Pro-life blog buzz 2-20-15

from Jill Stanek.com

 

by Susie Allen, host of the blog, Pro-Life in TN, and Kelli

Wesley J. Smith examines a New York Times article which celebrates “a woman who waxes ecstatically about choosing the characteristics of her baby – apparently including his sex – as if she were buying a camp shirt at Tommy Bahama.” Smith mourns the fact that our society has become so self-centered and consumer-focused “that we presume the right to both have a baby and the baby we want.”

Survivors lists four things we can learn from civil rights hero Rosa Parks, applying this knowledge to combatting the horror of abortion.


Right to Life of Michigan says The Women’s Pavilion, an abortion clinic in South Bend, Indiana, will soon have its license revoked due to failure to correct multiple health violations:
The clinic’s abortionist, Ulrich Klopfer [pictured above], has had a variety of run-ins with the law including his failure to report statutory rape after performing abortions on 13-year-old girls.
Just another reason why clinic inspections are important.

Secular Pro-Life has a new series of blog posts which “deconstruct bizarre, disingenuous, and otherwise noteworthy statements on abortion center websites.” After reviewing the website for Reproductive Health Services of Montgomery, they had this interesting observation:

There is also a page entitled “Patient Comments,” but upon a close reading, the comments appear to come from political supporters rather than patients. None say anything specific about having had an abortion at RHS (e.g. “The staff treated me well”). One talks about having an abortion in 1973 (before RHS existed); another identifies herself as the mother of a newborn; another talks about wanting abortion to be legal when her four-year-old daughter grows up; and another refers to women she knows who have had abortions, rather than referring to herself. 

The comment that really gave me chills, though, was the last one:“I have cared for 53 foster teenagers, most of them born unwanted. I couldn’t appreciate what you are doing more!”

Dude. If you truly believe that the children in your care would have been better off dead, you have no business whatsoever being a foster parent. I hope those 53 teenagers got out of this person’s home with some measure of their self-esteem intact.

ProWomanProLife has an astute comment on the article regarding a Canadian OB-GYN who was recently removed from his job because he put women at risk:

Dr. Michel Ronald Prevost [pictured above], an Almonte, Ont., gynecologist, admitted he gave abortion patients incorrect doses of medication that resulted in fetal abnormalities in two pregnancies that went to term.

That the doctor in question was trying as a matter of routine to kill babies bothers no one. That he wasn’t very good at it, however, now THAT’S a problem.

John Smeaton discloses the funding of an educational program for teachers which is intended to help them identify safe and unsafe sexual behaviors among children:

The UK law is clear that sexual activity under the age of 16 is unlawful. Nevertheless, the Department for Education has funded and recommended as a useful resource a Brook “traffic light” system that condones underage sex. The system has been adopted by at least one County Council. (Brook Advisory Service is one of Britain’s leading abortion referral organisations, specialising in advising young people – including those under 16 – about abortion, sex, STIs etc).

The traffic light system is not distributed to young people but is intended to “inform” teachers and other professionals working with children and young people.The tool identifies green, amber and red behaviours. Green behaviours – according to Brook – “reflect safe and healthy sexual development”, and “provide opportunities to give positive feedback”. Those behaviours include “consenting oral and/or penetrative sex with others of the same or opposite gender who are of similar age and developmental ability” – even where those engaged in the activities are in the 13-15 age group.

Activities classified as amber rather than red include “following others into toilets or changing rooms to look at them or touch them” and “pulling other children’s pants down/skirts up/trousers down against their will”. These behaviours, according to Brook, merely “have the potential” to be unsafe and unhealthy behavior.

[Photos via nationalrighttolifenews.org and cbc.ca]

Pro-life blog buzz 2-17-15

from Jill Stanek.com



by Susie Allen, host of the blog, Pro-Life in TN, and Kelli

ProLife NZ says just as the word “abortion” is used less and less in favor of other terminology, the culture of death is now searching for a term to replace “suicide”:

[A] survey asks readers what they think of the following terms: self-deliverance, dying with dignity, rational suicide, humane self-chosen death and a freshly-minted euphemism, dignicide.”… However, after mulling over the proposed words, I must say that “dignicide” has some merit. This coinage means not death with dignity, but the death of dignity – which is exactly what assisted suicide is.

Reflections of a Paralytic applauds the showcasing of American Horror Story actress Jamie Brewer (pictured above), who has Down syndrome, as a runway model in New York Fashion Week.

At ProLife365, Kevin Kukla shares his most memorable experiences with sidewalk counseling, and encourages pro-lifers to get involved.

Pro-Life Action League reports on a fundraising email from Planned Parenthood CEO Cecile Richards in which she accuses pro-lifers blocking a New Orleans mega abortion facility of “hate”:

Cecile Richards and her team of expensive consultants at Planned Parenthood know full well that talking about abortion is a loser for her side, and it doesn’t take much grey matter to understand why. The latest proof comes just this week with the release of a new Gallup poll showing increasing discontent with current U.S. abortion policies among the general public.

And so, consequently, the nation’s largest abortion chain talks about abortion as little as possible, and spends twice as much time saying that those of us who oppose it are guilty of that most contemptible of sins, hatred. This sounds an awful lot like the “war on women” rhetoric that was — and, to a much smaller extent, still is — so popular among committed abortion supporters, although it’s pretty clear that this strategy has been a failure.

So too, from a P.R. standpoint, playing the hate card isn’t going to work. But it will surely make Planned Parenthood a lot of money.

Wesley J. Smith reports that not one, not two, but three physicians have signed declarations that Jahi McMath is not brain dead and a request is forthcoming asking the state of California to rescind her death certificate:

The family attorney Chris Dolan says he will petition the California Secretary of State to rescind the death certificate….

Attorney Dolan says that if the Secretary doesn’t give relief, he will sue.

But why should that be necessary? Given the declarations by three reputable brain specialist doctors and others, at the very least the Secretary should conduct a thorough investigation, including a full medical reassessment.

Jahi is owed that.

The integrity of the system demands it.

And if the unprecedented has happened–that a declared brain dead person ceased being

brain dead–finding out what happened and why is absolutely in the interests of science.

Pro-life blog buzz 2-13-15

from Jill Stanek.com



by Susie Allen, host of the blog, Pro-Life in TN, and Kelli

Kansans for Life calls out the media for biased reporting on the cost of defending pro-life laws in Kansas – with headlines like “$1.2 million paid in attorney fees to defend anti-abortion laws.” Maybe if the abortion lobby didn’t continue bringing the lawsuits, the state – which is continually winning, by the way – wouldn’t have to pay any attorney fees. Problem solved, eh?


Abstinence Clearinghouse says “children as young as ten-years old have been given a contraceptive implant by the National Health Services, regardless of the fact that they are under the age of consent.” And going beyond this, the NHS doesn’t even have to tell the 10-year-old’s parents – because fifth-graders are so very mature, apparently:

If you’re under 16 and want contraception, the doctor, nurse or pharmacist won’t tell your parents (or caregiver) as long as they believe you fully understand the information you’re given, and your decisions .Hmm. To what other drugs or medical procedures does this apply, I wonder? UK parents, take note. “Free” government services may come at the price of you not being told about something that can damage your child’s health.

Bound4Life features an interview with Dr. Michael New, whose “unimpeachable research: interpreting data on the number of abortions, abortion rates, and the effectiveness of pro-life advocacy to save lives” is well respected in the academic and pro-life communities.

The Vine recaps the chilling cases of doctors deciding that infants and children with disabilities no longer need to live. In some cases, lifesaving treatment is withheld, and in others, it is removed, along with hydration and nutrition.



Big Blue Wave says Ottawa abortionist Dr. Michel Ronald Prevost (pictured right) has resigned after being found “incompetent in his practice of obstetrics and gynecology”:

"He displayed a lack of judgment and patients were exposed to harm or injury in his failure to properly screen patients for medical terminations, in his failure to calculate doses of Methotrexate on the basis of his patients’ respective body surface areas, and in his failure to follow up with patients, including when he was aware that patients had on-going gestations after the administration of Methotrexate,” the decision said. “In the cases of ongoing gestations, the patients’ fetuses were exposed to risk of harm, in that they were exposed to Methotrexate and Misoprostol.”

Yes, we’re talking about RU-486, which the abortion industry wants available to women through the mail and remotely.

Minnesota Citizens Concerned for Life speaks against the pro-assisted suicide ruling in Canada, showing concern for the possible trajectory that the country may be set upon due to the Supreme Court’s decision – namely, suicide tourism, as happened in Switzerland. The ruling makes vulnerable the country’s “disabled, ill and elderly citizens.”

[Photos via sheknows.com and cbc.ca]

Pro-life blog buzz 2-10-15

from Jill Stanek.com



by Susie Allen, host of the blog, Pro-Life in TN, and Kelli

At New Feminism, Jennifer Lahl decries California’s new bill that would allow birth certificates to become politicized “by allowing each parent to self-identify as mother, father, or simply ‘parent.'” Lahl argues that this could potentially do a great disservice to “adoptees and those born of anonymous donors”:

The birth certificate legally documents who a child’s parents are. That is, who the birth mother and birth father are. It is a record of who is genetically related to a child. It is not intended to be a means by which adults decide what they want to be called. Rather, it answers the question, who can this child’s beginning be traced to? Who gave birth? Who died?

Secular Pro-Life says Planned Parenthood supporters are blatantly lying (shocker, I know!) about the Title X Abortion Provider Prohibition Act, which SPL states “will not reduce government funding for women’s health care. Not by a single penny! The Act will merely affect how Title X funding is distributed to the health care entities seeking family planning grants.”

What this means is the facilities that perform abortions “will be passed over in favor of those that do not. Among those that do not are more than 8,000 Federally Qualified Health Centers — not-for-profit neighborhood health clinics that provide affordable medical care on a sliding scale.” More than 8,000 (see graphic, left). And yet, Planned Parenthood wants the public to believe that they’re the only place women can get medical care like breast exams, mammogram referrals, and pap smears. 

Sometimes facts don’t fit on bumper stickers as well as hysterics do.

John Smeaton weighs in on Canada’s recent Supreme Court decision ruling that doctors may help their patients commit suicide:

This heart-breaking decision will not only affect our Canadian readers, but will inevitably set an unofficial precedent for courts in the U.S. and elsewhere.  Our readers in those countries need to be aware of this decision, in order to be better prepared to oppose this encroaching element of the Culture of Death.

Saynsumthn’s Blog cross-posts a Life Dynamics report on a Texas pedophile (Roy Wayne Jackson, Jr., pictured above) who was finally sentenced to two life sentences for raping a 12-year-old and years later, raping the teen’s daughter (beginning at age 8). He also took his victims for abortions, which were not reported by the abortion facilities, allowing the abuse to continue for years. Because the abortion industry winks at sex trafficking and statutory rape, pedophiles are given a pass to continue victimizing girls.

At thirtyone8, Andy Moore lists what he deems the best anti-abortion anthems.

Wesley J. Smith is understandably alarmed that Robert Latimer, a man convicted of murdering his disabled daughter, has become something of a hero in Canada – and, naturally, the face of the movement supporting euthanasia:

The murder of anyone threatens everyone. Moreover, the vocal support he received revealed an ugly and alarming vein of anti-disability disdain within the Canadian soul.

[Photos via Secular Pro-life and Saynsumthn’s Blog]


 

Pro-life blog buzz 2-6-15

 
from Jill Stanek.com



by Susie Allen, host of the blog, Pro-Life in TN, and Kelli

American Life League’s Judie Brown reminds us of the “web of deception” that was used to market the birth control pill to millions of women in the 1960’s, and the toll it is taking today:

Today there are millions of unsuspecting women who have ingested chemicals that they think are harmless, not only to their health, but to the possible life of their preborn children. Current medical literature bears witness to the truth that the pill is not safe for any woman, let alone her baby if she conceives. Think about these news stories:
 

Time magazine: “Birth Control Pill Risks May Now Include Brain Cancer”

Newsweek magazine: “If You’ve Taken the Pill Recently, You May Be at Increased Risk of Breast Cancer”

The American Academy of Neurology: “Do Obesity, Birth Control Pills Raise Risk of Multiple Sclerosis?”

ABC News: “Birth Control Pills May Double Glaucoma Risk”

The list goes on, but we are pretty sure you get the picture.

Bound4Life says pro-abortion bills are being passed and signed under the radar in Washington, D.C., which “could force all employers in the nation’s capital to cover abortion-on-demand in health plans, including pro-life groups and religious schools.” D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser (pictured far left) signed the bill, while outgoing mayor Vincent Gray (pictured far right) had refused to sign it, citing “serious constitutional concerns.”

Abstinence Clearinghouse says the National Center on Sexual Exploitation has a new 2015 Dirty Dozen list. Which organizations are on it?
This list highlights each of the top offenders and explains how they are currently contributing to sexual exploitation. Following the explanations is a list of actions that the public can take to persuade these companies to change their policies and practices. Among other, the list for 2015 includes… the book Fifty Shades of Grey for its glamorization of sexual violence
.
Culture Campaign points to a new review that shows, contrary to previous “morally indefensible” claims, that Plan B does indeed cause abortions.

Live Action News also weighs in on the emergency contraceptives as abortifacients debate:
“Many doctors and researchers,” the authors elaborate, “claim that it has either no – or at most – an extremely small chance of working via abortion.” But “the latest scientific and medical evidence now demonstrates that levonorgestrel emergency contraception theoretically works via abortion quite often.”

For those who couldn’t make it to the March for Life, Fr. Frank Pavone has posted his sermon from the National Prayer Service:

The truth about adoption: It is time for outdated views to go

Cross Posted at Live Action News.org

Wasills

Jacob Wasill was nine when he shared his adoption story with his class. He was stunned and hurt when the response of one of his classmates was…”Hmmm, so your real mom didn’t want you?” When Jacob’s parents, Billy and Joi Wasill mentioned to friends that Jacob was adopted (an event not a lifestyle), the friends thought Jacob was lucky, Billy and Joi were wonderful, but had disparaging remarks about his birth mother.  When Joi’s best friend’s teenage daughter got pregnant and knew that marriage and parenting were not possible ; she made an adoption plan for her preborn child. She wanted an open adoption and selected a couple that lived in the area. As the pregnancy progressed, she backed out of that decision. She said that every day at school she met with nothing but disparaging comments from her classmates and even some teachers about her decision to make an adoption plan. ’Don’t you love your baby? No one will ever love the baby like you do. Your baby will grow up to hate you for giving it up for adoption were typical comments she endured each day.  She was made to feel like she was a bad person. These events propelled Joi to do something to correct these outdated stereotypes of adoption and show adoption as the  loving and life affirming option that it is.

An educator by training, Joi knew that the community and especially the schools needed to be educated about the beauty of adoption. Adoption today is not like the inaccurate TV movies filled with drama.  Adoptions today can be confidential, semi open or open with the birth mother making that decision. Outdated and negative adoption language needs to be replaced with positive adoption language. The birth mother is not “giving up,” she is making an adoption plan.  Contrary to the negative image, birth mothers making an adoption plan are brave, courageous and practicing sacrificial love.   Research tells us that less than 1 % of unplanned pregnancies end in adoption. This has tragic consequences for the child and our country.

Her original presentation was known as The Adoption Option and presented to one high school in her hometown of Hendersonville TN in 2002.  This was followed by other requests and soon turned into copy written curriculum known as Decisions, Choices and Options.  Today this nonprofit currently educates approximately 12,000 students every year in middle Tennessee. The engaging, fact based and impeccably sourced material is accepted in public and private schools. Pregnancy Resource Centers are partnering with Decisions, Choices and Options in Tennessee, Alabama, Florida, Missouri, Mississippi, Kentucky, North Carolina, Ohio, Michigan, South Carolina and Texas to present this prevention education program.

Studies have shown that when presented the facts of adoption and what it looks like today, teens are more likely to choose adoption in an unplanned pregnancy so their child can have life and an abundant life as a member of a family headed by a married mother and father.

 Joi Wasill can be contacted at bwasill@bellsouth.net

DCO presentation

Pro-life blog buzz 2-3-15

from Jill Stanek.com


by Susie Allen, host of the blog, Pro-Life in TN, and Kelli

At Suzy B, SBA List president Marjorie Dannenfelser compares two female leaders – Rep. Renee Ellmers and former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina – and how they responded to the life issue recently. One showed courage and one had what some are calling “the worst week in Washington.”

Saynsumthn’s Blog addresses the hypocrisy of Planned Parenthood’s so-called prenatal care. Apparently, the extent of this care is some healthy eating advice and possibly a midwife referral. Note that if you want your child, PP will call it a “baby,” but if you don’t, the baby will be referred to as “uterine contents.”


Wesley J. Smith discusses two elderly Scottish cousins who received assisted suicide in a Swiss clinic because they feared having to live apart. Smith points out that, thanks to Brittany Maynard, suicide is now the “in” thing.

Reflections of a Paralytic posts a powerful piece by a woman forced to watch her mother die of starvation and dehydration after losing a battle with other family members. She maintains that her mother did feel pain despite being given morphine:
There is a difference between a dying person who can no longer contain nutrition or hydration and a severely brain damaged/disabled person who cannot feed himself. There is a difference between allowing nature to take its course and actively starving a person to death.

 

 

In a follow-up to an earlier post about handcuff mailers, Eric Scheidler of the Pro-Life Action League describes a phone conversation he had with one angry abortionist. After their conversation, he sent her a second handwritten note along with a package of diapers: 

Dear Anise,

Enclosed is the package of diapers I promised to send you when we spoke on the phone earlier this week.

I’m grateful that you took the trouble to call and talk to me for ten minutes about the issue of abortion and your part in it. What stands out to me most from our conversation is your calling this is a “cruel, ugly world.” You used that phrase at least twice, once in reference to the children you say you’re sparing from it.

I agree that there is much cruelty in the world, and much ugliness. But from my perspective, abortion only makes the world crueler and uglier. Abortion itself is ugly; few can bear to look at the images of what abortion does to its unborn victims. And it’s cruel to the child, whose life is ended only weeks after it has begun.

But abortion is also cruel to women. It’s a cruel society that says to a woman, “To be free you must participate in the killing of your own child.”

I know that many women face a desperate situation when they turn to abortion. But I haven’t given up hope that we can make this world kinder and beautiful world by offering women something better than abortion, which too often leaves them trapped in the ugliness and cruelty you lament.

I hope you can put these 32 newborn diapers to use. But I also hope you will reflect on all those children — especially the next 32 scheduled to be aborted at Summit — who won’t live to have their diapers changed by someone who cares for them.

Yours for Life,
Eric Scheidler

P. S. If you ever want to talk again, you’ve got my number.

 

Pro-Life NZ applauds the Super Bowl commercial for McDonald’s entitled, “Pay With Lovin’” that features, although very briefly, a young girl with Down syndrome: 

 

 [Photos via The Telegraph; Pro-Life Action League]