Susan B. Anthony List President: "Dede Scozzafava has worked extremely hard to achieve the goal of becoming the next Congressman from New York’s 23rd District. It takes courage and strength to step back and make the best choice for her party, and for the voters of the 23rd District. Now it’s time for the GOP to step up."
WASHINGTON, Oct. 31 /Christian Newswire/ — This morning Dede Scozzafava, Republican Party candidate for Congress in New York’s 23rd Congressional District, suspended her campaign. In response, Susan B. Anthony List President Marjorie Dannenfelser issued the following statement:
"Dede Scozzafava’s courage and strength allowed her to make the choice to let the strongest candidate in her party move forward, and to serve the voters of the 23rd District.
"Dede Scozzafava has worked extremely hard to achieve the goal of becoming the next Congressman from New York’s 23rd District. This must have been an incredibly difficult decision — she did not get into the race to lose. It takes courage and strength to step back and make the best choice for her party, and for the voters of the 23rd District. Now it’s time for the GOP to step up."
"On behalf of conservative voters, activists, and volunteers across the district, I call on the national GOP to finally throw its full support and resources behind Doug Hoffman for Congress. A Hoffman victory is within sight."
The Susan B. Anthony List Candidate Fund, in partnership with the National Organization for Marriage, is organizing an independent conservative, pro-Hoffman grassroots ground program in the district. Field staff are recruiting over 200 volunteers to staff polls on election day, canvass churches, and distribute literature, lapel stickers and yard signs across the district. The pro-life Susan B. Anthony List has spent over $125,000 in the race so far, including over $50,000 in pro-Hoffman radio ads.
The Susan B. Anthony List Candidate Fund joined the Club for Growth to be one of the first political action committees to endorse Doug Hoffman for Congress on September 28, 2009. The fund supports pro-life female candidates, as well as pro-life male candidates who run against female candidates in favor of abortion rights.
The Susan B. Anthony List is a nationwide network of Americans, over 167,000 residing in all 50 states, dedicated to mobilizing, advancing, and representing pro-life women in politics. Its connected Candidate Fund increases the percentage of pro-life women in the political process.
PHILADELPHIA,
Oct. 30
/Christian Newswire/ — Consistent with the position of
the US Conference of Catholic Bishops, The National
Catholic Bioethics Center supports a health care
proposal which is truly universal with respect to
protecting human life and dignity. This requirement
relates not only to the absolute imperative to exclude
provisions that violate human life and dignity, but also
to the need to protect conscience rights. Not only
should taxpayers not be required to pay for immoral
procedures, but provisions also must exist to prohibit
mandates on providers. Excluding such provisions is
contrary to the integrity of a free and pluralistic society.
The NCBC believes that immoral mandates will be
imposed if there is no explicit conscience provision,
especially in the presence
Image via Wikipedia
of a public option.
Thus, it is essential that longstanding and widely
supported federal restrictions on abortion funding and
mandates, and protections for rights of conscience,
explicitly be included in any health care reform
legislation. No current Congressional proposal has
such provisions. The NCBC supports the position of
the USCCB that if acceptable language in these areas
cannot be found, vigorous opposition to the proposal
must occur.
There is a proposed amendment (The Stupak
Amendment) that if adopted would address essential
pro-life concerns on abortion funding and conscience
rights in the House version of the health care reform
bill. Since votes on health care reform proposals in
Congress could come as soon as early November,
the Bishops of the United States have asked that each
person contact their Representative and Senators
immediately, urging them to amend proposed
legislation with pro-life amendments. For more
information go to
www.usccb.org/healthcare/. Parishes across the
country will be invited to make use of educational
materials, including a web address that allows
parishioners to send an e-mail message to Congress
with a click of a button.
The bishops have asked for swift action in contacting
congressional members through e-mail, phone calls
or faxed letters. To take action go to www.nchla.org/issues.asp?ID=51. Our
country is at a crossroads, not only in terms how our
most vulnerable members will be treated, but also in
terms of the future of conscience protections.
Image by indy_catholic via Flickr
WASHINGTON—A
proposed document from the U.S. bishops’ Committee on Pro-Life
Activities looks at the relationship between sex and procreation and
the moral issues surrounding various technologies for treating
infertility, including in vitro fertilization, embryo adoption and
surrogacy. The document,"Life-Giving Love in an Age of Technology,"
will be debated and voted on by the full body of the United States
Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) at their November 16-19 meeting
in Baltimore.
“The Church has compassion for couples
suffering from infertility and wants to be of real help to them,"
explains the draft document."At the same time, some ‘reproductive
technologies’ are not legitimate ways to solve those problems. We
bishops of the United States offer this reflection to explain why. We
also offer it to provide hope—real hope that couples can fulfill their
procreative potential and build a family while fully respecting God’s
design for their marriage and for the gift of children."
“Life-Giving
Love in an Age of Technology" draws on Church teaching, including
Vatican documents Donum Vitae (1987), Evangelium Vitae (1995) and
Dignitas Personae (2008), the last of which was released during the
development of the bishops’ document. It includes questions and answers
on the issue and testimony from couples who followed the Church’s
teaching, and offers pastoral guidance and encouragement for couples
who struggle with infertility.
The document reaffirms
Catholic teaching against in vitro fertilization, egg and sperm
donation, surrogacy, cloning and embryo donation. It also explains that
Catholic couples may pursue a wide variety of ethical treatments,
including hormonal treatment and other medications, surgery to repair
damaged fallopian tubes, natural family planning, and means for
alleviating male infertility factors.
Says the
document:"These avenues do not substitute for the married couple’s act
of loving union; rather, they assist this act in reaching its potential
for giving rise to a new human life."
After being debated by the
U.S. bishops in Baltimore, "Life-Giving Love in an Age of Technology"
will require a vote of approval by two-thirds of the membership of the
USCCB. This educational resource was prepared by the Pro-Life Committee
as a companion to the document "Married Love and the Gift of Life,"
explaining the Church’s teaching on contraception. Intended especially
for engaged and married couples, that document was approved by the
bishops in 2007 and has been distributed through many Catholic marriage
preparation programs in the United States.
AMERICA/ARGENTINA – Declaration from the Institute for Marriage and the Family at
the Catholic University of Argentina
Buenos Aires
(Agenzia Fides) – “Marriage is founded on a free, permanent, and
exclusive bond between a man and a woman, for mutual support, towards
the procreation and education of their children. In this sense, it
represents an authentic good for the society.” This is what is found in
a declaration published by the Institute for Marriage and the Family at
the Catholic University of Argentina (UCA), in light of the debate over
two draft bills on so-called civil unions of persons of the same sex.
“Limiting marriage to a union between a man and a woman is not unjust
discrimination,” and “the human right to marry is acknowledged by all
people, but only in regards to a marriage formed between a man and a
woman, as the International Pact of Civil and Political Rights
explicitly expresses,” the Institute affirms. “Recognizing unions
between persons of the same sex as marriage,” would mean “redefining
marriage, changing
Image by 1Flatworld via Flickr
its substance and jeopardizing the common good.”
Confronted with the legislative situation, “the great challenge” the
UCA perceives is that of “being aware of the need for an authentically
profound and serene reflection on human love,” avoiding “the
ideologies” and proposing “a culture that respects the memory and
values of the Argentinean people.” In addition to the Institute for
Marriage and the Family, the declaration is also signed by the UCA Life
and Family Forum, the School of Law, the Institute of Biology, the
Department of Sociology of the School of Economic and Social Sciences,
the School of Education, the Social Communications Institute, the
Institute of Political Science and International Relations, the School
of Psychology and Educational Psychology, the UCA Cultural Center, and
the School of Engineering. (GT)
(Agenzia Fides 30/10/2009)
M A R K
M A L L E T T
–––S P I R I T U A L F O O D F O
R T H O U G H T–––
The House That
Lasts
St. Therese de Liseux, by Michael D.
O’Brien
AS our vehicle traversed
the French countryside this week, the words of John Paul II rolled
through my mind like the hills surrounding Liseux, the "home" of St.
Thérèse to which we were headed:
Holy
people alone can renew humanity. —POPE JOHN PAUL II,
Message to the Youth of the
World, World Youth Day; n. 7; Cologne Germany,
2005
These
words came on the heels of having visited some of the most fantastic
cathedrals in all of Christendom, such as the one in Chartres, France.
In that massive Gothic church, I was overwhelmed with the incredible
faith and zeal that could have possibly created such a testament to the
splendor of God—an outward expression of the inner life of
France… an
interior faith and love that has produced a litany of Saints. Yet, at
the same time, I was struck with a terrible sorrow and wonderment:
How, I asked over and over, could we in the Western
nations
go from creating such glorious structures, stained glass windows, and
sacred art… to abandoning and closing our churches, destroying our
statues and crucifixes, and extinguishing much of the mystery of God in
our prayer and liturgy? The answer came silently as I could see with
the eyes of my soul how this beauty, while at once inspiring saints,
also corrupted men who bent the awe and power of our Catholic heritage
to their own advantage. I understood at once that the Catholic Church,
despite her holiness and providential role in the plan of salvation,
has experienced in her long history the rise and fall of many Judases.
They have welcomed her Joan of Arcs, and also burned them at the
stake.
All Mark’s writings can be found
at: Spiritual Food For
Thought
Listen to Mark’s music on
his official website: www.markmallett.com
Judie Brown
October 29, 2009
One never knows what might be posted as a YouTube video, readily
available to anyone with an internet connection. Among the most recent
is a shocker starring Planned Parenthood http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wvlCx3w_tss Federation of America’s vice president for medical affairs, Vanessa Cullins, M.D. http://www.plannedparenthood.org/health-topics/ask-dr-cullins-6602.htm
In a recent Wednesday STOPP Report, http://www.all.org/article_printerfriendly.php?id=12279 Rita Diller, http://www.stopp.org/rita_diller.htm
national director of Stop Planned Parenthood International (STOPP),
described this video’s basic message quite simply as "Get sexually
active and get your STDs." In fact, Cullins makes it clear that you
should "expect to have HPV (human papillomavirus) once you become
sexually intimate; all of us get it" and that you should expect this
because "most of us" are sexually active and just have to admit it.
http://www.renewamerica.com/columns/brown/091029
Planned Parenthood Missouri Attempts to Shut Down Personhood by Lawsuit Against State of Missouri
ST. LOUIS, MO, Oct. 30 /Christian Newswire/ — Planned Parenthood sued the State of Missouri this week to challenge two pro-life ballot initiatives, in an apparent effort to stifle the people’s constitutional right to the ballot process.
One of the ballot initiatives, submitted by Personhood Missouri, states, "Section 35, Person defined. As used in sections 2, 10, and 14 of Article I of the state constitution, the term "person" shall apply to every human being from the beginning of the biological development of that human being."
The personhood amendment, along with another pro- life initiative, were both approved by Secretary of State Democrat Robin Carnahan on October 20th. An amendment much like this one was introduced in Colorado and found to be a single-subject issue, approved by the Colorado State Supreme Court. The Planned Parenthood lawsuit claims that the Missouri personhood amendment did not warn voters of the legal and constitutional fallout if the ballot measure passes.
"The legal and constitutional ‘fallout’ of a Missouri Personhood amendment, is that all humans in the state of Missouri have human rights," stated Keith Mason, of Personhood USA. "All humans are people, and must be protected."
According to the law, it is not required or necessary for ballot initiative proposers to outline every possible legal scenario if an amendment is passed.
"Our amendment is easy to understand, and simply protects all humans from their biological beginning," stated Dr. Gregory Thompson, initiative sponsor. "The Planned Parenthood lawsuit was quoted in several newspapers as incorrectly using the term, ‘fertilized egg’. In fact, at the moment of biological beginning, the newly formed human being is not an egg at all, but a unique individual person."
This lawsuit will cost taxpayers additional funds and use valuable government resources, pointed out Dr. Thompson. He continued to say, "The very organization that uses tax dollars to cause the deaths of millions of innocent human beings and many mothers, along with years of physical, mental, and spiritual pain, is now using government resources again to keep this issue from going to the voters."
"The motivation of Planned Parenthood is highly suspect. This lawsuit addresses a concern about loss of funds, yet Planned Parenthood reportedly brought in over 10 million dollars in 2008 in Missouri alone, and over a billion dollars nationwide," continued Mason. "This is clearly an act of desperation by a billion dollar industry, seeking to keep the issue of Personhood away from the people of Missouri."
For Interviews Contact: Dr. Gregory Thompson of Personhood Missouri at 417-894-5768 or 417-754- 8774 or Keith Mason of Personhood USA at 202-595- 3500 ext. 3.
Personhood USA is a grassroots Christian organization founded to establish personhood efforts across America to create protection for every child by love and by law. Personhood USA is committed to assisting and supporting Personhood Legislation and Constitutional Amendments and building local pro-life organizations through raising awareness of the personhood of the pre-born.
Chicago-Based Thomas More Society Intervenes to Defend Illinois Parental Notice of Abortion Act
CHICAGO, Oct. 29 /Christian Newswire/ — Today, the Thomas More Society filed a petition to intervene, on behalf of three Illinois state’s attorneys, in Cook County Circuit Court to defend the Illinois Parental Notice of Abortion Act. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) recently brought suit in Illinois state court to enjoin or block the Act, after the ACLU lost its bid in federal court earlier this year to stop the Act from going into effect.
State’s Attorneys Stewart Umholtz of Tazewell County, Edward Deters of Effingham County, and Raymond Cavanaugh of Henderson County are seeking to intervene in order to have the case dismissed. The petition is expected to be heard at 2:00 p.m., Monday, November 2, 2009, along with the ACLU’s motion for a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction against the Parental Notice of Abortion Act. Thomas More Society attorneys will be available for comment after the hearing.
"At some point, the ACLU will realize that Illinois law, just like the law in 36 other states, provides parents the right to know before their underage daughters are taken for abortions," said Peter Breen, Executive Director & Legal Counsel for the Society. "Until that time, we will defend against the ACLU’s continued attempts to thwart the will of Illinois voters, the large majority of whom support parental notice before an abortion."
The suit brought in Illinois court by the ACLU did not name Illinois state’s attorneys, as had been done in the earlier federal case. The Thomas More Society’s filing asserts that the ACLU’s case is barred because of the earlier loss in the federal courts. The Society also asserts that the Illinois Constitution of 1970 did not include a right to abortion, based on the proceedings of the Constitutional Convention. Also, abortion remained illegal in Illinois, under almost all circumstances, after the 1970 Illinois Constitution went into effect and up until the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Roe v. Wade, which was based only on the U.S. Constitution.
About the Thomas More Society
The Thomas More Society is a public interest law firm that counsels and defends those who work to protect innocent human life, defends those who proclaim faith-based values in our nation’s public square, and strives to protect the institution of marriage as a union of man and woman formed to beget, bear and nurture new human lives. For more information, please visit: www.thomasmoresociety.org.
Operation Rescue also seeks women who have had abortions in Ohio
DAYTON, Ohio,
Oct. 29
/Christian Newswire/ — Operation Rescue has
released a three-part report documenting how late-
term abortionist Martin Haskell has used his
considerable influence over years of legal wrangling
in order to keep his Dayton abortion clinic open even
though it does not meet the safety requirements
prescribed by law.
Haskell is most famous for being the first to describe
the partial birth abortion method, one he falsely claims
to have invented.
Part One of the report recounts the arduous
legal battle to compel Haskell’s compliance only to
end with the state granting Haskell a "variance" from
having to comply with laws requiring clinics to obtain
transfer agreements with local hospitals. To this day,
Haskell has no hospital privileges in the Dayton area,
and no hospital will grant him a transfer agreement.
Part Two of the report
documents with actual tapes of 9-1-1 calls made
earlier this year, that his Dayton area abortion clinics
remains unsafe. It further exposes accomplices in the
Dayton area that enable the Haskell clinic to remain
open in spite of the dangers to women.
Part Three
documents connections between Haskell and his
wife, Valerie, to social institutions and politicians who
may have helped cover for Haskell over the years. It
reveals a shocking connection between the Haskells
and former Sen. John Glenn, who accepted Haskell
campaign contributions then went on to defend partial
birth abortions on the floor of the Senate and
nominate a Federal Court judge who was the only
judge ever to rule in Haskell’s favor.
"If Haskell is considered by every hospital in the
Dayton area to be unqualified to treat patients at their
facilities, then he shouldn’t be allowed to practice at
all," said Operation Rescue President Troy Newman,
recently named by CNN the "abortionists’ No. 1 foe."
Operation Rescue also outlines a three-point action
plan for using peaceful, legal means to stop Haskell’s
Dayton area abortion clinic from continuing illegal
operations.
"This is the first step in a plan to protect women from
Haskell’s dangerous abortion operation. We are
committed to helping the people of Ohio rid their state
of this scourge," said Newman.
"We are also seeking to speak with women who have
had abortions at Haskell clinics in the past year. We
encourage anyone with information that could lead to
the closure of Haskell’s clinic to contact us
immediately."
Read the report:
Part 1; Part 2; Part 3
About Operation Rescue®
Operation Rescue is one of the leading pro-life
Christian activist organizations in the nation and has
become a strong voice for the pro-life movement in
America. Operation Rescue is now headquartered in
a former abortion clinic that it bought and closed in
2006. From there, Operation Rescue launches its
innovative new strategies across the nation, exposing
and closing abortion clinics through peaceful, legal
means. Its activities are on the cutting edge of the
abortion issue, taking direct action to stop abortion
and ultimately restore legal personhood to the pre-
born in obedience to biblical mandates.
WASHINGTON,
Oct. 29
/Christian Newswire/ — "Through the grace and mercy
of God — and the faithful prayers of more than 200,000
volunteers standing vigil outside abortion facilities —
an incredible miracle has taken place," said David
Bereit, national director of 40 Days for Life.
"Starting with the first-ever 40 Days for Life campaign
in Bryan/College Station, Texas in 2004, and
continuing through the international 40 Days for Life
effort that is under way this fall, we now have
confirmed reports of at least 2,000 babies whose lives
have been saved from the tragedy of abortion," Bereit
said. "Who knows what wonders each of these
children will bring to the world!"
Two thousand children would be enough to fill at least
80 classrooms. Two thousand children would be
enough to make up 180 teams of little soccer players –
– "and just as importantly," said Bereit, "this could
represent 180 teams of soccer moms — women who
will enjoy watching their children run and jump and
shout — blessings they would have never known if they
had fallen for the lies that are so often disguised by
the rhetoric of ‘choice.’"
Frequently, it is simply the sight of people peacefully
standing in prayer that will convince a woman to turn
away from abortion. "When people ask me what to say
when they’re at the vigil," said Bereit, "I often say — just
pray and don’t worry about it. We have countless
stories of women rejecting abortion and leaving the
clinics even when not a single word was spoken."
It is often the prayer of children that has this
effect. "Just last week, I heard about two little girls who
were singing ‘Jesus Loves Me’ at a 40 Days for Life
vigil," he said. "They sang as a woman went in for an
abortion appointment — then watched as she left the
clinic in tears, read the number of a pregnancy
resource hotline, and called for real assistance."
40 Days for Life (
www.40daysforlife.com) is the largest and
longest coordinated pro-life mobilization in history.
The fall 40 Days for Life campaign, which began
September 23, will conclude on November 1. The
initiative, in 212 cities across 45 American states, five
Canadian provinces, and Denmark, consists of 40
days of intense prayer and fasting for an end to
abortion, peaceful vigils outside abortion facilities, and
grassroots community organizing.
Since 2004, some local 678 campaigns have been
conducted in 282 communities, covering all 50
American states, the District of Columbia and
American Samoa, as well as Canada, Australia,
Northern Ireland and Denmark.
I'm Deacon John, age 86, ordained 4/25/87 as a Permanent Deacon for the Diocese of Brooklyn.
Deacon John's Space 