Thursday, January 31, 2013

Pro-Life Reflection for February 1



Reflection:

A teenager in Oregon went to a legal clinic for an abortion.  When she tried to leave a waiting room in order to get more information about the procedure, she found that the door to the room was locked from the outside!

She never got her questions answered, nor was she told about the risks of abortion.  She sued the clinic and won.

Prayer:

Lord, the spirit of abortion is a spirit of slavery.  Let Your freedom shine forth, bringing truth, strength to do what is right, and the triumph of life.

Republican Party Backs De-Funding Planned Parenthood



 by Steven Ertelt

The Republican Party is now officially on record as supporting the de-funding of the taxpayer-supported Planned Parenthood abortion business. On Friday, top GOP officials at the RNC approved a measure supporting efforts to revoke its taxpayer funding.

As longtime pro-life and Republican attorney Jim Bopp informed LifeNews, the The Republican National Committee passed a resolution to end “any and all” taxpayer funding for Planned Parenthood, the nation’s biggest abortion company, and to send money to legitimate women’s health care efforts instead.

The National Catholic Register provided more details on the decision:

Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of the Susan B. Anthony List, praised the decision for “taking this pro-life stand to get taxpayers out of the abortion business.”

“This abortion-centered business simply doesn’t need or deserve taxpayer dollars,” Dannenfelser said.

The Republican resolution was sponsored by RNC committeewoman Ellen Barrosse of Delaware.

“It’s time to send our taxpayer dollars to organizations that truly care about women,” Barrosse said. “I thank my fellow RNC members for reaffirming our commitment to the unborn and their mothers.”

The newest annual report released by the national Planned Parenthood abortion business shows it did more abortions in its last year than ever before in its history.

The new report released by the Planned Parenthood Federation of America (PPFA) shows the abortion giant did a record 333,964 abortions on unborn children during the 2011-2012 fiscal year. Those abortions were estimated to have generated $150 million dollars for the “nonprofit” organization.

While the number of abortions reached a record high, only 2,300 Planned Parenthood customers were referred to adoption agencies during the 2011-2012 fiscal year.

Meanwhile, the annual report reveals PPFA generated nearly $1.2 billion in total income — just short of the $1.22 billion mark that was its record for income that it posted in 2010-2011.

PPFA’s income included a hefty and ever-increasing check from American taxpayers. In 2009-2010, government funding reached a whopping $487.4 million. In 2010-2011 the figure jumped to $538.5 million. The total for 2011-2012 reached a staggering $542.4 million, which represents 45.2 percent of the group’s total annual budget.

In its last annual report, Planned Parenthood did 329,445 abortions in 2010 while it provided prenatal care to only 31,098 women and referred only 841 women to adoption agencies.

 


Participants of the LCMS Life Conference gather for a Divine Service with Communion before the "March for Life" on Friday, Jan. 25, 2013, in which LCMS President Rev. Dr. Matthew C. Harrison preaches. "We are a people of joy over life!" Harrison says during the service, held at the Hyatt Regency Crystal City, Arlington, Va. The service was hosted by Immanuel Lutheran Church, Arlington, Va.


                                                                                                                                                                                     

learn more about this story here

Submitted by Daniel Stinson

Did You Know the WHO Ranks Birth Control Pill as Carcinogen?

  

Perhaps the best-kept secret of modern medicine is the link between oral contraceptives and increased breast cancer risk.

While combined oral contraceptives, better known as The Pill, rank as Group I carcinogens according to a 2005 report released by the International Agency for Research on Cancer, an arm of the World Health Organization, doctors continue to routinely prescribe the pill for a variety of conditions, ranging from acne to birth control (American Cancer Society, 2008)....

Combined oral contraceptives are composed of estrogen and progesterone or progestin, a synthetic form of progesterone. Estrogen and progesterone are female sex hormones; estrogen thickens the lining of the uterus, and progesterone/progestin prepares the endometrium for implantation of the egg. (National Cancer Institute, 2006).

The reasoning behind a combination of estrogen and progesterone/progestin is that estrogen given on its own increases the risk of uterine cancer. Taking a combination of the 2 confers protection from uterine cancer but increases breast cancer risk.

In short, the science behind the increased breast cancer risk stems from 2 primary mechanisms. In both instances, progesterone/progestin becomes a double-edged sword, as it confers protection from increased uterine cancer risk but "gives permission" for estrogen to negatively affect breast DNA.

First, the combination of estrogen plus progesterone/progestin functions as a genotoxin, meaning it directly damages DNA in the breast. Several estrogen metabolites, or breakdown products, including 4-hydroxy-catechol-estrogen quinine, have been proven to function in this manner (Lanfranchi, 2007).

Second, estrogen functions as a mitogen, or cancer promoter, and estrogen promotes cancer in 2 ways. As seen in the graph, it stimulates an explosion of rapid proliferation of cells in breast lobules, causing a greater likelihood of mutations with the increased rate of division.

 


 Additionally, estrogen promotes speedier development of any already-cancerous cells in the breast (Lanfranchi, 2007).

Why doesn't the American public know about the increased risk? Why is the teenage girl on the pill for acne unaware of the health risks involved? Women deserve better.


Jill Stanek is a nurse turned speaker, columnist and blogger, a national figure in the effort to protect both pre-born and post-born innocent human life.

Another article on this subject from CCL

 


Open Letter in Support of Religious Freedom

Speaking from Lubbock, Texas, where he is attending the LCMS Texas District Convention, LCMS President Matthew C. Harrison announces the release of "Free Exercise of Religion: Putting Beliefs into Practice," an open letter opposing the recent U.S. Health and Human Services contraceptive mandate on the grounds that it is an infringement of our God-given right to act according to the tenets of our faith. Twenty-four other religious leaders joined in signing the letter.





        


Learn more about the LCMS response to the contraceptive mandate here                                                                                                                                                                      

LCMS Lutherans Commend Roman Catholic Archbishop Jerome Listecki

On behalf of the South Wisconsin District of the Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod, Pastor Bender and District President Rev. Dr. John Wille, commended the Roman Catholic Church and Milwaukee Archbishop Jerome E. Listecki for their courageous stand on religious freedoms and defense of the unborn. The resolution from the district and a letter to the Archbishop from synodical President the Rev. Dr. Matthew Harrison was presented to the Archbishop at the 19th Annual Symposium of the Concordia Catechetical Academy on June 21, 2012.

Not 'War on Women,' 'War on Women's Fertility,' Scholar Says

Dr. Jennifer Roback Morse, president of the Ruth Institute, speaking at a symposium, "Demography and Public Policy: Can the Right Policy Mix Reverse Family Breakdown?" with New York Times columnist David Brooks (L), Dr. Charles Murray (R), the W.H. Brady Scholar at the American Enterprise Institute, and Dr. Allan Carlson (far right), president of The Howard Center for Family, Religion & Society, Dec. 7, 2012, Washington, D.C.



By Napp Nazworth, Christian Post Reporter; December 11, 2012|8:58 am

There is not a "war on women," but there is a "war on women's fertility," Dr. Jennifer Roback Morse, an economist and president of the Ruth Institute, believes. Rather than view fertility as a problem to be solved, Morse argued Friday, fertility should be viewed as a gift from God. Colleges and labor markets should, therefore, adjust to the biological needs of women.

In a search for equality, Morse insisted, women have been trying to fit themselves into a work/life cycle developed for the male body. Instead, she said women should demand that the education system and labor markets adjust to needs of the female body. Namely, by recognizing that women's peak fertility is in their early 20s.

Morse delivered her remarks at a symposium hosted by The Howard Center for Family, Religion & Society in Washington, D.C., called, "Demography and Public Policy: Can the Right Policy Mix Reverse Family Breakdown?" She was accompanied by Dr. Allan Carlson, president of The Howard Center for Family, Religion & Society, who spoke about public policies aimed at reversing the declines in marriage and birth rates.

Economic studies have long held, Morse explained, that gender wage differences are mostly due to marriage and children, not workplace discrimination. Comparing single women to single men, there is no wage difference, or, in some professions women are paid more. Marriage and children, though, tends to have a negative impact on women's wages and a positive impact on men's wages. The reason, Morse said, is that when men get married and have children they become more focused on workplace performance and when women get married and have children they become more focused on caring for the children.

In the typical male career path most of the demands are placed early in the career. For women, though, this is the best time to have and raise kids. When women follow the typical male career path, they are past their peak fertility by the time they feel secure enough in their careers to have children.

"Highly-educated women have defined their goal as equal participants in a labor market designed for people who don't give birth," Morse said.

This has led women to participate in highly invasive procedures to adapt to the typical male-defined career path.

"We are allowed to participate in a labor market, and in education, as long as we agree to chemically neuter ourselves during our peak child bearing years. When our children are the smallest and most vulnerable, we agree to place them in commercial care, that is if we're lucky to have any children. And if we're unable to conceive when we're finally ready, professionally and financially, we agree to submit our bodies to the trauma of artificial reproductive technology, including the over stimulation of our ovaries," Morse explained.

Alternatively, Morse described a potential career path designed for a female body this way: "Go to college for a liberal, not a vocational, education. Get married. Have your kids. Let your husband support you. It won't kill him, or you. Then go back to school, maybe, for an advanced degree after the kids are grown. Go to work. Then help support the kid's college in your joint retirement. And since we women live longer than men, we can be working longer than they are and let them relax a little bit."

Morse said she is not opposed to and finds nothing objectionable with women choosing not to have children. She also believes, though, that a pro-woman policy would insist that the education system and labor markets adapt to the needs of women who do not want to delay childbirth.

Morse provided several anecdotes, along with the empirical evidence, demonstrating that society views fertility as a problem to be solved rather than a gift to be embraced.

The Department of Health and Human Services' recent birth control mandate, requiring employers to provide birth control in their health plans, for instance, referred to birth control as "preventative care." The implication, Morse said, is that pregnancy is a disease or illness.

"I deeply resent the implication that the normal healthy functioning of my body is considered an illness," Morse implored. "The mandate itself is offensive and is evidence of a war against women's fertility."

Morse also complained that Medicaid, a government health insurance program for the poor, has many anti-fertility policies. Contraception is required, for instance, by program participants and made available to minors without parental consent.

Morse does "not accept that government has an interest in directing the fertility of poor people because there are too many." Indeed, Morse views the anti-fertility policies as an admission to the moral and fiscal failures of the welfare system.

"Change welfare policies to make them more sustainable and compassionate," Morse said, and "stop viewing the children of the poor as a problem for policy makers to solve by preventing their existence."

Morse also appealed to her Christian faith in defense of her position.

The typical secular feminist viewpoint, Morse said, replaced stability in marriage with stability in the workplace, and resents sex differences, "viewing them as some kind of cosmic injustice."

"Modern secularists insist that love, sex and reproduction be separated from each other for the sake of making men and women equal. But that view places men and women at odds with each other and encourages us to use one another – men using women for sex and women using men as combination sperm banks and wallets," Morse complained.

The Judeo-Christian tradition offers an alternative vision, Morse claimed.

"The Judeo-Christian vision insists that marriage is the proper context for both sexual activity and child rearing. The man's sexual desire for woman turns his love toward her. Christianity insists that he love his wife as Christ loves the Church, which is to say, completely self-emptying, self-giving love. His love for his wife builds upon and reinforces their love for their children that they have together, and the woman's desire for children turns her heart toward her children. Love, sex and child bearing are integrated under the umbrella of marriage."

Before founding the Ruth Institute, Morse taught at Yale University and George Mason University and was a research fellow at the Hoover Institution and the Acton Institute.


article continues here


 UPDATE TO ARTICLE

The following update was sent to me by a friend, who had originally sent the article to me.  It reads as follows:



"One clarification: I spoke via e-mail with Dr. Morse (the speaker in this article) to clarify one sentence appearing about mid-way through the article. The sentence reads as follows:

"Morse said she is not opposed to and finds nothing objectionable with women choosing not to have children."

I found this statement to be vague and a possible approval for married women to choose to avoid having children, although I assumed that this was not Dr. Morse’s perspective. When queried, she understood my concern and assured me in her e-mail reply that the description of her views should not be summarized that way, because she realizes that no one should practice contraception per se, so perhaps the author of this article could have more clearly stated Dr. Morse’s position as:

"Morse is not opposed to and finds nothing objectionable to women choosing to remain single and thus not having children."

Why is Government (and Society) Discouraging Childbearing?





By Elizabeth Crnkovich 


A recent Family in America conference in D.C. lays out the problem, and speaker Jennifer Roback-Morse provides a solution.

Past generations of American pioneers, known for their openness to life, would not have believed it. They would be astonished to learn that, in the second decade of the twenty-first century, a woman’s fertility is not celebrated but discouraged. Women who marry early, leave the workforce, and devote themselves to the birthing and raising of children are not the norm. On the contrary, a woman is expected to pass her most fertile years acting like a man, building up a strong career, and making a lot of money. Only after she is thus “established” and has “enough money” is she allowed to start thinking about having children.

In all of this, of course, there is no assumption that she will abstain from sex. Rather, she is expected to use pills and implants, diaphragms and injections in order to foil conception and escape the “burden of children.” The Sandra Flukes of the world are not, however, expected to pay for their own contraceptives. Our “Contraceptor-in-Chief” has decreed that Obamacare (that is to say, all of us) will bear this burden. Apparently, in the view of some, modern women are helpless creatures who need government assistance to postpone and control their own fertility to keep it from spiraling out of control.

At a recent Family in America conference, Dr. Jennifer Morse, founder and president of the Ruth Institute, spoke of society’s lack of acceptance of women’s fertility. Young women are told they must be just like men if they want to enter the workforce and fit in in the workplace. They are advised not to have children right out of school because that will get in the way of a career. Universities accept ever larger numbers of female students, but only with the unspoken understanding that they will not have children while on campus.

According to Dr. Morse, fertility is not seen as the norm for women but is rather viewed as a problem. And since society’s progressives view fertility as problematic, a government constituted of progressives takes action to curb it. This is evident in the recent HHS mandate, in which contraception is considered “preventive care” and is to be “free.” In other words, as Dr. Morse noted, “pregnancy is seen as a disease, a problem to be solved.” So long as this view of women’s fertility is widely held, the government will continue to find ways to control fertility and keep the numbers of mothers and babies down.

The feminist movement has done a good job of portraying women’s fertility in a bad light. Dr. Allan Carlson, President of the Howard Center for Family, Religion, & Society and Editor of The Family in America, addressed precisely this point at the conference: “Feminists want choices, but don’t want women to choose to stay with kids at home, they might like it!” Instead of catering to these views, according to Dr. Carlson, public policies should allow for more choices. Specifically, policies should be put in place to make it easier for women to choose to stay at home if they so desire.

The government should not stand in the way of a woman’s fertility, but should rather safeguard it. Women should be allowed to choose when to bear children and how to raise their families.

This prescription also makes demographic sense. The birth rate has dropped below replacement in America over the past few years. Despite this birth dearth, fertility is still not seen as a good thing, but rather as a problem to be dealt with. If America is to sustain herself, her people need to start replacing themselves. Given that our present policies discourage childbearing, this will not be an easy task.

A recurring theme at the Family in America conference was how American society as a whole has grown to disfavor fertility and disregard marriage. As the institution of marriage declines, this tends to lower fertility even further. Both trends affect public policy since politicians tend to cater to general societal trends. Charles Murray, author of the recent book Coming Apart: The State of White America, 1960-2010, who also addressed the conference, pointed out: “Once you don’t have marriage, you need a stronger state. The welfare state is absolutely essential for America’s people.”

While a good first step in promoting marriage and fertility as societal goods is to institute pro-family and pro-fertility policies, this is only a first step. Ultimately, society itself must embrace the idea that men and women are each unique in their own way, and that marriage is a natural means of uniting their unique strengths so that the whole is greater than the parts. We must recover the truth that a woman’s fertility is integral to her womanhood and is something to be nurtured, not thwarted.


The Shocking Video the Supreme Court Doesn't want you to see


Dear Tea Party Reader,

Please find below an important message from one of our sponsors, National Pro-Life Alliance. They have some special information to share with you.

Thank you.


Dear Concerned American,

I've prepared a brief but urgent video regarding breaking news in the fight to overturn Roe v. Wade in our nation.

Please take a moment to listen to my urgent message by clicking here.

After you listen, please sign the petition to finally end abortion on demand.

Sincerely,

Rand Paul,
U.S. Senator (R-KY)

Wednesday, January 30, 2013

Pro Life Reflection for January 31



Reflection:  

Some fathers are now beginning to claim the same kind of "right" to walk away from their parental responsibilities as mothers are able to do by abortion.  They ask, if we can't force the mother to be a mothers, why should we force the father to be a father?

The bitter fruits of Roe v. Wade continue to unfold.

Prayer:

Lord, instill in all fathers and mothers a deep sense of responsibility for their children, born and unborn.

March for Marriage 2013



Save the Date -  March 26, 2013


more information provided here

Archbishop Chaput to Celebrate National Mass for Eighth Anniversary of Terri Schiavo's Death


Governor Sarah Palin scheduled to speak at Award Gala following Terri's Memorial Mass


PHILADELPHIA, Jan. 23, 2013 /Christian Newswire/ -- The Terri Schiavo Life & Hope Network is delighted to announce that Archbishop Charles Chaput, Archbishop of the Diocese of Philadelphia, will celebrate "The National Memorial Mass for Terri's Day."

In addition, Governor Sarah Palin will be the honored speaker at the Terri Schiavo Life & Hope Network's Award Gala following Terri's Memorial Mass.

The International Day of Prayer and Remembrance for Terri Schindler Schiavo, and All of Our Vulnerable Brothers and Sisters ("Terri's Day") was established in 2007 and is observed each year on or around March 31st, the date of Terri's death.

The purpose of this day is to foster education, prayer, and activism regarding discrimination against the cognitively disabled, and advocacy for people in situations similar to what Terri and her family faced.

"We are delighted to have His Excellency, Archbishop Chaput, as the main celebrant for Terri's Memorial Mass and Governor Palin as the keynote speaker at our first Award Gala. Our intention is to raise the needed awareness of this widely misunderstood issue so that the general public recognizes how our medically vulnerable remain in the cross-hairs of an anti-life mentality growing in our nation," noted Bobby Schindler, Terri's brother and Executive Director of the Terri Schiavo Life & Hope Network.

All are invited and encouraged to attend "The National Memorial Mass for Terri's Day." Because Easter falls on March 31st, this year's Memorial Mass will be held on Friday, April 5th, 2013 at the Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul located at 18th Street & Benjamin Franklin Parkway, Philadelphia.

The Terri Schiavo Life & Hope Network's Award Gala with Governor Sarah Palin will be held in the evening at the downtown Philadelphia Marriott. The first "Terri Schiavo Life & Hope Award" will be presented to an individual/family who fought to protect the dignity of a loved one.

You can go to Terri's Life & Hope Network's website (www.lifeandhope.com) to learn more about Terri's Memorial Mass, purchase tickets for the Gala with Governor Palin, and learn how you can get involved in Terri's Day 2013!

More info on this from the Life and Hope network here

Obama Admin OKs Vending Machine Selling Plan B Morning After Pill


 The Obama administration has approved a request by a college in Pennsylvania to sell the Plan B drug through a vending machine. The Food and Drug Administration will let Shippensburg University continue to dispense the morning after pill via a machine that it installed in the school nurse’s office.

As The Hill reports, the FDA decided not to intervene following a “politically motivated uproar” over the vending machine.

FDA looked at publicly available information about Shippenburg State’s vending program and spoke with university and campus health officials and decided not to take any regulatory actions, the FDA said.

Students at the university can obtain Plan B without waiting for an appointment by depositing $25 in the machine.

  The Etter Health Center at Shippensburg, which has 8,3000 students, sells the drug along with condoms, decongestants and pregnancy tests. College spokesman Peter Gigliotti said in comments to AP that the drug is available to anyone over the age of 17 without a prescription. The machine was installed after the student government association requested it.

“The machine is in a private room in our health center, and the health center is only accessible by students,” Gigliotti said in a statement. “In addition, no one can walk in off the street and go into the health center. Students proceed to a check-in desk located in the lobby and after checking in are granted access to the treatment area.”

article continues here 


Activists Destroy Pro-Life Memorial to Remember Unborn Babies



 Pro-abortion activists have destroyed a memorial of crosses set up in a field to remember the 55 million unborn children who have been killed in abortions since Roe v. Wade in 1973.

On Saturday, January 26th, the Rachel’s Park Memorial, was desecrated, according to an email from Rev. Rusty Lee Thomas of Elijah Ministries to LifeNews.

  Thomas, who is the founder and director of the memorial, said a report was filed with the Waco Police Department at 11:09 am, by an employee of a neighboring business.

  Rachel’s Park Memorial is located at 4720 N. 19th Street in Waco. The park has suffered regular desecration, but this attack was, by far, the most devastating, he said. The spreading display of 4,000 white crosses reinforced with steel rebar was extensively damaged, as was the picket fence enclosing the memorial park.

Thomas provided LifeNews with a photo of the damage, which shows 12 ½ ft by 136 ft cuts through the memorial site, with approximately 600 crosses, rebar, oil, two tires, and parts of a vehicle’s underside littering the park.

Entombed within the park are the remains of a tiny victim of abortion, Thomas added. Thankfully, the main feature of the memorial park, The Tomb of the Unknown Baby, was undamaged.

 “It appears the animosity against the preborn knows no bounds. Not only are we content as a nation to stand back and allow the preborn to die through the sin and crime of abortion, but now there are those among us who seek to destroy the very memory of these children as well,” Thomas said. “We pray the Lord will take this desecration and lead justice to victory and those responsible for this evil act will repent, find forgiveness in Christ, and make restitution.”

Investigators are asking anyone with information to call the Waco Police Department (254) 750-7500 or Waco Crime Stoppers at (254) 753-4357.

 


Leaning Forward But Knocked Back: Pro-Lifer Rocks MSNBC Interview

MSNBC interview Ryan Bomberger of "The Radiance"

By now, everyone knows that mainstream media once again neglected its duty to inform the American public. Most turned a blind eye to the hundreds of thousands that participated in the March for Life on Friday, January 25th in DC.  The MSM was sure to cover the barely one thousand anti-gun/anti-2nd Amendment protestors who assembled at the same National Mall. ABC News, and many media outlets, oddly highlighted Newark Mayor Corey Booker for his deep humanity in his “heroic” act to save the life of a freezing dog! Way to cover the important stuff.

MSNBC hasn’t been silent on the abortion issue at all, though. Granted, they’ve taken the 40th Anniversary of Roe to heavily promote it through many hosts like Maddow, Melissa Harris-Perry, and Toure. They even invited the largest abortion chain’s spokesperson, Planned Parenthood President Cecile Richards, to discuss the need to increase access to abortion (as if there’s any lack of access now). Toure “thanked God for abortion” as he explained he was in a “committed” relationship when his girlfriend got pregnant. But he knew she wasn’t “the one”. So much for “commitment”. She had an abortion. He thanks God.

Nothing like news media personalities shilling for killing.

As hard left as MSNBC feels it needs to lean to go forward, we give them kudos for asking The Radiance Foundation to share our perspective. We just don’t think they were prepared for a pro-life advocate (an adoptee and adoptive father) who wasn’t taking the liberal pro-abortion bait.

 

article continues here 

Some Nerve: NYT Finally Covers March for Life, Only to Bury It Under Story Chiding Marchers for Not Being Anti-Gun









Every January, tens of thousands of people participate in the March for Life in Washington at the anniversary of the Supreme Court's Roe v. Wade decision legalizing abortion. And for five years the New York Times failed to run a single story on the march in its print edition (it marked the 2011 march with a couple of photos on page 12).
This year, the 40th anniversary of the March, the Times broke its streak with a so-so 815-word story by Ashley Parker that made the bottom of the front of the paper's National section, on page 9.
What made the top of page 9? Here the Times showed some nerve, as religion reporter Laurie Goodstein used some liberal Catholic activists to chide pro-life marchers for not also being anti-gun It's almost as if the paper acknowledged the march so as to be able to criticize it.
Mollie Hemingway at Get Religion traced the story to Faith in Public Life, a group funded by left-wing billionaire George Soros:
....this is basically just a press release from the same savvy, highly funded PR firm that has been rolling reporters for the last year. One is beginning to think they enjoy the ride.
From the top of Parker's Times story on the march:
Three days after the 40th anniversary of the decision in Roe v. Wade, the landmark Supreme Court case that legalized abortion, tens of thousands of abortion opponents from around the country came to the National Mall on Friday for the annual March for Life rally, which culminated in a demonstration in front of the Supreme Court building.
On a gray morning when the temperature was well below freezing, the crowd pressed in close against the stage to hear more than a dozen speakers, who included Tony Perkins, the president of the Family Research Council; Representative Diane Black, Republican of Tennessee, who recently introduced legislation to withhold financing from Planned Parenthood, and Senator Rand Paul, Republican of Kentucky; Cardinal Seán Patrick O’Malley of Boston; and Rick Santorum, the former senator from Pennsylvania and Republican presidential candidate.
Midway through, Parker segued into criticism of the protest, something the paper rarely if ever does with liberal protests for gun control or supporting amnesty for illegal immigrants.
The march came two months after the 2012 campaign season, in which social issues like abortion largely took a back seat to the focus on the economy. But the issue did come up in Congressional races in which Republican candidates made controversial statements about rape or abortion. In Indiana, Richard E. Mourdock, a Republican candidate for the Senate, said in a debate that he believed that pregnancies resulting from rape were something that “God intended,” and in Illinois, Representative Joe Walsh said in a debate that abortion was never necessary to save the life of the mother because of “advances in science and technology.” Both men lost, hurt by a backlash from female voters.
Parker concluded with news that Planned Parenthood had a new website, and quoted a statement from its president supporting abortion rights.
In print, the Times buried the actual March for Life story under Goodstein's story on Catholics against guns, "In Fight Over Life, A New Call By Catholics," which at 829 words was actually longer than the paper's actual March for Life piece. The mild headline was reinforced with a photo caption criticizing the pro-life marchers: "Anti-abortion protesters flooded the National Mall in Washington on Friday for the annual March for Life. Many Catholic leaders and theologians are asking why many of those who call themselves 'pro-life' have been silent when it comes to gun control."
Notice how the Times only used the marchers' preferred term "pro-life" when employing it as a weapon against them. Goodstein wrote:
The March for Life in Washington on Friday renewed the annual impassioned call to end legalized abortion, 40 years after the Roe v. Wade decision. But this year, some Roman Catholic leaders and theologians are asking why so many of those who call themselves “pro-life” have been silent, or even opposed, when it comes to controlling the guns that have been used to kill and injure millions of Americans.
More than 60 Catholic priests, nuns, scholars and two former ambassadors to the Vatican sent a letter this week saying that if marchers and politicians truly want to defend life they should support “common-sense reforms to address the epidemic of gun violence in our nation.”
Goodstein tried to put the March for Life president on the spot on guns:
Jeanne Monahan, the president of the March for Life Education and Defense Fund, which organizes the march, said that as a Catholic in the anti-abortion movement, “We absolutely support the idea of being pro-life from conception to natural death.”
"Really, the difference between the little ones in Connecticut, which is so heartbreaking, and the little ones in the womb is their size and their age.”
But asked about the letter from the Catholic leaders, she said: “I definitely have nothing to say about gun control. That’s so out of the parameter of what we’re about.”
Goodstein attempted to elevate gun control to the level of abortion as a moral concern among Catholics.
Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan of New York, the president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, told the Catholic News Service this month that he had told Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr., who is managing the White House response to the recent shootings, that the bishops would assist in “the fight for greater gun control in the country.”
But John Gehring, the Catholic program director at Faith in Public Life, a liberal advocacy group in Washington, said that bishops who had demanded that Catholic legislators vote against abortion rights should do the same on gun control.
He said, “Catholic lawmakers who call themselves pro-life and are pretty cozy with the N.R.A. shouldn’t be getting a free pass.”
 
 
 
 
 

Senate Approves Pro-Abortion John Kerry Secretary of State



The Senate Foreign Relations Committee unanimously approved pro-abortion Sen. John Kerry to replace outgoing pro-abortion Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. The full Senate then voted 94-3 for his nomination.

Most members of the Senate traditionally vote for their Senate colleagues for nominations and all did with the exceptions of Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, and Sen. Jim Inhofe, R-Okla.

Kerry is a Massachusetts Democrat and chairman of the committee. He didn’t attend the panel’s session on his nomination, according to news reports.

Obama chose the five-term Massachusetts senator and 2004 Democratic presidential candidate to succeed Clinton, who is stepped down after four years. Kerry has served on the Foreign Relations panel for 28 years and led the committee for the past four.

 

article continues here 

Tuesday, January 29, 2013

Pro-Life Reflections for January 30






Reflection:

When Jesus died on the Cross, the Centurion repented for his part.

Many who used to perform abortions have now also repented, and they say, "Surely, these were innocent lives, and we are sorry." They have formed a group called the Society of Centurions.  They seek God's healing and invite other abortionists to stop the killing.

Prayer:

Lord, I pray today for the Centurions.  Help them to find Your healing and peace.

Black Pro-Lifers to Protest the 44th NAACP Image Awards

 


The NAACP will host its 44th Image Awards Show to honor cultural and entertainment luminaries presenting the best face of black Americans. Leading black pro-life advocates will be on hand to protest the event, because the NAACP promotes abortion.

At this year’s event, the National Black Prolife Coalition tells LifeNews it will be protesting “due to the failure of the civil rights organization to represent the best interests of the community” including abortion.

Protesters from across the nation will assemble in Los Angeles to declare that the NAACP has betrayed the black community, says Rev. Edward Pinkney, President of Black Autonomy Network Community Organization (BANCO).

“The NAACP is out of touch with the black community and supports population control as set forth by Planned Parenthood which has targeted black people,” he said.

  Dr. Johnny Hunter, National Director of Life Education And Resource Network (LEARN), says, “Racist elitists no longer need the Ku Klux Klan to control blacks; they have Planned Parenthood. And Planned Parenthood has the NAACP on a leash.”

The founder of the northeast division of LEARN, Pastor Clenard Childress states, “The NAACP must quit endorsing destructive and unfruitful behavior.”

Dr. Alveda King, the niece of Dr. Martin Luterh King Jr., told LifeNews, “The NAACP’s departure from the wisdom and life affirming principles of the Bible is very alarming, and must be stopped for the safety, security, and future of our children.”

 

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