The Church and Homosexuality: Ten Commitments

The Church and Homosexuality: Ten Commitments – Kevin DeYoung: Of the many complexities involving the church and homosexuality, one of the most difficult is how the former should speak of the latter.

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Democrats Defeat Bill to Ban Sex-Selection Abortions

Democrats Defeat Bill to Ban Sex-Selection Abortions | LifeNews.com: Democrats in the House of Representatives prevented passage of a bill that would ban sex-selection abortions. The legislation needed a two-thirds vote and Democrats voted overwhelmingly against the legislation after President Barack Obama and Planned Parenthood came out in opposition.

With a 246-168 vote, the bill did not obtain the two-thirds majority necessary to pass. Republicans voted for the bill on a 226-7 margin while Democrats opposed banning sex-selection abortions on 161-20 vote margin.

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Guess Who Else Opposes Sex-Selective Abortions? Hillary Clinton.

Guess Who Else Opposes Sex-Selective Abortions? Hillary Clinton.: Hillary Clinton told the New York Times in 2009, in a special issue titled “Saving the World’s Women,” that she is uncomfortable with the practice of female infanticide and abortion.

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The Logic Cop Says It’s a Human Baby

The Logic Cop Says It’s a Human Baby: President Obama clearly believes and supports the theory that the lives of pre-born infants are subject to the choices of society’s democratic process. He obviously chooses not to believe that a living human being is purposefully killed in the abortion procedure. Since this is the case, why does he call for us to “reduce the number of women seeking abortions”? There is something wrong with this logic.

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Planned Parenthood Action Fund launches $1.7 million ad campaign attacking Romney

Planned Parenthood Action Fund launches $1.7 million ad campaign attacking Romney - ABC News: The political arm of Planned Parenthood officially endorsed President Barack Obama on Wednesday, and simultaneously announced a seven-figure ad buy targeting Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney.

Editor: Can you tell a man by his enemies?

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Hypocrites and Inverted Hypocrites: How Republicans and Democrats Send Mixed Messages about Marriage and Family

The Family in America: Newt Gingrich has provided the archetype with a public support for traditional family values and a personal life of infidelity and philandering. Gingrich fits only too well in what one journalistic commentator aptly labels “a long line of conservative Republicans who preach family values . . . but upon further inspection are found to be hypocrites.”

. . . Among Democrats, who at mid-twentieth century constituted the pro-family party, voters have frequently seen what might be called inverted hypocrites: California Senator Barbara Boxer exemplifies this not uncommon political species, reaping the benefits of an enduring marriage and stable family life while indulging in anti-family rhetoric and endorsing anti-family policies.

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Nobody owns his life: an integral defense of life

Nobody owns his life: an integral defense of life | LifeSiteNews.com: Nobody owns his life; no one has the right to euthanasia or assisted suicide. No one has the right to judge if the life of a human person is “not worthy of being lived” and should thus be eliminated.

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‘My suffering was beyond imagination,’ Chen tells CNN

‘My suffering was beyond imagination,’ Chen tells CNN in interview broadcast in China | LifeSiteNews.com: The blind lawyer objected to calling his recent situation “house arrest,” since he had not been charged with a crime during the 19 months he was forced to stay in his home. “When we talk about my situation, in the future, let’s not use the word house arrest, but instead let’s use the term illegal detention,” he said.

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President's position on sex-selection abortion ban

Legislation About Gender Selection and Abortion — Today’s Q for O’s WH – 5/30/2012 - ABC News: White House deputy press secretary Jamie Smith says in a statement: “The Administration opposes gender discrimination in all forms, but the end result of this legislation would be to subject doctors to criminal prosecution if they fail to determine the motivations behind a very personal and private decision. The government should not intrude in medical decisions or private family matters in this way.”

Editor: Not even if they're blatant about it, as in the videos?

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Works and Words: Why you can't preach the Gospel with deeds

Works and Words: Why You Can't Preach the Gospel with Deeds | Christianity Today | A Magazine of Evangelical Conviction: How often do we hear these days, with passion and approval, the famous dictum attributed to Francis of Assisi: "Preach the gospel at all times. Use words if necessary"? . . . At first blush, this sounds right. Except that it isn't.

. . . Some today will claim that there is no true evangelism without "embodied action." In fact, according to one critic, "Unless [Christ's] disciples are following the Great Commandment, it is fruitless to engage in the Great Commission." According to this view, the gospel is without its own potency. Its "fruitfulness" depends upon us.

But this is not the testimony of the New Testament. According to Paul—whose itinerant ministry met few of the "embodied action" criteria—the power of the gospel does not reside in us; it resides in the Spirit's application of the message itself. "I am not ashamed of the gospel," Paul said. Why? Because "it"—the verbal gospel, the "word of the Cross," the Good News of Jesus Christ proclaimed—is "the power of God for salvation" to everyone who believes (Rom. 1:16). So strong was Paul's confidence in the gospel's inherent Spirit-infused power that he could rejoice even when it was being preached, not merely in the absence of "embodied action," but out of overtly sinful motives (Phil. 1:12-18).

Baptists for Life helps the Body of Christ articulate the biblical pro-life message in word and deed.

Sacha Baron-Cohen’s unexpected moment of truth about sex-selective abortion

Sacha Baron-Cohen’s unexpected moment of truth about sex-selective abortion | LifeSiteNews.com: In his newly released film, the shock comic playing a dictator asks his pregnant wife, “Are you having a boy or an abortion?”

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Take Action on PRENDA

The Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission | Take Action: PRENDA, as the Prenatal Nondiscrimination Act  is also known, would make it a federal offense for anyone to perform or to accept payment for an abortion with knowledge that such an abortion is sought on the basis of the sex of an unborn baby. The bill would also make it a federal crime to transport a pregnant woman into the U.S. or across state lines for the purpose of undergoing such an abortion. In addition, individuals who coerce a pregnant woman to abort her baby based on the unborn child’s sex could face prosecution or civil penalties under the bill. A woman who undergoes a sex-selection abortion, however, could not face penalty.

Surprisingly, no federal ban yet exists on this terrible practice. Email your Congressman to urge support for the Prenatal Nondiscrimination Act (H.R. 3541). Or call (202) 224-3121.

Pray for Canada: Historic pro-life motion to face vote June 13th

Canada’s historic pro-life motion to face vote June 13th | LifeSiteNews.com: Conservative MP Steve Woodworth’s historic motion (M-312) to debate the personhood of unborn Canadians in Parliament is set for June 13th. The motion was debated April 26th and is set for a second hour of debate on June 7th at 5:30 p.m. “It is more important than ever that we continue with the momentum generated so far and re-double our efforts,” said Woodworth in an e-mail Tuesday.

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Ominous UK guidelines: Doctors must refer for abortion, perform ‘gender reassignment surgery’

Doctors must refer for abortion, perform ‘gender reassignment surgery’: UK draft guidelines | LifeSiteNews.com: A draft of new guidelines titled “Personal beliefs and medical practice” issued by the UK’s General Medical Council warns doctors that exercising their conscience rights to not prescribe contraceptives, including the abortifacient morning after pill, as well as not referring for abortion or performing “gender reassignment surgery,” could endanger their license to practice.

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Gospel confusion in Christian environmentalism

World magazine: Both Joel Garreau, a professor of law, culture, and values at Arizona State University, and Paul H. Rubin, a professor of economics at Emory University, have written articles titled “Environmentalism as religion,” pointing out how environmentalists tend to borrow from other established faiths.

. . . But while many now regard environmentalism as a separate religion, it is its growing influence on Christianity and its intentional infiltration of churches—targeting youth especially, through organizations like Interfaith Power & Light—that should gain our attention. And it’s not only liberal Christians who are becoming religious environmentalists—some professed evangelicals are also joining their ranks.

. . . As Martin Luther long ago taught in launching the Reformation, the grammar of the gospel is indicative—it states what God has done. The grammar of the law is imperative—it states what God requires us to do. “Take good care of the Earth” is imperative. It’s a true obligation, but that’s precisely what makes it law, not gospel. “Christ died for our sins, was buried, and rose again from the dead” is indicative. It’s gospel.

Unabridged version here

Related:
Cornwall Alliance
Mayor who called pro-lifers ‘forces of darkness’ tells seminarians to ‘save the earth’

First patients receive eye stem cell transplants in attempt to restore sight

BioNews - First patients receive eye stem cell transplants in attempt to restore sight: Two patients with corneal blindness have become the first people in the UK to have stem cells transplanted into their eyes in order to restore their sight. Patients have scarred and damaged parts of their corneas removed from their eyes before the stem cell transplant takes place. The stem cells are grown from deceased donors' eye tissue for around two weeks prior to the three-hour operation. Doctors are 'very impressed' with the results so far. It is hoped the procedure will not only be used to restore sight in people with debilitating eye diseases, but also to treat those born blind.

Editor: Meanwhile, we're still waiting on the results of embryonic stem cell transplants.

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Post-Abortion Trauma in Men Still Overlooked

Post-Abortion Trauma in Men Still Overlooked: [More than thirty] years have passed since the legalization of abortion in the United States. In those years, numerous studies have documented the potential negative effects of abortion on women. The effects of abortion on men however have been largely ignored by both the scientific community and American society.

Related:
A Father's Worst Nightmare - page 4
Forgotten Fathers and Their Unforgettable Children

Impact of Abortion on Men

Men Can Be Victims of Coercion, Too
That day ripped my gut out: A man's story

For men: Healing resources, information and articles

Editor: Not all post-abortion resources are created equal. Look for ministries with a distinctly evangelistic bent, as opposed to psychological or mystical. The resources I recommend are Living in His Forgiveness and Healing a Father's Heart.

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SPUC Evangelicals presents award to George Verwer, a humble pro-life hero

John Smeaton, SPUC director: SPUC Evangelicals presents award to George Verwer, a humble pro-life hero: George Verwer is the Founder and former International Director of Operation Mobilisation (OM), which is a ministry of evangelism, discipleship training and church planting. George led OM for over 40 years before stepping down in August 2003.

George has a burning concern for vital, propagating and revolutionary Christianity in his own life and in those he meets. In George's modern version of the parable of the Good Samaritan, he includes the unborn in his list of seven groups of people lying at the side of the road and he challenges Christians not to ignore them. Through OM, George distributes free of charge tens of thousands of books and DVDs about the unborn around the world.

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Man Arrested for Selling "Roasted Fetuses" for Good Luck

Man Arrested for Selling "Roasted Fetuses" for Good Luck | LifeNews.com: Chow Hok Kuen, 28, faces charges of hiding and covering dead bodies and a jail term of up to a year if convicted and sentenced to the maximum. The arrest followed a tip police received about a website Chow operated that advertise the sale of the “roasted fetuses,” according to CNN. Police eventually searched his hotel room and found six unborn children in total in a box inside his luggage. Chow said that he planned to sell fetuses in Taiwan and that one could be worth up to 200,000 Thai baht, or $6,300, police said. He told police that the black magic rituals with fetuses are believed to bring good fortune for business-people. Police say it’s unclear where the fetuses came from.

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U.S. House to vote on curbing “war on baby girls”

U.S. House to vote on curbing “war on baby girls” | NRL News Today: The bill would make it an offense, punishable by up to five years imprisonment, to knowingly do any one of the following four things:  (1) perform an abortion “knowing that such abortion is sought based on the sex or gender of the child”; (2) use “force or threat of force. . . for the purpose of coercing a sex-selection abortion”; (3) solicit or accept funds to perform a sex-selection abortion; or (4) transport a woman into the U.S. or across state lines for this purpose.

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The Mysterious Embryonic Stem Cell: ESCR findings proof of intelligent design?

The Mysterious Embryonic Stem Cell - Evolution News & Views: "In any other context, we would consider this type of complexity, with a program that tells the components what do and when to do it, a hallmark of the most sophisticated engineering. Those kinds of instructions do not just arise in a kind of add-on or co-opted Darwinian method. The more we delve into the inner working of the cell, the more we see how complicated it is -- complicated in a way that suggests purpose and design."

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Mayor who called pro-lifers ‘forces of darkness’ tells seminarians to ‘save the earth’

Mayor who called pro-lifers ‘forces of darkness’ tells seminarians to ‘save the earth’ | LifeSiteNews.com: The mayor who referred to pro-life activists as “the forces of darkness” told the graduating class at a Presbyterian seminary it has a duty to preserve the environment. “Our hands, our actions are destroying the world, and our hands and actions must save the earth,” George Heartwell, the mayor of Grand Rapids and an ordained minister in the United Church of Christ, told graduates of Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary, a school affiliated with the Presbyterian Church (USA).

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Christians, Muslims, Buddhists unite to fight legalization of abortion on isle of Mauritius

Christians, Muslims, Buddhists unite to fight legalization of abortion on isle of Mauritius | LifeSiteNews.com: Catholics and Anglicans in the island nation of Mauritius have organized a common front against legislation under debate to legalize abortion, while United Nations bureaucrats and the “human rights” group Amnesty International are urging the government to approve the bill. The two religious groups have also joined with representatives of other religions, including Muslims and Buddhists, to create the “Platform for Life,” an umbrella group that affirms the fundamental value of human life.

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About-Face

About-Face: "Those who persecute us (not really us, but what we believe about the sanctity of life), are not really the problem. The real enemy is carnal thought, secular humanism, the ways of the world, and all the powers of spiritual darkness. As one who was a willing and enthusiastic partner in all of that, I can tell you I was innocently duped into believing I was right. In a way, I was brainwashed to be ignorant of the glory of God. My faith was in the ability of man to make right that which was wrong. The problem was, I didn't know God's right and God's wrong."

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German doctors apologize for Holocaust horrors

MSNBC: The German Medical Association has issued a remarkably blunt and straightforward apology, more than six decades after the end of World War II, for the role it played during the Holocaust in the mass murder, sterilization and barbaric medical experiments done on Jews and many other groups.

Unanimously adopted by the delegates of the Physician's Congress, the declaration makes no excuses and says that contrary to popular belief doctors were not forced by political authorities to kill and experiment on prisoners but rather engaged in the Holocaust as leaders and enthusiastic Nazi supporters.

The apology notes that “outstanding representatives of renowned academic medical and research institutions were involved” in organizing and carrying out the mass extermination of millions. In the history of apologies for crimes and abuses carried out in the name of medicine this is the most important ever made.

How Well Do You Know Your Bible? New Game Show About THE BIBLE

How Well Do You Know Your Bible? New Game Show About THE BIBLE Makes Television History This August!: “The American Bible Challenge” is criss-crossing America scouting potential players who want to win money for their favorite charity. Individual players or teams of up to three people who have competitive spirits, great personal testimonies, and of course know their bible are encouraged to try out.

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Hundreds of UK teens have had two abortions

Hundreds of teens have had two abortions: figures show - Telegraph: Pro-life campaigners said young women were being "let down in an appalling way" after it emerged three of the 38,269 teenagers who had a termination in 2010 had undergone the procedure at least seven times.

Get to know the special risks that teens face from abortion

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Why Facebook Removed Photos of a Baby

Her.meneutics: Why Facebook Removed Photos of a Baby: The site’s banning of photos of Heather Walker’s dying infant reveals a culture terrified of death. Facebook later explained the photos were removed after being reported by other site users. The social networking site has since apologized and reinstated the mother's account.

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Fear that Google and Apple gag Christians?

Video: fear that Google and Apple gag Christians | News | The Christian Institute: National Religious Broadcasters says internet giants have used their power to “block viewpoints they don’t agree with.” According to a NRB report published in September, Apple “committed the most obvious acts of anti-Christian censorship on new media platforms. “It has 425,000 apps on its iTunes App Store, yet the only ones blocked on a viewpoint basis have been apps that contain Christian content.”

In 2008 Google banned The Christian Institute from placing a factual advert about the UK’s abortion laws, although it allowed equivalent ads for non-religious organisations.

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Redefining marriage would be ‘huge social experiment’

Redefining marriage would be ‘huge social experiment’ | News | The Christian Institute: Redefining marriage would be a “huge social experiment, in which the guinea pigs are children,” a Free Church of Scotland report has warned. The official report also cautioned that the Scottish Government is “legitimising and encouraging the existence of fatherless or motherless children” through its plans to redefine marriage.

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Why Civic Engagement Belongs in Every Church's Mission Statement

Why Civic Engagement Belongs in Every Church's Mission Statement | This Is Our City | Christianity Today: Michael Decker wants to make the name of Jesus famous in Costa Mesa, California. How? By caring for his city's people, their leaders, and their place. In 1995, when he was invited by Costa Mesa's chief of police to volunteer as a police chaplain, Decker became attuned to the value—indeed the calling—of all Christians to see their civic engagement in light of the social responsibility entailed by the gospel.

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The Indian town where female foetuses 'are being fed to dogs to hide rampant gender genocide'

Daily Mail: The sickening practice was exposed in the town of Beed, in Maharashtra - the state with the worst child sex ratio in the country. So-called gender genocide was blamed for last year's appalling census figures, which showed that just 801 girls were being born for every 1,000 boys. By keeping dogs, doctors can get rid of bodies without having to dispose of them through official channels. It means that the true extent of illegal sex-selection abortion in the town - and elsewhere in India - is being hidden

The shocking revelation was made by Varsha Deshpande of Lek Ladki Abhiyan, a charity working against the practice. She claimed her organisation had conducted a sting operation Dr Sudam Munde in 2010, in which he openly talked about how he was aborting female foetuses and feeding them to his five dogs. It was then that the police had arrested him, but he was released soon and continued with his activities.

Human Rights Watch: End Abortion Ban for Military Women

Human Rights Watch: US: End Abortion Ban for Military Women: According to Human Rights Watch (the group that touts Chen Guangcheng as a hero but doesn't recognize the content of his dissent, "The US government should allow US servicewomen who are rape survivors to make their own decisions about their pregnancies. On May 24, 2012, the US Senate Armed Services Committee will consider a proposal under a military funding bill that would end the ban on military insurance coverage for abortion in cases of rape and incest."

Editor: Let's see what's wrong with this statement. First, there is no ban on abortions for military women. There is only a ban on tax dollars paying for them. Women in the military can decide to have abortions, they just have to pay for them themselves. How about my rights as a tax-payer? Why should you take away my right to decide what I want to subsidize?

Young Evangelicals Still at War? A Review of 'A Faith of Our Own'

Young Evangelicals Still at War? A Review of 'A Faith of Our Own' | Christianity Today | A Magazine of Evangelical Conviction: Jonathan Merritt suggests that today's Christians "believe we can call a truce in the culture wars while remaining faithful to Christ." Merritt's solution is a de-partisanized Christianity that remains politically active and a broadened political agenda that remains dubious about the trappings and temptations of political power that ensnared the culture war generation of Christians.

. . . Merritt suggests that Christians today are moving "beyond politics," but they must also "advocate for policies that punish injustice, restrain evil, and promote a healthier society." All true enough. What he does not provide is a meaningful reconciliation between Christianity and politics, or any way of helping people know which policies they should advocate in light of their Christian commitments and understanding of justice (which are not, for most of us, as disconnected as they might seem).

What's more, Merritt clearly (and rightly) thinks we should subordinate politics to our Christian beliefs—but his practical recommendations frequently take shape against those he believes have gotten it wrong. As he puts it, "Rejecting the labels and even the culture wars themselves, many of today's Christians are carving out a new path down the middle of the public square." What being in the middle looks like depends upon what happens at the fringes. It is one thing to be a political independent; it is another to know how to enjoy that independence and use it responsibly. Merritt has eloquently advocated the former, but left the latter ambiguous.

. . .   The world will probably have to wait at least one more generation before evangelicals, having properly escaped its grasp, can look back at the stunted partisanship of the past and see it only as a cautionary tale, a relic, rather than something that is yet to be transcended.

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Obama could have a prayer among Ohio's white evangelicals

White evangelical voters in Ohio could leave Obama an in - Los Angeles Times: The Rev. Chris Beard is a theological conservative, make no mistake about it. He believes the Bible is the word of God. He believes the Holy Spirit speaks to him directly. He believes, as an article of faith, that abortion and same-sex marriage are wrong.

White evangelical voters are widely presumed to march in lock step with the right wing of the Republican Party. The reality is more nuanced. Some, like Beard, say their faith has led them to question conservative orthodoxy on issues such as immigration, the environment and racial and economic equity. "Evangelicals," he said, "are quickly discovering the whole Gospel. And that has implications for how we engage the public sphere."

Editor: This sounds a lot more like "white guilt." Funny how some pastors have only now just discovered biblical justice -- in time to overthrow concern for unborn babies, the ultimate victims of injustice. I'd like to know if this pastor's church has been supporting the local pregnancy care center all these years. Or not.


Related on this blog: 

D.C. pastor tries to balance spiritual and political roles

An Open Letter to Young, “Post-Partisan” Evangelicals
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Southern Baptist churches shift positions on abortion

Churches shift positions on abortion | The Tennessean | tennessean.com: Two years before the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Roe v. Wade, the largest Protestant group in the United States made a powerful statement on abortion. The Southern Baptist Convention wanted to make it legal.

The members of the convention listed in a 1971 resolution when it should be allowed: “rape, incest, clear evidence of severe fetal deformity, and carefully ascertained evidence of the likelihood of damage to the emotional, mental, and physical health of the mother.”

Three years later, they affirmed that statement and, recognizing the complexities of contemporary society, asked for “God’s guidance through prayer and study in order to bring about solutions to continuing abortion problems in our society.”

By 1980, the middle ground was gone. The Southern Baptists now supported a U.S. constitutional amendment banning abortion except to save a mother’s life.

Learn more about Baptist churches in abortion history

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D.C. pastor tries to balance spiritual and political roles

D.C. pastor tries to balance spiritual and political roles - The Washington Post: To Derrick Harkins, pastor of 19th St. Baptist Church in DC and DNC point man on religion, much of the Democratic platform is about “being our brother’s keeper [and] compassion.” He added that the party “doesn’t revolve around one or two hot-button issues. I think we need to understand that values are not the property of one party. I reject the premise that one party is of the greater value than the other.”

When Harkins was appointed by the DNC in October, some Democrats questioned the choice. Nevertheless, prominent gay leaders in the party spoke out in his support. In an e-mail published last year by the Washington Blade, Harkins called himself “a strong defender of the rights of all people, including LGBT people. I consistently state, from the pulpit and elsewhere, that there is never a time when words or actions that dehumanize or marginalize any individual have a place in our life as a church and faith community,” Harkins wrote.

Editor: What about the unborn individual?

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Republicans Told Not to Support Pro-Abortion 9th Circuit Judicial Nominee

Republicans Told Not to Support Pro-Abortion Judicial Nominee | LifeNews.com: David Hurwitz was instrumental to providing some of the legal framework for Roe, which resulted in 54 million abortions. In a law review paper published in 2002, Hurwitz takes partial credit for drafting opinions as a law clerk that the Supreme Court would later use to frame its landmark decision in Roe v. Wade.

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Sourcing stem cells from breast milk

Sourcing stem cells from breast milk - Foteini Hassiotou › Meet a Scientist (ABC Science): Could this be a solution to the ethical dilemma of using human embryonic stem cells to treat human diseases?

Related:

• New Stem Cell Found in Brain: Finding Could Be Key to Developing Methods to Heal and Repair Brain Injury and Disease
• Whirling dervish stem cells may help hearts
• Researchers hope to use direct cell reprogramming to treat heart attacks
• Adult stem cells protect brain cancer patients from chemotherapy
• Scottish researchers treat corneal disease with stem cells

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Dolan: White House is "strangling" Catholic church

Dolan: White House is "strangling" Catholic church - CBS News: The spat between Catholic leaders and the Obama administration over its contraception policies is heating up again, with one of the nation's most prominent Catholic leaders charging that the White House is "strangling" the church over the matter.

Editor: For the record, Jesus said His church can't possibly be strangled by one nation's leader. Matthew 16:18 says even "the gates of hell shall not prevail against it."

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Why Americans are becoming more pro-life

Why Americans are becoming more pro-life - Guest Voices - The Washington Post: The polling shows that rather than embracing abortion with increasing gusto, Americans--especially young Americans--are rejecting it with increasing disgust, and not just for religious reasons. Why?

1. First, the fetus has been humanized. Modern science has helped us to understand with intricate detail the amazing phenomenon that occurs at the moment of fertilization.
2. Second, we have seen the way abortion is used in the world to undermine the rights of women, whether it is forced abortion in China, gender-selective abortion worldwide or its concentration among poor and minority women.
3. Finally, the pro-life movement has caught on to the importance of framing. You can’t win a debate if you are trying to take away the “rights” of a group.

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Parents Reject Abortion of One Twin, Save Both Babies

Parents Reject Abortion of One Twin, Save Both Babies | LifeNews.com: After she finally got pregnant through in vitro fertilization, it was discovered that the babies were not growing at the same rate, due to twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome. Byron was getting most of the nutrition and was three times the size of Lincoln. The Rymans were given two options by the doctors: to continue the pregnancy of both twins, or to abort Lincoln in hopes of saving Byron. According to Mr. Ryman, the latter wasn’t an option:

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An Open Letter to Young, “Post-Partisan” Evangelicals

David French blogs: "[M]y nonpartisanship had a steep price. I could be pro-life, but not too pro-life. You see, if you’re too pro-life; if you talk about too much, then you can’t be post-partisan. One political party is completely dedicated to legal protection of abortion on demand. The other political party is completely dedicated to repealing Roe v. Wade. If you talk too much about abortion, others will define you, and if you’re defined how can you be independent?

"'No problem,' my hip inner voice said. Pro-life is really whole life. Anti-poverty programs, environmental advocacy — that’s all ‘pro-life’ in the broad sense, right? Can’t I be pro-life and maintain my independence?But my rational inner voice quickly rebelled. If I’m 'whole life' without talking about unborn children then I’m functionally pro-abortion, but if I’m “whole life” and bring unborn children into that conversation in any meaningful way, then I’m right back where I started. Besides, the effect on life of driving a Prius over a pickup truck can’t be measured with a (metaphorical) electron microscope. But if an abortion clinic shuts down or a young mom is persuaded not to abort, a real live human being is born — a person of incalculable worth. Yes, I want them to grow and flourish in a just society, and yes I want them to have economic opportunity. But it’s tough to enjoy justice and opportunity when you’re dead.

". . . [Then] I discovered something shocking: there aren’t that many of us. (What’s that? Are you telling me that Christians aren’t obsessed with gays and abortion? That’s what all the polls say!) As I traveled around the country and spoke at churches, Tea Party rallies, and conferences, I realized that the number of Christians who truly fight the culture war is quite small. How small? In 2011, I researched the budgets of the leading culture war organizations and compared them to the leading Christian anti-poverty organizations. . . .

"Christians are overwhelmingly focused with their money and their time on the poor, not on culture war issues. Then why are Christians portrayed differently? Because the media is obsessed with the sexual revolution and demonizes dissent. If news outlets focus on Christians only when engaged on culture war issues and ignores the much more extensive work we do for the poor in Africa, in Asia, and at home, then it’s no wonder the wider world sees us as politically-obsessed. Anyone who believes that Christians are in control of their own public image does not understand how public perceptions are created in this country. No one is in total control of their own image and reputation. Not even the President — and shame on me for not realizing that in my days of naive rage."

Related, by Albert Mohler: The Bible condemns a lot, but here's why we focus on homosexuality

Pro-Abortionists unsuccessfully try to finesse latest Gallup poll

Pro-Abortionists unsuccessfully try to finesse great news from latest Gallup poll | NRL News Today: NY Times editor Andrew Rosenthal looks at the truth that 51% believe abortion is “morally wrong” versus 38% who say it’s “morally acceptable “and comes to the not-illogical conclusion that some who find abortion morally wrong say they will accept abortion. He calls them the “immoral-but-legal community.” Put more of your energies there, Rosenthal advises, rather than “advancing the privacy rights argument.”

The problem for Rosenthal is that when asked a follow up question, those who said abortion should be legal under “certain circumstances” are much closer to the pro-life than pro-abortion position.

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Abortion and the Failed War on Women

Abortion and the Failed War on Women « Commentary Magazine: "Recent polls have shown that the Democrats’ efforts to use social issues to help demonize Republicans and mobilize support for President Obama’s re-election are flopping. The gender gap between the parties is evaporating rather than getting wider, as liberals had hoped."

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President Obama: The best thing to happen to the pro-life movement in years?

President Obama: The best thing to happen to the pro-life movement in years? | LifeSiteNews.com: "Before you stone me for defending the most pro-abortion president United States history, consider the complacency that prevailed when we had political leaders who were seemingly more pro-life. It was easier to sit back and just say “abortion is bad. Don’t have one.” But we went on about our days. Little vision drove us; little reality sunk in."

Editor: Same thing happened under President Clinton.

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UK moves to extend free IVF to women up to 42, same-sex couples, cancer patients

UK moves to extend free IVF to women up to 42, same-sex couples, cancer patients - The Washington Post: The British health system generally pays for up to three cycles of in-vitro fertilization, or IVF, for couples who have been trying to get pregnant for at least three years. Previously, women had to be under age 40 to qualify. Many government-funded clinics already treat gay and lesbian couples, but the recommendations now make that explicit, though they are not binding. The guidelines are likely to affect only a minority of patients and it will be up to hospitals to decide whether to pay for IVF treatments.

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Skin Cells Become Beating Heart Tissue

Skin Cells Become Beating Heart Tissue » Secondhand Smoke | A First Things Blog: Good ethics and good science are an unbeatable combination.  For example, I believe that in part due to President Bush’s keeping the focus on the value of human embryonic life, scientists looked for ways to get the hoped for benefits of embryonic stem cells, without destroying or cloning embryos. This led to the induced pluripotent stem cell breakthrough that takes normal cells, changes them to stem cells, and thence into other types of tissue. Now, an important IPSC study has shown that skin cells made into cardiac cells function well in the heart.

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The Morning Center Fundraiser at Northside Baptist Charlotte

The Morning Center Fundraiser at Northside Baptist Charlotte! | The Biblical Counseling Moment: A pregnant woman who chooses life for her child needs a caring community of support. Far too often the Christians who urged her not to abort can offer nothing more for health care than a government aid form.

It is time for Christians to provide loving, personalized maternity care in Jesus’ Name, to anyone who needs it—free of charge. The Morning Center hospital and mobile care unit project is the next step in the pro-life movement. Together, we can bring a new day in maternity care and lavish the love of Jesus Christ on women and unborn children who desperately need it.

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I had an abortion in 1979 and I still remember my baby’s ‘birthday’

Video: I had an abortion in 1979 and I still remember my baby’s ‘birthday’ | LifeSiteNews.com: Lisa said her husband wanted to keep the baby, but ultimately agreed to her decision. Today, she says she takes comfort in the idea that God forgives. “God forgives. He forgives over and over again. I had to pray about it. And I had to move on,” she said. “I think God forgives and I will be fine.”

See also: I killed two of my children: fifteen years later and silent no more

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Evangelicals respond to Catholic lawsuits: ‘We are all Catholic now'

Evangelicals respond to Catholic lawsuits:  ‘We are all Catholic now’ | LifeSiteNews.com: The Obama administration’s HHS mandate has united Christians of all stripes – evangelical, historical Protestant, and Roman Catholic – as they close ranks behind a flurry of lawsuits filed yesterday morning to overturn the controversial measure and stall government interference in religion. After 43 Catholic institutions – including the major archdioceses, dioceses, universities, and publishing houses affiliated with the Church in the United States – filed a dozen lawsuits to strike the measure down on First Amendment grounds, the Christian and conservative communities quickly applauded the move.

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Get to Know: Churches 4 Life

Churches 4 Life | Pure Path: Churches4Life.com is a creative resource to unit the body of Christ around the gospel on the platform of the sanctity of human life. PurePathOnline.com in association with Crisis Pregnancy Centers have developed creative resources along with sermon outlines to give tools to Pastor’s and church leader’s desiring to unit with other churches to define, declare and defend the sanctity of human life. We are committed to coming along side of your local community of believers as you work to inform, educate and train up disciples of Jesus. All of these resources are free of charge to you. Download Churches 4 Life today!

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Percentage of Pro-Abortion Americans Drops to Record Low

LifeNews: A new Gallup survey out today finds the percentage of Americans who identify them selves as supporting legalized abortion has dropped to a record low. “The 41% of Americans who now identify themselves as “pro-choice” is down from 47% last July and is one percentage point below the previous record low in Gallup trends, recorded in May 2009,” the polling firm noted. On the other hand, 51 percent of Americans call themselves pro-life, one percentage point away from the record high.

Solid Case Against Birth Control Mandate?

Solid Case Against Birth Control Mandate? « Commentary Magazine: More than 40 religious institutions, included Catholic universities and charities, filed simultaneous lawsuits against the Obama administration’s birth control mandate yesterday, As The Hill reports, the biggest threat to the mandate in court is a 1993 religious freedom law, which was originally introduced by the late Sen. Ted Kennedy and then-Rep. Chuck Schumer, of all people.

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Poll: 77% Support Laws Banning Sex-Selection Abortions

Poll: 77% Support Laws Banning Sex-Selection Abortions | LifeNews.com: A new poll conducted by the Lozier Institute found that 77% of respondents would support the enactment of laws prohibiting abortion in cases where “the fact that the developing baby is a girl is the sole reason for seeking an abortion.” Illinois, Pennsylvania, Oklahoma and Arizona already have laws on the books which prohibit this practice, according to the Lozier Institute.

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US high court: twins can't claim dead dad's benefits

Jewish World Review: US high court: twins can't claim dead dad's benefits: The US Supreme Court ruled Monday that twins conceived through in vitro fertilization after the death of their father cannot claim survivor benefits. Karen Capato gave birth to twins 18 months after her husband died from cancer in 2002 using sperm he froze after being diagnosed with cancer. The US Social Security system defers to state law when deciding whether to award claims for benefits to heirs conceived posthumously in the absence of a will. In this particular case, the dead man's will made no mention of the twins but named his spouse, their son and two children from a previous marriage.

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The Weaker Parts

The Weaker Parts | Dr. Georgia Purdom's Blog: Paul says, “Those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable” (1 Corinthians 12:22). Think about that in relation to those with disabilities: those we consider “weak” are indispensable in the body of Christ. Paul, an amazingly intelligent and gifted man, considered those who are “weak” to be indispensable. Not just “a good part of the body that we’re happy to have along,” but indispensable. Meaning the Body of Christ can’t function without them.

Video: The Sanctity of Life of Those With Disabilities

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Obama Made A Strong First Impression With Abortion Apologist

Obama Made A Strong First Impression At Harvard : NPR: Obama went on to work for Laurence Tribe on articles and books, including one called Abortion: The Clash of Absolutes. Tribe recalls that his research assistant tried to find a way out of deeply entrenched lines of the abortion debate, focusing instead on education and access to birth control. "It's as though he was looking not just for a point in the middle of a spectrum, but for a line that was perpendicular, so that one could get outside the tragic choice." The two have remained close, with Tribe serving as a mentor and informal adviser to the president over the years.

Editor: Indeed, President Obama received special thanks in the acknowledgments, among other students.

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What the hearing on the “District of Columbia Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act” tells us about abortion and abortionists

What the hearing on the “District of Columbia Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act” tells us about abortion and abortionists Part One of Four | NRL News Today: What the bill would accomplish can be described almost clinically: it would ban abortions on pain-capable unborn children, beginning at 20 weeks fertilization age (22 weeks LMP) in the District of Columbia. But what it would mean in reality—in flesh and blood—cannot be genuinely appreciated unless you take the time to read prepared testimony and/or to watch the video of the oral testimony of three physicians.

This is Part One. Parts two, three, and four highlight portions of the testimony of Anthony Levatino, M.D., Colleen Malloy, M.D., and Byron Calhoun, M.D., respectively.
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Business Before Medicine

Business Before Medicine | After Abortion: Abortion in America is a commodity, bought and sold for the supposed “benefit” of the buyer and the profit of the seller. Though abortion utilizes medical knowledge, it is not medical — that is, abortions are not prescribed in order to heal the body or cure illness. Even in rare cases where serious medical problems do exist because of the pregnancy, abortion is still not good medicine. Given the physical and psychological risks of this procedure, an informed and truly “conscientious physician” would never prescribe a direct abortion.

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Palliative Sedation Not = To Terminal Sedation/Euthanasia

Wesley J. Smith: The pro-euthanasia crowd intentionally and wrongfully conflates palliative sedation – that is sedating a dying patient at the end of life who is experiencing intractable pain or symptoms – with both euthanasia – fast killing the patient – and terminal sedation – slow killing the patient by inducing coma and withdrawing food and water. A good piece in the Journal of Pain & Palliative Care Pharmacotherapy (201 2;26:30-39) shatters that lie. First, it notes that in palliative sedation, the point is to use the least amount of sedative to accomplish the needed palliation. From “Review of Palliative Sedation and Its Distinction From Euthanasia and Lethal Injection:”

Ideally, the level of palliative sedation is provided in a fashion that is titrated to a minimal level that permits the patient to tolerate unbearable symptoms, yet the patient can continue to periodically communicate…The three most common levels of providing PS include mild, intermediate, and deep. When mild sedation is used, the patient is awake and the level of consciousness is lowered to a somnolent state, withverbal or nonverbal communication still possible. With intermediate sedation, the patient is asleep or stuporous and can still be awakened to communicate briefly. The third level is deep sedation, which refers to the patient being near or in complete unconsciousness and does not communicate verbally or nonverbally. Besides regulating the degree of sedation, palliative sedation may also be provided intermittently or continuously…

The points to take away from the above are 1) palliative sedation is individualized to the patient’s needs, 2) the point isn’t to end the life of the patient, and 3) levels of sedation may vary in the same patient from time to time. In contrast, euthanasia kills the patientwith a lethal injection. And “terminal sedation” is merely the imposition of coma and withdrawing artificial nutrition and hydration, sometimes without actual medical need and/or to make it easier for care givers–as in the much abused Liverpool Care Pathway in the UK.

Family hangs hope for boy on unproven ESCR therapy in India

Family hangs hope for boy on unproven therapy in India - CNN.com: Cash Burnaman, a 6-year-old South Carolina boy, has traveled with his parents to India seeking treatment for a rare genetic condition that has left him developmentally disabled. You might think this was a hopeful mission until you learn that an overwhelming number of medical experts insist the treatment will have zero effect.

Cash is mute. He walks with the aid of braces. To battle his incurable condition, his divorced parents have journeyed to the other side of the globe and paid tens of thousands of dollars to have Cash undergo experimental injections of human embryonic stem cells. The family is among a growing number of Americans seeking the treatment in India -- some at a clinic in the heart of New Delhi called NuTech Mediworld run by Dr. Geeta Shroff, a retired obstetrician and self-taught embryonic stem cell practitioner.

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Michael Steele: Doesn't make sense for the NAACP to side with Planned Parenthood

Michael Steele | Planned Parenthood | Abortion | The Daily Caller: Steele said that the organization’s partnership with Planned Parenthood in particular should to be brought to light. He said Planned Parenthood historically worked to “eliminate and limit the number of African-Americans and other minorities in this country. . . to me it’s just beyond the pale.”

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Briton arrested in Thailand after being found with six roasted human foetuses

Independent: Reports says the six foetuses had been covered in gold leaf after being roasted as part of a black magic ritual. Police made the arrest after responding to information they'd received saying that infant corpses were being offered to wealthy clients via a black magic services website. "The bodies are of children between the ages of two and seven months. Some were found covered in gold leaf," Wiwat Kumchumnan, sub-division chief of the police's Children and Women Protection unit, said. For being in possession of the foetuses Chow Hok Kuen could now face a 2,000 baht fine and a year in prison.

I thought I was pro-life but God told me I had the ‘spirit of abortion’

I thought I was pro-life but God told me I had the ‘spirit of abortion’ | LifeSiteNews.com: Sarah realized that she had become a victim of the logic of contraception without even realizing it. As a consequence of her humbling experience with God, Sarah turned to the Catholic Church for answers and eventually became Catholic along with her now-husband Brandon. They now have two children and are hoping for more.

Editor: Hmmm. So many things I could say about this.

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Chen Guangcheng arrives in U.S.

Chen Guangcheng arrives in U.S.: ‘I hope everyone will help me promote justice in China’ | LifeSiteNews.com: In remarks at New York University, where a fellowship had been offered to Chen as a means of leaving China, the self-taught lawyer expressed his gratitude to the U.S. embassy, those of Switzerland, Canada, and France, which had expressed their support for Chen, thanking “especially friends in the media” and Internet, and “common citizens of the United States who have expressed their support.”

Chen was quick to remind the crowd that, although his immediate family is safe for now, the fates of his extended family and friends remains uncertain, especially that of his nephew Chen Kegui, who has been arrested for “intentional homicide” after defending his family from Chinese officials in a night raid on his home in Shandong Province.

See also Chen Guangcheng’s Flight to Freedom
Testimony of Mei Shunping, Victim of Forced Abortion in China

Editor: A quick scan of The Daily Beast showed that not once in all of its diligent reporting on Chen's ordeal it did not once mention forced abortion -- the reason for his dissent.

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Rise in surrogate pregnancies raises ethical concerns

Rise in surrogate pregnancies raises ethical concerns :: Catholic News Agency (CNA): An increase in the practice of surrogate pregnancy is leading to health risks, ethical concerns and a problematic understanding of the family, warns the founder of a bioethics organization. Because people are “uninformed about the reality” of surrogate pregnancy, they have “uncritically accepted it as good technology,” said Jennifer Lahl, president of the California-based Center for Bioethics and Culture Network.

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Truth, Love, and Live Action

Truth, Love, and Live Action « Public Discourse: The pro-life cause must be advanced by truth and by love, and it must be willing to engage in self-criticism when it fails to meet its own exacting standards.

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Why Chen fights, and why U.S. abortion rights supporters should care

Why Chen fights, and why U.S. abortion rights supporters should care - She The People - The Washington Post: The cause that human rights activist Chen Guangcheng has so long championed is often glossed over in this country, where we tend to focus on how cool it is that a blind guy scaled a fence and escaped his captors like some kind of action hero. But Mei Shunping spelled out the gory particulars for the House Committee on Foreign Affairs subcommittee on Africa, Global Health and Human Rights.

On a monthly basis, she told those of us in the hearing room, she and all other female employees in the textile factory where she worked were subjected to humiliating physical exams to document that they weren’t pregnant; otherwise, under China’s one-child policy, they weren’t paid. And when any woman not approved for childbearing was even suspected of missing a period, co-workers were quick to inform on her, because when one became illegally pregnant, all were punished."

Editor: A quick scan of The Daily Beast showed that not once in all of its diligent reporting on Chen's ordeal it did not once mention forced abortion -- the reason for his dissent.

Related: Pro-Abortion Groups Still Unfazed by Forced Abortions in China

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Activist keeps up protests at Mississippi's lone abortion clinic

Activist keeps up protests at Mississippi's lone abortion clinic - Page 2 - latimes.com: Few have advocated for an end to abortion as long, and with as much intensity, as Roy McMillan. Yet some allies disagree with his tactics.

Terri Herring, Mississippi's leading antiabortion lobbyist, credits McMillan with spurring her interest in the abortion fight. She worries, though, that his shock tactics are not representative of mainstream Mississippians. Roy "is not what we want as a poster child!!" she wrote in an email. "But he has been faithful for years. . . . Roy is the father of the Mississippi movement. He is either loved or hated, but often misunderstood. Did he tell you that he was left as an infant on the doorstep of a [Baptist] church?"

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'Doe' describes odd twist in landmark abortion case

'Doe' describes odd twist in landmark abortion case (OneNewsNow.com): "Doe" in Doe v. Bolton is actually Sandra Cano, who says she was seeking a divorce at the time, but was made the plaintiff in one of the two court cases that legalized abortion in this country..

"I wanted my two children and I went to the Atlanta Legal Aid. And from there, unbeknownst to me -- I still don't know how all this came about -- I became 'Doe' in Doe v. Bolton without my knowledge."

Cano was pregnant at the time and then found out she was to have an abortion arranged by her well-meaning mother. Cano says she would never have agreed to have an abortion and did not believe in abortion. "Regardless of me saying no, I'm not going to have an abortion, I ran away the night before I was to go into the hospital at Georgia Baptist to have an abortion and I went to Hugo, Oklahoma," she described."

Editor: Wait! What? They wanted her to go to a Baptist hospital for an abortion?!?

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No surprise: NARAL endorses Obama

NARAL endorses Obama - POLITICO.com: “The difference between President Obama and Mitt Romney on choice is clear and stark,” group president Nancy Keenan said in a statement.

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Stem Cell Suicide Switch

Stem Cell Suicide Switch | The Scientist: Unlike any other known human cell type, human embryonic stem cells are primed to immediately throw themselves on the sword if they experience any DNA damage. Human embryonic stem cells form the early embryo and eventually give rise to every cell type in the body. Because of this, a rapid self-destruct mechanism activated by DNA damage may prevent potentially dangerous mutations from spreading through the developing organism, the authors concluded.

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Inside Congressional caucus briefing on how to blunt pro-life gains in black community

Inside Congressional caucus briefing on how to blunt pro-life gains in black community | Jill Stanek: This recent conclave illustrates the success that African American pro-life efforts are having.

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Michael J. Fox: Embryonic Stem Cells Likely Won't Cure Him

Michael J. Fox Admits Embryonic Stem Cells Likely Won't Cure Him | LifeNews.com: With embryonic stem cells nowhere nearer to yielding any beneficial results for patients, Fox is admitting embryonic stem cell research isn’t all he claimed it was cracked up to be. In a new interview with ABC News, he told Diane Sawyer there have been have been “problems along the way,” to a supposed therapy for Parkinson’s from embryonic stem cells and said new drug therapies are showing real promise and are “closer today” to providing a cure.

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Abortion or a baby born with disability: What choice would you make?

Abortion or a baby born with disability: What choice would you make? | Mail Online: It’s the news every mother-to-be dreads: that their baby faces a life of terrible disability. But would YOU make the same choice as Sara?

Editor: Sadly, this mother and father didn't hear any positive messages about their child's condition (spina bifida), or learn of any resources available to help, such as they could have found at BeNotAfraid.net. 

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Why Did We Ever Start Calling Patients “Vegetables?”

LifeNews: The term “vegetative state” became popular at the “birth” of bioethics (1978 Belmont Report). It is traced to the “delayed personhood” arguments used at the beginning of life issues: first the vegetative soul is present, then later the sensitive soul is added, and finally (about 3-4 months) the rational soul is added. Then and only then is there a human being with a rational soul to be respected. St. Thomas (following Aristotle), as well as many religions today still follow that odd and scientifically/philosophically false dictum.

What bioethics did was also reverse this dictum to end of life issues — and this was taught in a major seminar at a Georgetown bioethics conference early on (about 1990). Those of us in the seminar on “euthanasia” were taught that — just as there is a series of souls at the beginning of life — at the end of life the reverse happens (supposedly adapted from St. Thomas): in the dying patient, first the rational soul leaves the body, then the sensitive soul leaves the body, and finally the only thing left there in the patient is the vegetative soul — and thus there is no “person” really present! Of course, that would also mean that with euthanasia, physician assisted suicide (PAS), and organ transplantation, the use of such “vegetables” in human research, etc., would be “ethical.”

Biola University clarifies stance on human sexuality

WORLDmag.com | Biola University clarifies stance on human sexuality | Angela Lu: Biola students are required to sign a contract affirming their agreement with the university’s belief that “sexual relationships are designed by God to be expressed solely within a marriage between husband and wife.” The new statement goes into more detail, looking at God’s design for marriage, offering help for those struggling with issues of sexuality, and encouraging discussion on campus.

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‘The Amateur,’ gets it all wrong about Obama and the Born Alive bill

New Obama biography, ‘The Amateur,’ gets it all wrong about Obama and the Born Alive bill | LifeSiteNews.com: Edward Klein’s unauthorized biography of Barack Obama, The Amateur, was released this week. Klein devoted a chapter of his book, albeit only three pages, to Obama’s opposition as state senator to the Illinois Born Alive Infant Protection Act, but he got it pretty much all wrong. You can read some of the chapter here.

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The Essentials: What is Man?

The Essential: Man | Challies Dot Com: "Genesis 1 teaches us that man is the one creature made male and female, from the earth, in the image of God, with dominion over the rest of creation."

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Pregnancy discrimination or issue of morals?

Teacher fired for being unwed and pregnant can sue religious school, court rules: A three-judge panel of the 11th US Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta ruled that Jarretta Hamilton's lawsuit against Southland Christian School in St. Cloud, Fla., should proceed to a trial. At issue in the suit is whether the school engaged in pregnancy discrimination in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. School officials maintained that Ms. Hamilton was fired for violating the moral values of the Christian school.

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Action needed!

National Right to Life: Did you know that in our nation's capital, it is perfectly legal to subject unborn children to terribly painful deaths, even during the sixth and seventh months of pregnancy -- or even later? In the District of Columbia, abortion is now legal at any point in pregnancy, for any reason, as long as someone is willing to pay the abortionist for the gruesome "service."

This appalling situation will be explored by the U.S. House Judiciary Committee's Subcommittee on the Constitution on May 17, 2012, in a public hearing on the District of Columbia Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act (H.R. 3803). If your representative is already a cosponsor of the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act, thank him or her. If not, urge the lawmaker to become a cosponsor.

Hong Kong crackdowns on Chinese families looking to get around one-child policy

World News: Hong Kong crackdowns on Chinese families looking to get around one-child policy - thestar.com: In China, having a second child involves a difficult choice: crossing borders to give birth or have the child in China and be heavily fined and potentially lose your job for violating the country’s strict one-child policy. In the past, the chief destination for mainland mothers looking to give birth overseas has been Hong Kong. Over the last few years, the mood has hardened against mainland mothers.

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"Religious People Should Support Abortion"

Member of Obama’s Faith-Based Council Believes That Religious People Should Support Abortion: Harry Knox, a member of President Obama’s Advisory Council on Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships, stirred things up with his recent Huffington Post piece, “Why Religious People Should Support the Rights of Women in Reproductive Decisions.” He actually came up with six reasons.

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Grand Rapids Mayor apologizes for calling Planned Parenthood opponents 'forces of darkness'

Grand Rapids Mayor George Heartwell apologizes for calling Planned Parenthood opponents 'forces of darkness' | MLive.com: First Ward Commissioner Dave Shaffer said the so-called "forces of darkness" really "are our biggest allies in actually helping solve the social problems we have.”

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Wait No More: One Family's Amazing Adoption Journey

A little boy needed a home. An infant girl needed a mother's love. A toddler was trapped in the insecurity of foster care. A tiny girl had no family.

Kelly and John Rosati never expected to adopt four such children through the US foster care system, but God's plan turned out to be more extraordinary than they could have dreamed.

Wait No More follows them on their journey through the child welfare system. The picture it paints is not always pretty and may discourage anyone who harbors romantic ideas of what it might be like to rescue a child. Readers are challenged by the desperate needs of children and the realities of how hard it can be for an abandoned or abused child to assimilate into the fold of a loving family. Nevertheless, Kelly and John -- along with Daniel, Anna, Joshua, and Hope -- heartily agree that adoption is beautiful.

At times, the authors seem to offer "too much information" and risk emotionally exhausting readers, but it's heartening to learn the book was written with all the Rosati kids' approval, even though they are still quite young and it meant they would first have to learn some of the hard details of the story of their adoptions. "They made it clear that if our family's story would help other kids and families, they were okay with it."

The Rosati's clearly want to promote adoption through the foster care system, but don't mind disabusing us of the myths and warning of the perils. They're using the book to advance the work of Focus on the Family's Wait No More program, which works to connect Christian families with "legal orphans trapped in foster care."

Did you know there are over 114,000 children in the US waiting for families to adopt them? Meanwhile, there are more than 300,000 churches. "If only one family in every other church would adopt a waiting child, we could eliminate the list of waiting children." A poignant and stirring challenge, indeed.

Acknowledgment: Tyndale House Publishers provided me with a complimentary copy of this book.

Does the Bible prohibit abortion? Abortion in the Bible and Church history

Does the Bible prohibit abortion? Abortion in the Bible and Church history • ChristianAnswers.Net: There is a small but influential circle of prochoice advocates who claim to base their beliefs on the Bible. They maintain that "nowhere does the Bible prohibit abortion." Yet the Bible clearly prohibits the killing of innocent people (Exodus 20:13). All that is necessary to prove a biblical prohibition of abortion is to demonstrate that the Bible considers the unborn to be human beings.

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Women and babies 'put at risk by aggressive IVF'

Women and babies 'put at risk by aggressive IVF' - Telegraph: There is increasing evidence that the standard method of IVF used in Britain, which involves stimulating the ovaries with high doses of drugs to produce large numbers of eggs for harvesting, was damaging to women's health and caused chromosomal abnormalities to resulting embryos.

Related:
The £25m IVF doctor: Clinic’s profits fuel criticism of the ‘human life industry’

Birth-Defect Risk Seen in Assisted Conception

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Bone grown from human embryonic stem cells

Bone grown from human embryonic stem cells: The study, published in the early online edition of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences during the week of May 14th, is the first example of using bone cell progenitors derived from human embryonic stem cells to grow compact bone tissue in quantities large enough to repair centimeter-sized defects. When implanted in mice and studied over time, the implanted bone tissue supported blood vessel ingrowth, and continued development of normal bone structure, without demonstrating any incidence of tumor growth.

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Chen Guangcheng still in diplomatic limbo, phones Congressional hearing

‘I’m not a hero’: Chen Guangcheng, still in diplomatic limbo, phones Congressional hearing | LifeSiteNews.com: As Chinese forced-abortion opponent Chen Guanchcheng awaits a passport to freedom that some fear may never come, his supporters are pleading for continued media attention as the affair threatens to be swept under the diplomatic rug between the U.S. and China.

The extensive international media coverage of Chen’s plight was highlighted as a key factor in his safety at a Congressional hearing Tuesday. The hearing also highlighted how such coverage was critical for the woman who helped Chen escape, who said she believes beatings or worse were in store at the hands of officials who kidnapped her, had it not been for such exposure.

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The sky is falling on abortion ‘rights’

The sky is falling on abortion ‘rights’ | LifeSiteNews.com: "Change public opinion, and you’ll change public policy." This has been the mantra of the Center for Bio-Ethical Reform and its affiliates for years. And with the youth activated like it never has been before, that is swiftly becoming a reality.

I realize that it is dangerous to look across the border to our Southern neighbors when making comparisons, because Canadians pride themselves on being, first and foremost, not Americans. But when we see Canadian youth rising up to take on Canada’s perceived abortion consensus, a quick look to the United States tells us just how effective that will be.

While American commentators such as David Frum have urged Republicans to give up on the abortion fight and let it sink into irrelevance, his advice doesn’t reflect the current reality. Each year seems to bring more pro-life legislation than the last, and pro-“choice” activists are beginning to notice, with one Planned Parenthood director noting worriedly that “the sky is falling on Roe v. Wade.”

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Pro-Choice Extremist Convicted for Threatening Pro-Lifers

Pro-Choice Extremist Convicted for Threatening... | Gather: Theodore Shulman was sentenced this week for "51 months in jail and a fine of $250,000". This sentence was a part of a plea deal that removed charges for "possession of cyanide and two other deadly substances at the time of his arrest."

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Would-Be Grandparents Nudge Daughters to Egg-Freezing Clinic

Would-Be Grandparents Nudge Daughters to Egg-Freezing Clinic - NYTimes.com: At the Colorado Center for Reproductive Medicine, a popular destination for women hoping to preserve their fertility by freezing their eggs, Dr. William Schoolcraft, the founder and medical director, has started to notice something different: more of the women are arriving with company. The gray-haired entourages, it turns out, are the parents, tagging along to lend support — emotional and often financial — as their daughters turn to the fledgling field of egg freezing to improve their chances of having children later on, when they are ready to start a family.

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Personhood Amendments Would Not Successfully Ban Abortions

Personhood Amendments Would Not Successfully Ban Abortions | LifeNews.com: "The view that a 'personhood' law or a 'personhood' amendment to a state constitution would outlaw abortion is widespread among the public. Furthermore, pro-abortion proponents, and even a trial court judge, claim that legally defining the word 'person' to include every human being from the moment of conception would also outlaw or restrict embryonic stem cell research, in vitro fertilization, birth control, and treatment necessary to save a pregnant woman’s life. However, the legal recognition of personhood for a zygote, embryo, or fetus would not outlaw abortion, or anything else, just like legal recognition for an adult does not outlaw the death penalty.

"The Constitution does not provide an unconditional right to life to any person. Moreover, the Constitution does not even mention a right to life. Consequently, it is important to examine the ways in which life is protected by the Constitution.

". . . Ultimately, the justices of both the liberal wing and conservative wing of the Supreme Court would have to abandon the constitutional principles and the approaches to constitutional interpretation they have employed their entire careers in order to prohibit abortion, or anything else, solely on the basis of personhood."

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Geneticist claims PGD ‘a tremendous blessing and a wonderful thing’

Geneticist claims that weeding out embryos with severe genetic abnormalities is ‘a tremendous blessing and a wonderful thing’ | NRL News Today: Shane McKee introduces himself as a doctor in genetic medicine. He goes on to say, "I regard the technological advances that we’ve made over the past ten to fifteen years as being a tremendous blessing and a wonderful thing that we can bring to bear to try and help individuals and families either affected with, or at risk of, severe genetic disorders to live and reproduce as normally as possible."

Analysis: Dr McKee is talking about the technique called pre-implantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) where human embryos are produced by in vitro fertilisation and then examined for chromosomal or other genetic abnormalities in a laboratory. Those judged to be abnormal are then discarded and only normal embryos are placed back in the uterus. He regards this as a ‘tremendous blessing and a wonderful thing.’ Many embryos with genetic abnormalities do not survive pregnancy of course but many also do as people with a range of disabilities. Some of these are severe resulting in death during childhood but many others live on into adulthood.

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Should Parents Be Able To Sue For 'Wrongful Birth'?

Should Parents Be Able To Sue For 'Wrongful Birth'? : Shots - Health Blog : NPR: In most states, parents can sue for negligence or if doctors fail to provide information about the condition of a fetus. But more than a half-dozen states have adopted laws that ban those lawsuits, and several others have been debating the idea this year.

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