Posted on 04/30/2005 5:41:34 AM PDT by NYer
For years the March of Dimes (MOD) has been boycotted by pro-life groups for its involvement in the abortion industry. Unfortunately, many well-meaning pro-life citizens continue to support MOD, not knowing one of the group's methods of preventing what it calls "Birth Defects" is to promote abortion.
MOD was one of the major forces behind the development and widespread use of amniocentesis in the second trimester of pregnancy. Amniocentesis is a test commonly used to determine if an unborn child has a congenital abnormality, knowledge of which can facilitate the decision to abort "defective" children. Bizarre Experimentation A Pro-life Alternative
Pat Robertson of CBN and the Christian Coalition asked those with this philosophy, "Would we have been better off if there had never been a Helen Keller or Beethoven or Einstein — all of whom had "birth defects?"
Henry Foster, who was rejected by the Senate as President Clinton's nominee for Surgeon General, served on the March of Dimes' Medical Service Advisory committee. While on the committee, Foster admitted doing nearly 700 abortions following the results of amniocentesis. Foster also defended fetoscopic prenatal research as "clearly therapeutic" since "it was done for the same reason that we do amniocentesis, to decide whether or not the pregnancy should continue, and to provide a therapeutic abortion."
Dr. David Nathan, Professor of Pediatrics at Harvard University, MOD grantee, and National MOD adviser, explained that one particularly elaborate international prenatal testing arrangement involving scientists in London, New Haven, and Boston was done in order that "knowledge go on, vital clinical testing go on, and when necessary, abortions go on."
In a letter to Congress in 1978, MOD President Charles Massey wrote in favor of legislation to fund this genetic screening. Massey notes, "The financial cost of treating and institutionalizing our severely affected survivors is staggering; we cannot begin to measure the cost."
MOD has given several grants for developing tests that can detect abnormalities in the first trimester. Prostaglandin abortionists Dr. Maurice J. Mahoney of Yale received $35,000 for research on chorionic villi sampling and for developing a prenatal diagnostic technique that would permit the first-trimester abortion of affected pre-born children. From 1989 to 1990, MOD gave $50,000 to Dr. Haig H. Kazazian of Johns Hopkins University, a staunch advocate of eugenic abortion, to perfect methods to detect, early in pregnancy, disorders such as beta-thalassemia, hemophilia A, Duchenne muscular dystrophy, and cystic fibrosis — none of which is treatable in the womb.
MOD has also funded fetal experimentation and fetal tissue use for more than two decades. In the early 1970s, MOD gave $19,000 to Dr. John F.S. Crocker of Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia, to study congenital kidney abnormalities. This study involved "60 pairs of embryonic kidneys...obtained from human therapeutic abortions after five to twelve weeks' gestation."
In 1973-74, MOD gave $9,420 for appallingly grotesque fetal brain metabolism studies in Helsinki, Finland on living, human babies aborted by hysterotomy and still attached by the umbilical cord to the mother. The babies were then decapitated and their heads were mounted on perfusion equipment. Arthur A. Galloway, MOD Vice President for Development, defended this research, saying it was "done legally and ethically" under Finnish law; that "the investigators did not participate in the decision to terminate pregnancy;" and "they were concerned with the ethics of discarding such fetal issue without seeking to find ways to improve the life and health of live-born premature infants."
In the 1970s, a MOD grant was awarded to Dr. A. de la Chapelle of the University of Helsinki for research on maternal and fetal blood cells to detect genetic conditions early in pregnancy. Some cell sources for the experiment were obtained "by open-heart puncture of 10-week fetuses that had been aborted for various reasons, not connected with fetal diseases" (i.e., healthy babies).
MOD published Strategies in Genetic Counseling: Reproductive Genetics and New-Age Technologies in 1990. The book states the March of Dimes' viewpoint that, "There is no substitution for a constitutional right to abortion which protects our fundamental rights." Fortunately, pro-life leaders say, many Americans still recognize the fact that pre-born children, perfect and imperfect, are among those with fundamental rights to be protected.
Thankfully, there is a pro-life alternative for those wishing to support prenatal research. Those wishing to support life-supporting birth-defect prevention research may send donations to the Michael Fund, a pro-life genetic research foundation seeking to protect both unborn children with defects and children and adults with defects.
Because Down's Syndrome babies are often among those innocent babies killed by abortion, the Michael Fund places special emphasis on Down's Syndrome research. Columnist Rich Hinshaw says, "It is one of the triumphs of modern society that the life of the average person with Down's Syndrome has become strikingly normal — except that, unlike normal people, people with Down's Syndrome have been targeted for elimination." For an up-to-date information packet about the organization and documentation of the pro-abortion aspects of MOD please call 412-823-6380 or write:
The Michael Fund
500 A Garden City Drive
Pittsburgh, PA 15146
www.michaelfund.org
Insidious! One more charity's true identity revealed.
Thank you for this information. I didn't know this about the March of Dimes.
Goes to show we must be careful of where we give to charity.
I've known they're dirty for years. I walked out of a bank that I was thinking of starting an account with, when I saw their sponsorship of the MOD.
There oughtta be a "march of quarters" (or maybe march of nickels) to out them.
Because Down's Syndrome babies are often among those innocent babies killed by abortion, the Michael Fund places special emphasis on Down's Syndrome research. Columnist Rich Hinshaw says, "It is one of the triumphs of modern society that the life of the average person with Down's Syndrome has become strikingly normal — except that, unlike normal people, people with Down's Syndrome have been targeted for elimination."
My Daughter was born with Downs. She's lovely. What kind of monster would want to kill this precious person? A liberal one, I guess.
You're welcome! Didn't know it either. 50 years ago, my grandmother walked the neighborhood collecting for this organization. Back then, the dimes collected were used to benefit victims of polio and other crippling diseases. Seems this charity, and many others, have chosen to 'eliminate' these illnesses through nefarious means.
UNICEF is another one.
Down's children are such blessings in this world. They are filled with simple joy and willingly share it with others. Only a demon would want to deny the world of their precious gift.
Bless you and your daughter!
Along with the intended consequences of abortion, the diminution of the respect for life, the unintended consequences of depleting the pool of those capable of paying for all the liberal programs have raised their heads. Perhaps I am wrong, though, since the destruction of our way of life is the goal of the left, this could have been intended.
Another of our fundamental rights is to hold on to our wallets and deposit the March of Dimes appeal in the round file.
I've known this about MODs for a number of years, but not many do, so keep spreading the word!
I've used Charity Navigator in the past to screen unsolicited charities that have contacted me. It's a good tool.
Now I just donate through my church for causes, or to my local food pantry and shelter; I think I do more good keeping my dollars Local versus National.
http://www.charitynavigator.org/
By the '80's, in San Antonio, TX, I greeted their walkers with homemade pamphlets about how they sponsored amniocentesis to find "potential birth defects."
On another occasion, my step-son joined me holding signs for one of their walks. My sign had a picture of a late-term aborted baby asking "Will your money be used for this?" a few yards behind me, my step-sons sign explained, "The March of Dimes provides testing so that handicapped babies can be found and aborted before they are born."
Most people glared at me. One person loudly told me "No!" Only to be corrected by a co-walker. A man passing by my sign said, "I hope so."
But one woman, when she passed by stopped, stunned as she read the sign my son was holding.
Jesus, Mary, and Joseph!!!
I knew they were promoting abortion for years now, but I never heard about this before. Appalling grotesque is right, and may they repent before they die. Arthur A. Galloway=Dr. Mengele.
bump
Like Patricia Heaton. Wake up Patty.
Am I the only one who remembers "March of Dimes against Polio"?
Or "Censure Bill Clinton and MOVE ON" (that was their original "stated" purpose).
Just when is a human life too costly to be continued? Are our nursing home residents too costly? Are folks with incurable (but not necessarily terminal) illnesses too costly? Are disabled people, either physically or mentally, who require care or equipment above a totally healthy person too costly? We already know that inconvenient babies are too "costly" and we're not just talking money in this instance. It's a slippery slope and we're on it already and picking up speed. At the risk of showing my religious leanings, may God have mercy on our souls.
NYer -- Thank you for posting this.
My very pro-life wife mistakenly gave a small amount of money to the MOD last year, but we will never do so again. I have told her to tell the people in our neighborhood who make door-to-door solicitations for the MOD exactly why we are refusing to support them. Since we live in a very conservative part of the country, there is a strong likelihood that these people are also pro-life and that they will be suitably appalled. I hope that we will be able to deprive them of some support in the future.
BTW, do any of you know of a charity for people with neurological diseases (like ALS or MS) that does not support fetal stem-cell research? I would like to give money to such a charity. Thanks in advance for your help.
Excellent point, President Massey. But why stop with unborn children? Perhaps we could form a panel of experts - you would be a logical member - that would screen all members of society.
For those whose cost of treatment and/or institutionalization exceeds their marginal utility, we could perform what might be called a post-natal abortion. The savings could be tremendous.
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