Dear Brigade, I am sending you the following from the American Life League (ALL) because every Brigader should know about them -- and support them. They are one of the very few pro-life organizations that are truly 100% pro-life (they actually have the backbone to stand up to the GOP). They have several fabulous websites and Judie Brown sends out a very informative weekly newsletter that keeps me on alert to all the latest bills, events and news concerning the right to life - local and national. See her newsletter and website links below. I'm also sending an article written by Patrick Delaney (Assistant Director for Education at ALL) he is a former staffer for PJB and a long time Brigader. FTC - Linda ---------- From: "Patrick Delaney" To: Linda Muller Subject: NRLC: Coddling Contraception Linda! I hope everything is great with you. Thanks for the recent Brigade updates. My colleague Ed Szymkowiak of STOPP Planned Parenthood thought that this article deserved wide distribution. It concerns the destructive consequences of pro-lifers holding a "neutral" stance on contraception. Though it isn't a current topic in "the war against terrorism," it is truly crucial in order to understand what is necessary to win the war against the culture of death. A version of this column was recently published in the Nov./Dec. issue of Celebrate Life, and one was submitted to the Wanderer as well. God Bless, Patrick Delaney Assistant Director for Education American Life League P.O. Box 1350, Stafford, VA 22554 (703) 690-2510 http://www.all.org The Washington Dispatch Coddling Contraception: The exceptional consequences of zealous indifference By Patrick Delaney - American Life League Dec 7, 2001 As destructive floods can begin with a crack in the dam, vast social evils usually begin with a rationalized exception. Breaking with 1900 years of consistent moral teaching in all of Christianity, the 1930 Lambeth Conference of the Anglican Church was the first to approve the use of contraception for married couples in extraordinary circumstances. Today, contraceptive safe sex, with all its tragic social consequences, has risen to the cultural status of a cardinal virtue. Possibly the most fatal problem in the pro-life movement today is the refusal to admit the connection between contraception and abortion. Planned Parenthood founder Margaret Sanger campaigned for 51 years to accomplish a moral and legal acceptance of contraceptives. Once the Supreme Court sanctioned the full legality of birth control in the 1965 Griswold v. Connecticut decision, it took only eight more years for the 1973 Roe and Doe cases fully sanctioning legal abortion to logically follow. In the 1992 Supreme Court decision Planned Parenthood v. Casey, the court makes this connection clear. Very rationally the court observed the abortion decision is of the same character as the decision to use contraception for two decades people have organized intimate relationships on the availability of abortion in the event that contraception should fail. Birth control creates a mentality of viewing babies as unwanted, and implicitly authorizes sexual promiscuity through the abandonment of self-control. Having adopted this most unnatural new and perverted ideology, sex educators continue to indoctrinate young people into believing that habitual promiscuity, controlled reproduction, and abortion are a normal way of life. When these new lifestyles happen to produce a baby, the disposition of the parents is already established to reject that child. A cultural habit of such behavior will inevitably rationalize and demand legal abortion. Indeed, a recent study conducted by the pro-abortion British Pregnancy Advisor Service found that almost 60% of women requesting abortion claim to have been using a method of contraception at the time they became pregnant [and] almost nine of 10 women claimed that they usually used a method of contraception even if they had not on this occasion. Ian Jones, chief executive of BPAS, admits, Abortion is an essential support to other family planning services. This contraceptive trap is so efficient that former abortionists like Carol Everett claim to have provided free safe sex education, birth control pills and condoms to increase teenage pregnancies and thus increase demand for abortions, which her clinics would perform at a minimum cost of $250 each (emphasis added). Pro-life indifference Despite the overwhelming evidence of the role contraceptive ideology plays in our societal demand for abortion, the National Right to Life Committee and many other alleged pro-life organizations have adopted a zealous neutrality on the issue. The federal government, therefore, continues to massively subsidize the culture of death through population control efforts, family planning and sex education with no substantial resistance from the pro-life movementand no resulting political fallout. In fact, NRLC gives tacit approval for such funding. Addressing members of Congress in a 1997 letter, NRLC Legislative Director Doug Johnson states, NRLC takes no position on contraception, or on federal funding of contraceptive services, whether in the U.S. or overseas; NRLC has no objection to providing increased funding to the population assistance program ... The inconsistency here is obvious. To have no objection to massive sex education, family planning and population control funding is to have no objection to fostering a vicious cultural climate that always demands legal abortion. These funding efforts are the toxic blood supply of the culture of death. Without the hundreds of millions of tax dollars the government provides annually to propagate this evil ideology worldwide, the culture of death just might slither back into the tabooed underworld from where it came. Supporting this argument, law professor Charles Rice writes in his 1999 publication, The Winning Side, Any pro-life effort that temporizes on contraception will be futile because the trajectory is a straight line from the approval of contraception to the acceptance of abortion euthanasia pornography promiscuity divorce homosexual activity in vitro fertilization [and] cloning. The morning-after pill and other abortifacients NRLCs zealous indifference on birth control causes an even greater, more immediate tragedy. Few people seem to understand that many of these taxpayer funded contraceptives really act as abortifacients meaning they cause the death of an already living human being. Such abortifacients include the birth control pill, Depo-Provera, Norplant and emergency contraception (often called the morning-after pill). As Bishop Paul Loverde, Bishop of Arlington, Va., explains, Make no mistake about it. The purpose of emergency contraception is to send a dose of a very strong hormone into a womans reproductive system solely for the purpose of preventing the implantation of a newly conceived child. It causes an early, less visible abortion. The Food and Drug Administration and the scientists who designed this chemical recognize this scientific fact. The Vatican and several other national governments that have banned this drug recognize it as well. But the National Right to Life Committee will not recognize this scientific reality. In fact, last February when the Virginia House of Delegates considered a bill which would allow these emergency contraceptives to be available over the counter, certain committed pro-life delegates could not elicit the aid of the NRLC state affiliate in Virginia. After pressing further, they were shocked at NRLCs flat refusal to even issue a statement opposing this deadly bill. Could population controllers, sex education peddlers, and pro-abortion ideologues have ever planned a better scenario than having a major pro-life organization in the worlds richest country take such a neutral stand on contraceptives? NRLCs refusal to mend this flaw in its pro-life philosophy has served to neutralize any legitimate obstacle from threatening the hundreds of millions of annual tax dollars that fund the culture of death. While some would wish to classify the moral and cultural legitimacy of birth control on a strictly abstract religious plane, the concrete results of the contraceptive culture have been a clear disaster. Does anyone believe that we can bring an end to abortion and build a culture of life while the federal government annually pours hundreds of millions of dollars into worldwide contraceptive propaganda? Does NRLC believe it? One of these days we are going to have to wake up and consider that maybe, just maybe, 1900 years of unified Christian moral teaching has a little wisdom to offer us sophisticated moderns. Patrick Delaney is assistant director for education at American Life League. © Copyright 2001, The Washington Dispatch http://www.washingtondispatch.com/article_638.shtml ---------- Date: Mon, 17 Dec 2001 16:01:20 -0500 From: jbrown@all.org Subject: Communique -- 12/14/01 Communique - a pro-life news update From: Judie Brown December 14, 2001 - Vol. 11, No. 52 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- in this issue: abortion: BREAST CANCER LINK -- BRITAIN / DETRIMENTAL EFFECTS / PRACTITIONERS IN TROUBLE activism: JANUARY 22 / PROTESTING IVF bush watch: RACICOT contraception: ACCESS down syndrome: TARGETING eugenics: PRE-IMPLANTATION GENETIC DIAGNOSIS stem cell research: ETHICAL / KILLING HUMAN BEINGS sterilization: ESSURE web news: CLONING HUMANS / CONSCIENCE LAWS / GOD'S PLAN FOR LIFE / HEALING THE CULTURE / PREGNANT AND NEED HELP? zinger: KILLING A PATIENT AS A CARING ACT reflection for prayer: THOMAS MERTON abortion BREAST CANCER LINK -- BRITAIN: Life, the leading pro-life charity in the U.K., is providing the media with copies of an important new study, "Abortion and Other Pregnancy-Related Risk Factors in Female Breast Cancer." The study is authored by Patrick Carroll and is available, along with other related materials, at http://www.lifeuk.org/abclink/. DETRIMENTAL EFFECTS: David Reardon, Ph.D., announces that "Detrimental Effects of Abortion" is now available for $35 (shipping and handling included). To place a credit card order, call 888-412-2676. For information, e-mail books@afterabortion.org. PRACTITIONERS IN TROUBLE: The Boston Rescuer publishes an ongoing, updated and accurate report on abortionists facing criminal charges or other problems: http://www.orboston.org/Abortionists_in_trouble.htm. activism JANUARY 22: In Atlanta, Georgia pro-lifers are sponsoring an event called "Strolling for Life." There will be a procession of EMPTY baby strollers representing children list to abortion since the 1973 Roe and Doe decisions. For details, contact Michele Roman: AmicheleRoman@aol.com. PROTESTING IVF: Come to the December 28 pro-life protest in Norfolk, Va., sponsored by American Life League, and learn how to speak out against the mass killing that results from in vitro fertilization: http://www.all.org/news/norfolk.htm. bush watch RACICOT: Pro-abortion former Montana governor Marc Racicot is the new head of the Republican National Committee. Though Racicot is confused about when a person is a person and when that person's life begins, National Right to Life says he was "a strong pro-life governor." (Reading: "Bush's choice for RNC Chairman draws fire from conservatives," Cybercast News Service, 12/5/01, http://www.cnsnews.com/ViewPolitics.asp?Page=\Politics\archive\200112\POL200112 05f.html; also see "How Ashcroft Happened," The American Prospect, 2/26/01, http://www.prospect.org/print/V12/4/green-j.html) contraception ACCESS: NARAL has posted a state-by-state review of access to contraception: http://www.naral.org/mediaresources/publications/2001cont/. down syndrome TARGETING: Researchers and editorial writers suggest that fine-tuning the first trimester screening process has advantages, including "an early diagnosis with consequent safer and less traumatic therapeutic abortion." (Reading: "Time for total shift to first-trimester screening for Down's syndrome," The Lancet, 11/17/01, pp. 1658-1659, http://www.thelancet.com and search for title; Cicero, et al, "Absence of nasal bone in fetuses with trisomy 21 at 11-14 weeks of gestation: an observational study," The Lancet, 11/17/01, http://www.thelancet.com/journal/vol358/iss9294/full/llan.358.9294.original_res earch.18359.1) eugenics PREIMPLANTATION GENETIC DIAGNOSIS (PGD): Australian researchers claim that analyzing the genetic makeup of previously frozen human embryos prior to thawing and placing them in the mother's womb allows the elimination of chromosomal anomalies by eliminating the embryos diagnosed as having the problem. "The embryo diagnosed as normal by comparative genomic hybridization was thawed and transferred and resulted in a pregnancy." An accompanying editorial states: "In contrast to amniocentesis and chorionic-villus sampling, techniques for preimplantation genetic diagnosis are performed before the establishment of a pregnancy, thereby sparing women from carrying a pregnancy to the first or second trimester before learning of a serious genetic abnormality. This distinction is especially important to some couples who find termination of even a genetically abnormal pregnancy unacceptable for religious, moral or other reasons. Only embryos found not to be affected by the genetic abnormality in question are selected for transfer to the uterus." COMMENT: According to this eugenic standard, only perfect people are allowed to continue living. The embryo is, after all, a human being regardless of his or her chromosomal anomalies. (Reading: "Birth of a health infant after preimplantation confirmation of euploidy by comparative genomic hybridization," New England Journal of Medicine, 11/22/01, pp. 1537-1541; "Preimplantation Genetic Diagnosis by Comparative Genomic Hybridization," New England Journal of Medicine, 11/22/01, pp. 1569-1571, see http://content.nejm.org/content/vol345/issue21/index.shtml and click on article) stem cell research ETHICAL: Researchers working with rats at McGill University in Toronto are heartened by initial results using adult stem cells from the bone marrow to generate new heart cells, suggesting a possible treatment for heart disease. (Reading: "Adult stem cells may help regenerate heart tissue," C-Health, 11/13/01, http://www.canoe.ca/Health0011/13_heart-cp.html) KILLING HUMAN BEINGS: New Republic published a column by Andrew Sullivan entitled "Only Human." Sullivan argues against embryonic stem cell research, writing, "Some may say that nature itself allows many blastocysts to die. What else are miscarriages? It is true that such tragedies happen all the time. But just because earthquakes happen doesn't mean massacres are justified." The complete column is at http://www.thenewrepublic.com/073001/trb073001.html. sterilization ESSURE: Conceptus, a California-based company, told the media that FDA approval of its coil, designed to block the fallopian tube, is expected early in 2002. See http://www.conceptus.com/us/faq/Procedure.html for details about the method. web news CLONING HUMANS: See the new web site, constructed by Americans to Ban Cloning, for well-developed arguments against any type of human cloning: http://www.cloninginformation.org. CONSCIENCE LAWS: A virus has destroyed much of the information on the Protection of Conscience Project web site. Please visit their web site to be restored to their contact list: http://www.consciencelaws.org. GOD'S PLAN FOR LIFE: Check out this solidly pro-life educational web site: http://www.godsplanforlife.org. HEALING THE CULTURE: Human Life of Washington is posting a series of articles by Dan Stevenson analyzing the book, Healing the Culture. See http://humanlife.net/news/september2001/reflections.html. To learn more, see the web site dedicated to Father Robert J. Spitzer's work: http://www.lifeprinciples.net/. PREGNANT AND NEED HELP? The timeless book, "You Can Have Your Baby When Others (or You) Say No," by Madeline Pecora Nugent, is now available on the internet. To see this publication visit http://www.thombs.com/woman2woman/table.html. Theresa Burke, Ph.D., of Rachel's Vineyard points out that the book empowers the woman to maintain her pregnancy despite pressure from professionals and others. zinger KILLING A PATIENT AS A CARING ACT: Peter Wright asks readers of The Lancet, "How can it be the duty of a caring doctor who respects his patient's autonomy to refuse the help to a good death that only a member of his profession is in a position to give?" (Reading: "Challenge to law on right to die," The Lancet, 11/17/01, http://www.thelancet.com/) reflection for prayer THOMAS MERTON: "What is uncertain is not the 'coming' of Christ but our own reception of Him, our own response to Him, our own readiness and capacity to 'go forth to meet Him.' We must be willing to see Him and acclaim Him, as John did, even at the very moment when our whole life's work and all its meaning seem to collapse." (Reading: "Seasons of Celebration," pp. 90-91, quoted in Vatican II Daily Missal, p. 105) -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Christ's peace to you! JB -------------------------------------------------------------------------- American Life League provides this news service because "no lie can come from the truth." 1 John: 2:21. Copyright 2001 American Life League, Inc. 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