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March of Dimes Exposé (Warning: Graphic Content)
Catholic Exchange ^ | April 30, 2005 | PA Pro-Life Federation

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.

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.

Bizarre Experimentation

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).

A Pro-life Alternative

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



TOPICS: Business/Economy; Constitution/Conservatism; Crime/Corruption; Culture/Society; Front Page News; Government; News/Current Events; Philosophy; Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: abortion; abortionindustry; charity; childmurder; cultureofdeath; disability; downssyndrome; eugenics; euthenasia; fetaltissue; funding; geneticmeanstesting; genetics; geneticscreening; infanticide; liberalagenda; marchofdimes; meanstesting; meanstestingtolive; merchantsofdeath; michaelfund; mod; naziattrocities; nazism; polio; prenatal; prenataltesting; proabortioncharity; qualityoflife; respectforlife; righttolife; socialism; themichaelfund; whereyourmoneygoes
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To: MissMagnolia

Hi MM. My reaction (please see post #20) is along the same line as yours.


21 posted on 04/30/2005 10:23:14 AM PDT by governsleastgovernsbest (Watching the Today Show since 2002 so you don't have to.)
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To: bourbon; Diana in Wisconsin; Coleus
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.

Diana in Wisconsin posted a link up above to a group called Charity Navigator. Don't know if it screens out your criteria.

While I don't know of such a charity personally, here are some resources that may be able to direct you towards such an organization.

CULTURE OF LIFE FOUNDATION

PRIESTS FOR LIFE

I've pinged Coleus again and hopefully he will be able to expand on this.

BTW - you would be equally surprised by the companies in your retirement portfolio. Some of them use those investments in much the same way as the MOD. Should you be interested, AVE MARIA FUNDS are designed specifically for morally responsible investors who are looking for financially sound investments in companies that do not violate the core teachings of the Catholic Church. No fetal stem cell research.

22 posted on 04/30/2005 11:26:50 AM PDT by NYer ("Love without truth is blind; Truth without love is empty." - Pope Benedict XVI)
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To: thompsonsjkc; odoso; animoveritas; St. Johann Tetzel; DaveTesla; mercygrace; ...

Moral Absolutes Ping.

Revealing info about the March of Dimes. Reduces birth defects by abortion - everyone should know their agenda.

Let me know if you want on/off this pinglist.

Like getting rid of illness by murdering the patients.


23 posted on 04/30/2005 8:02:35 PM PDT by little jeremiah (Resisting evil is our duty or we are as responsible as those promoting it.)
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To: NYer

Thank you very much for the information. I will try to contact those organizations re: my question.


24 posted on 04/30/2005 8:30:44 PM PDT by bourbon (quasi morientes et ecce vivimus!)
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To: NYer

Just a comment on one of the statements in the article, exactly what birth defect did Hellen Keller have? I always heard that She was born with hearing and vision, had some type of illness that caused her to lose vision and hearing, so what was her birth defect?


25 posted on 04/30/2005 10:08:57 PM PDT by tickles
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To: bourbon
For birth defects you can donate here, as far as the other organizations for neurological diseases, I do not know. I wouldn't trust them until they are researched thoroughly.

The Michael Fund Instead of Pro-Abortion, March of Dimes

26 posted on 05/01/2005 1:19:13 PM PDT by Coleus (Roe v. Wade and Endangered Species Act both passed in 1973, Murder Babies/save trees, birds, algae)
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To: 2ndMostConservativeBrdMember; afraidfortherepublic; Alas; al_c; american colleen; annalex; ...
The March of Dimes on the FR
 
The Michael Fund Instead of Pro-Abortion, March of Dimes

27 posted on 05/01/2005 1:32:12 PM PDT by Coleus (Roe v. Wade and Endangered Species Act both passed in 1973, Murder Babies/save trees, birds, algae)
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To: Coleus

Pro-Life Bump.


28 posted on 05/01/2005 1:34:02 PM PDT by fatima
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To: NYer

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?"



Helen Keller and Beethoven were NOT deaf due to birth defects. They both originally had their hearing but lost it,
Keller lost hers following an illness and Beethoven, it is theorised, lost his due to physical abuse from his father. His father used to beat him about the head.


29 posted on 05/01/2005 1:35:12 PM PDT by kalee
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To: kalee

"Helen Keller and Beethoven were NOT deaf due to birth defects. They both originally had their hearing but lost it,
Keller lost hers following an illness and Beethoven, it is theorised, lost his due to physical abuse from his father. His father used to beat him about the head."

Even if this is true, there are some who would want to kill the disabled AFTER BIRTH. Killing the disabled BEFORE or AFTER birth is wrong.


30 posted on 05/01/2005 1:53:04 PM PDT by Sun (Visit www.theEmpireJournal.com * Pray for Terri. Pray to end abortion.)
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To: Sun

I believe it is murder to kill before birth as well as after, but that does not negate the fact that Pat Robertson was incorrect in his statement that Keller and Beethoven were deaf due to birth defects. They were born healthy and became deaf later, so abortion would NOT have been an issue.
My concern is that we on the pro-life side need to be scrupulous in our statement of the "facts" otherwise we are no different than the pro-death side, twisting and misusing the "facts" to suit our purpose. Why should we do that when we have Truth on our side to begin with?


31 posted on 05/01/2005 2:17:27 PM PDT by kalee
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To: NYer

Thank you so much for the information. I was blithely unaware...


32 posted on 05/01/2005 4:08:57 PM PDT by tuckrdout (Is prayer your spare tire, or your steering wheel?)
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To: kalee

I'm very happy to hear that you are pro-life BEFORE and AFTER birth & that you just wanted to set the story straight.


33 posted on 05/01/2005 5:52:01 PM PDT by Sun (Visit www.theEmpireJournal.com * Pray for Terri. Pray to end abortion.)
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To: Neever

I'm a little late to this thread...clicked a link to it from another, current thread. May God bless you and your daughter. I was at a local Post Office last week and saw a dad there with his Down's daughter. She was precious. She was asking him questions, talking with him. I was wondering how old she was...maybe around 11-12-13. Hey, I fell in love with her in that short 5-7 min. span. How precious she seemed to me.


34 posted on 06/14/2005 8:48:17 AM PDT by nfldgirl ("I love a good rant every now-n-then!")
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To: Neever
I agree with you. My nephew has Sturge-Webber's syndrome. He's severly retarded, but a joy and a wonderful addition to our family. We always love having him over whenever possible, because he's so innocent and full of fun. To think he might never have been born... how misguided some people are. I'm sure your daughter has been a gift from God.

Have you read Christopher De Vinck's great book, The Power of the Powerless? What a warm, wonderful book it is...one of the few I ever reviewed on Amazon.com.

35 posted on 05/26/2007 9:44:18 PM PDT by TenthAmendmentChampion (Pray for our President and for our heroes in Iraq and Afghanistan, and around the world!)
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