Friday, February 28, 2014

Justice Denied in Peru’s Sterilization Campaign

Former president will not be tried; radical feminists grandstand




by Steven W. Mosher and Anne Roback Morse
 
Fifteen years ago, Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori, with the strong encouragement of the Clinton administration, ordered a nationwide sterilization campaign.  At least 300,000 women were sterilized by “mobile sterilization teams” on a Chinese model, many under duress.  Some died.

PRI sent a team of investigators into the country, documented the abuses, and held press conferences and congressional hearings in the U.S. and Peru. Because of our work, the sterilization campaign ground to a halt.

But Fujimori and his health ministers have never been called to account for these human rights abuses.  And now it appears that they won’t be. The Peruvian state prosecutor Marco Guzman dropped the charges last Friday, because he was not convinced that the enforced sterilizations were “widespread or systemic.”
In fact, they were both.

Elected to a second presidential term in mid-1995, Fujimori, with the encouragement of the Clinton State Department and the U.N. Population Fund, ordered his Ministry of Health to focus its efforts on sterilizing women by tubal ligations. He set national targets for the number of sterilizations—100,000 in 1997 alone—and demanded weekly progress reports. These targets and quotas alone are prima facie evidence of serious problems, since they were banned by the 1994 Cairo population conference on the grounds that they always lead to abuses.

PRI investigators found that the mobile sterilization teams were comprised of doctors and nurses who often had no previous training in obstetrics or gynecology, but were nevertheless sent out to the countryside to sterilize women at grotesquely misnamed “ligation festivals.” Officials brought women to the sterilization sites by subjecting them to harassment, verbal abuse, and threats. Among other things, they told the indigenous Peruvian women that, unless they submitted, their children would be denied medical care or food assistance.
Fujimori was originally prosecuted for genocide, which under international law is defined as “any of the following acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group, such as:... (d) Imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group” (emphasis added).

The case can certainly be made that the Peruvian sterilization campaign was genocidal, since it pitted the ‘haves’—the largely urban descendants of Francisco Pizarro’s conquistadores—against the ‘have-nots’—the largely rural descendants of the ancient Incas. The majority of the sterilization teams were sent to the altiplano, or the Andean mountain valleys, and the majority of the sterilizations were done on the Quechua-speaking inhabitants of those regions. This concentration on the impoverished Indios, living a hardscrabble existence on mountain plots, is why these crimes could rightly be characterized as genocide.
After the Peruvian prosecutor dropped the charge of genocide, human rights groups then tried to convict Fujimori for crimes against humanity. Crimes against humanity are defined as: “any of the following acts when committed as part of a widespread or systematic attack directed against any civilian population, with knowledge of the attack:…(g) Rape, sexual slavery, enforced prostitution, forced pregnancy, enforced sterilization, or any other form of sexual violence of comparable gravity….” (emphasis added).

Despite the evidence, Guzman dropped these charges against Fujimori as well. We agree with the director of the center for legal studies at C-FAM, Stefano Gennarini, that this move “is indicative of how much currency population control still has, and how countries don't value the rights of poor and marginalized groups."
Fujimori’s case was the first criminal trial for systemic forced sterilizations since the Nuremberg trials. And it is important because it could have set a precedent.  After all, those who do not remember history are doomed to repeat it, and we do not want other women to have to go through the pain that many Peruvian women suffered.  

Some of the families of women who died from being sterilized under duress still have not received the compensation promised them.  Mamerita Mestanza died as a result of a botched tubal ligation in 1998.  Her husband and seven children were promised 120,000 USD in compensation in 2003, but they still haven't received a penny.  

Meanwhile, the radical feminists who control the Ministry of Women's Affairs ministry continue to draw their salaries while continuing to push poor Peruvian women into "Reproductive Health" programs that have nothing to do with reproduction and sometimes damage their health.   

Fujimori light, you might call it.

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You can see PRI documentation of the abuses in Peru here:

Testimonies and Interviews:


Briefings and Reports:


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

Human Trafficking is Happening in America and Abortion is Part of the Equation

by Brad Mattes
LifeSiteNews.com

When you hear the term “human sex trafficking,” your thoughts probably go to some foreign land. Yet, the reality is that this crisis is taking place in your own backyard, in communities across America. It’s closer and more prevalent than you may realize. And abortion’s part of the equation.

Human trafficking is a modern-day form of slavery, claiming the lives of countless women and children. Worldwide, it’s estimated that nearly 19 million people are enslaved in the commercial sex industry. The FBI reports that the average age of entry into sex trafficking is 12 to 14. Young girls, and sometimes boys, are lured in by pimps who promise a better life, love and acceptance or fame. One of the common tactics is to pose as an agent offering the girl a career in modeling. The girls are enticed, then manipulated, intimidated and overpowered, in most cases violently. Some are beaten, raped and forced into submission. In addition to the physical harm, the psychological abuse debilitates a girl’s sense of self. They’re brainwashed into believing that they are nothing. They’re told that no one will want them because of what they’ve done. Most disturbing, their lives can be threatened if they try to resist. It’s the ultimate victimization of body, mind and soul.

 article continues at http://www.lifenews.com


Washington Bill to Force All Insurance Plans to Cover Abortions Fails for Third Time


by Joseph Backholm
LifeNews.com

The Senate Health Care committee failed to vote on a bill with significant implications.  This signals the likely death for an Abortion Insurance Mandate (HB 2148).

 This represents the third-year in a row the Abortion Insurance Mandate, the top priority of the abortion industry in Washington, has died in the Senate after passing the House. It would have required every insurance policy bought and sold in Washington State to cover abortion, which would require every insurance customer to effectively subsidize abortion through their insurance premiums.

continue reading at http://www.lifenews.com 



 

Cookie Boycott Brings Youtube Shootout On Truth About Girl Scouts

From  John Pisciotta, 
Director of Pro-Life Waco

Wow! The fourth week of Cookiecott brought a desperate Girl Scout CEO Anna Marie Chavez out on YouTube attempting to calm the media storm (traditional & social) over Girl Scouts pro-abortion and liberal leanings.

As expected, Chavez claimed total innocence--even with a preposterous claim that Girl Scouts has NEVER had relationships with Planned Parenthood.

You can watch a 6-minute rebuttal of the Chavez feeble attempt to hide and ignore the truth below. This fact-filled video was created by the moms who brought you http://www.mygirlscoutcouncil.com.


   

The overall theme of the video is that the gap between what Girl Scout leadership says it does and what it actually does is as wide as the Grand Canyon.

Particular points backed up by the facts include:
1. Girl Scout leadership uses faith in God when this serves their purposes.
2. Girl Scout Councils have collaborated with Planned Parenthood on many occasions.
3. Girls Scout does bring sexuality content into the communications and curricula for girls. The “we leave these matters to parents and families” mantra is a _ _ _. (I don’t want to use too harsh language.)

Please share this message and the YouTube link for this YouTube as widely as you can.  Please forward “me.” Get the word out on Facebook. Tweet out on twitter. Share with your Sunday School class.

The Cookiecott campaign serves the best interests of girls and families. Isn’t the truth always in our best interest? Honesty is actually part of the Girl Scout Law, which has been violated by Girl Scout leadership.

We need “truth in content labels” for Girl Scouts every bit as much as such labeling for Twinkies.

Thursday, February 27, 2014

The Green Family Values Life

   

Life is at the core of the Sebelius v. Hobby Lobby Supreme Court case. The Green family opposes being forced to pay for a small subset of contraceptives that may, according to FDA, terminate life. In this video, members of the Green family share why life is important to them and how their deeply held religious convictions drive them to try to protect it.

For information and updates about this important case, and to share your support, please visit http://www.hobbylobbycase.com/

Wednesday, February 26, 2014

Court Of Appeals Puts Priests For Life Lawsuit On “Fast Track”!



While our case moves forward in the D.C. Circuit, we’ve also invoked Rule 11 and filed a PETITION FOR WRIT OF CERTIORARI with the Supreme Court because our lawsuit has “imperative public importance” due to the fact that the HHS mandate forces Priests for Life and other non-profit organizations, businesses and individual citizens to participate in the moral evil of abortion.

We’re taking these extraordinary actions because our lawsuit is one of the best ways to protect and safeguard both religious freedom in America and our right to speak out against abortion!

It is absolutely critical that we preserve our rights as Americans to practice our faith without fear of government coercion and, just as importantly, to speak out against the grave evil of abortion.

If we do not end the injustice of abortion, it will surely destroy our nation.

That’s why our lawsuit is so terribly important. Without legal protection from the courts, it will be all the more difficult for the People of Life and the nation’s pro-life movement to carry on our fight against legalized abortion-on-demand in America.



Please use this link to make a tax deductible donation to Priests for Life to help with this lawsuit.



About Priests for Life
 

Priests for Life has come to signify two distinct but related movements within the wider pro-life movement.

On one level, as described below, Priests for Life refers to a very specific effort to galvanize the clergy to preach, teach, and mobilize their people more effectively in the effort to end abortion and euthanasia.

On another level, Priests for Life represents a family of ministries that reach and enrich every aspect of the pro-life movement, for clergy and laity alike, in a wide variety of activities. This has come to pass precisely because priests are not ordained for themselves, but for the people. So in activating clergy, we are activating all the segments of the Church, the pro-life movement, and the wider society in the defense of life. 

We refer to this wider family of ministries as Gospel of Life Ministries, to indicate that what unites them all is the Gospel of Life, the good news that life is victorious over death!



Anti-Abortion Student Group Says School Is Treating It Unfairly


 From Kristan Hawkins
President, Students for Life of America
 
A few months ago, our Northwest Regional Coordinator, Rebekah Barnes, helped Bryce Asberg start a pro-life group at his school, Wilson High School in Tacoma, Washington. Ever since he started Wilson Students for Life (WSFL), Bryce has faced censorship and delay from his administration. And this December, things got really bad when his school Vice Principal told him he wasn't allowed to post 2 of Students for Life of America's posters because they could be offensive and controversial to some ---even though his school's Gay-Straight Alliance were allowed to put up posters that read "Love Knows No Limits."
Bryce contacted Rebekah immediately, and our team contacted our attorneys. They confirmed that what was happening at Wilson High School wasn't right --- that if the Gay-Straight Alliance were allowed to hang flyers with their beliefs so should the pro-life group. After all, this is a public high school and the first amendment rights of all students is constitutionally guaranteed.
 
Last week, our team issued a public statement informing the media that our attorneys had sent Bryce's school a letter requesting that they allow him to hang his posters and uphold his rights. Immediately, every TV station and newspaper in Seattle and Tacoma wanted to interview Bryce.  
 
Rebekah dropped everything and drove up from her office in Portland to be with Bryce. I hopped on the phone and started training him in how to do media interviews. Our attorneys at the Thomas More Society starting fielding questions from reporters.
 
A few hours after the release, Bryce's school district came out with a statement with blatant falsehoods, claiming they never censored Wilson Students for Life's pro-life flyers and tried to make Bryce seem like he had disobeyed his administrators. While we have the proof that this is false, this caused a lot of stress on Bryce, his parents who have been helping him throughout this ordeal, and the members of his newly-formed pro-life club.
 
Bryce is 15 and has served to be an inspiration for me these past 2 weeks. Like the pro-life students at the University of Alabama, he is bravely standing up for his beliefs and for all pro-life students across the nation who are being censored and blocked by their school administrations.
 
Just watch this short interview he did for the Seattle Fox channel this week to see what a courageous young man he is!
 
 
This week, Bryce, his parents, and members of his group have a meeting with school administrators, where I'm sure they are going to scold him for taking his censorship public. And I know if I can send him thousands of thank you messages before that meeting it will give him the motivation he needs to keep standing strong for Life.
 

Thank you for always standing with us at Students for Life. You'll never know just how much it means to us!

Margaret Sanger Started Black Genocide Under Planned Parenthood

       


Very Eye-Opening Video. Please Share with your Facebook, Google and Twitter feeds! Keep others informed of this information. They must hear the word and I truly think this will change some people if they see it, so should you!

Patricia Heaton’s Gutsy Tweet About Margaret Sanger, Black Abortions


by Lauren Enriquez
Live Action News 


Hollywood is known for its liberal ideology and agenda, and few actors stand out as outspokenly pro-life. Celebrities who publicly oppose abortion are diamonds in the rough, and one of these — who has been an audacious pro-lifer for years — is Everybody Loves Raymond’s Patricia Heaton.

Once in a while, Heaton takes to Twitter to voice her pro-life convictions, like when she tweeted multiple times during the Gosnell trial in April about the horrors of his practice. She even called out network television for its silence on the matter (undeterred by the fact that she is employed by one such network — ABC —  where she currently stars on its primetime comedy, The Middle).


Last week, Heaton hit social media once again, when she linked to a National Review article about the staggering reality that, in New York City (where laws ensure that abortion statistic data are well-documented), more black babies are aborted than born. The article says:

continue reading at http://liveactionnews.org 



Tuesday, February 25, 2014

Baby Found Alive in Apartment Trash in SE Houston

Houston authorities are trying to identify the parents of a newborn baby found inside the trash. (MyFoxHouston.com 
By Dale Lezon
Houston Chronicle

When Death Becomes More Precious Than Life


More Black Babies Killed In New York Than Born



by Christine Pasciuti


The mere word triggers such differing emotional and personal responses across a landscape of vast ideologies, religious persuasions and experiences. 

Abortion. Whether we are adamantly opposed, indifferent, radically for it, or cringe in remembrance of a painful decision of our own once upon a time, the word almost never passes through our consciences without leaving its personal calling card. 

We hear the term used almost daily in the news, in advertising, among family and friends, and in secret conversations between confidants. And no matter how many times the scientific community tries to assure us—whether in the classroom, the abortion clinic, or in our minds—we’re never really 100 percent certain—are we?—that an aborted pregnancy is “not a baby” or “not a life”, or that it’s absolutely ok and even proper to choose termination if we didn’t intend to get pregnant, and have no desire or means to care for the child. 

But once we leave the clinic, no longer pregnant, why is there often such a nagging sense of guilt and sadness that overcomes so many of us? Why do so many women who go through with an abortion experience depression and remorse afterwards? Studies have shown this to be the case, yet we don’t want to acknowledge that we’re one of “those” who are unable to cope with their decision. 

No, we’re strong and we did the right thing, we try to convince ourselves, while privately swallowing our own shame and doubt. And, we get even better at it as time goes on, when we decide one more time, that abortion is the best birth control method for us. In fact, after a few times, it becomes easier and easier to just head on back to the clinic, where we are welcomed with open arms, and comforted by friendly staff as they lead us down the hall to the procedure room. With the last remaining few butterflies in our gut rebuffed, we hold our chins up and go… nothing to it anymore, right?