BFL anniversary noted in Baptist Bulletin

GARBC Baptist Bulletin

Life advocates step in as abortion numbers rise

Brian Johnston, executive director of the California ProLife Council, said abortion clinics exploit a woman at her most vulnerable point. "If she knows she has people who are willing to help her, that greatly impacts her decision," he said. "Our goal is to emphasize that there are resources available, and there are better answers than abortion." Johnston said life advocates have more to offer than "15 minutes on the table. The pro-life movement is made of people who are opening their homes and pocketbooks. They are genuinely involved in these women's lives." CitizenLink, California Pro-Life Council; see also Planned Parenthood launches 'Recession Rx'

Obama's Own Words Indicate Sotomayor is Radically Pro-abortion

Many questions have been swirling since the nomination of Judge Sonia Sotomayor to the U.S. Supreme Court about her views on abortion. "Those questions can be easily answered by looking at Mr. Obama's own words. He is unequivocal in his vows to appoint a radical abortion supporter to the bench," said Operation Rescue President Troy Newman. "Don't be fooled by a few of Sotomayor's decisions that seemed favorable to the pro-life cause. Those decisions were based on rules of law unrelated to the issues of personhood for the pre-born or if Roe v. Wade was wrongly decided." Christian Newswire; more:

• The White House on Sotomayor and Abortion
• In Supreme Court Fight, Code Words Abound
• Abortion Rights Backers Get Reassurances on Nominee

Sotomayor Voted to OK Asylum for Spouses of Chinese Women Forced to Abort

Judge Sotomayor's opinion in an immigration asylum case made it appear she understood the problems of people who face persecution in China's brutal population control regime that uses forced abortions and involuntary sterilizations to punish offenders of its one-child policy. “The termination of a wanted pregnancy under a coercive population control program can only be devastating to any couple, akin, no doubt, to the killing of a child,” she wrote. "The harm is clearly directed at the couple [not just the woman] who dared to continue an unauthorized pregnancy in hopes of enlarging the family unit." LifeNews

Abortion Activist Blasts Obama's Call for "Common Ground"

For abortion advocates like Reverend Carlton Veazey, head of the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice, there can never been common ground on abortion because it should be an unfettered right. Writing in a pro-abortion blog, he said, "My experience of 13 years in the pro-choice movement is that 'common ground' has become another term for compromise on reproductive choice. In other words, achieving common ground will be accomplished by diminishing the ability of women to make decisions about abortion, whatever the personal cost. That's unacceptable. It's unacceptable for even one woman to suffer in order for opponents of abortion to be appeased." LifeNews; see also:

• No 'common ground' in sight -- even among anti-abortion Catholics
• The Catholic Thrilla in Manila: Pro-Life versus Pro-Life

County Trying To Stop Home Bible Studies

A local pastor and his wife claim they were interrogated by a San Diego County official, who then threatened them with escalating fines if they continued to hold Bible studies in their home. Their attorney said, "The county asked, 'Do you have a regular meeting in your home?' She said, 'Yes.' 'Do you say amen?' 'Yes.' 'Do you pray?' 'Yes.' 'Do you say praise the Lord?' 'Yes.'" The county employee notified the couple that the small Bible study, with an average of 15 people attending, was in violation of County regulations, warning that this was an "unlawful use of land," and told them to "stop religious assembly or apply for a major use permit" -- a process that could cost tens of thousands of dollars. 10News, Fox News

Religious Groups' Official Positions on Same-Sex Marriage

Pew Forum

Democrats use God as health-care ally

The somewhat left-leaning group and a new similarly progressive organization, Cover All Families, have launched a campaign on Christian radio that says supporting health care reform is nothing less than God’s work. Titled “Abundant Life,” the ads say, "Every person, created in the image of God, is of limitless value. . . . All Americans should be able to get the care they need for their families, when they need it. God desires abundant life for all people. It’s time we step up, and ask our politicians to move the debate forward, so we can get the [health care] reform we desperately need." Wall Street Journal

Hope House Position

Living Hope Women's Centers/Hope House Maternity Home, located in the beautiful pines of Show Low, Arizona, is seeking a qualified Christian married couple for Hope House Maternity Home house parents. Hope House Parents lovingly mentor up to three unwed mothers and mothers-to-be at a Christ-centered maternity home. Show Low is in the White Mountains of Northeastern Arizona. House parents live in a 2 bedroom/2 bath home next to the maternity home. Compensation includes: salary, home to live in, paid holidays, use of a van, some meals and Doctor's Health Solution medical plan. A Relief House Mother is provided for days off. No dependent children please. For an application or if you have questions, please contact Kimberley Hash, Executive Director, at (928) 537-9032 or by cell phone at (480) 652-1353.

New Evangelical Documentary Exposes Abortifacient Qualities of the Birth Control Pill

A documentary called “28 Days on the Pill” has been released that seeks expose the abortifacient properties of the birth control pill. The documentary explains that many forms of birth control pills contain progesterone, which thins the endometrium, the walls of the uterus, which in turn causes it to become inhospitable to a conceived ovum. This inhospitality may cause a newly conceived human being not to implant in the endometrium and cause an abortion.

Dr. Albert Mohler, president of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, said that doctors shy away from telling their patients about the abortifacient aspects of the pill because “it could lead to awkward questions and lifestyle changes, and it could also put persons in the position of very deep moral reconsideration of what they've taken for granted since the early 1960s.”
However, he said that “it is ethically wrong to withhold that information. I am always careful to say that I'm not a medical doctor or pharmacist, I'm a theologian and a pastor, and as a pastor, I would never counsel a couple to use the pill.” LifeSiteNews

Analysis of recent polls showing America as pro-life

• Obama Administration Is Out Of Step With New Pro-Life Majority
• Pro-Life Shift Not Surprising

Baby Faith Dies at 93 Days

Faith Hope Walker passed away peacefully this weekend in the arms of her mother Myah. Faith was born with a condition called anencephaly, in which a portion of the child’s brain fails to fully develop. Myah was pressured by hospital staff to have an abortion. Doctors told her that Faith was alive only because "she was attached" to her mother and that even if she survived to birth, she would be neither able to hear nor see. She refused. “For some reason I had to give the doctors my decision over and over again, which was frustrating. One doctor asked, 'Can I ask why you want to continue this pregnancy?' I guess some people are baffled by unconditional love.” LifeSiteNews, Myah's blog

It's sad this book is so necessary

Meet the liberated college woman. You may pity her. Unprotected is a hard slap at the sexual free-for-all that prevails on American campuses and throughout American life. The author, revealed since publication as Dr. Miriam Grossman, a psychiatrist at the student health service at UCLA, was hesitant to put her name on this book. The orthodoxy within the academic world is a strict one, and those who transgress often pay with their jobs. Let's hope for her sake, but particularly for her patients' well being, that she is not punished for her heterodox views. JWR

Liberated and Unhappy

American women are wealthier, healthier and better educated than they were 30 years ago. They’re more likely to work outside the home, and more likely to earn salaries comparable to men’s when they do. They can leave abusive marriages and sue sexist employers. They enjoy unprecedented control over their own fertility. But all the achievements of the feminist era may have delivered women to greater unhappiness. NY Times

Sotomayor nominated to the U.S. Supreme Court

Today President Barack Obama nominated Sonia Sotomayor to the U.S. Supreme Court to fill the seat of retiring Justice David Souter. If confirmed, Sotomayor would become the first Hispanic and third woman to serve on the High Court. Despite 17 years on the bench, Sotomayor has never directly decided whether a law regulating abortion is constitutional.

In Center for Reproductive Law & Policy v. Bush, she wrote an opinion that upheld the Mexico City Policy prohibiting federal funding of overseas abortions. In 2004, she ruled that a group of abortion clinic protesters could proceed with its suit against police officers who arrested them. Steven Waldman, writing on his BeliefNet blog, says, "In the two cases we know of that related partly to abortion, she took the position that pro-life groups would have wanted (albeit for reasons unrelated to Roe v. Wade)."

Mathew D. Staver, Founder and President of Liberty Counsel and Dean of Liberty University School of Law, commented on the nominee: “While Sotomayor is not the easiest nomination the President was considering in his short list, she is by far not the most risky either. She has had a mixed history on cases. Her personality is not likely one that will persuade other Justices to her point of view. Her nomination does not change the makeup of the United States Supreme Court.” Liberty Counsel

Get to Know: True Compassion Advocates

True Compassion Advocates are individuals in communities all across Washington state, advocating true compassion, life-affirming choices, comprehensive community support, and excellence in end-of-life care. "We believe that persons with life-limiting illnesses and disabilities have the right to compassionate care, loving support and comfort through the natural dying process. Our goal is to provide such vulnerable patients with all the help they need to live their lives well, in dignity and painlessly, until natural death occurs."

German parents convicted after kids miss sex classes

A Christian couple are appealing against a conviction under German law for withdrawing their eleven-year-old daughter from sex education classes. Willi and Anna Dojan, who have eight children and are active members of the Christian Evangelical Baptist Church, said the content of the classes conflicted with their beliefs about sexuality. They decided to keep their daughter Lilli away from the four days of “sexual education” lessons, and an interactive stage play "My Body Is Mine," choosing to educate her according to their own views on sexuality instead. Christian Institute

Big Pulpit

The Rev. A. R. Bernard, pastor of the Christian Cultural Center in Brooklyn, NY, is a Republican who opposes abortion and gay lifestyles, believes in creationism and global warming. But he voted twice for Bill Clinton, and last year for Barack Obama. His endorsement was the first that Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg unveiled in his bid for a third term. NY Times

Medical law too often doffs its cap to the doctor's white coat

"It’s up to you what you do with your own body,” goes the rhetoric. But when you dive away from abstractions into the real world of suffering and desire, things are not so simple. Times Online

For more on bioethics, see the Biblical Bioethics Advisor

Three ethical questions

Is later abortion worse than early abortion? Would the discovery of a nonhuman rational animal change the personhood debate? Does an individual person arise only after the possibility of twinning is excluded? Life Issues

Down Syndrome Yields Key Cancer Clue

Solid tumors are very rare in people with Down syndrome. Why? The answer almost certainly lies among the 231 extra genes they inherit with their extra copy of chromosome 21. People with Down syndrome rarely get diseases linked to the overgrowth of blood vessels. One of the genes on chromosome 21 encodes a protein that blocks a factor needed for blood vessel growth. This protein, DSCR1, is overproduced in people with Down syndrome. Web MD

Act now to save abstinence education funding

Sign letters on the National Abstinence Education Association web site:

• A letter asking President Obama to reinsert funding for abstinence education in his budget request.
• A letter asking House Appropriations Chairman Obey to maintain funding for abstinence education in the 2010 budget.
• A letter asking Republican Leadership to take the lead on advocating for the continuation of abstinence education in the 2010 budget.

Help send 1,000's of letters to President Obama by students who have profited from abstinence education programs and by parents and teachers who see the benefit. The letters can be short, but must personally illustrate why abstinence education must continue. Send one copy of the letters to NAEA (either email or by mail) and the other copy to the President. Address: President Barack Obama; The White House; 1600 Pennsylvania Ave NW, Washington, DC

Visit your member of congress over the Memorial Day break. Call the district office and ask for a meeting or attend an event where your Member will be. Use this opportunity to let them know that abstinence education must continue in his/her district. (Let NAEA know if you are able to visit by sending an email to info@abstinenceassociation.org.) Contact your House Member here . Contact your Senator here.

Use info from NAEA to be persuasive.

1 Minute Biology Lesson

David MacDonald, a pro-life musician and activist, says that a simple diagram explaining precisely the basic biology of when life begins has become one of his most useful tools in explaining the pro-life position to students at schools that he visits. So widespread is the ignorance about the biology of conception, he says, that "one comment I hear over and over, is that a sperm is just as human as an embryo." However, "When I gave the students copies of this simple diagram they immediately understood when life begins. From there it was easy to show them what is wrong with abortion," explained MacDonald. LifeSiteNews

Docs urge President to keep conscience protections

Since present laws regarding conscience have no enforcement provision, the conscience clause is a needed regulation to protect doctors, nurses and other healthcare professionals from discrimination based upon their desire to practice life medicine and decline medical procedures which are violate their conscience or ethical convictions. The President has falsely asserted that merely “educating” on the issue of conscience rights would suffice. CMDA, evidence of the need for conscience protection

Evangelical Left Ethicist Defends Obama

In October 2004, Evangelical Left ethicist Glenn Stassen of Fuller Seminary gained attention for arguing that abortion rates had increased under President Bush after declines under President Clinton. Stassen sought to justify evangelical support for an abortion-rights candidate, arguing that wider welfare state programs more effectively reduce abortion than legal restrictions. Now armed with more comprehensive data, and energized by President Obama's Notre Dame controversy, Stassen, a strong Obama supporter, is claiming vindication. American Spectator

Dan Brown's America

If you want to understand the state of American religion, you need to understand why so many people love [DaVinci Code, Angels & Demonsn ovelist] Dan Brown . . . . In the Brownian worldview, all religions . . . have the potential to be wonderful, so long as we can get over the idea that any one of them might be particularly true. It’s a message perfectly tailored for 21st-century America, where the most important religious trend is neither swelling unbelief nor rising fundamentalism, but the emergence of a generalized “religiousness” detached from the claims of any specific faith tradition. . . . You can have Jesus or Dan Brown. But you can’t have both. NY Times

Third poll confirms America is more pro-life

A Fox News poll finds 49 percent of voters today describe themselves as "pro-life" and 43 percent as "pro-choice" on the issue of abortion. This is the first time more voters have described themselves as pro-life in the poll since April 2004. Last year, the numbers were essentially the reverse of the current findings -- at that time 41 percent said they were pro-life and 49 percent pro-choice (September 2008). Over the last 12 years of polling on this question, more people identified as pro-choice in all but four polls. Fox News

Get to Know: Pure Freedom

It is the mission of Pure Freedom to equip men and women of all ages to live a vibrant life of purity, to experience healing from past impurity if it exists in their lives, and to experience a vibrant, passionate marriage which portrays the love Christ has for his Bride the church. Sign the Bod Squad petition appealing to the fashion industry for modest, age-appropriate clothing for girls and young women.

Girl Scouts exposed

Girl Scouts USA is not the same program most women remember. . . . World Net Daily reviewed the Girl Scouts' new "Journeys" curriculum. In "Amaze: The Twists and Turns of Getting Along," girls from the sixth to the eighth read text featuring a quote from Harriet Woods, former president of the National Women's Political Caucus – a bipartisan group that endorses pro-abortion female candidates who run for public office. . . . On NBC's Today Show in 2004, Kathy Cloninger, CEO of Girls Scouts USA, admitted that it "partners with Planned Parenthood across the country to bring information based sex education programs to girls." WND

Comparing abstinence-only and "comprehensive" sex ed

The Institute for Research and Evaluation has found that in school/classroom-based settings 44% of abstinence programs had improved rates of teen abstinence, while only 36% of comprehensive sex education programs had improved some measure of condom use. No school-based CSE programs were found that increased consistent condom use for more than three months. A Look at the Evidence, IRE

The 'big bucks' of abstinence

Less than 23 cents out of every dollar spent on teen sexual health went for abstinence education. So why the caterwauling over pocket change for abstinence? . . . What's never mentioned, though, is how sexually active youth are part of the market for certain commercial sex- and disease-related products, and abstinent behavior reduces that market share. Washington Times

Notre Dame and Obama's "ambiguity"

With its billions in endowment and its prestigious name, Notre Dame ought to be in the lead [on abortion]. But when asked for examples illuminating the university's unambiguous support for unborn life, [a spokesman] could provide only four: help for pregnant students who want to carry their babies to term, student volunteer work for pregnant women at local shelters, prayer mentions at campus Masses, and lectures such as a seminar on life issues. . . . At Notre Dame today, there is no pro-life organization -- in size, in funding, in prestige -- that compares with the many centers, institutes and so forth dedicated to other important issues. Perhaps this explains why a number of pro-life professors don't want to be quoted by name, lest they face career retaliation. Wall Street Journal, Belief Net

The thousands of pregnancy centers in America today, which offer material and spiritual help to women, did not exist at the time of Roe v. Wade. Will the president raise their visibility and encourage women to seek their help? Will he encourage women who don't want their babies to carry them to term so that others can adopt them? Cal Thomas

His speech was un-Barackesque in one sense - he came down from Olympus, where pay grades are seldom referred to at all, and made it plain that on the issue of human life, he does in fact disagree with those who stand for its sanctity. . . . Obama is a man of many mellifluous words, but he is also a man of many unambiguous actions, and every action he has taken to date has been a forthright dismantling of the culture of life and the wall of separation that has existed between taxpayers and abortion. FRC

[Obama's] primary campaign appealed to hard-core ideologues, while his general-election campaign made a softer pitch, aimed at attracting moderate and nonideological voters. Obama's rhetorical skill is such that he makes this like an act of depth and thoughtfulness. In fact, it is the most pedestrian of campaign tactics. WSJ

[Obama's] duplicity is most pronounced on the issue of abortion. On the one hand, he champions a mother's right to destroy her baby in the womb, presumably believing it is not a human life. But on the other, he says the decision of whether to abort has both moral and spiritual dimensions. JWR

Call 2 Fall

On Sunday, July 5, Family Research Council is hoping 8 million Christians in 40,000 churches across the country will fall on their knees before God and pray for America 's desperately needed spiritual healing. They want to publish an online directory of all participating host churches. Call 2 Fall, bulletin insert

Understanding America's Shift on Abortion

People under 30 are more opposed to abortion than those older, perhaps because their first baby pictures were often taken in utero. I also wonder if younger women are now sure enough of their sexual autonomy and their choices generally, that they don't view limits on abortion as attacks on their freedom overall. The calculation of rights subtly shifts, and the fetus, as it develops, asserts its claim on the conscience. Time; see Changing Patterns of Nonmarital Childbearing in the United States below.

Transcript of Obama's Notre Dame speech

Your generation must decide how to save God's creation from a changing climate that threatens to destroy it. . . . And part of the problem, of course, lies in the imperfections of man -- our selfishness, our pride, our stubbornness, our acquisitiveness, our insecurities, our egos; all the cruelties large and small that those of us in the Christian tradition understand to be rooted in original sin. We too often seek advantage over others. . . . Too many of us view life only through the lens of immediate self-interest and crass materialism. . . . The strong too often dominate the weak. . . . So let us work together to reduce the number of women seeking abortions, let's reduce unintended pregnancies. Let's make adoption more available. Let's provide care and support for women who do carry their children to term. Let's honor the conscience of those who disagree with abortion, and draft a sensible conscience clause, and make sure that all of our health care policies are grounded not only in sound science, but also in clear ethics, as well as respect for the equality of women. LA Times

Editor: How can he speak of God's creation and our selfishness and not see the problem with abortion? And who is it that is providing "care and support for women who do carry their children to term"? I think it's the pro-lifers.

New Signs of Life

Just days after a Pew Research poll showed an incredible boost in the percentage of pro-life Americans, folks at the Gallup Company decided to conduct a study of their own. The result? For the first time in the history of asking this question, a majority of adults (51%) in the U.S. said they consider themselves "pro-life." Gallup

The Wrong Marriage Debate

Our current preoccupation with gay marriage has distracted us. The issue of greater importance is the degree to which heterosexual men and women are choosing to become parents while unmarried. . . . [W]hat we really have in this country is a caste system. At the top are the college graduates who nearly always get married before becoming pregnant. At the bottom are poor women of all races and backgrounds who routinely have babies before they marry (if they ever marry). . . . Perhaps they invest marriage with excessively lofty expectations for complete personal happiness and fulfillment? . . . Young women, especially poorly educated ones, have gotten the idea that marriage is all about them — about their romantic hopes. JWR, Washington Post

Men and abortion, grief and healing

Grieving for an aborted baby is different from the loss of any other loved one. Abortion is not part of any natural process like miscarriage. It is not a mysterious disappearance. It is the deliberate act of taking the life of a defenseless person. Participating in an abortion always produces real guilt before God in the person who is responsible for the decision to take the life of the child. Men have told me that they knew they were guilty of getting the woman pregnant, of pressuring her to get an abortion, or of not coming to the rescue of the child. Unchoice

What every son, brother, husband, father, or friend needs to know

Those who would pressure or force a wife, daughter, or girlfriend into unwanted abortions need to know that:

• Risk of death for women is 62% higher after abortion
• 31% suffer health complications after abortion
• 65% suffer symptoms of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
• 60% said “part of me died”
• Teens are 6 times more likely to commit suicide if they’ve had an abortion in the last 6 months
• Clinical depression risk is 65% higher after abortion
• Suicide rates are 6 times higher after abortion

Unchoice

Even the Scientists Now Criticize the ESCR Hype

Science has a good piece in the current issue exposing the hype that has permeated embryonic stem cell research advocacy and its reporting by media. In "A Stem Cell History Lesson," University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine researcher James M. Wilson warns against unrealistic boosting of ESCR, as was done previously with gene therapy. Secondhand Smoke

Notre Dame President Sits on Board of Pro-Abortion Organization

It has come to light that Fr. John Jenkins, the President of Notre Dame University, sits on the board of directors of Millennium Promise. The finding comes as the controversy over President Obama's award and speech at the University reaches a fever pitch. Despite criticism, Jenkins has steadfastly continued to defend the university's honoring of the president. Now we know why. Millennium Promise's mission is to enact eight Millennium Development Goals by 2015. The Millennium Development Goals have been widely promoted by pro-abortion organizations and include the goal of increasing access to abortion globally. LifeSiteNews

Gender-Selection Technique Embraced for Hopeful Parents

In response to growing numbers of couples who want to choose the sex of their next child, the Reproductive Science Center of the San Francisco Bay Area it now is offering an alternative gender-selection technique with fewer moral and ethical dilemmas. The Ericsson method is based on manipulation of sperm -- not an embryo. The technique employs a centrifugation process, known as "sperm sorting," which allows embryologists to choose sperm with X- or Y- bearing chromosomes that provide three in four odds of determining the correct gender. PR Newswire

Religious people make better citizens

Religious people may be God's gift to civic engagement, Putnam and University of Notre Dame scholar David Campbell argue in their book, American Grace: How Religion is Reshaping our Civic and Political Lives, which is scheduled to be released next year. The scholars say their studies found that religious people are three to four times more likely to be involved in their community. They are more apt than nonreligious Americans to work on community projects, belong to voluntary associations, attend public meetings, vote in local elections, attend protest demonstrations and political rallies, and donate time and money to causes -- including secular ones. Pew Forum

Evolution for Evangelicals

Francis Collins, physician-geneticist who led the Human Genome Project for the National Institutes of Health and an evangelical Christian who was home-schooled until sixth grade, wants to raise the level of discourse about science and faith. To that end, he created the BioLogos Foundation and last month launched a Web site -- BioLogos.org -- to advance an alternative to the extreme views that tend to dominate the debate. Yes, he asserts, one can believe in both God and science. In fact, says Collins, the latter does more to prove the existence of a creator than not. This doesn't mean that Collins falls in line with those promoting creation science or, more recently, intelligent design. He merely insists that belief in God doesn't preclude acceptance of evolution. Washington Post

More info here and here.

Procession of Healing

How can a funeral procession be a step toward healing? On May 10th 2008 there was a funeral procession in Knoxville, TN, to remember the babies lost to abortion. It was also an invitation for mothers and fathers to come and grieve over a decision they now regret. To begin a healing process is to recognize something is wrong. The silence of the church and the politics that surround abortion have left many people hurt, confused and lonely. Procession of Healing

Genesis, the Key to Reclaiming the Culture

First Baptist Church in Howard City, Michigan, will host a viewing of this Answers in Genesis video presentation on Sunday, May 17, 2009. Event details

Changing Patterns of Nonmarital Childbearing in the United States

The proportion of births to unmarried mothers in the United States has risen steeply over the past few decades, consistent with patterns in other countries. In March, CDC reported that about 4 in 10 births in the United States in 2007 were to unmarried mothers. While a great deal of focus has been placed on births to unmarried teens, 6 out of 10 births to women between the ages of 20 and 24 were among unmarried women in 2007. Between 1980 and 2007, the proportion of births to unmarried women in the United States has more than doubled, from 18 percent to 40 percent. National Center for Health Statistics, PDF

Sex-ed texting threat to teens

Different from "sexting," "sex texting" is promoted and run by adults. Take the new "Birds and Bees Text Line" in North Carolina. As with similar programs popping up around the nation, it offers "anonymous" sexual advice to teens through the texting feature on their cellular phones. Children can text any sex question and within 24 hours a stranger will send them back an answer. Paid for partly with tax dollars, the owners promise frank and "nonjudgmental" answers - and secrecy from mom and dad. Marketed directly to teens through outlets like MySpace, they seek to teach your children their views about sex and sexuality without your knowledge. Washington Times

Abstinence Works

Studies show that in addition to preventing pregnancy and disease, teens who practice abstinence are better off emotionally and are much more likely to experience marital fidelity and satisfaction. The same cannot be said of the comprehensive sex education. In a review of 119 studies, comprehensive sex education has produced no compelling evidence of sustaining a meaningful effect on protective behaviors in a school-based setting, even after three decades of implementation and evaluation. Abstinence Works

Facts on Induced Abortion Worldwide

The number of induced abortions declined worldwide between 1995 and 2003, from nearly 46 million to approximately 42 million. About one in five pregnancies worldwide end in abortion. For every 1,000 women of childbearing age (15–44) worldwide, 29 were estimated to have had an induced abortion in 2003, compared with 35 in 1995. The decline in abortion incidence was greater in developed countries (from 39 to 26 abortions per 1,000 women aged 15-44) than in developing countries, where more than half are unsafe and illegal (from 34 to 29). Most abortions occur in developing countries — 35 million annually, compared with seven million in developed countries — a disparity that largely reflects the relative population distribution. Guttmacher Institute

Reflections on Christianity and culture

In her latest missive from Papua New Guinea, Lori Smith comments: "Anyone saying our national folks are 'happy as they are . . . leave them alone in their culture,' has not seen what these dear folks truly live with on a day to day basis." She writes from the standpoint of her medical clinic, where she sees the results of a godless culture -- tribal warfare, substance abuse, domestic violence, self-mutilation, suspicion, and abject fear.

She goes on to say, "People face many battles here with the often destructive and senseless parts of their cultural background. Even those [who are] saved face a huge host of wrong thinking to overcome as they renew their minds with Scripture. They need the Lord to remove the blinders of sin and its horrible effects on their lives and culture. Then they truly can be happy and have . . . the peace that passes all understanding regardless of the circumstances of our lives." 2 Corinthians 5:17

Culture unraveling

The latest figures on out-of-wedlock births should be setting off alarm bells in every corner of the country. After a number of years at the wholly unacceptable level of one of every three births out-of-wedlock, the numbers in the last three years have lunged to 40 percent. This is a crisis more dire than the economy, more dangerous than foreign enemies. America cannot remain a superpower abroad with a crumbling family structure at home. World magazine

Conceiving Pregnancy

This newly released paper from Family Research Council addresses a claim made by pro-abortion groups like Planned Parenthood and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists: namely, that the medical-scientific community has reached a consensus that a "pregnancy" begins when an embryo becomes implanted in the uterine wall-approximately seven days after fertilization. This bears directly on the ability of these medical practitioners and pharmacists to exercise their right of conscience not to cooperate with procedures they deem to have abortifacient characteristics. FRC, PDF

Swedish gays made to wait for church wedding

Despite being given the same legal marriage status as heterosexuals in a new law which came into force on May 1st, Swedish same-sex couples will have to wait for a church "I do." Sweden's parliament in April approved by a wide majority a new marriage law that puts gays on an equal footing with heterosexuals. But the Lutheran Church, which was the state church until 2000, has said that while it supports the new law, its synod will only formally decide in October whether to perform same-sex marriage ceremonies. The Local

Stem cell division

The stem cell battle is not just a high-profile clash of values. The dispute provides a sharp focus on how science may help reshape America. Several states have set aside billions of dollars to support stem cell research, and the new federal money Obama is promising will generally flow to those areas. That means states supporting stem cell research will experience an economic windfall while attracting highly educated technology workers who tend to vote Democratic. The more conservative states restricting stem cell research will attract fewer funds and fewer socially liberal voters. In short, a state's stem cell policy will influence electoral results and help determine whether a state turns red or blue. Salon

Bone marrow stem cell co-transplantation prevents embryonic stem cell transplant-associated tumors

In studies using embryonic stem cells transplanted into laboratory animals with spinal cord injuries, a serious drawback has been the development of tumors following transplantation. In this new process, bone marrow stem cells are transplanted along with embryonic stem cells and no tumors developed. PhysOrg.com

Choosing not to abort babies with disabilities

Nancy Mayer-Whittington remembers it as though it were yesterday; the joy of learning she was pregnant followed by the news that her daughter's first day of life would be her last. Her gray-eyed daughter Angela lived barely 10 minutes, the victim of Trisomy 18, a fatal genetic defect. She was the first woman her doctor knew who had decided to keep her pregnancy. All his other patients in similar situations had aborted. "I was so happy I did what I did," she says of her decision to bring Angela to term. "What most people want for their kids is for them to go to heaven. You get to complete that journey with them. As a parent, that is unbelievable. Life is about relationship to God. You know that when you literally pass them from your hands to His." Washington Times

Organizations supporting embryonic stem cell research

Michigan Right to Life has compiled a helpful list of organizations that have expressed support for human embryonic stem cell research. Information comes from three sources: policy statements, membership in coalitions that lobby for the research and signatures on letters expressing public support for the research. Some organizations listed also contribute funding for embryonic stem cell research. Stem Cell Research Cures

Sadly, the list includes popular and well-known organizations such as: Alzheimer's Association, American Cancer Society, American Heart Association, Easter Seals, Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, March of Dimes, Muscular Dystrophy Association, Paralyzed Veterans of America, Parkinson's Action Network, RESOLVE (the National Infertility Association), Susan G. Komen Foundation, and many, many more.

Baby boomers key to winning euthanasia debate, says ‘Dr Death’

"The baby boomers are the same people who fought for women's rights, fertility control and the like, and they are now getting to the age where the issue is end-of-life choices." According to Dr. Philip Nitschke, the controversial Australian pro-euthanasia campaigner dubbed "Dr Death," the post-1945 generation is at the forefront of the moral debate on an individual's right to choose when and how they die if they are terminally ill. The fight for what he termed "the last right" is approaching a watershed as the baby boomers demand to be given the right to take their own lives with or without the help of others. Around 50 middle-aged and elderly people turned up at Glasgow's Unitarian Church yesterday to hear the controversial medic calmly explain how, if they choose, they could take their own lives. Several other venues across the city had refused to host the public meeting and workshop. Sunday Herald

Children Who View Adult-targeted TV May Become Sexually Active Earlier In Life

Early onset of sexual activity among teens may relate to the amount of adult content children were exposed to during their childhood, according to a new study released by Children's Hospital Boston. Based on a longitudinal study tracking children from age six to eighteen, researchers found that the younger children are exposed to content intended for adults in television and movies, the earlier they become sexually active during adolescence. Science Daily

Potential parents willing to donate embryos

According to an article in Human Reproduction, 70 per cent of Swiss couples surveyed who received or are receiving medical help with in-vitro fertilisation (IVF) said they would be open to donating their excess embryos for research. Although Swiss law currently forbids the practice, 52 per cent of those surveyed also said they would prefer to donate the embryos to another couple rather than have them destroyed. Swiss Info These are not "potential parents," but actual parents.

National Bible Bee

If you're looking for a fun way to introduce more Scripture into your child's life, why not enroll them in the first-ever National Bible Bee? The Shelby Kennedy Foundation is launching the first-of-its-kind, world-class National Bible Bee Competition. The competition will begin with local contests in communities nationwide on September 12, 2009. The top 100 finalists from each age group will advance to the National Contest in Washington D.C. to compete on November 5-6, 2009. Over $260,000 in prize money will be awarded to the students (ages 7-18) who excel at memorizing the Word of God. National Bible Bee

Abortion clinic celebrates 50,000 abortions

Pro-Life Wisconsin’s Rock County affiliate regularly prays outside the Northern Illinois Women’s Center, an abortion mill in Rockford, Illinois. Last week, a sign was posted in the window boasting about the 50,000 abortions that have been perpetrated there. Pro-Life Wisconsin

Discovering Purpose in Suffering

God does not comfort us to make us comfortable, but to make us comforters. — J.H. Jowett
Sometimes finding God’s purpose in the midst of adversity requires us to make major personal changes over a period of time. At other times, our God-given purpose may be right in front of us. To discover it, we simply need to open our hearts to God’s leading and lift our eyes to opportunities we could easily overlook. Troubled With

Legalization of assisted suicide would have dangerous consequences

Every life lost to suicide is a tragedy - whatever the person's age. Most people who attempt suicide do not want to die; they want to end the pain they are suffering. Moreover, we should remember that as soon as a second person is consciously involved in the suicide of a person, and that this is accepted by society, it is then society as a whole that gives its consent to this suicide. This would give rise to very dangerous consequences concerning the manner in which the whole of society would consider the value, meaning and worth of a human life. The Herald

Doctors face orders to 'kill on demand'

Physicians in Montana could be facing "kill-on-demand" orders from patients who want to commit suicide if a district court judge's opinion pending before the state Supreme Court is affirmed. Oregon and Washington, states that allow a "right to die," include an opt-out provision for physicians with ethical or religious opposition to participating in killing a patient. Montana's situation, created late last year in a decision from First District Court Judge Dorothy McCarter in the Baxter et al. v. Montana case, is different. There is no provision for a doctor to refuse such "treatment" for a patient. WND

Abstinence Education Backers Present Evidence of Success to Congress

In Congressional hearings on April 29, leading abstinence education experts presented evidence showing these programs use an evidence-based approach that works for young people. The hearings featured new evidence-based analysis called Abstinence Works, which identifies 40 national studies that demonstrate the effectiveness of abstinence education among students. Two students spokes about the positive effects of abstinence education that extend to all areas of their lives. LifeNews, Abstinence Works, Healthy Respect

City blocks plans to turn church building into PCC

A dissolved church's plan to donate its building to the Alpha Women's Center of Grand Rapids has been blocked by Wyoming, Michigan, city officials. Wyoming's Zoning Board of Appeals voted 5-2 Monday against letting the PCC move into Newhall Baptist Church, which held its final service Sunday. The main objection was allowing a non-residential use in the neighborhood. Carolyn Koole, executive director, said Alpha is having trouble meeting the $3,000 monthly rent at its current location. The center's board meets Tuesday to consider its options. Grand Rapids Press

340,000 Support Doctors' Freedom of Conscience

Through the efforts of nearly a dozen pro-family groups, more than 340,000 Americans have sent comments to the Health and Human Services Department in support of health care professionals' right of conscience. Citizenlink, LifeSiteNews

Couples save first kiss for wedding day

In a culture where casual sex is the norm, some Tennesseans have taken the purity pledge to a whole new level, through a practice that some teens refer to as the "Virgin Lips Movement." Religious leaders say these examples of super-abstinence deserve admiration, not derision. Especially in a time when the only social taboo seems to be violating the "third-date rule." The Tennessean

A Commentary on Stem cells: Still Much Confusion

There are stem cells (derived from adult tissue and cord blood), and then there are embryonic stem cells. The two are not the same. In fact, they are quite different. The former have always been a natural part of the body tissues; the latter term was contrived. Life Issues

Attempts to Redefine "Embryo"

An old Nature editorial decries the sophistic attempt within bioethics and the life sciences to pretend that an embryo before implantation in a uterus isn't really an embryo. Nature supports ESCR, but its 2005 editorial notes that the redefinition of the term "embryo" is being pursued for political purpose rather than scientific accuracy. Secondhand Smoke; see Dianne Irving's comment on the difference between a cell and an organism (in better form) here.

Oppose Obama ESCR regulations

On March 9, 2009 President Obama issued an executive order creating an incentive to create and destroy human embryos. He directed the National Institutes of Health to draft guidelines for the distribution of funds for more embryonic stem cell research (ESCR). On April 23, NIH posted these proposed guidelines that would designate your tax dollars for experiments on human embryos supposedly "leftover" from in vitro fertilization. Instead of promoting the adoption of these human embryos, these guidelines would result in their deaths. The public has 30 days to comment on these guidelines. You may submit comments to oppose these regulations on or before May 26, 2009. Please go to this website and fill out the form: Draft NIH Human Stem Cell Guidelines Comments Form

Austin PRC in the news

BFL board member Lori DeVillez reports that her center was mentioned in an article by Senator John Cornyn that not only appeared in the Austin American Statesman on April 2, 2009, but also sent across the nation through his office. That same week Lori was quoted in the Daily Texan (the University of Texas campus newspaper) and interviewed on KVUE. Austin Pregnancy Resource Center

Public takes conservative turn on abortion

Public attitudes on abortion have moved in a more conservative direction over the past year. The proportion saying that abortion should be legal in all or most cases has declined to 46% from 54% last August. The decline in support for legal abortion has come entirely in the share saying abortion should be legal in most cases (from 37% to 28%); 18% say abortion should be legal in all cases, which is virtually unchanged from last August (17%). Currently, 44% say abortion should be illegal in most (28%) or all cases (16%), up slightly since last August (41%). Pew Research

When health begins

Fertilization produces a single-cell embryo prior to the onset of cell division. The number of cells in an adult is estimated to be between 30 trillion and 100 trillion. To reach these large numbers from a single cell, 46 to 47 generations of cells, to a first approximation, are required. Most cell generations appear before birth while most cells appear after birth. Therefore, it is perfectly reasonable to think that the quality of the prenatal environment in which the first 41 generations of cells develop before birth will influence the health of all the cells that develop after birth. Endowment for Human Development

PCCs reduce abortion

Pregnancy centers are known as the “compassion wing of the pro-life movement,” and they work. After receiving the help of a PCC, nine out of ten women served are empowered to carry their pregnancy to term, according to statistics gathered by Care Net, a network of 1,160 centers. . . . Care Net is after one thing from the new administration and Congress (and it’s not funding). We’re simply asking that those leading the “abortion reduction” discussion merely acknowledge the contribution of pregnancy centers in helping to achieve this goal and promote a national environment that allows us to do what PCCs do best – help women in need in our local communities. Care Net; Melinda Delahoyde video presentation

Women Not Delicate Flowers, Despite What NARAL and Planned Parenthood Think

NARAL claims that crisis pregnancy centers mislead woman. In New York, abortion rights groups lobbied to shut down such centers because they allegedly “scared” women. As a life-long feminist, I find this approach by so-called women’s rights groups perplexing and more than a little insulting to women. . . . A few years ago, I was curious about crisis pregnancy centers so I signed up for the counselor training at one in Manhattan. I was ready to be outraged by their manipulation but in fact all they did was present information about the development of the fetus and advice on how to counsel women seeking abortion, with most of their focus on how to be loving to women seeking counseling after having an abortion. Fox News blog

Kathy Ireland speaks out for life

Most Hollywood stars advocate a woman’s right to terminate a pregnancy, but former supermodel Kathy Ireland has gone against the grain and spoken out against abortion. "My entire life I was pro-choice. . . . But when I was 18, I became a Christian and I dove into the medical books. . . . I learned that at the moment of conception a new life comes into being." Ireland admitted she did everything she could to avoid becoming pro-life. "I called Planned Parenthood and begged them to give me their best argument and all they could come up with that it is really just a clump of cells and if you get it early enough it doesn’t even look like a baby." That answer didn't satisfy her. Fox News

Center enlists prayer support

The Pregnancy Resource Center in Maryville, TN, has established a prayer ministry and seeks men and women who will include the needs of PRC in their prayers. Executive director April Westburg says, "We're out there fighting . . . on the front lines. It would seem that this ministry might appeal especially to persons who are shut in at home or have limited transportation options and who may not be able to participate in other ministries. We also hope that Sunday school classes and church prayer ministries will include us in their prayers." The Daily Times, PRC Blount County, TN

Report from Metro Women's Center in Crystal, MN

Director Colleen Tronson reports, "I had a visit Friday from a former client, her boyfriend, and their new baby. . . . We thank the Lord for Faith Baptist Church in St. Paul that has stepped up to help this young couple with practical help as well as by welcoming them into their church services." Metro Women's Center

Ultrasound ministry in Papua New Guinea

Missionary Lori Smith, with ABWE, writes about a young woman who came to her medical clinic seriously contemplating abortion. "She had come a month ago and I had prayed over and over again that she would make the choice of life for her little one. 'J' did try to abort her baby four times, but what a blessing that her attempts failed. She had finally come to the place that she felt God must really love her baby and she should love it as well. We prayed and cried together as the ultrasound revealed a healthy happy little baby still going strong. How gracious God is to protect us even from ourselves." Bill & Lori Smith homepage

California Man Symbolically 'Adopts' Wife's Two Aborted Fetuses

A California man signed papers to symbolically "adopt" and give his last name to his wife's two aborted fetuses. Stan Musil said he filed the posthumous "adoption" on Monday as a way to support his wife, Lisa, and help her heal from the pain of having those abortions. "He told me 'I love you and you are a part of me. Your babies are a part of you, and so that makes them a part of me also,'" she said. Fox News

First 100 Days: Change You Can Bereave In

Has the President used his term so far to reduce the number of unwanted pregnancies? FRC, video