New York Court Rules Girl Can Sue Over Injuries Sustained Before Birth

Brooklyn, NY (LifeNews.com) -- In a landmark ruling, a New York state appeals court has ruled that a seven year-old girl can file suit against the city of Brooklyn for injuries she sustained while she was an unborn child. The ruling is an important decision hailing the rights of unborn children.

When Sarah Elizabeth Leighton was 14 weeks into the pregnancy, her teacher mother was injured when a public toilet collapsed at the school where she worked.

That January 1999 accident ruptured Esther Portalatin-Leighton's placenta and caused Sarah's premature birth less than four months later.

Sarah was eventually born with both physical and mental disabilities and her family contends they were the result of the injury and the premature birth it caused. The Leighton family sued the city for $1 million in damages.

Steven Ferber, the family's attorney, told the New York Daily News that the family is "thrilled" with the decision allowing Sarah's lawsuit to move forward.

During the hearing on the suit, city attorneys claimed that Sarah didn't have the right to sue because she would have had to have been able to survive outside of her mother's womb in order for her to file suit and win an award.

The newspaper reported that Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Martin Solomon agreed in a September 2005 ruling, but the state appeals court overturned that decision.

The court handed down a strong ruling saying that any unborn child has the right to have a lawsuit filed on their behalf as long as injuries occurred after conception and the child was born alive.

The court made certain the decision did not touch on the abortion issue.

"Abortion cases are genuinely distinguishable from the [Leighton] case since fetuses which are aborted are not born alive," Brooklyn Appeals Court Justice Gloria Goldstein wrote, according to the Daily News.

"However, if the abortion fails and causes injury to the fetus who is later born alive, the child may have a cause of action sounding in medical malpractice to recover damages for the injuries sustained," Goldstein concluded.

Heartbeat International Conference, April 18-21st

	Heartbeat International's 36th Annual Conference St. Louis, Missouri Mark your calendars now! April 18-21, 2007

Register Online Now or View the Conference Brochure...

Why Attend the 2007 Heartbeat International Conference?
Invest in You & Your Center – For Today & The Future. This unique learning and networking experience focuses on equipping ministries through education, inspiration and relationship.

Who Should Attend?
Heartbeat’s Annual Conference is designed for ministry leaders, staff, Board members, and volunteers of life-affirming pregnancy resource centers, medical clinics, maternity homes, and non-profit adoption agencies, and for professionals in the areas of medicine, counseling, social work, and education.

Come to St. Louis and receive:
New Insights in to Best Practices Reliable, Proven Practices Performance Improvement Tools Valuable New Professional Relationships Diversity of Forward-thinking Ideas

Registration
Executive Roundtable Registration begins at 5:00 p.m. on Tuesday, April 17, 2007. In-Depth Day Registration begins at 8:00 a.m. on Wednesday, April 18, 2007 and start promptly at 9:00 a.m. Conference sign-in begins Wednesday, April 18 at 1:00 p.m. kicking off with dinner Wednesday evening at 5:30 p.m.

Your registration includes all general training and ministry sessions and evening meals. All lunches may be purchased on your registration form for $65.

• $210 - Early Bird: Registration received before March 30, 2007
• $250 - Registration received after March 30, 2007
• $210 - Group Rate: Four or more individuals from the same center

Cancellation Policy: Full refunds may be issued until 5:00 p.m. EST April 10, 2007. A 50% refund is available from 5:00 p.m. EST April 10 – April 13, 2007 5:00 p.m. EST. No refunds will be issued past 5:00 p.m. EST April 13th.If you have any questions, please contact us.

Additional Training Information

Regional Information Meeting: Focus on the Family® will be holding its Regional Information Meeting (RIM) just prior to the Heartbeat Conference for those participating in the Option Ultrasound Program™. For more information, please contact Focus on the Family at 800-232-6459.

Ultrasound Training: Hope Imaging, a Christian NonProfit is offering the class: "Using your Skills in the Pregnancy Help Medical Clinic" Class is taught by an RDMS [registered diagnostic medical sonographer] with over 10 years of clinical and pregnancy help experience.

This is an interactive, didactic class for those medical professionals interested in serving their local pregnancy care centers. Training is focused on applying skills to the unique mission and setting of the PRC. Participants receive 8 CMEs trough the SDMS. Those who complete the training also receive a complimentary one year membership to Sonographers for Life as well as access to upcoming local and international mission opportunities.

For more information or to register log onto www.hopeimaging.org, email admin@hopeimaging.org, or call 706-577-3713.

Exhibitors/Advertisers
There are many ways your organization can advertise at the Heartbeat International Conference. Click here to learn more.

Exhibit space is limited. Heartbeat reserves the right to allocate spaces at their discretion.

We are planning a prescreening of Bella at the 2007 Conference!

This true story is about a man who had everything and lost it all, but by losing it all, he found everything that matters.

The story focuses on the value of every human life and the plot involved death, abortion, adoption, importance of family, and what love is all about.

It stars Eduardo Verastegui, the "heartthrob" of Latin American films and television.

Heartbeat President Peggy Hartshorn who has seen the movie said, "When in real life he moved to Hollywood to make a name and fortune in American film, instead of the fame he thought he came for, he found the Lord and rekindled the faith of his youth. This film which he not only stars in, but also wrote and directed, is a powerful movie that will appeal to 'the masses,' but will also make the public think and feel about life issues in a way that we hope will be life-changing for them and have a major influence in moving us more toward a culture of life! The movie may even save lives and bring people who have been touched by abortion to healing." Learn more about Eduardo Verastegui

It is an unforgettable film shot in New York City with strong performances and outstanding cinematography. What people love most about this story is that it makes them laugh, cry, and think about what's important in life. It is completely different and unpredictable and no one is sharing the ending. Click here to learn more about this powerful movie.

Heartbeat is working with The Metanoia Team to provide our conference attendees the opportunity to see this award-winning independent film.

Where can I purchase CDs of past Conferences?
Loving & Caring recorded the sessions at this year's conference and you can order CDs or tapes through them by calling 717-293-3230. Click here for a Loving & Caring order form* with a listing of all the recorded sessions.

*All orders need to be made through Loving & Caring.

Note: Due to technical issues with the master recording, the following sessions are not available: Connecting with the Hispanic Community - Mary Hamm; Something to Talk About - Option Line; Consulting with Clients with Personality Disorders - Sr. Paula Vandegaer; Selling Death-Selling Life - Carol Everett; Recognizing Depression and Anxiety Disorders - Dr. Elaine Eng; and A Time to Remember - Ken Schmitt.

Planned Parenthood Launches Nationwide Pro-Abortion Cell Phone Service

Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- The nation's largest abortion business has started a new wireless communications system partnering with a long-time pro-abortion long-distance carrier. Planned Parenthood's new cell phone service will allow pro-abortion activists to not only make calls but get action alerts from the organization.

Planned Parenthood Wireless is a new affinity program that allows its supporters to sign up for a mobile phone service and see 10% of their monthly bill go back to the abortion business.

The pro-abortion group will also use customers' monthly bills to include action alerts and information and will provide 30 free minutes of calls every month to encourage its members to talk to friends about abortion issues.

"Planned Parenthood members care passionately about women's reproductive health and rights," Cecile Richards, PPFA president said in a statement LifeNews.com received. "Now they have a smart, simple way to support our work and express that passion with every phone call they make, through a wireless service provider that cares."

The service is handled exclusively by Working Assets, a company that exists to sell phone service to left-wing political activists who want to see their favorite groups supported. It has provided long-distance phone services for Planned Parenthood for years.

Like many other affinity phone service companies, Working Assets contracts with a larger phone company (in this case Sprint) to provide telephone access to its customers.

In fact, the two companies partnered to generate phone calls to South Dakota residents urging them to defeat a statewide abortion ban on the ballot last November.

Customers who sign up will also get pro-abortion text messages from Planned Parenthood. New customers keep their current cell phone number and can get a free phone for signing up.

Not to be outdone, the pro-life side of the abortion debate also has companies that provide telephone service.

The Missouri-based Pro Life Communications offers long-distance, local telephone, nationwide cellular, Internet, and will soon be adding satellite television to its lineup. The company says it donates all of its profits to pro-life organizations, which is currently about 15% of the monthly bill customers pay.

Joseph Dalton, the head of the company, says it only contracts with networks and providers that do not support Planned Parenthood or pro-abortion groups.

Another company, Amerivision Communications, has been working with pro-life groups for many years to provide them with affinity long-distance services for their members. Also known as LifeLine Communications or Affinity 4, the company offers Internet services as well as wireless communications, credit cards, and DirecTV service.

The company gives 10% of the monthly usage bill back to the pro-life organization of the customer's choice and has contributed more than $75 million to Christian and pro-life groups.

Related web sites:
Pro-Life Communications - http://www.prolifecomm.com
Affinity 4 - http://www.affinity4.com

Ohio Governor Chooses Not To Protect Women From Dangerous Abortion Drug

Columbus, OH (LifeNews.com) -- New Ohio Governor Ted Strickland won't fight to save an Ohio law that protects women from the dangerous RU 486 abortion drug which has killed seven women in the United States and injured more than a thousand more. With little fanfare, Strickland quietly dropped a legal effort to salvage a law that puts safety limits on the drug.

The Ohio state legislature previously approved a bill to bring the use of the abortion pill in Ohio in line with Food and Drug Administration guidelines.

The law also tells abortion practitioners not to encourage women to use the abortion drug vaginally, which experts say could be partially responsible for why the RU 486 abortion drug has killed four women in California.

Abortion advocates took the law to court and a federal judge ruled against it. The battle shifted to the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals but Strickland is pulling the state out of the fight.

"Because Gov. Strickland does not wish to seek reversal of the lower court's order, he seeks to withdraw his appeal," Attorney General Marc Dann wrote in a brief filed with the appeals court, according to the Cincinnati Enquirer.

Pro-life advocates condemned the governor's decision for hurting women's health and safety.

"I'm quite disappointed the governor is not going to pursue it," Denise Mackura, executive director of Ohio Right to Life, told the newspaper.

Despite Stricland's decision, the case is not over as Dann or county prosecutors who would be responsible for enforcing the law could pursue the appeal further.

In the initial decision, Judge Susan Dlott ruled that the Ohio law is vague and claims it could put women's health in jeopardy. She claimed the law is confusing and that abortion practitioners couldn't be reasonably expected to understand and implement it.

Al Gerhardstein, an attorney for plaintiff Planned Parenthood who represented the abortion business in the lawsuit, called the law something "intended to scare doctors away from providing reproductive health care."

The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists filed legal papers supporting the abortion businesses that brought the lawsuit saying that the abortion drug could sometimes be in the best interest of women, despite its numerous health problems.

The 6th Circuit upheld a previous ruling by Dlott preventing the law from being implemented and then sent the case back to her to determine haw far an injunction against it should extend. Dlott's second ruling prohibited any enforcement of any part of the law during the appeal process.

The 6th Circuit also ruled that Ohio cannot put in place protections for women on the abortion drug unless it allows exceptions for those who may face a greater health risk having a surgical abortions.

Right to Life of Greater Cincinnati also supported the law and told LifeNews.com it would ensure that only doctors could prescribe the abortion drug.

The group said the law was important because it made sure abortion businesses followed FDA guidelines which include "a complete medical exam before prescribing RU-486, careful monitoring during the abortion process, and that any physician who provides RU-486 report any serious complications to the state medical board."

An abortion practitioner who violated the Ohio law protecting women could have received as much as an 18 month prison sentence.

The FDA is currently examining why so many women have died from using the abortion drug and has placed its highest black box warning on it.

ACTION: Send your complaints about the decision to Governor Ted Strickland, Riffe Center, 30th Floor, 77 South High Street, Columbus, OH 43215-6108. You can also call (614) 466-3555, fax a letter to (614) 466-9354 or email the governor by going to this web site: http://governor.ohio.gov/Default.aspx?tabid=101.

Related web sites:
Governor Striclland - http://governor.ohio.gov
Ohio Right to Life - http://www.ohiolife.org
Right to Life of Greater Cincinnati - http://www.cincinnatirighttolife.org

Effects of Abortion on Men Frequently Ignored, Says UCLA Psychology Professor

Los Angeles, CA (LifeNews.com) -- A psychology professor at UCLA says the impact abortion has on men is too frequently ignored. Dr. Miriam Grossman, who is a psychiatrist at the university's student health service, says that men involved in abortion decisions have become "invisible" to researchers and members of her profession.

While research on the medical and mental health problems women face following an abortion has only barely scratched the surface, fewer scholars have examined the impact on men.

Grossman says a sociologist named Dr. Arthur Shostak is about the only researcher to examine how abortion affects men.

Shostak looked into the situation because he and his girlfriend reached the decision to have an abortion when she became pregnant unexpectedly. He was curious to know how similar decisions affected other men.

Shostak surveyed 1,000 men who accompanied their wives or girlfriends to an abortion facility at various spots around the country. He then tracked the men over subsequent years to see how abortion changed their lives.

He found that 80 percent of the men he surveyed said the trip to the abortion center was the worst day of their lives.

Grossman, speaking with Agape Press, said the number of men who regretted their decision went up over time.

"The number of men who reported that day feeling some guilt and some ambivalence about what they were doing; the number of men who were asked ’Do you think that in the future you might have some troubling thoughts about this ?’ — the percentages went up," she explained.

"So a few years afterwards, they were reporting that it was worse than they had anticipated," she added in the AP interview.

Grossman told the news service that her colleagues too readily ignore men's involvement in abortion and how it affects them.

"There is a significant number of people who do have those scars and that painfulness and if we are going to be open to victims of every sort, then we in mental health need to be acknowledging them even if they don't advance a particular ideology," she said.

Grossman says Shostak has suggested that the mental health community do more to help people recover from the problems associated with an abortion.

The UCLA professor has previously spoken out about the lack of response from academics and mental health professionals.

Grossman sat down with Kathryn Jean Lopez of National Review for an interview about her latest book, Unprotected: A Campus Psychiatrist Reveals How Political Correctness in Her Profession Endangers Every Student.

She says the wrote the book in part to "highlight the existence of an invisible group: women (and men) with emotional scars from an abortion."

"They are out there in numbers; many must seek support from networks outside our mental-health system," she said. "This is because although individual practitioners may be sensitive to the trauma of abortion, the mental-health establishment denies it exists."

As a psychiatrist, Grossman criticized "the refusal of my profession to formally acknowledge and reach out to those who suffer with severe emotional disorders following an abortion."

"And mind you, these are professionals who are normally eager to identify and assist victims of all sorts of other traumas — be it child abuse, sexual harassment, or natural disasters," she told National Review.

Portugal Low Birthrate Shows Abortion Not the Answer

The global hand of the human extermination movement has taken hold of Portugal, a small country that has long had a low birthrate. Only four nations in Europe offer strong protection in law for unborn children: Ireland, Portugal, Poland, and Malta.

The European Union and the pro-abortion organizations it generously funds, along with the United Nations and others, have been trying for decades to get these EU members to conform to their abortion orthodoxy. Now, in the wake of a failed referendum last Sunday, they are on the verge of succeeding in one of those nations.

The referendum legalizing abortion-on-demand in the first 10 weeks received the approval of 59% of voters and the disapproval of only 41%. Yet, since so few voters showed up to vote-turnout was only 44%--the referendum failed.

No matter. Socialist Prime Minister Jose Socrates says he will use the referendum to justify what he has long wanted to do anyway, and get a law through parliament legalizing abortion in the first 10 weeks. This unwise leader plans to do so by July.

In this 90th anniversary of the appearance of Our Lady at Fatima, Portugal may be about to turn her back on the Catholic Faith and life itself. The legalization of abortion would only be another symptom of Portugal's terminal decline, another signpost on her way to eternal oblivion.

Portugal's birthrate dropped below replacement level over 20 years ago and now stands at a meager 1.5 children per woman. An astonishing 30% of Portuguese will be 65 or over by 2050, way up from 17% today-and that assumes that Portugal's birthrate will start rising by 2015, a questionable prediction. More likely, it will continue downward, making Portugal's median age 54 by 2050 (right now, it's an already-high 38).

So, setting moral principle aside, is this the time to legalize abortions of convenience in Portugal?

Portuguese law already allows abortions for the health of the mother and for rape. The birthrate is suicidally low. Portuguese women can and do pop over the border to Spain for abortions, anyway. What rational reason can there be for making abortion-on-demand a
priority in this dying land?

Some "yes" voters for the referendum may have been confused by the government's publicity campaign, which emphasized ending unsafe illegal abortions that sometimes result in the mother's death. The government argued that since these abortions occur anyway, they may as well be safely regulated and taxed. And some pro-legalization campaigners argued that legalization would reduce the number of abortions, though that has been proven historically false.

"We believe that those that voted 'yes' to relax the abortion laws were in fact voting against illegal abortions, we in the Church support that," said Carlos Azevedo, Church spokesman in Portugal. "What we want to see is improved education among the young and improved support for mothers."

Yet it is hard to believe that with a strong pro-life campaign in Portugal spreading the word, most of the 59% who voted yes don't favor liberalizing abortion laws. But it's possible that enough people were confused and enough too lazy to vote that only a minority of all Portuguese voters really favors what the referendum does.

"The favorable result for the 'yes' is a sign of accentuated cultural mutation by the Portuguese people, which we have to confront with realism," said the Portuguese bishops' conference in a statement. It blamed "the globalization of ways of thinking and opinions by the media" and said, "We appeal to doctors and health professionals not to hesitate in turning to the statute of 'conscientious objector' that the law guarantees."

The Dean of the College of Medicine of Portugal said that its Code of Ethics says life begins at conception and thus he expected most doctors to refuse to perform abortions. However, abortionists haven't wasted any time, already promising to build a $3.5 million abortion clinic in Lisbon.

Sadly, the supposedly pro-life leader of the primary opposition party in Portugal, Luis Marques Mendes of the Social Democratic Party, has already caved, saying he will not fight abortion legalization now that the referendum received a majority of those who voted. Instead, in the mantra of conservative politicians everywhere, he wants to extract a small
concession or two from the Left.

"The will of the Portuguese must be respected," he said. "It's important to include in the final version of the new law a compulsory period of counseling for the woman who is thinking of having an abortion."

Portugal's president, Anibal Cavaco Silva, is close to Marques Mendes and could veto a new law. Yet the main political opposition in parliament is giving up before the parliamentary battle has even begun.

But there is still hope.

Pro-lifers in Portugal organized to fight the referendum and can remain organized to fight the bill in parliament. Hopefully, they will understand the reality that in this fallen world, politicians respond weakly to appeals based on principle--"Defend life!"--and more strongly to threats--"Vote against this or we'll vote against you."

The Left never gives up. Portugal voted down an abortion referendum in 1998, so they tried again this year. They did the same with divorce in Ireland until they won there. We must take the same attitude, remembering the promise made at Fatima: "In the end, my Immaculate Heart will triumph."

Time Article - "Grassroots Abortion War"

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1590444,00.html?cnn=yes

Michigan Invites Ohio Students to March Conference

CONFERENCE TIME!

What: The Annual Students for Life of Michigan Conference

When: Saturday, March 31^st

(with an overnight at a hotel the night before)

Where: Ave Maria Law School in Ann Arbor

Why: To gain resources to better fight against abortion, meet fellow Pro-Lifers, and renew our inspiration for the cause through a day of great speakers and training session…

not to mention a whole lot of fun!

Who: College students from all over the state, influential Pro-Life speakers like Michigan Attorney General Mike Cox, Pro-Life organizations that want to give YOU resources…

**Register Online Starting March 1^st at www.SFLMichigan.org!**

Texas Legislation Challenges Futile Care Law That Hurts Patients

Austin, TX (LifeNews.com) -- A coalition of pro-life legislators and those concerned about protecting the disabled are banding together to promote a bill in the state legislature that would revise the state's futile care law.

The law has come under fire because it allows medical facilities to tell the family of a patient that they have 10 days to find another medical center willing to treat the patient because their doctors think the case is hopeless.

Families who have been affected by the law told lawmakers it needs to be changed so others don't suffer the same fate.

Sen. Bob Deuell, a physician and a Greenville Republican, is one of the prime sponsors of the bill.

"I understand the cost of health care; I'm not insensitive to that. But our medical system is so complicated now that I don't think that 10 days is enough," he told the Dallas Morning News.

"If we're going to err, let's err on the side of life and give families a chance to get loved ones transferred without a 10-day window," he added.

Some health care professionals oppose the bill and say lifting the 10-day limit hurts the Advanced Directives Act, which they say is one of the best laws in the nation.

Dr. Robert Fine, oversees end-of-life cases at Baylor University and helped write the law for the Texas Medical Association, called the bill a publicity stunt.

"It's a fundraising gimmick. ... They have accused us, the providers, of murdering people," he told the newspaper.

But, that's not the way patients and their families see it.

Lanore Dixon, who battled with St. Luke's Episcopal Hospital over the fate of her sister Andrew Clark represents many families who have had problems with the futile care provision.

"This law allowed a hospital to steal precious time from our family during a loved one's end days," she said, according to the Houston Chronicle. "Was that really necessary?"

Clark, 54, suffered complications following open heart surgery and required a ventilator and dialysis to survive. Her motor control faculties were damaged but, her family says her cognitive abilities were unaffected.

The hospital informed her family that her medical care would be discontinued in 10 days after a hospital committee decided Clark's condition was beyond hope and refused further medical treatment.

It took legal action from a family attorney to prevent Clark's treatment from being withheld, in an act of euthanasia.

Cynthia Deason, who took Houston's Memorial Hermann Hospital to court to stop it from taking her disabled daughter off life support added, "I just don't want anybody else to go through what I've gone through."

John Carroll Send 35 Students to March for Life,2007

Students,
members of
John Carroll
community join
thousands in
march for life
in nation's capital

Approximately 35 John Carroll students and accompanying staff and faculty last week (Jan 22) participated in a march through Washington DC calling for an end to abortion in the United States.

Earlier they had joined students from Jesuit universities from across the country at the Cardinal O'Connor Conference on Life at Georgetown University, followed by a "powerful"
liturgy at St. Aloysius, a downtown parish.

Before departing on the trip participants had gathered for a workshop led by Emma Hayes of Campus Ministry and Dr. Paul Lauritzen of Religious Studies / Applied Ethics on the "Consistent Ethic of Life," defined as opposition to abortion, capital punishment, economic
injustice, assisted suicide and euthanasia, and unjust war.

CASE AGAINST LATE-TERM ABORTION PRACTITIONER ON ILLEGAL ABORTIONS DEAD

Topeka, KS (LifeNews.com) -- The state of Kansas' case against Wichita late-term abortion practitioner George Tiller is now officially dead. That's because the Kansas Supreme Court ruled Wednesday against a request have the 30 charges related to illegal late-term abortions reinstated after a county court dismissed them.

State law requires that the late-term abortions be done only in legitimate cases of medical emergencies but the state obtained records showing that some of them were done on women who merely complained of "depression" during their pregnancy.

Attorney General Phill Kline filed the charges in Sedgwick County District Court in December shortly before he left office. A judge dismissed them and Donald McKinney, a special prosecutor Kline appointed in the case, asked the state's high court to reinstate them.

Paul Morrison, a pro-abortion Democrat who defeated Kline in his bid for re-election in November, fired the prosecutor and asked the state Supreme Court to dismiss the charges.

The court offered no explanation for its recent decision, merely stamping the word "granted" on Morrison's papers.

In a report submitted to Morrison before leaving his position as special prosecutor, McKinney said there is enough evidence to prosecute Tiller on the charges.

"It currently appears that persons come to Kansas from virtually all over the United States to obtain abortions of late-term babies without any substantial legal protection for those babies, despite the intent and wording of the laws enacted by the people of Kansas,” McKinney said.

The charges related to 14 allegedly illegal abortions in 2003 on girls as young as ten and women as old as 22 years of age.

Tiller, who has spent hundreds of thousands of dollars made from his abortion business to defeat Kline, escaped prosecution in the January 2005 abortion death of Cristin Gilbert, a mentally disabled 19 year-old girl from Texas.

Franciscan University at the March for Life 2007

Document Title: 2007 March for Life http://www.franciscan.edu/home2/Content/main.aspx?id=2279

Posted: Friday, January 16, 2007

2007 March for Life

STEUBENVILLE, OH--Snow squalls and a biting wind could not prevent a large portion of Franciscan University of Steubenville's student body from attending the National March for Life in Washington, DC, held January 22. Eleven buses filled with about 500 students joined hundreds of other Franciscan University students, alumni, and friends who marched in opposition to the 1973 Supreme Court Roe v. Wade decision that legalized abortion. "As a Catholic institution, we believe in the dignity of human life," said Mark Spencer, a senior with Students for Life who helped organize the trip."This is our biggest national opportunity to stand up with other pro-life supporters from across the country and show our belief in the dignity of life from conception to natural death."	A Franciscan University of Steubenville student marches with one of many signs provided by an anonymous donor.
Leaving campus at midnight, the students arrived in Washington, DC, for morning Mass at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception celebrated by former Pittsburgh bishop and current Washington Archbishop Donald Wuerl. After Mass, the students assembled under a Franciscan University banner, also holding aloft a large image of Our Lady of Guadalupe, patroness of the unborn, for a rally on the National Mall between the Washington Monument and the Capitol. Students for Life President Mike Riordan explained the motivation for taking the renowned Marian image: "This serves as a witness to our belief in the intercessory power of Our Lady of Guadalupe, patroness of the unborn. We believe that the culture of life will be furthered mostly through prayer." As they marched, many students displayed placards that read "Pray to End Abortion" provided by an anonymous donor. Some students prayed the Rosary while walking; others sang the Chaplet of Divine Mercy. After the rally, the students marched to the steps of the US Supreme Court and prayed for an end to abortion and for other critical human-life issues. Some Franciscan students spent the weekend in Washington, DC, at the Students for Life of America annual conference and engaged in pro-life lobbying activities. Father Terence Henry accompanies students for the 34th annual March for Life in Washington, DC. The night before the march in Steubenville, many Franciscan students gathered at the University’s Christ the King Chapel for a Pro-Life Prayer Vigil. "We just celebrated Christmas, another reminder that every human life has value," Father Jonathan St. Andre, TOR, told them in his homily. Noting that amniocentesis is routinely used to identify infant abnormalities in the womb, he lamented that it is now a common practice to abort infants with Down Syndrome. "My sister Janine has Down Syndrome. I can’t imagine life without her. We can’t play God. Every person has inestimable value because they are made in the image of Christ," he said. Afterwards, the students processed to the nearby Tomb of the Unborn Child on campus for more prayer at the site where seven aborted infants are buried. Thirty-four red roses, representing each year since the Roe v. Wade decision, were placed at the tomb. Students gather for a photo on the steps of the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception under the Franciscan University banner and Our Lady of Guadalupe, the patroness of the unborn.

Tennessee Legislator Wants Death Certificate Issued for Abortions

Nashville, TN (LifeNews.com) -- A Tennessee state legislator says he wants death certificates issued when an unborn child is killed an abortion. Representative Stacey Campfield introduced a bill to do that and says that there's no difference between the death of an unborn child and anyone else's death and it should be acknowledged by the state.

Campfield also said the certificates would help the state keep track of exactly how many abortions are done on an annual basis.

"All these people who say they are pro-life — at least we would see how many lives are being ended out there by abortions," Campfield said, according to an AP report.

"The life issue is very important, it's always been very important to me," he said. "And we've really hit a stone wall as far as any sort of [pro-life] legislation moving."

However, House Judiciary Chairman Rob Briley called the bill the "most preposterous bill I've seen in eight years in the Legislature."

"I would anticipate that there are some serious legal problems with trying to issue death certificates to unborn fetuses, whether they be aborted or not," Briley added.

Under the measure, abortion businesses would have 10 days to file the death certificate with the state Office of Vital Records.

Myra Simons, a representative of Tennessee Right to Life, said her group had not yet taken a position on the bill.

"It's a little too early to say whether we will support it," she told AP but said the pro-life group supports Campfield's efforts to "draw attention to the way abortion is handled in Tennessee."

Abortion advocates may oppose the bill in part because it would include social security numbers on the death certificate that could be used to identify the woman having the abortion.

Related web sites:
Tennessee state legislature - http://www.legislature.state.tn.us
Tennessee Right to Life - http://www.tennesseerighttolife.org

Portugal Pro-Abortion Activist Discusses Vote, Pro-Life Advocates Respond

Lisbon, Portugal (LifeNews.com) -- As the citizens of Portugal look back on Sunday's vote on an abortion referendum, a leading pro-abortion activist discussed how supporters were able to get 59 percent of the vote. Meanwhile, a leading pro-life group responded to the vote saying it was a setback because relatively few Portuguese backed abortion.

Portuguese voters backed the abortion referendum on a 59 to 41 percent margin but it didn't take effect because only 44 percent of the country turned out to vote. More than half had to participate for the vote to count.

Examined another way, just 26.2 percent of Portuguese voters backed legalizing abortion.

If passed, abortion would have been legalized for any reason through the 10th week of pregnancy.

As a result of the failure, the country's ruling Socialist government says it will pursue a bill in the nation's parliament to legalize abortion.

Alda Sousa, from the radical Left Bloc, talked with the Socialist Worker magazine about how abortion backers obtained 59 percent of those voting.

She said they did well because they made the argument about the problems associated with illegal abortions and focuses on cases of women being jailed and the medical complications resulting from them.

Sousa also said "victory was won through active campaigning by several pro-choice groups who worked together while focusing on their own specific areas of concern."

Abortion advocates organized groups of doctors talking about the illegal abortions in the media and put together a pro-abortion Catholic group to appeal with more of a religious message.

They also organized young voters to distribute information in theaters and workplaces.

"We campaigned across the country, but we paid special attention to districts where the no vote had won in 1998," Sousa said.

"We also focused our campaign around the idea that it was intolerable for women to be prosecuted and put on trial," Sousa added. "That was the argument that the no camp could not answer – although last week they tried proposing that while women should not be penalized for having abortions, abortion should remain a crime."

She said having the support of the ruling government was also helpful, as backers of the abortion referendum didn't have it last time when they were defeated by a larger margin.

Meanwhile, a leading pro-life organization in the United States said "pro-abortion forces suffered a setback" because 56 percent of voters stayed home rather than endorsing abortion.

"Sadly for the women and unborn children of Portugal, Prime Minister Socrates has promised to push and promote pro-abortion legislation through Portugal's Parliament," said Raimundo Rojas, NRLC Hispanic Outreach Director.

"With the support of international pro-abortion groups, he is determined to see that abortion on demand is the law of the land in Portugal," Rojas added.

Portugal is one of only four countries in Europe -- the others are Ireland, Poland and Malta -- that have laws protecting unborn children from abortion.

Along with 33 other countries, all have been criticized by the UN Compliance Committee on the Convention On the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) based on the Committee's claim that CEDAW creates a "right" to abortion.

National Right to Life Committee Sponsors Summer Student Training Session July 2-August 10, 2007

http://www.nrlc.org/Academy/Academy.html

Why Chapters are important

I discovered this on the National Right to Life website. It outlines the significance of the importance of setting up pro-life chapters.


What Is a Chapter? What Does a Chapter Do?

Pro-Life Grassroots Activism Is Both Fun And Makes a Difference

By Holly Miller, NRL Field Coordinator, and Jacki Ragan, Director, State Organizational Development Dept.

Let's start with a truism: Our friends and neighbors probably do not often think about the life issues.

It is a safe bet that the average American is far more likely to be thinking about our war on terrorism, the state of our economy, their own jobs, their kids' schoolwork and activities, and what's for dinner. Abortion, infanticide, and euthanasia probably do not enter into their minds on a very regular basis.

Yet, for all that, there is still this. Most people, deep down, understand however vaguely that there exists a clear and present threat to innocent human life. It is a thorn in their conscience, the source of which they can't explain.

Pro-lifers don't need prodding. We don't need our "consciousness raised." The lives of unborn babies, disabled newborns, and the medically dependent elderly is always on our minds, along with all the other issues weighing on the hearts and minds of every American.

Pro-lifers are not naive. We understand that for the most part abortion is not in the pages of our local newspapers.

Yet this lack of attention does not change that regrettable truth that nearly 4,000 unborn children die daily. These little ones may be out of sight. It is our job to ensure that they are not out of mind.

Thus, whatever else is on the nation's mind, the critical task for NRLC's nearly 3,000 chapters never changes: to keep the life issues on the public's mind. How? Local Chapters.

A right-to-life chapter is an indispensable part of the overall strategy to restore legal protection to innocent human life. The chapter is the core component, the very heart of the pro-life movement.

Without a web of interconnected, organized pro-life chapters the Movement would not be viable. That is the stark truth.

Focusing its activities within a local community, the chapter most often is the pro-life movement as far as your neighbors are concerned. In large part, when this Movement prevails, it is reflecting what local pro-lifers have accomplished in educating their friends, family, and neighbors.

The essence of your pro-life chapter is the establishment of a consistent, regular presence in your community. Your faithful presence reminds your neighbors that babies continue to be legally killed in your area and that good, decent, hardworking Americans believe that is an abomination.

If you didn't politely but firmly disagree, the larger public would assume abortion must be okay because no one is saying No!

But is this all easier said than done? How does a chapter accomplish big projects year after year?

After all, chapters are made up of people with responsibilities to their families, employers, churches, children, and more. And putting on a good event requires planning, time, money, volunteers, and more. But take our word for it, it can be done.

Planning the same programs annually will make your work far easier. This establishes rapport with the local businesses and government offices with which you will coordinate your efforts.

Also, after doing each project many times, much of the planning becomes "old hat," freeing you to focus on minor adjustments to your programs or to work on a new or one-time project, such as a billboard.

Spacing events out will give your chapter plenty of time to plan upcoming events and ensure that nobody "burns out." If you plan an event each season, you will have a month to "cool down" after one event, and two months to gear up for the next.

For example, plan to commemorate January 22 by attending the state March for Life or by holding a vigil or prayer breakfast in your own community. Then, wait until Mother's Day to perform your next project, whether that is a rose sale, signature ad in your local newspaper, diaper drive for the local crisis pregnancy center, or Mother's Day picnic.

After Mother's Day, unwind for a month or so, and then start preparing your booth for the county fair. That'll include signing up for the space and recruiting volunteers to staff the table. Be sure to order plenty of educational materials to distribute to fair goers.

After the fair, you'll have a few months to plan activities for October which some churches recognize as "Repect Life" month. Work with area churches, and pray for an end to abortion in solidarity with people of all faiths, not only in your community but also across the country.

The above are just a few projects NRL chapters accomplish in their own neighborhoods. What you can do as a chapter to advance the pro-life cause is limited only by your imagination.

Be creative. Be visible at local events, whether at your town's annual celebration, a craft fair, a health fair, or a parade.

These events are social and fun to prepare for and to participate in. They allow you to bring the pro-life message to where the people are.

We are pro-life because we love life. So as a chapter, embrace the life of your community and celebrate the sanctity of life with your friends and neighbors.

If there is not a chapter in your local community, we urge you to consider starting one. It is not nearly as difficult as you might think, and we promise to help you every step of the way.

Op-Ed Article for the Daily Kent Stater - These are the opinions college students face today

President Bush's 2008 budget proposal is giving an extra $28 million to an interesting cause.

We'll give you a hint, it's not for national security, higher education or social welfare programs. No, Bush wants faith-based initiatives that promote abstinence to receive a nice, big extra chunk of change.

This puts the total amount of money spent annually on such programs to $191 million. That seems a little excessive to us. Bush has continually given a lot of money to faith-based programs (which doesn't make sense in the first place; what happened to separation of church and state), but there is major controversy about abstinence-only education.

There is little proof that abstinence-only sex education works. According to Planned Parenthood, 88 percent of students who pledge to not have sex until they're married still have premarital sex.

There is just more to sex than "just say no." Everything about sex involves a personal decision. Giving teenagers only one "correct" interpretation is not only unfair, but unhealthy.

These abstinence-only programs are ineffective, and they provide young people with incorrect information. The decreased amount of information about contraceptives could also make these students less likely to use condoms or other forms of birth control.

Even the American Medical Association and the National Institutes of Health have noted that abstinence-only programs are not working. The NIH has maintained the policy that more money should be given to comprehensive sex education programs because they are successful in reducing "risky sexual behavior."

Instead of abstinence-only programs, comprehensive sex education is clearly the way to go. Students who go through reality-based sex ed are more likely to use contraception and do not have sex any earlier than students who were taught abstinence-only.

Sorry, Bush and anyone who supports such excluding education, but it's time for a wake up call — sex among teenagers is going to happen. Keep in mind, out of developed nations, the United States is home to the highest teen pregnancy rate.

It looks like something's not working.

Yes, abstinence is the best way to prevent unwanted pregnancies and the spread of sexually transmitted diseases, but failing to provide middle school and high school-aged students with the proper information can only hurt them. It's time to take the facts and apply them to the federal spending budget, not just hopeful, right-wing thinking. We can think of 28 million other places that money should have gone. If anything, a compromise should be made where a comprehensive education is executed that balances contraceptive and sexual awareness and a promotion of abstinence.

Let's be honest, the government is not going to hold the hands of America's young people and walk them through these kinds of decisions — we don't expect them to. That is why the government and the educators they support need to provide students with the facts, and only the facts, and allow that information to help and guide them make educated decisions.

Cedarville University Starting Pro-Life Organization

‘Students for Life’ to Focus on Pro-Life Issues

by: Emily Doot

Cedarville University recently granted approval to Students for Life, an organization new this semester and focused on raising campus awareness of various issues pertinent to pro-life and human rights causes.

According to Students’ mission statement, the organization is viewed as a means of equipping students and faculty to take a united stand against the willful destruction of innocent life. The group will primarily focus on abortion; however,the Students want to be open to other human rights abuses that come to their attention, both nationally and internationally, said Murray Vasser, the president of the organization.

“We’re not convincing people that abortion is wrong,” explained Vasser. “We’re motivating and equipping them to act. We want to help students get involved with activism efforts.”

“Working together, I think we can brainstorm ideas and put them into action,” added Dannielle Albert, Students’ promotions manager.

Vasser said the ultimate goal of Students for Life is to see abortion eliminated. He compared abortion to the slave trade once so ingrained in society that people thought it could never be removed. Much like the 19th-century abolitionists with their radical vision to end slavery, Students for Life has a vision to abolish abortion today.

“Students for Life’s mission is not only to speak up for those without a voice, but also to encourage this body of believers to get involved in the fight for the right to live,” said Albert.

The idea for Students for Life took wing last semester when a representative from the national organization Students for Life of America came to Cedarville’s campus and urged students to start an independent pro-life group. Vasser and Albert, along with fellow officers Bethany Sibbitt and Karis Howard, agreed that a Christian campus offers a great opportunity to get Christians involved in standing up for the defenseless and determined to start a Cedarville pro-life organization.

Any group seeking official recognition as a Cedarville organization must proceed through the appropriate avenues; these include Jeff Beste, Associate Dean for Student Leadership Development in Student Life Programs; SGA; and administrators such as Dr. Carl Ruby, the vice president of Student Life.

“Students for Life is great because it seeks to educate and then enable students to get involved in the war of ethical issues our society faces today,” said Beste, who was instrumental in the endorsement of the organization.

Students’ first meeting, featuring the president of the Cincinnati Right to Life organization, will be held February 1 at 7:00 p.m. in ENS 245, and is open to all students of all majors. The organization hopes to host speakers, have letter drives to call Congress, and involve students in events with local pro-life groups.

“We want Cedarville University to know about these issues,” Vasser said. “We think students can make a difference.”

Flipside "Happy Birthday" You Tube Video

Email and Facebook all of your friends this video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GMvbYVkAQrw

Mitt Romney to Announce Prez Bid Next Week, Abortion Still an Issue

Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney is slated to announce next week that he is officially a candidate for the Republican nomination for president. The news comes as some pro-life advocates still doubt his recent conversion to the pro-life perspective.

According to campaign aides, Romney will announce his candidacy next Tuesday in Michigan, where the GOP candidate's father was a governor and businessman.

Romney is then scheduled to begin an announcement tour that will take him to Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina, the first primary states, and then culminate in a rally in Boston.

The former governor created an exploratory committee last month and promptly raised $6.5 million in a large fund-raising call-a-thon days later.

Pro-life advocates have had mixed feelings about whether Romney can truly be called pro-life.

He campaigned as a candidate backing legalized abortion in previous runs for office, including his last bid for governor. Yet, in 2005, he changed his mind after confronting the issue of embryonic stem cell research and realizing how Roe v. Wade diminished the public's view of the dignity and worth of human life.

Romney now believes Roe v. Wade should be overturned so states can again prohibit abortions.

In an interview in December with Kathryn Lopez of National Review, Romney responded to concerns from pro-life advocates that he's "faking" a pro-life position because he's running for president.

"I believe people will see that as governor, when I had to examine and grapple with this difficult issue, I came down on the side of life," Romney said.

He was referring to his veto of a bill that would have promoted embryonic stem cell research in Massachusetts. While some pro-life lawmakers have upset pro-life advocates by supporting the research, which requires the destruction of days-old unborn children, Romney opposed the practice.

Romney said he is "committed to promoting the culture of life" and admitted that "like Ronald Reagan, and Henry Hyde, and others who became pro-life, I had this issue wrong in the past."

The governor told National Review that his view of future abortion law is that Roe should be overturned and states should be free to prohibit abortions.

"I do believe that the one-size-fits-all, abortion-on-demand-for-all-nine-months decision in Roe v. Wade does not serve the country well and is another example of judges making the law instead of interpreting the Constitution," he said.

"What I would like to see is the Court return the issue to the people to decide," he added.

At the end of January, Romney shored up his pro-life credentials by picking up the support of Indiana attorney Jim Bopp, who has been the legal counsel for various national pro-life groups. nat2903.html

Romney's stance is crucial because the two leading candidates don't agree entirely with the pro-life community.

Former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani supports both abortion and embryonic stem cell research and Arizona Sen. John McCain backs forcing taxpayers to fund the controversial science.

Kansas Sen. Sam Brownback has arguably developed the most support within the pro-life community but he still trails in most polls of Republican voters.

Other potential Republican candidates include pro-life Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, pro-life Nebraska Sen. Chuck Hagel, and pro-life Reps. Duncan Hunter of California and Tom Tancredo of Colorado as well as former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, and former Health and Human Services Secretary and Wisconsin Gov. Tommy Thompson, who opposes abortion but supports embryonic stem cell research. Rep. Ron Paul of Texas is also considering a bid.