Forced abortion in America

The Elliot Institute's special report, Forced Abortion in America, documents many cases of violence in which pregnant girls, teens and women were threatened, assaulted or killed for refusing to abort. Shockingly, homicide has been found to be the leading cause of death among pregnant women in the U.S. in several studies. This report is an important tool to educate others on this injustice and the risks that vulnerable teens and women may be facing in their communities. Download, copy, publish, and share this report and accompanying fact sheet.

Episcopal Divinity School names abortion extremist as dean

EDS recently announced the appointment of Katherine Hancock Ragsdale as the school’s sixth president and dean. This is a woman who once sermonized: “Abortion is a blessing and our work is not done. I want to thank all of you who protect this blessing – who do this work every day: the health care providers, doctors, nurses, technicians, receptionists, who put your lives on the line to care for others (you are heroes — in my eyes, you are saints); the escorts and the activists; the lobbyists and the clinic defenders; all of you. You’re engaged in holy work.” Commentary

BFL Through the Years

We shared this recap of our growth and changes, opportunities and challenges at our 25th Anniversary Gala on March 12.

God Decides How You're Wonderful

“I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvelous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well” --Psalm 139:14. In Unexpected Blessings, Jerrica Kelly writes about having a child with Down syndrome. She wonders, “How can one chromosome change everything?” God creates each one of us with a unique set of talents and weaknesses. He places within each heart the ability to live in a way that glorifies Him. And He’s the one who decides what “wonderful” means in each of us. Read more

Save the date: LIFT Caregiver Summit

Saturday, October 24, 2009 at Grandville Bible Church, Grandville, MI.
Keynote speaker, Rev. Ray Paget, will present sessions on grief. Also workshops, networking, consultation, and exhibits. The cost is $25.00 per person or $40.00 per couple and includes lunch and materials. Early bird 10% discount with paid registrations by August 31. Half day fees also available. Contact Baptists for Life for details.

In-Depth Look at Mainline Protestant Clergy

Only one-in-ten cite abortion as an important issue. Mainline clergy are divided but lean slightly toward supporting the legality of abortion in all or most cases (51% to 49%). A slim majority of mainline clergy say that abortion should be legal in all (13%) or most cases (38%), while slightly less than half say it should be illegal in most (42%) or all cases (7%). There are remarkable differences on this question between denominations. Most (52%) disagree that sex education programs in public schools should teach “abstinence only” until marriage. Read the study; commentary

Fixity of Species: A lesson in changing definitions

An objection commonly leveled at the Bible is that it claims that species are fixed. A good response would be: “To which definition of species are you referring?” By the old definition (as a kind), creationists would agree, but would probably better state it in modern English as fixity of the created kinds so as not to confuse the issue. The idea of one kind changing into another [dog into cat, for example] can be argued against based on the fact that no such change has ever been observed. Read more

“Why isn’t anyone telling our kids the other dangers of sex?”

Breakthroughs in the burgeoning field of neuroscience explain the impact having sex has on the developing brains of adolescents and young adults. This book demonstrates that sexual activity releases chemicals in the brain, creating emotional bonds between partners. Breaking these bonds can cause depression and make it harder to bond with someone else in the future. The human brain is not fully developed until a person reaches their mid-20s. Until then, it is harder to make wise relationship decisions. Parents and others who care about young people now have the facts to steer them away from making life-changing mistakes, and lead them toward reaching their full potential. Get the book

The Fetus as Organ Factory -- The Next Moral Frontier?

The argument for the use of human embryos in medical research is precisely the argument for using fetuses as well. Human dignity rests on an eroding foundation in terms of secular argument. The use of fetal tissues in medical research is grossly immoral -- but so is the use of human embryos. Read more

The Law and the Scientist

No one should stop the birth of those children already created through the cloning process. We can, however, bring use of this procedure to an end. We can also create limits of what scientists are permitted to do. Even as the king once thought himself above the law, so some scientists today think themselves beyond the laws reach and societies mores. But the contrary is true. Scientists must be forced to abide by the Laws of Nature and Nature’s God. This principle, based on Christian theism, is lex homo scientiae. Read more (click Bioethics link)

Cloning Proves Life Begins At Conception

In cloning, one adult cell containing 46 chromosomes is isolated from a donor. The DNA or genetic material comprising 46 chromosomes is removed from the donor cell. Similarly, a recipient egg is selected, isolated and the 23 chromosomes of a recipient egg are removed and discarded. The 46 chromosomes of the donor cell are introduced into the now empty (enucleated) egg. This is the point of conception! Therefore, the moment the 46 chromosomes of the donor cell are introduced into the enucleated egg, a single cell embryological twin of the donor has been created. Read more (click DNA Technology link)

Freedom2Care

The Freedom2Care coalition is a movement of organizations and individuals who recognize the value of preserving historic American civil rights and freedoms in healthcare. An immediate goal of the Freedom2Care coalition is to protect the federal "provider conscience" regulation finalized in December 2008 by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Read more and speak out!

Including Abortion Would Sink Health Care Reform

A member of President Barack Obama's faith council says any health care reform package would be sunk if it includes abortion. Including taxpayer-funded abortions and forcing insurance companies or medical facilities to include abortions has been a concern of the pro-life community. Reverend Jim Wallis, a member of the White House Faith Council, says in a new interview that Obama's health care plan would be dead in the water if it includes abortions. Read more

Obama Administration Will Meet With Pro-Life Leaders

One week after shutting pro-life groups out of a discussion on the future of health care policy, the head of the White House Faith-Based Office will meet with representatives of Concerned Women for America and the Family Research Council. Read more here and here

40% US births out-of-wedlock

More babies were born in the United States in 2007 than any year in the nation's history. Births to unwed mothers reached an all-time high of about 40 percent. More than three-quarters of these women were 20 or older. U.S. abortions have been dropping to their lowest levels in decades, according to other reports. Some earlier studies have shown declining availability of abortions. Cultural attitudes may be a more likely explanation. Read more here and here

Religious Belief Linked to Desire for Aggressive Treatment in Terminal Patients

Terminally ill cancer patients who drew comfort from religion were far more likely to seek aggressive, life-prolonging care in the week before they died than were less religious patients and far more likely to want doctors to do everything possible to keep them alive, a study has found. Read more

The Blessing of Children

Recently, a Pakistani Christian contacted us to request permission to translate one of our web pages into Urdu and Punjabi. Take a look at his translations, and feel free to share them as you have opportunity.

Map of Associated PCCs

Here's a Google map of all pregnancy care centers that are currently associated with Partners in Ministry.

Intelligence is no guarantee of goodness

Over the years, Princeton professor Peter Singer has turned his skill to rationalizing bestiality, proposing a 28-day period during which newborns could be killed, and concluding that breeding children for spare parts is "not . . . something really wrong in itself." Read more

Ambushed by Grace

View the trailer for Shelly Beach's most recent caregiving release Ambushed by Grace on YouTube and visit Shelly's blog. Congratulations to Shelly as her first caregiver devotional, Precious Lord, Take My Hand is going into its fifth printing!

Abortion Clinic Workers Nearing Retirement Age

Many women who provide abortion counseling and other services at clinics across the U.S. are nearing retirement, raising questions about whether younger women will take their places at the clinics, the New York Times reports. Read more

Joel Hunter: Pro-Lifers “Lying” About Obama’s Pro-Abortion Record

Joel Hunter, as an evangelical pastor who is a member of the President’s Advisory Council on Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnership, is fulfilling his obligation to Obama. In an interview with the news web site Politico, Hunter blames the pro-life criticism of Obama's growing pro-abortion record not on Obama's own actions but on pro-life groups not understanding his intentions. Commentary

Defending the Indefensible

Religious liberals who supported Barack Obama by insisting that he would find "common ground" on social issues are now trying to defend a growing list of personnel and policy decisions that advance a radical pro-abortion agenda. Read more

Have we been anti-science?

To deny the potential of the research for medical benefit, a reasonable empirical hypothesis, could be called anti-science. To reject the research on moral grounds is not to be anti-science. Read more

Survey Examines Changes in Worldview Among Christians

A new nationwide survey conducted by The Barna Group among a representative sample of adults explored how many have what might be considered a “biblical worldview.” The report

15 Percent of Americans Have No Religion

The percentage of Americans who call themselves Christians has dropped dramatically over the past two decades, and those who do are increasingly identifying themselves without traditional denomination labels, according to a major study of U.S. religion being released today. Read more

Religious Groups’ Official Positions on Stem Cell Research

A breakdown of 17 major religious groups' views on the issue.

A glimpse of humanity through a doughnut hole

In Dunkin’ Donuts this morning, an old lady wearing a tattered watch cap started speaking to no one in particular.

“I can’t sleep at night. I have pains in my chest all the time. My leg hurts and my children do not love me.”

People waiting in line hid in their cell phones, looked away or stared straight ahead.

“I don’t know what to do. I don’t know where to turn. My husband died two years ago on the 27th.”

Everyone pretended she wasn’t there. The girls behind the counter took the next customers. The line inched forward.

At a side table, a beautiful young lady with matching purple scarf and hat looked at the old woman and said, simply, “Honey, please sit down with me, and tell me your story.”

It’s possible, you see, for one person to save the world.

--A true story observed by Mel Glenn and told to "Metropolitan Diary," New York Times

In Kingdom Proportion

“Life,” as it appears unhindered and uncontainable by the tomb and even the grave clothes, unexpectedly becomes a word we do not really know, despite our regular use of the term. . . . If “life” is a word at the heart of the very kingdom Christ proclaimed, should the Christian confession of life not bring to mind all of this and even more? . . . What might Christ’s kingdom-sized use of the word “life” include that we have overlooked? Read more

If only journalists were less gullible and scientists more honest

In the name of science, modern zealots have spent the last decade attacking abstinence-only education. Despite the modest funds spent on abstinence education compared to comprehensive sex education, the contraceptive lobby has been wailing over its existence for the last eight years. The research and commentary

Parents hold the key to teenage pregnancies

Sadly, the blind faith placed in money, latex and chemistry, with no questions asked, has let everyone down. The abstinence-oriented approach has worked in America where effective programs emphasize behavioral goals and send out messages about expected conduct. Read more

Teens Look To Parents in Distinguishing Right from Wrong

In a recent survey conducted by Junior Achievement International, teenagers between the ages of 12 & 17 years old were asked if they were ethically ready to enter the workforce. The telephone survey contacted a national sample of 750 teens and eighty percent of teens agreed they were ready but 38 percent stated that, sometimes, it is acceptable to break the rules to succeed. Teens were also asked who their role model was, and the survey revealed that, while some teens turn towards their friends for role models, and some claimed not to have a role model at all, over half (54%) cited their parents. The study and commentary

Pro-Life Reflection by Rev. John Brown (director of United Friends for Life)

“Surely for your lifeblood I will demand a reckoning; from the hand of every beast I will require it, and from the hand of man. From the hand of every man's brother I will require the life of man. Whoever sheds man's blood, by man his blood shall be shed; for in the image of God He made man.” (Genesis 9:5-6) The value of every human being can hardly be seen more clearly than with this verse. . . . Surely the blood of millions upon millions of innocent children cries out to God. Read more

The Purity Code: God's Plan for Sex and Your Body

The decisions you make today can affect the rest of your life. That's why thousands of preteens and teens are committing to the Purity Code. Find the book

Evolution, Intelligent Design, and Creationism

Evolution is like an acid — it eats away at faith, morality, and meaning. Read more

Evolution, Intelligent Design, and Creationism

Evolution is like an acid — it eats away at faith, morality, and meaning. Read more