LifeVoice - January / February 2008

Be an Urgent Voice for the Unborn
in the Most Dramatic and Crucial
Abortion Battle Ever

Pro-Abortion Legislators and Planned Parenthood
Want to Repeal Wisconsin Abortion Ban

The most crucial abortion battle in decades will occur in January or February as pro-abortion state legislators attempt to repeal Wisconsin’s historic abortion ban! Every Wisconsin citizen who cares about protecting the lives of the unborn needs to contact their state Senator immediately! See the ACTION BOX for instructions.

Pro-abortion Wisconsin legislators have introduced legislation to repeal s.940.04 of the Wisconsin statutes. S. 940.04 prohibits abortions in Wisconsin except when the mother’s life is in danger. This 150-year-old protective law cannot be enforced now because of Roe v. Wade.

Wisconsin Right to Life has worked valiantly for over 30 years to keep this law on the books. Why? Because when the day comes that Roe v. Wade is overturned, Wisconsin will be one of the first states in the nation to shut down all Wisconsin abortion clinics – as long s.940.04 remains in the statutes.

This is the most crucial of all abortion battles! Here is how the pro-abortion authors of this legislation describe its impact:

“Should Roe v. Wade be repealed, Wisconsin would be one of four states to immediately outlaw abortion…. This repeal {of s.940.04} is especially important now as forces work to outlaw certain abortion procedures with the goal of outlawing all abortions….”

Pro-abortion legislators call this bill the “Women’s Health and Safety Act.” And, true to form, they mislead the public by stating that should abortion be outlawed, women who have abortions will go to jail. Not true. In 1985, the state legislature enacted a provision which would make only the abortionist the criminal, not the woman. Wisconsin Right to Life has been alerting pro-life people all over the state for two years that this alarming and devastating legislation would be attempted by Planned Parenthood and its allies. It is now a reality. But, YOU CAN STOP this from happening!

With your help, Wisconsin Right to Life plans to deluge state legislators with constituent phone calls, letters, emails, and personal visits to protect s. 940.04 so that our unborn babies will have a chance to live once Roe v. Wade is wiped out. Action is likely to occur first in the State Senate because of its pro-abortion leadership.

You can help save a minimum of 9,500 human lives each year in Wisconsin by working with Wisconsin Right to Life to save s.940.04. Please, please act. So many precious lives of unborn babies and the welfare of their mothers depend on you.

ACTION BOX

Fred Thompson Endorse by Wisconsin Right to Life PAC

Being a right-to-life supporter is not new to Fred Thompson. He has voted the right-to-life position his entire career in public office.

As a member of the U.S. Senate, Fred Thompson maintained a consistent right-to-life record. During his last term in the Senate alone, Fred Thompson cast a total of 21 right-to-life votes!

That is why the Wisconsin Right to Life Political Action Committee is proud to endorse Fred Thompson for President of the United States.

In receiving the Wisconsin Right to Life endorsement, Fred Thompson said, “I’m blessed and honored to have the endorsement of Wisconsin Right to Life PAC for President of the United States. These folks in American’s heartland know I have stood with them yesterday, I stand with them today, and I will stand with them tomorrow and they know I have the ability to win this election. They know I believe in the sanctity of life and as President, I will do all that I can to protect life.”

NOW is the time for right-to-life voters to unite behind Fred Thompson, so that the Republican nominee for President in November will be a right-to-life candidate!

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Paid for by Wisconsin Right to Life PAC. www.WisconsinRighttoLife.org Not authorized by any candidate or candidate’s committee.

Wisconsin Right to Life Applauds New Stem Cell Discovery

The convergence of science and ethics is beautiful to behold. The beauty is significantly enhanced when science becomes not only more ethical, but more practical in application with great potential for human benefit. That is what appears to be happening with the recent disclosure that two separate teams of scientists have discovered a means to turn ordinary human skin cells into pluripotent stem cells, without destroying living human embryos to do so.

To be certain, the ethical controversy over destruction of human embryos has been minimized, if not completely mitigated, by this discovery. This brings a huge sigh of relief for all engaged in the contentious, ten-year battle over embryonic stem cell research. It is a boon to those in need of treatments which pluripotent stem cells may some day be able to accomplish.

The practical benefits are enormous. It is far easier to extract skin cells from a child or adult than to create and destroy an embryo or gain permission to use and destroy a frozen embryo. There is a limited supply of frozen embryos. Embryonic stem cells will be rejected because they carry the DNA of a different human person; using a person’s own cells eliminates the rejection factor. Human cloning, and all of the risks and disadvantages associated with this process, is no longer necessary. Women will not have to undergo risks to produce enough eggs to allow human cloning to be practiced. The perceived need to create chimeras, which are part animal-part-human, to carry out cloning is eliminated.

In spite of this discovery, there are some who continue to trumpet the need for funding of embryonic stem cell research. Some continue to mistakenly report that there are no federal funds available for embryonic stem cell research. Under the policy adopted by President Bush in 2001, federal funds are available to carry out research on embryonic stem cell lines already created at that time, but not to destroy new embryos for research purposes. It is also time to cease misleading the public into believing that cures from embryonic stem cells are right around the corner when they have no application for human use at this time.

Along with the discovery that human skin cells can be turned into pluripotent stem cells, scientists at the University of Wisconsin have already created eight new stem cell lines using this process. It is clear that more study and research need to be conducted to determine if these cells can one day achieve the promise of having the ability to turn into any cell in the human body.

This important discovery should not halt in any way the incredible progress of adult stem cell research. It may be many years before pluripotent stem cells have human treatment value. Using adult stem cells, real people with real diseases are being helped today.

Applause is due to several people. President Bush certainly deserves credit for holding the line on federal funding of destruction of human embryos. Without his adherence to the moral principle that human lives should not be destroyed for research purposes, it is possible that this discovery may never have happened or may have been delayed. Wisconsin Right to Life applauds state Senator Ted Kanavas’ call to fund this new research. Credit also goes to Professor James Thomson for his recognition of the ethical and practical benefits of discovering a new way to generate pluripotent stem cells. Do we as a society have to allow science to go wherever it leads at any human cost? Thanks to the moral fortitude and diligence of many, we have learned, once again, that advances in the treatment of human persons do not have to sacrifice one person for the benefit of another.

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This article originally appeared online at www.wistechnology.com It also appeared on the December 4, 2007 PERSPECTIVES page of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Judge Gableman for Supreme Court

Judge Michael Gableman has been endorsed by the Wisconsin Right to Life Political Action Committee for election to the Wisconsin State Supreme Court.

Judge Gableman will face Justice Louis Butler who was appointed to the State Supreme Court by Governor Jim Doyle in 2004. The supreme court general election will be held on April 1, 2008 and will determine the winner to a ten-year term to the court.

In announcing the endorsement, WRTL/PAC Chair Bonnie Pfaff said, “Judge Gableman views the role of the judiciary as interpreting laws…not making them. Judge Gableman’s perspective would serve the State Supreme Court well. Judge Gableman is a highly respected jurist and is extremely well qualified to serve on our state’s highest court.”

Judge Gableman was appointed Burnett County Circuit Court in 2002 and was elected to the bench in 2003 with 78% of the vote. Prior to his experience on the bench, Judge Gableman was appointed District Attorney for Ashland County (1999) by Governor Tommy G. Thompson and subsequently won election to the position. He also served as a prosecutor in Marathon County (1997-1999) and Langlade County (1996-1997) as an Assistant District Attorney.

Judge Gableman earned his Juris Doctorate from Hamline University School of Law in 1993. He is a graduate of New Berlin West High School and a Ripon College graduate. After undergraduate school, Judge Gableman taught in the Milwaukee Public School System (1988-1989) before pursuing a legal career.

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Paid for by Wisconsin Right to Life PAC. www.WisconsinRighttoLife.org Not authorized by any candidate or candidate’s committee.

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