Remember Planned Parenthood of Indiana? They of the abortion gift certificates for Christmas? They can’t seem to catch a break. UCLA student Lila Rose went undercover into two Indiana Planned Parenthood abortion facilities posing as a 13-year-old pregnant girl. Two important things happened:
1. When Rose told the PP staff member that her boyfriend who had impregnated her was 31- years-old, the staff person said she didn’t want to hear about it. Why not? Because Indiana law considers sexual contact with a minor under the age of 14 as statutory rape, with required reporting to the state as sexual abuse. The staff member told Rose: “We don’t really care about who, what, the age of the boyfriend.”
2. The staff member also told Rose she could go to another state to have an abortion so that her parents wouldn’t find out. Indiana has required parental involvement for a minor seeking an abortion. “The surrounding states don’t have parental consent. I can’t tell you anymore,” said the staffer.
See the video above which taped the discussion between Rose and the PP staff member.
PP has fired the staff member and suspended another at a different Indiana abortion clinic which gave Rose similar responses. Now the Indiana Attorney General says he will investigate the potential coverup of a statutory rape. An Indiana legislator has called for funding to PP to be suspended and frozen pending the investigation.
Imagine your 13-year-old daughter having sex with a 31-year-old and a stranger trying to help her keep it a secret from you, send her to another state to get an abortion, and send her right back into the arms of the 31-year-old. Disgusting.
Kudos to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel for its three-part series on how scientists around the world raced time and each other to be the first to publish the successful reprogramming of ordinary human cells to become pluripotent cells which are like embryonic stem cells. No embryos were destroyed in the process.
As one who has followed, written and spoken extensively on stem cells for the past eight years, I found the series absolutely fascinating! Even the titles of the articles are thrilling:
“Rivals race to turn back a cell’s clock”
“Scientists begin digging for genetic triggers”
“Holy Grail of stem cell research within reach”
Calling this research the Holy Grail is mind boggling. And yet, that’s what it could very well be when applied to human patients sometime in the future. Ethical and practical research working seamlessly to enhance treatment for patients with a myriad of conditions and the possibility of cures — the Holy Grail indeed.
The winners in the race to the finish which occurred in November 2007 were James Thomson and Junying Yu of UW-Madison and Shinya Yamanaka and Kazutoshi Takahashi of Japan. Scientists at other American research facilities and in other countries were also racing to be first. As described in the series, the competition was secretive and fierce as there is little prestige for coming in second or third.
The most interesting revelation is that the task was believed by virtually everyone to be next to impossible. Yet, the solution turned out to be so simple scientists were concerned they had made a fatal error. Evidence of the simplicity is the replication of the reprogramming process which is occurring at rapid speed all over the world.
Why was this discovery so important when billions are being spent on embryonic stem cell research? The winners said it best:
Thomson on destroying the human embryo to obtain embryonic stem cells: “If you don’t find it at least a little bit creepy, you haven’t thought about it enough.”
Yamanaka on viewing embryos under a microscope: “The difference between my daughter and these tiny cells looked very small to me. I can imagine if we transplant this embryo, it may become just like my daughter, or I could destroy this and try to make human embryonic stem cells. “ Yamanaka vowed to find another way.
For a fascinating must-read, the full series can be found here.
Jack Kevorkian of Michigan was finally jailed after assisting hundreds of suicides. Now, the Swiss group Dignitas is taking Kevorkian’s suicide assistance a step further.
Kevorkian killed for free. Dignitas charges over $8,000 per suicide. Kevorkian’s victims came from all over the U.S. Dignitas lures people from all over the world for an assisted death. Kevorkian practiced his deadly trade in cars in which he installed suicide machines or wherever else he could take his victims. Dignitas was evicted from a downtown Zurich apartment building, continued its suicides in cars, and moved to an industrial warehouse where it is about to be evicted again.
As described by Wesley Smith, “Both involved depressed people with disabilities, people with terminal illnesses, and some people who are not ill at all traveling from their homes to be made dead with the participation of strangers.”
Kevorkian was finally stopped when he filmed himself directly killing a patient, an episode which was aired on national television. Dignitas recently filmed the suicide of a British man it helped set up which was aired on British television.
The Swiss government is now claiming embarrassment that Switzerland is engaged in suicide tourism. Smith thinks it is more “hand-wringing” than a willingness to stop the unseemly and deadly practice.
If anyone thought the abortion agenda desired by Obama supporters was a big secret, it is now out in the open. A coalition of dozens of pro-abortion groups submitted a 55 page document to Obama with its wish list for his presidency. Translate: Marching orders. The document not only outlines what they expect, but brazenly gives Obama the text for legislative language, Executive Orders, Presidential Memorandums, regulatory initiatives and a list of judicial vacancies — all to facilitate Obama carrying out their marching orders as efficiently and expeditiously as possible.
The only surprise is that the groups did not expect Obama to reveal their strategy. If you have the fortitude, you can read the entire 55-page document here.
As expected, the directive asks Obama to call on Congress to pass the Freedom of Choice Act (FOCA), and sign it into law. “We urge the President to signal public support for FOCA and call on Congress to pass this important legislation,” the memo states.
The wish list gives Obama marching orders for the first 100 days of his presidency and then lists long-term goals for four years. The directives are lengthy and horrendous:
Repeal the Hyde Amendment which prohibits the use of federal taxpayer dollars for abortion.
Make abortion a mandate in health care reform.
Pay for abortions for Medicaid women, federal employees and their dependents, residents of the District of Columbia, Peace Corps volunteers, Native-American women and women in federal prisons.
Restore funding to the UNFPA (an organization which is involved in China’s one-child policy which uses forced abortion and sterilization).
Overturn the Mexico City Policy so that organizations that promote and perform abortions overseas can receive federal tax dollars.
Pack the U.S. Supreme Court and lower courts with judicial candidates committed to abortion.
Reduce abstinence funding.
Eliminate information on federal websites which cite medical and mental health problems for women who undergo abortions.
As we said ad nauseum prior to the election, Obama is pro-abortion to the core. The pro-aborts know this as well — that’s why the marching orders, while chilling in scope, should come as no surprise.
Public confusion about stem cells comes from reports that do not distinguish what type of stem cells are being discussed. The basics — there are three types of stem cells:
Embryonic — Living human embryo must be destroyed to obtain
iPS — Human cells reprogrammed to behave like embryonic stem cells
Adult — Taken from various parts on the human body or umbilical cord blood
Anytime you read about stem cell successes in HUMANS, not animals, they are the result of using adult stem cells. Embryonic and iPS cells are still considered to0 dangerous to put into a human being.
Here are some recent human successes reported using adult stem cells:
Liver repair using a patient’s own blood.
Partial recovery from cerebral palsy using umbilical cord blood cells
Windpipe reconstruction using donated tissue and the patient’s own adult stem cells
Treatment for heart failure using a patient’s own bone marrow stem cells
Knee repair for athletes using a “living bandage” made from adult stem cells
Heart valve construction using adult stem cells from umbilical cord blood
The FDA reports that over 2,000 human clinical trials are underway using adult stem cells. This is incredibly exciting scientific progress that is totally ethical because no one has to die to retrieve the stem cells. Reason for hope and promise for real patients with real diseases and for the moral values of our world.
For more information on stem cell research go here.
The slippery slope in Europe is constantly greased with proposals galore to extend the practice of assisted suicide and euthanasia. Here is the latest:
A Member of the Scottish Parliament has proposed that the “right” to assisted suicide be given to everyone including 12-year-olds or even younger children. Her rationale is that Scotland gives children at age 12 the right to decide which of the divorcing parents they want to live with and concludes they should also be given the “right” to die. Fortunately, she could not muster enough votes to get the measure introduced. Read the full story here.
A British man traveled to Switzerland to be assisted with suicide. A film shows Craig Ewert, 59, setting a timer to switch off his ventilator before drinking his lethal cocktail. Brits are shocked that the film was aired as a documentary on British TV. Read the full story here.
The Grand Duke of Luxembourg is about to be ousted because he refuses to sign legislation legalizing euthanasia in that tiny country.
The raging debate in Europe is certain to be continued here in the U.S. with recent devastating news from Washington and Montana.
As one of the last acts of his administration, President Bush is working on promulgating a new federal rule that offers increased protection for medical facilities and professionals who do not want to participate in abortion. The rule is being proposed because health care professionals fear discrimination in the workplace if they refuse to either perform an abortion, assist in the performance of an abortion or make abortion referrals.
Although federal conscience rules exist, enforcement has been lax. Consequently, doctors, nurses and religious hospitals are under pressure from state and local governments to be complicit with abortions.
Planned Parenthood and its cronies are vigorously attacking the new rule. If it is issued by December 20, it will become official federal policy. Unfortunately, the Obama administration or even the Congress will work to overturn the rule. It would take three to six months for the new administration to publish a new rule and controversy is very likely to ensue.
We still hear from people that “Bush didn’t do anything to help the pro-life cause.” This rule is yet another indication of the sincerely and deeply held right-to-life beliefs of our outgoing President. I, for one, am eternally grateful to Bush for all he has done to help build a culture of life.
Using Montana’s state privacy provision as her rationale, Montana State District Court Judge Dorothy McCarter ruled on Friday that there is a “right” to assisted suicide in that state. The ruling makes Montana the third state in which assisted suicide is legal.
Assistant Montana Attorney General Anthony Johnston said the ruling will appealed and said, ” The laws governing the medical profession say the medical profession is to heal, not to kill.”
Euthanasia proponents have not been able to get their way in the legislatures or voting booths in most states and have been increasingly turning to the courts to push their agenda.
Nationally known expert on assisted suicide suicide and euthanasia Wesley Smith said, “…why have legislatures when we have judges to make these crucial decisions for us and spare us the democratic debate? The USA is quickly becoming a not very free country.”
Smith said McCarter’s ruling was so broad that it could be interpreted to apply well beyond physician-assisted suicide and terminally ill patients.
“Death With Dignity”… sounds so compassionate, doesn’t it? But consider the following:
Patients are misdiagnosed and could make an irreversible decision to die based on the wrong information.
A government-ordered study in the Netherlands, where assisted suicide and euthanasia have been practiced for many years, found that 65 % of family physicians are of the opinion that a doctor may offer the choice of euthanasia to a patient who has not asked for it.
Because patients are strongly influenced by doctors, a vulnerable patient may feel there is not other alternative if his or her doctor recommends death.
Who can confirm that the euthanasia or assisted suicide choice was freely made when the only witness is dead?
If society endorses assisted suicide and euthanasia, it will “teach” the weak and frail that they have a “duty” to die.
Patients suffering from depression may request death, not knowing that their quality of life can be improved with proper treatment.
Although some believe assisted suicide and euthanasia are needed to relieve pain, modern pain control techniques eliminate this reason.
Euthanasia proponents are buoyed by the Montana court ruling. Wisconsin will likely see yet another onerous bill to legalize assisted suicide. Stay tuned!
Sue Armacost
During the presidential campaign, one of our greatest frustrations was hearing some people who claimed to hold a right-to-life position say that they could vote for Barack Obam in good conscience because he wanted to “reduce abortions” and that he would work to find “common ground.”
Those naive voters who actually believed Obama’s disingenuous rhetoric are in for a rude awakening soon after he is sworn into office.
The President-Elect’s transition team is already preparing Executive Orders that Obama will sign as soon as he takes office in January. Among the policies Obama is expected to overturn through Executive Orders are:
The Mexico City Policy which protects taxpayers from funding organizations that perform or promote abortion in other countries.
President Bush’s 2001 policy which prohibits the use of federal funds to destroy human embryos for embryonic stem cell research.
For those of us who understood from the start that Barack Obama is pro-abortion to the core and is beholden to the powerful pro-abortion lobby, the overturning of these policies will come as no surprise at all. We will know that it is but a preview of things to come!
I often wonder how high the deaths from abortion need to go before the apathetic public becomes appalled. We are now approaching 51 million in the United States alone since abortion was legalized in 1973.
Is 53 million the tipping point? Do we have to get to 100 million? Or, is there no limit?Post-election, it is tiresome to read all of the “excuses” from people who should know better as to why they voted for Obama. It’s very clear that abortion was just one of those pesky issues that could be compromised for some perceived higher good.If over 3,000 people a day were killed by terrorists, or died of some disease, or were killed on a college campus, or were victims of hospital error — day after day for over 35 years — would America be alarmed? Yet, over 3,000 abortion deaths are occurring every single day right in our own communities and silence is the predominant reaction.
College students and Wisconsin Right to Life chapters have, from time to time, erected a cemetery of innocents using crosses or pink and blue ribbons to depict the number of babies who die from abortion every day. These are vivid reminders of the tragedy of abortion.The Mississippi Baptist Convention has erected a huge piggy bank in Jackson, Mississippi which holds 50 million pennies, one penny for each victim of abortion. It is a sight worth viewing and remembering and you can see it here.
My fervent wish and prayer for the new year is an awakening of the conscience of America. While convenience feeds the culture of death, it is pure apathy that allows it to thrive.
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