Pro-life

CORNER BROOK, NFLD, June 23, 2004 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Catholic priest Father
Des McGrath is running for the NDP in the Newfoundland riding of Random-Burin-St.
George’s. Since the NDP are officially pro-abortion Rev. McGrath has been often
asked about what he would do on abortion if elected.

The Globe and Mail reports today that Rev. McGrath told reporters who questioned
him on abortion, "You people on the mainland seem to be more interested
in that than any other issue in Canada — and we got more serious issues right
now." The 69-year-old priest is a celebrated figure for having started
a union for fishermen.

While claiming to be pro-life, Fr. McGrath is quoted using well worn pro-abortion
rhetoric in speaking on abortion. "I don’t believe in stirring up the
pot and stirring up old ashes on this," he said in response to dealing
with abortion in Parliament. "Responsibility goes with the rights that
women have over their own bodies and hopefully the decision that they make
would be for pro-life."

Not only is Fr. McGrath taking a non-Catholic position on abortion, it appears
he is also being allowed by his bishop to defy church discipline that explicitly
prohibits Catholic priests from running for any public office.
[Full Story]

I wonder if he thinks that a woman’s rights over her body extend
to suicide? I wonder what issue he considers more serious than the plague of
abortion or does social justice end at entrance of the womb.

Here is a good
article by Matt C. Abbott.

Young Norwegians can earn a merit badge in sex this summer. The pin, modeled
on a popular summer swimming merit badge, is an offer from Swedish-Norwegian
sex education group RFSU, also the main producer and importer of condoms to Norway,
newspaper VG reports.

The badge, which displays sperm cells swimming in waves, can be won by correctly
answering 10 out of 13 questions about sex.

"You need a license to drive a car and you should have a sex certificate
that shows you don’t take health risks. This is done seriously and with humor
and the goal of course is to get more people using condoms," said RFSU
manager Tone-Berit Lintho.
[Full Story ]

The only surprising thing in this article is the fact that there are still young Norwegians. Oh well, that won’t last at the present trend.

TERESA Streckfuss will give birth to her fifth child tomorrow.

Her daughter Charlotte Mary will live for just a few hours before her life
is claimed by anencephaly, a rare condition that inhibits brain development.

Teresa, 27, and her husband Mark, 28, have known of the condition and its
certain outcome for six months.

Most babies with anencephaly are aborted, but Teresa and Mark decided to go
ahead and give Charlotte life – no matter how fleeting.

The couple, from Creswick, in Victoria’s rural northeast,
never considered an abortion. They wanted the chance to say hello to their
daughter before they
had to say goodbye.

"There is no way to avoid the sad fact that Charlotte cannot live long
after birth with this condition," Teresa said, "but causing her to
die earlier will not stop this happening. Causing her to die earlier will only
take from us the beautiful experience of knowing and loving her."

Tomorrow morning their family will be at the hospital with them: two sets
of grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins as well Charlotte’s big sister Cecilia,
6, and her brothers Sebastian, 4, and Elijah, 17 months.

The family will sing to Charlotte, read to her, hold her, treasure her.

…"We believe the value of Thomas Walter, Benedict
and Charlotte cannot be measured by the length of their lives. We don’t apply
this yardstick to adults,
so why should we to babies?" Teresa said.

"Benedict made us slow down, savour life and treasure our other children
even more.

"He made us realise that we cannot control or predict what will happen.
And how often are we given the opportunity to really give another person true,
unconditional love? It is a blessing to experience that kind of pure love."
[Full
Story]

This is sad but also beautiful. Too bad there are those who think that those children who have such a limited life span should have it be even shorter through abortion.

Pacific Rim Bureau (CNSNews.com) – An Australian woman who committed suicide two years ago surrounded by supporters and euthanasia activists was not dying of cancer at the time of her death, an official post-mortem report has confirmed.

The country’s leading euthanasia campaigner — who knew ahead of Nancy Crick’s death that she was cancer-free but did not make that public — said in response to the report’s release that the point was immaterial.

“To Nancy’s mind it didn’t really matter and I guess to my mind it didn’t matter either,” Dr. Philip Nitschke told a commercial television channel.
[Full Story]

This is from a column by Jill Stankek, the nurse who witnessed and worked to stop “live birth abortion.”

OPINION — During a recent interview, I mentioned that I believe one of Planned Parenthood�s objectives is for girls and women to engage in illicit sex as often as possible, so as to increase the odds they�ll get pregnant and have to abort.

The show host was flabbergasted. I was flabbergasted that he was flabbergasted. I reminded him that Planned Parenthood makes the bulk of its deadlihood – hundreds of millions of dollars every year – from abortion.

My theory was obviously over the top in this guy�s opinion. The interview ended abruptly.

The interview reminded me that most people still don�t realize abortion providers are America�s true Monsters, Inc.

She goes on to call the 13 percent of hardcore abortion supporters monsters. I wouldn’t use that rhetoric to describe those abortion supporters who are so greatly mistaken. They try to dispose of babies by calling them a fetus, but I would try to avoid calling them monsters or inhuman. Accompanying the article was as a picture of the front cover of a A 1940 Planned Parenthood brochure.

As part of my “War on Error” I had to correct the picture.

Here is an update to California’s Supreme Court decision about Catholic Charities being forced to provide contraceptive coverage in their employees health plans.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (CNS) — The Diocese of Sacramento will appeal a California Supreme Court decision holding that Catholic Charities of Sacramento is not a religious institution and as such must provide coverage of contraceptives for its workers.

Sacramento Bishop William K. Weigand announced June 1 that he will take the case to the U.S. Supreme Court in an effort to overturn a March 1 decision by the state’s highest court, which requires Catholic Charities and other church entities to pay for contraceptives as part of employee health insurance.

The 6-1 ruling said Catholic Charities of Sacramento may not be exempted from a 1999 state law that requires all employers to include contraceptives when they provide insurance coverage for prescriptions.
[Full Story]

I find this picture from the March for Women’s Lives Lies interesting. That these protesters would be concerned about people praying the Rosary to end abortion. Of course mainly this is a slam towards the Catholic Church. I am glad that so many people realize that it is the Catholic Church which is the main foe of the attitude and agenda of these marchers. Besides George Bush many of the signs also attacked the Holy Father.

Seeing this sign and these protesters only reminds me to pray a Rosary for these women and women like them. Probably not the reaction they intended, but I hope it is the reaction of many Catholics seeing this.

On a more humorous side. I can’t think of any possible prayer position or circumstance where my Rosary might encounter their ovaries. In fact I don’t want to imagine any such circumstances.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A federal judge issued a stay on Thursday to a pregnant woman scheduled for deportation while attorneys look into whether her unborn fetus might be a U.S. citizen, affiliate station KMBC’s Donna Pitman reported.

Myrna Dick (pictured, left) went to renew her papers with the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service last month, and she wound up in custody. Officials accused her of lying to border patrol officers in 1998 and said it was grounds for deportation to Mexico.

But Dick, who is married to an American citizen, is pregnant with her husband’s child. Judge Scott Wright wants to know if the fetus is a U.S. citizen, and if so, whether it can be deported. The judge asked attorneys for both sides to search for relevant precedents before he would rule.

“Clearly, that isn’t an issue either side had contemplated,” Dick’s attorney said.
[Full Story]

They have a survey on this site that asks “Do you think Myrna Dick’s fetus is a U.S. Citizen? So far two thirds of the respondents are willing to grant citizenship to this baby. I wonder how legally this will be addressed. Our laws on the unborn are quite schizophrenic. Killing a baby is fine if you are the mother but it is murder if someone kills the baby without the mothers permission. Abortion supporters would be aghast that a product of conception or a tissue mass could be deemed a citizen. That would imply rights such as the protection of its life and the abortion lobby wouldn’t stand for that. Life as well as citizenship starts at conception.

It seems wrong to me that they are deporting this women. If she is married to an American Citizen I don’t see how it is a good idea to forcibly break up this family. If she did indeed come across illegally by lying to patrol officer, then there should be some legal punishment for this other than deportation. I just think that breaking up a family is a worse crime then coming across illegally.

The evangelical nonprofit organization is facing a major showdown with the city over a bill that would force it to offer health benefits to gay and unwed spouses of New York staffers.

If the organization leaves town, it would give up $70 million a year in city funding.

The loss of public financing – half the Army’s yearly budget in the city – would cripple its programs, which serve 5 million New Yorkers, the group says.

Salvation Army insiders said they will refuse to comply with the proposed law because it goes against one of the organization’s core beliefs – that marriage is for straight couples only.

“The Army will not change its policy,” said one official, who declined to be named.

“You cannot change theological views. Those are so deeply embedded, they form the root of the faith itself.”

The result could be a nightmare scenario for needy New Yorkers.

One of the largest private providers in the city, the Salvation Army answers the call for the homeless, HIV sufferers, foster-care kids and troubled teens.

The Salvation Army has several multiyear contracts with the city totaling $250 million. Six city contracts worth $12.8 million are to expire June 30, by which time the bill may be law.

Salvation Army leaders have been debating the issue and are hoping for an exemption that would allow them to continue to operate here without offering the benefits.

But they’re recognizing that the existing bill, approved 43 to 5 by the City Council on May 5, has enough council support to overrule the veto that Mayor Bloomberg has vowed.
[Full Story]

Good for them. They understand that you are not allowed to do evil so that good shall come. Back in the 80s Cardinal O�Connor when confronted with a similar issue by the New York Legislature threatened to shut down all the Catholic hospitals in NYC. They then backed off. Unfortunately I doubt if I will see a similar headline with Catholic Charities in New York threatening to leave. If this new law would apply to the Salvation Army it most likely also apply to Catholic Charities. Catholic Charities in California was ordered by the California Supreme Court to start providing contraceptive coverage for its employees and I have not heard them saying they will shut down.