Monday, February 28, 2011

One child policy protects China?

One child policy protects China - Columnists - IOL | Breaking News | South Africa News | World News | Sport | Business | Entertainment | IOL.co.za: Call it China’s “testosterone glut”. Thanks to a preference for boys, the decades ahead will see tens of millions of wifeless and frustrated Chinese men wondering what the future holds.

Motherhood comment at the Oscars brings out the worst in feminists

Liberal Hollywood Elite Trash Natalie Portman Over Motherhood | LifeNews.com: The comment about becoming a mother was revolting for Slate writer Mary Elizabeth Williams.

Another attempt to ban partial birth abortions in Michigan

Michigan citizens and Right to Life of Michigan have labored for 15 years to enact a ban on partial birth abortions in our state. Four different bans have been passed by Michigan lawmakers. Three have been enacted and struck down by federal courts. The fourth was vetoed by former Governor Jennifer Granholm.

Now is the time for Michigan to finally place this measure to protect babies who are inches from being born on our law books once and for all. On January 20, 2011, two bills following the federal ban on partial birth abortion as closely as possible were introduced by Rep. Kevin Daly and Rep. Ben Glardon in the Michigan House of Representatives. Find out more about the status of these bills.

Is the D.C. government funding abortions?

Mike DeBonis on Local Politics - Is the D.C. government funding abortions?: While Medicaid covers a portion of most of the health expenses incurred by the District's poorest residents, abortions are reimbursed fully by the District.

Stopping taxpayer-subsidized abortions on college campuses

Stopping taxpayer-subsidized abortions on college campuses | LifeSiteNews.com: Many of the schools that automatically enroll students in plans that cover abortion are Ivy League schools like Harvard, Columbia, or the University of Pennsylvania, or are located in the Northeast or on the west coast. Colleges in the South were less likely to cover abortion in their health-care plans.

Thai police free women from surrogate baby ring

AFP: Thai police free women from surrogate baby ring: Fourteen Vietnamese women, seven of them pregnant, have been rescued from an 'illegal and inhuman' surrogate baby breeding ring in Thailand, officials said Thursday. Police said the company, called Baby 101, received orders by email or via agents from childless couples and in some instances the male partner would provide sperm to inseminate the women. 'This is illegal and inhuman. In some cases it looks like they were raped,' said the Public Health Minister.

Boehner Maps Planned Parenthood De-Funding Strategy, Pro-Lifers Worried

Boehner Maps Planned Parenthood De-Funding Strategy, Pro-Lifers Worried | LifeNews.com: House majority leader John Boehner said that pressing for de-funding Planned Parenthood in the short-term continuing resolution doesn’t make sense.

“In the short term CR though, our focus is on cutting spending and making sure that we keep the government open. In order to get this through the House and through the Senate and signed by the president by March 4th, we’re not going to take any big chances on the fact that they’re looking for an excuse to shut down the government,” he said. Boehner told CBN that the long-term continuing resolution is the better place to fight for de-funding.

Interpretation is the key to correct view on humanity

A popular seminary professor believes Adam and Eve were animals before God breathed the breath of life into them. At that point, they experienced “amnesia of their former animal life” so that they would no longer remember their animal past. This ideology flies in the face of Christ’s example and highlights the importance of being able to properly interpret the Bible. In this postmodern age, bizarre interpretations are accepted because people believe they have the right to decide for themselves what a passage means. In other words, meaning is in the eye of the beholder, so you can decide truth for yourself. Answers in Genesis

Beheading a cat is a felony

Grand Traverse County teen pleads to beheading cat | mlive.com: Jonathan Cook pleaded guilty Friday to a felony count of killing or torturing an animal. The 18-year-old Michigan man faces up to four years behind bars.

Editor: I'm sure I don't have to point out the irony here.

Conceived in rape

Jarring Sects

Discovery Institute - Bioethics - Articles/News - Jarring Sects: Science, properly understood, is a method for gaining and applying knowledge about the workings of the physical and natural worlds. Science is apolitical. It is also amoral. Its purview is the three-dimensional universe and its elements, which scientists can observe, identify, measure, and test.

Scientism is almost the mirror opposite: Where science is objective, scientism is subjective. Science is about gaining information. Scientism is about proselytizing for a belief. Science is a means. Scientism is an end. Where science sticks to facts and testing hypotheses, scientism purports to convey Truth.

Orthodox religion is loathed by scientism's adherents precisely because believers energetically promote the sanctity of human life as the paramount value in society. This means that there are limits, a concept that is anathema to scientism's adherents.

Belief in Human Exceptionalism Only Real Protection of Human Subjects in Research

Belief in Human Exceptionalism Only Real Protection of Human Subjects in Research » Secondhand Smoke | A First Things Blog: It is well known that Nazi “doctors” engaged in horrendous medical experiments with concentration camp inmates. They thought it was fine and right to do so because they believed they were working on so-called untermenschen, that is, humans of lesser value. There is no such thing as an untermenschen, we were told correctly after the Nuremberg Tribunals, as some of these butchers found out the hard way when they met the hangman’s noose. And yet, concurrently with those monstrous human experiments–and worse, into the 60s, barely 20 years later–American researchers intentionally infected people deadly diseases.

Life after abortion

Friday, February 25, 2011

‘Marriage’ erased from official UK conception statistics

‘Marriage’ erased from official conception statistics | News | The Christian Institute: The word ‘marriage’ has vanished from Government statistics on conceptions in the UK. The official figures instead lump marriages and civil partnerships together under the label “legal partnership.”

Is adoption selfish?

Colleen Tronson, director of Metro Women's Center in Crystal, MN, writes:

"On Thursday we spoke to two classes at Cooper High School regarding the Adoption Option. The students had great questions for our speakers; there were four birth moms and one adoptive mom who shared their stories. We usually get two questions from the students after we speak:

"The first is, 'Once you make an adoption plan, can you ever get your baby back if you regret your decision?' 

"Our answer: 'No, we can't get our babies back because adoption is a legal severing of the parental rights of the biological parents from the child. Our hearts are always going to be connected to our children but we would be harming the child if, after a few years, we decided we wanted the child back and tried to remove him or her from the only family they had ever known. That would be selfish! What many of us regret is the choices we made that got us pregnant before we were prepared for the responsibility of raising a child.'

"The second question is, 'Don't you think you were selfish for making an adoption plan?' To this question we respond: 

"Adoption is an unselfish act by loving birthparents who sacrificially put the needs of the child above their own desire to 'keep' the baby. As a birth parent, the 'easy' thing to do emotionally is to take the baby home with you; the hard thing to do is to walk out of the hospital without your baby, knowing that someone else will be enjoying your child. 

"No birthparent leaves the hospital without tears, but because we love our babies and want what is best for them, we choose to take the emotional and often societal 'beating' that comes with it. 

"All parenting choices require sacrifice whether you are actively parenting or whether you choose to have someone else parent your child through adoption. The only 'selfish' choice would be to parent the child and not put your life in order so the child has the best future possible. Babies are not possessions to be owned; they are responsibilities to be cared for in the best way possible. 

"As one of our speakers says, 'I did not give my baby away, I gave her more.'

"When possible, I point out that Christ died on the cross, sacrificially, so that we could be 'adopted' by God. When Christ willingly went to the cross, He experienced great pain on our behalf and for our good. While birth parents are not saviors, the pain we experience is both chosen and experienced for the good of our children. 

"There is more to be said, but those are the short answers!"

Pence: Budget bill frees funds for health clinics

Pence: budget bill frees funds for health clinics that don’t promote abortion | LifeSiteNews.com: U.S. Rep. Mike Pence defended the spending cut Thursday. “There are literally thousands of clinics across the country - other than Planned Parenthood - that receive federal funding and offer access to health care for low-income women and families.”

Man racked by guilt after euthanizing his wife

Euthanasia debate to launch in Canada as man admits to euthanizing his ill wife | LifeSiteNews.com: Stephan Bolton, telephoned The Chronicle Herald before going to the police, and told the newspaper he killed his terminally ill wife Barbara Jean Jollimore-Bolton on January 22.

“I don’t have an agenda. I have a guilty conscience,” he said, then described how he killed his 59 year old wife, who was suffering with Stage 4 breast cancer and in palliative care, with himself as primary caregiver. He said he gave Barbara a lethal injection of two medications — morphine and Nozinan — and would be taking the drugs to the police detachment with him.

Bolton told the newspaper his wife was very depressed, but not in severe pain, and the two had never discussed the possibility of euthanasia. Neither did he ask Barbara if she wanted to die by lethal injection. Bolton said that he has spent the last month living with guilt and now wants to take responsibility for his actions.

Abortion Surveillance --- United States, 2007

Abortion Surveillance --- United States, 2007: A total of 827,609 abortions were reported to CDC for 2007. The abortion rate was 16.0 abortions per 1,000 women aged 15--44 years, and the abortion ratio was 231 abortions per 1,000 live births. Compared with 2006, the total number and rate of reported abortions decreased 2%, and the abortion ratio decreased 3%.

Thursday, February 24, 2011

Mayoral Candidate Jokes About Bombing Abortion Clinic

Fla. Mayoral Candidate Jokes About Bombing Abortion Clinic | Mother Jones: Participating at a candidate forum at a Catholic church on Monday, Jacksonville, Florida mayoral candidate Mike Hogan emphasized his long-standing opposition to Roe v. Wade, which is to be expected from a conservative Republican. But then he went one step further:

Hogan added that the only thing he wouldn't do was bomb an abortion clinic, then the law-and-order advocate added, with a laugh, 'but it may cross my mind.' The Mandarin crowd applauded.

In a follow-up interview with the Florida Times-Union, Hogan emphasized that his comments shouldn't be taken seriously, because he was only pandering. 'I mean, I'm not going to be politically correct,' he told the paper. 'That was a joke. This was an audience for this. This is a Catholic Church. I guarantee you they are 110 percent pro-life.'

Editor: Can we all agree his "joke" was ill-advised, as was the applause it received? See BFL's response to violence directed at abortionists. Being pro-life involves honoring the sanctity of all human life in our words as well as deeds. See also this issue of Life Matters.

The Christian divorce rate myth

Baptist Press - FIRST-PERSON: The Christian divorce rate myth (what you've heard is wrong) - News with a Christian Perspective: The divorce rates of Christian believers are not identical to the general population -- not even close. Being a committed, faithful believer makes a measurable difference in marriage.

Baby Number Seven Billion Not an Overpopulation Concern

Baby Number Seven Billion Not an Overpopulation Concern | LifeNews.com: Sometime late this year a baby will emerge from the womb of its mother, draw its first breath, and announce its arrival into the world with a tiny cry. Thus will Baby Seven Billion be born. Everyone agrees that Baby Seven Billion’s birthday—the day that our planet becomes home to seven billion human beings—marks an important milestone. But is it a milestone on humanity’s upward path that we should celebrate, or a warning sign of impending catastrophe?

Budget bill cutting Planned Parenthood funding heads for trouble in Senate

Budget bill cutting Planned Parenthood funding heads for trouble in Senate | LifeSiteNews.com: The spending bill that would defund Planned Parenthood and that was passed by the U.S. House of Representatives early Saturday morning is not likely to see the light of day in the Senate, except in a very different form, according to one source on Capitol Hill.

“Most likely the Senate will not take up H.R. 1,” said the source, noting that, if they do, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid would probably replace it with “a substitute bill that is entirely different from the House-passed version. Fighting for the pro-life policies will most likely happen in negotiations between the House and Senate.”

Angry students shout down pro-life display at FSU

Angry students shout down pro-life display at Florida State U | LifeSiteNews.com: The Genocide Awareness Project is a traveling photo-mural exhibit that compares abortion to historical genocides, such as that which took place in Rwanda. Set up and facilitated by the Center for Bio-Ethical Reform, GAP visits university campuses across the United States and Canada to show students the modern day genocide of abortion.

At Florida State University hostile crowds of pro-abortion students shouted “my body, my choice” while members of CBR tried to answer questions during an open microphone session. However, despite the attempts to silence them, CBR succeeded in hearing and responding to dozens of questions from students. One male student thanked CBR for their presence. “If me and my ex had seen this two years ago,” he told them, “we would not have done what we did.”

Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Nobody Told Me: What You Need to Know About the Physical and Emotional Consequences of Sex Outside of Marriage

Amazon.com: Nobody Told Me: What You Need to Know About the Physical and Emotional Consequences of Sex Outside of Marriage (9780830756537): Pam Stenzel, Melissa Nesdahl: Books: Teens have their whole lives ahead of them, but making poor choices can undermine their hopes for a bright future. Too many young adults look back on decisions they made in the heat of the moment and regret the path they chose—they wish someone had told them how premarital sex could negatively impact their future relationships. Here is a book to help teens make the right choices when it comes to sex, based on actual questions the author has received from real-life teens.

Nobody Told Me is written for young men and women who want passionate, long-lasting marriages in the future but haven’t considered how the decisions they make now impact their chances for fulfillment. This accessible book contains information teens need about the physical, emotional and spiritual risks associated with premarital sex, as well as guidelines for making healthy choices. Teens have questions about sex, and now there is somewhere to find the answers.

Teachers letting science point to Creator

Teachers letting science point to Creator (OneNewsNow.com): The New York Times recently brought attention to a survey published in an issue of Science magazine that shows only 28 percent of biology teachers consistently follow the recommendation of the National Research Council to only teach evolution.

Finn Laursen, executive director of Christian Educators Association International, is encouraged to see that teachers are not concentrating on the limited curriculum, as he believes a good teacher will go beyond the minimum standard. 'We really encourage teachers to teach multiple theories: evolution, creationism, intelligent design. In other words, just teach the science and let higher level of thinking speak for itself,' he suggests. 'We know as followers of the biblical truth that if we just study science, it will point back to the Creator. And we even know the Creator's name.'

Tapes Prove Planned Parenthood Ignores Law Even Where Child Rape is Disclosed

Planned Parenthood Ignores Law Even Where Child Rape is Disclosed Tapes Prove - Christian Newswire: It's illegal for an adult man to seduce an underage girl into a sexual relationship. Every state has statutory rape laws that prohibit sex between adults and children. But Planned Parenthood, the National Abortion Federation, family planning service providers, and all other clinics that profit from selling products and services to sexually active underage girls, have a financial incentive to ignore the laws that were designed to protect children from sexual abuse. And now there's proof that 91% of these businesses don't comply with child abuse reporting laws. On the contrary, they actually help conceal child rape from law enforcement.

A New Way to Be Pro-Life

RELEVANT Magazine - A New Way to Be Pro-Life: What one group is doing to end the national sin of abortion.

Blood confessions: From abortionist to champion of life

Blood confessions: From abortionist to champion of life: The original abortion-rights slogans from the early '70s – they remain virtual articles of faith and rallying cries of the 'pro-choice' movement to this day – were 'Freedom of choice' and 'Women must have control over their own bodies.'

'I remember laughing when we made those slogans up,' recalls Bernard Nathanson, M.D., co-founder of pro-abortion vanguard group NARAL, reminiscing about the early days of the abortion-rights movement in the late '60s and early '70s. 'We were looking for some sexy, catchy slogans to capture public opinion. They were very cynical slogans then, just as all of these slogans today are very, very cynical.'

Joy Behar Calls Pro-Lifers Evil, Immoral, and Stupid

Joy Behar Calls Pro-Lifers Evil, Immoral, and Stupid | LifeNews.com: Comedian and talk-show host Joy Behar ripped the House of Representatives on her program on Monday for their recent defunding of Planned Parenthood. Behar, focusing on the organization’s birth control services, criticized the move as “illogical…because if you are not going to help people with birth control, you’re going to have more abortions. So, besides being evil and immoral and unethical, they’re also stupid.”

Tuesday, February 22, 2011

2011: The Beginning of the End of Planned Parenthood, Abortion

2011: The Beginning of the End of Planned Parenthood, Abortion | LifeNews.com: "Defunding Planned Parenthood is at the top of our list as pro-lifers. For if we can defeat this organization, we will be able to bring down the largest abortion provider in America, stop Planned Parenthood’s preying on young women, and save hundreds of thousands of preborn lives." --Kristen Hawkins, Students for Life of America

Delaware Minister Wants Government to “Stop the Killing of Babies"

Delaware Minister Wants Government to “Stop the Killing of Babies": Rev.-Dr. Christopher Bullock, a nationally recognized theologian and speaker on social justice, wants the government to cut funding for abortions and focus on valuing life. The pastor/founder of Canaan Baptist Church in New Castle, DE , said the African-American community is “under siege homicide, suicide and abortion, not to mention HIV/AIDS. This is the formula for genocide. The Black Church must tell the truth to our young people that life is worth living. Life needs to focus on faith, hope and love. Any other path will lead to self-destruction.”

Monday, February 21, 2011

Lara Logan and Egyptian liberation

If this is how Egyptian men are capable of treating women in public, at a moment of national celebration and international attention, what are they are apt to do to women in private when they are angry or frustrated? 
The recent Egyptian uprising has inspired flights of excited rhetoric about freedom, reform, and a new beginning for Egypt. But the sickening assault on Lara Logan is a reminder that much of Egypt's cruelty and corruption had nothing to do with Mubarak or his regime. No nation or culture that subjects half its population to the degradation suffered by women in Egypt and so much of the Arab world can ever hope to rise to greatness.
In a famous letter written during America's revolution in 1776, Abigail Adams implored her husband John: "Remember the Ladies, and be more generous and favorable to them than your ancestors. . . . Abhor those customs which treat us only as the vassals of your Sex." That was cogent advice for 18th-century America. For 21st-century Egypt and the Middle East, it is indispensable. If there is no liberation for the women, there is no liberation. Jewish World Review

Over 50,000 march against reproductive health bill in Philippines

Over 50,000 march against reproductive health bill in Philippines | LifeSiteNews.com: Despite claims by advocates of the bill that only the Catholic Church is opposed, thousands of Evangelicals, Baptists, and Muslims joined the Catholic majority to show their pro-life stance.

The controversial bill, called “The Responsible Parenthood, Reproductive Health and Population and Development Act,” seeks to “recognize” and “guarantee” “women’s human rights” and keep laws from infringing on “reproductive health rights.” The Catholic Church in the Philippines has been the main coordinator of the opposition to the bill, which would provide contraceptives in all government hospitals and sex education in public schools.

Moral enhancement and pro-social behaviour

Moral enhancement and pro-social behaviour -- Chan and Harris 37 (3): 130 -- Journal of Medical Ethics: Moral enhancement is a topic that has sparked much current interest in the world of bioethics. The possibility of making people ‘better,’ not just in the conventional enhancement sense of improving health and other desirable (and desired) qualities and capacities, but by making them somehow more moral, more decent, altogether better people, has attracted attention from both advocates and skeptics alike.

Faith in science

Religion: Faith in science : Nature News: As generous as the Templeton foundation's support is, many scientists find it troubling — and some see it as a threat. Jerry Coyne, an evolutionary biologist at the University of Chicago, Illinois, calls the foundation 'sneakier than the creationists'. Through its grants to researchers, Coyne alleges, the foundation is trying to insinuate religious values into science. 'It claims to be on the side of science, but wants to make faith a virtue,' he says.

Friday, February 18, 2011

House Overwhelmingly Votes to Scrap Plannned Parenthood Funding

House Overwhelmingly Votes to Scrap Plannned Parenthood Funding | LifeNews.com: House members approved the Pence amendment on a 240-185 vote with 9 Democrats joining most Republicans to support de-funding the abortion business. Another 7 Republicans sided with most all of the pro-abortion Democrats in the lower chamber in voting for the pro-abortion organization to receive taxpayer funds.

Study: Churchgoers like porn, but don't buy it on the Sabbath

Associated Baptist Press - Study: Churchgoers like porn, but don't buy it on the Sabbath: Researcher Benjamin Edelman said subscriptions to a top-10 seller of online adult entertainment he studied are not statistically different in pious states from subscription rates elsewhere, but significantly fewer subscriptions in religious states are purchased on the Christian Sabbath.

Poll: Majority Says Abortion Morally Wrong

Poll: Majority of Americans Say Abortion Morally Wrong | LifeNews.com: A new Rasmussen Reports telephone survey finds 53 percent of voters consider abortion morally wrong most of the time, while just 32% say it is morally acceptable most of the time. Another 15 percent of American voters are undecided.

The new Rasmussen poll finds more Americans say they are “pro-choice” on abortion — which runs counter to recent polling data from the Gallup organization — as it finds 50 percent saying they are “pro-choice” and 40 percent saying they are pro-life on abortion. But the morally wrong question makes it appear many of the voters who self-declare as “pro-choice” are truly pro-life.

40 years of Title X is enough

The Family in America: Richard M. Nixon and George H. W. Bush sold Title X to the public on the theory that “advance planning” called for dispensing heavy doses of contraception to those “who want them but cannot afford them” in order to reduce “unwanted and untimely childbearing” and enhance the “effective planning” of families. A similar argument was set forth when Congress tapped the resources of Medicaid for family-planning purposes in 1972. Would this untested theory deliver on its hype, or would the McNamara school of public policy—with its fixation on abstract rational planning—backfire in the real world just as it did with the War on Poverty?

U.S. Department of State Releases Annual Adoption Report

U.S. Department of State Releases Annual Adoption Report « Christian Alliance For Orphans: The U.S. Department of State yesterday released its 2010 Annual Report on Intercountry Adoptions. In Fiscal Year 2010, the U.S. Government issued 11,059 immigrant visas to children adopted by U.S. citizen adopting parents. These children immigrated to the United States from over 100 different countries and found new homes in all 50 states.

The Christian Conquest of Pagan Rome

The Christian Conquest of Pagan Rome,: The early Christians, acting in obedience to Christ, began to care for the poor, the sick, and the marginalized. So alien were their charitable acts and self-sacrificial lives that the Romans referred to them as 'the third race.' In the centuries to follow, even though Christians were still a demographic minority, their care of the poor and sick, would serve as the first steps in achieving cultural authority.

Churches, charities not in competition for dollars

RNS: Report: Churches, charities not in competition for dollars - Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life: Slightly more than 50 percent of people who financially supported congregations also gave to at least one charitable organization in the last year.
Researchers also found that the more Americans give to a house of worship, the more they donate to other groups. And the trend continues with the generosity of the donor.

Texas bill defines 'Moment That Life Begins'

Texas bill defines 'Moment That Life Begins,' aims at eliminating abortion | The American Independent: If approved by Texas lawmakers, the Bill Burch Act will eliminate abortion in the state and nation — at least, that’s what Bill Burch says. The Act, filed by state Rep. Wayne Christian (R-Center) as House Bill 1109, stipulates that human life “begins at the moment that the initial splitting of a human cell occurs during fertilization.”

“With that definition, you can’t have abortion,” said Burch, chairman and president of conservative group Grass Roots Institute of Texas.

Get to Know: National Black Pro-Life Coalition

The National Black ProLife Coalition is a network of prolife and pro-family organizations committed to restoring a culture that celebrates Life and Family cultivating Hope in the black community. "We will promote traditional family values, from a Biblical worldview, to produce strong and healthy families where babies are safe and able to reach their full potential in life. Through education and awareness media campaigns, community events, political action, lobbying and coalition building of prolife and pro-family advocacy groups, we will restore Life, Family and Hope in the black community."

Black History Month: Dark Abortion-Related Realities in the Black Community Revealed

Dark Abortion-Related Realities in the Black Community Revealed - Christian Newswire: The recent indictment and arrest of Pennsylvania abortionist Kermit Gosnell shocked many in the black community. In a raid of his facilities police found jars containing the remains of pre-born babies dating back 30 years along with squalid and unsafe conditions. The National Black Prolife Coalition is outraged as more and more abortionists are being exposed for similar unsafe and abusive practices.

‘She was worth it’: UK mom delayed leukemia treatment to save life of unborn daughter

‘She was worth it’: UK mom delayed leukemia treatment to save life of unborn daughter | LifeSiteNews.com: Victoria Webster discovered that she suffered from chronic myeloid leukaemia, or cancer of the blood, during a routine blood test when she was 21 weeks pregnant. Doctors, who said her prognosis was good because they caught the disease so early, begged her to begin chemotherapy immediately, a treatment that would have killed her unborn daughter Jessica.

Webster instead opted for a less aggressive treatment, and waited until Jessica was born in April 2010 by Cesarean section before taking the powerful drugs. She is now reportedly responding well to treatment, and she hopes that she will soon be in full remission.

Thursday, February 17, 2011

William Hurlbut on Why Embryos Matter Morally

William Hurlbut on Why Embryos Matter Morally » Secondhand Smoke | A First Things Blog: "By its very nature, an embryo is a developing being. Its wholeness is defined by both its manifest expression and its latent potential; it is the phase of human life in which the ‘whole’ (as the unified oranismal principle of growth) precedes and produces its organic parts."

Call now! Look up your Rep's phone # here

FRC Action: Congress will vote this afternoon on Rep. Mike Pence's (R-IN) Amendment No. 11 to the Full-Year Continuing Appropriations Act, 2011 (H.R. 1) which would prevent government funding for the nation's largest abortion company, Planned Parenthood -- an organization that received over $360,000,000 in taxpayer dollars last year.

Wednesday, February 16, 2011

Ban on Tax-Funded Abortions in Nation's Capital Looks Safe

Ban on Tax-Funded Abortions in Nation's Capital Looks Safe | LifeNews.com: Although Rep. Eleanor Holmes Norton, the pro-abortion member of Congress from D.C., met the requirement to submit her expected amendment to fund abortions with taxpayer funds in the nation’s capital, she did not offer the amendment during the reading of the appropriate section. Thus, it appears the Norton amendment on D.C. abortion funding will not be considered by the House and the final version of the continuing resolution bill will contain the abortion funding ban.

Personhood bills introduced, gain traction across U.S.

Personhood bills introduced, gain traction across U.S. | LifeSiteNews.com: Personhood bills and amendments are gaining notice and approval across the United States, with a one such bill having passed the House in North Dakota and another the Iowa House subcommittee. Georgia, Montana, Texas, and Oklahoma have also introduced personhood legislation, reports Personhood USA.

Why are black babies being targeted for abortion?

Why are black babies being targeted for abortion? | LifeSiteNews.com: "“Tears stream from our eyes because of the destruction of our people!” (Lamentations 3:48)

Pastor Johnny Hunter has been organizing protests against what he calls the “stealth” action of Planned Parenthood for years. Most recently in North Carolina, upon learning that Planned Parenthood was apparently using the name Tharrington Medical Clinic to renovate an old Pizza Hut building and turn it into an abortion clinic, Pastor Hunter became angry. “I refuse to sit back and let an organization founded by a racist sneak into our town and set up a shop to murder babies.”

Redefining the abortion debate

When the question is, “Should we allow abortion?”, the debate is unwieldy and ambiguous, catching people in a seemingly endless and wearisome maze of arguments and counterarguments. . . . Now is the time to ask the American public, whether pro-life or pro-choice, a simple question: Should dismemberment of a living child in the womb be permitted? Let’s go beyond the all-encompassing question of “Should abortion be allowed?” and ask, “Should this specific procedure, in which a child’s arms and legs are ripped off, and head crushed, be allowed?” LifeSiteNews

Church sponsors sexual purity conference

The San Bernardino PRC is "really excited about the Sexual Integrity Conference we are doing at Judson Baptist Church this weekend. Our goal is to schedule one of these each quarter in community churches, schools or organizations."

I asked for more information, and this is what they told me: "We use Heartbeat Sexual Integrity material. Plan the conferences to begin on Friday night and then most of the day Sat. We have four main speakers on the four pillars on which the Heartbeat curriculum is built. Then break into small groups after each main session. Serve snacks both days and lunch on Sat. The hosting organization takes care of the logistics/food. We bring our team in and do the whole things. For girls 11-18. Don't like having that broad an age range together, but it seems to work and it's the only way we can make the most of our time."

Suggestion: Check with your local pregnancy care center to see if they would offer this type of service for your church.

Black History Month: Savages

Black History Month: Savages « Coming Home: "They aren’t very literate. They don’t grasp science. They’re impulsive and self-centered. They’re un-churched, un-Christian. They’re intellectually lazy. They’re trouble-makers. Life to them is cheap. They’re sex-driven. They’re slow to learn. They’re greedy. They don’t fit in with polite society. They can’t function in Christian Civilization. They’re Savages."

No, this isn't the voice of an Antebellum Plantation Owner regarding his slaves. It's the proabort left who are waging a genocidal war against African Americans, and the time has come to end this selective targeting of blacks by Planned Parenthood, who operate 78% of their “clinics” in the inner city.

Tuesday, February 15, 2011

Post-abortion testimony

"I was stubborn. I knew having sex outside of marriage was wrong and it seemed like an abortion would just make it all go away. Afterwards, I felt the sin of abortion was more than a righteous God would forgive (not that He could not, but just would not). Then I felt like nothing else I did mattered because I had done the worst thing anyone could ever do, and that just kept me spiraling down. I got involved in alcohol, drugs and more unholy relationships. The anniversary of the abortion was especially difficult—usually spent crying and begging the Lord to forgive me, but I never felt relief. I think it's because He required that I tell the secret. (Confess your faults). . . . 

"I became free from the burden of guilt and compelled secrecy of my abortion because the Lord cared enough to chase after me. . . . On April 20, 2005, as I read Luke 13:11-13, 'Woman, thou art loosed!' The Lord Jesus spoke peace to my heart about my abortion after almost 30 years of carrying the grief.  As I read those words, it was as if Jesus spoke them directly to me and, I knew He not only could, but He desired to forgive me of this terrible sin. Like that woman, I could not pick myself up, but He both could and did. I experienced that same inner joy that I had felt so many years before when He saved me." Sherry, Anchor Missionary Baptist Church, Anchorage, Alaska

Would you tell a lie or steal to save a life?

Would you tell a lie or steal to save a life? « Social Justice Begins in the Womb – Daily Pro-life Updates from the BK Lounge: Blogs are discussing the undercover tactics used by Lila Rose and Live Action in the video stings against Planned Parenthood. Is lying to save a life allowed? Many bloggers and Christian writers around the web have been trying to answer whether or not telling a lie is an absolute sin.

Thoughts?

Pertinent stats for Black History Month

In the U.S., there are approximately 1.21 million abortions per year. 30 percent are non-Hispanic black unborn babies.

  • 363,000 per year
  • 994 per day
  • 41 per hour

Trump says he's pro-life; pro-lifers skeptical

“If I do run for president, I want you to know I’m pro-life,” he said. “I’m against gun control, and I will fight to end Obamacare and replace it with something that makes sense for people in business, something that will not bankrupt the country.” He says he will announce his decision about the presidential run by June. Trump, however, remains a proponent of gay “rights.” 

Trump’s declaration that he is “pro-life” comes as a shock, given that he wrote in his 2000 book “The America We Deserve” that he supports “a woman’s right to choose,” but is “uncomfortable with the procedures.” In particular, he said he would support a ban on partial-birth abortion.

Given the mogul’s reputation for flouting sexual mores, his conversion to the pro-life cause has been met with skepticism from pro-life advocates, and has appeared to some as opportunistic given that pro-life candidates fared so well in the November elections. The inveterate playboy and Miss Universe owner, who has had five children with three wives, is unapologetic about his habit of pursuing younger women. In 2006, he said he would date his then-24-year-old daughter Ivanka if he weren’t her father. LifeSiteNews

Monday, February 14, 2011

NAF Textbook Pushes Abortion Traning in Med Schools

NAF How-To Textbook Pushes Abortion Traning in Med Schools | LifeNews.com: NAF’s philosophy is that once a physician has done an abortion, any personal qualms or moral arguments against doing them are shot to pieces and it’s easier to get that physician to do them in his or her practice later. NAF’s goal is to catch students early, abuse their consciences so much that these same students are willing to believe that performing abortions is a good thing!

First Timothy, talks about the behavior of people who have turned away from their faith as having “their conscience seared with a hot iron.” When I think of NAF’s goal of forcing abortion training on medical students, I am reminded of this verse.

Pregnancy center in Kibera slum

Nairobi, Kenya's Kibera slum is home to nearly one million people, who mostly live in corrugated iron shacks with no running water. It is also the home of the Kibera Community Counselling and Pregnancy Crisis Centre, located behind the police post.

Pastor Bernard and Betina Alusi received training in a three-day seminar by ABWE missionaries Russ and Mary Huff back in December 2009. They quickly opened the center two days a week and have been serving 15 clients a day. They report their church is growing because of their ministry to pregnant women.

Only breed smart babies

Only breed smart babies: Ethicist | Herald Sun: A leading Australian ethicist has advocated genetically screening embryos to create a smarter society of superior 'designer babies' with higher IQs. Julian Salvulescu, Oxford's practical ethics professor, has said it is our 'moral obligation' to use IVF to choose the smartest embryos, even if that maintains or increases social inequality.

Abortion stats in perspective

Worldwide, there are approximately 42 million abortions per year.
  • 115,000 per day
  • 4791 per hour
  • 79 per minute
  • 1.3 per second
The US accounts for 1.21 million of those abortions each year.
  • 3315 per day
  • 138 per hour
  • 2 per minute
  • 1 every 30 seconds
The CDC, however, lists the "leading cause of death" as heart disease, at 616,067 per year.
  • 1687 per day
  • 70 per hour
  • 1.17 per minute

Loving your gay neighbor as yourself

Loving your gay neighbor as yourself: Thank goodness many in the church still uphold the biblical worldview that homosexuality is sin. They understand that just because culture has changed its mind on the issue doesn’t mean God has. However, what we need to remember is that just because God calls it sin doesn’t justify treating the gay person with contempt or disrespect. Where did we ever get that idea?

North Dakota House passes bill criminalizing killing unborn from conception

North Dakota House passes bill criminalizing killing unborn from conception | LifeSiteNews.com: A strong majority of lawmakers in the North Dakota House of Representatives on Friday afternoon passed a law that would make it illegal to murder any human being from the moment of their conception. The Defense of Human Life Act, HB 1450, recognizes every human being at any stage of development as a person under state law with a right to protection.

Pastor Rick Warren's tweets lament abortion

Pastor Rick Warren tweet laments 3700 Americans killed by abortion daily | LifeSiteNews.com: “I’m glad you were born! Sadly every day 3,700 Americans are denied that right to live. They arent even given a choice,” wrote megachurch pastor Rick Warren. He followed that a few minutes later with a second related tweet about having courage to speak up for life despite societal disapproval. “God commands: ‘Speak up for those who cannot speak up for themselves ‘Pr31:8 Fear disobedience more than human disapproval.”

Transhumanists Launch Campaign for Animal Personhood

Transhumanists Launch Campaign for Animal Personhood » Secondhand Smoke | A First Things Blog: Transhumanists have a deep antipathy for human exceptionalism. Which isn’t surprising–given its philosophy that humans are not good enough, smart enough, strong enough, beautiful enough, or healthy enough–and we all die so soon! If human life is so lacking, why would they consider us exceptional?

Human exceptionalism is the prime philosophical impediment to the acceptance of transhumanism. If we are going to engage in Utopian manipulation and remaking of human biology and existential meaning, humans must be reduced in moral status to merely another animal in the forest. Once we morally demoted ourselves, the would-be redesigners would have a much freer hand since nothing of fundamental value would be at risk. Undermining human exceptionalism may be most easily undertaken indirectly and by stealth–that is by convincing society to elevate other species to our moral status.

Friday, February 11, 2011

Lawmakers see a timely target in Planned Parenthood

Lawmakers see a timely target in Planned Parenthood - latimes.com: In the rush to slash the federal budget, House Republicans have taken quick aim the nation's largest provider of abortions, reviving an emotional fight after a campaign season in which social issues were dormant.

A coalition of abortion foes joined with an undercover video activist on Thursday to call on lawmakers to cut all funding for Planned Parenthood, which they blasted as 'complicit' in the trafficking of underage girls for prostitution.

Calvary Chapel Founder Advises Woman to Abort Her Child On Radio Show

Calvary Chapel Founder Advises Woman to Abort Her Child On Radio Show – Pastor Chuck Smith Tries To Use Scripture To Justify Child Killing « Social Justice Begins in the Womb – Daily Pro-life Updates from the BK Lounge: This is one of the most heartbreaking radio calls I have ever heard, not just because of the woman’s situation, but because of the horrendous advice given by a once-trusted Christian leader. Pastor Chuck Smith, who is the founder of Calvary Chapel, actually advises this women it is okay to kill her baby and tries to say God won’t mind.

The Weather Isn't Getting Weirder

The Weather Isn't Getting Weirder - WSJ.com: We know that carbon dioxide and other gases trap and re-radiate heat. We also know that humans have emitted ever-more of these gases since the Industrial Revolution. What we don't know is exactly how sensitive the climate is to increases in these gases versus other possible factors—solar variability, oceanic currents, Pacific heating and cooling cycles, planets' gravitational and magnetic oscillations, and so on.

Singularity: When Humans, Machines Merge

Singularity: Kurzweil on 2045, When Humans, Machines Merge - TIME: Raymond Kurzweil believes that we're approaching a moment when computers will become intelligent, and not just intelligent but more intelligent than humans. When that happens, humanity — our bodies, our minds, our civilization — will be completely and irreversibly transformed. He believes that this moment is not only inevitable but imminent. According to his calculations, the end of human civilization as we know it is about 35 years away.

7 Statistics on World Needs

How is God calling you to make a difference as part of His story? (page 3)

Ohio Bill Raises Abortion Issue

Pedophiles Inc.

Mark's Blog: When Americans hear the term 'organized crime,' it is unlikely that names like Planned Parenthood and the National Abortion Federation leap to their minds. Maybe they should.

Battle begins over bill to permanently stop federal abortion funding

Battle begins over bill to permanently stop federal abortion funding | LifeSiteNews.com: The battle to permanently stop federal dollars from paying for elective abortion has begun in earnest on Capitol Hill, with new pro-life legislation that would codify existing pro-life protections like the Hyde Amendment and other riders, which must be renewed annually.

The “No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act” (HR 3) was the subject of a hearing by the House Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee on the Constitution on Tuesday afternoon. The legislation, sponsored by the co-chairs of the bipartisan Pro-Life Caucus, Reps. Dan Lipinksi (D-IL) and Chris Smith (R-NJ), would put in place a broad government ban on abortion funding.

U.S. Government funds questionable youth ‘sex work’ program

U.S. Government funds questionable youth ‘sex work’ program | LifeSiteNews.com: A program funded by the United States government is working to normalize the commercial sexual exploitation of young people, under the guise of providing health services to “young people who sell sex,” charge critics.

Shocking secret video shows government persecution of blind Chinese pro-life activist

Shocking secret video shows government persecution of blind Chinese pro-life activist | LifeSiteNews.com: In the first news of blind Chinese anti-one child policy activist Chen Guangcheng in five months, on Wednesday a video was released showing the persecution he and his family are suffering at the hands of the Chinese government, which has put him under illegal house arrest since his release from prison.

Pro-life nurses face major obstacles in job applications: head of international nurse association | LifeSiteNews.com

Pro-life nurses face major obstacles in job applications: head of international nurse association | LifeSiteNews.com: Around the world, pro-life nurses are facing greater restrictions on their ability to act according to their consciences, the president of an international Catholic nursing association said this week. Marylee Meehan, president of the International Catholic Committee of Nurses and Medical-Social Assistants, told Catholic News Agency at a conference in Rome that in the U.S. conscience rights are nurses’ biggest problem.

Thursday, February 10, 2011

Donald Trump Says He's Pro-Life

Donald Trump Generates Presidential Buzz, Says He's Pro-Life | LifeNews.com: While his business credentials are well known, pro-life advocates want to know where “The Donald” stands on the right to life. A few months ago, when questioned about his position, Trump responded by saying the public “would be surprised” by his stance.

In an interview this past week with Laura Ingraham from Fox News, Trump characterized himself as “pro-life.” In his 2000 book The America We Deserve, Trump wrote, “I support a woman’s right to choose but I am uncomfortable with the procedures.”

Editor: I'm still waiting to be surprised.

What does it mean to believe in the sanctity of life?

What does it mean to believe in the sanctity of life?: Many apply the sanctity of life to issues like abortion and euthanasia, and while it definitely applies to those issues, it applies to much more. The sanctity of life should motivate us to combat all forms of evil and injustice that are perpetuated against human life. Violence, abuse, oppression, human trafficking, and many other evils are also violations of the sanctity of life.

Cell-Off: IPS Cells Fall Short of Potential Found in Embryonic Version

Cell-Off: Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells Fall Short of Potential Found in Embryonic Version: Scientific American: The act of reprogramming cells to make them as capable as ones from embryos apparently can result in aberrant cells that age and die abnormally, suggesting there is a long way to go to prove such cells are really like embryonic stem cells and can find use in therapies.

Most US teens want to be virgins

Most U.S. teens want to be virgins when they marry | LifeSiteNews.com: A poll conducted with youth aged 13-18 in late 2010 found a majority of young people in the US - 61 percent - would like to be virgins when they get married. Additionally, 63 percent said that, presuming they had lost their virginity, they would change the past if possible and regain it.

The survey was conducted from August through October 2010 by Drs. Rene Paulson and Jacquelyn Pennings under the auspices of the Christian youth research and outreach organization OneHope as part of their Spiritual State of the World’s Children study. 5,108 teens between the ages of 13 and 18 in the United States were recruited to take the online survey through a panelist company and through social networking websites.

A press release from OneHope announcing the release of the study today said the results of the survey were “surprising” given the high teen exposure to sexually explicit media content.

Pro-lifers worldwide gear up for largest ever 40 Days for Life campaign – 243 cities

Pro-lifers worldwide gear up for largest ever 40 Days for Life campaign – 243 cities | LifeSiteNews.com: This spring pro-life advocates in 243 cities around the globe are gearing up to participate in the wildly successful 40 Days for Life initiative. The coordinated international campaign begins March 9 and runs through April 17. The campaign will stretch from coast to coast in the United States, and extend into Canada, England, Ireland, Australia, Belize, Spain, Georgia, and Armenia.

Stem cells: The crusader

Stem cells: The crusader : Nature News: Theresa Deisher once shunned religion for science. Now, with renewed faith, she is fighting human-embryonic-stem-cell research in court.

What about abortion to save a mother's life?

Wednesday, February 9, 2011

Democrats Blast Pro-Life Bills

Democrats Blast Pro-Life Bills to Cut Tax-Funded Abortions | LifeNews.com: Rep. Diane DeGette, a Colorado Democrat, led the press conference that also featured pro-abortion Reps. Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin, Louise Slaughter of New York, Jan Schakowsky of Illinois, Barbara lee of California, Carolyn Maloney of New York, Henry Waxman of California, Frank Pallone of New Jersey and others. “I’m surprised, given that the number one issue right now is jobs, that the Republican leadership would make [this] extreme position one of their top three priorities of the session,” DeGette said.

Meanwhile, Sen. Barbara Boxer, of California, is also spearheading the fight against the bills in the Senate — should the House approve them and sent them to the upper chamber.

CIRM Celebrates Funding Luxury Stem Cell Buildings As California Disintegrates

CIRM Celebrates Funding Luxury Stem Cell Buildings As California Disintegrates » Secondhand Smoke | A First Things Blog: The California Institute for Regenerative Medicine keeps borrowing from the impecunious to pay for its fat salaries and luxurious buildings while CA has gone from broke to the state version of homelessness.

Editor: Fiddling while Rome burns?

A moment's prayer that changed everything

When pregnancy center staff prayed with this terrified pregnant teen, she felt safe and loved. That’s when she made a decision for life. Care Net

Beating Bitterness in the Battle for LIFE

Care Net | Beating Bitterness in the Battle for LIFE: “. . .Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven.” (Matthew 5:44-45) In the pro-life debate, we may be tempted to feel bitter toward those who argue against us. But Jesus calls us to a different response: to teach, forgive and love.

Oasis of Hope in No-man's-Land

Care Net | Oasis of Hope in No-man's-Land: Forbes magazine called Detroit “America’s Most Murderous City.” Pastor Claude Allen May of Detroit’s Oasis of Hope Christian Church couldn’t agree more.

“You hear about Detroit murders,” says this concerned church leader. “But there is a greater violence taking place against those who cannot speak for themselves.” He’s talking about aborting innocent children. His church is focused on providing help for the underserved in their community. So when the need for a pregnancy center came up, May responded, “We have to do this.”

Church is "a spiritual hospital" for women who've had abortions



Women who have had abortions are in your church. Manhattan Declaration video.

Pro-life video contest winners

Yesterday, the Manhattan Declaration announced the winner of its pro-life video contest. View all submissions here.

Debate over pro-life legislation

Thesis: The Problem of Pain Legislation

Rebuttal: Bills Related to Fetal Pain are Necessary

Ethics of the individual mandate

Ethics of the individual mandate: When it comes to health care reform, [autonomy] standards are thrown out the window – few people seem to consider it a violation of respect for autonomy to force people to buy health insurance. I did a search for articles discussing the ethics of the individual mandate, and my most striking finding was that there were so few of them! There are a few that focus on whether the mandate is constitutional, which is important, but is not the same question.

South Korea Catholic Church offers free delivery, shelter and financial support for single mothers | LifeSiteNews.com

South Korea Catholic Church offers free delivery, shelter and financial support for single mothers | LifeSiteNews.com: In an effort to promote a culture of life, the South Korean Catholic Bishops’ Conference has announced it will provide shelters and financial support for single mothers and free delivery for unmarried pregnant women in Catholic-run hospitals.

Tuesday, February 8, 2011

What's the Message of the Bible?

What's the Message of the Bible?: Bible scholar Stephen Dempster writes that “although the Bible is a coherent Story, it is a sprawling one, a sort of ramshackle narrative with many stops and starts, dead ends and detours, and any number of high and low points.” To be sure, the Bible is a coherent Story, but a Story that can prove difficult to follow for many readers. For those of us who need help—or just a reminder—here’s the message of the Bible in 6 minutes, 240 words, 240 pages, or 1 sentence.

Petition to defund Planned Parenthood

FRC Action: American taxpayers are forced daily to subsidize the atrocity of abortion to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars per year. Sign the petition to defund the abortion industry!

Ohio abortion ban would use heartbeat as barometer

Ohio abortion ban would use heartbeat as barometer | AP Texas News | Chron.com - Houston Chronicle: Ohio will be the testing ground for a new approach to limiting abortions that would prohibit women from ending pregnancies at the first detectable fetal heartbeat, sometimes as early as 18 days after conception. Republican state Rep. Lynn Wachtmann is preparing to unveil the so-called Heartbeat Bill on Wednesday. It is the first proposal of its kind in the nation, with Texas, Georgia and Oklahoma among states watching closely.

Free download: The Six Days of Creation

The Six Days of Creation - Audio Download - Answers Bookstore: In this challenging presentation, Ken Ham clears up some common misunderstandings about the debate over Genesis 1 and “six days” of creation.

Get to Know: Life Matters TV

Life Matters is televised live in downtown Boston. "We have produced over 288 different half hour shows including many guests who are nationally renowned in the right-to-life communitey. Life Matters is currently airing in over 124 cities and towns throughout Massachusetts. We have now published over 30 of our shows on Youtube.com & blip.tv."

Annual Report on Family Trends

FRC's Annual Report on Family Trends is your go-to source for family trendline data on the state of the American family and how well it's fulfilling the five major tasks of society: family, church, school, marketplace, and government. Through the family, the next generation of America is brought, raised, and molded to the extent to which it learns the five basic tasks: harnessing sexuality into marriage and children; applying transcendent or spiritual truths; learning and teaching; providing goods and services to meet the needs of family members; and experiencing the first level of government (whereby good is taught and upheld, and evil actions or delinquent actions are forbidden and punished for the welfare of the whole family). Includes abortion statistics.

The perverse morality that facilitated Gosnell’s ‘house of horror’

The perverse morality that facilitated Gosnell’s ‘house of horror’ | LifeSiteNews.com: The Grand Jury report pulls no punches, and the anger and disgust of the investigators is evident in every line. But, while their revulsion is doubtlessly sincere, there is a confused morality underpinning it, because the investigators, despite all they had seen and heard, found it necessary to re-affirm a ‘right’ to abortion.

This is clearly contradictory and illogical. If it’s wrong to kill children, their age shouldn’t matter. But the law is perverse - and has warped morality to the point where the horror inflicted by people like Gosnell becomes inevitable.

Study: many Himalayan glaciers are growing or stable

Blow to ‘global warming’ - Study: many Himalayan glaciers are growing or stable | LifeSiteNews.com: The image of melting glaciers in the Himalayas has been called one of the two principal “icons” of global warming alarmism, along with polar bears, who have been declared a “threatened” species despite the fact that their numbers are growing. Population control has been one of the principle underlying objectives of leading proponents of the concept of human caused global warming.

Monday, February 7, 2011

14 Ways to Help Unborn Babies

14 Ways to Help Unborn Babies by Randy Alcorn - ChurchLeaders.com - Christian Leadership Blogs, Articles, Videos, How To's, and Free Resources: Resist the notion that “I’m just one person, we’re just one small church, we can’t make a difference.” You can’t eliminate need, but you can be used of God to meet needs in exciting ways. How do you help millions of needy people? One at a time. The following are not things everyone should do, but merely a menu from which to choose what best suits your gifting and your resources.

The Lazy Slander of Pro-Lifers

The Lazy Slander of Pro-Lifers | Christianity Today | A Magazine of Evangelical Conviction: One of the most frequently repeated canards of the abortion debate is that pro-lifers really don't care about life. As much as they talk about protecting the unborn, we are told, pro-lifers do nothing to support mothers and infants who are already in the world.

This lazy slander is as common as it is untrue. Of course, there is much more that needs to be done, but in the decades since Roe v. Wade, pro-lifers have taken the lead in offering vital services to mothers and infants in need. Operating with little support—and often actual opposition—from agencies, foundations, and local governments, pro-lifers have relied upon a network of committed donors and volunteers to make great strides in supporting mothers and their infants. It's time the media takes notice.

Abortion’s dangerous euphemisms

Abortion’s dangerous euphemisms - The Boston Globe: Since 1973, Roe has led to the destruction of more than 40 million unborn babies. It has led as well to a desensitizing debasement of our language. Americans have gotten so used to the idea of life in the womb being violently killed in part because they camouflage that killing with feel-good labels like “reproductive freedom’’ and “choice.’’ So pervasive is the mindset such language sustains that even when an alleged butcher like Gosnell comes along, the champions of “choice’’ offer only muted criticism.

Abortion is always a violent and awful thing, whether it happens in a squalid cesspit or in an immaculate doctor’s office. Reasonable people can debate whether abortion should be legal, and under what circumstances. But they ought to be able to do so without euphemistic evasions.

Moral collapse at Ms. Magazine — sex-selection abortion as a ‘problem’

Moral collapse at Ms. Magazine — sex-selection abortion as a ‘problem’ | LifeSiteNews.com: Rhe winter 2011 edition of MS magazine is interesting — and so disturbing. The issue features an article by Madeline Wheeler entitled “Saving the Girl Child,” which offers a report on “India’s epidemic of female infanticide and sex-selection abortion.”

The appearance of that article does come as something of a surprise. After all, Ms., and the feminist movement it represents, insist that a woman must have the right to abort a pregnancy for any reason or for no reason. This claim, they have long insisted, is central to the very idea of reproductive freedom. So, what about sex-selection abortions — when it is female babies who are most commonly aborted?

Young evangelicals: A lost cause in the culture wars?

FRC Event: Much has been said, within Christian circles and without, about the shift of younger evangelicals away from the cultural battles of the last generation. To many in the older generation, this is a sign of ungratefulness and/or unorthodoxy. To many in the younger generation, the agenda they've inherited is too limited and lacks constructiveness. What does the future hold for Christian conservatism? Is the concern simply over-hyped?

In this live webcast, John Stonestreet will offer a quick mapping of the diverse expressions of young evangelicalism, a brief analysis of the perceived divide, and constructive ideas for re-connecting the generations towards meaningful causes.

Thursday, Feb. 10, 12 noon ET

Sexual purity before marriage grows internationally for 8th annual Day of Purity

Liberty Counsel: International interest has quadrupled this year as 37 countries have volunteers who support the Day of Purity on Valentine’s Day. Thousands of youth and people of all ages from around the world will celebrate the eighth annual Day of Purity. This event is a call for youth of all ages to remain sexually pure before marriage and loyal within marriage. The Day of Purity is designed to counter the cultural message that young people should and must have sex early, often, and with many.

Online poll: Should Planned Parenthood Be Stripped of Its Federal Funding?

Should Planned Parenthood Be Stripped of Its Federal Funding? - FoxNews.com: A Government Accountability Office study last summer, Planned Parenthood tapped into $657 million in federal dollars between 2002 and 2009. Now, undercover videos at local Planned Parenthood branches have prompted a congressional campaign against the organization. Vote NOW!

Evangelical leaders survey: ‘let God be God’ in end of life issues

Evangelical leaders survey: ‘let God be God’ in end of life issues | LifeSiteNews.com: A poll of the board of directors of the National Association of Evangelicals (NAE) has found a marked unity in outlook on the issues surrounding end of life care and treatment.

The poll posed the question of assisted suicide or euthanasia if the individuals found themselves faced with severe pain in a terminal illness. The survey found, “When faced with severe pain in a terminal illness, 94 percent said they would not consent to the termination of their lives,” remaining firm in their commitment to “let God be God” when it comes to their life’s end.

“This reiterates what we already know about evangelicals: They want to honor life from womb to tomb,” said Leith Anderson, president of the National Association of Evangelicals, in a press release.

No ‘moral certainty’ that brain death is really death

No ‘moral certainty’ that brain death is really death: prominent Catholic ethics professor Brugger | LifeSiteNews.com: A prominent American professor of Catholic medical ethics has said that in “brain death” criteria there is no “moral certitude” that a patient is really dead, a condition laid out as necessary for removing organs. The available evidence, he said, “raises a reasonable doubt that excludes ‘moral certitude’ that ventilator-sustained brain dead bodies are corpses.”

Professor E. Christian Brugger quoted Pope John Paul II, who told a congress on organ transplants that death is “a single event consisting in the total disintegration of that unity and integrated whole that is the personal self. Although we cannot identify the event directly, we can identify biological signs consequent upon the loss of that unity." But according to many experts, those biological signs are not present in “brain death” cases.

Do we know how to end abortion?




For 38 years, pro-life men, women, and children have gathered in Washington, D.C. to protest the killing of innocent preborn children. Once again, the Genocide Awareness Project was present to represent the victims of abortion and share lessons from historical social reform.

Testimony needed at Hawaii state capitol

Jackie Mishler, of Hawaii Physicians for Compassionate Care, sends out an urgent plea to anyone in her state:

If we can stop the bill to legalize Physician Assisted Suicide in committee now, PAS is unlikely to come to hearing again this year.  Please attend the hearing in person for maximum effectiveness.

The Senate Health Committee will hear testimony on SB803 on Monday, Feb 7 at 2:45 PM in the Capitol auditorium.  This bill would legalize Physician Assisted Suicide.  Testimony is due by Sunday, the 6th, by 4:00 PM.  If you miss the Sunday deadline, please send on Monday anyway.  

If you cannot attend, testimony by email or fax also helps. 
  • Email - (copy and paste this into your web browser): http://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/emailtestimony/ 
  • Fax - Sgt at Arms, 586-6659; Toll Free 1-800-586-6659.  Identify hearing as: SB803, Feb 7, 2011, 2:45 PM,  Senate Health Hearing, Capitol auditorium

When you send your testimony, please identify yourself, state your position (I oppose SB803), and tell them why you feel this would be a bad bill for you, your loved ones, or the State of Hawaii. If you are coming to the hearing, please send testimony as well. Remember, EVERY testimony counts!

Students for Life Releases Groundbreaking Healthcare Study

Students for Life researched the 200 largest universities in the United States to see whether their tax-fudned health insurance plans cover abortions. SFLA looked at a) if the school required health care, b) if they automatically charged a student’s account for health care, c) if the school offered a school-sponsored health care plan, and d) if the school-sponsored health care plan covered elective abortions.

SFLA found that out of the 200 schools researched:
  • 67 or 33.5% of 200 schools require students to have health care coverage
  • 194 or 97% of the 200 schools offer school-sponsored plans
  • 86 or 44.3% of the 194 schools who offer school-sponsored health care plans cover elective abortions
  • 38 or 44% of the 86 plans that cover elective abortions, automatically enroll their students in an abortion health care plan.
  • 66 or 33% of the 200 schools automatically enroll their students in their school sponsored health care plan to student’s accounts.
  • 38 or 57% of the 66 plans automatically enroll their students in a school sponsored plan that covers elective abortion.

Friday, February 4, 2011

Churchgoers in Europe face ‘bloodless persecution’

Churchgoers in Europe face ‘bloodless persecution’ | News | The Christian Institute: Churchgoers in Europe are “heading for a bloodless persecution” at the hands of secularists, the head of a European think-tank has said.

Dr Gudrun Kugler cautioned that, while it would be wrong to compare “injustices” in Europe to those in North Korea, India or Pakistan, religious freedom here is nevertheless a “hard-won achievement.”

And, warning that “advocates” were needed to keep religious freedom alive, she called on church leaders and church attenders to “speak out more clearly and boldly when they see religious freedom being undermined.”

Thursday, February 3, 2011

'Chrislam' - a Christian-Islam mixture

'Chrislam' - a Christian-Islam mixture (OneNewsNow.com): A Protestant renewal organization is concerned about the recent efforts of some mainline Protestant churches to produce an ecumenical reconciliation between Christianity and Islam.

According to a recent blog post from The Last Crusade, Memorial Drive Presbyterian Church in Houston, along with other congregations in Atlanta, Seattle, and Detroit, preached sermons and held Sunday school lessons on the founder of Islam, Mohammad, whom Muslims consider a prophet. Qurans were also placed in the pews next to Bibles. Proponents of the movement, which has been dubbed 'Chrislam,' claim that Christians cannot love their neighbors without having a relationship with them.

Alan Wisdom, director of the Presbyterian Action committee and vice president for research and programs at The Institute on Religion & Democracy, contends that Islam should never be viewed as an equal to the gospel of Jesus Christ. Moreover, Qurans should never be placed next to God's Holy Word.

Protesters launch campaign to expose abortion 'profiteers'

Protesters launch campaign to expose abortion 'profiteers': A Christian organization with the politically incorrect name Repent America has launched a campaign that chief Michael Marcavage says could be the one to bring the abortion industry in the United States to its knees.

How? Expose those companies that are making money off the abortion of unborn children by supplying abortion entities such as Planned Parenthood with services. In the spotlight in the campaign is Stericyle, which RA reports is a major contractor hauling away the 'medical waste,' or the bodies of aborted infants. . . . Penske Truck Leasing has now prohibited Stericycle from using their trucks to service abortion mills.

Michigan: Partial Birth Abortion in 2011

On January 20, 2011, two bills following the federal ban on partial birth abortion as closely as possible were introduced by Rep. Kevin Daly and Rep. Ben Glardon in the Michigan House of Representatives. Find out more about the status of these bills.

Delaware pastors call for investigation of Wilmington abortion clinic

A group of black pastors in Delaware joined several pro-life groups on Tuesday in calling for both a state and federal investigation of the Delaware abortion provider that employed a West Philadelphia doctor who is facing homicide charges.The group called on the state to require abortion clinics to be held to the same regulatory standards as surgical centers. Currently, according to state officials, abortion clinics in Delaware are not regularly inspected for safety or sanitary conditions.

"To safeguard women in our community, we seek action from law enforcement in Delaware," wrote the pastors, including the Rev. Christopher Bullock of Canaan Baptist Church, Apostle J.T. Graham of Temple United Church, the Rev. Clifford Johnson of Shiloh Baptist Church, the Rev. Aaron Moore of Manna Christian Fellowship Church, Bishop Aretha Morton of Tabernacle Full Gospel Baptist Cathedral and the Rev. Lorraine Dryden of Spirit of Life Lutheran Church. Delaware Online

The Church in a Post-Feminist World

True Woman | The Church in a Post-Feminist World: An Interview with Mary Kassian: In the past decade, we have been transitioning from a “feminist” to a “post-feminist” era. What’s the difference between the two? In the feminist era, feminist ideas were being developed—now they are fully formed. In the feminist era they were touted by philosophers and academics—now they are spouted by everyone. In the feminist era, the ideas were radical—now they are commonplace. In the feminist era, feminist ideas were pushed to be accepted—now they have been integrated. In the feminist era, feminist ideas were identifiable—now they are indistinguishable from mainstream thought.

Wednesday, February 2, 2011

The Fetal Solution: Victims of American Hedonism Counted in Millions of Unborn

America has death camps. This is the heinous reality liberal elites have been trying to conceal. A Philadelphia abortion doctor, Kermit Gosnell, was arrested Wednesday along with his wife and eight other suspects. The 69-year-old abortionist is charged with causing the death of a woman during a botched abortion and also killing seven babies. Prosecutors say the infants were born alive following illegal late-term abortions and then were murdered by having their spinal cords ripped apart with scissors.

Dr. Gosnell’s abortion clinic is a house of horrors—akin to those in Nazi Germany or Soviet Russia. Police authorities say that following a raid on his office, they found numerous bags and bottles containing aborted fetuses. They also allege that they found jars on a shelf containing the severed feet of babies.

Philadelphia’s CBS News reports that, “Gosnell is suspected of killing hundreds of living babies over the course of his 30-year practice.” If true, Dr. Gosnell is not only a baby killer but a mass murderer—the Josef Mengele of our time. Yet this is not an isolated incident. In fact, it is only the tip of the abortion iceberg. ALL

Babies Can Be Treated With Adult Stem Cells, Even in the Womb

Two recent stories are exciting about the possibility of treating young children, even in the womb, with adult stem cells. One study shows that cardiac adult stem cells can be isolated from young children with heart problems, even as young as one day old. The researchers found that a very small sample of heart tissue contained ample adult stem cells that could be grown in culture, turned into various types of heart cells, and repair damaged hearts in a lab animal model.
Another recent report shows the potential of extending adult stem cell treatments into the womb. Previous attempts at treating unborn children have been largely unsuccessful, but scientists at the University of California-San Francisco have discovered the key to such treatments–use the mother’s adult stem cells to treat the unborn child. LifeNews

Tuesday, February 1, 2011

Goal of parenting: Heaven, not Harvard

An article printed in the Wall Street Journal entitled “Why Chinese Mothers are Superior” was all the buzz this week. The author, Amy Chua, a Yale law professor, spoke of raising her two daughters in a traditionally Chinese way, demanding of them using techniques that many Western parents would consider downright mean. Chua’s self-described parenting style included yelling, shaming, name-calling and other forceful methods to get her children to turn out to be the best at anything they did: namely academics and musical instruments.

She spoke of calling her daughter “garbage” as a way to disgrace her in front of others for being disrespectful and shame her into good behavior. Chua explained that Chinese mothers do this out of wanting the best for their children. What struck me is that if this woman was the mother of these two girls in China, the younger of the two, if not both, would likely be dead – either from abortion or post partum infanticide on discovery she was a girl. Mothering in China includes a devastating reality that has taken the lives of unknown numbers of little girls meant for this world. LifeNews

Black history month: Nixon and population control

Planned personhood

“They say we’re murdering babies. I don’t know how to debate that,” a Florida Planned Parenthood representative says. Documents obtained by the Orlando Weekly from a Planned Parenthood affiliates meeting last month outline the group’s strategy to counter Florida’s personhood movement with a “three-leg” approach: educating progressives, a decline-to-sign campaign and building coalition power.