Pro-life counselling made easier with new, 4-D pics

Pro-life counselling made easier
with new, 4-D pics

A new technology, 4-D scanning, is changing pre-natal medicine and bolstering the argument against abortion.

Years ago, 2-D scanning showed us a flat, black-and-white picture of the baby in the womb. Then, 3-D scanning was developed, revealing a more realistic, but motionless, picture of a baby. Now 4-D, the fourth dimension being time, is showing an unborn child's movements in the womb. At 12 weeks, the baby is leaping, kicking and stretching, long before the mother feels these movements. At 18 weeks, the eyes are opening, something previously thought not to occur until at least 24 weeks. At 26 weeks, just past six months, the baby is scratching, smiling, hiccupping, crying and sucking.

The positioning of the baby within the womb is also clearer in 4-D movement, giving the doctors a head start in delivery.

Some have accused 4D imaging of being unnecessary, mere entertainment. But Stuart Campbell, a British doctor, says otherwise. "The term 'scanning for entertainment' surely is an insulting one with which to describe the natural desire of parents to see and know and love their baby before birth." He gives the parents five minutes alone to be with each other and their child as seen on the screen.

The show of emotion on the part of the unborn is not only heartwarming for the couple, but also sobering. The baby is clearly having fun and enjoying life. Normally, babies do not smile for six weeks after birth, so the smile on their faces inside the womb is indicative of how comforting that place must be. Therefore, one can imagine the distress an unborn child goes through in the abortion process. Natalie Hudson of Toronto Right to Life says, "It's unfortunate that even in the face of this incredible technology, pro-aborts still champion a woman's 'right to choose.' Now, there is no denying the humanity of the unborn, so the only leg left to stand on is the 'rights' rhetoric of the woman to do whatever she wants 'with her body.'"

Hudson notes that, "The pro-woman approach that has been adopted by the pro-life movement of late has become the focus, because the debate has shifted from proving the humanity of the unborn to debunking the rights rhetoric."

Though this technology has been around since late 2001, because of its expense and limited accessibility, its value was not understood. Now, pro-life clinics in the U.S. that can hardly afford 2-D ultrasound equipment are going into debt for the 4-D ultrasound, which costs more than $100,000 (US), because it is convincing women in ways a brochure cannot. And, since most abortions are committed in the first 13 weeks, six-week ultrasounds are now being given. Usually, a mother starts bonding with her baby at 15 weeks when her child starts to kick, but because this activity is taking place at six weeks, when it can be seen before it is felt, pro-life choices are being made by women (who would have had an abortion) once they have been exposed to 4-D pictures of their children.

National Institute of Family and Life Advocates president Tom Glessner, in a spring 2002 article in At the Centre, writes of clinics that have success rates of 70 to 98 per cent in convincing woman to choose life. He also writes that ultrasound and other medical services attract many more abortion-minded women.

In the same article, Glessner says, "Imagine the impact if 1,000 pregnancy help centres convert to medical clinic status by the year 2010 and if each medical clinic sees an average 1,500 abortion-minded women a year. If we achieve this goal, 1.5 million abortion-minded women each year will receive life-affirming medical services, such as ultrasound."

Hudson says that the majority of pro-life activity in Canada is in the area of counselling, not in pro-life medical clinics. One of our problems is the system of state-run universal healthcare, which includes pre-natal services. To have a private clinic would raise cries of a two-tiered system and to have an exclusively pro-life public baby clinic would be tricky, Hudson concedes.

Nonetheless, the technology will change the debate in Canada, too. Hudson says, "To attack the (pro-abortion) ideology, you need visuals" - especially those of one's own child.

Planned Parenthood in Trouble With IRS, Justice Dept Over Support for Kerry
By Jimmy Moore
Talon News
August 27, 2004

LOS ANGELES (Talon News) -- After being recently named the subject of several complaints of racism and discrimination with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the Los Angeles-based chapter of the pro-abortion group Planned Parenthood now faces another formal complaint with the Internal Revenue Service and the U.S. Justice Department. The group is being charged with actively campaigning for and supporting Democratic presidential nominee John F. Kerry.

Lively & Ackerman law firm filed their complaint with the Department of Justice on August 25, 2004 alleging several electioneering violations by Planned Parenthood in Los Angeles, California.

Since the group is a tax-exempt nonprofit organization, they are not allowed to participate in political activities.

The complaint calls on the Justice Department to revoke the tax-exempt status of Planned Parenthood and assess monetary penalties to the group or allow all nonprofit organizations to be involved in political activity.

As a 501(c)(3) group with the IRS, Planned Parenthood is "absolutely prohibited from directly or indirectly participating in, or intervening in, any political campaign on behalf of (or in opposition to) any candidate for elective public office," according to IRS regulations.

"Contributions to political campaign funds or public statements of position (verbal or written) made on behalf of the organization in favor of or in opposition to any candidate for public office clearly violate the prohibition against political campaign activity. Violation of this prohibition may result in denial or revocation of tax-exempt status and the imposition of certain excise tax," the IRS regulations on nonprofit groups states.

The complaint against Planned Parenthood states that several employees for the Los Angeles chapter appeared on stage at a political event for Kerry and engaged in illegal conduct by promoting the Kerry campaign.

In addition, several sworn affidavits from Planned Parenthood employees admit there were posters ridiculing and mocking President George W. Bush throughout the offices, as reported by Talon News last week.

Several specific issues were mentioned in the complaints regarding claims that Planned Parenthood was involved in electioneering.

Showing their support for liberal Democratic U.S. Senators Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) and Barbara Boxer (D-CA), Planned Parenthood Los Angeles boasted of its political muscle in California.

Also, as part of their operational plan for 2004-2005, Planned Parenthood Los Angeles said their goal was to "energize the pro-choice" supporters in their area to encourage them to vote and make "meaningful and measurable influence on public policy decisions."

In another example, a fundraising letter sent out by Planned Parenthood President Gloria Feldt noted, "We have an unparalleled ability to reach out to citizens across the country and organize a level of pro-choice, grassroots support that politicians dare not to ignore."

The letter went on to attack President Bush and included a survey asking members to reveal their political party affiliation and their views on abortion.

"Are you aware of any anti-choice activities in your area?" the survey inquires, referring to pro-life events.

The complaint states that these examples and more constitute illegal electioneering by Planned Parenthood under IRS regulations.

Legal experts expect Planned Parenthood to claim their actions are considered lobbying, which is not prohibited activities.

However, in an unusual request for a binding opinion from the IRS and the Justice Department, the complainants are also asking them to make a decision about whether churches and other nonprofit groups would be allowed to participate in similar political activities as Planned Parenthood.

An example is provided in the complaint citing former Vice President Al Gore's appearance at a church during last year's gubernatorial recall election.

"As you may already know, the First AME Church in Los Angeles had Al Gore as a guest speaker during the California recall election, and the media was reporting that Gore was actively inciting the audience to vote "No" on the recall effort," the complainant wrote. "If this, and the activities of PPLA [Planned Parenthood Los Angeles], do not constitute a violation of the law, please advise so that we can properly advise any of our clients who may be operating exempt organizations."

The complaint said it is unfair to other nonprofit groups if some are allowed to electioneer and some are not.

Richard D. Ackerman, serving as lead attorney for this complaint, said it only stands to reason that other nonprofits should be granted the same rights as Planned Parenthood.

"If it is true that Planned Parenthood is allowed to post anti-Bush material in its offices, actively engage its affiliates to back ideologue candidates, and to 'energize' the public to a vote for a specific candidate or agenda, then it certainly seems that churches and other nonprofit organizations should be able to express their own thoughts on the upcoming election," Ackerman exclaimed. "If what appears to be electioneering is good enough for Planned Parenthood, then it ought to be good enough for those who oppose the agenda of Planned Parenthood and John Kerry."

Ackerman added that there are too many issues in this election to allow a monopoly on political opinion.

"This election is just too important to allow only one side of the political spectrum have its day in the presidential debate over the sanctity of life, stem cell research, violence against unborn children, racism, eugenics, and the other important issues of public concern," Ackerman concluded. "If the DOJ and IRS indicate that all exempt organizations are allowed to engage in politicking, we will certainly provide that information to pastors and churches across the nation."

Copyright © 2004 Talon News -- All rights reserved.

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