United Nations, Abortion and Torture

 From Bill Donahue, President
Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights

Bill Donohue released the following remarks today:

Yesterday in Geneva, the Catholic Church's opposition to abortion was branded "psychological torture" by a member of the U.N. Committee Against Torture. It would be instructive to know why this committee contends that those who are against abortion are guilty of promoting "psychological torture," but not those who like it.

Emily Letts, 25, does not like abortion—she loves it. That's why she had one. More than that, she had it videoed; to read her Cosmopolitian story, click here.

Letts admits that not too long ago, she "felt fairly depressed most of the time." Why? "I disliked my body. I felt competitive toward women." That changed once she became an abortion counselor—now she was in a groove. Then she got pregnant. She confesses that "I hadn't been using any kind of birth control, which is crazy, I know. I'm a sex educator, and I love talking about birth control."

When she found she was pregnant, "I knew immediately I was going to have an abortion. I knew I wasn't ready to take care of a child." But she wanted to do more than have an abortion—she wanted you to see it. "I could have taken the pill, but I wanted to do the one that women were most afraid of. I wanted to show it wasn't scary—and that there is such a thing as a positive abortion story. It's my story."

Letts said her abortion was "as birth-like as it could be. It will always be a special memory for me. I still have my sonogram, and if my apartment were to catch fire, it would be the first thing I'd grab." She adds that "every time I watch the video, I love it."

Members of the U.N. Committee on Torture should ask Letts for a copy of the unedited video, watch it, and then explain why abortion is not torture.

Ask the U.N. Committee Against Torture to watch the video and then issue a statement: cat@ohchr.org

HUMANAE VITAE: NFP VS. CONTRACEPTION

By Kevin Aldrich
Catholic Stand

This is the fifth in a six-part series on Humanae Vitae, Pope Paul VI’s profound and heroic 1968 encyclical. The series’ introduction is here. The question of “responsible parenthood” as the Church defines it is taken up here. Questions about the unitive and procreative meanings of sex and why they should not be separated are discussed here. Questions of conscience are taken uphere. This post will examine why NFP and contraception are so different, even though they kind of look the same.

For the sake of simplicity, natural family planning (NFP) is any of the methods by which married couples can determine when the wife is potentially fertile, so that they can practice periodic continence (abstinence) if they don’t desire pregnancy. Under contraception, I will include anything the couple does before, during, or after the marital act to attempt to render it infertile.

WHAT KINDA LOOKS THE SAME WHEN YOU COMPARE NFP AND CONTRACEPTION?

What is the same when comparing the use of NFP and contraception is that in both cases the couple has made a decision to try to avoid pregnancy. As we discussed in the last column, the couple ought to have made a decision in conscience that they have a serious (just) reason to postpone having a child at this time.

continue reading at http://catholicstand.com

Kevin Aldrich lives with his wife and seven children in Springfield, IL. He writes screenplays, TV pilots, novels, non-fiction books and articles, and English and religion curricula. He blogs for the Year of Faith at http://www.doctrinalhomilyoutlines.com/.

DAYTON MAYOR ATTENDING PLANNED PARENTHOOD FUNDRAISING EVENT

by Rev Katherine
KeepLifeLegal

Nan Whaley, Mayor of Dayton, is on the Planned Parenthood host committee for a  funding event on May 8th in Cincinnati. This is Cecile Richards ‘Ohio Tour’ to raise funds since the recent law passed to put Planned Parenthood on the bottom of the free money listbecause they are an abortion ‘provider’.

She is backed by EMILY’s List whose mission statement says: “We elect pro-choice Democratic women to office“. Nan Whaley fails women by purporting cheap birth control and abortion. If there is a ‘war on women’, it’s because women like her demonstrate short-cutting who women truly are by making them subservient to the abortion & reproductive agenda.

continue reading at http://keeplifelegal.com

Dr. Alveda King Addresses Black Genocide in Missouri

by Jeannie Deangelis

for Live Action News

In 2009 a billboard was erected in New York’s Soho district that read: “The Most Dangerous Place for an African-American is in the Womb.” That wakeup call was  taken down right after it went up. Yet despite the unwillingness to know the truth, the veracity of the message is unchanged.

According to  2009 data presented by New York City’s Department of Health, “Fifty-seven percent of black pregnancies in the city end in abortion,” which, at best, is a shocking piece of data.

Dr. Alveda King, whose uncle is the late Reverend Martin Luther King Jr., defines the murder of black babies in the womb as genocide. A civil rights champion in her own right, King received the Life Prize Award and the Civil Rights Award from the Congress of Racial Equality, and currently serves as a Pastoral Associate with Priests for Life.

Recently, while addressing a group of students at the University of Missouri, Alveda King alerted her audience to the reality that whether they realize it or not, black people are murdering themselves. After being introduced to the people gathered at Columbia’s Jesse Auditorium by Students for Life President Rachelle Engen , Dr. King shared with listeners her family background, her Christian faith, and her unwavering commitment to protect life at all stages.

continue reading at http://liveactionnews.org

Lily's Gift: Help for Poor Prenatal Diagnosis

Do you feel numb and in shock?...Heartbroken?...Frightened and alone? resources and support?

..Are you considering carrying to term but uncertain how to find resources and support?

Lily’s Gift is a ministry for parents who have received a poor prenatal diagnosis and have decided to carry their baby to term. Lily's Gift is a ministry that provides support to parents carrying to term following a prenatal diagnosis that utilizes the perinatal hospice model of support while following the ethical teachings of the Catholic Church with regard to the dignity of human life, disability advocacy, and end of life issues. God gives purpose to each person no matter how long or short their life expectancy.

Lily’s Gift includes a Gifting support that provides baptismal/burial gowns that are provided to the families that we are ministering to. Gifting affirms the dignity of the baby, encouraging and supporting the parent’s decision to carry to term and parent the child, for a precious moment in some cases.

We are currently in need of wedding gowns and 1^st Communion dresses, used or new, clean or stained. The dresses will be made into baptismal/burial gowns and given to parents for their infants who have been named and loved for their short presence here on earth. Thank you for generously supporting our ministry.

For more information on this group or to donate or find help, use this link http://www.lilysgift.org/ 

Pennsylvania Gov to Investigate Planned Parenthood Abortion Clinic Dodging Inspections

by Micaiah Bilger

for LifeNews.com

Documents from an abortion center in Allentown have prompted state officials to investigate whether the center may be dodging unannounced state inspections.

A Planned Parenthood in Allentown allegedly rescheduled abortion procedures after finding out when the Pennsylvania Department of Health planned to inspect the facility, according to documents released to blogger Jill Stanek. The allegations that Planned Parenthood has inside information about inspections prompted speedy action by the Governor.

“Pro-life Governor Tom Corbett’s office is now looking into allegations that abortion giant Planned Parenthood may be getting preferential treatment when it comes to abortion center inspections,” said Maria Gallagher, legislative director of the Pennsylvania Pro-Life Federation, an affiliate of National Right to Life. “We commend the Governor for taking swift action to ensure the integrity of the inspection process.  The health and safety of women across the Commonwealth are at stake.”

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

Micaiah Bilger is the Education Director for the Pennsylvania Pro-Life Federation.

Gubernatorial Candidate Allyson Schwartz Promotes Abortion in Philly Inquirer

According to an article in Philly.com, pro-abortion gubernatorial candidate Allyson Schwartz, during an hour-long session with the Editorial Board of the Philadelphia Inquirer, disputed the notion that she would be vulnerable in a statewide general election because of her identification with abortion rights.  

Ms. Schwartz co-founded and was executive director of the Elizabeth Blackwell Center, a Planned Parenthood facility in center city Philadelphia.  Ms. Schwartz made this false claim, "I think we should stop worrying about that," Schwartz said, adding that support for access to abortion is the majority opinion in the state.”

"It's time for us to stop thinking about Pennsylvania as being so behind, because it's not," she said. "Look, President Obama ran ads in Western Pennsylvania on Planned Parenthood. Now he didn't do that because he was a risk-taker. He did it because he knew that Pennsylvanians across the state supported women's access to health services, including abortion."

full article can be found at http://articles.philly.com

How Many Babies Are Missing in Your County Due to Abortion?

By Micaiah
Pennsylvania Pro-Life Federation

Abortion is a crisis in our nation. 55 million babies have died because of it.

But 55 million is a difficult number to relate to. It’s hard for me to picture 55 million of anything. The number is just unimaginable.

So, when I need some perspective, I look at abortion numbers in my home community. Below is a list from the Pennsylvania Department of Health with the number of babies who died in abortions by county in 2012.

When I look at the list and the number beside my county, it reminds me of how real abortion is. I wonder whose baby isn’t crying next door, or whose child I won’t see playing in the park down the street. I think about how there will be nine fewer children starting kindergarten in a few years.

continue reading at http://blog.paprolife.us/

The Pennsylvania Pro-Life Federation, Inc., is committed to promoting the dignity and value of human life from conception to natural death and to restoring legal protection for preborn children. Through legislation, political action, education and other legal means, we proclaim the truth about abortion, infanticide, and euthanasia. 

We are a statewide grassroots right to life organization and the Pennsylvania affiliate of the National Right to Life Committee in Washington, D.C. (www.nrlc.org)  We seek legal protection and societal respect for the right of every child to live, and promote viable alternatives to abortion, such as adoption and assisted parenting. 

PA Pro-Life is divided into a three-arm approach to changing the culture and making Pennsylvania a safe haven for life.

Boxer Floyd Mayweather Powerless to Defend the Life of His Unborn Twins

From Kevin Burke

Priests for Life

Trauma: A traumatic event is an experience that causes physical, emotional, psychological distress, or harm. It is an event (such as rape, sudden accidental death, natural disaster etc.) that is perceived and experienced as a threat to one’s safety or to the stability of one’s world.

How horribly ironic that one of the greatest Professional Boxers in the world is powerless after Roe V Wade to defend the life of his unborn children.  Read the tragic experience of Boxer Floyd Mayweather and his former fiance, Shantel Christine Jackson…and the traumatic anger, pain and relationship implosion of a father who lost his twin children to abortion.

When couples are engaged to be married and learn of an unplanned pregnancy, there can be a great temptation to abort the child. Parents can face economic fears, professional or educational commitments, embarrassment to face the truth with family and future in-laws…or something as tragic as not wanting an unplanned pregnancy to interfere with the perfect wedding.

continue reading at https://www.priestsforlife.org/

KEVIN BURKE is a licensed social worker, Co-Founder of Rachel's Vineyard Ministries and a Pastoral Associate of Priests for Life. He is a graduate of The Bryn Mawr Graduate School of Social Work. Kevin's presentations address the effects of abortion on men, couples and families and effective post abortion ministry for Clergy and Counselors. 

WHAT’S WRONG WITH BEING PRO-ABORTION?

Cassy Fiano
for Live Action News

Thursday was the National Day of Prayer, and at an event sponsored by Rep. Robert Aderholt, Focus on the Family founder James Dobson was invited to be a speaker. One Democrat congresswoman, Rep. Janice Hahn, interrupted Dobson’s speech before storming out of the event. What invoked Hahn’s fury?

An outraged Democrat congresswoman from California said she was so dismayed to hear James Dobson, the founder of the Christian group Focus on the Family, refer to President Obama as the “abortion president” at Thursday’s National Day of Prayer, she had to leave.

Rep. Janice Hahn stormed from the event shortly after Mr. Dobson spoke, the Huffington Post reported.

continue reading at http://liveactionnews.org/ 

Cassy Fiano is a blogger who lives with her husband, a United States Marine. They have a toddler named Ben, a second son named Wyatt, who has Down syndrome, and a little girl named Ivy.