SFLA Releases Poll Results on Young People, Abortion, and the 2012 Election - Students for Life: Pro Life Youth, Anti-Abortion Facts, and Pro-Life Training: While youth were much less likely to self-identify as pro-life than the public as a whole, there was also scant evidence of a desire for total and complete abortion on-demand, a characterization that seems to escape much of the major media narrative about this generation.
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Wednesday, June 27, 2012
Tuesday, June 26, 2012
Conference of Mayors Votes to Support Abortion
Conference of Mayors Votes to Support Abortion: "At their 80th Annual Meeting, the mayors, representing about 1,200 U.S. cities, begin their reproductive rights resolution by stating that “Americans believe that women should be able to consult with their doctor, family, and faith about personal, private medical decisions.” They went on to praise Planned Parenthood, saying, “[F]or many women with limited incomes, Planned Parenthood clinics are their point of entry into the health care system” and that Planned Parenthood’s programs are “essential to reducing rates of unintended pregnancy.”
Editor: Gallup polls refute the claim about American beliefs.
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Editor: Gallup polls refute the claim about American beliefs.
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Reid vows to block vote on Paul's 'life at conception' amendment to flood bill
Reid vows to block vote on Paul's 'life at conception' amendment to flood bill - The Hill's Video: An exasperated Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said that he would not allow a vote on an amendment clarifying that life begins at conception, which Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) offered to a flood insurance bill.
"I'm told last night that one of our Republican senators wants to offer an amendment — listen to this one — wants to offer an amendment on when life begins," Reid said. "There will not be a vote on that on flood insurance. We'll either do flood insurance with amendments that deal with flood insurance, or we won't do it, we'll have an extension. I don't understand what this is all about. But I want everyone to know: This flood insurance is extremely important."
Editor: Beg pardon, Sen. Reid, but the right to life is pretty important.
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"I'm told last night that one of our Republican senators wants to offer an amendment — listen to this one — wants to offer an amendment on when life begins," Reid said. "There will not be a vote on that on flood insurance. We'll either do flood insurance with amendments that deal with flood insurance, or we won't do it, we'll have an extension. I don't understand what this is all about. But I want everyone to know: This flood insurance is extremely important."
Editor: Beg pardon, Sen. Reid, but the right to life is pretty important.
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China forced-abortion woman suffering state harassment, lawyer says
China forced-abortion woman suffering state harassment, lawyer says (Article) | AGA Third-Party Content, Defend Mothers from Forced Abortion Slideshow Item, Feng Jianmei, Forced Abortion, News Story, One Child Policy in China, Sign the Petition/End Forced Abortions | All Girls Allowed: Relatives say they have been followed for days, and Feng's hospital was targeted this weekend by protesters carrying banners, one of which read: "Beat the traitors and expel them."
NY Times: Chinese Family in Forced Abortion Case Still Under Pressure
Telegraph: Husband of Chinese woman disappears
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NY Times: Chinese Family in Forced Abortion Case Still Under Pressure
Telegraph: Husband of Chinese woman disappears
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The one-child policy: The brutal truth
The one-child policy: The brutal truth | The Economist: The scandal of Feng Jianmei is a blow to the one-child policy’s public image, says He Yafu, a demographer and critic of the policy. That image has never been good, even if in recent years many learned to live with it. In 1983, 14m women had abortions organised by family-planning committees (many of them coerced). In 2009, there were 6m. The number has declined in recent years as local officials have more incentives to impose fines on extra births rather than prevent them altogether.
The fine for having extra children is known as the “social maintenance fee”. Mr He estimates the government has collected over 2 trillion yuan ($314 billion) in such fees since 1980. Failure to pay means the second “black” child cannot obtain a household-registration document, or hukou, which brings with it basic rights such as education. The amount of the fine varies from place to place. A husband and wife in Shanghai will each pay 110,000 yuan ($17,300), three times the city’s average annual post-tax income, for a second child. The fine increases with income. The rich can shell out millions.
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The fine for having extra children is known as the “social maintenance fee”. Mr He estimates the government has collected over 2 trillion yuan ($314 billion) in such fees since 1980. Failure to pay means the second “black” child cannot obtain a household-registration document, or hukou, which brings with it basic rights such as education. The amount of the fine varies from place to place. A husband and wife in Shanghai will each pay 110,000 yuan ($17,300), three times the city’s average annual post-tax income, for a second child. The fine increases with income. The rich can shell out millions.
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Canadian gynecologists oppose motion to determine when life begins
Canadian gynecologists oppose motion to determine when life begins | LifeSiteNews.com: The Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Canada (SOGC) said in a position statement released last month that they are “troubled” by a private members motion that seeks to determine when human life begins.
Motion 312, proposed by Conservative MP Steven Woodworth, seeks a re-examination of section 223 of the Criminal Code, which states that a child only becomes a “human being” once he or she has fully proceeded from the womb. If passed, Parliament would set up a special committee to consider the medical evidence relating to the humanity of the unborn child.
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Motion 312, proposed by Conservative MP Steven Woodworth, seeks a re-examination of section 223 of the Criminal Code, which states that a child only becomes a “human being” once he or she has fully proceeded from the womb. If passed, Parliament would set up a special committee to consider the medical evidence relating to the humanity of the unborn child.
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We could ‘significantly restrict’ abortion if Catholic politicians voted pro-life
Supreme Knight: We could ‘significantly restrict’ abortion if Catholic politicians voted pro-life | LifeSiteNews.com: Carl Anderson of the Knights of Columbus critiqued what has become called the “Cuomo doctrine,” which former New York governor Mario Cuomo articulated in a 1984 speech at the University of Notre Dame. “He defended his position of being personally opposed to abortion but unwilling to take a position opposing abortion because this would mean imposing his beliefs on his fellow citizens.”
Related: Why can’t Catholics just close their universities?
Related: Why can’t Catholics just close their universities?
Monday, June 25, 2012
Personhood USA’s Keith Mason Eyes Election Day 2012
Personhood USA’s Keith Mason Eyes Election Day 2012 - The Daily Beast: Personhood efforts have existed for decades, but they have never taken hold in the public imagination the way Mason’s work has. Nor have they been so present in the pro-life discourse. “They’re saying out loud what many anti-choice activists believe but don’t say upfront—they want to ban abortion in all circumstances,” says Donna Crane, a policy director at the advocacy group NARAL Pro-Choice America. “In some ways, it’s the more honest conversation to have.” And it has gathered supporters in this election season who include Newt Gingrich, Michele Bachmann, and Rick Perry. (Mitt Romney has demurred, but Mason says he is “hammering away” at the nominee.)
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Athaliah: Notorious Murderess
Bible Gateway: While Jehoram reigned, he was dominated by Athaliah who had the stronger character of the two, and who, having inherited from her evil mother strength of will and fanatical devtion to the worship of Baal, made Judah idolatrous. Ahaziah only reigned for a year. Wounded in battle by Jehu, he fled to Megiddo, where he died, and his wicked mother (2 Chronicles 24:7 ) became envious of the throne. But the sons of Ahaziah stood in her way, and with fanatical ambition she seized the opportunity and massacred all the legal heirs—so she thought. This wholesale, merciless, cruel-hearted murderess sought to exterminate the last vestiges of the House of David through which the promised Messiah was to come. Behind her dastardly crime to destroy “The Seed Royal” we can detect the evil machinations of the devil—a murderer from the beginning—to annihilate the promised seed of the woman predestined to bruise the satanic head. A bad woman bent on destruction is doubly dangerous.
After putting to death her young grandsons, Athaliah reigned for six years, and was the only woman to reign as queen of Judah. The daughter of a king, wife of a king, mother of a king, she is now queen. While her husband reigned she was the powerbehind the throne—now she is the power on the throne, and proof of her energy, forcefulness and ability are seen in the length of her reign. A despotic ruler, her every gesture had to be obeyed. During her reign part of the Temple of Jehovah was pulled down and the material used in the building of a temple of Baal. But the God who over-rules in the destinies of men and nations, intervened to redeem His promise of a Saviour from the tribe of Judah.
After putting to death her young grandsons, Athaliah reigned for six years, and was the only woman to reign as queen of Judah. The daughter of a king, wife of a king, mother of a king, she is now queen. While her husband reigned she was the powerbehind the throne—now she is the power on the throne, and proof of her energy, forcefulness and ability are seen in the length of her reign. A despotic ruler, her every gesture had to be obeyed. During her reign part of the Temple of Jehovah was pulled down and the material used in the building of a temple of Baal. But the God who over-rules in the destinies of men and nations, intervened to redeem His promise of a Saviour from the tribe of Judah.
The God of an Old Earth
Feedback: The God of an Old Earth - Answers in Genesis: John Doe is a theistic evolutionist and believes that mankind was not created but evolved. Although he is still a Christian, his belief is inconsistent, and I would have to reject certain aspects in his view of God.
Why? Because the God revealed in Scripture created a perfect world, a world with no death, suffering, or disease. Yet to believe that He used evolution is to deny what God says He did in creating everything in six normal-length days. It also denies that He created a perfect universe, perfect world, and a perfect first man and woman (who was made from the man).
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Why? Because the God revealed in Scripture created a perfect world, a world with no death, suffering, or disease. Yet to believe that He used evolution is to deny what God says He did in creating everything in six normal-length days. It also denies that He created a perfect universe, perfect world, and a perfect first man and woman (who was made from the man).
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Is infanticide "madness"?
Washington Post: The pro-choice position for infanticide appears to be here to stay. In a move which will confuse those who think of this position as something new, editor Julian Savulescu is planning a special issue of the Journal of Medical Ethics devoted to infanticide which will have contributions from many of its defenders over the past forty years—including himself, Peter Singer, Michael Tooley, Jeff McMahon, and more. To his credit, Savulescu is also inviting pro-lifers like myself, Robert George, and John Finnis to contribute diverse and opposing views as well.
How should pro-lifers respond to the debate over infanticide? I have tried to convince public pro-life figures like George to resist using language like “madness” to describe the arguments of our opponents. For if one throws out the sanctity of life ethic as one’s moral guide—as we have already done in many aspects of our culture in the developed West—it seems perfectly reasonable to be pro-choice for both abortion and infanticide. In resisting this shift in defense of the sanctity of life, however, the correct strategy is not to insult or call names (or, God forbid, make threats of violence and murder), but instead we should respectfully engage pro-choice arguments for infanticide.
How should pro-lifers respond to the debate over infanticide? I have tried to convince public pro-life figures like George to resist using language like “madness” to describe the arguments of our opponents. For if one throws out the sanctity of life ethic as one’s moral guide—as we have already done in many aspects of our culture in the developed West—it seems perfectly reasonable to be pro-choice for both abortion and infanticide. In resisting this shift in defense of the sanctity of life, however, the correct strategy is not to insult or call names (or, God forbid, make threats of violence and murder), but instead we should respectfully engage pro-choice arguments for infanticide.
NHS payout for children fathered by nephew sperm donor
BioNews - NHS payout for children fathered by nephew sperm donor: Six-year-old Carlton Ashman and his sister, four-year-old Sarah, were secretly fathered by Charlie Lowden, who died after a hernia operation. At the age of 15, Lowden donated sperm to Claire Ashman, 31, the civil partner of his aunt, Sarah Ashman. His donation enabled her to fall pregnant and a few years later they asked for his help again. The couple had agreed to keep the donations a secret, but Lowden's death forced his aunt to reveal the identities of the children to her sister, Lynn.
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Eye precursor from embryonic stem cells
BioNews - Eye precursor and tiny liver grown from stem cells: Human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) have, for the first time, been used to grow a crucial part of the eye, a paper in Cell Stem Cell reports. It is hoped that in the future transplantation of such tissue could help visually impaired people recover their sight.
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Why the mitochondria debate shouldn't be left to the popular media
BioNews - Why the mitochondria debate shouldn't be left to the popular media: Dr Geoff Watts, who chaired the Nuffield working group, referred to the 'three parent froth', and noted in resigned tones that this debate now seems doomed to be labelled in this way. Yet, as he pointed out, this distracts from the far more significant issue raised by the potential treatment strategy under discussion, namely that of moving a nucleus from one egg to another. This touches for the first time on the issue of changing the genetic material, albeit a minuscule amount, of the female offspring in future generations. The genetic material in question is restricted to the organelles in the cytoplasm that provide cells with energy, the mitochondria.
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Bosses Can’t Motivate Staffs – But The Environment They Create Can
NonProfit Direct: A stable, contented and productive staff is the backbone of any organization. Methods for achieving that are often viewed through a somewhat distorted prism. At one angle, the prism’s reflected light shines on motivation. Flip the prism a degree or two and empowerment is illuminated. Another turn and the light focuses on rewards. Here’s a way to sort out these different views and a few tips for lifting your staff out of the doldrums.
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Texas A&M wrongly silenced pro-life African-American speaker
Texas A&M wrongly silenced pro-life African-American speaker, lawsuit says | LifeSiteNews.com: Last December Texas Aggie Conservatives, a student political group, requested university funding for a speech by Star Parker. Two months later A&M officials said a financial request “cannot be approved for recognized organizations with a classification of social and political issues.”
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Altruistic Surrogacy Ban for Gays, Singles Wrongly Discriminates
Altruistic Surrogacy Ban for Gays, Singles Wrongly Discriminates | the Human Future: "I oppose surrogacy as a general proposition. I believe that adoption is the best and most ethical move when one wants a child and can’t (for whatever reason) give birth. In fact, in our anything goes world, such self restraint is the only hope. But that is a different matter altogether from whether surrogacy should be banned legally, which by definition involves state coercion. I unequivocally support laws outlawing commercial surrogacy — in the same ways and for the same reasons that I believe it is proper to ban organ purchasing. Indeed, I believe commercial surrogacy contracts should be void as against public policy. Altruistic surrogacy seems a different matter to me. "
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More Teens Nationwide Continue Choosing Abstinence over Being Sexually Active
More Teens Nationwide Continue Choosing Abstinence over Being Sexually Active - Memphis abstinence | Examiner.com: While this decrease in this behavior in teens shows that someone out there is working to get the word out to teens about the responsibility that goes along with having sex, the numbers for teens that are engaging in the activity are still alarming. STD contraction rates as well as the pregancy rates in teens are still very high. In fact, in our nation's capital, 82% of all babies born have single mothers.
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The Tyranny of Scientific Consensus
The Tyranny of Scientific Consensus | @ActonInstitute PowerBlog: [S]cience develops confidence in its findings on the basis of evidence accumulated under the methodological norms of the field, but it does not conclude in a final sense. Thus, a product of scientific inquiry may be highly robust—having well explained all available data and made accurate predictions—but it is not a final and absolute truth claim because it is predicated on evidence that continues to accumulate with time. . . .[T]ruth is not created by consensus but rather by correspondence with reality.
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The Conflict Really Lies within New Atheism
The Conflict Really Lies within New Atheism « Public Discourse: In his new book Where the Conflict Really Lies, Alvin Plantinga levels a devastating critique against the “new atheism” espoused by thinkers such as Richard Dawkins and Christopher Hitchens.
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Jill Lepore on When Life Begins and Ends In ‘The Mansions of Happiness’ - The Daily Beast
Jill Lepore on When Life Begins and Ends In ‘The Mansions of Happiness’ - The Daily Beast: The Mansion of Happiness examines the stages of life from not cradle to grave but more like fetus to grave. We keep pushing back the point where life begins, a maneuver whose starting point she smartly pegs to Lennart Nilsson’s famous photographs of life in the womb that appeared in Life magazine in 1965. . . . Lepore approaches the territory between conception and death through a variety of inventively conceived portals.
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Study: Belief in Hell is associated with reduced crime
Study: Belief in Hell is associated with reduced crime | LifeSiteNews.com: "A country where many more people believe in heaven than in hell, for example, is likely to have a much higher crime rate than one where these beliefs are about equal. The finding surfaced from a comprehensive analysis of 26 years of data involving 143,197 people in 67 countries."
The study: Divergent Effects of Beliefs in Heaven and Hell on National Crime Rates
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The study: Divergent Effects of Beliefs in Heaven and Hell on National Crime Rates
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GOP Holds Early Turnout Edge, But Little Enthusiasm for Romney
GOP Holds Early Turnout Edge, But Little Enthusiasm for Romney | Pew Research Center for the People and the Press: GOP voters are more likely than Democrats to say it really matters who wins the 2012 election (72% vs. 65%). Yet Democrats are more enthusiastic about their candidate.
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2012 Michigan Prolife Ballot Generator
2012 Michigan Prolife Ballot Generator: Fill in your information below and click "Generate My Ballot" and your own personalized list of Right to Life of Michigan PAC endorsed candidates will appear.
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‘This is the end of America’: Bestselling author takes on the HHS mandate
‘This is the end of America’: Bestselling author takes on the HHS mandate | LifeSiteNews.com: If he were alive today, Dietrich Bonhoeffer would tell Americans to oppose the HHS mandate and regard the measure as an infringement on religious freedom, according to his biographer. Bestselling author Eric Metaxas said the ObamaCare mandate stood as “a horrific example” of state overreach. The author of Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy, made his remarks last Thursday before a crowd of more than 800 attendees of Acton University, a four-day seminar held near the Acton Institute‘s headquarters in Grand Rapids.
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Baptist Church Criticized for Sign: “Abortion the Ultimate Racism”
Editor: Amen, brother!
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A Response to Evangelical Calls for Public Withdrawal
A Response to Evangelical Calls for Public Withdrawal: The disaffection of some younger believers toward political action seems animated by two factors: the reality that more has not been accomplished, despite decades of evangelical political activism, and the perception that evangelical social conservatives are an angry and bumptious lot characterized more by enflamed rhetoric than compassion or effectiveness. . . .
Paul enjoins us to not grow weary in doing good (Galatians 6:9, 2 Thessalonians 3:13 ) for a reason: It is hard to persist in doing good when the results of our labor seem modest. Battles are wearing, and trenches are discomfiting. The overconfidence of some conservative Christians in politics as the means by which to "change the world" was misplaced.
But abandonment is a poor substitute for uninformed striving. Enthusiasm for an immodest aim produces frustration, or even bitterness, since that aim can never be reached. Withdrawal is a welcome alternative, surely, in the short term: It is always easier to rest than fight.
Related:
Paul enjoins us to not grow weary in doing good (Galatians 6:9, 2 Thessalonians 3:13 ) for a reason: It is hard to persist in doing good when the results of our labor seem modest. Battles are wearing, and trenches are discomfiting. The overconfidence of some conservative Christians in politics as the means by which to "change the world" was misplaced.
But abandonment is a poor substitute for uninformed striving. Enthusiasm for an immodest aim produces frustration, or even bitterness, since that aim can never be reached. Withdrawal is a welcome alternative, surely, in the short term: It is always easier to rest than fight.
Related:
- If You’re Selling Scorn for Conservative Christians, the Market is Hot
- What if the "culture war" never happened
- Irrepressible Culture Wars, Past and Present -- Many young evangelicals today shun conflict, a posture at odds with evangelical history
- The Democratic Virtues of the Christian Right, plus an interview with the author
- The Other Religious Right
- Scorn Profits the Blogger, but Costs the Kingdom
- Diagnosing Christian Right Derangement Syndrome
One-Child Policy Has Snuffed Out the Lives of 400 Million
One-Child Policy Has Snuffed Out the Lives of 400 Million | LifeNews.com: The hallmark of Communistic governments is the peacetime mass killings of their own citizens. It is estimated that the former Soviet Union under Stalin committed 20 million such killings, and that the Chinese Communist Party under Mao Tse-tung committed 65 million: together, 85 million. This number of murders of innocent civilians by their own governments boggles the mind. And yet even this number is dwarfed by another, hidden category of victims of communism — victims of China’s One Child Policy.
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When Does Human Life Begin?
When Does Human Life Begin? | Medical Students for Life: "When we consider a dog, for instance, we usually picture an adult. But the dog is a 'dog' from the moment of fertilization of a dog egg by a dog sperm. It remains a dog even as a senescent dying hound. Therefore, the dog is actually the entire life cycle of the animal, from fertilization through death."
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CDC Report on Abortion Trends Shows Pro-Life Progress
CDC Report on Abortion Trends Shows Pro-Life Progress - By Michael J. New - The Corner - National Review Online: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released a report this week which analyzes trends in pregnancy rates, birth rates, and abortion rates since 1990. Both the CDC and the Guttmacher Institute frequently release data on the incidence of abortion. However, this report is unique because it presents the trends by race, age, and marital status. Overall, the news is good. The national abortion rate is falling fairly steadily and has declined by over 29 percent since 1990. Additionally, there has been a decline in the incidence of abortion among nearly all demographic groups.
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No Money for Forced Sterilization Victims in NC
No Money for Forced Sterilization Victims in NC - ABC News: The effort to give each victim $50,000 passed the House, but the Senate never gave the measure consideration. Republican lawmakers in that chamber said the state didn't have the money in such a tight budget year to make up for misguided, decades-old procedures. Legislators also feared paying the victims would lead other groups, such as descendants of slaves, to seek reparations.
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Wednesday, June 20, 2012
‘Get over it’: children of anonymous sperm donors met with hostility, ridicule
‘Get over it’: children of anonymous sperm donors met with hostility, ridicule, say activists | LifeSiteNews.com: For children of anonymous sperm donors yearning for a connection to their biological father, the world can be an unwelcome place. Instead of meeting compassion, many say that society treats their pain with a dismissive or even hostile attitude - a rift caused by lack of awareness as much as by the brute force of a $3.3 billion industry.
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Stem Cells Move Into Prime Time
Stem Cells Move Into Prime Time - ScienceNOW: For more than a decade, stem cell therapies have been touted as offering hope for those suffering from genetic and degenerative diseases. The promise took another step toward reality last week with announcements here at the annual meeting of the International Society for Stem Cell Research that two groups are moving forward with human clinical research, one focusing on a rare genetic neurological disease and the other for the loss of vision in the elderly.
Editor: Both procedures use adult -- not embryonic -- stem cells.
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Editor: Both procedures use adult -- not embryonic -- stem cells.
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IVF Video Contest for Couples Seeking Baby: Cruel or Fair?
IVF Video Contest for Couples Seeking Baby: Cruel or Fair? | Healthland | TIME.com: "Last week, the Sher Fertility Institute selected three couples out of 45 who had submitted personal, emotionally wrenching videos in order to win a free IVF cycle. For one judge, choosing her favorites felt like "playing God."
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Tuesday, June 19, 2012
Pro-Life Activist Meets Chen Guangcheng After Helping From Afar
Pro-Life Activist Meets Chen Guangcheng After Helping From Afar | LifeNews.com: Reggie Littlejohn of Women's Rights Without Frontiers says Chen understands how pro-life Americans have come together to support his work in China for victims of the one-child policy.
Editor: As much as I know it was right for Chen to be freed, and as important as it is to stop forced abortion, I have to wonder, is he against all abortions or only forced abortions? I don't know whom to ask. I'll do some checking.
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Editor: As much as I know it was right for Chen to be freed, and as important as it is to stop forced abortion, I have to wonder, is he against all abortions or only forced abortions? I don't know whom to ask. I'll do some checking.
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Monday, June 18, 2012
British Bioethics Council Gives OK to Three-Parent Embryo
British Bioethics Council Gives OK to Three-Parent Embryo | LifeNews.com: There are two different ways to approach the making of a embryo with 3 genetic parents. In the first method, called pronuclear transfer, doctors would take the nucleus out of an embryo that had a mutation in his or her mtDNA and put it into an embryo whose mtDNA was normal, after removing the nucleus of that embryo of course. (For an illustration of this method click here.) The alternative method, called maternal spindle transfer, would be to remove the nucleus of an egg from a woman with mitochondrial disease, place it into a donor egg with normal mtDNA (after the nucleus of that egg was removed) and then fertilize the engineered egg with sperm. In either technique, the result is an embryo with the nuclear DNA from its mother and father and the mtDNA from another woman.
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Despite Attempts to Explain it Away, Human Life Begins at Conception Not Birth
Despite Attempts to Explain it Away, Human Life Begins at Conception Not Birth | LifeNews.com: To use the word "fertilization" to describe the beginning of a human being is neither precise nor proper. Conception is precise and proper to describe that the life of a person is now manifest in the conceptus, known in Comparative Embryology as the zygote.
We know from experience, precision, and accuracy that once the zygote is present within the body of his/her mother, it can be factually known that this person has newly arrived and is manifested. This is prior to implantation; conception ought not to be falsely labeled as implantation.
Procreation is a special word with precise signification and reference to the human person’s generation.
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We know from experience, precision, and accuracy that once the zygote is present within the body of his/her mother, it can be factually known that this person has newly arrived and is manifested. This is prior to implantation; conception ought not to be falsely labeled as implantation.
Procreation is a special word with precise signification and reference to the human person’s generation.
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China apologizes, suspends officials in forced abortion case
China apologizes, suspends officials in forced abortion case - CBS News: China suspended three officials and apologized to a woman who was forced to undergo an abortion seven months into her pregnancy in a case that sparked a public uproar after graphic photos of the mother and her dead baby were circulated online.
The case has renewed criticism of China's widely hated one-child limit, which, while designed to control the country's exploding population, has led to often violently imposed forced abortions and sterilizations as local authorities pursue birth quotas set by Beijing.
Sad irony: China sends woman into space - trying to deflect attention away from forced abortion? Here's another writer who noticed.
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The case has renewed criticism of China's widely hated one-child limit, which, while designed to control the country's exploding population, has led to often violently imposed forced abortions and sterilizations as local authorities pursue birth quotas set by Beijing.
Sad irony: China sends woman into space - trying to deflect attention away from forced abortion? Here's another writer who noticed.
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Pastor's Daughter Recalls Her Abortion, Finding Forgiveness
Pastor's Daughter Recalls Her Abortion, Finding Forgiveness | LifeNews.com: Carrie Guy was a youth pastor and a post-abortive pastors kid. She now talks about having an abortion as a teen, her recovery process later, and ultimately helping other post-abortive women. Carrie also talks about how the modern church is doing responding to the abortion issue as well as tips for talking to pregnant women who are considering abortion.
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Romney's conversion on abortion: Authentic?
Life Issues Connector, June 2012: The conversion of a political candidate prior to an election is naturally met with questions and even skepticism. Mitt Romney has been no exception. It has led even the casual observer to say, "Is this authentic?"
Related: PPFA’s Richards Slams Mitt Romney for being pro-life ‘extremist’
Related: PPFA’s Richards Slams Mitt Romney for being pro-life ‘extremist’
Pro-life doctors respond to call for civil disobedience
Prolife OBGYNS – AAPLOG – American Association of Pro-life Obstetricians & Gynecologists » USA Today: "Two things stand out: the academic eminence of the writers, and what we see as their woeful lack of balance and candor in dealing with certain of the subject matter. (It can’t be ignorance, their academic positions preclude that possibility.) But in an era of “evidence- based medicine,” they seem only to look at the evidence they want to see."
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An advance or eugenics?
New IVF advances give birth to hope | thetelegraph.com.au: Advanced Embryo Selection allows lab doctors to remove a single cell from the fertilized embryo and screen all 24 chromosomes before implantation. They will only implant embryos that are most likely to form a pregnancy. 70 per cent of embryos have an abnormal number of chromosomes, which will not result in a pregnancy. This test increases the chance of a pregnancy by more than half because the technology is targeted.
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Friday, June 15, 2012
Haircuts and Fatherhood Tips? The Lessons 100 Barbershops Want to Give Men
Haircuts and Fatherhood Tips?: The Lessons 100 Barbershops Want to Give Men: Fatherlessness is one of the root causes of abortion. Eighty percent of African-American children grow up without a father in the home. We have a generation of young men who haven’t had good fathers, and therefore aren’t being prepared to become fathers themselves. Being a single mom in the black community is sadly common.
The Radiance Foundation reports: “According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 78% of all black households were led by two-parent married homes in the 1950s. In 1970, prior to Roe v. Wade, only 68% were. Today, only 28.7% of homes in the black community are led by married parents.” It’s all fruit of a perpetual cycle of brokenness.
We in the pro-life movement must find ways to address these issues. We have to help men become better fathers. Our pro-life leaders should be spiritual fathers and mentors to those who have none. If we fight for children to live, we should also fight for fathers to care for them once they’re alive.
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The Radiance Foundation reports: “According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 78% of all black households were led by two-parent married homes in the 1950s. In 1970, prior to Roe v. Wade, only 68% were. Today, only 28.7% of homes in the black community are led by married parents.” It’s all fruit of a perpetual cycle of brokenness.
We in the pro-life movement must find ways to address these issues. We have to help men become better fathers. Our pro-life leaders should be spiritual fathers and mentors to those who have none. If we fight for children to live, we should also fight for fathers to care for them once they’re alive.
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Indian father accused of killing baby 'for being a girl'
Indian father accused of killing baby 'for being a girl' - CNN.com: "After my delivery my husband had come to see me and the baby. He said, 'It is a girl, why did you give birth to a girl?'" He wanted a boy, an heir. Girls were too expensive, he said. A couple of days after giving birth, Banu says her husband gave an ultimatum.
"For her wedding we will require a hundred thousand rupees (about US$1,800 dollars) for all the expense. If you can get that amount from your mother, then keep her, but if you can't, then kill her," Banu recalled her husband as saying. She didn't believe he meant it and was sure he would change his mind once he held his soft, bright-eyed baby girl.
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"For her wedding we will require a hundred thousand rupees (about US$1,800 dollars) for all the expense. If you can get that amount from your mother, then keep her, but if you can't, then kill her," Banu recalled her husband as saying. She didn't believe he meant it and was sure he would change his mind once he held his soft, bright-eyed baby girl.
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Self-professed ‘pro-life’ Democrat criticizes defunding of Planned Parenthood
Self-professed ‘pro-life’ Democrat criticizes pro-life Republican at Planned Parenthood | LifeSiteNews.com: John Gregg, the professed “pro-life” Democratic candidate for governor of Indiana, attacked pro-life Republican rival Mike Pence for defunding Planned Parenthood in a press conference outside an Indianapolis Planned Parenthood office on Monday.
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All demographic groups except ‘non-religious’ now more pro-life
All demographic groups except ‘non-religious’ now more pro-life: Gallup poll | LifeSiteNews.com: Additional polling data released by Gallup on May 29 shows that, comparing abortion attitudes between 2001 and 2008 to abortion attitudes between 2009 and 2012, the only demographic group that did not become more “pro-life” during this time was that which self-identified as having “no religion.”
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‘Obama, condemn forced abortion!’
‘Obama, condemn forced abortion!’ challenges pro-life group amid China photo uproar | LifeSiteNews.com: Following international outrage over a photo of a Chinese woman and her child who was forcibly aborted at seven months, a top pro-life political women’s group is calling on President Obama to condemn the coercive policy that brought the forced abortion about. Susan B. Anthony List President Marjorie Dannenfelser called on the U.S. president to condemn China’s one-child policy and immediately cut off funding for the United Nation’s Population Fund (UNFPA) through an Executive Order.
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Australia Awards Infanticide Guru Highest Civic Award
Australia Awards Infanticide Guru Highest Civic Award - By Wesley J. Smith - The Corner - National Review Online: Peter Singer has won Australia’s highest civic award. He is best known for advocating the ethical propriety of infanticide. But that isn’t nearly the limit of his odious advocacy. Wesley Smith offers a partial list of some other notable Singer bon mots.
Here's a taste of his writing: The use and abuse of religious freedom
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Here's a taste of his writing: The use and abuse of religious freedom
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No pro-life movement, no guilt over abortion? Guess again
Japanese Women’s Choice between Abortion and Adoption - The Japan Daily Press: We were told years ago that women in Japan don’t suffer after abortion. There is no taboo on abortion here, no “preaching” against it, no opposition to it, no clear belief system that condemns it. The conventional wisdom was that there was no real fallout from this all-too-common practice here. Of course, in America there was suffering because of the culture, so it was thought.
It is an interesting question. Why are so many Japanese women suffering from post-abortion stress? We have heard from women who had abortions decades ago, yet they can’t forget or forgive themselves and all those who pressured them to do it. They were most often pressured by parents, especially moms, who surely thought they were doing what was best for their daughter. But though all around them said abortion was the only way, they often can’t seem to move on.
. . . Japanese Buddhism has created a system to help women deal with aborted babies. This practice involves prayers for the souls of the babies to be at peace and not trouble their mothers. It is a money-based system and urges women to repeat the process when heavy feelings again depress them. Whatever you may think of this, it at least acknowledges that the babies are human and their mothers are suffering. While this may seem obvious, it hasn’t been obvious to many all over the world.
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It is an interesting question. Why are so many Japanese women suffering from post-abortion stress? We have heard from women who had abortions decades ago, yet they can’t forget or forgive themselves and all those who pressured them to do it. They were most often pressured by parents, especially moms, who surely thought they were doing what was best for their daughter. But though all around them said abortion was the only way, they often can’t seem to move on.
. . . Japanese Buddhism has created a system to help women deal with aborted babies. This practice involves prayers for the souls of the babies to be at peace and not trouble their mothers. It is a money-based system and urges women to repeat the process when heavy feelings again depress them. Whatever you may think of this, it at least acknowledges that the babies are human and their mothers are suffering. While this may seem obvious, it hasn’t been obvious to many all over the world.
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Michigan House OKs new abortion regulations
Michigan House OKs new abortion regulations | The Detroit News | detroitnews.com: A deeply divided Michigan House on Wednesday approved new regulations for abortion providers after passionate floor debate on the issue. House Republicans will not hold votes on two other abortion bills, including a controversial ban on most abortions after 20 weeks with a narrow exception for the mother's life.
The legislation that was passed requires more medical malpractice insurance for abortion providers who have lost two lawsuits, dictates how to dispose of aborted fetal remains, mandates abortion clinics become licensed surgical centers and prohibits doctors from prescribing the RU-486 abortion bill through an online service. The bill also makes it criminal to coerce a woman into having an abortion.
The legislation that was passed requires more medical malpractice insurance for abortion providers who have lost two lawsuits, dictates how to dispose of aborted fetal remains, mandates abortion clinics become licensed surgical centers and prohibits doctors from prescribing the RU-486 abortion bill through an online service. The bill also makes it criminal to coerce a woman into having an abortion.
Thursday, June 14, 2012
The Oral Contraceptive as Abortifacient: An Analysis of the Evidence
Dennis M. Sullivan, Perspectives on Science and Christian Faith: Pro-life Christian ethicists and medical practitioners have been united in their opposition to abortion, but have sometimes been divided in their ethical approach to hormonal contraception. Even though many Christians believe that birth control may be a moral option, some claim that the “Pill” acts, at least some of the time, as an abortifacient. If true, Christians who hold that human personhood begins at conception would be morally opposed to the use of combined oral contraceptives.
This article examines the scientific evidence for an abortifacient effect of such contraceptive agents, and concludes that such an effect is yet unproven. Some of the ethical arguments are also examined, and the author suggests that further research on early pregnancy factor (EPF) may help to resolve this controversial issue.
For what it's worth, some Natural Family Planning websites:
Byrum: 'Vasectomy' comment led to ban from Michigan House floor
Byrum: 'Vasectomy' comment led to ban from Michigan House floor | wzzm13.com: Things got heated on the House floor Wednesday. State Rep. Barb Byrum, D-Onondaga, tried unsuccessfully to propose an amendment to a bill which seeks to increase regulations on abortion clinics and regulate the disposal of fetal remains. She was heard muttering "vasectomy" as she walked away. In an interview today, Byrum said her amendment would have made vasectomies subject to the same regulations as abortions.
Editor: I see nothing wrong with regulating vasectomies, do you?
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Editor: I see nothing wrong with regulating vasectomies, do you?
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July LifeMatters bulletin insert posted early
Download and print "Whatsoever" . . . Voting for your congregation.
Faith scholars who backed Obama before see weakening Democratic interest in religious voters
Faith scholars who backed Obama before see weakening Democratic interest in religious voters - The Washington Post: The Democratic National Committee is promising a repeat performance in 2012. But some religious leaders and scholars who backed Obama in 2008 are skeptical. They say the Democrats have, through neglect and lack of focus, squandered the substantial gains they made with religious moderates and worry it will hurt Obama in a tight race against Republican Mitt Romney.
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Spread of 'baby boxes' in Europe alarms United Nations
Spread of 'baby boxes' in Europe alarms United Nations | World news | guardian.co.uk: The United Nations is increasingly concerned at the spread in Europe of "baby boxes" where infants can be secretly abandoned by parents, warning that the practice "contravenes the right of the child to be known and cared for by his or her parents."
Related: Baby boxes in Czech Republic: 'the first thing should be the child's right to life
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Related: Baby boxes in Czech Republic: 'the first thing should be the child's right to life
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Jindal Signs Abortion Bills
WWL - AM870 | FM105.3 | News | Talk | Sports - Jindal Signs Abortion Bills: Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal has signed into law what he calls legislation to "protect the sanctity of human life." A bill by Senator Sharon Weston Broome requires that women seeking abortions be given the option of hearing the fetal heartbeat and seeing ultrasound images prior to an abortion.
The governor's office says a bill by Senator Rick Ward creates a specific crime for performing an abortion in Louisiana, if the abortionist is not licensed to practice medicine in Louisiana. The legislation also creates the crime of "aggravated criminal abortion by dismemberment" when the unborn child is dismembered in the course of a criminal abortion.
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The governor's office says a bill by Senator Rick Ward creates a specific crime for performing an abortion in Louisiana, if the abortionist is not licensed to practice medicine in Louisiana. The legislation also creates the crime of "aggravated criminal abortion by dismemberment" when the unborn child is dismembered in the course of a criminal abortion.
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Whole fetal genome sequenced for the first time
BioNews - Whole fetal genome sequenced for the first time: Researchers have sequenced the entire genome of an 18 and a half-week-old fetus using DNA samples from the blood of its mother and saliva samples from its father. These findings provide a proof of principle that a fetus can be examined for genetic conditions using non-invasive technologies. This study, published in Science Translational Medicine, shows that it is possible to non-invasively sequence the whole genome of a fetus and to use that to check for smaller changes in the DNA, including more than 3000 single gene disorders. Currently, non-invasive screening is used to detect conditions where there is an extra copy of a chromosome, known as trisomy - including Down's syndrome, where there are three copies of chromosome 21.
Related:
Your Unborn Baby’s Genetic Code: Do You Want To Know?
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Related:
Your Unborn Baby’s Genetic Code: Do You Want To Know?
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Ted Turner: Reduce population by five billion people
Video: Ted Turner, Reduce population by five billion people | LifeSiteNews.com: the CNN founder was asked what his goal was for world population. “I think two billion is about right,” Turner said as he walked briskly away. In October, the number of people in the world reached seven billion.
Before disappearing Turner said he hoped to eliminate five billion people through the “one child family.” The interviewer made the correction, “One child policy.” Turner answered, “For 100 years.”
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Before disappearing Turner said he hoped to eliminate five billion people through the “one child family.” The interviewer made the correction, “One child policy.” Turner answered, “For 100 years.”
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Chinese official explains forced abortion policy funded by Obama administration
Chinese official explains forced abortion policy funded by Obama administration | LifeSiteNews.com: China’s ruthless population control program is aided heavily by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), an agency that the Obama administration is funding to the tune of $50 million per year.
Editor: Our tax dollars at work. Are we ashamed enough to do something? The least we can do is support the sex-selection abortion ban.
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Editor: Our tax dollars at work. Are we ashamed enough to do something? The least we can do is support the sex-selection abortion ban.
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Problems with health care law outlined
Family Research Council outlines the dangers of the Affordable Care Act.
Growing Army of Black Pro-Lifers Targets Abortion
McKee: Growing Army of Black Pro-Lifers Targets Abortion: The black pro-life movement is making its voice heard in black communities. For example, the Radiance Foundation’s “Black Children Are an Endangered Species” and TooManyAborted.com campaigns inform black women of the perils of being captured by the “abortion army.” They have gotten the opposition’s attention."
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Important new study on the effects of same-sex marriage
Important new study on the effects of same-sex marriage : Turtle Bay and Beyond – International Law, Policy, and Institutions: Children with a parent in a same-sex relationship “underperform” in almost every category. Some of these differences may be relatively benign — whether one voted in the last presidential election, for example — but most are decidedly not.
Read the study -- How different are the adult children of parents who have same-sex relationships? Findings from the New Family Structures Study
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Read the study -- How different are the adult children of parents who have same-sex relationships? Findings from the New Family Structures Study
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'Forced abortion' picture causes uproar in China
AFP: 'Forced abortion' picture causes uproar in China: Outraged Chinese web users expressed doubt that Feng had agreed to the abortion, and even state-run media outlets condemned the procedure.
"Who would ever drop a bleeding baby beside its mother?" posted one Chinese web user on Internet news portal Netease.com. "This is what they say the Japanese devils and Nazis did. But it's happening in reality and it is by no means the only case... They (the officials) should be executed."
Another web user, posting on popular forum clubkdnet.net, said China's family planning system had been "openly killing people for years in the name of national policy" adding: "What is wrong with society?"
Related:
Chinese Woman Forcibly Aborted at 7 Months
More details come out
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"Who would ever drop a bleeding baby beside its mother?" posted one Chinese web user on Internet news portal Netease.com. "This is what they say the Japanese devils and Nazis did. But it's happening in reality and it is by no means the only case... They (the officials) should be executed."
Another web user, posting on popular forum clubkdnet.net, said China's family planning system had been "openly killing people for years in the name of national policy" adding: "What is wrong with society?"
Related:
Chinese Woman Forcibly Aborted at 7 Months
More details come out
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Canadian undercover sting reveals more evidence of sex-selective abortion
Canadian undercover sting reveals more evidence of sex-selective abortion | LifeSiteNews.com: A recent investigation by the CBC into privately owned ultrasound clinics in Canadian cities found that almost three quarters of the twenty-two so-called “entertainment ultrasound” businesses visited in the undercover operation said they were willing to do a scan solely to determine the sex of an unborn child, some as early as 14 weeks gestation.
The release of CBC’s sting coincides with the release of several undercover videos in the United States by the group Live Action showing employees at Planned Parenthood and other abortion clinics offer to help women obtain sex-selective abortions.
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The release of CBC’s sting coincides with the release of several undercover videos in the United States by the group Live Action showing employees at Planned Parenthood and other abortion clinics offer to help women obtain sex-selective abortions.
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Connecticut says abortion is ‘an essential health benefit’
Connecticut says abortion is ‘an essential health benefit’ | LifeSiteNews.com: A Connecticut state health panel voted unanimously last week that elective abortion is an “essential health benefit.” This means Connecticut’s state health exchanges, which will be established in 2014 in accordance with the Obama administration’s health care reform law, must include coverage of abortion.
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After-birth Abortion and the Ethics Community’s Descent Into Madness (Part I)
After-birth Abortion and the Ethics Community’s Descent Into Madness (Part I) | NRL News Today: In analyzing this paper, one can only arrive at an apt analogy that runs afoul of Godwin’s Law, which states: “As an online discussion grows longer, the probability of a comparison involving Nazis or Hitler approaches one.” There is an exception to this rule, and that is when the contemporary circumstance under discussion moves beyond tenuous analogy and becomes recapitulation of history, echoing George Santayana’s admonition that those who are ignorant of history are condemned to repeat its mistakes.
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Alzheimer's Treatment: Scientists Turn Skin Cells Into Brain Cells
Alzheimer's Treatment: Scientists Turn Skin Cells Into Brain Cells - ABC News: A team of scientists has discovered what could be a novel source for researching and potentially treating Alzheimer's disease and other conditions involving the destruction of brain cells.
Related:
Related:
- Stem cells may preclude hip replacements
- UCLA stem cell researchers grow bone from fat cells
- Doctors Transplant Vein Grown from Patient's Own Cells
- Stem Cells From Corpses? Living Cells Can Be Harvested From Bodies Weeks After Death, Study Shows
- Heart disease linked to newly discovered type of stem cell
US raises concern on China abortion policy
AFP: US raises concern on China abortion policy: The United States voiced opposition Monday to China's one-child policy after activists reported that a five-month-pregnant woman faces an imminent forced abortion. State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said that the United States has asked China about the case of Cao Ruyi, who according to US campaigners will be forced to abort on Saturday unless she pays a hefty fine in Hunan province. "We make no secret that the United States strongly opposes all aspects of China's coercive birth limitation policies, including forced abortion and sterilization, and we always raise these issues with the Chinese government," Nuland told reporters.
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Why Do "Social Justice" Christians Ignore Pro-Life Issues?
Why Do "Social Justice" Christians Ignore Pro-Life Issues? | LifeNews.com: An abortion is the intentional killing of an unborn child inside (or partially inside) the womb. Social justice is . . . what exactly?
Again and again I see young social justice-focused evangelicals abandoning any effective voice for the unborn for the sake of an ephemeral, culturally-fashionable concept that as a practical matter means little more than advocating a utopian ideal through a grab-bag of banal, functionally socialist policies. Moreover, the embrace of social justice often drives them functionally into the arms of a political party and political movements that are dedicated to protecting and even subsidizing the “right” to kill children on a vast, industrial scale.
Social justice must be virtuous indeed to be worth such a high cost. So, what is it? Well, it turns out that to many on the Left, legalized abortion is an indispensable aspect of social justice. . . .
[I]n exchange for adopting fashionable leftist policies that at worst actually harm the people they’re trying to help and at best represent debatably-effective solutions to complex and intractable problems, the social justice Christian Left has thrown under the bus the most vulnerable citizens of this (or any) culture — unborn children. Because, you see, if you’re truly effective and outspoken in your opposition to abortion, then you’re just a “culture warrior.” And God knows, you don’t want to be one of those.
So, please, let’s drop the false moral pretense of “social justice.” You’re not fooling anyone. You’re a leftist seeking leftist solutions to known cultural problems, and in so doing you’ve elected to side with those who seek the legal right to intentionally kill children. Oh, you may claim to be pro life even as you work diligently to maintain and increase the power of those individuals and institutions that advance and protect our abortion regime, but you’ve made your choice in the real world.
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Again and again I see young social justice-focused evangelicals abandoning any effective voice for the unborn for the sake of an ephemeral, culturally-fashionable concept that as a practical matter means little more than advocating a utopian ideal through a grab-bag of banal, functionally socialist policies. Moreover, the embrace of social justice often drives them functionally into the arms of a political party and political movements that are dedicated to protecting and even subsidizing the “right” to kill children on a vast, industrial scale.
Social justice must be virtuous indeed to be worth such a high cost. So, what is it? Well, it turns out that to many on the Left, legalized abortion is an indispensable aspect of social justice. . . .
[I]n exchange for adopting fashionable leftist policies that at worst actually harm the people they’re trying to help and at best represent debatably-effective solutions to complex and intractable problems, the social justice Christian Left has thrown under the bus the most vulnerable citizens of this (or any) culture — unborn children. Because, you see, if you’re truly effective and outspoken in your opposition to abortion, then you’re just a “culture warrior.” And God knows, you don’t want to be one of those.
So, please, let’s drop the false moral pretense of “social justice.” You’re not fooling anyone. You’re a leftist seeking leftist solutions to known cultural problems, and in so doing you’ve elected to side with those who seek the legal right to intentionally kill children. Oh, you may claim to be pro life even as you work diligently to maintain and increase the power of those individuals and institutions that advance and protect our abortion regime, but you’ve made your choice in the real world.
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Keepin' It Real: What Would You Do If They Walked Into Your Church?
Keepin' It Real: What Would You Do If They Walked Into Your Church?:
What would you do if they walked into your church? Would you politely welcome them? Would you hope they don't come back?
Editor: I'd add one more to the list -- She has three children with three different dads and isn't married to the father of her unborn child. What would your church do?
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- He has tattoos all over his arms and spent a few years in jail.
- He lived a homosexual lifestyle and occasionally was a cross dresser.
- She is bipolar and comes from a broken home.
- She was a cutter and battled bulimia.
- He has been arrested and is still paying for some of his crimes.
- She comes from a non-christian home and grew up in "the hood".
- He used to sell drugs, got kicked out of college, was addicted to porn.
What would you do if they walked into your church? Would you politely welcome them? Would you hope they don't come back?
Editor: I'd add one more to the list -- She has three children with three different dads and isn't married to the father of her unborn child. What would your church do?
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U.S. Senator Introduces Sex-Selection Abortion Ban
U.S. Senator Introduces Sex-Selection Abortion Ban | LifeNews.com: U.S. Senator David Vitter, a Louisiana Republican, has introduced the Senate version of the Prenatal Nondiscrimination Act, which would make it illegal to obtain an abortion due to a gender preference. Vitter’s bill has 26 co-sponsors and is similar to legislation the House supported with a majority vote that ultimately fell short because Democrats would not go along.
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Wednesday, June 13, 2012
Chinese woman forcibly aborted at seven months
Report: Chinese woman forcibly aborted at seven months (warning: extremely graphic) | LifeSiteNews.com: Feng Jianmei, was beaten and dragged into a vehicle by a group of Family Planning Officials while her husband, Deng Jiyuan, was out working. The officials asked for RMB 40,000 in fines from Feng Jianmei’s family. When they did not receive the money, the officials forcibly aborted Feng at seven months, laying the body of her aborted baby next to her in the bed.
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AZ justice cleared for confirmation to US appeals court
AZ justice cleared for confirmation to US appeals court : Welcome to StarNet - Tucson, Arizona: Central to the opposition was the fact that Arizona Supreme Court Justice Andrew Hurwitz was law clerk to U.S. District Judge Jon Newman when Newman voided a Connecticut law outlawing abortion in 1972. Further, in a 2003 law review article, Hurwitz said Newman's ruling became the precursor of the landmark Roe v. Wade ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court saying women have a constitutional right to terminate their pregnancies.
Update: Senate confirms Hurwitz
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Update: Senate confirms Hurwitz
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We Need Both Genders to Stand Up Against Abortion!
We Need Both Genders to Stand Up Against Abortion!: Men have every right to be talking and working against abortion! Gender does not validate or invalidate an argument, to discriminate so is to commit a logical fallacy. Beyond that, the argument that men are not affected by abortion is completely wrong! Millions of male babies have been aborted, each one of them having a father. Men have no legal say if their child is aborted against their will, so not only should men have a say on this issue, but men have been directly affected because they have had rights taken away from them as a result of legalized abortion!
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Why Racial Justice Is a Gospel Issue
Moore to the Point – Black and White and Red All Over: Why Racial Justice Is a Gospel Issue: How can white supremacy be true if humanity is made from “one blood” in the creation of Adam? How can one segregate evangelistic crusades if the cross of Christ atones for all people, both white and black? If God personally regenerates repentant sinners, both white and black, how can we see people in terms of “race” rather than in terms of the person? If we send missionaries across the seas to evangelize Africa, how is it not hypocrisy not to admit African-Americans into church membership? The biblical power of the argument is true, regardless of whether all the civil rights pioneers believed in biblical orthodoxy.
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“Just As Long As It's Healthy...”
“Just As Long As It's Healthy...” - Desiring God: Every couple experiencing pregnancy gets this question: do you want a boy or a girl? Many will respond this way, “we don’t care, just as long as it's healthy.”
But "healthy" exists on a spectrum of possibilities just like disability. And that spectrum is becoming narrower with every year that passes. Last week, The New York Times reported that University of Washington genome scientists were able identify the DNA sequence of a fetus with 98% accuracy, and with safer, non-invasive techniques.
Editor: "It"?
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But "healthy" exists on a spectrum of possibilities just like disability. And that spectrum is becoming narrower with every year that passes. Last week, The New York Times reported that University of Washington genome scientists were able identify the DNA sequence of a fetus with 98% accuracy, and with safer, non-invasive techniques.
Editor: "It"?
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City of churches will still pay for abortion
GR abortion insurance change fails | WOOD TV8: Commissioner Dave Shaffer said he wanted to change the language in the city employee health care plan to more narrowly define when an abortion can be covered by insurance. But in the end, no one else on the commission supported moving the idea forward.
As it reads now, insurance will pay for a city employee's abortion if it's deemed "medically necessary." Shaffer argued the current language is too broad and opens the door for taxpayers to in effect be forced to pay for abortions under any circumstances. He proposed some new language. "That would say in regards to our healthcare plan that we wouldn't fund abortion except in the case of life of the mother or rape or incest," he explained.
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As it reads now, insurance will pay for a city employee's abortion if it's deemed "medically necessary." Shaffer argued the current language is too broad and opens the door for taxpayers to in effect be forced to pay for abortions under any circumstances. He proposed some new language. "That would say in regards to our healthcare plan that we wouldn't fund abortion except in the case of life of the mother or rape or incest," he explained.
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UK experts: Research methods to make embryos from 2 women, 1 man should be allowed if safe
UK experts: Research methods to make embryos from 2 women, 1 man should be allowed if safe - The Washington Post: An influential British bioethics group says that couples who face the risk of having a baby with certain genetic diseases should be allowed to use eggs from two women to produce the embryo. Such controversial procedures should only be allowed if they are proven safe, the Nuffield Council on Bioethics said Tuesday, but its advice seems likely to reignite debate. Currently, such treatments are only allowed for research in the U.K., and British law forbids altering a human egg or embryo before transferring it into a woman.
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Thursday, June 7, 2012
Sex-selection, abortion, and the pro-choice movement: Why liberals shouldn't gulp
Sex-selection, abortion, and the pro-choice movement: Why liberals shouldn't gulp: "It doesn’t matter that sex-selection abortions are rare in the United States. They do happen. And it doesn’t matter how slimy and slippery slopey the anti-choicers tactics are. (Aren’t you used to that yet? They’re good!) What’s relevant is that it’s entirely irrelevant why a woman wants an abortion."
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Genetic Test on 3,500 Anomalies Could Lead to More Abortions
Genetic Test on 3,500 Anomalies Could Lead to More Abortions | LifeNews.com: As some parents seek to give birth to only “perfect” children who are supposedly free from any physical or mental disabilities, such genetic testing proves to continue to be controversial. While it helps some parents know what to expect or how to help their children after birth, it lends to extremely high abortion rates of children with any hint of “something wrong.”
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Doctors caught in the abortion wars
Doctors caught in the abortion wars - Salon.com: The antiabortion movement is increasingly targeting doctors -- and a few partisan physicians are lending it a hand.
Editor: "Targeting" is an unfortunate word choice. And why are pro-life doctors the only ones labeled "partisan"?
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Editor: "Targeting" is an unfortunate word choice. And why are pro-life doctors the only ones labeled "partisan"?
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The pro-abortion generation is disappearing, the pro-life generation rising
I watched, as parents of a college-age girl were frustrated because their daughter was excited about our display and very vocally pro-life. They were not happy when she put a donation into our jar. I could see the pain on the faces of a couple of women who were obviously post-abortive as they cursed us for having a display showing life. “Appalling, disgusting, sick”; these are just a few of the words I heard about the beautiful pictures of children developing in the womb.
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What Does Gov. Scott Walker’s Recall Victory Mean for Unborn Children?
What Does Gov. Scott Walker’s Recall Victory Mean for Unborn Children? | NRL News Today: Gov. Walker is a true believer in preserving the sanctity of human life. He began his advocacy for life as a student at Marquette University where he was leader of the campus pro-life group. As a state Assembly Representative and now as Governor, Walker has established an unprecedented record of leadership and support for the most vulnerable among us.
In the short time he has been governor, a number of laws that will make a difference have been signed, including to take dollars away from Planned Parenthood, curb the abortion involvement of the University of Wisconsin Hospital Authority, protect taxpayers from paying for abortions, and protect women from coerced and dangerous RU486 chemical abortions. As a result of that law, Planned Parenthood and one other abortion clinic have stopped doing chemical abortions in Wisconsin.
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In the short time he has been governor, a number of laws that will make a difference have been signed, including to take dollars away from Planned Parenthood, curb the abortion involvement of the University of Wisconsin Hospital Authority, protect taxpayers from paying for abortions, and protect women from coerced and dangerous RU486 chemical abortions. As a result of that law, Planned Parenthood and one other abortion clinic have stopped doing chemical abortions in Wisconsin.
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Answering Objections
Stand to Reason Blog: Answering Objections: If the Bible is from God and not from culture, wouldn't we expect that it would conflict with every culture at every time? And that is what we see. If it was produced merely by men living in a particular culture, it would reflect a particular culture rather than conflict with it. So rather than cultural objections working against the Bible, it's actually an indication that it stands outside of culture And that's a line of argument that the Bible is from God, not man.
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IVF 'higher risk of complication'
BBC News - IVF 'higher risk of complication': There is a higher risk of complications and multiple births in pregnancies that result from IVF techniques, say experts. A report by the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists said there were increased risks of premature births, low birth weight and congenital abnormalities. However, it said the vast majority of IVF children were as healthy as other children.
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Wednesday, June 6, 2012
Children with 'three parents' could become reality
Children with 'three parents' could become reality - Telegraph: The controversial techniques would allow women with serious inheritable diseases to avoid passing them on to her children. The conditions, collectively known as mitochondrial disease, can cause severe disability and death.
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The United Methodist Church’s pro-abortion ideology might have aborted Jesus
The United Methodist Church’s pro-abortion ideology might have aborted Jesus | LifeSiteNews.com: There are many on the “religious left” who have decided that religion is nice, God is good, but the culture is more important. Therefore, they have decided to take the pieces they like best of the Bible—good, loving God who forgives all weakness—and mix them with the lies of the culture—abortion should be a woman’s choice because it’s not a life until, well, they don’t know until when, but not until they say so at least.
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Top Anglican bishop condemns abortion, promiscuity, divorce
Top Anglican bishop condemns abortion, promiscuity, divorce in reflection on Queen’s Jubilee | LifeSiteNews.com: The Right Reverend Richard Chartres, bishop of London, raisef concerns about the state of the family and its children in England, including the unborn, and says “the 2012 Jubilee offers us an opportunity to pause and reflect not only on an extraordinary reign but also on what the Jubilee could mean to us as a nation.”
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Undercover in America
New from Live Action! Abortion clinics in Arizona caught skirting the law against aborting on the basis of gender.
Michigan House to take up pro-life omnibus bill on June 7
Prolife Action Center: On Thursday, May 31, a package of three bills was introduced in the Michigan House that represents the largest collection of prolife legislation ever addressed at one time in the legislature. House Bill 5711 is an omnibus bill combining several currently introduced prolife bills into one large new omnibus bill. Here is a brief description of the bills included in the “Prolife Bus" (along with their former bill numbers). Contact your Michigan legislator today!
Related:
Louisiana passes three pro-life bills, NC restricts Planned Parenthood funding, and more
Indiana abortion rate drops another 5% in 2010; lowest rate since 1977
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Related:
Louisiana passes three pro-life bills, NC restricts Planned Parenthood funding, and more
Indiana abortion rate drops another 5% in 2010; lowest rate since 1977
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Blackballing Nat Hentoff
Real Clear Religion: Nat Hentoff is a legendary civil libertarian and journalist. He's and atheist and also pro-life. His conversion from pro-choice to pro-life, and the fallout that resulted, is explained in an essay in the new book, The Debate Since Roe: Making the Case Against Abortion 1975-2010. It's a compendium of essays from the journal Human Life Review.
A famous liberal who was a staple at the Village Voice and who had a column in the Washington Post, in the 1980s Hentoff actually let himself be swayed by evidence about abortion. It happened when Hentoff was reporting on the case of Baby Jane Doe.
A famous liberal who was a staple at the Village Voice and who had a column in the Washington Post, in the 1980s Hentoff actually let himself be swayed by evidence about abortion. It happened when Hentoff was reporting on the case of Baby Jane Doe.
Tuesday, June 5, 2012
‘Walking though fire’: A mother’s desperate fight against breast cancer, and for her unborn baby
‘Walking though fire’: A mother’s desperate fight against breast cancer, and for her unborn baby | LifeSiteNews.com: Pam agreed to the full removal of her breast because she wanted to do all she could to keep her unborn baby safe. After waking weak and dazed from the operation, Pam was immediately told by her oncologist that the cancer had spread further than expected, infecting her lymph nodes. She was told that she must be prepared to make decisions that would be in her best interest. “I have to tell you that as your oncologist, you are my patient and my goal is to save your life,” Pam remembers her oncologist saying. “If we want to save your life, the best thing for you to do would be to have an abortion.”
Today, 16-year-old son Thomas is a “perfectly fine strapping young man” who plays football, runs track, and does well at school. He has no health problems and is “perfectly normal,” she says. But "the rest of the story" couldn't have happened if this mother hadn't courageously withstood tremendous pressure to abort -- from her doctors, husband, and in-laws. You'll want to read the rest of this remarkable story.
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Today, 16-year-old son Thomas is a “perfectly fine strapping young man” who plays football, runs track, and does well at school. He has no health problems and is “perfectly normal,” she says. But "the rest of the story" couldn't have happened if this mother hadn't courageously withstood tremendous pressure to abort -- from her doctors, husband, and in-laws. You'll want to read the rest of this remarkable story.
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Troubled Columbus Abortion Clinic Will Close
Columbus Abortion Clinic With Troubled History Will Close :Operation Rescue: Capital Care Women’s Center, an abortion clinic in Columbus, Ohio, will be closing this week. Operation Rescue released leaked hospital transcripts last week that show a history of botched abortions Capital Care. This closure is one of several in the past few weeks that has brought the number of surgical abortion clinics to a new low of 659.
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The California Institute for Regenerative Mendacity
The California Institute for Regenerative Mendacity » Secondhand Smoke | A First Things Blog: I remember the media’s swooning about campaign surrogates’ predictions that California’s Medicaid costs would shrink from the new treatments developed by CIRM grants, which would also stimulate an economic boom from all the businesses created by CIRM-funded breakthroughs. None of that happened, but that hasn’t stopped the Mandarins that run the CIRM from planning a ballot renewal in 2014.
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“From Planned Parenthood v. Casey until the ‘Day after Roe’: Casey’s Impact on Abortion Jurisprudence
VIDEO: AUL’s Legal Symposium – “From Planned Parenthood v. Casey until the ‘Day after Roe’: Casey’s Impact on Abortion Jurisprudence | Americans United for Life | AUL.org: On Thursday May 31, 2012, Americans United for Life presented a luncheon symposium entitled “From Planned Parenthood v. Casey until the ‘Day after Roe’: Casey’s Impact on Abortion Jurisprudence.” The event featured Erika Bachiochi, Michael Paulsen, Clarke Forsythe, and William Saunders.
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Ask Mr. Dad: Abortion not just a women's issue
Ask Mr. Dad: Abortion not just a women's issue - KansasCity.com: The Kansas City Star's Mr. Dad advice columnist was asked what men can do when their partner wants an abortion: "My girlfriend is pregnant. We'd talked about having children someday but hadn't expected it would happen so soon. She wants to terminate the pregnancy. But all of a sudden I'm feeling very depressed. I really want to be a dad and her decision to have an abortion is going to put an end to that dream, at least for a while. I've always thought of myself as pro choice, but now that the decision affects me, I'm not so sure. Do I have a vote here?"
This is a pertinent question in light of Father's Day coming up. Mr. Dad didn't do too badly. Here are some resources concerning dad's and abortion.
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This is a pertinent question in light of Father's Day coming up. Mr. Dad didn't do too badly. Here are some resources concerning dad's and abortion.
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ObamaCare: Worse than you think
This video from the Alliance Defense Fund shows how ObamaCare includes plans that fund elective abortions, charges people for life-saving drugs while making life-ending drugs free, and seriously fines those who do not comply.
In U.S., 46% Hold Creationist View of Human Origins
In U.S., 46% Hold Creationist View of Human Origins: Forty-six percent of Americans believe in the creationist view that God created humans in their present form at one time within the last 10,000 years. The prevalence of this creationist view of the origin of humans is essentially unchanged from 30 years ago, when Gallup first asked the question. About a third of Americans believe that humans evolved, but with God's guidance; 15% say humans evolved, but that God had no part in the process.
Editor: We are not alone.
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Editor: We are not alone.
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As Year-Old Laws Take Hold, Abortions Tumble in Florida
As Year-Old Laws Take Hold, Abortions Tumble in Florida | Sunshine State News: Even as Planned Parenthood unleashes a $1.4 million advertising campaign against Mitt Romney in Florida and a handful of other states, the nation's leading abortion provider is losing business. From 2008 to 2011, the number of abortions dropped 19 percent in Florida, and that downward trend continues this year. State legislators take some of the credit for the decrease, citing tougher regulations on abortion clinics.
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Former president of APA says organization controlled by ‘gay rights’ movement
Former president of APA says organization controlled by ‘gay rights’ movement | LifeSiteNews.com: Dr. Nicholas Cummings was President of the APA from 1979 to 1980, and also served as a member of the organization’s Council of Representatives. He served for years as Chief of Mental Health with the Kaiser-Permanente Health Maintenance Organization, and is the author of the book “Destructive Trends in Mental Health: The Well-Intentioned Path to Harm.”
The APA “started changing pretty drastically by the late 1980s,” said Cummings. “By the mid 1990s, the Leona Tyler principle was absolutely forgotten, that political stances seemed to override any scientific results. Cherry-picking results became the mode. The gay rights movement sort of captured the APA.” Recalling his own work with homosexuals who wanted to leave the gay lifestyle during his tenure at Kaiser Permanente, he said, “It’s a difficult therapy, and it’s not huge in terms of numbers, but yes we have seen success, and this is why the stance that ‘you can never change’—Ronald Reagan said ‘never say never’—it’s absurd."
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The APA “started changing pretty drastically by the late 1980s,” said Cummings. “By the mid 1990s, the Leona Tyler principle was absolutely forgotten, that political stances seemed to override any scientific results. Cherry-picking results became the mode. The gay rights movement sort of captured the APA.” Recalling his own work with homosexuals who wanted to leave the gay lifestyle during his tenure at Kaiser Permanente, he said, “It’s a difficult therapy, and it’s not huge in terms of numbers, but yes we have seen success, and this is why the stance that ‘you can never change’—Ronald Reagan said ‘never say never’—it’s absurd."
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Why PRENDA won but lost... but won
Why PRENDA won but lost... but won: PRENDA (the Prenatal Nondiscrimination Act) is not dead. It is still live and can be called again for a vote at any time, leaving the other side to worry whether they will see PRENDA return to the House floor for another vote yet this year. The inevitable passage of PRENDA has taken its first step. And the other side was lured into the debate, which will turn out to be quite unhelpful for them.
Comments by Wesley J. Smith: Pro lifers are attacking the abortion license piece, by piece, by piece. Expect . . . federal and state legislation seeking to outlaw sex selection abortion. (Four states already do, but this will really raise the profile of the issue.) That would put the pro choice side into a tight political box. If they let it go, they would be admitting that there is a reason for abortion that is so illegitimate it should be outlawed. But if they oppose, they are in the position of defending sex selection. I predict that latter will be seen as preferable to the former. Thus, once such a law is enacted, look for PP, other pro choice groups and the ACLU to sueto legally prevent the legal prevention of sex selection abortions. That would transform “female feticide”into the next “partial birth abortion” and materially help the pro life cause.
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Comments by Wesley J. Smith: Pro lifers are attacking the abortion license piece, by piece, by piece. Expect . . . federal and state legislation seeking to outlaw sex selection abortion. (Four states already do, but this will really raise the profile of the issue.) That would put the pro choice side into a tight political box. If they let it go, they would be admitting that there is a reason for abortion that is so illegitimate it should be outlawed. But if they oppose, they are in the position of defending sex selection. I predict that latter will be seen as preferable to the former. Thus, once such a law is enacted, look for PP, other pro choice groups and the ACLU to sueto legally prevent the legal prevention of sex selection abortions. That would transform “female feticide”into the next “partial birth abortion” and materially help the pro life cause.
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Monday, June 4, 2012
Former Democratic Party state chairman says party needs to make room for pro-lifers
Former Democratic Party state chairman says party needs to make room for pro-lifers | LifeSiteNews.com: A former state chairman of the Democratic Party has said his party has become too intolerant on the issue of abortion. Former Alabama Party Chairman Joe Turnham said, “the national platform does not welcome those who oppose abortion even though our whole life position is a natural fit with Democratic priorities of aiding the hungry, poor and downtrodden.”
Commentary on the "whole life" position
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Commentary on the "whole life" position
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Global Warming Hysteria: Greenland Melted in 1930s
Wesley J. Smith: Recently unearthed photographs taken by Danish explorers in the 1930s show glaciers in Greenland retreating faster than they are today, according to researchers. After the expedition returned the photographs were used to make maps and charts of the area, then placed in archives in Denmark where they lay forgotten for decades. Then, in recent years, international researchers trying to find information on the history of the Greenland glaciers stumbled across them. It now appears that the glaciers were retreating even faster eighty years ago: but nobody worried about it, and the ice subsequently came back again.
Evolutionary Call to Arms
Feedback: Evolutionary Call to Arms - Answers in Genesis: “Ignoring the creationist threat will not make it go away,” warns paleontologist Russell Garwood in his article “Reach out to defend evolution,” published May 16 in the journal Nature. He wrote an article condemning the way creationists, especially Answers in Genesis, present the work of evolutionists to the public and called upon evolutionists to get more aggressive and proactive in their defense of evolution. The problem, according to Dr. Garwood, is that the shrewd, calculating “creationist machine” uses evolutionary academic research as “fodder” to “feed anti-evolution disinformation.”
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