Proposal 2 Not Creating Jobs or Advancing Research

The University of Michigan today released details of the $6.8 million in federal stimulus-fund grants given to scientists for stem cell research. While economically-depressed Michigan needs the boost, Right to Life of Michigan president Barb Listing has questions about the direction of the funding. "Ten out of the 11 grants awarded to the U of M scientists do not involve human embryonic stem cells as material for the research. That is the good news, however, one grant does require human embryo stem cells to be used." LifeNews

Liberals unhappy with Obama

Increasingly, noisy factions on the [Democratic] party's most liberal flank - among them gay rights proponents, pro-choice activists and immigration reformers who Obama courted last year - are incensed that their causes have taken a backseat to the White House's all-out push on health care reform. Case in point? Pro-choice activists, who right now are livid that the leading health care bills winding through Congress don't include federal funding for poor women to get abortions. NY Daily News

British scientists develop test that trebles chance of baby and removes Down's risk

British scientists have made a dramatic IVF breakthrough which could bring hope to thousands of women. They have developed an embryo screening technique which makes it far more likely a woman will give birth. The new screening tecnique, called comparative genomic hybridisation, allows doctors to remove cells from an embryo when it is a few days old. The cells are analysed to see if they are genetically normal and the best embryos are selected for implantation into the mother's womb. The technique offers particular hope to older women because they have a naturally higher chance of producing eggs with genetic defects that can block implantation or cause miscarriages. But for mothers of any age, the screening also virtually eliminates the risk of genetic conditions like Down's. Daily Mail

Editor: Mind you, they're not curing anything; they're just eliminating the "worst" embryos.

IVF websites often mum on embryo gene test risks

Fertility clinic websites aren't doing a great job of explaining the risks of testing an embryo for genetic disorders before it's implanted in the womb. Pre-implantation genetic diagnosis (PGD), can be used to test for 5,000 different genetic disorders and, more controversially, choose the sex of an infant. But it's not 100-percent reliable, and could, in rare cases, cause harm to the embryo or even destroy it. Researchers looked at the websites of 83 clinics offering PGD to investigate how fully they explained these risks. Just 35 percent of the websites Klitzman and his team surveyed mentioned the possibility that the test could miss the target diagnosis, while only 18 percent mentioned the risk that the procedure could destroy the embryo. Fourteen percent described PGD as "new" or "controversial." Reuters

Stem cell news

• Harvard team grows heart muscle from stem cells - embryonic mouse cells
• A major step in making better stem cells from adult tissue
• Wayne State Study Shows Adult Stem Cell Grafts Help Paralyzed

New Report Suggests Over 1 Billion Abortions Committed

A new report by the pro-abortion Guttmacher Institute, entitled "Abortion Worldwide: A Decade of Uneven Progress," points to the fact that over a billion abortions have been committed, say pro-life activists. The report found that the annual number of abortions have declined over the period from 1995 to 2003. Nevertheless, the Guttmacher Institute said that in 2003 approximately 41.6 million abortions were committed worldwide. On average, this works out to more than one death by abortion for each second of the year. Since abortion has been available since before 1970 and very widely available since 1980, pro-life activists are saying that, even by a conservative estimate, the total number of preborn children to have been killed by abortion is likely in excess of one billion. If 40 million children per year were aborted since 1980 that would already make for 1.12 billion preborn babies killed. LifeSiteNews

Ever Wonder Who Took Those Aborted Baby Pictures?

"Maybe 50 percent of the graphic images of abortion victims that you'll find online are probably my photography." So says Monica Migliorino Miller, associate professor of theology at Madonna University in Orchard Lake, Mich., in a recent front-page interview with The New York Times. The interview has made waves in the pro-life world, due in large part to the fact that, along with the interview, the Times ran a selection of Miller's graphic abortion photos in the online version of the story, becoming one of the only mainstream newspapers in the world to do so. The story, written by Times journalist Damien Cave, came about after Cave encountered Miller while covering the murder of pro-life activist James Pouillon, who used to protest abortion by holding signs depicting photos of aborted babies. "Like many others," wrote Cave in the article, "I often wondered about the source of these images. Who took the pictures? Where did the fetuses come from?" LifeSiteNews

A Child is Born: Photographs of the fetus developing in the womb

The stunning images by Lennart Nilsson, first published in 1965, have now been remastered with the help of the latest photographic technology; A Child is Born has been republished in a fifth and final edition. Telegraph, LifeSiteNews, more images on Nilsson's web site, interview

Lawsuit Filed to Stop Federal Funding of Embryo-Destructive Research

A suit filed in federal court by a broad coalition of plaintiffs, including scientists, pro-life advocates, and parents who wish to adopt embryos, seeks to protect human embryos from destruction for research. The complaint seeks to reverse the recently-adopted NIH guidelines that outline steps to take when destroying embryos to qualify for federal research funds. In essence, the guidelines create an incentive in the form of taxpayer dollars to cannibalize so-called ‘leftover embryos’ from fertility clinics. FRC Blog

Missing “Manly” Fish and Population Control

A report from the U.S. Geological Survey is giving birth to concerns about the decline in the fish population because of the feminizing of fish. Experts say this is a widespread problem in which certain species of male fish are growing egg cells. What’s behind this feminization of male fish? Birth control pills. Women’s birth control pills and other hormone treatments have made their way into the nation’s rivers through the sewer systems. Ironically, the population control message is most often promoted by the global warming crowd and others who view people as negatively impacting the environment and consuming limited resources. In reality, it’s their efforts to reduce the population (people) that are actually destroying the environment (fish). FRC Blog

Latest Biblical Bioethics Advisor: The Pro-Life Stake in Healthcare Reform

This latest edition of BFL's Biblical Bioethics Advisor addresses some of the major moral issues related to healthcare in America and urges the pro-life community to correct its understanding of the sanctity of human life in a manner that is vital to that ongoing cause in the 21st Century. A misreading and misapplication of that ethic has contributed to an overuse of expensive medical care. Author Mark B. Blocher calls on churches to assume a more prominent role in promoting the health and wellbeing of their members.

Editor: Access past issues of the Advisor from the BFL web site.

The dark side of being green

Being good stewards of the environment is a noble idea. However, not everyone is on the same page as to how that can effectively be done, including the reality of global warming. But we should all agree the intentional killing of innocent unborn babies cannot ever be an acceptable strategy for a better world. If abortion is part of the environmental equation, we won’t be “green,” we’ll be stained red from the blood of our children. Life Issues Connector

Protecting Black Life goes to the United Kingdom

Arnold M. Culbreath, Urban Outreach Director for Life Issues Institute, spells out three dangers of the Obama presidency: "One—too many church-going African Americans seem to be more Afro-Centric than Christo-Centric. Having a black president appears to be serving as an opiate in that regard. Two—a temptation for pro-lifers to give in to despair or allow themselves to become overwhelmed by roadblocks that this unique presidency has placed in our paths relative to reaching the Black community with the pro-life message. Three—there is the danger of many pro-lifers slipping into hatred toward our President because of his pro-abortion position. When one slips down this slope of disdain toward President Obama, it has the strong potential of keeping you from regularly praying for him." Life Issues Connector

A second-trimester abortionist's "testimony"

In "Second Trimester Abortion Provision: Breaking the Silence and Changing the Discourse," LH writes:

How do doctors come to provide second trimester surgical abortion services (or how do they decide not to). . . . We do not know as no study has specifically explored these questions. . . . [O]nly 20% of abortion providers offer services at 20 weeks of pregnancy, and only 8% of providers offer services at 24 weeks. Why do most clinicians not provide services to the extent permitted?

When I was a little over 18 weeks pregnant with my now pre-school child, I did a second trimester abortion for a patient who was also a little over 18 weeks pregnant. As I reviewed her chart I realised that I was more interested than usual in seeing the fetal parts when I was done, since they would so closely resemble those of my own fetus. . . . I used electrical suction to remove the amniotic fluid, picked up my forceps and began to remove the fetus in parts, as I always did. I felt lucky that this one was already in the breech position – it would make grasping small parts (legs and arms) a little easier. With my first pass of the forceps, I grasped an extremity and began to pull it down. I could see a small foot hanging from the teeth of my forceps. With a quick tug, I separated the leg. Precisely at that moment, I felt a kick – a fluttery “thump, thump” in my own uterus. It was one of the first times I felt fetal movement. There was a leg and foot in my forceps, and a “thump, thump” in my abdomen. Instantly, tears were streaming from my eyes – without me – meaning my conscious brain - even being aware of what was going on. I felt as if my response had come entirely from my body, bypassing my usual cognitive processing completely. A message seemed to travel from my hand and my uterus to my tear ducts. It was an overwhelming feeling – a brutally visceral response – heartfelt and unmediated by my training or my feminist pro-choice politics.

Providers of second trimester abortions see things that most people don't. What kind of dissociative process inside us allows us to do this routinely? What normal person does this kind of work? . . . [T]here is always violence involved in a second trimester abortion, which becomes acutely apparent at certain moments. . . . I must add, however, that I consider declining a woman's request for abortion also to be an act of unspeakable violence.

Currently, the violence and, frankly, the gruesomeness of abortion is owned only by those who would like to see abortion (at any time in pregnancy) disappear, by those who stand outside clinics and in front of sports arenas holding placards with pictures of fetal parts and partially dismembered fetal bodies. The pro-choice movement has not owned or owned up to the reality of the fetus, or the reality of fetal parts. . . . [F]rank talk like this is threatening to abortion rights. Science Direct (original article), Abortioneers blog

Get to Know: In Our Midst

Although the evangelical Church has worked diligently over the past three decades to save the lives of the unborn, we have yet to establish ourselves as a safe place for those that have been hurt by abortion to find hope and healing in Jesus Christ. Generally speaking, we have yet to compassionately embrace the men and women - the mothers, fathers, family members, friends, and medical personnel - whose lives have been devastated by abortion.

Sadly, most pastors and ministry leaders are unaware of how abortion affects the lives of those that have survived it and how many of them are filling our pews on Sunday morning, suffering in silence under a shroud of guilt and shame. They see the high divorce rate, the troubled marriages, depression, eating disorders, substance abuse, pornography addiction and other self-destructive behaviors plaguing their congregants, but few have recognized the deeper issue that often lies at the root of these problems: the life-altering wound left in the wake of an unresolved abortion experience.

In Our Midst Ministries is dedicated to bringing this awareness to the Church and equipping her to minister to the needs of those in our midst that carry the wounds created by abortion.

Resources: Newsletter; Secret Sin: When God's People Choose Abortion

Get to Know: Overpopulation is a Myth

Founded in 1989, the Population Research Institute is a non-profit research and educational organization dedicated to objectively presenting the truth about population-related issues, and to reversing the trends brought about by the myth of overpopulation. Our growing, global network of pro-life groups spans over 30 countries. Overpopulation is a Myth is a project of PRI, offers videos, FAQs, and presentations for download.

Slavery and abortion video

Personal observations about a slave owning ancestor, and the "legal" institutions of slavery and abortion. You Tube

Reflection on Ephesians 6:12-13

"For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore, take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day and having done all, to stand." The battle over the issue of life is perceived more often in churches today as political rather than spiritual. Ironically, the enemy has used this twisted perception to silence many in the body of Christ. We must see the battle for what it is and if we are to be prepared to face the spiritual enemy on the issue of abortion, we must daily "put on" the armor God has given us. 40 Days for Life

Science and God? Friend or foes?

Are science and faith at war? Does science undermine or corroborate belief in God? Does faith suppress or inspire scientific research? Explore these questions and more at a two-day conference to be held October 23-24, 2009 at the Riley Conference Center on the campus of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. Sessions will explore a Biblical theology of nature; the role of Christianity in the founding of modern science; the impact of Darwinian Evolution on ethics, society, Biblical studies and theology; and the scientific evidence for intelligent design and its implications for theism. This conference will be of special interest to seminary students, college students, and pastors and other church leaders. The cost to attend is only $75 for full conference admission; $40 for half conference admission; and FREE to university students with valid student ID. Space is limited, so register soon at www.ScienceandGod.org or by calling the Riley Center at 817-923-1921 ext. 2440. The deadline to register is Monday, October 19th at 5:00 p.m. CST.

NY Times article on pro-life activists

Street activists make up an assertive minority of a few thousand people within the larger anti-abortion movement. Neither the best financed nor largest element in the mix, they are nonetheless the only face of anti-abortion that many Americans see. Indeed, persistent provocation is their defining attribute: day after day on street corners from California to Massachusetts, they stand like town criers, calling to women walking into abortion clinics, or waving graphic signs as disturbing as they are impossible to ignore. NY Times

The Making of Pro-life Activists: How Social Movement Mobilization Works

How do people become activists for causes they care deeply about? Many people with similar backgrounds, for instance, fervently believe that abortion should be illegal, but only some of them join the pro-life movement. By delving into the lives and beliefs of activists and nonactivists alike, Ziad W. Munson is able to lucidly examine the differences between them. Through extensive interviews and detailed studies of pro-life organizations across the nation, Munson makes the startling discovery that many activists join up before they develop strong beliefs about abortion—in fact, some are even pro-choice prior to their mobilization. Therefore, Munson concludes, commitment to an issue is often a consequence rather than a cause of activism. University of Chicago Press

South Korean Women Fight Stigma Against Single Mothers

A small group of South Korean women is working to establish the country's first association to defend the rights of unmarried pregnant women to give birth and raise their own children. Social pressures against single motherhood in South Korea lead thousands of unmarried pregnant women to either seek an abortion or place their children for adoption each year. Although abortion is illegal in South Korea, nearly 96% of unwed pregnant women obtain abortions. Of those who give birth, 70% place the infants for adoption. The country's health ministry estimates that nearly 90% of the 1,250 South Korean children adopted abroad in 2008 were born to single women. Unmarried women who choose to keep their children are often socially ostracized, facing poverty, eviction, job discrimination and condemnation from their partner's family. Medical News Today, NY Times

The latest in adult stem cell research

• Jaw bone created from stem cells
• Researchers Take Another Stem Cell Step
• Liver Cells Grown From Patients' Skin Cells

Do Faith Communities Somehow Breed Teen Pregnancy?

A new study that was posted in Christianity Today and elsewhere suggested a correlation between teen pregnancy and conservative religious beliefs. Here are a couple of the ultimate questions that this study raises: Is a good approach to prevention of unplanned pregnancy the teaching of condom use? Is abstinence education a failed approach just because many who teach abstinence education are from faith-based organizations? Inspire Life

For more information on the effectiveness of abstinence education in our nation, read the latest information from the Institute for Research and Evaluation.

Belief in God = dementia?

He drives a Harley-Davidson, wears a black leather jacket on his back and his religion on his sleeve, and plays a custom guitar with big-name rock stars. All that would seem to have nothing to do with Dr. Francis S. Collins’s day job as the new director of the National Institutes of Health. Except that at the institutes, such things do matter. Dr. Collins, 59, is settling in after nearly two months on the job but still contends with controversies that follow him like the exhaust from his hog. First, there is the God issue. Dr. Collins believes in him. Passionately. And he preaches about his belief in churches and a best-selling book. For some presidential appointees, that might not be a problem, but many scientists view such outspoken religious commitment as a sign of mild dementia. NY Times