Proclaiming the Gospel by Caring for Our Elderly

As Tertullian wrote roughly 1,800 years ago, “it is our care of the helpless, our practice of loving kindness, that brands us in the eyes of many of our opponents. ” What better opportunity to demonstrate how this new life in Christ has transformed us—reorienting our priorities away from self to others—than by how we care for the aging within the community of God’s people? In Paul’s letter to Timothy, he stresses this responsibility toward the elderly and widows in particular. Such care is not merely a nice option if it’s convenient or affordable but a serious and universal command. Center for Christ & Culture

The Unrelenting Culture of Life

The doctrine of natural revelation was probably best articulated by the 13th century theologian and philosopher, Thomas Aquinas, who argued that truth is known through both reason (natural revelation) and faith (supernatural revelation). This followed the Augustinian concept of “I believe (i.e. have faith) in order to understand.” However, the 17th century Enlightenment turned this on its head by saying “I must understand in order to believe” and unfortunately that has been the dominant epistemology in the Western world ever since. We see this in our culture today and specifically in the categories of what it means to be human and how we determine the value of life. Center for Life & Culture

What Americans Need to Know About The Healthcare Takeover

Read Liberty Counsel's updated and revised overview of HR 3200 and the text of HR 3200 directly from a government website. See for yourself how dangerous this government healthcare takeover would be. Read more about the consequences of this bill in this article "Is There a Co-Pay with Forced Abortion?"

Of course, it is not enough to be alarmed and do nothing! It's time to visit the Senators and Representatives in their local offices in your state. Take copies of the overview with you so they can understand your concerns. Find your Senators and Representatives offices online.

Anti-abortion protests target area churches

An anti-abortion group targeted Salem Heights Church (Oregon) for the second time, displaying graphic images of aborted fetuses Sunday. The 4-foot-by-8-foot posters angered some passersby and neighbors. Leaders at Salem Heights Church tried to dissuade the group from coming and sent out a letter warning neighbors and church members. The letter affirms the church's teachings on the sanctity of life, but also disapproves of the group's tactics. Display organizer Darius Hardwick said he understands the images are difficult to look at, but he hopes they will inspire Christians to get involved in the anti-abortion cause. Statesman-Journal

What's wrong with the new pro-lifers?

Amid proclamations that common ground has been reached on abortion, a new set of anti-abortion actors has claimed leadership of the movement. They are no longer ultra-fundamentalist Catholics and Evangelicals but anti-war, anti-capital punishment, pro-environment "pro-lifers." Single-issue anti-abortionists thought they diluted the message by claiming abortion and war were equal horrors and other progressives and Democrats thought they were, well, anti-abortionists. But some of them are also opposed to discrimination against women and call themselves feminists. . . . These are good and decent people who, it seems, suffer from the same lack of understanding of women's nature and identity as do old-line anti-abortionists. Frances Kissling, former president of Catholics for a Free Choice

Number of Abortionists Falling in US

The Center for Reproductive Rights released the results of a study it conducted saying the number of abortion businesses and abortion practitioners has decreased by 25 percent since the 1990s. States such as Mississippi and North Dakota have only one abortion facility while Missouri has three. Alabama has seven while Texas has 40 abortion centers across the state. The pro-abortion group says the proliferation of state legislation limiting abortions, with laws such as parental involvement, informed consent and waiting periods, has lowered the number. LifeNews, CRR's report

20 of 24 Studies Agree: Public-Funding Restrictions Reduce Abortions

The Guttmacher Institute recently released a literature review about the effects of restrictions on Medicaid funding for abortion. Overall, the results indicate that there is a very strong consensus among both public-health researchers and economists that public funding restrictions lower abortion rates. When funds were unavailable, the authors found a consistent increase in the birth rate and a decrease in the abortion rate. These findings provide additional evidence that the rhetoric of President Obama on sanctity of life issues does not match his record. National Review

Teen Pregnancy May Be Symptom, Not Cause, Of Emotional Distress

It would make sense that teenage mothers have a lot of psychological stress in their lives, but a new study shows that the distress comes before the pregnancy, not because of it. "Psychological distress does not appear to be caused by teen childbearing, nor does it cause teen childbearing, except apparently among girls from poor households," said Stefanie Mollborn, Ph.D., an assistant professor of sociology at the Institute of Behavioral Science of the University of Colorado at Boulder. The combination of poverty and existing distress was a good predictor of teen pregnancy. Medical News Today

A pure heart before God

What God's Word has to say about sexual purity. Eternal Perspectives, page 9

What advice would you give young people related to their friendships?

You will never get away with an unwise choice of friends. It will hurt you and haunt you. Don’t let it happen. Your friends will greatly influence your values, attitudes, and behaviors. Eternal Perspectives, page 12

Obama's Science Advisor: Newborn Baby Not Yet a Human Being

President Obama’s top science adviser said in a book he co-authored in 1973 that a newborn child “will ultimately develop into a human being” if he or she is properly fed and socialized. “The fetus, given the opportunity to develop properly before birth, and given the essential early socializing experiences and sufficient nourishing food during the crucial early years after birth, will ultimately develop into a human being,” John P. Holdren, director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, wrote in Human Ecology: Problems and Solutions. Dakota Voice

Keeping Abortion Out of Health Care

Evangelical writer Jim Wallis has until now remained strong on the idea that nationalized health care should not force Americans to pay for killing unborn children. Now, he seems to be wavering. He says he hopes that abortion will not become a "wedge issue," one that will prevent us from enacting a sweeping takeover of the health care industry. American Spectator

13 million abortions a year in China

China performs about 13 million abortions every year, mostly for single young women who experts say know little about contraception. The China Daily newspaper said the real number of abortions is believed to be even higher since the 13 million accounts for procedures in hospitals but many more are known to be carried out in unregistered rural clinics. Also, about 10 million abortion pills are sold every year in China. The report said around 62% of the women undergoing abortions were single and aged between 20 and 29 years old. It called the widespread use of abortions “an unfortunate situation” but did not directly say whether abortions were on the rise. No year-to-year statistics were given. Irish Examiner

Tim Tebow Says He's Saving Himself for Marriage

There have been famous virgins in the entertainment world before . . . but has there ever been someone like Tebow who has publicly announced he's a virgin? I don't think so. . . . We've all suspected it before, but now we have even further evidence: Tim Tebow isn't like you and me. . . . Tim Tebow is superhuman in every way. Tim Tebow Says He's Still a Virgin, Saving Himself for Marriage, LifeSiteNews

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Editor: Interesting that purity is viewed as superhuman. Well, we do, ultimately, need the Holy Spirit to accomplish it, so the writer isn't so far off.

Deadly doctors

The health bills coming out of Congress would put the decisions about your care in the hands of presidential appointees. They'd decide what plans cover, how much leeway your doctor will have and what seniors get under Medicare. Yet at least two of President Obama's top health advisers should never be trusted with that power. NY Post

World's elderly to overtake number of infants

With every passing month, another 870,000 people turn 65 and the world's cohort of pensioners becomes larger still. Thanks to rising life expectancy, their ranks will soon be growing by almost two million a month and, by 2040, their numbers will have doubled to 1.3 billion. This will reduce the size of the working population and impose huge new pension costs, threatening to reduce the overall growth of the world economy. The US Census Bureau predicts pensioners will soon overtake the number of infants under the age of five because old people are now increasing faster than the very youngest human beings. Telegraph

LIFT Summit line-up

The 2nd annual LIFT Caregiver Summit line-up is shaping up with these scheduled workshop and plenary speakers:

• Christiana Getz, from the Alzheimer’s Association, speaking on “Meaningful Activities for Persons with Dementia”
• Anne Ellermets, from the Area Agency on Aging, on “Caregiver Resources”
• Sharon Van Dyke on “Making the Most of Chronic Illness"
• Rev. Ray Paget on “Grief Recovery and Mourning”

The Summit will be Saturday, October 24, 2009, at Grandville Bible Church in Grandville, MI. For more information, email or phone 1-800-968-6086, (616) 257-6800.

"Dad, I know where I am"

A young girl’s life and death inspire her family to share the hope of Heaven. Eternal Perspectives, page 5

To Those Who Are Hurting and Confused

What is more universal to human experience than suffering? And what is more important than the perspective we bring to it? Eternal Perspectives, page 1

Diagnosing comas: Unlucky for some

A newly published study suggests that a lot of people who have been diagnosed as being in a vegetative state are not in one. Diagnosing comas: Unlucky for some The Economist

Withdrawing Nutrition from Children Ethical Within Limits

Nutritional support can ethically be withdrawn or withheld from certain children with terminal illnesses or with severe, irreversible disabilities, the American Academy of Pediatrics has determined. Withdrawing Nutrition from Children Ethical Within Limits

Women Sell Their Eggs, So Why Not a Kidney?

While most of us find it revolting to pay for an organ, we readily accept allowing women to sell their eggs to an infertile couple. While it's not illegal for women in the United States to get payments for egg donations (it is in Europe), the American Society for Reproductive Medicine has established ethical guidelines for egg donor compensation—a cap of $10,000 per cycle—which most fertility clinics follow. "I'm on the fence, I have to say. I'm really torn about this," says Jonathan Moreno, a professor of bioethics at the University of Pennsylvania. "People are understandably uncomfortable and uncertain about selling kidneys, but there really is a shortage." He says if there were a nonexploitative way of doing this, he'd like to see it tried within the framework of a research study. (Most shocking were allegations that poor donors were forced to give up their kidneys for $10,000, while the middlemen received $150,000.) US News

IRS Postpones Case Against Pastor Who Endorsed McCain

A group of pastors issued endorsements for McCain in late September as a part of an effort to overturn a decades-long IRS rule prohibiting endorsements from the pulpit. Aided by the pro-life law firm Alliance Defense Fund, they say the rules violate their free speech rights. More than 33 pastors across the United States were involved in the endorsement effort, including Booth. Instead of going after the church, IRS officials say that a procedural move forced the IRS to close the case, but it had the option to reopen the case in the future. LifeNews

On Health Care Reform and Abortion

It's one thing to search for ways to reform health care. It is another thing entirely to make abortion even more mainstream and acceptable under the guise of helping the uninsured and trimming healthcare costs. Richard Land

Faith linked to better health

As Christians and other people of faith join the debate over health care, many may not realize they already have a leg up when it comes to good health. It doesn’t obviate the need for a reasoned discussion of health care reform, but a growing body of research suggests that religious belief and practice leads to better physical health. ELRC, video, PowerPoint, paper

Mother sues hospital for £1.5million for 'missing' baby's severe disability

Rupert Parsons was born in September 2003 suffering from 'severe, profound and multiple disabilties,' including congenital heart defects, a single kidney, a cleft palate and a vertebral abnormality. A pre-natal scan carried out in May 2003 was reported as showing 'no obvious fetal abnormality,' but the boy's legal team say signs of trouble were missed and that more detailed tests would have picked up on his disabilities before the 20th week of pregnancy.
Although Rupert is now a very much loved member of his family, his mother sued the hospital's managers arguing that, had she known the truth early enough, she would have opted for a pregnancy termination. Daily Mail

Maldives: 180 people face flogging for extramarital sex

Amnesty International has learned that at least 180 people face being flogged in the Maldives as a punishment for extramarital sex. The vast majority of those who are flogged in the Maldives are women, even though both men and women can be sentenced to flogging.

Fathers DO matter

In a world where advances in cloning and genetics are threatening to make men redundant, scientists finally have some reassuring news. A study has shown that fathers play a crucial in family life - and that without a dad present in the crucial first stage of life, offspring grow up to be less sociable. Although the findings come from a study of animals, it adds to the growing evidence that fathers influence the way children develop. Daily Mail

World's elderly to overtake number of infants

With every passing month, another 870,000 people turn 65 and the world's cohort of pensioners becomes larger still. Thanks to rising life expectancy, their ranks will soon be growing by almost two million a month and, by 2040, their numbers will have doubled to 1.3 billion. This will reduce the size of the working population and impose huge new pension costs, threatening to reduce the overall growth of the world economy. The US Census Bureau predicts pensioners will soon overtake the number of infants under the age of five because old people are now increasing faster than the very youngest human beings. Telegraph

Role of Gay Men in Spreading AIDS Virus Is Ignored in Africa

While most transmission of the virus in Africa is heterosexual, 19 recent studies of African men who have sex with men show that they have “considerably higher” infection rates than other adult men in their respective countries, said the authors, who were from Oxford University and research institutions in Ghana and Kenya. African male sexual networks overlap with male-female ones, the authors found, since many of the men also report recent sex with women or are married. NY Times

Role of Gay Men in Spreading AIDS Virus Is Ignored in Africa

While most transmission of the virus in Africa is heterosexual, 19 recent studies of African men who have sex with men show that they have “considerably higher” infection rates than other adult men in their respective countries, said the authors, who were from Oxford University and research institutions in Ghana and Kenya. African male sexual networks overlap with male-female ones, the authors found, since many of the men also report recent sex with women or are married. NY Times

About That New Jersey Organ Scandal

Thursday’s roundup of three mayors, five rabbis and 36 others on charges of money laundering and public corruption was big. According to a federal criminal complaint filed in district court in New Jersey, Levy Izhak Rosenbaum of Brooklyn conspired to broker the sale of a human kidney for a transplant. The cost was $160,000 to the recipient of the transplant, of which the donor got $10,000. “That it could happen in this country is so shocking,” said Dr. Bernadine Healy, former head of the Red Cross. No, it isn’t. Wall Street Journal

New artificial stem cells have their own ethical issues

Induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells, which are created by reprogramming adult tissue into a versatile, embryo-like state, have been described as an ethical breakthrough. Yet, as they do not have to be harvested from an embryo, destroying it in the process, their use is acceptable to many religious groups that oppose embryonic stem-cell research. These reprogrammed cells, however, address only in part the moral objections of those who think that embryos have the same right to life as born people. They also raise their own ethical challenges. The cells may not require the destruction of embryos but they are very much products of embryo research. Times Online

Scientists produce live mice from stem cells

Two teams of Chinese scientists have made a major advance using mice in the development of a new kind of stem cell that doesn't involve destroying embryos. Those cells are derived from ordinary skin cells, and when they were created two years ago from human skin and genetically reprogrammed, it was hailed as a breakthrough. But questions remained as to whether they could act as chameleon-like as embryonic stem cells and morph into any cell type in the body. Washington Times

PRI Gives Fresh Face to Sound Population Theory

Population Research Institute (PRI) has released the first in a series of educational videos intended to disprove what it calls the "myth" of overpopulation. The video, available at PRI's YouTube page, is also available at its accompanying website, "Overpopulation is a Myth." The site presents more facts and figures behind the video in an accessible fashion. It also features downloadable content and links to scientific sources.

Few leaders for religious right in Washington

Many of the early leaders have stepped back due to health or age, because they feel burned at being called haters or because they're tired of political divisiveness, saying it gets in the way of saving souls. At the same time, a new generation of megachurch leaders has emerged and, while some may be as biblically conservative as their predecessors, they are less inclined to get directly involved in politics. Post-Standard

Editor: Since when have we expected to find spiritual leaders in Washington?

URGENT: Stop the abortion mandate

Join the URGENT nationwide webcast event on Thursday, July 23, to prevent Washington D.C. bureaucrats and abortion industry lobbyists from forcing YOU to pay for abortions. SPREAD THE WORD to every pro-lifer you know across America so they can also participate in this urgent discussion! http://www.stoptheabortionmandate.com/

If you can't participate in the live webcast, enter your name and e-mail address on the form on the web site because they're recording the entire event. Their system will automatically allocate your spot to someone else, and as soon as your recording is ready (probably shortly after the end of the webcast) they'll notify you by e-mail.

Read more:

• Abortion as a right?
• Support for the Democratic healthcare reform plan slipping
• Hyde Amendment Not Sufficient to Stop Abortion Funding in Health Care Measures
• How much will health care reform cost?
• Rep. Chris Smith's letter to Congress
• It's not an option
• National Right to Life factsheet
• Senate and House to vote in late July on biggest expansion of abortion since Roe v. Wade!

Evangelism 2.0

What is new and different about [Portland, Oregon, evangelical church's] Season of Service, though, is the participants' emphasis on "preaching" through idealistic action rather than pious words, and their partnership with the progressive politicians who run City Hall. USA Today

Editor: I'd love to see what you think about this. Please comment.

Save the Date! 22nd National Life Chain, Sunday, October 4

Additional information is on http://NationalLifeChain.org. Photos and partial listing of Life Chains are on http://LifeChain.net. To coordinate a Life Chain by inviting your church or organization to take a stand for life, please call either Sharron Albertson, (972) 618-0400, or Royce Dunn, (530) 674-5068

PETA Upset President Obama Would Hurt a Fly

On June 16 during an interview on CNBC President Obama swatted and killed a fly. The matter was treated with good humor by most, however, the animal rights group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals felt differently and publicly chastised the President for his apparent cruelty to the insect. LifeNews

Ethics on Value of Life the Dilemma for Health Care Reform

Oncologists often face the questions about life and death often because they deal with a disease, cancer, that kills many people. Some therapies promise only to give a few extra months of life. Some of those therapies are painful, invasive, or debilitating. The ethical concerns about cost of a procedure vs. the length of time it can prolong a person’s life is an issue many physicians face with their patients. So how does a doctor make those choices? Digital Journal

Faith leaders join forces against assisted suicide

Three of Britain’s most senior religious leaders have come together to express their concern about ‘back door’ attempts to legalise euthanasia. Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury; Vincent Nichols, the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Westminster; and Sir Jonathan Sacks, the Chief Rabbi, have signed a joint letter to The Daily Telegraph. Christian Institute

Assisted Suicide Advocate Slanders Physicians as Torturers

The vast majority of people in this country do not die in ICU units. Hospitals aren’t prisons. Doctors aren’t torturing people, they are trying to treat them, which can be painful to be sure, but much effort is made to control painful and uncomfortable symptoms. Nobody ties people down and forces them to have chemotherapy, surgery, kidney dialysis, etc. Most people are desperate for these interventions–even when the doctor advises against because they are unlikely to do much good. Secondhand Smoke

In the Hands of Strangers: The Fight for Gary Harvey

This is a case where a 55 year old man had a heart attack, fell down the basement stairs, and ended up severely brain damaged. It is a case where still another so-called ethics committee felt it had some sort of god-like wisdom and right to determine life or death for a stranger. It is a case where a so-called ethics committee decided, behind closed doors, that it was perfectly okay to starve and dehydrate this man — Gary Harvey — to death by termination of his Total Parenteral Nutrition feeding tube. Dakota Voice

Can brains be saved?

You may think you don’t know anyone with a brain injury, but they’re all around you. One could be the person you see lose his temper with the store clerk because sports-induced concussions left him short-fused. Another could be your neighbor who keeps locking her keys in the car or the man who looks healthy but needs a few tries to push a revolving door. Despite its prevalence, brain injury bears a stigma. To many of the uninitiated, a person with Traumatic Brain Injury equals “slow” or “retarded.” Parade

What and when is death

The President’s Council on Bioethics has taken up this question in a recently published report entitled Controversies in the Determination of Death. At stake in the report is the moral status of those human beings who are “suspended at the threshold.” The President’s Council suggests a more neutral term: “total brain failure.” Calling the condition by this name does not pre-judge the question of whether the patient so diagnosed is alive or dead. The New Atlantis

Silent FOCA: Vast Abortion Expansion Coming to Light in Healthcare Package

Pro-life groups and lawmakers are continuing to raise the alarm over the healthcare reform package President Obama is aggressively pushing through both the House and the Senate. The groups are urging Americans to oppose the healthcare overhaul, as pro-abortion lawmakers are insisting that abortion must be included in the basic healthcare package that all public and private insurers will eventually be required to cover. LifeSiteNews

The Demographic Impact of Legally Induced Abortion after 40 Years in Great Britain

In the latest edition of India's Journal of Social Sciences, a London actuary has been calculating the impact 40 years of legal abortion has had on Britain's population. None of it is good, and some of it raises questions about the effects of abortion which British medical researchers may be afraid to answer.

How many more teen pregnancies before the Left admits its sex education has been a disaster?

That is a question I never thought I would find myself asking. I write as a mother of a teenage daughter and a left-of-centre commentator with an unshakeable belief in the power of education to transform lives. Daily Mail

Abortion Parties?

For some, abortion is just another reason to throw a party. In a recent article published on AlterNet, 'My First Abortion Party,' writer Byard Duncan relates his experience of attending a party thrown by his friend 'Maggie' so as to raise funds to pay for her abortion. Duncan described how someone had hung a red bed sheet below a light fixture to resemble a giant womb. Every so often, a dancer's head or arm or dreadlock would brush against one of its smooth folds, creating a rippling effect. A self-described "ardent pro-choicer," Duncan said he felt uncomfortable with the whole affair. LifeSiteNews

The Real Ministry of PCCs

What is it that makes pregnancy care center ministry so vital and indispensible? We introduce people to Someone who can take a seemingly impossible situation or disaster and turn it around into a blessing. We introduce them to Someone who will never leave them or forsake them, and who loves them unconditionally. His name is Jesus! That is the main mission of PCCs — to bring people to Jesus so that lives might be saved and changed. ATC

Abortion Has Greater Impact on Parenting than Other Forms of Pregnancy Loss

A new review of studies examining various types of prenatal loss and the effects on subsequent parenting has concluded that abortion may be "particularly damaging to the parenting process." The article, published in Current Women's Health Reviews, looks at already published studies on miscarriage, induced abortion and adoption. The author, Priscilla Coleman of Bowling Green State University, focuses on psychological reactions to these various types of loss and discusses how they might affect a mother's relationship with children born after the pregnancy loss. LifeSiteNews

White House says surgeon general pick is pro-choice

President Barack Obama's nominee for surgeon general is a Catholic best known for founding an Alabama clinic that treats the poor, but her lesser-known support for abortion rights puts her at odds with her church and some of the groups that have praised her work. McClatchy

Memory Forms at 30 Weeks in the Womb

Fetuses that are only 30 weeks old may already possess short-term memory, Dutch researchers report. The authors recruited 93 pregnant Dutch women, and then measured fetal responses to repeated "vibroacoustic" stimulation. "The stimuli were applied to the maternal abdomen above the fetal legs for a period of one second every 30 seconds. We counted the number of stimuli after which the fetus does not respond anymore." When the fetus makes the change to no longer responding, it is "habituated;" it recognizes the stimulus as "safe." Dr. Richard O. Jones, an assistant professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Texas A&M Health Science Center College of Medicine and medical director of obstetrics at Scott & White, said, "I almost wish I could do an ultrasound looking at the baby while they were making these loud noises. I would not be at all surprised to see the baby putting its hands over its ears." Forbes

AUL's Judiciary Testimony on Sotomayor

Make no mistake if Judge Sotomayor is confirmed, it will be a setback for the pro-life cause. When you couple Judge Sotomayor’s judicial-interventionist philosophy with her support for the radical arguments made by the Puerto Rican Legal Defense and Education Fund in abortion-related cases, her presence on the United States Supreme Court surely would endanger all of the common sense abortion regulations that have been passed in dozens of states. AUL, YouTube

Sotomayor Calls Abortion a "Right" at Final Hearing
Republican Senators Press Sotomayor on Abortion Views
Queries on Abortion and Guns Fail to Break Judge’s Stride
Sotomayor affirms commitment to Roe

Teenagers 'desperate' for a baby

Sixteen-year-old Chantelle lost her virginity at 13. Having been with her boyfriend for a year and a half, she was desperate for a child. "I could see myself as a mum next year pushing a baby around, I get jealous when I see people with babies, I feel like it should be me." Headstrong only child Lydia, was convinced she was independent enough to raise a child, even though she's only 14 and does not have a boyfriend. "I don't know anyone else who wants a baby as much as me… I really, really, really, really, really want a baby. At one point I got the Argos catalogue out and wrote everything down that I'd need if I had a child." BBC News

Medicaid Coverage Increases Abortions

Researchers at the Guttmacher Institute earlier this month issued a report that found that about 1/4 of the women who would have aborted their child if the government had provided the funds decided to keep their children. Planned Parenthood's research arm concluded from a survey of 38 studies that women unable to pay for abortions on their own were frequently "forced to carry their pregnancy to term." Stanley Hershaw, a Guttmacher Institute senior fellow and the study's lead author, commented that "Antiabortion advocates are using these restrictions in a misguided attempt to reduce the nation's abortion rate," and that they should instead address the "underlying cause" by promoting the use of contraceptives. LifeSiteNews

How Much is a Woman's Life Worth? In Michigan, Only $10,000

Abortionist Alberto Hodari has been fined $10,000 by the State of Michigan for the 2003 abortion death of Regina Johnson. The consent order, which recently became public, was issued on March 4, 2009, over five years after Ms. Johnson's death. "Now we know what a woman's life is worth in the State of Michigan once she walks into an abortion clinic," said Operation Rescue President Troy Newman. "This paltry fine has reduced Ms. Johnson's life to that of chattel. Animals are bought and sold for more than this." In exchange for the consent agreement, counts of negligence and incompetence against Hodari were dismissed, leaving only the charge that his conduct constituted a "lack of good moral character." Standard Newswire

Premature ‘little fighter’ challenges abortion limit

When Jessica Hawkins was born at just 23 weeks she weighed just 1lb 7oz and could fit in the palm of her father’s hand. Medical staff initially feared she had been miscarried, but a scan revealed a heartbeat and she was placed in intensive care. Christian Institute

Smiling unborn child

While we knew that mothers often sing to their unborn children, we weren’t sure that the unborn child could hear them. We are now. A camera and a microphone designed for underwater use were inserted into the uterus of a pregnant woman. The hydrophone picked up two sounds: the “whooshing” of the uterine artery and the unmistakable sound of a woman singing a lullaby. Then something extraordinary happened. Upon hearing the woman’s voice, the unborn child smiled. It was one of those moments that makes you catch your breath. The full humanity of the fetus could not have been clearer if he had turned to the camera and winked. Breakpoint; Music Therapy for Infants

Abortion linked to abuse at home, doctors warned

Doctors should be alert to the fact that a “significant number” of women seeking abortions are or have been in abusive relationships, a new study warns. The report, in the Obstetrician and Gynaecologist journal found that 30 per cent of women having a second abortion said they were in an abusive relationship. Women on their third or more abortion were even more likely to have suffered a history of physical or sexual abuse. Christian Institute

Erica's Story: Life Made Her Stronger

Erica was frightened when she learned she was pregnant. What would her parents say? What if they wouldn’t help? How could she raise a child? Clearly, abortion was her “best” option . . . until God brought her to a Care Net pregnancy center. Care Net

Pick to Lead Health Agency Draws Praise and Some Concern

Dr. Francis S. Collins, leader of the federal human genome project, was selected to head the National Institutes of Health. Dr. Collins’s selection, which had been rumored for weeks, was praised by top scientists and research advocacy organizations for whom the health institute is a crucial patron. There are two basic objections to Dr. Collins. The first is his very public embrace of religion. NY Times

Love your neighbor

Sermon podcast by Peter Smith, secretary of SPUC Evangelicals. In addition to excellent information on fetal development and abortion methods, this message offers interesting biblical insights. King's Church

NEA declines to remain neutral on abortion

The National Education Association, the nation's largest labor union, voted July 5 to reject a proposal officially to remain neutral on the issues of abortion and family planning. Baptist Press

NIH releases final guidelines on human embryonic stem cell research

On July 6, 2009, the web site of the National Institutes of Health posted the final "NIH Guidelines for Human Stem Cell Research." These guidelines allow federal tax dollars to support research on human embryonic stem cell lines obtained from human embryos at in-vitro fertilization clinics and fail to require IVF clinics to inform couples about the possibility of embryo adoption if the clinic doesn’t offer any embryo adoption services. Stem Cell Research Cures

Why we must ration health care

Health care is a scarce resource, and all scarce resources are rationed in one way or another. In the United States, most health care is privately financed, and so most rationing is by price: you get what you, or your employer, can afford to insure you for. Peter Singer

Wesley Smith responds

Obama Science Czar Envisioned "Planetary Regime" of Forced Abortion and Sterilization Program in Book

Although President Obama's choice for science czar received unanimous approval from the US Senate in March, little mention has been made of Harvard professor John Holdren's career as a self-avowed "neo-Malthusian." He has advocated compulsory population control in America, including forced abortion and the addition of sterilizing agents to drinking water, and the creation of what he literally called a "Planetary Regime" that would enforce such a program worldwide. LifeSiteNews

Gallup: U.S. growing more conservative?

Democrats may control the White House and Congress, but a new survey says the country isn't getting more liberal -- in fact, the opposite may be true. Baptist Press

Obama tells pope he will reduce abortions

Bioethics and life issues such as abortion were a significant part of the conversation when Obama met with the pope privately for about 40 minutes at the Vatican. “Obama told the pope of his commitment to reduce the number of abortions and of his attention and respect for the positions of the Catholic Church,” Vatican spokesman Federico Lombardi told reporters. A written statement from the Vatican said the discussion between the two men included “the defense and promotion of life and the right to abide by one’s conscience.” ERLC

Nationalizing Health Care is Not the Answer

The U.S. health care system may be sick, but the Obama administration's planned takeover may permanently cripple it, according to Richard Land. ERLC