LifeNews.com Pro-Life News Report
Friday, February 24, 2012

Current Headlines

Top Stories
• Texas Defunds Planned Parenthood Despite Obama Admin Attacks
• 40 Days for Life Already Saves 24 Babies From Abortion
• I m Committed to Abstinence, Virgin is Not a Dirty Word
• Planned Parenthood Fraud Totals $100 Million in Tax Dollars

More Pro-Life News
• Muslims Should Take Pro-Life View Opposing Abortion
• Mother: There s Nothing Down About Down Syndrome!
• If Ultrasound is Rape, Arrest Planned Parenthood Staffers
• Nine Pro-Life Books on Abortion Issues You Should Read
• Washington Bill Forcing Abortion Coverage Heads to Senate
• Abortion After My Rape Just Added to My Pain, Guilt
• McDonnell: Cuccinnelli Brought Up Ultrasound Legal Issues
• Alaska Legislature OKs Bill for Choose Life License Plates

—> Tell Obama: Stop This Pro-Abortion Mandate – Sign the Petition and pass it on!

I m Committed to Abstinence, Virgin is Not a Dirty Word
In case you hadn t noticed, this is going to be an intensely personal blog post.

I ll just kick it off with the juicy stuff so you don t have to wait around: I haven t had sexual intercourse in almost four years. Now, this is not to say I haven t done anything I wouldn t do if Jesus were in the room. I am not perfect. But for the past three and a half years, in the ball park of my love life, there have been no home runs.

I admit I am not a virgin. I am also not sexually repressed. I am not, like the virgin adult character on Glee, a frigid obsessive-compulsive with serious psychological problems. I am also not, as far as I know, completely repulsive, although if there s one thing I ve learned from observing the world around me, it s that if you are female, it doesn t matter what you look like; somebody thinks you are juuuust fine, and that somebody probably has an ad on Craigslist right now. http://www.lifenews.com/2012/02/24/im-committed-to-abstinence-virgin-is-not-a-dirty-word/

Muslims Should Take Pro-Life View Opposing Abortion
Life s fragility should remind us of the greatness of God, and the goodness of God s creation should inspire us to respect life. Adapted from remarks made in the Princeton University Chapel for Respect Life Sunday.

In a world preoccupied with material wealth and convenience, the gift of life is often minimized and sometimes forgotten altogether. Modernity encourages us to view unwanted life as a burden that will hold us back. For Muslims, however, just as for many in other faith traditions, life must be acknowledged, always and everywhere, as a true blessing. http://www.lifenews.com/2012/02/24/muslims-should-take-pro-life-view-opposing-abortion/

Mother: There s Nothing Down About Down Syndrome!
While I was pregnant I would sit on my bed and look at Riley s name printed on the wall. I felt that something was a little off. Nothing was wrong, but something wasn t right. How neat it was that I knew she was special before I even met her

Jennifer peaks her head into the living room where her three daughters are playing house. Sarah and Jaimee giggle as they push their little six month old sister, Riley, around in a carriage that is supposed to be for their baby dolls. Riley simply smiles at all the attention. Mom, come look at Riley! they suddenly exclaim, she is smiling! From the doorway, Jennifer can t help but smile herself at the scene. In her eyes it is nothing less than picture perfect. Her children are right where they should be with her.

But, if some people had it their way Riley wouldn t be here. Why? She has Down- Syndrome; Trisomy 21 to be exact. Which somehow labels her as less deserving of life by many in today s society. What a loss for them. They have no idea of the joy that comes from having a child with special needs , but Jennifer does. http://www.lifenews.com/2012/02/24/mother-theres-nothing-down-about-down-syndrome/

Encourage Friends to Sign Up for Free Pro-Life News From LifeNews.com

Dear Friend of CV, 

Every bishop in the country just received an urgent letter from Cardinal Timothy Dolan. 

Here’s what he wrote: 

In the United States, religious liberty does not depend on the benevolence of who is regulating us. It is our “first freedom” and respect for it must be broad and inclusive—not narrow and exclusive. Catholics and other people of faith and good will are not second class citizens. And it is not for the government to decide which of our ministries is “religious enough” to warrant religious freedom protection. 

Those are powerful words from Cardinal Dolan. But he also had a very urgent request. He called upon every Catholic in America to immediately contact their legislators to support the Respect for the Rights of Conscience Act. 

The Senate is expected to vote Tuesday or Wednesday of next week on this legislation, which would repeal the HHS mandate – and provide conscience protections for ALL Americans. 

The legislation is sponsored by Sen. Roy Blunt of Missouri and it would protect the rights of conscience for religious organizations and for businesses so they wouldn’t be forced by the federal government to pay for medical procedures which violate their moral beliefs. 

My sources in Washington tell me that we are in need of several critical swing votes, especially the following Senators. 

Here are ten Senators we need to contact IMMEDIATELY: 

202-224-2043 – Sen. Kent Conrad of North Dakota 
202-224-2523 – Sen. Susan Collins of Maine 
202-224-5344 – Sen. Olympia Snowe of Maine 
202-224-5824 – Sen. Mary Landrieu of Louisiana 
202-224-4041 – Sen. Joe Lieberman of Connecticut 

202-224-3954 – Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia 
202-224-6154 – Sen. Claire McCaskill of Missouri 
202-224-5274 – Sen. Bill Nelson of Florida 
202-224-2353 – Sen. Mark Pryor of Arkansas 
202-224-2644 – Sen. Jon Tester of Montana 
.

If you get a busy signal, try calling the Capitol Switchboard at (202) 224-3121. 

If one of these Senators represents your state, it is critical that you call their office and tell them to Vote YES on the Blunt Amendment. 

Please also forward this message to all of your friends and family. We need everyone to call. 

If you don’t live in a state on this list, but know someone who does, please forward this message immediately. 

We’re also running web-based ads in these states encouraging people to call their Senator to protect religious liberty. 

Please consider a gift of $14 or $28 to fuel this campaign. 

Senator Blunt’s legislation would stop the HHS mandate’s assault on our religious freedom. It would protect the rights of conscience of all Americans. 

The Bishops are counting on Catholics everywhere to help them get this done. 

Please call and please help us get the word out. 

The time is now. 

Brian Burch, President
CatholicVote.org 

Clerical Narcissism and Lent

The following excerpt is from a story by George Weigel on the First Things website February 22. 

Since the introduction of the new liturgical texts this past November, I’ve attended Mass in Australia, California, New York, Rome, Washington, and Phoenix, and in none of these venues have I detected any of the calamities confidently predicted by opponents of the new texts. 

Not only has there been no visible distress over “consubstantial”; the People of God seem to have rather quickly and painlessly adjusted to the changes, so that, three months into the process, it’s a rare “And also with you” that escapes the lips of an unthinking congregant. In fact, most of the people who’ve spoken to me about the changes have applauded them. 

Things are not-quite-the-same with priests. 

One implicit purpose of the new translations, with their deliberate recovery of a sacral vocabulary and their adoption of a more formal literary rhythm, was to discipline the tendency of priests to turn the Mass into an expression of the celebrant’s personality. 

The difficulties some priests have had with adjusting to the changes suggests that this tendency was, in fact, a real problem in implementing the reforms of the Second Vatican Council. 

Prominent Catholic psychologist Paul Vitz once wrote of this as a problem of “clerical narcissism,” and while the phrase undoubtedly stings, there’s something to it—something that needs correcting. 

At Mass in the cathedral church of a major American city recently, I ran headlong into the problem in a rather striking way. The celebrant in question seemed not to understand that the invitation to the penitential rite is now prescribed, and not a matter for personal chattiness. 

Having failed to set up the Missal properly before Mass, he nattered on about his difficulty with “new books” while searching for the Collect of the day. He belted out those parts of the Offertory that the Missal prescribes as being said “quietly.” 

He rearranged several phrases in Eucharistic Prayer II to his liking. And he prefaced the Prayer after Communion with another voluble commentary on the difficulty of finding the right page. 

I’m sure the priest in question is not a wicked or ill-intentioned man; he doubtless imagines that he’s making the Mass more user-friendly by taking liberties with the Missal. 

But, objectively speaking, he’s a prime example of clerical vanity: a man who imagines that his chirpy personality is the key to what Vatican II called the people’s “full, conscious, and active participation in liturgical celebrations.” 

Click here for whole story 

Newman and Obama

The following essay was sent to Cal Catholic Daily to commemorate Newman’s birthday on February 21 by Father Juan Vélez, a priest of the Prelature of Opus Dei, who resides in San Francisco. He is author of Passion for Truth, the Life of John Henry Newman, and co-author with Mike Aquilina of Take Five, Meditations with John Henry Newman. 

Religious freedom has become the civil rights issue of our time for Americans. The dispute over conscientious objection to providing insurance coverage for the morning-after pill, contraception, sterilization brings the issue to a head. 
The cry on interviews regarding any moral issue is: “Why should they (Catholic laity, priests or bishops) impose their morality on us?” The sound bytes do not give people time to reply: “Who is imposing their values on whom?” 
In fact, the Obama Administration is dictating its narrow view of morality on its citizens. Legislation and judicial rulings have done likewise with regards to marriage, and the teaching of religion, and of homosexuality in schools. 
This unjust interference in the religious beliefs and liberties of individuals and Churches has been directed primarily against the Catholic Church. Catholics have always been the strongest defenders of human life from conception to natural death, and of marriage as the permanent union of one man with one woman. 
Nowadays Catholics don’t look much different from other Americans in their religious fervor. Only 25 percent or fewer regularly attend Sunday Mass and many take religion and morality lightly. 
Committed Catholics are often regarded as retrograde and intolerant. This is far from the truth. Practicing Catholics represent traditional American values, shared – until recent years — by Protestants, Jews, and Muslims are in jeopardy. 
The current Administration has ably divided and conquered Catholic voters. It has obtained the endorsement of the Catholic Hospital Association and of the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities for its revised plan for contraceptive funding. 
Groups like these are being depicted as the voice of Catholic Church while the bishops are portrayed as unreasonable, misogynist, and out of touch. 
Welcome to yesteryear! In mid-19th century England, the situation was very similar. In the eyes of the British Establishment, Catholic were superstitious, untrustworthy and potentially disloyal. Which makes the analysis of the great theologian, essayist and saint, John Henry Newman of great interest. 
In 1851 Newman gave a series of lectures, “On the Present Condition of Catholics in England”. In these he exposed and analyzed the phenomenon of anti-Catholic bigotry: “the infliction of our own unproved First Principles on others, and the treating of others with scorn or hatred for not accepting them.” He went on: 
“I say, there is no increase of logical cogency; a lie is a lie just as much the tenth time it is told as the first; or rather more, it is ten lies instead of one; but it gains in rhetorical influence. 
“Let it be repeated again and again; the utterer has only to go on steadily proclaiming it, and first one, then another, will begin to believe it, and at length it will assume the shape of a very respectable fact or opinion, which is held by a considerable number of well-informed persons.” 
Today there are lies aplenty being spread by the Obama Administration: “contraception is good for women”; “pregnancy is a burden and something that should be prevented”; “contraception is safe for women”; “if it fails women have a right to abortion”; and “everyone should be given free access to contraception and abortion.” 
Newman would have understood: 
“As Prejudice is the rejection of reason altogether, so Bigotry is the imposition of private reason, – that is, of our own views and theories of our own First Principles, as if they were the absolute truth, and the standard of all argument, investigation, and judgment.” 
In Newman’s time, bigotry was directed against Catholics. Now it is directed to all believers even though Catholics are in the front lines. 
However the most important issue is the Administration’s assault on people’s Constitutional rights. This ruling lays the groundwork for an even more far-reaching intrusion of people’s rights. 
This is something that will affect all men and women who practice religion in America. It is a breach of the fundamental right of religious freedom protected by the U.S. Constitution. Cardinal Roger Mahony has written, 
” Freedom of conscience and religious liberty are not concessions grudgingly granted by the Federal Government — either directly, or by way of exemption or exception. Our nation was founded on those basic and inalienable rights as the bedrock of who we are as Americans. 
“Our Constitution was written precisely to reject and to avoid the dreadful English model whereby the king and the government are the granter of all rights, including religious rights — as well as the single power to withdraw, limit, or negate those rights.” 
The present position of Catholics in the US and of people of other religions is not good. There is much at stake: the civil rights of American citizens. In the face of these violations of the fundamental right of religious freedom Catholics and other believers must be able to articulate their beliefs well and to defend them in the legislatures, courts of law, and media. 
If democracy is to survive social liberals cannot continue to impose their beliefs on everyone else. Reason and justice, respect for religious freedom and for individuals’ civil rights must be upheld.

From http://www.calcatholic.com/

Dear Friends For Life,

"Post-Abortion Stress and Depression" – In the British Journal of Psychiatry (Sept. 11) a published study reviewed results of all studies from 6 countries between 1991 and 2009 which covered 877, 000 women. This well-documented study concluded that 10% of mental health problems reported among women may be attributable to having had an abortion. This includes 35% of those with suicidal behaviors. It pointed out that abortion survivors are 81% more likely to experience mental health problems compared to all other control groups, and 55% more likely compared to women who have delivered an unplanned or unwanted pregnancy. Emotional disturbances following included a wide range of post-abortion emotional problems. After examining this study, it seems clear that those who deny the existence of post-abortion stress (usually for political reasons) no longer have any factual basis for such a claim.

"South Korea" – At It Again: Professor Park Se-pill at Jeju National University is attempting to clone human embryos again. This had ceased after the scandal and disgrace of his fellow countryman Hwang Woo-Suk. Too bad.

God Bless,
Jerry Novotny, OMI

(The Difference is LIFE) "Love means loving the unlovable – or it is no virtue at all." – G.K. Chesterton
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Lifeissues.net Newsletter #564
February 26, 2011
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(TABLE OF CONTENTS):

1. Trafficking of Ugandan Women to Asia on the Rise
2. Indonesia sees huge rise in housewives with HIV
3. Psychiatrist Warns of Internet Porn Danger
4. Adult Stem Cells Fix Broken Hearts
5. Study Examines Effects of Divorce on Children
6. Infant HIV cases on the rise, says ministry
7. Contraceptive Used in Africa May Double Risk of H.I.V.
8. The Pill Is Not Good for Women
9. The marriage gap presents a real cost
10. Sick people need help to live, not help to die
11. Millions of children face new malnutrition risk
12. State 'fails to protect migrants'

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(Focus on Asian Children): "Shocking numbers of S. Asian children go to bed hungry" -  One third of families in India, Pakistan and Bangladesh are regularly going to bed hungry due to soaring food prices in a region which accounts for half the world's underweight children, the head of Save the Children says.

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ITEM #1: Trafficking of Ugandan Women to Asia on the Rise

An international agency has expressed concern about the increased trafficking of Ugandan women to Asia. The International Organization of Migration (IOM) says victims of trafficking whom IOM has helped to return to Uganda have reported being subjected to sexual slavery, rape and torture.

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ITEM #2: Indonesia sees huge rise in housewives with HIV

When Dr Nafsiah Mboi noticed that more and more Indonesian housewives were contracting HIV due to their husband's reckless behaviour, she decided to reshape people's perception of what a macho man should be.

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ITEM #3: Psychiatrist Warns of Internet Porn Danger

Watching internet pornography can initiate teenagers into early sexual behaviour, according to an eminent Irish psychiatrist. Many teenage girls, and probably most teenage boys, will view pornography at some stage out of curiosity, and grow out of it, Prof Patricia Casey said. But it gives them "a distorted image of women at a time when they should be seeing them as human beings rather than as sexual objects," she …

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ITEM #4: Adult Stem Cells Fix Broken Hearts

A new US study in which patients had their hearts repaired with adult stem cells has brought regenerative treatments for heart attacks a step closer. The therapy, reported in The Lancet, halved the extent of normally permanent scarring on the heart, and led to the growth of new heart muscle. However, the treatment produced no significant change in "ejection fraction" – a measure of the heart's pumping capacity. A heart attack …

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ITEM #5: Study Examines Effects of Divorce on Children

In America alone, over a million children suffer the divorce of their parents every year. Divorce causes irreparable harm to all involved, but most especially to the children. Though it might be shown to benefit some individuals in some individual cases, over all it causes a temporary decrease in an individual's quality of life and puts some "on a downward trajectory from which they might never fully recover." This is the conclusion of a new study from …

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ITEM #6: Infant HIV cases on the rise, says ministry

A recent health ministry report has revealed the number of infants with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) has more than doubled in the last year.

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ITEM #7 Contraceptive Used in Africa May Double Risk of H.I.V.

The most popular contraceptive for women in eastern and southern Africa, a hormone shot given every three months, appears to double the risk the women will become infected with H.I.V., according to a large study published Monday. And when it is used by H.I.V. – positive women, their male partners are twice as likely to become infected than if the women had used no contraception.

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ITEM #8: The Pill Is Not Good for Women

The rapidly increasing sexual activity of the Pill era correlates with a staggering increase in non-marital births — less than 5 percent of births in 1960 were to unmarried mothers, compared with roughly 40 percent today.

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ITEM #9: The marriage gap presents a real cost

If current trends hold, within a few years, less than half the U.S. adult population will be married. This precipitous decline isn't just a social problem. It's also an economic problem.

Divorce fears widespread among young couples

Studies show Catholic trends in marriage mirror society's

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ITEM #10: Sick people need help to live, not help to die

Proposals on assisted dying by Lord Falconer are not supported by the medical profession.

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ITEM #11: Millions of children face new malnutrition risk

It has been a bad couple of years for world food prices. They rose sharply in the first half of 2011 after adverse weather devastated crops and production in some of the world's main exporting countries. As a result, prices are soaring relentlessly and low income families in Dhaka and the rest of Bangladesh are finding it ever more difficult to make ends meet.

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ITEM #12: State 'fails to protect migrants'

The rising number of migrant workers sitting on death row or becoming victims of serious physical abuse or murder is a result of the state's inaction and therefore its "failure" to offer protection, according to activists.

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YOU CAN CHANGE SOCIETY:

1. BE INFORMED: "My people are destroyed from lack of knowledge." Hosea 4:6. Visit Lifeissues.net Website for insights into current Life Issues www.lifeissues.net. Access to all prior Newsletters is located in the Archives on main page.

2. PRAY DAILY: for the courage to be God's presence in society and to strongly support those who are deemed "unworthy of life". "If My people who are called by My Name, will humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land." 2 Chronicles 7:14

3. BECOME INVOLVED: Several years ago Fr. Jerry created a project entitled, "Journey for Life into the Heart of Asia". The project appeals for donations to help finance plane travel for lectures and seminars to developing countries in Asia. Strong focus is centered on reaching Asian Catholic Major Seminaries, Universities, Parishes, Hospitals and Family/Pro Life related groups. The lectures place emphasis on "The Asian Family at Crossroads: Life Issues, Trends and Challenges".

For information about no-cost Pro Life Talks to your group in Asia: contact Fr. Jerry at jerry@shirt.ocn.ne.jp.

To become a supportive Missionary participant for this Asian project, kindly send your donations to:

** Fr. Jerry Novotny, OMI

** LifeIssues.net, Editor

** Akebono-cho 1-15-9

** Kochi City, Japan, 780-8072

(or transfer donation directly to ProLife bank account: Jerome Novotny, Shikoku Bank, Asakura Branch, No. 102-1-0080824)

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Get a weekly dose of clear thinking: subscribe to our free Lifeissues newsletter! Sign up at www.LifeIssues.net. Pass this free service to your friends and various groups.

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Contact EDITOR:

Jerry Novotny, OMI

Akebono-cho 1-15-9

Kochi City, Japan, 780-8072

[tel/fax: 088-843-0406]

[email: jerry@shirt.ocn.ne.jp]

["Due to volume of spam received, we're asking you not to reply to this message but instead send all correspondence to jerry@shirt.ocn.ne.jp. Thank you! Editor"]

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Websites by Editor:

English LifeIssues Site: http://www.lifeissues.net,

Japanese LifeIssues Site: http://www.japan-lifeissues.net,

HIV/AIDS Site: http://capcha.org

OMI Site: http://www.omijapankorea.net/index.html

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