Illinois Right to Life Committee
JUNE 2007
June, 2007 Pro-Life News (see articles below): 06/29/07 Evidence of where the slippery slope leads 06/26/07 More evidence of public shift to pro-life position 06/22/07 Planned Parenthood not welcome 06/12/07 Contrast of life and death decisions 06/08/07 Abortionist settles out of court for his violence against pro-lifer 06/05/07 More evidence of the personhood of brain injury victims 06/01/07 The distortion of political correctness
Illinois Right to Life News for Tuesday, June 29, 2007 Evidence of where the slippery slope leads Last year reports surfaced about the use of aborted babies as a supply for fetal tissue used by renegade health care providers of claimed cures for many ailments. The June 2007 Special Report from Human Life International gives the gruesome details on how widespread this demand for fetal tissue has become. The deadliest activity seems to be occurring in the Ukraine. A doctor who investigated the situation there nearly lost his life as a result of revealing the deadly baby parts business. Two especially horrible means used to obtain fetal tissue involve the killing of babies either by convincing the parents that they have serious fetal abnormalities leading to abortion or just stealing the born children and telling the parents the child died after birth. The doctor found that almost all pregnant women in the Ukraine are being told there is a very high probability that their preborn children have serious birth defects. The result is an abortion rate six times higher than the rate in the United States. Even that atrocity does not produce enough babies to satisfy the demand for fetal tissue so some babies are stolen after birth. Apparently, the corruption is so pervasive that parents have no recourse when told that their baby died or is simply gone. Of course, the demand for fetal tissue is created by unethical providers who make wild claims about the potential for fetal tissue to cure a wide variety of human ailments. Desperate people are paying them $20 to 30,000 to obtain these ultimately fruitless treatments offered in locations where no oversight of health care practices exist. Once human life is devalued by accepting abortion, any baby becomes expendable for the benefit of unethical people who no longer place any value on human life.
Our efforts to defend human life are critical to prevent this continued slide down the slippery slope from reaching our own nation. Celebrate our nation’s heritage on July 4th, but never forget that heritage has been stained by failure to protect the right to life of preborn children. We cannot rest until recognition of their right to life has been restored. Have a happy Fourth of July.
Illinois Right to Life News for Tuesday, June 26, 2007 More evidence of public shift to pro-life position Researchers Christopher Blunt, a political
consultant at Overbrook Research, and Fred Steeper, a consultant at Market Strategies,
have released a study on the public view of abortion.
The study, Turnaround on Abortion, cites the debate over partial
birth abortion and the move towards a less confrontational approach as reasons for a
“dramatic” change in the political climate surrounding abortion. The
researchers concluded that the strategy shifts of the pro-life movement in the last
fifteen years have worked, based on their extensive data. "No longer must pro-life leaders explain
the presence of clinic bombers and other extremists within their movement," they
said. "Instead, it is the pro-choice movement which must explain its support for
partial-birth abortion and opposition to popular policies such as parental consent." "Not only has the public been paying
attention, but average voters have been drawing their own conclusions about who the
abortion extremists are—and changing sides to reflect those conclusions," the
authors reported. The study used data from Missouri for underlying statistics. In 1992, only 30% of Missouri voters called themselves pro-life while 43% called themselves pro-choice. By 2006, the data shows that pro-life self-identification has grown to 41% with just 30% identifying as pro-choice. “In other words,” writes Blunt, “the turnaround has been nearly complete.” Coincidentally, at nearly the same time, the very liberal New York Times has run an op-ed piece entitled “Why Pro-Choice is a Bad Choice for Democrats.” Melinda Henneberger (author of “If They Only Listened to Us") points out that the common belief of the liberal Democrat—that abortion is a settled issue and is only opposed by an “extreme” minority—is false. Henneberger writes, “Over 18 months, I traveled to 20 states listening to women of all ages, races, tax brackets and points of view speak at length on the issues they care about heading into ’08. They convinced me that the conventional wisdom was wrong about the last presidential contest, that Democrats did not lose support among women because ‘security moms’ saw President Bush as the better protector against terrorism. What first-time defectors mentioned most often was abortion.” While Henneberger stops short of saying that perhaps Democrats might consider actually siding with pro-life advocates on the issue, she does point out that the liberal devotion to the “right” to abortion on demand in all circumstances is damaging to the public view of Democrats. Even with all their devious means and misleading arguments, I think the so-called pro-choice movement will continue to have difficulty explaining its support for partial-birth abortion and its opposition to parental consent. Pray that the electorate continues to pay attention to who maintains extreme positions and chooses their candidates wisely in 2008.
Illinois Right to Life News for Friday, June 22, 2007 Planned Parenthood Not Welcome Planned Parenthood recently released their latest annual report. Unfortunately, they had new record revenue of $902.8 million, including $305.3 million in government funding. However, both their revenue from services and from donations dropped slightly. Maybe some people are discovering that Planned Parenthood is really an unwelcome addition in any community. Missouri is leading the way. Governor
Matt Blunt is expected to sign a bill that would place new regulations on abortion clinics
and could cost Planned Parenthood $1 million per site.
Under the legislation, any clinic that performs more than five
first-trimester abortions per month, or any later-term abortions, would have to comply
with the specifications for an ambulatory surgical center.
The new requirements would take effect August 28th. Planned Parenthood is apparently evaluating
whether to close the affected sites, spend the money, or challenge the law in court. An apparent victory for
Planned Parenthood in Philadelphia did not last long.
On June 7, the City Council approved a resolution that proclaimed that
Philadelphia was a "Pro-Choice City" which supports "women's reproductive
rights and freedom." Immediately after
the news was released of the 9-8 vote, Cardinal Justin Rigali, the Archbishop of
Philadelphia, released a statement that condemned the decision and urged people of good
will to reject the divisive and erroneous label that the Philadelphia City Council was
forcing upon the citizens of Philadelphia. Then
on June 14, the city council reversed itself by a vote of 13-4, ultimately rejecting
Planned Parenthood’s resolution. Planned Parenthood is very upset after Fox and
CBS refused to run condom ads from Trojan. According to The New York Times, the
commercial will run on ABC, NBC and nine cable networks, but not on Fox and CBS. In a written response to Trojan, Fox said it
rejected the spot because, "Contraceptive advertising must stress health-related uses
rather than the prevention of pregnancy." In
its rejection, CBS wrote, "We do not find it appropriate for our network even with
late-night-only restrictions." Even
though it is surprising, at least two networks did the right thing. Pray that more people will recognize the evil that Planned Parenthood represents. The future of our children depends on stopping the agenda of Planned Parenthood to get them involved in casual sex as a means to generate more revenue.
Illinois Right to Life News for Tuesday, June 12, 2007 Contrast of life and
death decisions A Minnesota couple’s decision to choose life for all six of their babies achieved the live birth of all six on June 12th. At only 22 weeks gestation, the six babies remain in critical condition and weigh between 11 ounces and 1 pound, 3 ounces. There are four boys and two girls. Of course, the couple’s and their children’s’ story would have been far different if doctors had their way. The doctors wanted to perform “selective reduction” but Ryan and Brianna Morrison rejected that option to play God. They stated, "We understand that the risk is high, but we also understand that these little ones are much more than six fetuses. Each one of them is a miracle given to us by God." The decision of the Morrisons comes in stark contrast to the fatal decision made by Dan
and Tina Neil in May 2007. Dan wrote
flippantly about their decision to have “selective reduction” from four babies
to two in a column where he criticized the Supreme Court decision to uphold the ban on
partial birth abortion. He stated, “My wife and I just had an abortion. Two,
actually. We walked into a doctor's office in downtown Los Angeles with four thriving
fetuses — two girls and two boys — and walked out an hour later with just the
girls.” He continued, “We didn't want to. We didn't mean to. We didn't do anything wrong, which is to say, we did everything right. Four years ago, when Tina and I set out on this journey to have children, such a circumstance was unimaginable. And yet there I was, holding her hand, watching the ultrasound as a needle with potassium chloride found its mark, stopping the heart of one male fetus, then the other, hidden in my wife's suffering belly. We don't feel guilty. We don't feel ashamed. We're not even really sad, because terminating these fetuses — at 15 weeks' gestation — was a medical imperative.” This contrast of utmost respect for life on the one hand compared to the utilitarian control demanded over life in the other case clearly portrays the dangerous disrespect for human life that is possible with the use of in vitro fertilization and other fertility treatments. The physicians involved in providing such treatments have clearly accepted the role of playing God by strongly insisting on “selective reduction” when multiple babies are ultimately conceived. The ultimate psychological consequences for both parents and the surviving children involved in “selective reduction” remain to be seen. Parents who allowed the “selective reduction” procedure at the urging of their physicians have already experienced the impact of recognizing the missing children once the survivors are born. Some have experienced depression and other consequences from considering that one of the children they have might have been killed and wondering what the missing children would be like.
Illinois Right to Life News for Friday, June 8, 2007 Abortionist settles out of court for his violence against pro-lifer More
credit is due to attorney Tom Brejcha, the chief counsel of Chicago’s Thomas More
Society, who with assistance from Chicago lawyer Jason Braddock, won a case against
Yogendra Shah, the chief abortionist of Hope abortion Clinic in Granite City, Illinois.
WorldNetDaily reports that Shah paid an unknown settlement to parents Daniel and Angela
Michael and their daughter Arielle, for attempting to run over Daniel in his car and for
an assault on Arielle by one of the abortion clinic escorts 7 years earlier. By paying the money, Shah will avoid going to
court.
Illinois Right to Life News for Tuesday, June 5, 2007 More evidence of the personhood of brain injury victims Terri Schiavo made the news again, even though it was for the wrong reason. USA Today has placed Terri on a list of the top 25
people over the last 25 years who have made a major impact on society. The
editors say they selected Terri because of the impact her life and death had on end of
life decisions and prompting millions of Americans to look at their own living wills or to
talk to loved ones about what they'd want. Terri's family and supporters appreciate her
inclusion in the list, but say USA Today added her for the wrong reasons. "USA Today opines that Terri's contribution
concerns living wills. I disagree,"
stated author and bioethics watchdog Wesley J. Smith.
"I think her most profound legacy is that after Terri, no one can now
say they are unaware that we dehydrate people to death because they have profound
cognitive disabilities," he explained. Terri's brother, Bobby Schindler continues to
see the impact that her life had. "As I
travel throughout the US and around the world speaking about my beloved sister, I continue
to be deeply moved by the number of people who are very disturbed with the manner in which
Terri was deliberately killed," he said. Providentially, more evidence against living wills and supporting the personhood of Terri and other victims of brain injury just occurred in Poland. A Polish railway worker has astonished his doctors by waking spontaneously after 19 years and talking about memories of his time in a “coma”. Jan Grzewski was injured at work and while he was hospitalized, his doctors found cancer in his brain and predicted he would not recover. After his doctors concluded nothing more could be done for him, Mr. Grzewski’s wife, Gertruda, cared for him at home, moving his body and feeding him by hand. Gertruda noticed last year that he was trying to speak and Mr. Grzewski was returned to the hospital for further treatment. After regaining his ability to speak, Mr. Grzewski told his relatives that he has memories of family gatherings while he was supposedly ‘comatose,’ at which they spoke to him, trying to elicit a response. Mrs. Grzewski, her husband’s doctor said, did the work of an entire intensive care team, turning him every hour to prevent bed sore infections. “I cried a lot, and prayed a lot,” she said. “Those who came to see us kept asking, ‘When is he going to die?’ But he’s not dead.” Grzewski’s prognosis is positive and his doctors expect him to be able to walk soon. Cases such as those of Terri Schiavo and Mr. Grzewski are being used around the western world as arguments for euthanasia by dehydration or withholding of nutrition for those in what is often called a “persistent vegetative state”. Grzewski’s recovery demonstrates that such arguments are invalid, and reconfirm the injustice perpetrated on Terri by removal of her feeding tube.
Illinois Right to Life News for Friday, June 1, 2007 The distortion of
political correctness Jack Kevorkian was released from prison on June 1. Even though he created at least 130 victims by assisting their suicides, some people now consider him the victim. The media is ready to jump on this story. I expect he will be portrayed as someone who wanted to help people. It is suggested that he will again be pushing his assisted suicide agenda as much as he can under the limits of his parole. [Jack Kevorkian Will Have Limited Freedoms After His Prison Release] The holder of patents relating to embryonic
stem cell research will fight a patent office decision that would revoke those patents,
calling them “an obvious work based on
previous research by other scientists.” Related
information revealed that the licensing fees charged by the patent holder have been at
least as much of an impediment to embryonic stem cell research as any government funding
issues. Should we expect an investigative
report into how embryonic stem cell research is being limited by the patent holder, while
the Bush administration might overcome the problem because of this recent patent decision? Don’t hold your breath! A
new study raises serious questions about the effectiveness of Plan B in preventing
pregnancy. Supporters claim it will prevent
pregnancy at least 85% of the time and never causes an abortion. The new study found it to be only 49% effective in
the first 24 hours with a drop to 8% by 72 hours in preventing pregnancy. These extremely poor results were improved by Plan
B’s actual abortifacient effect, which is even admitted on Barr Lab’s web site
promoting Plan B to doctors. When the
abortions caused by Plan B are counted, it reached 90% effectiveness within 24 hours, but
was still only 16% effective by 72 hours. Don’t
expect any investigation of Plan B’s reliability problems any time soon. Reporters are already booked up investigating
pharmacists who are not willing to dispense Plan B. The
latest analysis of the adverse reaction reports for Gardasil, the vaccine against certain
strains of HPV, raises even more concerns about the push for widespread use of Gardasil to
vaccinate 10-12 year old girls. While such
health concerns and associated parental rights issues have stopped the mandated push for
Gardasil vaccination as a requirement for school, the substitute is a government sponsored
push for educating parents about the need for this questionable vaccination. Why should government be funding Gardasil
advertising for the giant drug company Merck? Will
the information be balanced and provide details about adverse reaction reports as well? What do you think the chances of that are? Of course, supporters of these politically correct causes will insist that science is on their side. They say detractors are simply following their own political agenda. In fact, true science fails to support their anti-life and casual sex positions, but rather demonstrates that they are the ones with the political agenda. Their so-called science reveals their conflict of interest in criticizing those who question their agenda. This situation amounts to the exact reverse of what they claim.
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