The harm performed on a preborn child by an abortionist is, of course, lethal.
But the harm doesn't stop there.
As I told abortion clients just this morning (giving them the facts about abortion that certainly will be denied them inside the abortionist's building), the violent, remarkably unnatural act of abortion also results in terrible risks to the woman's health. In both the long and short term, a woman putting her pregnant body in the hands of an abortion profiteer faces a whole host of dangers -- not to mention the grave spiritual consequences of such an act.
The dangers posed by abortion to mothers should never be a mere "side issue" for sidewalk counselors, CPC workers and other pro-life advocates who hold high the banner for the sanctity of life. This is both because we require her change of mind to save her baby's life but also because our concern for her must be authentic and passionate.
Abortion hurts...even the survivor.
And that is one of our most important messages.
For a review of just how abortion hurts women, check out these lists from the Elliot Institute which present both the physical effects and the psychological effects. There's more at the fine web site of the Elliot Institute so why not stop by and do a little homework there. It will better equip you to speak truths of life to those who desperately need to know.
Friday, September 30, 2005
Following the Dover Trial? So Is William Dembski
Not waiting for the case involving an Intelligent Design textbook to get to the judge, the witty and wise proponent of I.D. gives his predictions -- and the significance thereof. A helpful article.
Wednesday, September 28, 2005
The NEA Won't Like This Myth-Busting Book
Front Page Magazine has a informative interview with Jay P. Greene, the head of the Department of Education Reform at the University of Arkansas and author of numerous books including his latest, Education Myths: What Special-Interest Groups Want You to Believe About Our Schools and Why It Isn't So.
"Umblical Cord Stem Cells Key to Curing Diseases" -- Detroit Free Press
Newborn donors give gift of life
Umbilical cord stem cells key to curing diseases
Nice headlines to see in the MSM, right? The truths about medical treatments using adult stem cells continue to squeeze through the ESCR-dominated coverage and find the light of day. Here's a nifty example from Patricia Anstett in The Detroit Free Press.
Thanks for the alert to this story go to Stem-Cell-Blog.
Umbilical cord stem cells key to curing diseases
Nice headlines to see in the MSM, right? The truths about medical treatments using adult stem cells continue to squeeze through the ESCR-dominated coverage and find the light of day. Here's a nifty example from Patricia Anstett in The Detroit Free Press.
Thanks for the alert to this story go to Stem-Cell-Blog.
FYI -- Details on the Stem Cell Therapeutic and Research Act of 2005 (H.R. 2520), already passed by the House and now looking for a Senate vote can be found at the Coalition of Responsible Cord Blood Donation site. Basically, the proposed legislation would authorize a national system for cord blood banking and transplantation as well as appropriating some federal funds to increase the national inventory of cord blood units.
"Doc" Coburn Needs a Little Help Delivering Babies...From You!
Tom Coburn continued his medical practice during his years as a Congressman from Oklahoma. He was a hard worker and very efficient in performing his elected duties but he also wanted to keep some degree of normal contact with his constituents. So, he delivered a few babies. Nice.
Representative Coburn impressed the people of his district and was awarded high marks for his tenure. In fact, he impressed the entire state and easily won election as one of Oklahoma's Senators. In that campaign, by the way, he pledged over and again to keep his medical practice current and continue to give a handful of hours a week to his OB/GYN services. The public liked that promise, as did supporters of "Doc" Coburn all over America.
Now, Senator Dr. Tom Coburn spends 60-70 hours every week in performance of his elected duties. He's doing a fine job. However, he is a maverick at times and his principled, consistent conservatism has irked not only the Democrats, but even some of his Republican colleagues. Therefore, when his continuing to deliver babies raised the hackles of some critics (enough to draw the risk of Senate censure under new and foolish rules), he was denied the forceful defense from Republican leadership he thoroughly deserved.
You can read more about this sad state of the Senate in Kathryn Jean Lopez' column over at National Review Online. But I hope you'll then stand in Senator Coburn's defense by sending along a couple of letters expressing your support of his legal and very laudable position. For e-mail addresses, look right here ---> "Doc" Coburn ... Bill Frist ... and your local representatives too.
Representative Coburn impressed the people of his district and was awarded high marks for his tenure. In fact, he impressed the entire state and easily won election as one of Oklahoma's Senators. In that campaign, by the way, he pledged over and again to keep his medical practice current and continue to give a handful of hours a week to his OB/GYN services. The public liked that promise, as did supporters of "Doc" Coburn all over America.
Now, Senator Dr. Tom Coburn spends 60-70 hours every week in performance of his elected duties. He's doing a fine job. However, he is a maverick at times and his principled, consistent conservatism has irked not only the Democrats, but even some of his Republican colleagues. Therefore, when his continuing to deliver babies raised the hackles of some critics (enough to draw the risk of Senate censure under new and foolish rules), he was denied the forceful defense from Republican leadership he thoroughly deserved.
You can read more about this sad state of the Senate in Kathryn Jean Lopez' column over at National Review Online. But I hope you'll then stand in Senator Coburn's defense by sending along a couple of letters expressing your support of his legal and very laudable position. For e-mail addresses, look right here ---> "Doc" Coburn ... Bill Frist ... and your local representatives too.
Big Labor's Demise Greatly Exaggerated
Indeed, the "old guard" labor unions have seen their day (40% of the work force in the 1950's compared to less than 8% today) and, on the surface, that looks like bad news for Democrats. However, the comparitively tame liberalism of union leadership in their heyday has morphed into a more sinister and passionate socialism and the bodies it now occupies (government unions) pose a much greater threat to freedom.
Samuel Cook, writing in Human Events, has the story.
Samuel Cook, writing in Human Events, has the story.
Tuesday, September 27, 2005
CWA Urges Bush, Republicans to Stand Firm for Pro-Life Nominee
"Unless the President nominates Howard Dean, Barbra Streisand or Al Gore, the Democrats can be expected to filibuster," said Jan LaRue, CWA's chief counsel. "Any nominee who thinks the text of the Constitution should be taken more seriously than a supermarket tabloid is filibuster fodder. It isn't about the nominee--it's about the President. And the seven Republicans in the 'Gang of 14' need to remember that."
Stem Cell Research: Ten Easy Lessons
Core Ethics has drawn new attention to the excellent set of one-page apologetic papers prepared by the coalition, Do No Harm. These easy-to-understand fact sheets were sent to all members of the United States Congress earlier this year. Each page takes on a particular argument promoted by supporters of embryonic stem cell research and then responds with the actual science involved.
These ten lessons are a great way to enlighten and sharpen your own advocacy of adult stem cell research over that research which so callously (and counter-productively) exploits human embryos.
These ten lessons are a great way to enlighten and sharpen your own advocacy of adult stem cell research over that research which so callously (and counter-productively) exploits human embryos.
Monday, September 26, 2005
If You Can't Beat 'Em, Join 'Em: The New Spending-Addicted G.O.P.
I know that I've posted several articles on the new "generosity" of Washington D.C. Republicans and some readers might wonder why such an issue is featured in a blog that emphasizes moral concerns. Well, the answer is that justice (a rather important foundation of morality!) is very much involved here.
More specifically, the corecive requisition of another's earnings and proprty by anybody (be he a common robber, con artist, or even politician) is itself a very serious injustice, let alone the spending of those monies in ways that are unconstitutional, wasteful and, in cases like government funds given to Planned Parenthood, downright wicked.
So, yes...among the religious and cultural concerns that are dealt with in Vital Signs Blog, I'll continue to highlight those dangerously short-sighted fiscal policies of our political leaders -- policies that create false hopes in our citizenry and endanger the stability of the republic.
And with that said, here's the article I want to highlight today. It is written by Mona Charen, a woman who retains enough loyalty to conservative principles that she dares criticize her own party for its sad abandonment of those principles.
More specifically, the corecive requisition of another's earnings and proprty by anybody (be he a common robber, con artist, or even politician) is itself a very serious injustice, let alone the spending of those monies in ways that are unconstitutional, wasteful and, in cases like government funds given to Planned Parenthood, downright wicked.
So, yes...among the religious and cultural concerns that are dealt with in Vital Signs Blog, I'll continue to highlight those dangerously short-sighted fiscal policies of our political leaders -- policies that create false hopes in our citizenry and endanger the stability of the republic.
And with that said, here's the article I want to highlight today. It is written by Mona Charen, a woman who retains enough loyalty to conservative principles that she dares criticize her own party for its sad abandonment of those principles.
Friday, September 23, 2005
Adult Stem Cell Research in Korea Highly Successful
The Korea Herald reports that in spite of the recent hype over Professor Hwang Woo-suk's cloning research, researchers using the ethical alternative of adult stem cells are making "big strides forward, yielding more tangible results".
The latest success in adult stem cell research involves treatment of 74 patients. Five had cerebral infarction, 23 had Buerger's disease (a disorder of the blood vessels at the hands or feet), 11 had femur head avascular necrosis (a disease resulting from the temporary or permanent loss of the blood supply to the bones in upper legs), and 35 suffered from nonunion of bone fractures.
The latest success in adult stem cell research involves treatment of 74 patients. Five had cerebral infarction, 23 had Buerger's disease (a disorder of the blood vessels at the hands or feet), 11 had femur head avascular necrosis (a disease resulting from the temporary or permanent loss of the blood supply to the bones in upper legs), and 35 suffered from nonunion of bone fractures.
Moral Considerations Aside...
A report published in the new issue of the oh-so-prestigious New England Journal of Medicine suggests that Communist China should finally end its one-child population control policy that has resulted in forced abortions and sterilizations for those who violate it. Why?
"With the freedoms that have resulted from wealth and globalization, the one-child policy seems increasingly anachronistic," says the NEJM repor. "A relaxation of the one-child policy would be desirable."
Hmm...Forcing parents to kill their children isn't described by the NEJM as barbarity of the cruelest kind. Nor is it presented as a horrible affront to a holy God. No, the Red's violently coercive abortion policy should stop ( the report actually says only "relaxed") because it is outdated... so 1970's. Sigh.
"With the freedoms that have resulted from wealth and globalization, the one-child policy seems increasingly anachronistic," says the NEJM repor. "A relaxation of the one-child policy would be desirable."
Hmm...Forcing parents to kill their children isn't described by the NEJM as barbarity of the cruelest kind. Nor is it presented as a horrible affront to a holy God. No, the Red's violently coercive abortion policy should stop ( the report actually says only "relaxed") because it is outdated... so 1970's. Sigh.
New Academic Book Argues For Pedophilia
A new book published by Haworth Press features multiple Ph.D. "experts" claiming that sex with children "can benefit" boys and even serve a "mentoring function."
"Same-Sex Desire and Love in Greco-Roman Antiquity and in the Classical Tradition of the West" features "scholarly" treatises by a raft of mostly-PhD academics, all praising earlier civilizations - particularly Greece and Rome - for the role homosexuality played in those ancient cultures.
In the chapter titled "Pederasty: An Integration of Cross-Cultural, Cross-Species, and Empirical Data," Bruce Rind Ph.D. lauds the rampant child molestation that reportedly occurred in those societies, at one point citing evolution as supporting a pro-pedophilia worldview.
Read the entire World Net Daily article here.
"Same-Sex Desire and Love in Greco-Roman Antiquity and in the Classical Tradition of the West" features "scholarly" treatises by a raft of mostly-PhD academics, all praising earlier civilizations - particularly Greece and Rome - for the role homosexuality played in those ancient cultures.
In the chapter titled "Pederasty: An Integration of Cross-Cultural, Cross-Species, and Empirical Data," Bruce Rind Ph.D. lauds the rampant child molestation that reportedly occurred in those societies, at one point citing evolution as supporting a pro-pedophilia worldview.
Read the entire World Net Daily article here.
"Hate Crimes" Bill: Still Time To Oppose It
From the FRC daily update service comes some very helpful items to use in your letters, e-mails and phone calls to your respective political reps.
The Family Research Council strongly opposes any legislation that implies that homosexual behavior, cross-dressing, or sex-change operations are equivalent to inborn characteristics like race, or that implies that disapproval of such behaviors constitutes "hate." Those are good enough reasons to oppose the so-called "hate crimes" amendment that was slipped into a bill passed by the U.S. House of Representatives last week. Such laws also punish people for their thoughts in addition to their actions, and this bill would greatly expand federal authority in an area long reserved to the states and local government--namely, criminal law.
What the federal government currently does is collect "hate crime" statistics from the states and apply "sentencing enhancements" when a federal crime is also bias-related. But this bill, for the first time ever, would allow federal prosecution of any "hate" crime--including ones already prosecuted in state court. FRC continues to urge the Republican Congress to strip this affirmation of homosexuality, criminalization of thoughts, and massive federal power grab from the final bill.
By the way, clicking on the title of this post will take you to an excellent analysis of the push to use "hate crimes" legislation to promote a homosexual agenda. It is written by Leah Farish for FRC.
The Family Research Council strongly opposes any legislation that implies that homosexual behavior, cross-dressing, or sex-change operations are equivalent to inborn characteristics like race, or that implies that disapproval of such behaviors constitutes "hate." Those are good enough reasons to oppose the so-called "hate crimes" amendment that was slipped into a bill passed by the U.S. House of Representatives last week. Such laws also punish people for their thoughts in addition to their actions, and this bill would greatly expand federal authority in an area long reserved to the states and local government--namely, criminal law.
What the federal government currently does is collect "hate crime" statistics from the states and apply "sentencing enhancements" when a federal crime is also bias-related. But this bill, for the first time ever, would allow federal prosecution of any "hate" crime--including ones already prosecuted in state court. FRC continues to urge the Republican Congress to strip this affirmation of homosexuality, criminalization of thoughts, and massive federal power grab from the final bill.
By the way, clicking on the title of this post will take you to an excellent analysis of the push to use "hate crimes" legislation to promote a homosexual agenda. It is written by Leah Farish for FRC.
Everybody! March Like a Penguin
Yesterday we met the Coppis for lunch and then went to see March of the Penguins. It was every bit as moving, fascinating and enjoyable as I had heard. We all pass on our highest recommendations to see this incredible film.
And I also pass on my recommendations to read Jill Stanek's terrific blog post about March of the Penguins. She gives there some very interesting links to other reviews of the documentary but her own comments are most perceptive and provocative. Just click on the title of this post to read Jill's take.
And I also pass on my recommendations to read Jill Stanek's terrific blog post about March of the Penguins. She gives there some very interesting links to other reviews of the documentary but her own comments are most perceptive and provocative. Just click on the title of this post to read Jill's take.
Thursday, September 22, 2005
Go East, Young Man
Here is an alarming story about an evangelical (perhaps formerly evangelical) organization (Youth Specialties) promoting practices which are definitely more Hindu than they are Christian.
What a sad sign of our times. It is yet another example that if a Christian doesn't stand for the Word of God, he will fall for the silliest doctrines around.
What a sad sign of our times. It is yet another example that if a Christian doesn't stand for the Word of God, he will fall for the silliest doctrines around.
Hey Big Spender!
Peggy Noonan writes with insight and wit about the "dinosaur conservatives" being eclipsed by those new (and mighty generous) Republicans. And yes, the most generous of the bunch (giving away your money, of course) is George W.
As one of the dinosaurs who has regularly complained about this counter-productive new spirit of the G.O.P., I really appreciate Peggy's warnings. You go, girl.
As one of the dinosaurs who has regularly complained about this counter-productive new spirit of the G.O.P., I really appreciate Peggy's warnings. You go, girl.
There's Got to Be a Morning After
...Meanwhile, these same activist groups fail to mention the real facts about Plan B. They continue to state that the morning after pill is just contraception, that it doesn't cause an abortion even though they say that Plan B works by "inhibiting implantation."
Eggs don't implant. Sperm don't implant. But embryos do. The linguistic loophole they've created suggests that pregnancy doesn't begin until the embryo has implanted. Basic biology, on the other hand, confirms that a unique living human organism exists from the moment of conception. Abortion means ending a pregnancy with the specific intention of destroying an unborn life, no matter how young it may be...
Pia de Solenni cuts through the fog created by Susan Wood to give the basic facts about the "morning after" pill -- facts deliberately hidden by NARAL, Planned Parenthood, and the rest of the usual suspects...including aforesaid Ms. Wood. This is a very good piece from the American Spectator.
Eggs don't implant. Sperm don't implant. But embryos do. The linguistic loophole they've created suggests that pregnancy doesn't begin until the embryo has implanted. Basic biology, on the other hand, confirms that a unique living human organism exists from the moment of conception. Abortion means ending a pregnancy with the specific intention of destroying an unborn life, no matter how young it may be...
Pia de Solenni cuts through the fog created by Susan Wood to give the basic facts about the "morning after" pill -- facts deliberately hidden by NARAL, Planned Parenthood, and the rest of the usual suspects...including aforesaid Ms. Wood. This is a very good piece from the American Spectator.
ACLU Campaigns Against Abstinence Curricula
The lead-in to the Washington Times story...
The American Civil Liberties Union yesterday began a campaign to urge officials in 18 states to reject abstinence-only sex-education programs.
Many abstinence programs contain false or misleading information, discriminate against homosexual youth and promote religion, ACLU leaders said, citing a December report issued by Rep. Henry A. Waxman, California Democrat...
Goodness me! Does this organization have no direction, no motive, no energy that is NOT wicked?
The American Civil Liberties Union yesterday began a campaign to urge officials in 18 states to reject abstinence-only sex-education programs.
Many abstinence programs contain false or misleading information, discriminate against homosexual youth and promote religion, ACLU leaders said, citing a December report issued by Rep. Henry A. Waxman, California Democrat...
Goodness me! Does this organization have no direction, no motive, no energy that is NOT wicked?
Wednesday, September 21, 2005
Liam Fox: Stop U.K. Abortions After 12-Weeks
Here's a report from The Guardian (U.K.) describing a recent move by Conservative Party M.P. Liam Fox to limit abortions to 12-weeks gestational age. It is an important story, one that indicates that abortion will simply not disappear as a political/cultural issue, no matter how hard the left insists on abortion rights.
The Guardian's pro-abortion bias certainly isn't hidden in this piece bit it is still worth the read.
The Guardian's pro-abortion bias certainly isn't hidden in this piece bit it is still worth the read.
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