index.htm</a><br />
Links to abortion and breast cancer: <a href="http://pinkmoney.org/komen_pp.htm">http://pinkmoney.org/komen_pp.htm</a><br />
Direct link to Komen Foundation financial report: <a href="http://ww5.komen.org/uploadedFiles/Content/AboutUs/Financial/new-2008-2009AnnualReport-final.pdf">http://ww5.komen.org/uploadedFiles/Content/AboutUs/Financial/new-2008-2009AnnualReport-final.pdf</a><br />
Home page for the Komen Foundation: <a href="http://www.komen.org/">Susan G. Komen website</a><br />
<br />
<b><u>Note:</u></b><br />
I was forced to remove the photos of aborted babies and frankly, I understand why. It's very interesting to note that the stark, horrific reality of abortion violates the conditions Hubpages places on our Hubs - and they are extremely reasonable conditions, don't get me wrong. Graphic violence can not be depicted. So I do not have an issue with the Hubpages team in any way. I quickly took the photos down once I received the notice.<br />
What I find interesting though is the fact that the realities of "choice"-- the "pro choice" movement etc. -- is that when we show the "fruits" of their labor, aborted babies in pieces, torn limbs, bloody mangled nightmarish images - it's too graphic and violent to show here on Hubpages. Think about that. <br />
One could easily conclude - It's not a "choice" it's the slaughter of a helpless baby.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5701215613992649559.post-9777016238360265302012-02-08T23:53:00.000-08:002012-02-08T23:53:37.081-08:00ABC - Abortions Linked to CancerLinks to more info about the PP and ABC (abortion to cancer) link <br />
<br />
<a href="http://erlc.com/article/the-komen-foundation-and-planned-parenthood/">http://erlc.com/article/the-komen-foundation-and-planned-parenthood/</a><br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.lifenews.com/2010/09/21/nat-6718/">http://www.lifenews.com/2010/09/21/nat-6718/ </a><br />
<br />
<a href="http://abortionbreastcancer.com%20/">AbortionBreastCancer.com </a><br />
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</td> <td align="left" height="21" valign="top" width="528"> <div align="left"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;"><b>Medical Groups Recognizing Link</b></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: x-small;"><br />
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</td> <td align="left" height="1595" valign="top" width="549"> <div align="left"><span style="color: black; font-family: arial; font-size: x-small;">A list of medical organizations recognizing a link between abortion and<br />
breast cancer is provided below. Telling women their abortions are related<br />
to increased breast cancer risk is clearly not good for cancer fundraising<br />
businesses, the abortion industry and the pharmaceutical industry. Medical<br />
groups whose doctors do not perform abortions or refer women for abortions<br />
will be among the first to recognize that abortion raises a woman's breast<br />
cancer risk.<br />
</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;"><b>National Physicians Center for Family Resources </b></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"><br />
</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">P.O. Box 59692 </span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"><br />
</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">Birmingham, AL 35259 </span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"><br />
</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">205/870-0234 <br />
<a href="http://www.physicianscenter.org/">www.physicianscenter.org</a> <br />
<br />
The National Physicians Center for Family Resources offers a CD intended for parents and health educators which cites "increased breast cancer risk" as a "long-term complication of abortion" and offers a biological explanation for the abortion-breast cancer link. The CD is entitled, "Prescriptions for Parents: A Physicians' Guide to Adolescence and Sex." </span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"><br />
</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;"><b>Catholic Medical Association </b></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"><br />
</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">2020 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, #864 </span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"><br />
</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">Washington, DC 20006 </span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"><br />
</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">Tel: 1-877-CATHDOC (877-228-4362) <br />
<a href="http://www.cathmed.org/">www.cathmed.org</a> <br />
<br />
"Whereas epidemiological evidence of an association between abortion and <br />
breast cancer has existed for almost a half century,<br />
<br />
"Whereas 29 our ot 38 worldwide epidemiological studies show an increased <br />
risk of breat cancer of approximately 30% among women who have had an <br />
abortion,<br />
<br />
"Whereas all women undergoing abortion are entitled to full informed consent <br />
as to all risks including long term risks,<br />
<br />
"Therefore be it resolved that the Catholic Medical Association endorses the <br />
passage of state legislation to require abortionists to inform all women of <br />
their future increased vulnerability to breast cancer."<br />
<br />
Resolution Approved 10/15/03</span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"><br />
</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;"><b>American Association of Pro-Life Obstetricians and Gynecologists </b></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"><br />
</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">844 South Washington, Suite 1600 </span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"><br />
</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">Holland, MI 49423 </span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"><br />
</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">616-546-2639 <br />
<a href="http://www.aaplog.org/">www.aaplog.org</a> <br />
<br />
AAPLOG has posted a position statement about the ABC link on its website. </span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"><br />
</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;"><b>Breast Cancer Prevention Institute </b></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"><br />
</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">9 Vassar St. </span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"><br />
</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">Poughkeepsie, NY 12601 </span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"><br />
</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">845/452-0797 <br />
<a href="http://www.bcpinstitute.org/">www.bcpinstitute.org</a> </span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"><br />
</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;"><b>The Polycarp Research Institute </b></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"><br />
</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">2232 Second Avenue </span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"><br />
</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">Altoona, PA 16602 <br />
<a href="http://www.polycarp.org/">www.polycarp.org</a></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"><br />
</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;"><b>Ehtics and Medics </b></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"><br />
</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">6399 Drexel Road </span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"><br />
</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">Philadelphia, PA 19151 <br />
<a href="http://www.ethicsandmedics.com/">www.ethicsandmedics.com</a><br />
</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;"><b>MaterCare International</b></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">8 Riverview Avenue<br />
St. John's, Newfoundland<br />
Canada A1C 2S5<br />
Phone: 709-579-6472<br />
Fax: 709- 579-6501<br />
E-Mail: <a href="mailto:info@matercare.org">info@matercare.org</a><br />
<br />
Statement Concerning the Link between Induced Abortion and Breast Cancer, R. L. Walley. FRCSC., FRCOG., MPH Executive Director and Honourary Research Professor of Obstetrics and Gynaecology<br />
<br />
"MaterCare International an international group of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists was presented with the evidence of the link between abortion and breast cancer at its international conference in Rome in October 2004 by Dr Joel Brind's research group. The medical explanation and the epidemiological evidence convinced our group that there is a significant increase in breast cancer risk after induced abortion, especially before the first full term pregnancy. This evidence has been denied by the U.S. National Cancer Institute (NCI) and other researchers. Recently ten studies have been published in an attempt to discredit Brind's conclusion.<br />
<br />
"In turn Brind has examined these ten studies and in a peer reviewed paper published in the Journal of American Physicians and Surgeons (Vol 10, No 4, Winter 2005, <<a href="http://www.jpands.org/">http://www.jpands.org</a>>) he has shown that they have serious methodological weaknesses and flaws and therefore do not invalidate the conclusion that there is a increased risk of breast cancer.<br />
<br />
"Women have a basic right to know of this increased risk of breast cancer and it is unacceptable that the information should be denied to them by the medical and cancer research establishments. MaterCare International as an organisation of women's health specialists recognies its responsibilities in this matter and will do all it can to publish this evidence."<br />
</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;"><b>Breast Care Center-EAMC</b></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;"> <br />
G/F OPD Bldg East Avenue Medical Center, East Avenue, <br />
Quezon City, Philippines <br />
Phone: (632)-928-0611 loc 578 <br />
E-mail: <a href="mailto:pfbci_bcc@yahoo.com">pfbci_bcc@yahoo.com</a> <br />
<a href="http://www.abortionbreastcancer.com/news/Santos/index.htm">http://www.abortionbreastcancer.com/news/Santos/index.htm</a></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: small;"><br />
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</td> <td align="left" height="21" valign="top" width="528"> <div align="left"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;"><b>Medical Groups Supporting Disclosure of Research</b></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"><br />
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</td> <td align="left" height="297" valign="top" width="549"> <div align="left"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;"><b>Association of American Physicians and Surgeons</b></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;"><br />
1601 N. Tucson Blvd., Suite 9<br />
Tucson, AZ 85716-3450<br />
520-323-3110<br />
<br />
"The Association of American Physicians and Surgeons believes that patients have the right to give or withhold fully informed consent before undergoing medical treatment. This includes notification of potential adverse effects. While there is a difference of medical opinion concerning the abortion breast cancer link, there is a considerable volume of evidence supporting this link, which is, moreover, highly plausible. We believe that a reasonable person would want to be informed of the existence of this evidence before making her decision."<br />
<br />
Jane Orient, MD<br />
Executive Director<br />
October 27, 2003<br />
<br />
Read Mrs. Malec's article, "The Abortion-Breast Cancer Link: How Politics <br />
Trumped Science and Informed Consent," in the Journal of American Physicians <br />
and Surgeons: <a href="http://www.jpands.org/vol8no2/malec.pdf">www.jpands.org/vol8no2/malec.pdf</a></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"><br />
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</td> <td align="left" height="335" valign="top" width="549"> <div align="left"><span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: x-small;"> </span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-small;"><b><a href="http://www.abortionbreastcancer.com/abc_summary.htm#Royal%252520College%252520of%252520Obstetricians%252520and%252520Gynecologists">Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists</a> </b></span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-small;"><br />
</span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-small;"><b><a href="http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=26970">American Medical Association</a></b></span><span style="color: cyan; font-family: arial; font-size: x-small;"><b><u> </u></b></span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-small;">- A spokesman for the AMA told World Net Daily that its group "doesn't have a policy at all" on whether its doctors should inform women about the abortion-breast cancer research. [John Dougherty, "Can doctors be sued over abortion? Those who don't inform patients of breast cancer link could be targets,"<br />
<a href="http://www.worldnetdaily.com/">World Net Daily</a> March 27, 2002. </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">Available at: <a href="http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=26970">http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=26970</a> <br />
Visited October 8, 2003. <br />
</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;"><b><a href="http://www.abortionbreastcancer.com/acog">American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists</a></b></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;"><br />
</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;"><b><a href="http://www.abortionbreastcancer.com/news11.htm">American Society of Breast Surgeons</a><br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.abortionbreastcancer.com/news11.htm">Miami Breast Cancer Conference</a> </b></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;"><br />
All Cancer Groups <br />
<a href="http://www.abortionbreastcancer.com/newsletter102202.htm">http://www.abortionbreastcancer.com/newsletter102202.htm</a> <br />
<a href="http://www.abortionbreastcancer.com/050902.htm">http://www.abortionbreastcancer.com/050902.htm</a> </span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: x-small;"><br />
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</tbody></table>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5701215613992649559.post-45929039946327932572012-02-08T23:47:00.001-08:002012-02-08T23:47:54.227-08:00Prostate Cancer May Be Linked to the Pill<a href="http://www.vancouversun.com/health/Prostate+cancer+linked+birth+control+pills+Study/5709747/story.html">http://www.vancouversun.com/health/Prostate+cancer+linked+birth+control+pills+Study/5709747/story.html</a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5701215613992649559.post-75470970059762253342012-02-01T21:05:00.000-08:002012-02-01T21:05:46.272-08:00Contraception and Fig Trees<h6 class="uiStreamMessage" data-ft="{"type":1}" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span class="messageBody" data-ft="{"type":3}">"The root principle of birth-control is unsound. It is a glorification of the means and a contempt of the end; it says that the pleasure which is a means to the procreation of children is good, but the children themselves are no good. </span></span></h6><h6 class="uiStreamMessage" data-ft="{"type":1}" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span class="messageBody" data-ft="{"type":3}">In other words, to be logical, the philosophy of birth-control would commit us to a world in which trees were always blooming but never giving fruit, a world full of sign-posts that were leading nowhere. In this cosmos every tree would be a barren fig-tree and for that reason would have upon it the curse of God." </span></span></h6><h6 class="uiStreamMessage" data-ft="{"type":1}" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span class="messageBody" data-ft="{"type":3}">Archbishop Fulton Sheen</span></span></h6>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5701215613992649559.post-80667714988663940212012-01-31T22:44:00.000-08:002012-01-31T22:44:14.025-08:00Bishops' Statements Against the HHS Mandate<span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: 12px;"></span></span><br />
<div class="yiv1824818859MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 13px;"><em></em></span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span id="yui_3_2_0_1_1328077117342117"><span id="yui_3_2_0_1_1328077117342116" style="font-family: Arial;"><span id="yui_3_2_0_1_1328077117342115">CV Blogger Thomas Peters is compiling a list of Bishops' statements against this HHS mandate at <a href="http://email.vervemail.com/ct/24546965:5675021736:m:1:415982639:0E1E9C6F1C8CBD0825C01BDE696F1816:r" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://www.catholicvote.org/discuss/index.php?p=25591</a>. Is your bishop not on this list? Please check with your diocese to see if a statement has been made by your bishop, and if not, respectfully ask him to do so! If they have issued a statement, please email us at <a href="mailto:info@catholicvote.org?subject=Bishop%20Statement%20on%20HHS%20Mandate" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">info@catholicvote.org</a>. </span></span></span></span><span style="font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><em></em></span></span></div><div class="yiv1824818859MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 13px;"></span></div><div class="yiv1824818859MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span id="yui_3_2_0_1_1328077117342117" style="font-size: 14px;"><span id="yui_3_2_0_1_1328077117342116" style="font-family: Arial;"></span></span></div><div class="yiv1824818859MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 13px;"><br />
<em>[This past weekend millions of Catholics were read a letter from their Bishop in response to the HHS mandate (partial list below). CV Blogger John White published an excellent post on how we can help our shepherds. I thought you would enjoy it, and so we are featuring it today. -Brian</em></span></div><span style="font-size: 13px;"><br />
<br />
<b>Pray for our Bishops.</b><img align="right" alt="" border="0" src="http://email.vervemail.com/cimages/01c4d5a035de0f387d0a0b2cc0242f46/Dolan.jpg" style="margin: 15px;" /> <br />
<br />
Because they need it, they need lots of it. <br />
<br />
And they need it now. <br />
<br />
Many American bishops have publicly spoken out against the Obama administration’s recent declaration of war against the Catholic Church. So far, the response from the episcopate has been widespread, clear, and strong. We should all be encouraged by the readiness on the part of these bishops to lead the American Church in this fight for freedom. <br />
<br />
But we ought not take this leadership for granted. So often it seems, when something Church-related gets us upset, we are all too ready and willing to focus our outrage on the local bishop. Granted, the last ten years have certainly reminded us that bishops can make poor, even seriously harmful, decisions. And the accounting for those transgressions is still underway. <br />
<br />
But too often the bishops suffer our wrath over the fact that the state of the Church (in our parish, our diocese, or our country) isn’t just the way we want it to be. Expecting faithful leadership from the bishop is one thing. Calling up the chancery (which you have on speed dial) because Father Bob failed to mention Hell in his homily is something else. <br />
<br />
<strong>It gets lonely at the top, or so they say.</strong> <br />
<br />
The same thought has been echoed by high-ranking military officers, or their biographers, who speak of the “loneliness of command.” When you’re the top dog, or the top brass, or the top guy in the diocese, you get to call the shots. But that means that you also bear the responsibility, alone, for the shots you call. <br />
<br />
In the case of bishops, it means that every day they are asked to make decisions, issue statements, and take actions with one thing in mind – the salvation of hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of souls. That’s a sobering dose of responsibility. And as a bonus, these shepherds carry out their vocation with the certain knowledge that no matter what they do, a good percentage of the souls they are charged with will be left disappointed, upset, or outraged. At them. That’s not a job anyone should envy. Certainly not one that we should take for granted. <br />
<br />
A Chesterton quote, on St. Thomas Aquinas, whose feast we just celebrated: <br />
</span><br />
<span id="yui_3_2_0_1_1328077117342117" style="font-size: 14px;"><span id="yui_3_2_0_1_1328077117342116" style="font-family: Arial;"><div class="yiv1824818859MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 40px;"><em><span style="font-size: 13px;">His experiences included well-attested cases of levitation in ecstasy; and the Blessed Virgin appeared to him, comforting him with the welcome news that he would never be a Bishop.</span></em></div><br />
<span style="font-size: 13px;">Welcome news indeed. And now things just got really fun if you have “Most Rev.” in front of your name. At the end of the day (and that day, if we want to be precise, is August 1, 2013), the HHS mandate doesn’t force most of us (unless we own a small business) to do anything. The bishops aren’t so lucky. Yes, the laity have a responsibility to engage this threat wherever and however they can. The ways for doing this are numerous and varied, and have been ably put forth on CatholicVote's site. <br />
<br />
But in most cases, the actual responsibility for the decisions that will need to be made regarding the cold hard consequences of the mandate lies squarely on the shoulders of the bishops. Thus has it been, from St. Ignatius of Antioch to St. Thomas Becket. These successors of the Apostles, these shepherds of souls, these men clothed in black cloth and human weakness have been called through the ages to stand on the ramparts of the Church under siege and take the first blow from the enemy’s sword. </span><div class="yiv1824818859MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 13px;"><br />
Thus has it been, and thus shall it be. The bishops will be the ones who will have to stand tall, just as St. Polycarp and St. John Fisher did before them, and say, with dire consequence, ”We cannot, and we will not.” And they will be the first to suffer. One American prelate, Francis Cardinal George, the Archbishop of Chicago, made this stark and rather chilling observation of the current state of affairs: <br />
</span></div><div class="yiv1824818859MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 40px;"><strong><em><span style="font-size: 13px;">I expect to die in bed, my successor will die in prison and his successor will die a martyr in the public square.</span></em></strong></div><br />
<span id="yui_3_2_0_1_1328077117342115" style="font-size: 13px;">Pray for them.<br />
<br />
<br />
Here is a partial list of statments released by Bishops across the country in opposition to the HHS mandate:<br />
<br />
Bishop Thomas Olmsted - Diocese of Phoenix, AZ:<br />
<a href="http://email.vervemail.com/ct/24546932:5675021736:m:1:415982639:0E1E9C6F1C8CBD0825C01BDE696F1816:r" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">http://www.diocesephoenix.org/uploads/docs/RELIGOUS-LIBERTY-INSURANCE-LETTER-012512.pdf</span></a><br />
<br />
Bishop Paul Coakley – Diocese of Oklahoma City, OK:<br />
<a href="http://email.vervemail.com/ct/24546933:5675021736:m:1:415982639:0E1E9C6F1C8CBD0825C01BDE696F1816:r" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">https://www.evernote.com/shard/s24/sh/332a7fb7-08a0-4433-abb2-2444fe824122/cd81e947d83be1aa109f190dd71a21f9/res/7535b381-c9c7-41b4-86f6-44e6329d8e88/ArchOKCHHS.pdf</span></a><br />
<br />
Bishop Richard Malone – Diocese of Portland, ME:<br />
<a href="http://email.vervemail.com/ct/24546934:5675021736:m:1:415982639:0E1E9C6F1C8CBD0825C01BDE696F1816:r" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">http://www.portlanddiocese.org/newsroom.php?nid=786</span></a><br />
<br />
Archbishop Edwin O’Brien – Archdiocese of Baltimore, MD: <br />
<a href="http://email.vervemail.com/ct/24546935:5675021736:m:1:415982639:0E1E9C6F1C8CBD0825C01BDE696F1816:r" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">http://www.archbalt.org/loader.cfm?csModule=security/getfile&pageid=59746</span></a><br />
<br />
Archbishop Allen Vigneron – Archdiocese of Detroit, MI:<br />
<a href="http://email.vervemail.com/ct/24546936:5675021736:m:1:415982639:0E1E9C6F1C8CBD0825C01BDE696F1816:r" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">http://www.aodonline.org/AODOnline/News+++Publications+2203/Press+Releases+2303/HHS.htm</span></a><br />
<br />
Cardinal Roger Mahony – Archbishop Emeritus, Los Angeles, CA:<br />
<a href="http://email.vervemail.com/ct/24546937:5675021736:m:1:415982639:0E1E9C6F1C8CBD0825C01BDE696F1816:r" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">http://cardinalrogermahonyblogsla.blogspot.com/2012/01/federal-government-mandate-for.html</span></a><br />
<br />
Archbishop Gomez – Archdiocese of Los Angeles, CA:<br />
<a href="http://email.vervemail.com/ct/24546938:5675021736:m:1:415982639:0E1E9C6F1C8CBD0825C01BDE696F1816:r" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">http://www.the-tidings.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1984:a-time-for-catholic-action-and-catholic-voices&catid=101:viewpoints&Itemid=389</span></a><br />
<br />
Bishop Paul Loverde – Diocese of Arlington, VA:<br />
<a href="http://email.vervemail.com/ct/24546939:5675021736:m:1:415982639:0E1E9C6F1C8CBD0825C01BDE696F1816:r" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">http://www.arlingtondiocese.org/news.php?id=333</span></a><br />
<br />
Archbishop Dennis Schnurr – Archdiocese of Cincinnati, OH:<br />
<a href="http://email.vervemail.com/ct/24546940:5675021736:m:1:415982639:0E1E9C6F1C8CBD0825C01BDE696F1816:r" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">http://www.thecatholictelegraph.com/a-letter-from-archbishop-dennis-m-schnurr-concerning-hhs-edict/5749</span></a><br />
<br />
Bishop Joe Vasquez – Diocese of Austin, TX:<br />
<a href="http://email.vervemail.com/ct/24546941:5675021736:m:1:415982639:0E1E9C6F1C8CBD0825C01BDE696F1816:r" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">http://www.austindiocese.org/resources/general/4793.pdf</span></a><br />
<br />
Bishop Kevin Vann – Diocese of Fort Worth, TX:<br />
<a href="http://email.vervemail.com/ct/24546942:5675021736:m:1:415982639:0E1E9C6F1C8CBD0825C01BDE696F1816:r" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">http://www.fwdioc.org/Documents/english_joint_statement1-27-12.pdf</span></a><br />
<br />
Bishop Kevin Ferrell – Diocese of Dallas, TX:<br />
<a href="http://email.vervemail.com/ct/24546942:5675021736:m:1:415982639:0E1E9C6F1C8CBD0825C01BDE696F1816:r" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">http://www.fwdioc.org/Documents/english_joint_statement1-27-12.pdf</span></a><br />
<br />
Cardinal Daniel DiNardo – Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston, TX:<br />
<a href="http://email.vervemail.com/ct/24546943:5675021736:m:1:415982639:0E1E9C6F1C8CBD0825C01BDE696F1816:r" id="yui_3_2_0_1_1328077117342114" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><span id="yui_3_2_0_1_1328077117342113" style="color: blue;">http://www.archgh.org/blog/main.asp?Tid=597&cat=Cardinal%20DiNardo&id=39</span></a><br />
<br />
Bishop William Medley – Diocese of Owensboro, KY:<br />
<a href="http://email.vervemail.com/ct/24546944:5675021736:m:1:415982639:0E1E9C6F1C8CBD0825C01BDE696F1816:r" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">http://rcdok.org/news/?news_id=6462016576018701406</span></a><br />
<br />
Bishop Anthony Taylor – Diocese of Little Rock, AR:<br />
<a href="http://email.vervemail.com/ct/24546945:5675021736:m:1:415982639:0E1E9C6F1C8CBD0825C01BDE696F1816:r" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">http://www.dolr.org/bishop/hhsletter_012512.pdf</span></a><br />
<br />
Bishop Joseph Bambera - Diocese of Scranton, PA:<br />
<a href="http://email.vervemail.com/ct/24546946:5675021736:m:1:415982639:0E1E9C6F1C8CBD0825C01BDE696F1816:r" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">http://www.dioceseofscranton.org/2012/01/27/bishop-bambera-issues-letter-about-serious-threat-to-religious-liberty/</span></a><br />
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Bishop David Zubik – Diocese of Pittsburgh, PA:<br />
<a href="http://email.vervemail.com/ct/24546947:5675021736:m:1:415982639:0E1E9C6F1C8CBD0825C01BDE696F1816:r" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">http://www.diopitt.org/hhs-delays-rule-contraceptive-coverage</span></a><br />
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Bishop Patrick McGrath – Diocese of San Jose, CA:<br />
<a href="http://email.vervemail.com/ct/24546948:5675021736:m:1:415982639:0E1E9C6F1C8CBD0825C01BDE696F1816:r" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">http://www.dsj.org/about-us/bishops/bishops-statements/us-health-and-human-services-ruling</span></a><br />
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Archbishop Thomas Wenski – Archdiocese of Miami, FL:<br />
<a href="http://email.vervemail.com/ct/24546949:5675021736:m:1:415982639:0E1E9C6F1C8CBD0825C01BDE696F1816:r" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">http://www.miamiarch.org/ip.asp?op=Article_1212510574188</span></a><br />
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Bishop Daniel Jenky - Diocese of Peoria, IL:<br />
<a href="http://email.vervemail.com/ct/24546950:5675021736:m:1:415982639:0E1E9C6F1C8CBD0825C01BDE696F1816:r" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">http://bishopdanielrjenky.blogspot.com/2012/01/blog-post.html</span></a><br />
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Bishop James Conley – Diocese of Denver, CO:<br />
<a href="http://email.vervemail.com/ct/24546951:5675021736:m:1:415982639:0E1E9C6F1C8CBD0825C01BDE696F1816:r" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">http://www.archden.org/index.cfm/ID/7518</span></a><br />
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Bishop Walter Nickless – Diocese of Sioux City, IA:<br />
<a href="http://email.vervemail.com/ct/24546952:5675021736:m:1:415982639:0E1E9C6F1C8CBD0825C01BDE696F1816:r" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">http://www.scdioceseschools.org/about.cfm?subpage=1418097</span></a><br />
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Archbishop Jerome Listecki – Archdiocese of Milwaukee, WI:<br />
<a href="http://email.vervemail.com/ct/24546953:5675021736:m:1:415982639:0E1E9C6F1C8CBD0825C01BDE696F1816:r" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">http://www.livingourfaith.net/ThoughtfortheWeek.htm</span></a><br />
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Bishop David Ricken – Diocese of Green Bay, WI:<br />
<a href="http://email.vervemail.com/ct/24546954:5675021736:m:1:415982639:0E1E9C6F1C8CBD0825C01BDE696F1816:r" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">http://www.thecompassnews.org/news/local/2937-bishop-ricken-calls-on-area-catholics-to-fight-hhs-ruling-on-religious-liberty.html</span></a><br />
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Archbishop Wilton Gregory – Archbishop of Atlanta, GA:<br />
<a href="http://email.vervemail.com/ct/24546955:5675021736:m:1:415982639:0E1E9C6F1C8CBD0825C01BDE696F1816:r" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">http://www.archatl.com/offices/communications/press_releases/2012.01.30-hhs.html</span></a><br />
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Bishop Peter Libasci – Diocese of Manchester, NH:<br />
<a href="http://email.vervemail.com/ct/24546956:5675021736:m:1:415982639:0E1E9C6F1C8CBD0825C01BDE696F1816:r" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">http://www.catholicnh.org/about/news/news-releases/obama-mandate/</span></a><br />
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Bishop Frederick Campbell - Diocese of Columbus, OH:<br />
<a href="http://email.vervemail.com/ct/24546957:5675021736:m:1:415982639:0E1E9C6F1C8CBD0825C01BDE696F1816:r" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">http://www.colsdioc.org/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=0PdlIXK1DZ0%3d&tabid=36</span></a><br />
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Cardinal-designate Timothy Dolan – Archdiocese of New York, NY:<br />
<a href="http://email.vervemail.com/ct/24546958:5675021736:m:1:415982639:0E1E9C6F1C8CBD0825C01BDE696F1816:r" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">http://www.usccb.org/news/2012/12-013.cfm</span></a><br />
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Archbishop John Myers – Archdiocese of Newark, NJ:<br />
<a href="http://email.vervemail.com/ct/24546959:5675021736:m:1:415982639:0E1E9C6F1C8CBD0825C01BDE696F1816:r" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">http://www.rcan.org/images/2011hhs.pdf</span></a><br />
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Bishop William Callahan – Diocese of LaCrosse, WI:<br />
<a href="http://email.vervemail.com/ct/24546960:5675021736:m:1:415982639:0E1E9C6F1C8CBD0825C01BDE696F1816:r" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">http://dl.dropbox.com/u/817573/Bishop%20Callahan%20Sunday%20Mass%20Letter%20Jan%2029%2C%202012.pdf</span></a><br />
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Bishop Leonard Blair – Diocese of Toledo, OH:<br />
<a href="http://email.vervemail.com/ct/24546961:5675021736:m:1:415982639:0E1E9C6F1C8CBD0825C01BDE696F1816:r" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">http://www.toledodiocese.org/</span></a><br />
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Bishop Paul Eitenne - Diocese of Cheyenne, WY:<br />
<a href="http://email.vervemail.com/ct/24546962:5675021736:m:1:415982639:0E1E9C6F1C8CBD0825C01BDE696F1816:r" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">http://bishopsblog.dioceseofcheyenne.org/?p=1870</span></a><br />
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Archbishop Robert Carlson – Archdiocese of St. Louis, MO:<br />
<a href="http://email.vervemail.com/ct/24546963:5675021736:m:1:415982639:0E1E9C6F1C8CBD0825C01BDE696F1816:r" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">http://stlouisreview.com/article/2012-01-23/pastoral-message</span></a><br />
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Bishop Thomas Paprocki – Diocese of Springfield, IL:<br />
<a href="http://email.vervemail.com/ct/24546964:5675021736:m:1:415982639:0E1E9C6F1C8CBD0825C01BDE696F1816:r" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">http://ct.dio.org/bishops-column/text/41-new-hhs-ruling-violates-our-first-amendment-rights.html</span></a><br />
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</span></span></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5701215613992649559.post-44914556259461770262012-01-30T20:16:00.000-08:002012-01-31T22:45:09.662-08:00Hell, Health Insurance, and A Man's Soul<div style="border-bottom-style: dotted; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-left-color: rgb(102, 51, 102); border-right-color: rgb(102, 51, 102); border-top-color: rgb(102, 51, 102); color: #330033; font-family: Trebuchet MS, Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"><b> </b><br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b>National Director Column </b></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b>January 30, 2012 </b></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b> v.2 n.2</b></div></div><span style="color: black; font-family: Palatino Linotype,Book Antiqua,Palatino,Times New Roman,Times,serif;"> </span><br />
<table align="left" class="yiv1083950854imgCaptionTable" style="margin-bottom: 5px; margin-top: 5px; text-align: center; width: 130px;"><tbody>
<tr><td class="yiv1083950854imgCaptionImg" colspan="1" rowspan="1" style="text-align: center;" width="130"><img alt="Arland Nichols HS sm" border="0" height="149" hspace="5" name="ACCOUNT.IMAGE.126" src="http://ih.constantcontact.com/fs006/1102788387271/img/126.jpg" vspace="5" width="120" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="yiv1083950854imgCaptionText" colspan="1" rowspan="1" style="color: #666666; font-family: Palatino Linotype, Book Antiqua, Palatino, Times New Roman, Times, serif; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-align: center;">Arland K. Nichols</td></tr>
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<div><span style="color: black; font-family: Palatino Linotype,Book Antiqua,Palatino,Times New Roman,Times,serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><b><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Dear Friends of Life and Family</span>, </b></span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Palatino Linotype,Book Antiqua,Palatino,Times New Roman,Times,serif;"> </span></div><span style="color: black; font-family: Palatino Linotype,Book Antiqua,Palatino,Times New Roman,Times,serif; font-size: 12pt;">"The Obama administration has just told the Catholics of the United States, 'To Hell with you!' There is no other way to put it. To Hell with your religious beliefs. To Hell with your religious liberty. To Hell with your freedom of conscience." With unusually strong language, Bishop David Zubik of Pittsburgh alerted his flock to a new threat to the Church. </span><br />
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<div><span style="color: black; font-family: Palatino Linotype,Book Antiqua,Palatino,Times New Roman,Times,serif; font-size: 12pt;">The Obama administration has directly and deliberately attacked our fundamental right to religious freedom, and in a most patronizing way. His Department of Health and Human Services <b>has mandated that contraceptives and abortion inducing drugs be part of every health care plan, free of charge.</b> With this decision, Catholics and Catholic institutions such as hospitals, universities and social agencies <b>will be forced to pay for and provide contraception, sterilization and abortifacient drugs. </b></span></div><br />
<div><span style="color: black; font-family: Palatino Linotype,Book Antiqua,Palatino,Times New Roman,Times,serif; font-size: 12pt;">With a veritable pat on the head, the administration has given Catholics a year to comply with the ruling. Cardinal-designate Timothy Dolan, president of the U.S Conference of Catholic Bishops wrote, "In effect, the president is saying we have a year to figure out how to violate our consciences." </span></div><br />
<div><span style="color: black; font-family: Palatino Linotype,Book Antiqua,Palatino,Times New Roman,Times,serif; font-size: 12pt;">As Catholic citizens, we cannot let this unjust mandate and unprecedented violation of our beliefs stand. It is, as Bishop Paul Loverde has described, "a truly radical break with the liberties that have underpinned our nation since its founding." </span></div><br />
<div><span style="color: black; font-family: Palatino Linotype,Book Antiqua,Palatino,Times New Roman,Times,serif; font-size: 12pt;">It might not be so radical if the conscience was mere social construct, superficial conviction, or personal wishes and tastes. But conscience is much more. Cardinal Newman understood conscience to be the "perceptible and demanding presence of the voice of the truth of God within the person." Conscience involves one's inner inclination to do good and avoid evil, and then recognize the good that must be done in a particular situation.</span></div><br />
<div><span style="color: black; font-family: Palatino Linotype,Book Antiqua,Palatino,Times New Roman,Times,serif; font-size: 12pt;">We must never act against a certain conscience that has been well-formed. The Catechism of the Catholic Church puts it this way, "Man has the right in conscience and freedom so as personally to make moral decisions. He must not be forced to act contrary to his conscience. Nor must he be prevented from acting according to his conscience, especially in religious matters" (CCC 1782). Yet, this is precisely what the Obama administration is demanding. </span></div><br />
<div><span style="color: black; font-family: Palatino Linotype,Book Antiqua,Palatino,Times New Roman,Times,serif; font-size: 12pt;">To follow the dictates of one's conscience is essential to the dignity of man. Further, to act freely and knowingly against one's certain conscience is a mortal sin. Saint Thomas More understood this well, and is an exemplar of how Catholics should respond to this threat to our consciences and religious freedom. </span></div><br />
<div><span style="color: black; font-family: Palatino Linotype,Book Antiqua,Palatino,Times New Roman,Times,serif; font-size: 12pt;">Robert Bolt's famous play "A Man for All Seasons," tells the story of Saint Thomas as he faced the tyrannical acts of Henry VIII, who destroyed the Church in England so he could marry Ann Boleyn. Imprisoned, Thomas faced his accusers including his one-time friend, the Duke of Norfolk, who beseeched him "But damn it Thomas, look at these names. Why can't you do as I did and come with us for fellowship?" Thomas responded, "And when we die and you are sent to Heaven for doing your conscience and I am sent to Hell for not doing mine, will you come with me, for fellowship?" </span></div><br />
<div><span style="color: black; font-family: Palatino Linotype,Book Antiqua,Palatino,Times New Roman,Times,serif; font-size: 12pt;">The administration has placed Catholics in an equally precarious situation. Condemnation is the reward for acting against a certain conscience (CCC 1790). Yet the Obama administration says we have no choice. </span></div><br />
<div><span style="color: black; font-family: Palatino Linotype,Book Antiqua,Palatino,Times New Roman,Times,serif; font-size: 12pt;">How will we respond? How will you respond? Is there a "proper response"?</span></div><br />
<div><span style="color: black; font-family: Palatino Linotype,Book Antiqua,Palatino,Times New Roman,Times,serif; font-size: 12pt;">I confess that I do not yet know the answer to such questions. But I do know that we cannot buckle over as this administration asks us to lose our very souls so that we might gain health coverage for our families and employees. </span></div><br />
<div><span style="color: black; font-family: Palatino Linotype,Book Antiqua,Palatino,Times New Roman,Times,serif; font-size: 12pt;">Following the announcement, Bishop Loverde wrote, "I urge the faithful of Northern Virginia and all citizens of good will to understand what is at stake in this unavoidable confrontation, which has been thrust upon us, and to be prepared to engage in a strong defense in the civil arena of the basic human right of religious liberty."</span></div><br />
<div><span style="color: black; font-family: Palatino Linotype,Book Antiqua,Palatino,Times New Roman,Times,serif; font-size: 12pt;">This much is certain: It does not profit a man to gain health insurance, and to lose his soul. Recognizing what is at stake, we must be willing to defend our freedom of religion and conscience. So, let us unite with our Bishops for fellowship and for Truth.</span></div><br />
<div style="line-height: 18pt; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 12pt;">Sincerely yours in Christ,</span></div><div style="line-height: 18pt; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 12pt;"> <img alt="Nichols Signature" border="0" height="57" hspace="5" name="ACCOUNT.IMAGE.142" src="http://ih.constantcontact.com/fs006/1102788387271/img/142.png" vspace="5" width="230" /></span></div><div style="line-height: 18pt; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 12pt;">Arland K. Nichols</span></div><div style="line-height: 18pt; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 12pt;">National Director, HLI America</span></div><div style="line-height: 18pt; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 12pt;"><a href="http://www.hliamerica.org/">http://www.hliamerica.org/ </a><br />
</span></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5701215613992649559.post-13745634434362980132012-01-24T22:22:00.000-08:002012-01-24T22:22:09.217-08:00Child sacrifice in 21st-century America<span id="content7501"></span><br />
<div align="center"> <div style="text-align: left;"><span id="content342"></span></div><span class="content"><img alt="" border="1" height="130" src="http://www.archden.org/art_new_web/weigel_header.gif" width="389" /></span><br />
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<div style="text-align: left;"><em>Jan. 25, 2011</em> - The Hebrew Bible is not for the squeamish. And its harshest maledictions are called down upon those who practiced the abomination of child-sacrifice.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">Thus the psalmist:</div><div style="text-align: left;">“They sacrificed their sons and daughters to the demons/they poured out innocent blood, the blood of their sons and daughters, whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan; and the land was polluted with blood./Thus they became unclean by their acts, and played the harlot in their doings./Then the anger of the LORD was kindled against his people, and he abhorred his heritage./… they were rebellious in their purposes, and were brought low because of their iniquity” (Psalm 106:38-40, 43).</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">And the prophet Ezekiel, delivering the word of the Lord:</div><div style="text-align: left;">“And you took your sons and your daughters, whom you had borne to me, and these you sacrificed to them to be devoured. Were your harlotries so small a matter that you slaughtered my children and delivered them up as an offering by fire to them?... Behold, therefore, I stretched out my hand against you, and diminished your allotted portion, and delivered you to the greed of your enemies…” (Ezekiel 16:20-21, 27).</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">Thirty-nine years after <em>Roe v. Wade </em>created an unrestricted abortion license in the United States, and during the week when hundreds of thousands of Americans pray and march for life, all Americans ought to ponder these words—and the kind of country to which <em>Roe v. Wade </em>led.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">It was supposed to be a country in which women were liberated; it became a country in which women were ever more the victims of predatory and sexually irresponsible men, left alone with their “rights” to find a technological “fix” to the dilemma of unwanted pregnancy. It was supposed to become a more humane country; it became a country in which morally coarsened pundits can describe as “extreme” and “weird” the faith-filled response of the Santorum family to the loss of a newborn shortly after birth. It was supposed to be a country of greater equality; it became a country in which the fantasies of those who believed that America was for white Anglo-Saxon Protestants only, with emphasis on “white,” were realized beyond the wildest imaginings of the most crazed racists and eugenicists of the 1920s.</div><div style="text-align: left;">These hard truths have too often been hidden, especially where abortion is widely prevalent. Thus it is to the immense credit of the New York-based Chiaroscuro Foundation that it has compelled the New York City Department of Health to itemize separately abortion and pregnancy statistics in its annual reports. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">The 2010 numbers, just released, would make both the Psalmist and Ezekiel blanch:</div><blockquote class="tr_bq"><div style="text-align: left;">Of the 208,541 pregnancies in New York City in 2010, 83,750 were terminated by abortion: 4 in 10. Among non-Hispanic blacks, there were 38,574 abortions and 26,635 live births: thus for every 1,000 African-American babies born, 1,448 were aborted. Those numbers were even more chilling among non-Hispanic black teenagers: for every 1,000 African-American babies born to teenagers, 2,630 were aborted. The overall teenage abortion rate was 63 percent in a city where 16 percent of all pregnancies were teen pregnancies.</div></blockquote><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">New York City is not America, of course. And there is encouragement on various fronts in the battle for life. The national abortion rate is down over the past several decades. Science has vindicated the pro-life position. The pro-life/pro-choice opinion balance has tilted, if slightly, in favor of the pro-life cause. Younger people are more likely to be pro-life than aging baby-boomers. Legislated regulation of the abortion industry has driven abortuaries out of business in many places.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">Yet the fact remains that America is a country in which almost 1 in 4 pregnancies ends in the willful, violent death of the unborn child. And this slaughter of the innocents has been going on, often in higher percentages, for almost four decades.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">As the Psalmist and Ezekiel might have told us, feeding the demons inevitably leads to a terrible hardening of sensibilities. The warnings from ancient Israel about where that hardening leads are worth pondering in this election year, and indeed in every year.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
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</div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>SOURCE</b>: <a href="http://www.archden.org/index.cfm/ID/342">http://www.archden.org/index.cfm/ID/342</a></span></div><span style="font-size: x-small;"> </span><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><em>George Weigel is Distinguished Senior Fellow of the <a href="http://www.eppc.org/scholars/scholarID.14/scholar.asp" target="_blank">Ethics and Public Policy Center in Washington, D.C.</a> Weigel’s column is distributed by the </em><span id="content7501"><span id="content7501"><span id="content7501"><span id="content342"><span class="content"><span class="content"><em><a href="http://www.denvercatholicregister.org/"><span class="ContentFootnote">Denver Catholic Register</span></a></em></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><em>, the official newspaper of the Archdiocese of Denver. </em><span id="content7501"><span id="content7501"><span id="content342"><span class="content"><span class="ContentFootnote"><span class="content"></span></span><span class="content"></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span id="content7501"><span id="content7501"><span id="content342"><span class="content"><span class="content"><span class="ContentFootnote"></span><a href="http://www.eppc.org/scholars/scholarid.14/scholar.asp"><span class="ContentFootnote">Click here to read his biography</span></a></span><span class="ContentFootnote"><span class="content">. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><em>Phone: 303-715-3215.</em></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><span style="font-size: x-small;"> </span><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><strong><em>To access the complete archive of his columns</em></strong><em>, please visit <a href="http://www.archden.org/weigel">www.archden.org/weigel</a></em>.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
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</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5701215613992649559.post-32527054309029522132012-01-24T19:46:00.000-08:002012-01-24T19:46:12.349-08:00Template for a Letter to State Rep<h6 class="uiStreamMessage" data-ft="{"type":1}" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span class="messageBody" data-ft="{"type":3}"><span style="font-weight: normal;">A possible letter to send to your elected representatives regarding Obama's attack on the Catholic and all Christian Churches:<br />
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On Saturday, January 21st, 2012 President Obama called New York Archbishop Timothy Dolan. The President had disturbing news for the Archbishop. <br />
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Secretary of Health and Human Services and pro-abortion Catholic Kathleen Sebelius just announced that the proposed mandate requiring all insurance plans to pay for contraception, sterilization and some abortion drugs is official — and Catholics cannot escape. Exemption for religious groups will not be modified, apart from allowing some groups an additional year to comply. That’s just one year until Catholic doctors, nurses, technicians, pharmacists, hospitals and any other health care provider must comply, regardless of their own conscience. <br />
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Cardinal-designate Timothy M. Dolan responded immediately, saying: “In effect, the president is saying we have a year to figure out how to violate our consciences. Beginning August 1, 2012 (less than eight months from today), the insurance premiums we pay, including the insurance premiums paid by Catholics for employees of churches and schools — will be used to cover drugs and procedures that are in direct conflict with the teachings of our Church.” Catholics will be paying for abortions, sterilizations and other immoral procedures whether we like it or not. <br />
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Cardinal-designate, Archbishop Timothy Dolan is now in direct opposition to President Obama on this issue. And so am I. <br />
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President Obama ignored the organized efforts of Catholics across the country, including bold statements from the Bishops, university presidents (including Notre Dame’s Rev. Jenkins), and even his Catholic allies like Sr. Carol Keehan. Instead, President Obama stood with his real friends — Planned Parenthood. Make no mistake; this decision is a direct attack on you, our Church, and the religious liberty of all Americans. This is just one part of the bigotry against religion, which pervades the so-called “elites” in our nation. <br />
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Just last week, Pope Benedict XVI addressed the bishops from the United States who were completing their “Ad Limina” visit in Rome. The Holy Father specifically cited the “grave threats” to the freedom of the Church in America, and urged the Catholic community to respond, especially with “an engaged, articulate and well-formed Catholic laity.” He’s talking to you and me. The Holy Father’s brief address is a must read and can be found on the Vatican Web site or on my Face Book Page or on our Parish Web Site.<br />
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Finally, we are just one year from Inauguration Day. In twelve months, America will welcome a new president, or usher in four more years of Barack Obama and his assault on our liberties. This irony is not lost on us. At a time like this we realize that elections indeed have consequences. The Catholic vote must rise up like never before. If the President is re-elected we will certainly see more radical moves against our Church and all Christian people, as well as Jews and people of other faiths. <br />
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But the Church has faced this kind of thing before. And the very people who criticized the Catholic Church for not doing enough to stop evil in the 20th Century in Europe before and during World War II are the very people who we must respond to now with a very loud, very clear “No!”<br />
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I hope you will stand with people of faith in the United States and oppose this direct violation of Religious Freedom. I trust you understand the seriousness of failure to keep the oath of office:<br />
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I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter: So help me God.”<br />
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<span style="font-weight: normal;">Sincerely yours,</span></span></span></h6>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5701215613992649559.post-84942220512102296632012-01-23T16:40:00.000-08:002012-01-23T16:40:41.393-08:00March for Life 2012<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkfJQPWq5KtVxI8epmXqERtIybyitni3o3oiOqwKu9NbDPLT191Tvb5PdMCqmBrkKkl4b7rFX-cBl4ZTpg_zIGniiGLoaXcCCyhOO1tkAElChPrvNEuP7_WTaOg8_deYW1YmqyT_ux_f4/s1600/marchforlifeii1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="217" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkfJQPWq5KtVxI8epmXqERtIybyitni3o3oiOqwKu9NbDPLT191Tvb5PdMCqmBrkKkl4b7rFX-cBl4ZTpg_zIGniiGLoaXcCCyhOO1tkAElChPrvNEuP7_WTaOg8_deYW1YmqyT_ux_f4/s400/marchforlifeii1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="280" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3i-1Fs8-dpjXonkDwCe4dc4eudZaYYAFpl7yI9BaDo_kepbWyuITK8pyeAyi15alnEiMwStHQCQ2AE-Icpl5Bo8lrQNZ56aehqrMekaj2lkyiQZQHBDvmLK7zvwRyvjyqp0Ntn6b4ujQ/s400/407465_318642781514326_100001058195109_951685_520732754_n.jpg" width="400" /></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5701215613992649559.post-22455954320504696152012-01-23T11:31:00.000-08:002012-01-23T11:31:40.965-08:00Pro-Choice to Pro-Life Catholic<h1 class="pageTitle"><span style="font-size: large;">A Sexual Revolution</span></h1><div class="byline"><b>One woman's journey from pro-choice atheist to pro-life Catholic</b></div><div class="byline"><b> </b></div><div class="illustration"> </div><span class="dropcap">B</span>ack in my pro-choice days, I read that in certain ancient societies it was common for parents to abandon unwanted newborns, leaving them to die of exposure. I found these stories to be as perplexing as they were horrifying. How could this happen? I could never understand how entire cultures could buy into something so obviously terrible, how something that modern society understands to be an unthinkable evil could be widely accepted among large groups of people.<br />
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Because of my deep distress at hearing of such crimes against humanity, I found it irritating when pro-lifers would refer to abortion as “killing babies.” Obviously, nobody was in favor of killing babies, and to imply that those of us who were pro-choice would advocate as much was an insult to the babies throughout history who actually were killed by their “insane” societies. We were not in favor of killing anything. We simply felt that a woman had a right to stop the growth process of a fetus if she faced a crisis pregnancy. It was unfortunate, but that was the sacrifice that had to be made to prevent women from becoming victims of unwanted pregnancies.<br />
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At that time I was an atheist and had little exposure to religious social circles. As I began to search for God and open my mind to Christianity, however, I could not help but be exposed to pro-life thought more often, and I was put on the defensive about my views. One night I was discussing the topic with my husband, who was re-examining his own pro-choice stance. He made a passing remark that startled me into reconsidering this issue: “It just occurred to me that being pro-life is being pro-other-people’s-life,” he quipped. “Everyone is pro-their-own-life.”<br />
<h3><strong>Growing Discomfort</strong></h3>His remark made me realize that my pro-choice viewpoints had put me in the position of deciding whose lives were worth living, and even who was human. Along with doctors, the government and other abortion advocates, I decided where to draw this crucial line. When I would come across Catholic Web sites or books that asserted “Life begins at conception,” I would scoff, as was my habit, yet I found myself increasingly uncomfortable with my defense. I realized that my criteria for determining when human life begins were distressingly vague. I was putting the burden of proof on the fetuses to demonstrate to me that they were human, and I was a tough judge. I found myself looking the other way when I heard about things like the 3-D ultrasounds that showed fetuses touching their faces, smiling and opening their eyes at ages at which I still considered abortion acceptable. As modern technology revealed more and more evidence that fetuses were humans too, I would simply move the bar for what I considered human.<br />
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At some point I started to feel I was more determined to remain pro-choice than to analyze honestly who was and was not human. I started to see this phenomenon in others in the pro-choice community as well. As I researched issues like partial-birth abortion, I frequently became stunned to the point of feeling physically ill upon witnessing the level of evil that normal people can support. I could hardly believe my eyes when I read of reasonable, educated professionals calmly justifying infanticide by calling the victims fetuses instead of babies. It was then that I took a mental step back from the entire pro-choice movement. If this is what it meant to be pro-choice, I was not pro-choice.<br />
Yet I still could not quite label myself pro-life.<br />
<br />
<div class="main-ad"> </div><div class="main-ad"> </div>I recognized that I too had probably told myself lies in order to maintain my support for abortion. Yet there was some tremendous pressure that kept me from objectively looking at the issue. Something deep within me screamed that not to allow women to have abortions, at least in the first trimester, would be unfair in the direst sense of the word. Even as I became religious, I mentally pushed aside thoughts that all humans might have God-given eternal souls worthy of dignity and respect. It became too tricky to figure out when we receive those souls, the most obvious answer being “at conception,” as opposed to some arbitrary point during gestation. It was not until I re-evaluated the societal views of sex that had permeated the consciousness of my peer group that I was able to release that internal pressure I felt and take an unflinching look at abortion.<br />
<h3><strong>Sex and Creating Life</strong></h3>Growing up in secular middle-class America, I understood sex as something disconnected from the idea of creating life. During my entire childhood I did not know anyone who had a baby sibling; and to the extent that neighborhood parents ever talked about pregnancy, it was to say they were glad they were “done.” In high school sex education class, we learned not that sex creates babies, but that unprotected sex creates babies. Even recently, before our marriage was blessed in the Catholic Church, my husband and I took a course about building good marriages. It was a video series by a nondenominational Christian group, and the segment called “Good Sex” did not mention children once. In all the talk about bonding and back rubs and intimacy and staying in shape, the closest the videos came to connecting sex to the creation of life was a brief note that couples should discuss the topic of contraception.<br />
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All my life, the message I had heard loud and clear was that sex was for pleasure and bonding, that its potential for creating life was purely tangential, almost to the point of being forgotten. This mind-set became the foundation of my views on abortion. Because I saw sex as being by default closed to the possibility of life, I thought of unplanned pregnancies as akin to being struck by lightning while walking down the street—something totally unpredictable and undeserved that happened to people living normal lives.<br />
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My pro-choice views (and I imagine those of many others) were motivated by loving concern: I just did not want women to have to suffer, to have to devalue themselves by dealing with unwanted pregnancies. Since it was an inherent part of my worldview that everyone except people with “hang-ups” eventually has sex, and that sex is, under normal circumstances, only about the relationship between the two people involved, I was lured into one of the oldest, biggest, most tempting lies in human history: the enemy is not human. Babies had become the enemy because of their tendency to pop up and ruin everything; and just as societies are tempted to dehumanize their fellow human beings on the other side of the line in wartime, so had I, and we as a society, dehumanized what we saw as the enemy of sex.<br />
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As I was reading up on the Catholic Church’s understanding of sex, marriage and contraception, everything changed. I had always assumed that Catholic teachings against birth control were outdated notions, even a thinly disguised attempt to oppress the faithful. What I found, however, was that these teachings expressed a fundamentally different understanding of sex. And once I discovered this, I never saw the world the same way again.<br />
<h3><strong>Burdens or Blessings?</strong></h3>The way I had always seen it, the generally accepted view was that babies were burdens, except for a few times in life when everything might be perfect enough for a couple to see new life as a good thing. The Catholic view, I discovered, is that babies are blessings and that while it is fine to attempt to avoid pregnancy for serious reasons, if we go so far as to adopt a “contraceptive mentality”—feeling entitled to the pleasure of sex while loathing (and perhaps trying to forget all about) its life-giving properties—we not only fail to respect this most sacred of acts, but we begin to see new life as the enemy.<br />
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I came to see that our culture’s widespread use and acceptance of contraception meant that the “contraceptive mentality” toward sex was now the default attitude. As a society, we had come to take it for granted that we are entitled to the pleasurable and bonding aspects of sex even when we are opposed to the new life it might produce. The option of abstaining from the act that creates babies if we see children as a burden had been removed from our cultural lexicon. Even if it would be a huge crisis to become pregnant, we had a right to have sex anyway. If this were true—if it were morally acceptable for people to have sex even when they believed that a new baby could ruin their lives—then abortion, as I saw things, had to be O.K.<br />
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Ideally I would have taken an objective look at when human life begins and based my views on that alone, but the lie was just too tempting. I did not want to hear too much about heartbeats or souls or brain activity. Terminating pregnancies simply had to be acceptable, because carrying a baby to term and becoming a parent is a huge deal, and society had made it very clear that sex was not a huge deal. As long as I accepted the premise that engaging in sex with a contraceptive mentality was morally acceptable, I could not bring myself to consider that abortion might not be acceptable. It seemed inhumane to make women deal with life-altering consequences for an act that was not supposed to have life-altering consequences.<br />
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Given my background, the Catholic idea that we are always to treat the sexual act with awe and respect, so much so that we should simply abstain if we are opposed to its life-giving potential, was a revolutionary message. Being able to consider honestly when life begins, to open my heart and mind to the wonder and dignity of even the tiniest of my fellow human beings, was not fully possible for me until I understood the nature of the act that creates these little lives in the first place.<br />
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All of these thoughts had been percolating in my brain for a while, and I found myself increasingly in agreement with pro-life positions. Then one night I became officially, unapologetically pro-life. I was reading yet another account of the Greek societies in which newborn babies were abandoned to die, wondering how normal people could do something like that, and I felt a chill rush through me as I thought: I know how they did it.<br />
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I realized in that moment that perfectly good, well-meaning people—people like me—can support gravely evil things because of the power of lies. From my own experience, I knew how the Greeks, the Romans and people in every other society could put themselves into a mental state where they could leave a newborn child to die. The very real pressures of life—“we can’t afford another baby,” “we can’t have any more girls,” “he wouldn’t have had a good life”—left them susceptible to the temptation to dehumanize other human beings. Though the circumstances were different, the same process had happened with me, with the pro-choice movement and with anyone else who has ever been tempted to dehumanize inconvenient people.<br />
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I suspect that as those Greek parents handed over their infants for someone to take away, they remarked on how very unlike their other children these little creatures were: they couldn’t talk, the couldn’t sit up, and surely those little yawns and smiles were just involuntary reactions. I bet they referred to these babies with different words than they used to refer to the children they kept. Maybe they called them something like “fetuses.”<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">SOURCE:<a href="http://www.americamagazine.org/content/article.cfm?article_id=10904"> http://www.americamagazine.org/content/article.cfm?article_id=10904</a></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><strong>Jennifer Fulwiler</strong> is a Web developer who lives in Austin, Tex., with her husband and three children. She converted to Catholicism from atheism in 2007 and writes about her conversion at <a href="http://www.conversiondiary.com/" target="_blank">http://www.conversiondiary.com/</a>.</span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5701215613992649559.post-73265718224549977142012-01-10T15:02:00.000-08:002012-01-10T15:02:40.301-08:00EUGENICS UNDER THE GUISE OF NON-INVASIVE PRENATAL DIAGNOSIS<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhr5rsUS630UtLPbBr3ijFX_MdzvPXg9RzXHlqaOl3OuJUV4-Yvv2-gCl-vUocY4LhS2OntLI-Q4WRyyvhkHL_gjz37bj4SNI68xPx0Z2tHCu1iqc96CHFLeQ3KNampyUxEuzy11Xi4-GY/s1600/DS.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="256" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhr5rsUS630UtLPbBr3ijFX_MdzvPXg9RzXHlqaOl3OuJUV4-Yvv2-gCl-vUocY4LhS2OntLI-Q4WRyyvhkHL_gjz37bj4SNI68xPx0Z2tHCu1iqc96CHFLeQ3KNampyUxEuzy11Xi4-GY/s320/DS.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Eugenics–the idea that the human race can be improved through selective breeding–was widely accepted in the first three decades of the last century. Mental health patients were forcibly sterilized in the USA because of it. Eugenics gained special credibility in Germany, where it laid the foundation for the Nazi holocaust. Now … something very much like it has returned under the guise of non-invasive prenatal diagnosis.<br />
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Non-invasive prenatal diagnosis allows mothers to learn whether their unborn child has Down syndrome with a high degree of certainty at an early stage in pregnancy. As a result: ”By 2030, Denmark will become Down Syndrome-free. . . . The number of DS [Down Syndrome] births halved in 2005 and has dropped by 13 percent every year since then. . . . In recent years, abortions of DS pregnancies have outnumbered live births worldwide. In France and Switzerland, over 85 percent of all DS pregnancies are terminated.”<br />
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Those tempted to see this as a good thing might want to ask themselves where it should stop. Suppose for example that a gene were identified which accurately predicts a propensity for alcoholism, and suppose this gene could be further identified during pregnancy. Should all babies who are likely to become alcoholics be aborted? Imagine a world without drinking problems, and it’s tempting indeed.<br />
But what about children with learning disabilities? Attention deficit disorder? Dyslexia? Or how about homosexuality? After all, most of the arguments for normalizing society’s view of homosexuality depend on the assumption that gay people are born that way.<br />
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Then there’s skin color. Many people believe darker skinned people have more social challenges in America, even among African Americans. Should unborn children with darker skin be aborted for their own good?<br />
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Clearly, a line must be drawn somewhere, but by whom? Assuming the medical technology will soon exist to test for all of these and countless more genetic possibilities, should we allow a mother to continue to become pregnant and abort until she finally has a fetus she believes is worthy of a life outside her womb?<br />
It is not a hypothetical question in Asia, where hundreds of millions of unborn girls have been selectively aborted in the last few years because boys are considered more valuable. In some Chinese cities, the ratio of newborn boys to girls is not 1.5 to 1.<br />
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The answer to these questions is that human beings are not capable of answering these questions. We are not gods. Again and again we will think such selective breeding is wrong for others, but acceptable in our particular case. We, after all, are experts as assuming we are exceptions to the rule. So given the ability to breed selectively, and given our fundamental selfishness, we will follow in the footsteps of the Nazis.<br />
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Indeed, with 1.3 million abortions in America every year, we already have.<br />
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Article source: <a href="http://dailycristo.com/religion/abortions-of-down-syndrome-babies-nearly-universal/" rel="nofollow nofollow" target="_blank">http://dailycristo.com/<wbr></wbr><span class="word_break"></span>religion/<wbr></wbr><span class="word_break"></span>abortions-of-down-syndrome-<wbr></wbr><span class="word_break"></span>babies-nearly-universal/</a><br />
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Image by Conny Wenk: <a href="http://kidswithalittleextra.blogspot.com/" rel="nofollow nofollow" target="_blank">http://<wbr></wbr><span class="word_break"></span>kidswithalittleextra.blogsp<wbr></wbr><span class="word_break"></span>ot.com/</a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0