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TANROW, June 13, 2008 (CWNews.com/LifeSiteNews.com) - A Polish volleyball star who was buried on June 9 is being compared by local Catholics to Blessed Gianna Beretta Molla because of her heroic sacrifice for her unborn child. Agata Mroz, who was originally known for her athletic prowess, was buried in her hometown of Tarnow. Mroz was pregnant with her first child when doctors discovered she had a fatal case of leukemia. After consulting with her husband, Mroz delayed a bone-marrow transplant until after she gave birth to her daughter Liliana on April 4, 2008. Polish fans dubbed the national team...

A bill that would have altered procedures around newborn genetic testing and blood-sample storage in Minnesota ran into a veto Tuesday. Gov. Tim Pawlenty said while he supports the testing done at birth for medical disorders, he wasn't convinced the bill gave parents enough power to keep a child's samples from being used in long-term research. An estimated 73,000 newborns are tested each year, and approximately 140 are found to have a confirmed medical disorder. Early diagnosis can help bring about earlier intervention. Rep. Paul Thissen, DFL-Minneapolis, said the veto undermines the program and defies a promise he said he...

JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) - The results of Gov. Sarah Palin's prenatal testing were in, and the doctor's tone was ominous: "You need to come to the office so we can talk about it." Palin, known for a resolve that quickly launched her from suburban hockey mom to a player on the national political stage, said, "No, go ahead and tell me over the phone." The physician replied, "Down syndrome," stunning the Republican governor, who had just completed what many political analysts called a startling first year in office. She had arrived at the Capitol on an ethics reform platform after...

Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin and her husband Todd, having put their pro-life beliefs into personal practice, introduced their fifth child to reporters and photographers April 21. Their son, born April 18, has Down syndrome. "When we first heard, it was kind of confusing," Palin, 44, said of the testing early in her pregnancy that showed her baby had Down syndrome. The news was "very, very challenging," she said, according to the Anchorage (Alaska) Daily News. However, the governor said, she and her husband came to believe that God has blessed them. Palen said her son, Trig Paxson Van Palin, is...

Living in California as we do, it's depressing that the closest thing to representation we conservatives have in the United States Senate is Jon Kyl from Arizona. What we are left to endure usually comes from our junior Senator, both in seniority and in intellect, Barbara Boxer. Among the myriad of causes and issues of which she claims to be a champion, she is an abortion absolutist above all else. Boxer put that on display once again today, when she temporarily blocked the passage of a Senate resolution honoring the visit of Pope Benedict XVI. The resolution, offered by Kansas...

While Pope Benedict XVI's historic visit to Washington received wall to wall coverage, Sen. Barbara Boxer briefly held up a Senate resolution welcoming the pontiff because she objected to language about how the pope values "each and every human life." The measure later cleared the Senate Thursday afternoon after the sponsor of the resolution, Sen. Sam Brownback (R-Kan.), dropped the reference to "human life" because some Democrats saw it as a reference to abortion. According to Republican aides, Brownback, a devout Catholic, did not want a high profile fight over the resolution, which was adopted on a voice vote. In...

On April 16, 2008, Pope Benedict XVI will mark his 81st birthday with, among other things, a visit to the White House — only the second such visit by a pope in American history. There, he will sit down with President George W. Bush, who will have welcomed him the day before at Andrews Air Force Base. The New York Times and National Public Radio can be expected to run analyses focusing on how this president and this Pope disagree on the war in Iraq, just as they did in every story they ran on President Bush and the late...

There is much talk today about the “culture of death” and certainly there are powerful forces emanating from competing worldviews that predictably foster such conditions. These worldviews have driven us as a culture to legitimize abortion, consider euthanasia, and proceed to cross a whole host of bio-ethical issues as technology advances. However, these worldviews, in which the value of life and human dignity are diminished, inevitably encounter a most formidable obstacle: natural revelation. The doctrine of natural revelation was probably best articulated by the 13th century theologian and philosopher, Thomas Aquinas in his monumental work, Summa Theologica. Aquinas argued that...

LONDON, Jan. 26 (UPI) -- Hospital officials say a British woman who refused cancer treatment to protect her unborn son has died just weeks after giving birth. Lorraine Allard, 33, was diagnosed with terminal liver cancer when she was four months pregnant, the Telegraph reported Saturday. Allard rejected the idea of an abortion and delayed her cancer treatment, giving birth to son Liam 15 weeks prematurely, the Telegraph reported. "She knew all too well she didn't have long to live. So she put little Liam's life before her own," said her husband, Martyn, an oil field technician from St. Olaves,...

NORFOLK, UK, January 25, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Lorraine Allard of St. Olaves, near Great Yarmouth, was told she had advanced liver cancer when she was four months pregnant with her first son. The thirty-three year old mother of three girls was advised to abort her son, who was 23 weeks old, and begin chemotherapy right away. Rather than follow the doctor's advice, however, the courageous woman insisted on waiting long enough to give her unborn son a chance to survive, telling her husband, Martyn: "If I am going to die, my baby is going to live." Mrs. Allard was...

Saw it. Loved it. Would love to hear what you think. Ideas about promoting the movie also welcome.

Paris, Sep 26, 2007 / 01:17 pm (CNA).- Caroline Aigle would have turned 33 on September 12. The first female fighter pilot of the French military and future astronaut died of cancer on August 21.  The country is still mourning her death and continues to be moved by her sacrifice: she was five months pregnant when she learned she had cancer and she chose to postpone her treatment so her baby could be born. In mid-July Caroline received the devastating news. Rather than despairing, she faced the adversity and ignored doctors who advised her to have an abortion.  Together with...

Abortion Centers in 80 Cities in 33 States to be Prayerfully Picketed for 40 Days Starting Tomorrow WASHINGTON, DC, September 25, 2007 (LifeSiteNews.com) - "Today, people of faith and conscience from more than 80 cities in 33 states are kicking off the largest simultaneous pro-life mobilization in American history - the groundbreaking 40 Days for Life campaign," said David Bereit, national campaign director for 40 Days for Life. 40 Days for Life is an intensive pro-life campaign that focuses on 40 days of prayer and fasting, peaceful vigil at abortion facilities, and grassroots educational outreach. The 40-day time frame is...

October 5-13 - 15th Annual International Week of Prayer & Fasting for the Culture of Life By John-Henry Westen WASHINGTON, DC, September 17, 2007 (LifeSiteNews.com) - A Catholic organization is launching its 15th annual International Week of Prayer and Fasting for the culture of life.  The International Week of Prayer & Fasting Coalition has as its goals the conversion of nations, an end to abortion and to build a culture of life.  The Coalition is asking for people to participate as individuals, families and parishes by organizing and offering the following: fasting, daily Masses and prayer to include: Holy Hours,...

Bishops Denounce Influence of International Abortion Lobby in Nicaragua Warn that they will take to the streets to Prevent Legalization of Abortion By Matthew Cullinan Hoffman NICARAGUA, September 11, 2007 (LifeSiteNews.com) -The Catholic bishop's conference of Nicaragua denounced attempts by foreign organizations to promote "therapeutic abortion" in the country on Sunday, and warned that they would take to the streets to protest if it was necessary to prevent the practice from being legalized, something that they have done in the past. "We know that there are international entities who are interested in legalizing therapeutic abortion in Nicaragua," said Abelardo Mata,...

A MELBOURNE GP refused high-level chemotherapy, ultimately sacrificing her life to save her unborn daughter.Family and friends farewelled Dr Ellice Hammond, 37, at a funeral service yesterday, the same day anti-solarium campaigner Clare Oliver succumbed to melanoma.Dr Hammond lost her battle with Hodgkin's lymphoma on Sunday, three weeks after daughter Mia Ellice was born nine weeks prematurely at the Monash Medical Centre, where she remains in neonatal intensive care, The Herald Sun said today.Dr Hammond was diagnosed in the 22nd week of pregnancy and refused high-level chemotherapy that could have saved her but might have killed Mia, whose induced birth...

Pro-Life Leaders Pay Tribute to "Christian Warrior" Dr. D. James Kennedy who Died Today by John-Henry Westen WASHINGTON, D.C., September 5, 2007 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Dr. D. James Kennedy, an internationally renowned Presbyterian minister, religious broadcaster, and outspoken advocate for life and family, passed away early Wednesday morning.  He died peacefully in his sleep at approximately 2:15 a.m. at his home with his wife and daughter at his bedside.  He was 76. Longtime pastor of the Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Kennedy preached his last sermon on Christmas Eve 2006.  Four days later, he suffered a cardiac arrest...

The leading Democratic presidential candidates are increasingly making that more nuanced case. At a recent presidential forum, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York decried the failure of activists on both sides to work together to bring down the number of abortions. She repeated a mantra her husband made famous more than a decade ago: Abortion, she said, should be "safe, legal and rare." Then Clinton paused and added deliberately: "And by rare, I mean rare."

Many in the pro-life movement become uneasy when political candidates, responding to questions about their position on abortion, start talking about the need for a "consistent life ethic. " Such a response often seems to be an attempt on the candidate's part to avoid talking directly about the evil of abortion and to segue to other, more comfortable, topics. But, who can seriously deny that those advocating for a culture of life should be consistent? Goodness knows there are plenty of ways in which the right to life and the dignity of human beings can be violated after they are...

Aberdeen, Scotland (LifeNews.com) -- Anna Radosz will truly be remembered as a hero who put the life of her unborn child ahead of her own. Diagnosed with a potentially fatal form of skin cancer, Radosz declined to take her child's life in an abortion so she could save her own and declined the chemotherapy treatments that could have helped her. Six months into the pregnancy, Radosz was given the bad news that she needed treatment to combat a malignant melanoma. She steadfastly refused to take her child's life to advance her own health and last November gave birth to her...

“This is the first legal crack in the crumbling Roe v. Wade foundation, and is the first, necessary step toward banning the horrific practice of abortion in this nation,” said Operation Rescue President Troy Newman. “If partial-birth abortions are unconstitutional, then all abortion should be as well. There is little difference between a second-trimester partial-birth abortion and a 12-week suction abortion. In fact, the suction abortion is probably more gruesome because it involves complete dismemberment of a live baby.”

<p>WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court upheld the nationwide ban on a controversial abortion procedure Wednesday, handing abortion opponents the long-awaited victory they expected from a more conservative bench.</p> <p>The 5-4 ruling said the Partial Birth Abortion Ban Act that Congress passed and President Bush signed into law in 2003 does not violate a woman's constitutional right to an abortion.</p>

From seMissourian.com: JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Hundreds of opponents of embryonic stem-cell research crammed the Capitol halls Wednesday urging a statewide election on whether to overturn a voter-approved constitutional protection for such research.

HEIDELBERG, Germany, February 21, 2007 (LifeSiteNews.com) - A new study by German researchers shows that a method of natural family planning is statistically as effective as the contraceptive pill in delaying pregnancy. Researchers from the University of Heidelberg studied the statistical effectiveness of the symptothermal method (STM) to avoid achieving pregnancy. Unlike contraceptives that either suppress a woman's natural fertility cycle or act as a barrier to conception, STM helps a woman to understand the natural signs of her fertility in order to achieve or temporarily delay pregnancy. The study involving 900 women was published in the journal, Human Reproduction,...

The Early Church Fathers were undivided in their condemnation of artificial birth control. In fact, all Christian churches were in agreement on this until 1930. Letter of BarnabasMoreover, he [Moses] has rightly detested the weasel [Lev. 11:29]. For he means, "Thou shalt not be like to those whom we hear of as committing wickedness with the mouth with the body through uncleanness [orally consummated sex]; nor shalt thou be joined to those impure women who commit iniquity with the mouth with the body through uncleanness" (Letter of Barnabas 10:8 [A.D. 74]).Clement of AlexandriaBecause of its divine institution for the propagation...

VATICAN CITY, JAN. 7, 2007 (Zenit.org).- Newborns bring us "God's smile" and thus should be received with love, says Benedict XVI. The Pope baptized 13 babies, six girls and seven boys, in the Sistine Chapel today, on the feast of the Baptism of the Lord, and emphasized the importance of the family in receiving every newborn child. With the baptisms in the historic chapel, Benedict XVI was continuing a tradition introduced by Pope John Paul II. Today's celebration gathered some 300 families, parents and relatives of the newly baptized children. "Every child that is born brings us God's smile and...

Euthanasia and Abortion: A Catholic View by Fr. John A. Hardon, S.J. I. Euthanasia Until a few decades ago, euthanasia (easy death) was scarcely understood even as a word, let alone discussed except in a small circle of social theorizers. Many people still think of it in terms originally defined by the Euthanasia Society of America as “the termination of human life by painless means for the purpose of ending severe physical suffering.” But much has happened since the Euthanasia Society was organized, and those concerned with the future of society have suddenly awakened to the implications of so-called “mercy...

Pete Vere, JCL  Other Articles by Pete Vere, JCLPrinter Friendly Version   Open to Life: Asking Protestants to Ponder Mary December 7, 2006 Like many pro-life writers, I spend my fair share of time interacting with the evangelical Protestant community. I find them zealous when it comes to combating abortion. In fact, their zeal is what usually tips me off about Christmas's approach. The first candle is barely lit on the Advent wreath when our evangelical brethren begin publishing a barrage of articles, reflections and sermons on the theme, "What if Mary had aborted Jesus?" The question, of course,...

It’s a common assumption that contraception reduces the need for abortion in the United States. Yet the history of contraception and abortion in the 60s and 70s shows this assumption to be incorrect. In the 60s, the legal status of contraceptives and the ability of married couples to use them varied from state to state. Most states had restrictions on how contraceptives could be distributed and who could use them. The United States Supreme Court would play a pivotal role in the increased access to contraception during this period by declaring various state restrictions unconstitutional. Though it started much earlier,...

Our Catholic Answer to the Sexual Suicide of America by Fr. John A. Hardon, S.J. Surely the last title for a conference sponsored by Eternal Life would be sexual suicide. Yet that is exactly what we are addressing ourselves to. The language may sound strange but the idea behind the language is part of modern society, which desperately needs to be liberated from the demonic lies by which it is now enslaved. There will be three parts to our conference. We will first ask ourselves what is sexual suicide, then comes the harder question which we will save for last:...

The Pro-Life Action League applauded the American Catholic bishops today for reiterating the Catholic Church's constant teaching on the sinfulness of contraception in the document "Married Love and the Gift of Life," released by the U. S. Conference of Catholic Bishops this week at their annual fall meeting.   "The bishops said what pro-life activists have been saying for years: The 'contraceptive mentality' is impoverished, even sad," commented Joseph M. Scheidler, National Director of the Pro-Life Action League. "The bishops didn't mince words. They said, quite clearly, that 'contraception is objectively immoral.'""The bishops also recognized that flooding our society with contraceptives...

New York City has a couple of important Pro Life leaders in the Catholic Church. One is Father Frank Pavone of Priests for Life. The other is Monsignor Philip Riley of the Helpers of Gods Precious Infants. Though both are priests, they take totally different approaches to Pro-Life. Father Frank Pavone rarely visits an abortion clinic (to my knowledge) when he is in New York City. Monsignor Riley, on the other hand,tries to go every day to an abortion clinic in Brooklyn. Father Frank Pavone focuses on Television and Radio ministries to achieve results for Pro-Life as well as uses...

If today’s Catholic bishops lived during the Nuremberg trials, they would have condemned the execution of nine of the defendants – including Ernst Kaltenbrunner and Hans Frank. Kaltenbrunner was responsible for mass executions of civilians and prisoners of war as Heinrich Himmler’s chief SS lieutenant; Frank oversaw the Nazis’ numerous atrocities as the governor of occupied Poland. Such a presumptuous proposition seems plausible given two Vatican officials’ opposition to Saddam Hussein’s death sentence – and the Catholic Church’s moral revisionism concerning capital punishment. Iraq’s High Tribunal convicted Saddam of committing crimes against humanity and sentenced him to death on Nov....

From LifeSiteNews, with a tip of the gimme cap to FreeRepublic:A pro-life trend among conservative Protestants is picking up steam in the US, Newsweek reports. In 1995, David and Suzanne Bortel of San Antonio, Texas developed a website called Quiverfull.com to lend support and encouragement to couples who are totally open to as many children as God gives them. Under the name of Quiverfull, the group encourages its members to reject all forms of birth control and welcome children as "a gift and blessing from our gracious heavenly father." […] Members of Quiverfull reject not only birth control but also...

Gospel of Life: to heal the culture, Catholics must take their faith into the public square A record crowd, some 225 people, attended the annual archdiocesan Gospel of Life Conference Oct. 28 that featured dynamic speakers addressing the event’s theme, “Healing the Culture.” And what they heard was that the culture can be healed if Catholics take their faith into the public square. Archbishop Charles Chaput, O.F.M. Cap., one of the original drafters of the U.S. bishops’ 1998 pastoral letter “Living the Gospel of Life: A Challenge to American Catholics,” led an engaging panel discussion that included bioethics professor Marilyn...

LOUISVILLE, Kentucky, November 3, 2006 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Young Christian couples are re-thinking contraceptive use and biblical teaching on human sexuality, in response to a growing awareness of the social damage caused by the sexual revolution, a foremost leader in the U.S evangelical community told Christianity Today last month.Dr. R. Albert Mohler, Jr., is a theologian and ordained minister, serving as president of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, the leading educational institution of the Southern Baptist Convention. He said Christian evangelicals are questioning the effects  widespread reliance on birth control has had on society.“In the first place, this generation has now...

MANAGUA, October 26, 2006 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Despite intense pressure from international feminist and population control groups, Nicaragua's Congress voted today to significantly strengthen its legal protections for the unborn. If signed into law by President Enrique Bolanos, the measure will eliminate a loophole that allowed an unborn child to be killed if three doctors certify that a woman's “life or health” is at risk. The so-called “health” exception terminology, which is almost always broadly interpreted, has opened the door in other countries to virtually unlimited abortion-on-demand. Current law also allows for the child to be killed if she has been...

Baby Three Hundred Million The US population is set to cross the 300 million mark next week, a sign that our population is prosperous not only in dollars but also in people. But instead of celebrating, many Americans will look at their kids, nervously wondering whether they are contributing to the inevitable downfall of civilization that we've been told will follow as our population grows. You see, we have been indoctrinated to think that more babies are a bad thing, especially if those babies may not have pre-paid college tuition accounts while in utero. Because of our anti-baby bias, Americans,...

Buenos Aires, Jul. 28, 2006 (CNA) - The Catholic weekly “Cristo Hoy” in Argentina has launched a prayer crusade for a mother who decided to postpone treatment for cancer in order to save the life of her ninth child. The newspaper reports that Laura Figeroa is in the terminal stage of her illness, the diagnosis is brain metastasis, considered irreversible.”  Two weeks ago, on July 12th, Figeroa gave birth to her son Pedro at only 27 weeks.  The baby weighed just 2.4 pounds and was placed immediately in intensive care, where he is struggling with kidney and heart problems. The baby’s...

Infertile couples sometimes resort to IVF in order to conceive a child. IVF is a laboratory technique by which human embryos are conceived in a petri dish which contains a culture medium. The woman is given hormones which stimulate her ovaries to produce up to 30 or more oocyte (ova). These are retrieved by inserting a needle into the ovaries via the vagina with ultrasound guidance. These oocyte are mixed with sperm. The sperm is obtained by masturbation and is usually donated by the husband. If the husband is infertile however, the sperm may be obtained from another man. If...

ABERDEEN, North Dakota, August 3, 2006 (LifeSiteNews.com) – The Dakota Voice yesterday told the story of South Dakotan mother Megan Barnett of Aberdeen whose son was conceived when she was raped at 19. Megan, a believing Catholic, says that after the attack she was offered "emergency contraception," an abortifacient drug, by emergency room attendants. She refused the drug saying that it would be wrong to kill her child even at the embryonic stage."When I felt the baby, it really became real for me," she told the Voice."I hadn’t given it [abortion] much thought before this happened," Megan said. "I grew up in...

Terri's Day means we have nothing to fear but fear itself Kevin Fobbs July 11, 2006 Every period of our nation's history has an establishing measuring point for the culture. It is something that has always embodied a defining moment, some salient point, which earmarks for America's soul when it is time to re-arm and recover its spirit. Is it a mystery that Terry Wallis and his remarkable story of reawakening after nearly 20 years to an America that has literally passed him by is a new reminder of how precious it is to not give up on life no...

Terri's Day and nation's independence protects life culture Kevin Fobbs May 29, 2006 America's Culture of Life is truly the legacy of one woman whose death forever changed our nation because of actions that were not in her hands but in those of her husband and his lawyers. Yet for millions of Americans we will forever link our own celebration of our nation's independence to the courage of the Schindler family to go forward past the tragedy, past the personal sorrow, past the searing anguish to help America draw a distinct line in the sand, to issue a clarion call...

Daniel Defoe is best remembered today for creating the ultimate escapist fantasy, "Robinson Crusoe," but in 1727 he sent the British public into a scandalous fit with the publication of a nonfiction work called "Conjugal Lewdness: or, Matrimonial Whoredom." After apparently being asked to tone down the title for a subsequent edition, Defoe came up with a new one — "A Treatise Concerning the Use and Abuse of the Marriage Bed" — that only put a finer point on things. The book wasn't a tease, however. It was a moralizing lecture.[snip] The sex act and sexual desire should not be...

Terri's Day needs financial support: Battle cry for culture of life success Kevin Fobbs May 1, 2006 In America, we put a price on everything except on life and the right to live. In the last couple months I have been told that a life once over is done, finished, kaput... not essential because it's over. When you probe a little deeper about what if it was their life which was treated with such indifference, or what if their little son or daughter were murdered right in front of nearly 300 million onlookers and literally torn from their loving embrace...

As a patient of St. Luke's Hospital in Houston, TX, Andrea Clark is in an extremely precarious position. Andrea, 54, suffered complications following open heart surgery that left her dependent upon a ventilator and dialysis for survival. Although her motor control faculties were damaged, according to her family, her cognitive abilities were unaffected. On April 19, St. Luke's informed Andrea's closest kin that her medical care would be discontinued in 10 days; an ethics committee decided to "pull the plug" in a flagrant act of (passive) euthanasia. Andrea has insurance and wants treatment. Her current doctor says "no". Through the...

VATICAN, April 28, 2006 (LifeSiteNews.com) - In an ancient practice, Catholics around the world are often reminded to pray "for the intentions of the Holy Father". Every month, the Pope releases prayer intentions (usually two) asking the Church to focus on specific needs. One of the prayer intentions for the month of May, which were released today by the Vatican Information Service, asks the Church to pray for legal protection for life from conception till natural death. "That in the mission countries those responsible for the public institutions may," said the official text, "with suitable laws, promote and defend human...

Andrea Clark Is Not the Only One Even experienced Right to Life attorneys find the case of Andrea Clark to be shocking. Your continued efforts on her behalf are much appreciated by Andrea's family. However, Andrea is not the only person whose life is endanger. Jerri Lynn Ward (Texas Advanced Directives Blog) explains: I represent Andrea Clark and the family. I came to represent the family because I signed up on the registry of health care providers and referral groups that have volunteered their readiness to consider assisting families in the situation where the present attending physician and hospital ethics...

Story of "The Baby Hand" June 14, 2003 RenewAmerica staff report Photo by Michael Clancy Some of us may be familiar with a picture called "The Baby Hand," taken on Aug. 19, 1999, by photojournalist Michael Clancy for USA Today, which first published the picture. Clancy was assigned to document a spina bifida operation performed in utero on a 21-week unborn baby named Samuel Armas by Dr. Joseph Bruner, a surgeon at Nashville's Vanderbuilt University Medical Center. The picture and its story have been circulated on the internet so often that some question whether they are authentic. They are. Clancy...

A mother-to-be was advised by her doctor to "terminate that fetus". She refused and later gave birth to "a perfect little boy". TWO brave women reminded me this week of what we lose in this terrible cult of the perfect child. Brave? Loving is the better word. For what great deeds we can do when we love. A Melbourne woman, let's call her Mary, this week wrote to me after reading in my book of the abortion of a girl just two months from birth. The girl had been diagnosed – it seems perhaps wrongly – with dwarfism. Something about...