January 2006
January 2006
In The Mailbag... I've been showing this to everyone I possibly can. It is definitely a MUST SEE! --Joe
There are pro-life people who work in Hollywood, and two of them -
Jonathan
and
Deborah Flora - have created a new tool to help the American people wrestle with
abortion. "A Distant Thunder" is a powerful new 35-minute film that
combines courtroom drama and supernatural warfare to help reveal the reality
of
what abortion does to a baby, and to the baby's mother. The film helps the
viewer wrestle with the issues and their implications, but is not presented in
explicitly pro-life or religious themes. What it does, instead, is to help the
viewer touch some of the aspects of the abortion issue that the other sides
tries so desperately to cover up. In touching these painful and often scary
facets of the issue, the viewer has the opportunity to let the light of
conscience and compassion inform his or her conclusions.
The court case is about a partial-birth abortion that went wrong. The
abortionist is on trial, not for having done a partial-birth abortion, but for
what he did when the procedure went awry. One of the key witnesses is the nurse
who witnessed the abortion. She testifies to how the procedure takes place, and
to what went wrong this particular time. Her testimony brings to mind a number
of real events related to abortion in the past ten years, and also reveals the
striking contradiction between the care we give to the born and the brutality
abortion allows to the pre-born. "What difference does three inches
make?" is the question in the film and in reality. How can it be that when
the baby's head is in the birth canal we can kill her, but if it is pulled three
inches farther, we can't? The cognitive dissonance created by this absurd state
of abortion policy is accented by reference to the Unborn Victims of Violence
Act, which recognizes the unborn child as a victim when, in the commission of a
federal crime, a pregnant woman is injured or killed. How can the same child, if
killed in a federal crime, be a victim, but if killed by an abortionist, be no
more significant than medical waste? Common sense tells us that it's the same
child.
The nurse's eyewitness testimony reveals to the jury the incredible details of a
partial-birth abortion: the abortionist delivers the baby in a breach position,
all but the head, and then creates an opening in the back of the neck with
scissors. Then, inserting a catheter, he suctions out the contents of the skull.
This description of the procedure reflects that contained in the medical paper
issued by Dr. Martin Haskell in 1992 at a Risk Management Seminar of the
National Abortion Federation. In the film, the reaction of the jury to these
details is predictable. They are disgusted and horrified, as are the American
people in general when they hear about this procedure. The reaction of the
defense attorney is also predictable. He objects that it is unnecessary to
relate these graphic details in the courtroom. This brings to mind a scene from
"Judgment at Nuremberg" when, after a film is shown in the courtroom
of the indisputable horror of the Holocaust, the defense argues that it is
inappropriate to show such graphic imagery in the court. Similar objections were
made in the halls of the US Congress when the diagrams of partial-birth abortion
were shown during the debates about whether to ban it.
But in fact, we cannot honestly wrestle with abortion until we face what it is
and what it does. A Distant Thunder assists us to do precisely that.
Just as significant as what occurs in the courtroom is what occurs in the
prosecutor's office, and in her personal life outside the office. She is given
numerous and perplexing indications that this is no ordinary case, and that it
involves her in a far deeper way than she can realize. She wrestles with
nightmares and intrusions of the supernatural that give the viewer a clue to the
surprise ending of the story. The struggles of this prosecutor (played by
Deborah Flora) represent the struggles of each one of us regarding abortion. It
is an issue that speaks to us about our own life and death, our own family and
relationships, our successes and failures, our God and our demons, our
responsibilities and our limitations. When the prosecutor is given the case and
she expresses doubt about whether she should take it, her mentor says,
"This case has your name written all over it." Indeed, abortion has
the name of each of us written all over it, because the destiny of the unborn in
inextricably bound up with the destiny of the born. The extent to which we no
longer recognize the humanity of the child in the womb is the extent to which we
have lost sight of our own.
The film also reveals the psychological storms that take place in the mind of
someone who has an abortion. In the pro-life movement in our day, the presence
of women who publicly declare, "I Regret My Abortion" and of the men
who declare, "I Regret Lost Fatherhood," has become a powerful
dimension of the public debate. The testimonies of these parents of aborted
children bring abortion out of the realm of slogans, abstractions, and
rationalizations, and leave the rest of us convinced that it is about as benign
as an earthquake or a tsunami - or perhaps a distant thunder that has come too
close for comfort.
Without a doubt, this film will become one of the most powerful tools to make
people think and wrestle with the abortion issue, and will challenge them to do
something about it.
For more information, see our link, or visit:
posted 01/ 23/ 06 by ps - reply
On The Wire... Wow. This is what I call MOMENTUM. Keep the pressure on! --Joe
posted 01/ 23/ 06 by ps - reply
On The Wire... More opinions. Momentum, momentum. --Joe
January
20, 2006 from Maria
Vitale via Mcall.Com
This new year of 2006 is a world away from 1973. Back
in 1973, TV networks carried shows like ''Gunsmoke,'' ''Mission Impossible,''
and ''The Brady Bunch.'' Virtually the only video game around was a low-tech
wonder known as ''Pong.'' It was a time before cell phones, fax machines, and
the Internet became household words—and preoccupations.
Obviously, much has changed since 1973. Yet, groups
such as the National Organization for Women and Planned Parenthood seem stuck in
a time warp. They cling tenaciously to the 1973 U.S. Supreme Court decisions
which legalized abortion on demand for virtually any reason throughout all nine
months of pregnancy. It's high time that those decisions, Roe v. Wade and its
companion case, Doe v. Bolton, be relegated to the ash heap of history.
The public is more than ready for an overturn of the
Roe/Doe decisions. A number of reputable national public opinion polls show
clearly that a majority of Americans oppose abortion. In May of 2005, an
International Communications Research Poll asked respondents, ''Which of the
following statements most closely describes your own position on the issue of
abortion — oppose, favor, or don't know?'' Fifty-two percent of respondents
said they oppose abortion.
Princeton Research Associates conducted a two-year
study 30 years after Roe. Respondents were asked how they felt about the topic
of abortion. Less than one in three believed that abortion should be generally
available to those who want it. Fifty-one percent said abortion should only be
allowed in cases of rape, incest, if the life of the woman is endangered, or not
at all. Another 17 percent said we should have stricter limits on abortion than
we have now. In addition, a Wirthlin Worldwide post-election poll conducted in
November of 2004 found that 55 percent of respondents were pro-life.
Even The New York Times, which has an editorial stance
favoring choice, ran a story not that long ago in which older women expressed
amazement at the fact that younger women were increasingly pro-life. However,
it's not really all that surprising. Young women are smart. They recognize the
devastation abortion has caused to their generation. There are brothers,
sisters, cousins and friends that are missing — wiped out by the legal right
''to choose.''
Back in 1973, seven justices of the Supreme Court
decided that they could not determine when life begins. The new ultrasound
technology that we have now wasn't available back then. Ultrasound has opened a
window to the womb, allowing doctors, mothers and fathers, to witness unborn
babies sucking their thumbs, playing with their toes, and even crying. Research
has shown that women who see ultrasound pictures of their babies are far less
likely to choose abortion.
Americans learned how extreme Roe and Doe were in 2000,
as a result of a Supreme Court decision known as Stenberg v. Carhart. In that
decision, the high court ruled that the outrageous practice of partial-birth
abortion, in which a baby is partly delivered, then killed, is permissible under
Roe and Doe. Public opinion polls show that a clear majority of Americans
support a ban on partial-birth abortion.
In 2006, we have women throughout the U.S. who are
willing to speak about the trauma legal abortion has caused in their lives. Some
women have been left sterile, unable to have any more children, as a result of
their abortions. Others have been so grieved that they have turned to alcohol or
illegal drugs to try to numb the pain. Research has shown that women who undergo
abortions are more likely to be hospitalized for psychiatric illness than women
who give birth to their babies.
Actress Jennifer O'Neill, who appeared in the popular
movie ''The Summer of '42,'' has spoken candidly of her experience with
abortion. O'Neill suffered nine miscarriages, a number of failed marriages, and
depression after her baby was aborted. ''The aftermath of abortion…is
absolutely devastating,'' O'Neill said.
Even the original plaintiff in Roe, Jane Roe, aka Norma
McCorvey, is now determined to see Roe fall. McCorvey notes that Roe was based
on a lie. At the time of the decision, her lawyers argued that McCorvey wanted
an abortion because she had been raped. However, McCorvey, who is now pro-life,
now says that she was never raped.
Roe/Doe represents a tragic experiment that has failed
American women. After the advent of penicillin and better antibiotics, the
number of abortion-related deaths dropped. In 1972, prior to Roe/Doe, 39 women
died from illegal abortion. After Roe/Doe was put into effect, the number of
women dying from abortion remained virtually unchanged. Nevertheless, women
continue to suffer physical and psychological complications from abortion.
Women's health and safety have not improved. In addition, women's quest for
self-determination and ''choice'' has not been fulfilled through Roe/Doe —
research reveals that women are often forced to abort because of pressure from
their boyfriends, husbands or mothers.
We owe it to women to move past the lies of 1973 and
restore laws that protect unborn children and their mothers. Roe and Doe have
got to go.
Maria Vitale is the education director for the
Pennsylvania Pro-Life Federation in Harrisburg.
posted 01/ 20/ 06
by ps - reply
In The Mailbag... "I can feel it coming in the air tonight... hold on" (--Phil Collins)
posted 01/ 18/ 06 by ps - reply
On My Mind… The
Poll’s Toll. --Joe
The latest in a series of polls, this one by CBS News, indicates that a growing majority of Americans oppose most all forms of abortion. The Alan Guttmacher Institute, the research arm of the country’s largest abortion provider, Planned Parenthood, listed the top reasons women sought abortion. Their survey, conducted in 2004, indicated that 4.5% of women sited rape, incest and life-threatening pregnancies as the most important reason for abortion. Only .5% of these respondents sited rape as cause.
The not so astonishing results show that:
55% of Americans oppose the more than one million, three-hundred thousand (1,300,300) abortions carried out annually.
42% indicated support for legal abortion
27% supported all cases of legal abortion.
15% cited desiring greater restrictions and limitations.
The results of the CBS poll show that 70% of Americans agree that abortions should be subject to greater restrictions. The poll also demonstrates an overall increase of 3% over the 53 percent= AGAINST / 45 percent= FOR results for the same poll conducted in July, 2005.
Americans do not want abortion, and the anti-abortion numbers are growing. The battle is not the right to choose... for we
all have the inherent right of choice. It is
a battle for choosing right versus wrong.
Keep standing firm for what you believe, America. Stand Up, Speak Out & Lead. --Joe
posted 01/
17/ 06
by ps - reply
On My Mind... P.A.S.S.
Post Abortion Stress Syndrome. This is the hidden life masher, the hope-destroyer that has left millions of men and women in despair. We currently understand so little about PASS, or how far-reaching the psychological damages will be for generations to come. What is known is that there is hope, healing, and closure in store for all who need help. Seek it. Speak your pain and be at peace. More on this at a later date. -- Joe
posted 01/ 13/ 06 by ps - reply
On the Wire... Wake up, my Latino brothers and sisters: You are a major focus of abortion-4-profiteers! Stand up, speak out & Lead! These are your lives we are talking about--Joe
posted 01/ 08/ 06 by ps - reply
On The Wire... The Pope confirms what is already known about the beginning of life. -- Joe
posted 01/ 04/ 06 by ps - reply
In The Mailbag... from LifeSiteNews.Com
FDA
Reveals 607 Adverse Events Related to RU-486 Abortion , Including Five Deaths
By Terry Vanderheyden
WASHINGTON, January 3, 2006 (LifeSiteNews.com) A critical analysis of US Food and Drug Administration adverse event reporting (AERs) for the chemical abortion drug RU-486 (Mifepristone) has revealed at least 607 serious adverse events from use of the drug, although this number is considered by the authors of the analysis to be grossly understated.
"In addition to the five deaths included among the 607 events, three additional deaths, including a participant in Canadian drug trials, went unreported by the FDA. Thus, there (have) been a total of 8 known deaths to date, including 5 Americans," the authors of the analysis, doctors Margaret M. Gary and Donna J. Harrison, pointed out.
Among the most serious events other than death, 42 women experienced life-threatening hemorrhages, while 68 had severe hemorrhage requiring blood transfusion. There were 66 cases of infection including seven cases of septic shock reported, two resulting in death. Septic shock is when an infection enters the blood and affects multiple organ systems, often resulting in death. Seventeen women had undiagnosed ectopic pregnancies before taking the drug
-- also serious and potentially fatal situations, which resulted in the death of one woman. At least 513 of the women required surgery, with 235 of the surgeries deemed emergency.
The authors point out that "even the FDA itself acknowledges the deficiency of the AER system." FDA principal deputy inspector general of the Department of Health and Human Services Michael F. Mangano stated in testimony before the US Senate that
"Adverse Event Reporting systems typically detect only a small proportion of events that actually
occur. The AER relies on the drug manufacturer to voluntarily disclose adverse events to the FDA." Because of this, Mangano concluded
that the FDA rarely reaches the point of knowing whether a safety action is warranted to protect
consumers.
"If our survey of mifepristone AERs is representative of adverse event reporting for all drugs, the American public should be greatly alarmed," Gary and Harrison warned. "In this instance, a majority of the AERs analyzed do not provide enough information to accurately code the severity of the adverse event in question. The deficiencies were so egregious in some instances as to preclude analysis."
"Although neither the manufacturer nor the FDA recognizes a causal link between the use of mifepristone and the adverse events reported, it is undeniable that these women were healthy before the use of mifepristone and became very sick or died shortly after its use,"
the gynecologists conclude. The AERs discussed above relate to the use of mifepristone in otherwise healthy young women and document a significant risk of severe, life-threatening, or even lethal adverse events.
View the full report on line at:
http://www.theannals.com/cgi/reprint/aph.1G481v1
posted 01/ 03/ 06 by ps - reply
www.ADistantThunder.com