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Pro-life Bible studies

Looking for materials for adults that teach the sanctity of human life? I've just compiled a bunch of resources -- from our website and others -- that you can use or adapt for Bible studies, devotionals, and Sunday school classes.

California Funds More Adult Stem Cell Research

California Funds Less Embryonic, More Adult Stem Cell Research | LifeNews.com: "The California Institute for Regenerative Medicine is spending $3 billion of California taxpayers’ money on stem cell research. Their reason for existence originally was to fund embryonic stem cell and cloning research. This week they approved funding for 19 grants worth $67 million. Only 5 of the 19 funded grants involve embryonic stem cells. Zero grants on cloned embryos.

Responding to: How Dare You Compare Abortion to The Holocaust or Slavery?

Responding to: How Dare You Compare Abortion to The Holocaust or Slavery? | LifeNews.com: The reason places like Auschwitz are open for the public is to guarantee that we understand the horror of what took place in the death camps. This is precisely the reason we use such imagery. We want to the world to understand that what makes us so sick about Jewish Holocaust is precisely what makes us sick about the Abortion Holocaust.

Are the Unborn Persons?

Human Life Itself has No Value: Britain’s Leading Bioethicist and Assisted Suicide Campaigner

Human Life Itself has No Value: Britain’s Leading Bioethicist and Assisted Suicide Campaigner: Unlike gold and platinum, life does not have value in itself, a member of the House of Lords and a campaigner for assisted suicide said in a televised debate last week. Medical professionals need to change their attitude towards assisted suicide, to take into account the wishes of patients who request to die, said Baroness Mary Warnock, known in Britain as the “philosopher queen” of bioethics.

“There is no moral justification why the opinions of judges, lawyers and doctors should override those of the patient [who has expressed a wish to die],” she said. “The mission of doctors is to help people, to make their lives better not worse. Sometime death is more desirable than life.”

Webcast: Chastity v. Sex in the City

Family Research Council: One of the strengths of the West that comes straight from Christianity (embodied in all its divergent nations' laws) is monogamy: one man and one woman channeling their sexuality exclusively. For the last 200 years there has been an assault on monogamy as part of the agenda to change the West. Polyandry (multiple partners) is the competition. It is a totally different culture, and a much weaker one, but very aggressive in its agenda.

Webcast at noon, October 27. Register to listen in.

Sanger's 'Negro Project' alive and well

RegularFolksUnited.com: The Bully Pulpit for Regular Folks: Not all of today’s “colored ministers” are sold out to the “Negro Project,” however, and they must be having an effect, because Planned Parenthood is looking to hire someone whose direct focus is on the black community. If that doesn’t indicate an inordinate focus on blacks as abortion targets, then what does it mean? Why do they need someone to deliver their message specifically to black people?

Adult stem cell research far ahead of embryonic

Adult stem cell research far ahead of embryonic - USATODAY.com: For all the emotional debate that began about a decade ago on allowing the use of embryonic stem cells, it's adult stem cells that are in human testing today. An extensive review of stem cell projects and interviews with two dozen experts reveal a wide range of potential treatments.

Editor: As we've been saying . . .

New Study Confirms Overwhelming Death Rate of IVF Human Embryos

New Study Confirms Overwhelming Death Rate of IVF Human Embryos: Researchers reviewed all the in vitro fertilization cycles conducted at Shady Grove between 2004 and 2008. In 14,324 IVF cycles, clinicians retrieved 192,991 eggs. Initially, 110,939 of the eggs were successfully fertilized. However, only 44,282 continued to develop into 'viable embryos.'

Usual IVF practice is to implant just one or two living embryos into the womb per IVF cycle, with the others being frozen. 'Using the most optimistic set of assumptions that all the frozen embryos will eventually be used,' the ASRM report says, 'this will result in 8,366 babies. Thus, only 7.5% of all the fertilized eggs will go on to become live-born children.'

In reality the frozen human embryos are more likely to be used in research or abandoned, rather than be allowed to continue growing in their mother's womb.

ObamaCare: The Facts On Abortion

PRI president Steven Mosher explains how the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act continues to pose a major threat to the unborn in America, despite claims by the president and other Democrats that an Executive Order Obama signed addressed pro-life leaders' concerns.

PRI uses YouTube's annotation system to insert a series of digital “footnotes” into the video, allowing viewers to instantly access the sources for the video's information.

Fewer People Mean Less Government Cost

Fewer People Mean Less Government Cost: Planned Parenthood President: The president of Planned Parenthood has argued that the new federal health care reform ought to consider funding all contraception with taxpayer dollars because preventing new children leads to less government expense. Cecile Richards said although the costs of the federal health care bill already promise to skyrocket out of control, federal officials ought to consider covering birth control a priority because of the 'cost savings' benefit of fewer children being born.

Pro-Abortion – Anti-Spanking: Our Future America?

Destroy The Fetus – Save The Tooshy – Pro-Abortion – Anti-Spanking – Our Future America? � Michigan Conservatives Network: The same individuals against spanking, tend to be the ones who are for a woman's right to suck a living human being out of her womb, all under the guise of 'choice.'

Get to Know: I Am Music for Life

I Am Music For Life is a radio program that plays exclusively pro-life music. Peter Jorgensen writes: "It is my mission to have music that is; pro-life, pro-family, pro-adoption and pro-support of single parents as an alternative to abortion, played for as many listeners as possible. I started I Am Music for life in March of 1991, and it’s played on Saturday evenings at 9 through a Christian radio station in Cohoes, NY (WHAZ 97.4 FM).

"The current airing of the programs costs $100/ month. I’m asking for your support in this endeavor, and as support is received, I will have the program played in more and more areas throughout this wonderful God-fearing country of ours."

Richard Land talks about abortion in the African-American community

 

Listen to this Richard Land Live episode with Walter Hoye, president of Issues 4 Life, as they discuss abortion in the African-American community. Find more information on Maafa21 and how you can purchase the DVD.

Key Legal Issues - The Ten Commandments for Churches and Religious Organizations

ECFA Event Registration: November 11 - Online/Telephone Webinar - 60 Minute Session starting at 1:00 PM Eastern. Join us for a discussion about key legal issues for the church and nonprofits with Frank Sommerville, attorney with Weycer, Kaplan, Pulaski & Zuber, P.C.

Abortion advocacy in a burqa?

Frances Kissling in a burqa? - Jill Stanek: Frances Kissling, for years the president of Catholics for Choice and now a visiting scholar at U of PA Center for Bioethics, recently said: "I don’t care how you accomplish it [the right to abortion], whether through a constitution, the UN, state laws or federals laws, or by the Taliban."

Blogger Jill Stanek notes that "the Taliban engages in the worst societal treatment of women." Why on earth would a feminist like Kissling expect, seek, or accept their help?

Barney Frank: Save abortion by saving me!

Barney Frank: Save abortion by saving me! | Washington Examiner: How hot is the race in Rep. Barney Frank’s Massachusetts district becoming? Hot enough that he’s putting out more flags.

Heavyweight Philosophers Clash at Abortion Conference

Heavyweight Philosophers Clash at Abortion Conference � Catholic Family and Human Rights Institute: A baby's cry, piercing the air from the back of an Ivy League academic hall, offered a disquieting counterpoint to a startling argument for abortion rights.

“An infant has no moral status because he is not self-aware,” said Peter Singer, a professor of bioethics. Singer argued this point at an historic conference he co-organized at Princeton University last weekend, seeking new dialogue on the heated issue of abortion. Remarkably, for a conference examining abortion, there was virtually no discussion about the act of abortion itself.

“We have to get rid of the idea of evil,” said Frances Kissling, an abortion rights advocate turned bioethics scholar, who also organized the conference.

Morality put to the test - New Scientist

Special report: Morality put to the test - New Scientist

Can science determine morality? It can and should, according to a special feature in New Scientist. Until recently, morality was the special preserve of philosophers and theologians. However, modern science is showing us the true basis of morality, which is variously regarded as neurology, evolution or genetics.

Admittedly, this is a fearsome thought for people who believe that morality collapses without a divine leglislator. However, Harvard University’s Fiery Cushman insists that this is not so: “Rather, by unmasking our minds as the authors of morality, we may be better able to bend its narrative arc towards a happy end.” In fact, he says, “By recognising morality as a property of the mind, we gain a magical power of control over its future.”

Related: Morals Without God?

Church Awareness Survey Shows Need for More Awareness and Outreach on Abortion Issues

News: Most respondents -- about 73 percent -- said that preaching on abortion was rarely or never done in their church or place of worship. Only about 19 percent of respondents said that their pastor or religious leaders regularly preached on abortion.

We also asked whether people in your churches (including your pastor or other religious leaders) are aware that most abortions are unwanted or coerced or know about the spiritual and emotional impact of abortion on women and men. Most respondents were either not sure or didn't think this was known in their churches. Less than a quarter of respondents felt that these issues were adequately known and addressed in their churches.

Black Youth Are Politically Involved, Conservative

Black Youth Are Politically Involved, Critical of Rap Music: Black youth consistently hold the most conservative views on questions of premarital sex, homosexuality and abortion. Among black youth, 42 percent felt that sex before marriage is wrong, compared with 28 percent of whites and 32 percent of Latinos. The survey also found that 47 percent of black youth feel that abortion is always wrong, compared with 34 percent of whites and 46 percent of Latinos. Black youth with more religious backgrounds were more likely to hold conservative opinions.

First fertility show for single and gay people

BioNews - First fertility show for single and gay people: The first parenthood show for gay and single people was held on Saturday in London. The Alternative Families Show featured seminars about fertility treatment, adoption, surrogacy, and other options for starting a family. Legal rights, schooling and other social issues were also covered.

'Octomum' doctor implanted 12 embryos

BioNews - 'Octomum' doctor implanted 12 embryos: Evidence put before the Medical Board of California, the state licensing body, revealed how medical records at the time indicated Dr Kamrava had transferred 12 embryos in providing IVF (in vitro fertilisation) to Nadya Suleman. On questioning, Dr Kamrava apologised saying Ms Suleman had insisted on this number and had consented to fetal reduction if it became necessary. He told the hearing he had been 'apprehensive' but had decided to go along with his patient's wishes after advising her of the risks involved. The disclosure contradicts Ms Suleman's earlier assertions that only six embryos were implanted, two of which split leading to eight children born in January 2009.

Bulletin insert samples in the mail soon!

Pro-Life to the Core!

But you can preview and order them and other resources online. Or download an order form here.


Sanctity of Human Life Sunday is January 23, 2011

These inserts are for individual churches; they give information about Baptists for Life. Pregnancy care centers that wish to customize inserts for their supporting churches need to order the version that comes in bundles of 500.

HOW OLD? Age of Earth debated among SBC scholars

HOW OLD? Age of Earth debated among SBC scholars - Florida Baptist Witness: The age of the earth has generated discussion recently among several Southern Baptist scholars. It began with a 2009 book by Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary professor William Dembski but includes a broader dialogue about evolution and the boundaries of the Baptist Faith & Message 2000.

HOW MUCH RESPECT DO WE OWE THE EMBRYO? LIMITS TO EMBRYONIC STEM CELL RESEARCH

HOW MUCH RESPECT DO WE OWE THE EMBRYO? LIMITS TO EMBRYONIC STEM CELL RESEARCH | Ethics & Medicine | Find Articles at BNET: I want to show that, because the embryo, whether in vitro or in utero, is ahuman, we owe it enough respect not to create it or interrupt its natural growth so as to destroy it for its stem cells. To make this case, I will argue that the embryo is human and has a moral status.

Health-care overhaul: Does it provide tax dollars for abortions?

Health-care overhaul: Does it provide tax dollars for abortions?: Under the Hyde Amendment, which Congress has attached to yearly spending bills since 1977, federal dollars cannot be used to directly fund abortions, except in cases of rape or incest, or where the mother's life is in danger. This prevents abortions from being covered by insurance plans for federal employees, the Tricare plans for military families and the federally funded portion of Medicaid, the health program for the poor. But the insurance system created by the new law does not lend itself to a straightforward segregation of federal funds in other plans.

Study: Gay Parents More Likely to Have Gay Kids

Study: Gay Parents More Likely to Have Gay Kids: Walter Schumm knows what he's about to do is unpopular: publish a study arguing that gay parents are more likely to raise gay children than straight parents. But the Kansas State University family studies professor has a detailed analysis that past almost aggressively ideological researchers never had. far more likely to have children who become gay. "I'm trying to prove that it's not 100 percent genetic."

Christian compassion requires the truth about harms of homosexuality

Guest Voices: Christian compassion requires the truth about harms of homosexuality - On Faith at washingtonpost.com: The most important thing that Christians can offer to homosexuals is hope--hope that their sins, just like the sins of anyone else, can be forgiven and their lives transformed by the power of Jesus Christ. Jesus' command to love our neighbor clearly embraces the homosexual as well. But love does not require affirming every behavior in which an individual engages.

What are Christians known for?

What are Christians known for? (OneNewsNow.com): Although contemptuous of Christianity, the Roman emperor Julian recognized that their generosity to the poor was making converts of many. 'Nothing has contributed to the progress of the superstition of the Christians as their charity to strangers...the impious Galileans provide not only for their own poor, but for ours as well.'

Certainly there are numerous examples of Christians today – both individually and institutionally – ministering to the homeless, manning soup kitchens, underwriting hospitals for the poor, and much more. Timothy Keller, however, in his latest book Generous Justice (scheduled for release Nov. 2), makes a strong case that we don't do nearly enough.

A Window Into Barack Obama’s Theology

FRC Blog � A Window Into Barack Obama’s Theology: During the presidential campaign, then-Sen. Barack Obama famously told Pastor Rick Warren that determining when human personhood began was “above my paygrade.” A professing Christian, he could not bring himself to concur with the plain teaching of the Bible that human life in all its biological fullness begins at conception.

An educated man, he could not sufficiently evaluate the clear scientific evidence that with the entire DNA any person ever possesses present within the embryo from conception onward, personhood starts at conception.

A father, he could not affirm that his precious daughters deserved legal protection in their mother’s womb, from conception until birth.

Since then, his income must have dramatically changed, as he has initiated a nationwide health care mandate that funds and subsidizes abortion-on-demand, exported abortion overseas through American funding thereof, and even sought to have taxpayers subsidize abortion on our military bases. As President of the United States, Barack Obama has been a deliberate, systematic evangelist of the culture of death.

Worldview Conflicts in Education: Revisiting “The Closing of the American Mind”

Worldview Conflicts in Education: Revisiting “The Closing of the American Mind”: When I was teaching regularly in the university classroom, I often gave extra credit on the final exam if students could identify the appropriate references or origins for “make bricks without straw,” “eyeless in Gaza, ” “cast the first stone,” or “the Prodigal Son” to name a few. I am sure you would not be surprised that the explanations from students to these phrases made me cringe as well as laugh out loud; with references to pigs and a wolf, guide dogs and such.

Facebook doesn't get mad, it gets GLAAD

Family Research Council: Last week, the social media giant officially friended the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation to 'end hate speech and anti-gay bullying' on the Internet. The new partnership is significant because it puts Facebook on the media's growing path toward censorship. Apparently, anything they construe to be anti-homosexual will be stripped from the site. Where does that leave Americans who morally oppose the lifestyle and want to help people find freedom from it?

Saving Leonardo: A Call to Resist the Secular Assault on Mind, Morals, and Meaning

Stand to Reason: In Saving Leonardo, Nancy Pearcey offers an unflinching analysis of the profound personal and social devastation wreaked by secularism all across American life, specifically:

• How art, literature, movies, and media channel secular worldviews deeply into people’s minds and emotions through stories and images;

• How cutting-edge moral issues like abortion, homosexuality, and the hook-up culture are shaped by secular worldviews that denigrate and disrespect the human body;

• How two major forces within secularism have created a pincer movement crushing human dignity and liberty.

Fetal pain law may prove historic

LIFE DIGEST: Fetal pain law may prove historic: Oct. 15 marked a development in Nebraska that could prove to be historic in the battle against legal abortion in the United States, some pro-lifers predicted. On that date, a Nebraska law that prohibits abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy, with narrow exceptions, took effect. The Pain-capable Unborn Child Protection Act establishes a new standard in abortion bans. Rather than setting the benchmark at fetal viability, which can be 22 to 24 weeks, Nebraska’s law utilizes evidence that an unborn child experiences pain at 20 weeks for its guideline.

Pro-life song for kids

by Jim Bailey

Full-Length Drama: To Die For

by Matt Harper, Assistant Pastor, Truth Baptist Church in South Windsor, CT

Synopsis: The President of the United States faces personal and political crises – and then there’s an assassination attempt! Who's after him? Will he stand firm against pro-choice demands, or is he pro-life in name only? What will be his legacy?

This political thriller will hold your church or school audience in suspense as it touches hearts, informs minds, and motivates wills to fight for life itself. Sample dialog:

President: I don’t know how to be a great dad and a great president at the same time. I can’t escape the responsibility of this office, the expectation to make every decision – public and private – in the best interest of the country.

Rev. Morrow: Mr. President, as noble as that reasoning is, few things are so potentially destructive. . . . The danger of making decisions based on the “greater good,” is that reasoning can be so easily misused to justify almost anything.

Performance time: 1.5 to 1.75 hours.

Fee: $50 for a copy of the script and rights to make as many copies as necessary for production. To order a script package for your drama ministry, call (860) 906-6784 or email Matt.

Editor's review: Based on my read-through, I think it's really good. I appreciate Matt's nuanced treatment. He doesn't paint characters as one-dimensional. Nor does he handle the issues with one-brush, broad arguments. As long as I've been involved with pro-life work, it's rare to find such a fresh approach in fictional writing. The story is very real in its portrayal of individuals in a heightened, dramatic situation. As the synopsis says, it is suspenseful, something not easily achieved. I'd love to hear about any group that performs this drama, and I'm sure Matt would, too.

Stem cells in space

The next generation of stem cells: Some of the detrimental risks that microgravity may have on an embryo include inhibited bone maturation, heart and blood vessel alterations, delayed neural growth, and altered muscle tissue maturation. 'The effect that microgravity may have on a growing embryo or fetus would be similar to an adult body — however, much more detrimental. The adult body can adapt to some microgravity space environments — however, what remains totally unknown is if an embryo can adapt to such an environment too.'

Students Endure Taunts, Threats to Save 8 Babies During Silent Day

Pro-Life Students Endure Taunts, Threats to Save 8 Babies During Silent Day: Tens of thousands of pro-life students endured taunts and threats from fellow students today to don red tape and keep their mouths shut in remembrance for the unborn children who have been killed in abortions. But dealing with the harassment paid off for the eight students who helped prevent abortions. The students joined their peers for the annual Pro-Life Day of Silent Solidarity, organized by the pro-life group Stand True.

Mexican Governor Asks for Divine Help in Face of Pro-Abortion Initiative

Mexican State Governor Asks for Divine Help in Face of Pro-Abortion Initiative: The governor of the Mexican state of Aguascalientes says that he is trusting in God to deliver his state from the legalization of abortion. In a recent interview regarding proposed legislation to legalize abortion, Governor Luis Armando Reynoso said, 'I am definitely respectful of everyone, but in my role as executive, of executive power and responsible for the same, I call for respect for life.'

Noting that the power to decide such matters is not his alone, Armando Reynoso added that 'we must cross our fingers and commend ourselves to our Lord, so that he will illuminate the conscience of all of the legislators, of all parts of the government, so they will make the right decisions.'

Intelligence, Money not Enough to Win Pro-Life War

Author Michael O'Brien to LSN Staff: Intelligence, Money not Enough to Win Pro-Life War: The pro-life battle will only be won if we embrace Christ’s Cross, become “the poor and despised of the world,” and “listen ... to the promptings of the Holy Spirit,” said acclaimed author and artist Michael O’Brien.

O’Brien said that rallying our gifts and powers to resist evil is “a natural reaction to a war-zone.” “Instinctively we gather our weapons – my intelligence, my money, my organizational skills – ... to galvanize resistance ... to create organizations, to effect changes in society,” he explained. But, insisted the author, “it is not the foundation. It is not the foundation. ... It will never be enough. It will not win this war.”

He read a passage from the Letter to the Corinthians, where St. Paul writes: “God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise, God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong” (1 Cor. 1:27).

We must unite ourselves with Christ on the Cross, he said, which “means we too will be humiliated, in public, as he was.” “You too will be lied about, misrepresented, judged falsely, sometimes judged correctly to our own embarrassment,” he continued. “To be exposed in the war zone, to be a poor man, weak, powerless by human terms, puts everything to the test within us.”

O’Brien noted that in the “intensity of the battles” the pro-life movement fights, we can easily lose sight of the spiritual nature of our cause. “We can become activists, and purely activists, and lose this dimension of union with Jesus Christ, who is the warrior, who is the one who will win this war.”

2010 Michigan Prolife Ballot Generator

2010 Michigan Prolife Ballot Generator: The Right to Life of Michigan Political Action Committee endorsed prolife candidates have been identified, but now it's up to you to make sure they win! To help, we'll match you to the prolife candidates running in your area. You can even bring the list with you when you vote! Sharing this resource with others is simple, too, directions are provided after you generate your prolife ballot.

Don Carson: How Do We Work for Justice and Not Undermine Evangelism?

TGC Asks Don Carson: How Do We Work for Justice and Not Undermine Evangelism? – The Gospel Coalition Blog: To preach moral duty without the underlying power of the gospel is moralism that is both pathetic and powerless; to preach a watered-down gospel as that which tips us into the kingdom, to be followed by discipleship and deeds of mercy, is an anemic shadow of the robust gospel of the Bible; to preach the gospel and social justice as equivalent demands is to misunderstand how the Bible hangs together.

Get to Know: Cornwall Alliance for the Stewardship of Creation

Cornwall Alliance :: For the Stewardship of Creation: The Cornwall Alliance is a coalition of clergy, theologians, religious leaders, scientists, academics, and policy experts committed to bringing a balanced Biblical view of stewardship to the critical issues of environment and development. The Cornwall Alliance fully supports the principles espoused in the Cornwall Declaration on Environmental Stewardship, and is seeking to promote those principles in the discussion of various public policy issues including population and poverty, food, energy, water, endangered species, habitat, and other related topics.

Peat Moss—Man’s Wisdom or God’s Wisdom?

Peat Moss—Man’s Wisdom or God’s Wisdom? - Answers in Genesis: When studying science from both a professional and recreational aspect and using the Bible as our starting point, there are many processes we observe and can use to give a reasoned evidence of the handiwork of God. By studying the natural world, we can see God’s handiwork, and if we look carefully enough, we can actually see His engineering design at work. In God’s infinite wisdom, He endowed plants with versatile structures that enable their survivability under various environmental conditions. Sphagnum peat moss is such a plant we can use to demonstrate God’s unique engineering design that enables the plant’s survival.

First babies born in IVF full gene screening study

First babies born in IVF full gene screening study | Reuters: Two women have given birth to healthy babies from eggs screened for genetic defects before being implanted in the womb, in a study of a new technique that could improve the success rate of in-vitro fertilization. The technique is a new way of screening eggs and embryos for genetic defects to increase the odds a woman achieves a healthy pregnancy from in-vitro fertilization (IVF), when eggs are fertilized with sperm in a lab dish and implanted into her womb.

'We have learnt from more than 30 years of IVF that many of the embryos we transfer have chromosome abnormalities,' Luca Gianaroli, chairman of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology (ESHRE) and one of the scientists who worked on the study.

Editor: The article is not clear about what's being studied, eggs or embryos? Eggs are not implanted in the womb; embryos are. I wish reporters and editors were more precise. Here's a better description: "With CGH, a sample taken from an egg (the oocyte polar body) or a single cell of a blastocyst stage embryo is compared to a normal control sample."

Opinion: Geron Corp. Stem Cell News Is More Hype Than Science

Opinion: Geron Corp. Stem Cell News Is More Hype Than Science: 'I don't understand [having] human trials because the animal studies aren't very convincing,' David Bennett, a University of Alberta neuroscientist renowned for his experimentation with spinal-cord injuries, told me. He thinks much more lab work should have been done. 'My gut feeling is that it's a scam,' he said.

Euthanasia is 'killing,' McGill ethicist tells Quebec hearings

Euthanasia is 'killing,' McGill ethicist tells Quebec hearings: When religious values were more important in Quebec, it was easier to make the case against euthanasia, McGill University ethicist Margaret Somerville said Thursday before provincial hearings in Montreal. 'Thou shalt not kill' was pretty much the end of the debate, Somerville said.

Now in a largely secular society, euthanasia and assisted suicide remain 'morally wrong,' Somerville maintains. She prefers the term 'killing,' as she considers euthanasia and assisted suicide to be euphemisms. 'Even in a secular society, it's morally wrong to kill each other,' she said. '(Morality) is even more important in a secular society because you haven't got religion as that foundation to fall back on.'

Women's Eggs for Research: Without Payment?

CGS�:�Women's Eggs for Research: Without Payment?: Should women be paid to provide their eggs for cloning-based stem cell research? Political discussion of that controversial prospect has stalled, in large part because researchers have not succeeded in producing stem cell lines with cloning techniques. But some companies continue these efforts. Others are producing stem cells using the technique known as parthenogenesis, which also requires women’s eggs. And in spite of international attention to iPS cells, new proposals to acquire the coveted resource are emerging.

Editor: "Coveted." That about tells the story right there.

Lawsuit over Children Born the Wrong Color After IVF

Lawsuit over Children Born the Wrong Color After IVF – TIME Healthland: A Northern Irish High Court judge has declined to award damages to a family who sued a health trust that provided in vitro fertilization services for using the wrong sperm and causing their two children to be born darker skinned than expected. The family, whose names were not released, claimed that the children had been mocked and discriminated against at school.

Editor: They should go after those really in the wrong, the bullies at school!

High Rates of Abortions Among Blacks Focus of New Billboard In Jacksonville

High Rates of Abortions Among Blacks Focus of New Billboard In Jacksonville | Firstcoastnews.com | Local News: A new billboard in Jacksonville says 'The Most Dangerous Place for an African American is the womb.' The statement is clear, the message is not.

Editor: Really? The message isn't clear? For statistics backing it up, see http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/ss5808a1.htm.

5 tips for pro-life conversation

5 tips for Pro-Life conversation | Live Action Blog – Human Rights, Abortion, and Life: A recurring theme in Live Action's approach to the abortion conversation: focus on the humanity of the unborn. Abortion is wrong because it kills innocent people and killing innocent people is wrong. This simple, underlying fact gets easily lost in the rhetoric, but it is our challenge and our duty as pro-life activists to keep perspective. Here are some tips that help us do that.

Baby born from embryo frozen 20 years ago

Baby born from embryo frozen 20 years ago - Telegraph: Scientists have announced that a baby boy was born in May to a 42-year-old woman after being adopted as an embryo from a couple who created it 20 years ago. Previously the oldest successful frozen embryo was 13 years old.

The couple who created the embryo had completed their own family through IVF and anonymously offered their remaining frozen embryos to other couples. The children are all biological siblings although born 20 years apart.

Sperm donors' anonymity challenged in B.C.

CBC News - British Columbia - Sperm donors' anonymity challenged in B.C.: Olivia Pratten, a Toronto journalist, wants the B.C. Supreme Court to order the province to create a system that ensures donor records are kept indefinitely and to prevent existing records from being destroyed. Pratten also wants children conceived through donation to have the ability to obtain information about a donor's identity and medical history — effectively making it impossible for them to remain anonymous.

Historic Turnaround in Europe Preserves Conscience Rights

Historic Turnaround in Europe Preserves Conscience Rights � Catholic Family and Human Rights Institute: The Council of Europe’s legislature considered a resolution calling for onerous restrictions on conscientious objection, including stripping protections for doctors who object to performing abortions. Led by two politicians from Italy and Ireland, a coalition of legislators secured the passage of 29 amendments that transformed the resolution into one that upheld universally recognized rights to freedom of conscience.

A third of UK schoolgirls have been molested

A third of schoolgirls have been molested, report reveals | News | The Christian Institute: Almost one in three girls say they have been subjected to unwanted physical sexual advances whilst at school, according to the results of a troubling new survey.

Around 800 16 to 18-year-olds were polled, and 29 per cent of the girls admitted to having been a victim of groping, kissing or touching while at school.Approximately one in seven (14 per cent) of the boys questioned said the same.

The Prime Minister David Cameron has vowed to tackle the sexualisation of children.

Anti-abortion while remaining firmly pro-choice

Anti-abortion while remaining firmly pro-choice | The Australian: What's required is a more nuanced ethical line. This would enable one to be both pro-choice (recognising that termination is the lesser of several tragedies), yet anti-abortion (because it really is hard to find anyone whose catch cry is 'yay termination - let's have heaps more').

One of the ways I dealt with miscarriage was to remember that it was longing and grief, rather than biological reality, that gave my lost foetuses the shape of babies. They represent life, but not as we know it. This is why termination is not on par with murder.

Editor: Biological reality says 'embryo' and 'fetus' are just stages of life, not unlike 'infant,' 'toddler,' and 'adolescent.' Just because we don't know these stages as well as the latter doesn't mean they are not life. Science is teaching us more and more about these stages every day. When will the 'pro-choice' movement catch up?

The Story of Baptists for Life

The Story of Baptists for Life

View more presentations from Baptists for Life, Inc..

Interview about the 2010 Nobel Prize for IVF

Interview about the 2010 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine - Media Player at Nobelprize.org: Professor Christer Hoog explains that recent follow up studies showing that IVF children are as healthy as normally conceived children, were a contributing factor for awarding Robert G. Edwards the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 2010 and not earlier. He also blandly declares that the ethical issues surrounding IVF itself were "resolved" decades ago. Oh really?

God’s Word in God’s World for God’s Women

God’s Word in God’s World for God’s Women | Answers Outreach: Join Answers for Women (a ministry outreach of Answers in Genesis) and women’s author and speaker Georgia Purdom for a webinar and live chat on the topic of Eve. Eve was the original bad girl of the Bible. Her legacy was one of sin and despair. The curse God pronounced affects our parenting and marriages even today. But Eve has another legacy—one of salvation and hope.

Sneak a peek at our 2011 bulletin inserts

We'll be putting a sample of our 2011 Sanctity of Human Life Sunday bulletin inserts in the mail soon, but they're available now for a preview and purchase in our Online Store.

Ordering Instructions: Be sure to select inserts with this description: "Pack of 50 . . . for your church; with info about BFL."

Why use this insert? In the battle for life, it's not enough for us to focus on the sanctity of human life once a year. Our goal is to foster a renewed way of life in believers, one that comes from the heart and lasts all year. These inserts promote a biblical culture of life.

Planned Parenthood and the dark religion of abortion

STOPP - Stop Planned Parenthood - Wednesday STOPP Report: Through the years, several books have been written by 'religious' abortion promoters and radical feminists that attempt to sanctify abortion, and subsequently abortion has been referred to by Planned Parenthood officials as 'sacred.'

Religion News on the Web - Religion and Politics 2010

All Stories - Religion News on the Web - Religion and Politics 2010 - Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life Not sure how religion and religion-related issues are being discussed on the campaign trail this election season? Browse the Pew Forum's Election 2010 Religion News on the Web for recent online articles from a variety of news outlets on religion and the 2010 elections. You can also sort the news stories by topic, including abortion, the death penalty, homosexuality and gay marriage, Islam in America and more.

Hitchens v. Hitchens: Can civilization survive without God?

Hitchens brothers debate if civilization can survive without God – CNN Belief Blog - CNN.com Blogs: Brothers Christopher and Peter Hitchens squared off Tuesday in a debate over whether civilization can survive without God. Christopher, the older of the two, is a renowned atheist thinker and author. Peter, the lesser known of the two, is a practicing Christian and also a well-regarded author.

Second try at "personhood" amendment a long shot, backers say

Second try at "personhood" amendment a long shot, backers say - The Denver Post: Proponents, who failed by a 3-to-1 margin to pass a similar amendment in 2008, acknowledge this second attempt to lay the foundation for criminalizing abortion could be even more difficult. 'The odds are against us, but we do this to change the culture,' said Keith Mason, 29, co-founder of Arvada-based Personhood USA. 'We are horrified by the status quo — by the value given life before birth.'

Get to Know: HelpingMyTeen.com

Helping Teen Gain Self Control: The teen years don’t have to be tough. Every teen is his or her own person. Your task is to create a bridge from childhood to adulthood so your child can be successfully launched. Find lots of resources for helping your teen choose self-control.

De-population and De-Christianization Leading to Cultural Islamic Jihad

De-population and De-Christianization Leading to Cultural Islamic Jihad: Catholic Apologist: The de-Christianization of Europe, the “removal of Christian principles and institutions from the daily life of a country,” has created a religious and social vacuum that is being filled by Islam, a prominent U.S. Catholic speaker said on Thursday. Raymond de Souza, the Program Director for Portuguese-speaking countries for Human Life International told an audience of the world’s pro-life and pro-family leaders that “Europe … is being culturally Islamized.”

“The world in general, and the West in particular, is undergoing a tragic process of de-Christianization. Christian principles, values and institutions have been extirpated from our social, economic, political, legal, educational structures. Sometimes publicly, sometimes stealthily, the process has wrought havoc in Europe and the countries that descended from them.”

Spanish 'Equality Minister': Unborn Babies Aren't Human

Spanish 'Equality Minister': Unborn Babies Aren't Human: According to Spanish Equality Minister Bibiana Aido, unborn human children are not human beings. She said last week that 'the Government cannot share in the affirmation that the interruption of a pregnancy is the elimination of the life of a human being. Having an abortion does not suppose that a human life is terminated, because there does not exist a unanimous opinion regarding the concept of a human being ... because 'human life' refers to a complex concept based on ideas or beliefs that are philosophical, moral, social, and ultimately, subject to opinions or personal preferences.'

Abortion as a “Human Right” Corrupts of International HR Agreements

Abortion as a “Human Right” a Corruption of International HR Agreements: John Smeaton: The push in recent years to establish abortion as an international “human right” flies in the face of international human rights law that springs from the natural law and the world’s response to the Nazi atrocities, John Smeaton, head of the UK’s Society for the Protection of Unborn Children, told an international conference last week.

International agreements dating back to 1948, in the aftermath of the Nuremberg trials, repeatedly insist on the right to life of the unborn child, and specifically protect all human life from conception, he said.

Speaking Thursday at the international congress held by Human Life International in Rome, Smeaton said that the modern, secular perception of human rights derive directly from Judeo-Christian thought, the Natural Law philosophies and the concept of human beings made in the image and likeness of God. Cut these concepts of rights off from their divine origins, and “human rights become anti-human.”

NRL Releases Online Voter Guide for 2010 Midterm Elections

National Right to Life Releases Online Voter Guide for 2010 Midterm Elections: The National Right to Life Committee has released a new online voter guide for pro-life advocates looking for a brief rundown of candidates for the U.S. congressional mid-term elections. Entitled “Compare. Decide. Vote.” the guide posted on the NRLC website StopTheAbortionAgenda.com features brief comparisons (in downloadable PDFs) that outline key differences between a number of candidates on legal abortion and the right to life.
The guide covers Senate and House elections in 26 U.S. states.

40 Days for Life Announces Milestone: 3,000 Babies Saved

40 Days for Life Announces Milestone: 3,000 Babies Saved: Yesterday the 40 Days for Life campaign announced a significant milestone for the burgeoning pro-life initiative – its 3,000th baby saved from abortion since the first 40 Days campaign in the fall of 2007. “To God be the glory for reaching this major milestone!” wrote Shawn Carney of 40 Days in yesterday’s update. “That's a LOT of children and mothers spared from abortion. And that's a lot of GREAT stories.”

Grand Jury Grills Tiller Murderer's Bible Study Group

Grand Jury Grills Tiller Murderer's Bible Study Group: Two members of Scott Roeder's Bible study group told the Kansas City Star that they and four others had been asked by the jury about whether others had been involved in Tiller's murder in May 2009. Roeder is currently serving a life sentence after being convicted of first-degree murder for shooting Tiller to death at the latter's Wichita church.

Marriage Talking Points - National Organization for Marriage

Marriage Talking Points - National Organization for Marriage: SAME-SEX MARRIAGE: Answering the Toughest Questions - Strong majorities of Americans oppose gay marriage. Supporters of SSM therefore seek to change the subject to just about anything: discrimination, benefits, homosexuality, gay rights, federalism, our sacred constitution. Our goal is simple: Shift the conversation rapidly back to marriage. Don’t get sidetracked. Marriage is the issue. Marriage is what we care about. Marriage really matters. It’s just common sense.

Company Claims First Patient Treated With Embryonic Stem Cells, Not The Case

Company Claims First Patient Treated With Embryonic Stem Cells, Not The Case: Family Research Council fellow Dr. David Prentice told LifeNews.com the situation is 'a bit confusing' but the cells are not truly human embryonic stem cells but ones that 'are directly derived from embryonic stem cells, and rely on embryonic stem cells.' Prentice accused Geron of falsely promoting its work as embryonic stem cell trials when derivatives are used instead.

'Geron is irresponsibly trying to do science by press release, publicizing that they have begun their human experiment by injecting a patient with potentially dangerous cells made from embryonic stem cells,' he said. 'Their press hype will help their stock price, but not science and not patients. We hope the patients don't suffer any ill effects, but it will be years before there is hard evidence about safety or effectiveness,' Prentice continued.

Editor: To clarify, deriving stem cells from embryos kills the embryos.

Embryonic stem cell therapy trial begins in patients with spine injuries

Stem cell therapy trial begins in patients with spine injuries - latimes.com: The first of several spine injury patients is undergoing treatment, which has helped rodents regain the ability to walk and run. Doctors' hopes are high. Researchers announced Monday that they had injected stem cells into a patient with a spinal cord injury on Friday, kicking off the world's first clinical trial of a therapy derived from human embryonic stem cells.

Bible study on sexual abstinence

An important lesson from Anchor Missionary Baptist Church in Anchorage, Alaska, for single Christians. Here you will find some Biblical answers to the question, "How far is too far?" Leader's guide, student edition

America's Stem Cell Mess

Americas Stem Cell Mess - The Scientist - Magazine of the Life Sciences: German law prohibits destroying human embryos but permits research on some imported ESCs. The result is that Germany essentially outsources the activity it finds morally objectionable—no German embryos were harmed in the making of this science.

A much better way to go about all of this is to be up front and honest about what the United States will and will not fund with taxpayer money. Under the kinds of laws and policies in place in the United Kingdom, Sweden, Belgium, Canada, and Australia, among others, the rules for research involving embryos are clearly spelled out. For example, Canada limits the research to embryos left over from fertility treatment. Other nations allow a great deal—the United Kingdom and Australia both permit cloning of human embryos, but everything has to be licensed, which allows for close review and national oversight of the research. At the very least, these laws provide ESC scientists with clarity and predictability.

Aborted babies 'being left to die'

Aborted babies 'being left to die': Babies that are surviving late-term abortions at Melbourne, Australia's Royal Women's Hospital might be being left on shelves to die, according to an Anglican minister. Dr Mark Durie, minister of St Mary's Caulfield, said staff were finding it hard to cope with a reported six-fold increase in late-term abortions at the Women's since abortion was decriminalised in Victoria two years ago. He said because conscientious objection by medical staff was now illegal, the hospital could employ only people who endorsed late-term abortions.

He said in one case - not at the Women's - a trainee was deeply traumatised when she was told to drop a living foetus in a bucket of formaldehyde. Dr Durie said even in 2007, 52 babies survived late-term abortions, according to government figures. In some clinics they had simply been put on a shelf and left to die, and the public deserved to know what was happening now.

Failed in other states, Personhood USA makes Colorado a national battleground

Failed in other states, Personhood USA makes Colorado a national battleground � Colorado Independent: Some see state's 'low threshold' for ballot initiatives as main reason Amendment 62 survived. Colorado has become “ground zero” for the personhood movement in the United States, according to opponents of the initiative. And with funds coming in from out-of-state organizations to bolster both sides of the constitutional fight to redefine the term “person,” the state has become a flash point for a potential ethical wildfire.

Most Americans Back Embryonic Stem Cell Research

Most Americans Back Embryonic Stem Cell Research: Poll - US News and World Report: Americans overwhelmingly support embryonic stem cell research, and that backing stretches across a broad range of demographic groups, including Republicans, Catholics and born-again Christians, according to a new Harris Interactive/HealthDay poll. Almost three-quarters (72 percent) of the adults surveyed believe that scientists should be allowed to use embryonic stem cells left over from in vitro fertilization procedures to search for potential treatments or ways to prevent diseases such as Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's, diabetes and other conditions. Only 12 percent oppose using stem cells for biomedical research, numbers that mirror those from a similar poll conducted in 2005.

Southern Baptist leader on yoga: Not Christianity

Southern Baptist leader on yoga: Not Christianity - Yahoo! News: Southern Baptist Seminary President Albert Mohler says the stretching and meditative discipline derived from Eastern religions is not a Christian pathway to God. He objects to 'the idea that the body is a vehicle for reaching consciousness with the divine.'

Mohler said feedback has come through e-mail and comments on blogs and other websites since he wrote an essay to address questions about yoga he has heard for years. 'I'm really surprised by the depth of the commitment to yoga found on the part of many who identify as Christians,' Mohler said.

Amnesty International Demands Abortion Decriminalization in Latin America

Amnesty Demands Abortion Decriminalization in Latin America � Catholic Family and Human Rights Institute: Amnesty specifically targeted Chile, El Salvador, and Nicaragua, saying it is “disgraceful” these countries have laws criminalizing abortion in all circumstances. The once abortion-neutral Amnesty International—founded by a Catholic convert in 1961—has emerged as a vocal proponent for abortion. The human rights group received a $1,000,000 grant in 2009 from the Ford Foundation, a long-time proponent of population control that funds organizations that promote abortion and contraception in developing countries.

Why Pro-Abortion Is Anti-Science

Why Pro-Abortion Is Anti-Science - HUMAN EVENTS: It's time to turn the tables and make the case that it’s the pro-abortion stance that is actually anti-science. In the past, abortion supporters simply denied that the fetus is human: “It’s just a blob of tissue.” Today, however, due to advances in genetics and DNA, virtually no ethicist denies that the fetus is human—biologically, genetically, physiologically human. Even the arch-radical Peter Singer acknowledges that “the life of a human organism begins at conception.
How do liberals get around that scientific fact? By denying the relevance of science."

Census data: Weddings in 2009 at record low level

The Associated Press: Census data: Weddings in 2009 at record low level: As the recession shook Americans' confidence last year, new figures show that weddings for people 18 and older dropped to the lowest point in over a hundred years.

Is 'Living in Sin' Still Bad for Your Marriage?

Is 'Living in Sin' Still Bad for Your Marriage? - Newsweek: Sociologists think the calculus may have changed. Part of the difference stems from just who’s deciding to shack up. As cohabiting has come more common across the country, however, the once strong link between “living in sin” and divorce has weakened over time. While some religious groups, such as socially conservative Christians and Orthodox Jews, still frown upon living together before marriage, two thirds of marriages in the U.S. now start as cohabitations.

Get to Know: Canadian Centre for Bioethical Reform

The Canadian Centre for Bioethical Reform is an educational pro-life organization whose mission is to make abortion unthinkable. CCBR conveys the humanity of the unborn and the inhumane nature of abortion through visual displays, as well as trains people how to articulate a scientific and philosophical defense for the position against abortion. CCBR’s activities are designed to change hearts and minds as a precursor to transforming behavior. People are reached at various venues including high schools, universities, churches, public streets, and public gatherings. Videos available:

What are the Pre-born, and when does human life begin?

Isn't abortion permissible in some circumstances like rape, teenage pregnancy, birth defects, or when pregnancy endangers a woman's life?

Don't we all have the right to bodily autonomy?

We want to help women - doesn't abortion do just that?

What is the history of abortion law in Canada?

Is abortion really comparable to the Holocaust?

Tea party, religious right often overlap

Tea party, religious right often overlap, poll shows: A new poll shows that half of those who consider themselves part of the tea party movement also identify as part of the religious right, reflecting the complex - and sometimes contradictory - blend of bedfellows in the American conservative movement.

Charlottesville clergyman says abortion decision “guided” by the Holy Spirit

Perverted pastor: Charlottesville clergyman says abortion “guided” by the Holy Spirit : The Schilling Show Blog: A Charlottesville Presbyterian pastor has made a shocking claim: Decisions to abort a child can be guided by the Holy Spirit. The statement was emailed in reaction to a local pro-lifer’s narrative of innocent babies’ lives spared through peaceful intervention at a Charlottesville abortion clinic.

Couple urged surrogate to abort fetus due to defect

Couple urged surrogate to abort fetus due to defect: When a British Columbia couple discovered that the fetus their surrogate mother was carrying was likely to be born with Down syndrome, they wanted an abortion. The surrogate, however, was determined to take the pregnancy to term, sparking a disagreement that has raised thorny questions about the increasingly common arrangements.

Editor: "Their" surrogate mother?

Stem Cells in Court, Scientists Fear for Careers

Stem Cells in Court, Scientists Fear for Careers - NYTimes.com: Perhaps more than any other field of science, the study of embryonic stem cells has been subject to ethical objections and shaped by political opinion. A lawsuit challenging the use of public money for the research and a conservative shift in Congress could leave the field more sharply restricted than it has been since its inception a decade ago. At stake are about 1,300 jobs, as well as grants from the National Institutes of Health that this year total more than $200 million and support more than 200 projects.

Green Supremacists

Green Supremacists - WSJ.com: There's a new kind of supremacist on the scene: green supremacists. They haven't blown up any children--not in real life. But they've been thinking about it. A British outfit called the 10:10 Campaign produced a four-minute video promoting its effort to encourage people to cut 'carbon emissions.' The result, titled 'No Pressure,' struck James Delingpole, a global-warming skeptic who writes for London's Daily Telegraph, as 'deliciously, unspeakably, magnificently bleeding awful.' He's being too kind.

Adoption Season for Evangelicals

Adoption Season for Evangelicals: A Biblical Mandate to Help Children, Especially Those in Foster Care. - WSJ.com: Last Saturday at Grace Chapel in Denver, Focus on the Family co-hosted an information session for parents interested in adopting children out of the foster-care system. More than 150 families were represented and 55 of those have already begun the process. It was a successful and fitting end for the summer of 2010, which turned into a season of adoption for evangelicals.

2010 voting scorecard for the 111th Congress

FRC Action: FRCAction's scorecard for the 111th Congress includes votes from January, 2009 through August, 2010. The issues included reflect the increasingly bold liberal agenda of this Congress. Votes covered issues from international abortion funding, health care and abortion funding, and multiple nominations in the Senate, such as votes to confirm Justices Judge Sotomayor and Elana Kagan to the Supreme Court.

40 Days for Life Confirms 138 Babies' Lives Saved So Far

40 Days for Life Pro-Life Campaign Results in Saving 138 Babies From Abortion: The national 40 Days for Life campaign continues producing live-saving dividends for the hundreds of cities where local pro-life people are praying and helping women outside abortion centers find alternatives. Organizers say that they can confirm 138 babies have been spared from abortion so far.

Designer babies, with an Indian twist

Designer babies, with an Indian twist: What makes IVF treatments particular to India, though, is that many infertile couples demand egg donors and surrogate mothers of a particular caste and sub-caste when they seek in vitro fertilization treatments or surrogacy services. In contrast to the West, where medical fitness is often a key criterion for choosing egg donors, in India medical checks are done after the family is convinced about the donor or surrogate’s caste background.

Related: Fedex your embryo to India

Embryonic Stem Cell Research Foe Seeks to Market Pro-Life Vaccines

Embryonic Stem Cell Research Foe, Tracy Deisher, Seeks to Market Pro-Life Vaccines | Xconomy: The woman who helped bring the U.S. embryonic stem cell research enterprise to a standstill for a couple weeks this summer is also a Seattle biotech entrepreneur who wants to create what she calls the first pro-life vaccine company.

A conversation with a professor

Not God's Type: A Rational Academic Finds a Radical Faith

Stand to Reason: Holly Ordway should never have become a Christian. A young, highly educated atheist and professor of English, she represents the kind of person that many observers of religion say cannot be converted anymore — a demographic supposedly beyond the reach of the church in postmodern America. Yet through a series of conversations with a wise and patient mentor, Ordway not only became convinced of God's existence, but also embraced Jesus as her Savior and Lord.

In this memoir of her conversion, Ordway turns her analytical mind toward the path that leads from darkness to light — from death to life. Simultaneously encouraging and bracing, she offers a bold testimony to the ongoing power of the Gospel — a Gospel that can humble and transform even self-assured, accomplished, and secular-minded young professionals like herself.

U-M stem cell milestone advances controversy

U-M stem cell milestone advances research, controversy | detnews.com | The Detroit News: Four months ago in a laboratory at the University of Michigan, scientists took a cluster of 30 cells from a five-day-old embryo, put it in a Petri dish and helped it [the cluster, not the embryo] grow. Millions of cells later, the cell cluster has become Michigan's first human embryonic stem cell line that will further the quest to better treat diseases.

Professor unearths a horror: Syphilis experiments in Guatemala

Wellesley professor unearths a horror: Syphilis experiments in Guatemala - The Boston Globe: Picking through musty files in a Pennsylvania archive, a Wellesley College professor made a heart-stopping discovery: US government scientists in the 1940s deliberately infected hundreds of Guatemalans with syphilis and gonorrhea in experiments conducted without the subjects’ permission.

Medical historian Susan M. Reverby happened upon the documents four or five years ago while researching the infamous Tuskegee syphilis study and later shared her findings with US government officials.

The unethical research was not publicly disclosed until yesterday, when President Obama and two Cabinet secretaries apologized to Guatemala’s government and people and pledged to never repeat the mistakes of the past — an era when it was not uncommon for doctors to experiment on patients without their consent.

The "comedy" of fetal personhood

The comedy of "fetal personhood" - Broadsheet - Salon.com: A new ad lampoons these pro-life initiatives by interpreting them literally.

The Ethics Of In Vitro Fertilization

The Ethics Of In Vitro Fertilization : NPR: In 1978, the phrase in-vitro fertilization was something the experts said. The rest of the world spoke of test-tube babies. Newspaper columnists and editorial writers invoked Aldous Huxley's image of baby hatcheries in his dystopian novel 'Brave New World.'

Latest issue of Life Matters now available

Miracle or Mistake? Prenatal diagnoses can be wrong. While many parents depend on them, one woman who had a horrific experience while expecting her daughter, now chooses this approach: "I trust science, but I believe God."

Download and print this piece for inclusion in your church bulletin. (Be sure to select 'none' from the page scaling menu before printing.) Browse past editions on the BFL website.

Divorce — The Scandal of the Evangelical Conscience

Divorce — The Scandal of the Evangelical Conscience: The culture war refers to the struggle to determine laws and customs on a host of moral and political issues that separate Americans into two opposing camps, often presented as the religious right and the secular left. As University of Washington Professor Mark Smith surveyed the front lines of the culture war, he was surprised, not so much by the issues of hot debate and controversy, but by an issue that was obvious for its absence — divorce.

“From the standpoint of simple logic, divorce fits cleanly within the category of ‘family values’ and hence hypothetically could represent a driving force in the larger culture war,” he notes. “If ‘family values’ refers to ethics and behavior that affect, well, families, then divorce obviously should qualify. Indeed, divorce seems to carry a more direct connection to the daily realities of families than do the bellwether culture war issues of abortion and homosexuality.”

Related:

Why Marriage Matters, 2nd edition

Real drawbacks of cohabiting

Bill Gates says vaccines can help reduce world population

Bill Gates says vaccines can help reduce world population: What did Bill Gates mean when he said: 'The world today has 6.8 billion people... that's headed up to about 9 billion. Now if we do a really great job on new vaccines, health care, reproductive health services, we could lower that by perhaps 10 or 15 percent'?

New research could end organ donation

New research could end organ donation: Danish researchers will potentially be able to make organ donating superfluous in the future, following their development of new technology using stem cells. Researchers at Aarhus University have developed an implant that makes it possible to develop any organ in the body by using the patient’s own stem cells. In five to ten years time they expect to be able to grow any type of organ.

Scientists overcome hurdles to stem cell alternatives

Scientists overcome hurdles to stem cell alternatives: Scientists have invented an efficient way to produce apparently safe alternatives to human embryonic stem cells without destroying embryos, a long-sought step toward bypassing the moral morass surrounding one of the most promising fields in medicine. A team of researchers at the Harvard Stem Cell Institute in Boston published a series of experiments Thursday showing that synthetic biological signals can quickly reprogram ordinary skin cells into entities that appear virtually identical to embryonic stem cells. Moreover, the same strategy can then turn those cells into ones that could be used for transplants.

"All I can say is 'wow' - this is a game changer," said Robert Lanza, a stem cell researcher at Advanced Cell Technology in Worcester, Mass. "It would solve some of the most important problems in the field." The results were so striking that the Harvard Stem Cell Institute where Rossi works had already ordered every scientist working on iPS cells to switch to the new process.

"The new report provides a substantial advance," said National Institutes of Health Director Francis S. Collins. "But this research in no way reduces the importance of comparing the resulting iPS cells to human embryonic stem cells. Previous research has shown that iPS cells retain some memory of their tissue of origin, which may have important implications for their use in therapeutics. To explore these important potential differences, iPS research must continue to be conducted side by side with human embryonic cell research."