Threads by NYer and me.
SANTA MARIA, California, March 1, 2011 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Several decades after an abortion left Jane Russell unable to bear children and spurred her to become an outspoken pro-lifer and adoption advocate, the silver screen beauty died yesterday at the age of 89. In lieu of flowers, the family of the born-again Christian actress is asking for donations in her honor to Care Net, a pro-life pregnancy resource center network.
Jane Russell, the brunette bombshell of the films Mad Men and Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, whose image became a popular pinup for World War II servicemen, passed away of respiratory failure at her Santa Monica home Monday.
Leading a wild lifestyle early on, Russell later became, in her words, a teetotal, mean-spirited, right-wing, narrow-minded, conservative Christian bigot - but not before an illegal abortion caused her to lose her fertility.
The experience, which she says nearly killed her, led her to become outspoken about abortion, denying that any circumstance - rape or incest included - justified taking the life of an unborn child.
People should never, ever have an abortion. Dont talk to me about it being a womans right to choose what she does with her own body. The choice is between life and death, Russell declared in one quotation widely attributed to her.
In another quotation cited by IMDB.com, Russell said that when she found herself pregnant at 18, The only solution was to find a quack and get an abortion. I had a botched abortion and it was terrible. Afterwards my own doctor said, What butcher did this to you? I had to be taken to hospital. I was so ill I nearly died. Ive never known pain like it.
Even decades after the procedure was made legal in America, loss of fertility remains a common side effect of abortions: post-abortive women telling their stories through Silent No More Awareness frequently testify to losing the ability to bear children as a consequence of their abortions.
Her struggle conceiving led Russell to adopt three children and to found the World Adoption International Fund in 1955. She also started the Hollywood Christian Group, a weekly Bible study she hosted at her house for Christians in the film industry. Russell, who divorced once and was married two more times, is survived by her three children, six grandchildren and 10 great-grandchildren.
After confirming her death on Monday, her family suggested that donations be made in her name to Care Net Pregnancy & Resource Center at 121 W. Battles, Santa Maria, CA, as well as CASA of Santa Barbara County, a group that helps abused children find a court advocate.
Care Net, which oversees a nationwide network of 1,100 pregnancy centers, specializes in helping women facing unplanned pregnancies by providing practical help as well as emotional support.
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SANTA MARIA, California, March 2, 2011 (LifeSiteNews.com) - A pillar of strength - these were the words Etta Waterfield used to describe her mother-in-law, Jane Russell, who will be remembered by millions as a timeless beauty and talented actress of the silver screen.
But according to Waterfield, Janes true legacy lies in her deep devotion to the Bible as a born-again Christian, and her tenacity living out that faith as a pro-life advocate following a tragic botched abortion at the age of eighteen.
Mom was to the world a movie star, but her passion was for the children. Her passion was for pro-life, Waterfield told LifeSiteNews.com in a telephone interview Tuesday afternoon, two days after Russell passed away of respiratory failure in her Santa Maria home at the age of 89.
Russells story began in the San Fernando Valley of Southern California where she grew up as the eldest and only girl in a deeply Christian family of five children. The loss of a child - Janes older brother, who died at 18 months old - was what inspired her own mothers zeal for reading the Bible, a hunger she passed on to her daughter.
The death of a child would also later exert a powerful effect on Janes life: when the eighteen-year-old star was already well on her way to a successful career in film, an illegal abortion took the life of her unborn child, and left her unable to bear children ever again.
According to Waterfield, the young Jane already felt horrible about the moral evil committed in the abortion, which was so badly botched she nearly died. She knew it was wrong, she said. But she as a young teenager, she felt she was trapped and her career starting to take off, and it was an inconvenience, and she thought that was the best solution, knowing all along that it wasnt.
But it was because of the open arms of her own mother, Geraldine, that Jane was encouraged to let the Lord figure out how to turn the experience to good.
Grandma Russell was by her side after she had the abortion and she said, Daughter, the Lord will turn this around for good if you allow him to work in your life. There is no condemnation from Him, nor will there be any condemnation from our lips either, said Waterfield.
Jane carried on, she said, bearing courageously the responsibility of an abortion that wound up giving her a heart for children, particularly those who were difficult to place in adoptions, such as older and disabled children. Russell was to found the World Adoption International Fund (WAIF) in 1955. According to Waterfield, through Russells efforts adoption advocacy, she helped find a place for over 40,000 children in permanent homes who may otherwise never have found them.
And despite losing her fertility, she became mom and grandma to many: having adopted three children, she left behind six grandchildren and 10 great-grandchildren at her passing. In particular, Waterfield said, Russell was passionate about using her fame as a well-loved actress to open the word of God to others.
She made a mistake, but she is the perfect example of what the Bible says: what Satan has meant for bad, God will turn around for good if you allow him to work in your life, said Waterfield. Thats Mom right there: those thousands of children - that abortion turned into a blessing.
Waterfield, who ran for the California State Assembly as a conservative Republican candidate, said that she was largely inspired by Janes zeal for conservative social issues, particularly for the pro-life movement, something she laments has gotten almost no media recognition. Media will never put that out there because its politically incorrect to them, said Waterfield. But you get her one on one, or on a stage ... and shell tell you different. She was never afraid of talking about it.
There are so many people that have had abortions that are so ashamed of it, and carry that burden. It doesnt have to be a burden.
As Russell lay on her deathbed, Waterfield said that she rejoiced to think of the meeting that lay in store for her.
I whispered in her ear and said, Mom, now you can hold your baby for the first time. Youll be able to see your baby, she said, tearing up. And you know, I just wish I could see that reunion. Because of that baby, she was able to do so much for children.
Thats her legacy: its not Hollywood, its the children. Thats how I want the world to know her.
Threads by Kid Shelleen and me.
Three former employees of accused West Philadelphia abortion doctor Kermit Gosnell could soon join him facing the possibility of the death penalty.
City prosecutors confirmed Wednesday they were considering capital punishment in the cases of three workers at Gosnell's clinic. The three allegedly assisted the 70-year-old physician in seven abortions in which infants were born live and viable but then killed by Gosnell
(Excerpt) Read more at philly.com ...
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HARRISBURG, Pennsylvania, March 3, 2011 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Because Philadelphia abortionist Kermit Gosnells victims were only minutes old, state prosecutors have said they will seek the death penalty against the abortionist.
The gruesome nature of Gosnells abortion business, which involved routine infanticide, sent shockwaves through national media outlets earlier this year, after state investigators stumbled upon the filthy facility.
Gosnell, 70, and several of his accomplices at the inner city Womens Medical Society clinic, were arrested in January. The abortionist was charged with the murder of one of his adult clients mid-abortion, in addition to seven newborns killed after failed abortions. According to testimony by former employees, Gosnell and his assistants killed hundreds of babies by severing their spinal cords rather than killing them in the womb, because the abortionist was too unskilled to administer the lethal injection in utero.
Two of the employees who assisted in abortions without any medical license are, like Gosnell, being held without bail.
Prosecutors on Wednesday filed documents enabling them to seek the death penalty, noting the age of the victims as an aggravating factor. State officials also filed for more time to decide whether they will seek a similar fate for three of Gosnells accomplices. Defense attorney Jack McMahon said that the death penalty makes no sense, according to the Philadelphia Daily News.
Hes a 70-year-old man with no previous record, said the attorney. And Pennsylvania hasnt carried out an execution in years [since 1999]. The reality is, there will be no death penalty for Mr. Gosnell, so why clog up the court system with a death-penalty case that is death penalty in name only?
A Grand Jury report in January issued scathing indictments of both the Pennsylvania Department of Health and the Department of State for turning a blind eye to the clinic. The report said the government agencies had allowed the clinic to wallow in filth for years, and ignored several complaints lodged against the abortionist, while allowing his official record to remain clean.
Since then, several state employees have been terminated for the oversight failure, which took root in the state agencies after pro-abortion former Pennsylvania Governor Tom Ridge took over for Bob Casey in 1995.
Pro-life Gov. Tom Corbett, who took over the office in January, has expressed his anger at the handling of the affair. This doesnt even rise to the level of government run amok. It was government not running at all, said Corbett. To call this unacceptable doesnt say enough.
Dr. Eli Avila, who has been appointed by Corbett to head the state health department, said Wednesday that new draft regulations due at the end of this month mandate at least one unannounced inspection of all the states abortion clinics, and that Avila himself planned personally to visit each site.