Pope Francis - Strong Words on Abortion

Ah! What a day makes! If you think by the recent media hype about Pope Francis’ interview in America magazine has indicated a reduction in the Church’s concern for the unborn, you are mistaken.

Below is an excerpt from National Catholic Register. See the entire article here.

 A widespread utilitarian mentality, the "culture of waste", which now enslaves the hearts

and minds of many, has a very high cost: it requires the elimination of human beings, especially if they are physically or socially weaker. Our response to this mentality is a categorical and unhesitant "yes" to life. "The first right of the human person is his life. He has other goods and some are more precious, but this one is fundamental -  the condition of all the others." (Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Declaration on Procured Abortion, November 18, 1974 , 11). Things have a price and are sold, but people have a dignity, worth more than things and they don’t have a price. Many times we find ourselves in situations where we see that which costs less is life. Because of this, attention to human life in its totality has become a real priority of the Magisterium of the Church in recent years, particularly to the most defenseless, that is, the disabled, the sick, the unborn child, the child, the elderly who are life’s most defenseless.

Each one of us is invited to recognize in the fragile human being the face of the Lord, who, in his human flesh, experienced the indifference and loneliness to which we often condemn the poorest, either in the developing nations, or in the developed societies. Each child who is unborn, but is unjustly condemned to be aborted, bears the face of Jesus Christ, bears the face of the Lord, who, even before he was born, and then as soon as he was born, experienced the rejection of the world. And also each old person - I spoke of the child, let us also speak of the elderly, another point! – each old person, even if infirm or at the end of his days, bears the face of Christ. They cannot be discarded, as the "culture of waste" proposes! They cannot be discarded!

Pope Francis Controversary

Last Friday I was approached by two people individually asking if I had heard what the Pope said in an interview with America magazine, that we, the Church, speak out about abortion too much. I had not. So of course I had to check in to it.

My immediate reaction was one of shock. This was the first negative I had heard about Pope Francis. This guy, excuse the colloquial term, has been great for the Church thus far. Then I tried to rationalize his statement. Well, Italian is not the Pope’s native language, perhaps he used the wrong term. Then, knowing America magazine’s leaning to the left, I thought perhaps they misquoted him. So I found the complete text of the interview online and read it a couple of times. It can be found here:

http://www.americamagazine.org/pope-interview

First, I must say I liked the interview. It provided a lot of insights about who Pope Francis is. I especially noted the honesty of the man in saying “I am a sinner,” as we all are. It is a rather long interview but well worth your time.

Back to the controversy. The exact quote is this:

“We cannot insist only on issues related to abortion, gay marriage and the use of contraceptive methods. This is not possible. I have not spoken much about these things, and I was reprimanded for that. But when we speak about these issues, we have to talk about them in a context. The teaching of the church, for that matter, is clear and I am a son of the church, but it is not necessary to talk about these issues all the time.”

The emphasis is mine. This is rather disheartening to anyone involved with or cares about the babies. I understand this is a matter of perspective. Our liberal brothers and sisters are interested in the environment and social justice, but forget the babies. I/we on the other hand don’t think enough is done for the babies. It is addressed in homilies rarely, if at all. This spark of controversy overshadows the words just before it; “The teaching of the church, for that matter, is clear…” Pope Francis is in no way changing the Church’s teachings. He is confirming them.

I agree with Cardinal Dolan’s response in an interview on NBC’s Today show, see link below. Rightly or wrongly, we, that is, Catholics, are seen by non-Catholics, liberals, and the pro-abortion people as always being in a negative mode. This does not attract people. The Pope is looking for a “fresh” direction. He is being Jesus. He is calling us to reach back to the basics. In that way we can change hearts and minds. No, we do not stop our efforts to protect the unborn, but we also must help turn others to God, we must evangelize. We can only win this battle when we change hearts and minds one at a time.

Here is the link to Cardinal Dolan on NBC: http://www.today.com/news/cardinal-dolan-pope-something-fresh-stance-social-issues-4B11210786

Praise God! Illinois Parental Notification of Abortion Law

Very good news today. Another step forward.

Great news! The Illinois Supreme Court today ruled the state's 1995 parental notification of abortion law can finally be implemented.

The Catholic Conference of Illinois had this to say:

Catholic Conference of Illinois says parents ‘can breathe a sigh of relief’ with state Supreme Court ruling allowing Parental Notice of Abortion Act

CHICAGO — The Catholic Conference of Illinois applauds today’s unanimous Illinois Supreme Court ruling clearing the way for a 1995 parental notification of abortion law to finally be implemented.

State lawmakers approved the legislation requiring that a parent or legal guardian be notified when a minor seeks an abortion in order to protect our children from making a life-or-death decision on their own. The measure includes a waiver for those children who have been physically or sexually abused.

Special interests and legal wranglings barred the law from taking effect for 18 years, setting up the state as an abortion haven for children from surrounding states, which already have parental notification laws in place.

“With this ruling, parents across the state and the Midwest can breathe a sigh of relief with the knowledge that state law finally allows them to fully parent their children, and safeguard their lives and those of the unborn,” said Robert Gilligan, executive director of the Catholic Conference of Illinois.

Gilligan noted the decision cited other court rulings that recognize minors often lack the maturity, experience and judgment to distinguish harmful choices, as well as observing that juvenile justice systems exist for those very reasons.

The Catholic Conference of Illinois strongly supported the original legislation, lent its support to defeating the legal challenges to the law, and fought off subsequent legislative efforts to undermine the role of parents.

Coming to a Vending Machine near You? The Morning-after Pill

Geez! What is next?

Here is the beginning of post from Breakpoint:

I seldom get hot under the collar on the air. But a recent decision by the Obama administration has got my dander up. Stay tuned to BreakPoint.

Last week, the President threw America's parents and their daughters under a bus. And I'm hopping mad about it—and not just because I have a young daughter of my own.

First, a little history: In 2011, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius overruled the Food and Drug Administration's request to make the “Plan B One-Step” drug available to all women and girls without a prescription, no matter their age. Plan B is a so-called emergency contraception drug that its maker admits could “inhibit implantation” of a fertilized egg in the womb. Sebelius agreed with the decision to distribute the drug—but insisted girls must be at least fifteen to purchase Plan B One-Step.

Please go here to read the rest of it.

Philly Abortion Murder Trial has National Impact

I find it very interesting that at first this issue drew no, and I mean no media coverage, until some pro-lifers made a stink about it, and rightly so. Now I did a Google search on the headline and found over 2 million hits. It seems everyone now is addressing the truth behind what goes on in abortion “clinics.” The article begins as below, from Associated Press and many, many news agencies have picked it up – about time.

I urge everyone to give it a read. To see the whole article, simply do a Google search as I did, or you can click on the link below.

Philly Abortion Murder Trial has National Impact

By DAVID CRARY and MICHAEL RUBINKAM - Associated Press Saturday, May. 04, 2013 | 07:48 AM

For weeks, jurors in Philadelphia heard grim testimony about deaths and squalor at Dr. Kermit Gosnell's inner-city abortion clinic. While they listened, the murder case reverberated far beyond the courtroom, changing - at least for the moment - the tone of the national debate on abortion.

Groups supporting legal access to abortion, after major successes in the 2012 national elections, find themselves on the defensive as they distance themselves from Gosnell.

"All of us are appalled by the substandard illegal practices," said Vicki Saporta, who as CEO of the National Abortion Federation represents hundreds of U.S. abortion clinics. "But to make the leap to say that's indicative of the state of abortion care throughout the U.S. is absolutely false." Anti-abortion activists, in contrast, are energized by the case, citing it in fundraising appeals and renewed efforts to expand state restrictions on abortion.

"It's very seldom we get such an opportunity to look at the realities of what's happening in abortion," said Dr. Donna Harrison, president of the American Association of Pro-Life Obstetricians and Gynecologists. Gosnell, 72, is charged with killing five people - a patient and four viable babies that prosecutors say were born alive. Among scores of other counts, he also is accused of performing abortions after Pennsylvania's 24-week limit.

Jury deliberations began April 30 and are scheduled to resume Monday.

Anti-abortion groups have seized on the case as a chance to reach an audience beyond their regular followers. Those efforts were enhanced midway through the trial when abortion opponents used social media to accuse some national news outlets of a "blackout" of the case, resulting in increased news coverage. Certainly, there's been national attention. Beth Burkstrand-Reid, a University of Nebraska law professor who teaches courses about abortion and gender issues, says her students have been coming up to her before and after class to talk about the case.

The horrific allegations against Gosnell - whose clinic was licensed but hadn't been inspected since 1993 - have prompted the abortion-rights lobby to repudiate him as a "rogue operator" employing practices far outside the norm.

"This was an incredibly horrible situation and when it came to light, he was somehow associated with the abortion community, which he's not," said Elizabeth Nash of the Guttmacher Institute, a research group which supports abortion rights. "It's taking a long time for that message to get out. He does not represent abortion care in this country."

http://www.fresnobee.com/2013/05/04/3285758/philly-abortion-murder-trial-has.html

Dr. Manny slams FDA's Plan B decision

Below is a link that will take you to a segment of Fox News. Dr. Manny Alverez speaks on the issue of giving 15 year olds the morning after pill. Is it not ludicrous that a teen cannot take an aspirin at school, but they can take the morning after pill, with the myriad of potential side effects without parental consent. We need to be aware of these issues and speak to them. Our society is going down the drain daily. The secularists are winning the battle, and I’m dismayed to say that this is because, in large part, Catholics have given up their morals and values to advance the agenda of their political party, or have voted their pocket books in hope that the government will hand out more and more free-bees, yet we know it will not get to the people in need but to corrupt politicians, waste, and fraud.

Politicians, once elected, begin a dynasty – the only way to begin correction is with term limits. Our forefathers never intended political offices should be careers – they were to be part time and they were to serve the people not their self-interest.

http://news.yahoo.com/video/dr-manny-slams-fdas-plan-143634399.html

Endless Love

I ran across this article in the current issue of National Right to Life News and thought I would share it. It is now 40 years since Roe vs. Wade legalizing abortion. Perhaps this year you can make an effort to support the Pro-Life efforts and perhaps make a donation to a pro-life organization like the National Right to Life Committee, http://www.nrlc.org, or a crisis pregnancy center. We have seen, we feel the effects abortion on demand has had on the devaluing of human life; each life formed in the image of God, each life a gift from God, each life of equal value and you or I.

 

NRL News
Page 3
Winter 2013
Volume 40
Issue 1

Endless Love

By Carol Tobias

As the right-to-life movement enters the 40th year of legalized abortion on demand in our country, it’s appropriate to look at the current state of affairs. Fifty-five million children have been killed by abortion. It’s difficult to comprehend that number. Almost 18% of our entire population, that number is equal to the population of the entire middle portion of the country. It’s almost the population of New York and California.

How different our country would be today if those 20- and 30-somethings were working, maybe creating jobs for others, getting married and raising children of their own. Grandchildren are missing, having been erased from the family tree. Women are hurting, knowing they cannot reverse the decision that took from them a part of their own life.

Our loss of respect for the innocent human life of that, oh so little, unborn child has created a mindset that no human life is special. If some elderly person is taking up necessary space in a hospital or nursing home, let’s determine that food and water are medical treatment and consider them to be unnecessary. Is a disabled person taking up too many medical resources and not giving enough back to the state? Deny him or her treatment.

Sometimes it seems that our society cares more about animals than people. Witness the television commercials asking for support to save abused dogs and cats. Don’t humans deserve as much compassion? Shouldn’t humans get even more?

As pro-lifers, how do we respond? As I look at who we are and what we do, I think that can be summed up in one word—LOVE.

The right-to-life movement is the movement of love. Most of us have attended a wedding where those famous words from 1 Corinthians, chapter 13, are read:

Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends.

While those words are wonderful for a couple looking to spend the rest of their lives together, how much more appropriate are they for those who seek to help and protect others simply because those others exist.

We work to save people we will never meet. Whether those persons are unborn babies saved from abortion, or elderly and disabled persons saved from euthanasia, they may never know that our efforts and our intervention made it possible for them to live. What a beautiful expression of love.

That love is also endless in that we will never give up. We sometimes have setbacks, like the one we experienced in November when this country re-elected the most pro-abortion president ever, but we keep on because love doesn’t give up, it doesn’t end.

Everything we do, we do because of and with love. We work to better inform our friends and neighbors, our community and our states about the precious gift of human life; that each and every human life has value, and is deserving of dignity and respect. We will talk about the fact that 22 days after fertilization, an unborn child’s heart begins to beat—with her own blood, not her mother’s. By five weeks, eyes, legs, and hands are developing. By six weeks, brain waves can be detected and fingers are forming. At 20 weeks, that unborn child can feel pain.

We work with young people to help them understand that ALL human beings, no matter how small or how (im)perfect, have the right to live.

Pro-lifers work with pregnant women who aren’t looking with excitement and joy at the new life growing inside them. This child is coming at an inopportune time in her life. We offer support, encouragement, and practical help as she works through the situation.

We work with legislators to pass legislation that will protect unborn children to the extent possibly allowed under current Supreme Court rulings. We work with them to save those vulnerable to death by the withholding of medical care, and even the withholding of food and water. We oppose the rationing of lifesaving medical care. It would be easier to watch TV, take a walk in the park, or visit with friends, but organizing support for protective legislation is important. Again—trying to save fellow human beings we will likely never meet.

And yes, we will continue to work in the political arena to elect candidates who will work with us to protect innocent human life.

The late Bob Casey, former governor of Pennsylvania, said, “In the long term, our cultural unease with abortion, this refusal to drop the subject, is our most hopeful sign of health. Other countries, sadly, have more or less learned to live with it; they don’t see it as anything to get worked up about. But not here. This thing—this horrible thing, so contrary to our ideals, our inclusiveness, our kindness, our love for one another—has been grafted onto American society. But it is not a functioning organ ... . It won’t take. It won’t heal. The body rejects it.”

You are the reason America is still uneasy about abortion. You have kept abortion at the top of the “social issues” list. There are estimates that at least one million people are alive today, who otherwise would have been aborted, because of your work.

The right-to-life movement loves, not in word or talk, but in deed and in truth. May God bless us all as we continue this work of love.

The Nurse, The Extremist, The Survivor

Perhaps one of the best pro-life ads ever.



H/T The American Spectator

Audio: Obama Argues Against Born Alive Legislation in IL State Senate

It was always my understanding that when obama was in the State and Federal Legislature, he most often voted Present or did not show up at all. I find it interesting that a piece of legislation when he was a State Senator, intended to protect babies born during an abortion, was the one law he spoke out against. It is my understanding he was the ONLY Senator against the bill. Listen to his own words.

Are We China Now?

I've just heard a report that Planned Parenthood is now counseling women how to abort based on the baby's gender. Unbelievable! In this case, a women went into a PP mill and asked how to determine the sex of the baby. and then, if it was a girl how to abort. She was advised how to get an ultrasound with public funds and then to come back to PP for the abortion.

Now a babies gender cannot be determined until 20 weeks - so now it is considered a late term abortion.

Even more unbelievable, only four states prohibit abortions based on gender. So yes, we have become China. And 47% of Planned Parenthood funding is from the U.S. Taxpayer.

Dr. Thomas Sowell Article & Tom's Observation

A friend sent me this article by Dr. Sowell. I have a great deal of respect for him, partially because of his great mind – surely, a blessing from God – and his fearlessness to speak the truth. Perhaps you know that any black man or woman who does not tow the line is ostracized, receives threats, and generally is given a very difficult time for others of their race.

Before the article, which is found below, I would like to add an observation/comment of my own, which I never got a chance to articulate before.

As a youth, my parents were Democrats. It was a time that most people in my neighborhood shared the same values. We were Catholic/Christian, predominantly Polish, Italian, Irish and German. Our precinct captain, ward committeeman, and mayor also reflected these values, and ethics.

As I grew into a young adult, I learned that this was no longer the case, neighborhoods became more mixed, we became a more mobile society, and relatives no longer lived near us but may have taken a job across the country. Now it is not a rarity that an atheist or Muslim might live next to me. This in itself is not bad, as I have found that diversity may make us stronger in many ways. But what happens is couples now meet mates of different faiths. To keep the relationship cohesive faith/religion is put aside and not even spoken of. Children grow up without a faith background. And they enter society without something to hold on to.

They are influenced more by our secular society than by their parents. As indicated in “Rediscover Catholicism by Matthew Kelly – which I strongly recommend – we are influenced by this culture’s materialism, individualism, minimalism, and hedonism. How long have we heard “If it feels good, do it?” The propaganda is intensive and it is blatant, as is the social engineering. You cannot watch a television program without a homosexual character, or couple. I gave up on sit-coms long ago as there is no more family programming. It is all sexual innuendo, and now not even innuendos, but blatant, at times disgusting acts or statements. There are no longer comedians who can tell great jokes; they all resort to four letter words and bodily functions. Then we have the media’s agenda. News? Forget it. It is all one sided, and simply radically liberal. Truth? Look elsewhere. I have now given up on all broadcast TV.

Liberals have taken over our schools. You have seen the recent recording of a teacher – an authority – who dismisses the freedom of speech and says you cannot say anything against the President. And this is not isolated, but pervasive. The indoctrination is overwhelming; all through the grades and through college, which are no longer for education, but for party time. Abstinence is not taught, but condoms are handed out freely. Sex is encouraged. There is no discipline. God has been kicked out of our schools. Parents are afraid. As I personally witnessed, through a friend, many children know they can complain about their parent’s discipline efforts to the school, and the parents – especially single parents – are afraid the children will be taken away from them.

Let me turn back to the Democratic Party. These good people discarded their values and ethics for money. Somewhere along the line the Democrats embraced abortion, homosexuality, and a host of other anti-Christian issues. There is no way I can be part of the party of my parents. Teachers used to be respected, now we know, most of them – I won’t cubby-hole all of them – are there for the buck, the pension and the perks. There was a time for unions. There still is in some ways. But they too gave up their values for the power of the dollar. Politicians learned the more government jobs they gave out, the more votes they would get. So we have so much redundancy, make-work, corruption, and useless entities that we can no longer afford them. And the cycle continues. The more pay, the more pension, the more perks, the more votes. And the government does not produce anything, yet, they are in every aspect of our lives; from toilet bowls to light bulbs. To support the teachers, unions, and government employees, taxes continually rise.

We have little hope; especially in Illinois where I live. There are more takers than there are producers. What if all the private enterprise left Illinois and left the takers to fend for themselves? Who is John Galt? (From “Atlas Shrugged” by Ayn Rand, if you are not familiar with the line. I don’t agree with her philosophy, but a very good book). I am at a point where I cannot afford to live in Illinois.

All these Democrats have thrown out their values and ethics. When was the last time you heard of a Democrat who is pro-life?

People of faith are now faced with the forces of evil infringing on our freedom of religion and freedom of conscience. It is now law that religious institutions must pay for contraception and abortifacients in their insurance plans, although it is morally reprehensive to them. The Catholic Archbishop for Military Services was censored in his letter to Catholic Chaplains concerning the HHS mandate. In Illinois the Catholic Church had to step away from adoptions, as the state mandated they would have to provide adoptions to homosexual couples. I believe the administration’s agenda is to silence and cripple the Catholic Church.

Let me leave with one more note on indoctrination. Because of the propaganda, acceptance of homosexuality has been increasing by one percent a year. Under the Obama administration is has been five percent a year, each year, in the last three years. Now, with Obama coming out of the closet, acceptance has jumped to 53% - you can see where the Democrats are towing the line. Now I am not a homophobe. A phobia is an unnatural fear of something, but homosexuality is by its nature unnatural. I love the sinner, but hate the sin, and we should not accept it, as we should not accept any sin; murder, abortion, pedophilia, to mention a few.

Now here is Dr. Sowell:

Occupy Wall Street - Essay--Excellent...

Tue, 22 May 2012

A great article! One of the most intellectual black human beings in this country hits it right on the head.

Occupy Wall Street

By Dr. Thomas Sowell

The current Occupy Wall Street movement is the best illustration to date of what President Barack Obama's America looks like. It is an America where the lawless, unaccomplished, ignorant and incompetent rule. It is an America where those who have sacrificed nothing pillage and destroy the lives of those who have sacrificed greatly.

It is an America where history is rewritten to honor dictators, murderers and thieves. It is an America where violence, racism, hatred, class warfare and of murder are all promoted as acceptable means of overturning the American civil society.

It is an America where humans have been degraded to the level of animals: of defecating in public, having sex in public, devoid of basic hygiene. It is an America where the basic tenets of a civil society, including faith, family, a free press and individual rights, have been always rejected. It is an America where our founding documents have been now shredded and, with them, every person's guaranteed liberties.

It is an America where, ultimately, great suffering will come to the American people, but the rulers like Obama, Michelle Obama, Harry Reid, Nancy Pelosi, Barney Frank, Chris Dodd, Joe Biden, Jesse Jackson, Louis Farrakhan, liberal college professors, union bosses and all other loyal liberal/Communist Party members will live in opulent splendor.

It is the America that Obama and the Democrat Party have now created with all the willing assistance of the Liberal media, Hollywood, unions, universities, the Communist Party of America, the Black Panthers and numerous anti-American foreign entities.

Barack Obama has brought more destruction upon this country in 3 years than any other event in the history of our nation, but it is just the beginning of what he and his comrades are capable of.

The Occupy Wall Street movement is just another step in their plan for the annihilation of America.

"Socialism, in general, has a record of failure that's so blatant that only an intellectual could ignore or evade it."

Dr. Thomas Sowell (A National Humanities Medal Winner)

The problems we face today are there because the people who work for a living are outnumbered by the people that vote. - AMERICANS BETTER WAKE UP BECAUSE IF OBAMA HAS A 2ND TERM, IT WILL BE ALL OVER FOR AMERICA. 

Religious Liberty

The Most Cherished of American Freedoms

Past and Present.

In 1634, a mix of Catholic and Protestant settlers arrived in Southern Maryland from England aboard the Ark and the Dove. They had come at the invitation of the Catholic Lord Baltimore, who had been granted the land by the Protestant King Charles I of England. While Catholics and Protestants were killing each other, in Europe, Lord Baltimore imagined Maryland as a society where people of different faiths could live together peacefully. This vision was soon codified in Maryland's 1649 act concerning religion (also called the “toleration act"), which was the first law in our nation’s history to protect an individual's right to freedom of conscience.

Maryland's early history teaches us that, like any freedom, religious liberty requires constant vigilance and protection, or it will disappear. Maryland's experiment and religious toleration ended within a few decades. The colony was placed under royal control and the Church of England became the established religion. Discriminatory laws, including the loss of political rights, were enacted against those who refused to conform. Catholic chapels were closed and Catholics were restricted to practicing their faith in their homes. The Catholic community lived under this coercion until the American Revolution.

By the end of the 18th century our nation's founders embraced freedom of religion as an essential condition of a free and democratic society. So when the Bill of Rights was ratified, religious freedom had the distinction of being the First Amendment. Religious liberty is indeed the first liberty.

This is our American heritage, our most cherished freedom. If we are not free in our conscience and our practice of religion, all other freedoms are fragile. If our obligations and duties to God are impeded, or even worse, contradicted by the government, then we can no longer claim to be a land of the free.

Is our most cherished freedom truly under threat? Among many current challenges, consider the recent Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) mandate requiring almost all private health plans to cover contraception, sterilization and abortion inducing drugs. For the first time in our history, the federal government will force religious institutions to facilitate drugs and procedures contrary to our moral teaching, and purport to define which religious institutions are "religious enough" to merit an exemption. This is not a matter of whether contraception may be prohibited by the government. It is not even a matter of whether contraception may be supported by the government. It is a matter of whether religious people and institutions may be forced by the government to provide coverage for contraception and sterilization, even when it violates our religious beliefs.

To learn more about our first freedom and to send a message to HHS and Congress telling them the stand up for religious liberty, go to www.usccb.org/conscience.

Urgent - Action Urged

On September 9th, the Bishops of the Catholic Conference of Illinois issued a letter to Kathleen Sebelius of the Department of Health and Human Services, expressing their opposition to the Interim Final Rules on Preventive Services. The two objectionable rules are: 1) a mandate on all private health care plans to cover prescription contraceptives approved by the FDA — including abortifacient drugs — surgical sterilizations and related patient in education and counseling; and 2) an incredibly narrow definition of religious lawyer for exemption from the mandate.

Our faith teaches that human fertility cooperates with God in the creation of new human life and ensures the extension and prosperity of our society. The government's treatment of pregnancy as a disease to be prevented or terminated on any whim undermines not only our teaching, but also the respect for human sexuality and human life intrigues that too well ordered society....

The Catholic Church's teaching on the immorality of contraception and sterilization as a rejection of God's gift life-giving will may not enjoy popular support. The church may be one of the last major structures in American society to hold this belief. For this reason, the rule seems not only to target religious freedom generally but Catholicism in particular — an egregious violation of the free exercise and establishment clauses of the First Amendment....

For these reasons, we ask that the regulation be revoked. If not, we urge modification to embrace and defend the public ministry of religious institutions. Signed by: Cardinal Francis George; Thomas G Doran, Bishop of Rockford; Daniel Jenky, Bishop of Peoria; Edward Braxton, Bishop of Belleville; Thomas John Paprocki, Bishop of Springfield-in-Illinois; and Daniel Conlon, Bishop of Joliet.

In addition, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops released a nationwide bulletin insert with an urgent plea to respond by September 30.

ACTION: Please send an e-mail message to HHS by visiting www.usccb.org/conscience. Once you send your comments to HHS, you will be automatically invited to send a message to your elected representatives in Congress, urging them to support the Respect for Rights of Conscience Act (H.R. 1179/S. 1467) to ensure that such federal mandates do not violate Americans' moral and religious convictions.

Please do this by September 30th

For the Record: Personhood

H/T The Catholic Knight. Read his post here.

Abortions give rise to Asia's 'lost boy' generation

Article from The Independent (a UK newspaper which has left leanings).

Sunday, 20 March 2011

Abortions of female fetuses have led to a massive surplus of young unmarried men in India and China, raising fears of an outcast group that could threaten the social fabric, a study said Monday.

The trend took root in the 1980s when ultrasound technologies made it easier for families to detect fetal sex early and to abort if it was not what the parents desired, said the analysis in the Canadian Medical Association Journal.

Sons have traditionally been preferred over daughters in many parts of China, India and South Korea due to social, cultural and financial motivations. Sex-selective abortion is outlawed but can be difficult to enforce.

The phenomenon was first spotted in South Korea in the early 1990s, when the sex ratio at birth (SRB) - typically 105 male births to every 100 female births - rose to 125 in some cities.

Similar rises in male births were seen in China, "complicated by the one-child policy, which has undoubtedly contributed to the steady increase in the reported SRB from 106 in 1979, to 111 in 1990, 117 in 2001 and 121 in 2005," said the study.

India has seen "sex ratios as high as 125 in Punjab, Delhi and Gujarat in the north but normal sex ratios of 105 in the southern and eastern states of Kerala and Andhra Pradesh," it added.

In parts of China where a second child is allowed, after a daughter is the first born, the SRB for the second is 143, suggesting that many choose to abort a second girl fetus in favor of trying again for a boy.

Estimates of China's actual population difference in 2005 pointed to 1.1 million excess males, with men under 20 exceeding the number of females by around 32 million, said the study led by Therese Hesketh, University College London Centre for International Health and Development.

"These men will be unable to marry, in societies where marriage is regarded as virtually universal, and where social status and acceptance depend, in large part, on being married and creating a new family," said the authors.

Referred to in China as "guang gun," meaning "bare branches," these men are presumed to be unable to bear fruit by coupling and raising a family.

"In China and parts of India the sheer numbers of unmated men are a further cause for concern," said the study.

"Because they may lack a stake in the existing social order, it is feared that they will become bound together in an outcast culture, turning to antisocial behavior and organized crime, thereby threatening societal stability and security."

Other concerns include the possibility that the surge of unmarried men will boost the sex industry, which has already expanded in India and China over the past 10 years.

However, "the part played by a high sex ratio in this expansion is impossible to isolate; there is no evidence that numbers of sex workers are greater in areas with high sex ratios," said the study.

Ninety-four percent of unmarried people aged 28-49 in China are male, and 97 percent of them have not completed high school, it said.

"Despite the grim outlook for the generation of males entering their reproductive years over the next two decades, there are encouraging signs," said the study.

A crackdown on sex-selective abortion in South Korea has resulted in a more normalized male-to-female birth rate in recent years, and China and India are both down from their peak SRBs due in part to public awareness campaigns and relaxed one-child policies.

But it will likely be several more decades before the sex ratios return to normal, the authors said.

The article was co-authored by Zhu Wei Xing of Zhejiang Normal University in China.

H/T Deacon Greg

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Church Fathers on Abortion

Canterbury Tales has a post on what the Church Fathers have said concerning abortion. Here is a sample:

The Didache

"The second commandment of the teaching: You shall not murder. You shall not commit adultery. You shall not seduce boys. You shall not commit fornication. You shall not steal. You shall not practice magic. You shall not use potions. You shall not procure [an] abortion, nor destroy a newborn child" (Didache 2:1–2 [A.D. 70]).

The Letter of Barnabas

"The way of light, then, is as follows. If anyone desires to travel to the appointed place, he must be zealous in his works. The knowledge, therefore, which is given to us for the purpose of walking in this way, is the following. . . . Thou shalt not slay the child by procuring abortion; nor, again, shalt thou destroy it after it is born" (Letter of Barnabas 19 [A.D. 75-120]).

The Apocalypse of Peter

"And near that place I saw another strait place . . . and there sat women. . . . And over against them many children who were born to them out of due time sat crying. And there came forth from them rays of fire and smote the women in the eyes. And these were the accursed who conceived and caused abortion" (The Apocalypse of Peter 25 [A.D. 137]).

Athenagoras

"What man of sound mind, therefore, will affirm, while such is our character, that we are murderers?
. . . [W]hen we say that those women who use drugs to bring on abortion commit murder, and will have to give an account to God for the abortion, on what principle should we commit murder? For it does not belong to the same person to regard the very fetus in the womb as a created being, and therefore an object of God’s care, and when it has passed into life, to kill it; and not to expose an infant, because those who expose them are chargeable with child-murder, and on the other hand, when it has been reared to destroy it" (A Plea for the Christians 35 [A.D. 177]).

See the entire post here.

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