Date: Sat, 17 Dec 1994 03:14:00 -0500 Errors-To: plnews-mod@netcentral.net Reply-To: frezza@ee.pitt.edu Originator: plnews-list@netcentral.net Sender: plnews-list@netcentral.net Precedence: first-class From: frezza@ee.pitt.edu (Steve Frezza) To: Multiple recipients of list Subject: [PLNEWS-LIST:9] 'ProLife News v4n19' X-Listprocessor-Version: 6.0 -- ListProcessor by Anastasios Kotsikonas X-Comment: The Prolife News Mailing List ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Life Communications - Volume 4, No. 19 November, 1994 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- This newsletter is intended to provide articles and news information to those interested in Pro-Life issues. All submissions should be sent to the editor, Steve . ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1) Around the Globe *Dublin, Ireland* Medical Council Doctor Referred for Abortions Pro-Life campaigners voiced their objections to the former Minister of Health's action in appointing a Dublin doctor to the Medical Council just before he left office. Dr Mary Condren was appointed by Brendan Howlin to the 25-member council which regulates the medical profession. Her critics point out that she has admitted referring women to English abortion clinics. *Johannesburg, South Africa* Anglicans say Abortion `can be a lesser evil' "I am against abortion on demand, which is not the same as being anti-abortion. In principle abortion is evil and wrong. But it is the lesser evil in the case of rape or incest, or when socio-economic circumstances make it very difficult to raise a child", according to Rev Vanessa McKenzie, a representative of the Anglican Bishop of Johannesburg. She says at the recent Jo'burg synod of the Anglican church, ministers committed themselves to a motion calling for pastoral responsibility and care for women regardless of whether they decided to have abortions or not. Anglican theologians from Natal plan to recommend that the Anglican church take seriously the need to make abortion available in cases where social and economic factors make it difficult to raise a child (The _Natal Witness_, 6 December). [ So much for Psalm 127 "Behold, children are a heritage (a gift) of the Lord: the fruit of the womb is his reward (127:3). I guess their interpretation of Psalm 127 reads something like, "Behold, children are a gift from the Lord IF the social and economic factors make it easy to raise them..." Somehow they believe children are better dead (killed in the womb) than raised in 'difficult' situations. Fortunately, not all Christians in South Africa take this approach. Ed. ] *Johannesburg, South Africa* Abortion Vote Cancelled Despite the efforts of The African National Congress led by Nelson Mandela, South Africa's Parliament has at least temporarily cancelled its plan to vote on legalizing abortion. The cancelation is attributed to a massive pro-life response, including a 30,000 post card mailing to the Minister of Health. *Mansfield, England* Doctor Aborts Baby Without Consent A surgeon, Mr Reginald Dixon, is appearing before magistrates at Mansfield, charged with unlawfully procuring a miscarriage. Mr Dixon was performing a hysterectomy, and found that the womb contained a 12 week old foetus. He went ahead, and the patient, on being told what had happened by a nurse, complained that he had acted without her consent. The patient said she would have loved to have had the baby. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2) American Shorts *Pensacola, Florida* Paul Hill was sentenced on 6 December to die in Florida's electric chair. Hill was convicted by a state court jury in the fatal July 29 shooting of Dr. John Britton and clinic escort John Barrett outside the Ladies Center abortion clinic in Pensacola. In a separate federal trial, Hill was convicted of violating FACE, the new U.S. law that guarantees access to abortion clinics. Under FACE, Hill was sentenced to life in prison. *Washington DC* The National Abortion Federation (NAF) has broken down the House/Senate "probable voting patterns" as follows: > SENTATE: Pro-Choice = 38, Mixed = 17, Anti-Choice = 45 > HOUSE: Pro-Choice = 144, Mixed = 72, Anti-Choice = 217 Note that the House has no procedural rules and no filibuster to stop debate on a bill. Thus, the House is very near the "magic number" of 218 which would allow it to pass a ban on abortion. *San Juan, PR* In September, the Puerto Rican Pharmaceutical Association voted _unanimously_ to adopt the Pro-Life Pharmacist's Conscience Clause. This clause allows pharmacists to (in conscience) refrain from dispensing abortifacient drugs. This was made possible through the dedicated work of Sandra Fabregas, MS, RPh, a faculty member of the University of San Juan's College of Pharmacy. *Philadelphia, PA* Wyeth Laboratories of Philadelphia is the subject of hundreds of lawsuits over its surgically implanted birth control device, Norplant. Their product is being blamed for side effects such as headaches, hair loss, irregular menstrual cycles and heavy bleeding. Norplant works primarily by preventing ovulation and/or fertilization, but does have an abortifacient mode in which it prevents the zygote from implanting in the uterus. Norplant has been proposed as a key element to school based sex clinics, despite the fact that it has not been tested on teenage girls. Finally, this device offers absolutely no protection from sexually transmitted diseases and may actually promote their transmission due to the excessive bleeding that it causes. *Milwaukee, WI* Sidewalk counselors Carol Robbins, 61 and Sharon Kister, 50, have been convicted of contempt of court for violating a December 10th court order prohibiting about 40 named defendants from protesting within 25 feet of four Milwaukee abortion clinics. Even though neither was named in the court order, they were found in contempt because they allegedly acted in concert with a named defendant, Elizabeth Wagi. According to Robbins, the court decided that she acted in concert with Wagi because she greeted her on the street on her way to an abortion clinic. The prosecution in Kister's case presented photographs taken of her, one showing her and Wagi merely passing on the street in opposite directions. These events appear to be part of a well established and growing trend of judicial unfairness towards pro-life activists. According to Robbins, "If you're a pro-lifer, you're going to be found guilty, no matter what." *Annapolis, MD* Some late election news: pro-life gubernatorial candidate Ellen Sauerbray lost the governor's race by only 6,000 votes. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3) Pharmacists For Life Joins International Boycott Having exhausted all reasonable and long-delayed avenues of solution, Pharmacists For Life International (PFLI) joined the numerous other pro-life groups in the international boycott against the parent company of the maker of the French abortion pill, RU-486. On Sept. 17th, the board of PFLI announced that it was joining the boycott against the American subsidiary of Hoechst, AG Hoechst-Roussel, Hoechst-Celanese, its generic subsidiary Coply Pharmaceuticals and the agricultural Hoechst subsidiary. While other groups are focusing on the consumer side of the Hoechst boycott, PFLI will concentrate on a targeted, segmented approach to pressure Hoechst to rescind the RU486 license it issued to the U.S. pro-abortion organization the Population Council. PFLI will also seek to convince Hoechst to halt the testing of the "Human Pesticide" in the U.S., currently happening at at least 12 known sites, six of which are Planned Parenthood facilities. PFLI will concentrate on seeking support in the profession through institutional practices, wholesale/distributors, and community pharmacies (including independents and chains with latitude), It also is asking groups to *focus* on key Hoechst drugs which have the most economic impact rather than taking an across-the-board shotgun approach. The drugs with the most potential for having an economic impact on Hoechst include: DiaBeta (glyburide); Altace(ramipril); Lasix(furosmide) and Topicort(desoximetsome). Glyburide is made by Hoechst under the trade name DiaBeta as well as being made by its Copley subsidiary. For a free wallet card or more information write: PLFI, P.O. Box 1281 Powell, OH 43065-1281. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4) Happy Second Birthday, Baby K! Baby K was born two years ago, October 13, 1992, with a condition known as anencephaly. This means that she was diagnosed as having a congenital defect in which "the brain stem is present but the cerebral cortex is rudimentary or absent. Lacking a functioning cerebral cortex, Baby K is permanently unconscious. Baby K cannot feel pain." Baby K has a functioning brain stem and thus (as her parents' lawyers put it) "is alive under the laws of the state of Virginia and all other states." She has respiratory reflexes (breathing), feeding reflexes (sucking, swallowing, rooting) and reflexive responses to noxious stimuli (avoidance, crying). Baby K has a normal heart rate, blood pressure, liver function, digestion, kidney function, and bladder function. But her being alive, and her various abilities did not prevent her hospital from seeking a court order to avoid treating her. Baby K required ventilator assistance until she received a tracheotomy in March, 1993 and Fairfax Hospital (Fairfax, VA) sought a court order to deny Baby K emergency ventilator treatment should she require it again. This court battle finally ended on October 3, 1994 when the United States Supreme Court refused to hear the case and allowed a lower ruling to stand, which denied the Hospital their court order. The Hospital, in responding to the Supreme Court's action, found the denial "unfortunate," stating "We believe that continuing to provide extraordinary measures to prolong the dying process is medically and ethically inappropriate, and not in the best interests of Baby K." -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- *Defacing the Human Person* But why would a hospital try to deny a mother's right to expect humane treatment for her child? This 'right' has somehow been skewed as medical progress takes over and redefines human beings according to their various conditions. In the case of the anencephalic baby, the American Medical Association's Council on Ethical and Judicial Affairs says it is "ethically permissible" to use anencephalic infants as organ donors _even while they are still alive_. Although it is a normal requirement that no organs be taken until a patient is deemed to be legally dead, the exception for anencephalic infants is recommended "because of the fact that the infant has never experienced, and will never experience, consciousness" (_American Medical News_, July 25, 1994). In fact this same report quotes John Glasson, M.D., Chairman of the AMA Council as saying, "it offends the sensibilities, the idea of harvesting an organ from a living being. But the parents have felt that this is one way which this thing [an anencephalic baby], as it were, can be of some use to the world." This "thing" as he puts it, is a baby, and in the case of Baby K, this "thing" has a face, and a name, and is a member of the human race, at least according to her mother and greatest defender. And Baby K's mother does not wish to relegate her daughter to the status of a spare parts resource. We might suppose that perhaps it is this battle to defend her daughter's humanity that has caused all the legal maneuvering, for Baby K's mother is a bit out of step with the forward thinking leadership of the American Medical Association's Council head! It is not often that Americans can stop and really look hard at where medical ethics has gone in the last twenty odd years. But when we look at the little girl with the braided hair and the red dress who sat on her mother's lap, expressionless but loved just the same, we have to ask ourselves a few questions. When does a human being become only human enough for research and harvesting, but not human enough to be protected and cared for when he or she is in distress? Where is a medical profession going that will describe a human being with tragic congenital problems as a mere thing? Who is it among us that should have the authority to place subjective evaluations on human beings based upon a perceived quality of life? And why is it that a hospital would sue for the right to kill a baby simply because her very existence is an anomaly to them? After all, it has been pointed out that at two years of age, Baby K has already made medical history! Could these scions of false ethics perhaps learn something from her and about her rather than go to court so that they could bring about her death? [Condensed from a wonderful article by Mrs. Judie Brown, President, American Life League, Inc., which is available as an on-line resource. Please ask for "BabyK.all". ] ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 5) Announcements *March for Life - Monday, 23rd January 1995* in Washington, D.C.. College Pro-Lifers to Meet at the corner of 15th St. and Constitution Ave. between 11:00 and 12:30 to march together with other college pro-life groups. Call 814-867-6263 for more information. *American Collegians for Life National Conference - January, 1995* It's still not too late to get in on the American Collegians for Life national conference this January in Washington DC, held at the Washington Marriott from January 20th thru January 22nd. Registration begins at 4 PM Friday, and a banquet and dance will be held Saturday night. Friday night, Saturday and part of the day on Sunday will feature several workshops and speakers including Judie Brown, Congressmen Chris Smith (R-NJ), Armstrong Williams, Kay James, and Molly Kelly. The conference fee is $40 pre-registered. Contact the Mariott for special room rates. If you have any questions, need more information, or are a student who would like to be placed on the ACL mailing list, please contact Steve Ertelt at: or call (713) 446-8982. Another contact person is Bart Haggerty (718) 793-0231. *New England College Coalition Bus to Washington - January, 1995* The March for Life is on Monday, January 23, 1995. The bus will leave Boston late evening on Sunday, January 22, arriving in Washington Monday, January 23, morning and will leave Washington that night arriving back in Boston Tuesday morning, January 24. Stops will be made in Worcester, Springfield, and Fairfield, CT. Additional stops will be added if there is interest. The cost is $30. Please contact Massachusetts Citizens For Life, The Schrafft Center, Boston, MA 02129. For questions call 617-242-4199 or e-mail . - Bruce Hall *MIT at the March for Life - January, 1995* MIT Pro-life makes a trip to Washington, DC each year to march in the National March for Life. This year we will leave the evening of Sunday, January 22, march on the 23rd, and arrive back in Cambridge early on Tuesday the 24th. The cost of the bus is $30. Once again, let me enourage you to come, this march is really a great experience, and a great contribution to national pro-life efforts. If you're in the Boston area contact me or call me at 617-225-7538. Hope to hear from you soon!!! - Rachel Fennell *College Pro-Life Leaders Meeting* The Intercollegiate Federation for Life is sponsoring an officers meeting on Saturday, January 7th, 1995 in Pittsburgh, PA. All college pro-lifers are invited. For more information contact Tim Burns 412-676-2224. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 6) New On-Line Resources A surprisingly useful internet resource: The CARAL (California NARAL chapter) WWW home page. Their activist page includes hotlinks to lots of resources that would be of interest to both pro-lifers and pro-choicer's alike. If you want to see the other side, go take a look. For example, in October they reported several arson attacks on abortuaries in California and Montana. The URL is . Recent additions to our archives: "Happy Birthday, Baby K!" Mrs. Judy Brown touches on the highlights of one of the world's oldest surviving anencephalic babies, questioning the prevailing medical ethics in the United States that permit her death for organ harvesting. [ Ask for "BabyK.all" ] "Summary and Analysis of 1994 US Election Results" A useful and rich commentary on the breath and depth of the pro-life victories in the November 1994 US general elections. [ Ask for "US94ElectionResults.nrl" ] "The Bible and Abortion" An insightful summary of the Old and New Testament statements that condemn the destruction of preborn children. [ Ask for "BibleAndAbortion.all" ] To request any of the above items, please send a list of items by title to the editor, eg.: "Please send v4n7, SciForLife.Jan94, ClintonCare.frc" To obtain the current list of available resources, please ask for "v4Topics". These and other on-Line resources are also available via the World Wide Web at URL "http://www.pitt.edu/ ~stfst/pln/AboutPLN.html", or via anonymous from or in the directory "/afs/pitt.edu/public/users/ s/t/stfst/pln". ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 7) Reader Responses U.S. Election Results [v4n18]: A local perspective on the elections of Sasser and Cooper in Tennessee: The Right to Life of Tennessee supported both republican candidates: Frist and Thompson. However, the East Tennessee chapter did not support Frist. Neither Frist nor Thompson could be called pro-life by any stretch of the imagination, but most pro-lifers in Tenn. voted against Cooper and Sasser because of their possibly seeming even more pro-death. However, of 7 primary candidates in the spring, Frist was by far the most anti life. Thompson's opponent in the primary's was a strong prolifer that spent 1/10 the amount of money, yet took 40% of the vote. Again, we DO NOT have 2 new prolife senators down here in Tennessee. In fact, Frist may have made much of his money from abortions at his "health care facilities". This needs to be checked on further. - John Cummins ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Quote of the Month: "The simple fact is that God certainly intended to create a human being and that this nascent human being has been deliberately deprived of his life. And that is nothing but murder." - Dietrich Bonhoeffer, _Ethics_ 1955 +---------------------------------------------------------------------------+ | Credits: | | 1 - Irish news from _THE IRISH EMIGRANT_, No 408. To subscribe, send mail | | to . RSA Anglican news from "Christians For | | Truth", 15 December 1994. _CFT_ is a two page bi-weekly Christian | | Newsletter from South Africa. For information contact Kjell Olsen | | . English news courtesy of reader | | Christopher Coope. | | 2 - Florida news courtesy of reader Eric Ewanco. Sources included a 6 Dec.| | Reuters article. NAF news reported in the CHOICE mailing list. For | | more info, contact . PR News from PFLI's | | _Beginnings_, Vol. X No. 3. (See contact info below). MI and PA news | | via _The Christian Interpreter_, Dec. 1994, v 3 n 12 P.O. Box 25318, | | Milwaukee, WI 53225,(414) 255-0220. Many thanks to reader Tim Ruchti.| | 3 - From _Beginnings_, newsletter of Pharmacists For Life International. | | Christmas, 1994 edition (Vol. X No. 3.) To subscribe write: PFLI, PO | | Box 1281, Powell, OH 43065-1281 or call (614) 881-5520 (voice & FAX) | | or (800)227-8359 (US and Canada). Rx = $35/yr, Non-Rx = $20/yr. Many | | thanks to reader Andy Sicree. | | 4 - Condensed from an ALL article by Mrs. Judy Brown. | | 5 - ACL and MIT announcements courtesty of _Prolife-Infonet Mailing List_ | | For information contact the moderator at .| | IFL announcement courtesy of the Intercollegiate Federation for Life, | | P.O. Box 10664, State College, PA 16805. | +---------------------------------------------------------------------------+ Anyone desiring information on specific prolife groups, literature, or help with problems is encouraged to contact the editor. For those on the web, there is a preliminary WWW page at Merry Christmas from the editor and contributors to _Life Communications_. ---------------------------------------------------- file: /pub/resources/text/ProLife.News: pln-0419.txt .