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New Undercover Video Shows Tucson Planned Parenthood Hiding Rape of 15-Year-Old Girl

TUCSON, AZ, Feb. 3, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) - New hidden-camera footage from Tucson, AZ, implicates a third Planned Parenthood clinic in a multi-state child abuse scandal. In the video, UCLA student Lila Rose and her friend Jackie Stollar enter a Tucson Planned Parenthood clinic where Rose tells the nurse that Stollar, posing as a 15-year-old, is pregnant by her 27-year-old boyfriend. The nurse disregards the age difference and even cautions Stollar not to bring her "boyfriend" before the judicial hearing required in Arizona to waive parental consent for an abortion. This negligence on the part of the Planned Parenthood staffer is punishable under Arizona law.

"Is he not a minor?" the Planned Parenthood nurse, who identifies herself as Araceli, asks. When Rose says, "He's 27," the nurse urges the girls not to bring him to the hearing: "I wouldn't take him with me, no. I mean: don't take him."

The video is the third to be released in a national undercover probe called the "Mona Lisa Project." The project, conducted by the student-led California nonprofit Live Action, records on video Planned Parenthood employees as they respond to statutory rape. Rather than reporting the rape--as the law requires--Planned Parenthood clinics hide the identity of the statutory rapist and offer secret abortions.

In the past two months, the Mona Lisa Project has exposed similar cases at two Planned Parenthood clinics in Indiana. In response, both clinics either suspended or fired employees, and state prosecutors launched investigations into Planned Parenthood of Indiana.

"These videos demonstrate that Planned Parenthood, the nation's largest abortion provider, is entrenched in an organization-wide policy of circumventing state law and covering up the sexual abuse of young girls," said Live Action's president, Lila Rose.

This is not the first time Planned Parenthood of Arizona has failed to report sexual abuse. In 2002, an Arizona judge found the abortion provider negligent for failing to report the sexual abuse of a 13-year-old girl by her 23-year-old foster brother, who brought her to a Phoenix-area clinic for an abortion in 1998. After Planned Parenthood kept silent about the abuse, the sexual relationship continued and led to a second abortion six months later.

While noting that today Arizona Attorney General Terry Goddard is scheduled to deliver the keynote address at an event sponsored by Planned Parenthood, Rose urges Arizona prosecutors to follow the lead of Indiana state authorities and investigate the full extent of Planned Parenthood's sexual abuse cover-up.

"Our footage gives the Arizona public and law enforcement a rare window into Planned Parenthood's careless abortion-first ideology," Rose stated. "With abortion as their first and only solution for the abused victim, Planned Parenthood assists sexual predators by violating the very Arizona state laws that protect children."

Rose adds, "Planned Parenthood is not above the law. They must cooperate with Arizona state authorities to reveal the full extent of their lawbreaking."

The new video can be viewed on Live Action's website, http://www.liveaction.org/monalisa/tucson.

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Eluana Transferred Late Tuesday Night to Clinic for Death by Dehydration

By Hilary White

ROME, February 3, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Eluana Englaro, who is often referred to as “Italy’s Terri Schiavo,” was transferred late Tuesday night to a hospital that has agreed to participate in her killing by removal of her food and hydration tube. Television news coverage showed a group of pro-life activists gathered outside the clinic in Eluana’s home town of Lecco at about 1:30 am, as an ambulance took her away, some shouting “Eluana, wake up!” and “Don’t kill her!”

Eluana Englaro, 38, suffered brain damage in a car accident in 1992 and has since been in a state of diminished consciousness. Eluana’s father, Beppino Englaro, who has been petitioning the courts for over a decade to euthanize his daughter, said her transfer to the new facility is “the first step... towards the liberation of my daughter. It seems we have finally succeeded.”

Beppino Englaro’s lawyer told media that La Quiete, a private clinic in the north eastern town of Undine, had agree to participate in her killing. Welfare Minister Maurizio Sacconi said the government is searching for a new way to prevent her death. The removal of Eluana’s food and hydration tube is set to be carried out in three days.

Death by dehydration has been described by medical authorities as “horrible” and “agonizing.” It was a common form of torture used by totalitarian states, including in well-documented cases by the Nazis in their death camps.

In cases of severe dehydration, toxins build up in the body and the body's chemical balances are disrupted. This disrupts the electrical system that triggers the action of muscles, including the heart. The tongue and lips crack and bleed. The eyes recede into their orbits. The skin becomes so sensitive it peels off upon firm contact. The lining of the nose can crack and bleed. Dried brain cells can cause convulsions. The mouth becomes dry and saliva thick, and there is cracking of the mucous membranes of the mouth and lips. The blood thickens, increasing the risk of stroke. As fluid decreases in the body, blood pressure drops and the heart rate increases, possibly causing shock and heart attack.

The move to kill Eluana has roused the ire of many in Italy, including Cardinal Javier Lozano Barragan, President of the Vatican’s Pontifical Council for Pastoral Assistance to Health Care Workers, said on Tuesday, “Stop this murder!”

“To stop giving food and liquids to Eluana is equivalent to abominable murder and the Church will not cease to proclaim this loud and clear.” Interviewed by the Rome daily La Repubblica, the cardinal said that Eluana’s court-mandated death by dehydration “will represent a defeat for the respect of human life.” His comments come after Pope Benedict XVI spoke on Sunday against euthanasia, saying it is a false answer to suffering.

The consequences, both legal and moral, should Eluana Englaro be euthanized in a Catholic Country, will be dire, pro-life advocates have warned. Carlo Caffara, the archbishop of Bologna, said at Mass last weekend, “In the body of this woman, and in her fate, there is an image of the fate of the West.”

Eluana has become a “‘sign of contradiction’ between a culture of death and a culture of life,” he said. “Her martyred body has become the question addressed to every conscience that reflects on man's destiny: To whom does man belong? Who has dominion over man's life and death? Who owns man?”

“The spiritual event of the West has come to the end of the line: If the life of man does not belong to man but to God, no one has control over it for any reason, [but] if the life of man belongs to man, it is consistent to hypothesize circumstances in which everyone can do what he wants with his life or ask others to put an end to it,” Cardinal Caffara continued.

The killing of Eluana, said Msgr. Ignacio Barreiro, the director of the Rome office of Human Life International, is going to be disastrous for others in similar situations in Italy. Msgr. Barreiro said, “It would create a precedent whereby judges, against the law, can decide it's right to kill patients. We are not fighting for Eluana's life because she has limited signs of consciousness but because of her dignity as a human being.”

Pro-life legal experts have been especially concerned that should Eluana be “legally” killed by dehydration, it would create a “back door” through which euthanasia could be legalized. The government is considering legislation that would allow the creation of “living wills” that could specify the removal of food and hydration.

In November, health and welfare minister, Maurizio Sacconi, issued a statement that in Italy it is “illegal” to remove the food and hydration of helpless disabled patients with the purpose of ending their lives. Secretary of Welfare, Eugenia Roccella, also said that there is “no obligation” for government-funded health care facilities to implement the court’s decision that patients can be dehydrated to death.

In January, two pro-life advocates launched a legal challenge to the appeals court in Milan, arguing that the decision to allow Eluana’s killing had been made without sufficient medical examination to determine her condition. At that time, more than 700 Italian doctors had signed an open letter opposing the killing of Eluana, saying that such an action is an attack against the “basic rules of good medical practice as established in the declaration of Helsinki.”

EMBASSY OF ITALY IN THE UNITED STATES
3000 Whitehaven Street, NW - Washington, DC 20008
Tel (202) 612-4400 - Fax (202) 518-2154
Press and Public Affairs Office
Tel (202) 612-4444
Fax (202) 518-2154
e-mail:

EMBASSY OF ITALY IN CANADA
275 Slater Street, 21st Floor
Ottawa, Ontario K1P 5H9
CANADA
Tel +1.613.232.2401 - Fax +1.613.233.1484

Press and Information
Tel: +1-613-232-2401
Fax: +1-613-233-1484
email:

EMBASSY OF ITALY IN LONDON
14, Three Kings Yard
London W1K 4EH
Tel.: +44 (0)20 73122200
Fax: +44 (0)20 73122230

Gianluca Grandi, First Counsellor
Domestic Politics, EBRD

Other Italian Embassies:

http://www.esteri.it/MAE/Templates/SediTemplate.aspx?NRMODE=Published&NRNODE...

Read related LifeSiteNews.com coverage:

700 Italian Doctors ask that Eluana’s Life be Spared
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/jan/09011301.html

It is “Illegal” to Stop Food and Hydration of Vulnerable Patients: Top Italian Minister
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2008/dec/08121703.html

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Most Americans Disapprove Obama Funding Abortion Overseas: Gallup Poll

By Kathleen Gilbert

PRINCETON, New Jersey, February 3, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) - A recent Gallup poll has shown that Obama's decision to rescind the Mexico City Policy is by far his least popular out of seven of his earliest actions rated by Americans.

The Mexico City Policy, which was instituted by Ronald Reagan and reinstated by George W. Bush after the Clinton years, banned U.S. taxpayer dollars from funding international organizations that provide or promote abortion.

Last weekend's poll showed that, while Obama received approval ratings hovering around 75% for such actions as tightening ethics rules for administration officials, limiting interrogation techniques, and instituting higher fuel efficiency standards, the number plunged to 35% approving of his decision to provide U.S. foreign aid for abortion groups.  58% said they opposed the move, leaving 7% undecided.

The disapproval was especially strong among Republicans, only 8% of whom approved.  

However, support was drastically lower for the abortion move in all parties when compared to the president's other actions.  Only 59% approved among Democrats, who were otherwise extremely supportive of Obama's actions: 5 out of 7 actions were approved by 85-89% of Democrats.  Only one in three listed as Independent supported the abortion move.

The results appear to confirm the sentiments of Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ), who said the Mexico City Policy had represented "common ground" as it allowed funding for true family planning without encouraging the spread of abortion. (http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/jan/09012804.html)

Smith, a veteran pro-life leader in Congress, introduced a bill to reinstate the Mexico City Policy days after Obama repealed it.  A similar amendment introduced to the Senate by Sen. Mel Martinez (R-FL) was rejected last week.

Commenting on the poll results, the president of the Susan B. Anthony List, a pro-life organization devoted to getting pro-life women elected to public office, agreed with Smith.

“This week’s Gallup poll revealed the truth that President Obama’s decision to roll back the commonsense Mexico City Policy is out of step with the attitudes of the majority of American taxpayers,” said the Susan B. Anthony List President Marjorie Dannenfelser.  

Urging Obama to “abandon the radical abortion bailout agenda," Dannenfelser added, "Americans want him to endorse policies that actually reduce abortion, not promote it at the taxpayer’s expense.”

Fr. David M. O’Connell, President of Catholic University of America, predicted that Catholic Americans would not passively accept a policy that shows such marked disregard for unborn life.

“I don’t think President Obama is looking for a fight but I think he’s certainly going to get one as he wiggles away from issues that are very important to the Church,” Fr. O’Connell said in remarks published by Fox News last week. 

“I’m sure for many Catholics who supported Obama because they believed in his words to do everything he could to reduce abortions,” he continued. “This comes as a disappointment, and even a betrayal to some.”

See related LifeSiteNews.com coverage:

Congressman Chris Smith Introduces New Bill to Reinstate Mexico City Policy
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/jan/09012804.html

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Lawyer Offers to Adopt and Raise Baby Threatened with Death by Abortion

Denounces silence of government authorities and local Catholic clergy

By Matthew Cullinan Hoffman

ARGENTINA, February 3, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) - A young Argentinean lawyer with a family of his own has offered to adopt and raise a child scheduled for abortion in the northern province of Santiago de del Estero.

"I am moved by the necessity of being honest with ourselves about life," said Dr. Lucian Pavo, 38, to a local newspaper.  "I want to prevent someone from being killed.  We cannot use contradictory language and say that we defend life and human rights, while simultaneously denying life and its rights to a new living person."

"I am capable of taking care of the baby regardless of the circumstances and the physical and mental state this baby might be in after birth," said Pavo, who is married with two children of his own.  "We must not discriminate against someone because they are born with a handicap.  We must accept them as they come. Its condition doesn't matter to me."

The case in question is that of an unidentified minor whose parents claim is mentally disabled, and for whom they wish to obtain an abortion at a hospital in the province.  Although all abortions are illegal in Argentina, they are not punishable in cases in which a mentally disabled woman is raped.

Although the names of the impregnated woman and her parents have not been revealed by the Argentinean media, it is believed that they are receiving support from pro-abortion organizations.  Doctors at the hospital where the abortion was requested are reviewing the case and will seek a judgment from the nation's Ministry of Justice as to whether or not an abortion would carry criminal sanctions under Argentinean law.

Disgusted with the apparent indifference of community leaders regarding the case, Pavo, a Catholic, observed that "The child condemned to death is completely innocent, isn't guilty of anything, and no one pleads for it.  To the contrary, those who carry out her legal representation are asking for its death, with the silence of prosecutors, of the district attorney, and of the priests." 

Referring to a famous case in which an abortion carried out against a government detainee was ruled a homicide by the Argentinean Supreme Court of Justice, Pavo asked, "What is the difference between the child of a kidnapped person and the child of a raped minor?  Evidently we are not all human beings or we don't all have rights. It isn't coherent. Something is wrong, very wrong."

"Don't kill the child, deliver it to the authorities, because there are many Argentines who can't have children, or give custody to me so that I can raise it, with the intervention of [the Ministry of] Justice," said Pavo, addressing himself to the parents of the impregnated girl.  "Please, let's save this Argentinean."

Contact Information:

Embassy of Argentina in the USA
1600 New Hampshire Ave, NW
Washington, DC 20009-2512
Phone (202) 238-6401
Fax (202) 332-3171

Embassy of Argentina in Canada
81 Metcalfe Street, Suite 700
Ottawa, Ontario, K1P 6K7
Tel: (613) 236-2351
Fax: (613) 235-2659
Email:

Embassy of Argentina in the United Kingdom
65 Brook Street
London W1K 4AH
Phone: +44 (0) 207-3181300

Argentinean Embassies in Other Countries
http://www.embassyworld.com/embassy/Argentina/Argentina1.html

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United Nations Population Fund Leader Says Family Breakdown is a Triumph for Human Rights

By Matthew Cullinan Hoffman

MEXICO CITY, February 3, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) - A leader in the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) has declared that the breakdown of traditional families, far from being a “crisis,” is actually a triumph for human rights.

Speaking at a colloquium held last month at Colegio Mexico in Mexico City, UNFPA representative Arie Hoekman denounced the idea that high rates of divorce and out-of-wedlock births represent a social crisis, claiming that they represent instead the triumph of “human rights” against “patriarchy.”

"In the eyes of conservative forces, these changes mean that the family is in crisis," he said. "In crisis?  More than a crisis, we are in the presence of a weakening of the patriarchal structure, as a result of the disappearance of the economic base that sustains it and because of the rise of new values centered in the recognition of fundamental human rights."

"Day after day, Mexico experiences a process of this diversity and there are those who understand it as a crisis, because they only recognize one type of family," one of the speakers on the panel also told the audience.

The comments followed close on the heels of the World Meeting of Families, which was held in Mexico City in January, and which strongly reaffirmed the importance of the traditional family and its indispensible role in transmitting values to the next generation.  It was opened by Mexican President Felipe Calderon, who observed that high rates of divorce and out-of-wedlock births were contributing to the rise of violence and crime in Mexico.

Leonardo Casco, a member of the Pontifical Council for the Family and a citizen of Honduras, told LifeSiteNews that he wasn't surprised that the UNFPA was denying the crisis in the family.

"They definitely have to deny that there is a crisis in the family, because they have created the crisis," he said.

Calling the UNFPA "bureaucrats at the service of death," Casco observed that "after 45 years of birth control, the pill, disrespect for marriage for the family, for children, etc, this is the result. Because of that we have violence, war, lack of respect of women, children."

Through their promotion and distribution of contraceptives the UNFPA has become "a birth control agency at the service of the most powerful countries" said Casco.  "They have destroyed the family, values, this is undeniable, it's what everyone says ... but they always have to deny it."

Regarding Hoekman’s comments about “human rights,”  Casco responded that UNFPA bureaucrats “have invented a series of new 'human rights',” that did not exist when the concept was defined in 1948, “with which they wish to justify all of their actions.”

The UNFPA recently celebrated the restoration of US support after seven years, during which they were denied funding by the Bush administration. UNFPA has cooperated with and even helped to subsidize China's One Child Policy, which persecutes and performs forced abortions on women who have more than one child.

In addition to its support for forced abortions, the UNFPA has helped to administer forced sterilizations in South America and is involved in the distribution and promotion of contraceptives and sterilization worldwide, with a focus on poorer countries.

Related Links:

UN Complicit in Forced Sterilizations
http://www.independent.org/newsroom/article.asp?id=1417

UNFPA: A Runaway Agency
http://www.pop.org/main.cfm?EID=427

Related LifeSiteNews Coverage:

United Nations Agency Involved in Forced Abortions in China Celebrates New Funding from Obama Administration
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/jan/09012913.html

UNPFA Loses $235 Million Due to Pro-Life Group's Efforts
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2008/jul/08070206.html

UNFPA Population Awards Honor Abortion Advocates
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2008/may/08052910.html

UNFPA Pitches Abortion as a Means to Reduce Child Poverty
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2005/jul/05070404.html

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Child Forced to Endure Visitations with Mother's Former Lesbian Partner Suffers "Emotional Trauma"

By Matthew Cullinan Hoffman

VIRGINIA, February 3, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Six year old Isabella Miller has been forced to endure new visits with her mother's former lesbian partner, which is reportedly causing "emotional and spiritual trauma" to the child.

Following a decision to enforce Vermont court orders by Virginia Judge William Sharp, Lisa Miller, 40, was required to turn her daughter over to Janet Jenkins, 44, despite testimony that Isabella has suffered serious harm from previous visits.

"If I don't obey the court order, the alternative is that Janet would have a Sherriff come pick her up and take her to Janet and me to jail - this is how Judge Sharp ruled on Jan 6th at the Virginia hearing," Miller wrote in a recent letter to her supporters.

As reported by LifeSiteNews earlier this month, ex-lesbian Lisa Miller had decided to refuse all further visits ordered by the Vermont courts for her child, Isabella, due to the traumatic effects she says Isabella has suffered as a result (see story at http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/jan/09010507.html). However, she now believes she has no alternative but to surrender her daughter to Jenkins.

According to Miller, Isabella has spoken of killing herself after visits with Jenkins, and has said that she has been required to bathe naked with her.  Miller's attorneys say they have other witnesses supporting allegations of trauma resulting from the child's visits, but the court has never scheduled a hearing on the issue.

Miller has also stated that Jenkins repeatedly abused her during their relationship, which led her to leave Jenkins and ultimately to reject lesbianism and return to her faith in Jesus Christ.

Liberty Counsel, an organization providing legal assistance to Miller, recently asked for the "continuing fervent" prayers of supporters, adding that "even a few days of visitation that was allowed under court order a few weeks ago caused emotional trauma to Isabella. Unimaginable damage could be done in five weeks if Isabella is forced away from the only mother she has ever known."

Following a new hearing in Vermont on January 28, Jenkins was awarded additional visits, including a seven-day visit in March.  Miller was told that if she fails to comply with the orders, she will lose custody of her daughter to Jenkins.  Miller may also lose custody if she loses an appeal that is currently being reviewed by the Vermont Supreme Court.

"I am asking you to join me in prayer that the next visit is stopped by whatever means God has in mind," wrote Miller to her supporters two days later. "If the visit is not halted and I have to take her ... then Isabella will be spiritually and emotionally harmed."

Miller conceived her daughter during a "civil union" with Jenkins in the state of Vermont.  Although the child was conceived by in-vitro fertilization and never adopted by Jenkins, Vermont Judge William Cohen has granted the status of "parent" to Jenkins, as well as visitation rights.

Although the state of Virginia has a constitutional amendment expressly prohibiting the recognition of same-sex unions of any kind created in other states, the Virginia Supreme Court has ruled that Cohen's custody orders will be enforced on Miller, who is a Virginia resident.

Miller told LifeSiteNews in a recent interview that she was convinced she was a lesbian by psychologists at a state institution following the breakup of her marriage during the 1990s.

To learn more about Lisa and Isabella’s story, go to: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=81022155363

Contact Information:

Judge William D. Cohen
RUTLAND SUPERIOR COURT
83 Center Street, Suite 3 • Rutland, VT 05701 •
(802) 775-4394
(Please be polite and respectful in your communications)

Previous LifeSiteNews Coverage:

Mother Told that Daughter Will Be Taken from Her by Force for Visits with Lesbian
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/jan/09011903.html

Mother Refuses All Further "Parental" Visits with Daughter by Former Lesbian Partner as Trial Looms
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/jan/09010507.html

Vermont Judge Reportedly Threatens to Transfer Custody of Child for Refusal of Unsupervised Visits with Lesbian "Mother"
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2008/dec/08121510.html

Exclusive Interview with Lisa Miller, Ex-Lesbian Fighting for Custody of Own Child against “Civil Union” Partner
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2008/oct/08102707.html

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Uganda's First Lady Vows to Continue Advocating For Sexual Abstinence

By Thaddeus M. Baklinski

KAMPALA, February 3, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) - At the opening of the Permanent Centre for Education in Luzira, Kampala recently, Uganda's First Lady, Mrs. Janet Museveni, said that though her message of sexual abstinence and faithfulness had made her "unpopular in certain quarters," she was determined to continue promoting the strategy that had proved so successful in combating HIV/AIDS in the country.

Last year Mrs. Museveni expressed regret that Ugandans are abandoning behavior change as a way to fight HIV, in favor of methods that only perpetuate the disease, with the resultant rise in HIV-AIDS rates.

"It is not too late to reverse the trend," she said at the August 1, 2008 premiere of the documentary "Miss HIV" in Kampala. "We can adopt our own indigenous solutions, which are less expensive and are 100% sure of preventing the spread of this deadly disease. I find it very baffling how we could throw away what worked, and embrace ideas from elsewhere. Then we watched as rates of infection soared again to claim lives."

“To be true to myself, as a mother and as a believer in Jesus Christ, I am prepared to continue advocating for these values,” Mrs. Museveni said in a speech read by the Minister of Education and Sports, Namirembe Bitamazire, at the opening of the education complex.

Mrs. Museveni lamented that there are "categories of adults who are exposed to risk (of HIV/AIDS) through their lifestyles," and may be beyond help, but that the youth of the country must continue to hear the message that chastity and fidelity in marriage are the only sure methods to stop the HIV/AIDS pandemic.

“For this category of people, change may be too late. But we cannot give up on our children and the young people by simply trusting the condom for protection,” Mrs. Museveni said.

Mrs. Museveni said it was important to train children to value and respect themselves and their colleagues, and to acquire the virtues of patience and self-control.

“Failure to abstain and to be faithful is a reflection of a bigger problem — the failure to love,” she said, adding that a lack of discipline and self-control not only manifests itself in promiscuity, but makes people likely to abuse alcohol and drugs.

“There is no condom against alcohol, substance abuse or corruption. There is no condom to protect us against life. The condom to protect us against the hazards of life is self-discipline, respect and value of God-given life,” Mrs. Museveni said.

See related LifeSiteNews.com articles:

Uganda First Lady Decries Increase in Risky Sexual Behavior
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2008/aug/08080107.html

Ugandan First Lady Recognized by Parliament for Promoting Chastity
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2008/mar/08031712.html

Abstinence Alone Protects Fully Against HIV, Ugandan First Lady Tells Youth
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2006/dec/06120601.html

Link to Association of Volunteers in International Service (AVSI):
http://www.avsi-usa.org/whoweare.cfm

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Flip-Flop: Pro-Life Group at University of Guelph Now Granted Full Club Status

 By Thaddeus M. Baklinski

GUELPH, Ontario, February 3, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) - The Central Student Association (CSA) of the University of Guelph has announced that Life Choice, the pro-life group at the university, has been granted full club status, which means that the club can apply for funding from the CSA and is eligible to book meeting spaces and hold club events.

The accreditation was revealed when the CSA executive gave out a list of campus clubs that would receive status for the coming semester and the campus pro-life club was on that list.

The Life Choice club was banned by the CSA last October in the wake of the club's Spring Life Fair, which CSA's Human Resources Commissioner Joel Harnest said was in violation of CSA policy.

"[Life Fair] wasn't pro-life, it was anti-choice. Many of the documents distributed were anti-choice. It was a clear violation to CSA policy and rights to students and women," Joel Harnest told the Ontarion, the university's newspaper, last fall. The CSA claimed that the Fair constituted an "unsafe space" for women due to the "misinformed and/or misleading" information promoted.

The Guelph Mercury reports that Harnest said the CSA reconsidered their earlier decision because "As we moved farther and farther from the Life Fair, we found the evidence was weaker because of the time gap," though he still maintained that the student union, as a fundamentally "pro-choice" group, had done nothing wrong.

"In the end, I don't have any regrets, any shame about how it unfolded. It was challenging. I questioned, sometimes, what I was doing. But in the end I know why I was doing it. I think one of the fundamental goals of a student organization is to protect student's rights. And a woman's right to choose is a right," Harnest said.

Life Choice president Cara Benninger said she was happy the decision to accredit the pro-life club was made, for, as she said when the club was banned, "We want our university to be a place where people feel free to express their viewpoints, so we're going to stand by our right to do so."

"A lot of us are relieved it's over," Benninger said. "We're pleased to have club status again without going through what we went through last semester."

Alan Borovoy of the Canadian Civil Liberties Association told the Guelph Mercury that he agreed with the CSA's decision that Life Choice had the right to express their beliefs in the context of the university.

"That's a most welcome development and we commend the student council for it," said Borovoy, the association's general counsel.

"They've done the right thing. The student council role should be to encourage vigorous discussion. We're very pleased."

To contact University of Guelph's CSA with your opinion:

Central Student Association
Room 274, University Centre
University of Guelph
Guelph, Ontario
N1G 2W1
phone: 519-824-4120 x. 56748
email:

See previous LifeSiteNews.com coverage:

University of Guelph Student Association Pulls the Plug on Pro-Life Student Group
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2008/oct/08102111.html

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British Nurse Suspended For Offering To Pray For Elderly Patient

By Thaddeus M. Baklinski

CANTERBURY, UK, February 3, 2009 (LifeSIteNews.com) - Caroline Petrie, a nurse in Weston-super-Mare, 142 miles west of London, and a committed Christian, has been suspended and faces disciplinary action because she offered to pray for an elderly patient during a home visit.

Mrs. Petrie, who works for the North Somerset Primary Care Trust providing in-home care for the elderly, asked the patient if she would like a prayer said for her after she had changed the dressings on the woman's legs.

"It was around lunchtime and I had spent about 20 to 25 minutes with her," the nurse said in a Telegraph report. "I had applied dressings to her legs and shortly before I left I said to her: 'Would you like me to pray for you?'"

The patient declined the offer but later contacted the Trust about the incident.

Mrs. Petrie said in a BBC interview: "The woman mentioned it to the sister who did her dressing the following day. She said that she wasn't offended but was concerned that someone else might be.

"I was spoken to by my manager. She said 'I've got a letter in one hand and an incident form in the other. You won't be able to work until we've investigated this incident'."

"I simply couldn't believe that I have been suspended over this," she told the Telegraph. "I knew I hadn't done anything wrong. All I am trying to do is help my patients, many of whom want me to pray for them."

A statement by the North Somerset Primary Care Trust (http://www.northsomerset.nhs.uk/default.asp) said, "Caroline Petrie has been suspended pending an investigation into the matter.

"She is a bank nurse and has been told we will not be using her in this capacity until the outcome of our investigation is known.

"We are keenly aware of religious sensitivities and the importance of everyone’s individual spiritual belief – patients as well as staff," however, "The Nursing and Midwifery Council Code of Conduct makes it clear that nurses “must not use [their] professional status to promote causes that are not related to health.”

To express your concern or opinion please contact:

North Somerset Primary Care Trust
Waverley House
Old Church Road
Clevedon
North Somerset
BS21 6NN  UK
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Obama Prepares to Win over Congress to Homosexuals in Military

By Kathleen Gilbert

WASHINGTON, D.C., February 3, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Though President Obama has promised to repeal the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy barring open homosexuals from the military, administration officials have told the Pentagon and homosexualist groups that the president will first take time to convince more congressmen that the law should be overturned.

Those involved in the discussions have said Obama will not ask Washington legislators to lift the ban until he can present them with a "comprehensive assessment" on the impact of openly homosexual servicemen.

While some have questioned Obama's dedication to the homosexual agenda by not acting immediately, the president has frequently made clear his ultimate intention to overturn the ban.

Five days before the inauguration, Obama's press secretary Robert Gibbs left no room for uncertainty on the president's goal. ”You don’t hear politicians give a one-word answer much, But it’s ’Yes,’” said Gibbs, when asked whether Obama would repeal the ban.

Many see Obama’s strategizing as an attempt to dodge the dead end President Clinton met when he attempted to lift the ban in 1993, as congressmen and military officials alike severely condemned the move.  Congress subsequently passed a law highlighting the legislative branch's power to regulate the military, and reaffirming the traditional ban on homosexual activity in the military. 

"The Clinton experience makes a lot of folks [in the administration] apprehensive," said Aubrey Sarvis, executive director of the Servicemembers Legal Defense Fund.

The Department of Defense has long defended the ban, arguing that homosexuality is incompatible with the unavoidably intimate circumstances of military service. While it is still technically illegal for homosexuals to serve in the military, the Clinton-era "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy prohibits military officials from determining a soldier's sexual orientation.

Those who criticize the homosexual ban decry the fact that thousands of military personnel have been discharged for homosexuality since the 1993 law was instituted. 

But Charles Moskos, professor emeritus of military sociology at Northwestern University and one of the minds behind the "don't ask, don't tell" plan, said in a February 2005 Washington Post article that the vast majority of such dismissals result when soldiers volunteer their sexual orientation to their superiors. 

Declaring one's homosexuality is still "the easiest way to get out with an honorable discharge," noted Moskos.

See related LifeSiteNews.com article:

Homosexuality a Psychological Disorder: Pentagon Document
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2006/jun/06062008.html

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Those Who Say Abortion Less Important than Economics "Terribly Mistaken": Archbishop Naumann

By Kathleen Gilbert

WASHINGTON, D.C., February 3, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) - On the eve of the March for Life last month, Archbishop Joseph Naumann of Kansas City delivered a hard-hitting homily against those who place pro-life concerns below economic issues, and called for a return to chastity as the antidote for the twin evils of contraception and abortion. (See the complete homily here: http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/feb/09020310.html)

The archbishop, who addressed an overflow congregation in Trinity College's Notre Dame Chapel from the main vigil mass at the National Shrine, began by warning against attempts to downplay the pro-life movement.  He criticized those who want the abortion issue to "just go away," but propose as a solution that pro-lifers "get over it and just accept the state-sanctioned killing of unborn children in our nation."  

Others, he said, argue that pro-life concerns are less urgent than the economic crisis and the war on terror - but such people "are terribly mistaken.”

"In fact, how we resolve abortion and other fundamental moral issues will largely determine the character of our nation and our ability to contend successfully with external and internal threats to our nation," said the archbishop.  "How we settle the abortion issue will determine if we choose to be a nation of self-indulgence, willing to pay any price, even the deaths of our own children, for our insatiable pursuit for pleasure or a nation who will sacrifice heroically to protect and provide for the weakest and most vulnerable."

He also decried the "well orchestrated campaign, by some prominent Catholics, to encourage Americans to accept abortion as a 'settled' legal issue."

"As we celebrate the inauguration of our first President of African-American descent, I say: Thank God that the abolitionists, Abraham Lincoln, Martin Luther King and other heroes of the Civil Rights Movement did not acquiesce to the acceptance of injustices that seemed so entrenched in law and society," said Naumann.

Naumann acknowledged that, given the enormous sway of pro-abortion advocates, "If we trusted only in our own human power and ingenuity, we would despair."  But rather than succumb to compromise, Naumann said pro-lifers should compare their struggle to the Old Testament story of Gideon's army, which God diminished to remind the Israelites of their dependence on divine aid.

"If we feel weak against the power of abortion advocates, if we feel not well connected with those in power, if we feel despised and looked down upon then we should rejoice because we are perfect for God’s army," he said.  "The weaker, the more incompetent, the more ill-equipped we seem in the world’s estimation, the better suited we are to make it clear that it is God that is working through us."

Naumann also reflected on Saint Agnes, whose feast it was that evening, as an apt patron for the pro-life movement because of her remarkable youth, chastity, and courage. 

The renewal of chastity, he said, is key to the pro-life movement, as abortion is a corollary of the contraceptive culture.  "The sexual revolution’s attempt to redefine the meaning of sexual intimacy – as being exclusively the pursuit of pleasure and the failure of contraceptives to always prevent the conception of new life – made abortion a necessary back-up for failed contraception," said Naumann.

"We will never be able to completely correct abortion and its surrounding issues without re-establishing the true meaning of sexual intimacy: namely that it is only authentic when the complete physical gift of oneself to another corresponds to the complete and permanent commitment to the welfare of the other as expressed in the marital vows," said Naumann.

"We come to rescue the soul of our nation – to challenge it ... to be true to its own principles of protecting the most fundamental right, a right that no state has the authority to deny and a right that every state has an obligation to protect," he concluded. 

(See the complete homily here: http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/feb/09020310.html)

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Cabrini College to Honor Pro-Abortion Catholic, Critic of Pope Benedict XVI

PHILADELPHIA, PA, February 3, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) – On Thursday, February 5, 2009, Cabrini College, a Philadelphia-area Catholic institution, plans to bestow its annual public affairs award upon pro-abortion media personality Cokie Roberts.

Cabrini’s Ivy Young Willis Award recognizes women “who have made outstanding contributions in the field of public affairs.”  Founded by the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in 1957, Cabrini College strives to integrate “intellectual competency” and “moral and social responsibility.”

Cokie Roberts, a Roman Catholic, is a political commentator for ABC News and a senior news analyst for National Public Radio.  In her syndicated column with husband Steve Roberts, she has espoused abortion rights and ridiculed pro-lifers as “extremists.”  The pair characterized the federal ban on partial-birth abortion as “off the track” and “cynical game-playing” by pro-life activists.  In an April 2007 segment for ABC News, Roberts said that she found the Supreme Court decision upholding this ban on partial-birth abortion “offensive as a woman.”

Roberts has also publicly attacked Pope Benedict XVI as “really lacking in the theological virtue of charity,” “an extremely controversial choice” and “the most conservative voice of Catholicism.”  Again, in a syndicated column with her husband, she argued that the authority of the Catholic bishops has been significantly weakened, in part because of the teaching on homosexuality and contraception.  “It’s as if they are asking to be ignored,” she wrote.

“Catholic families today are yearning for colleges that embrace morality in an age of skepticism, and insist upon high academic standards amid the decline of American education,” said Patrick Reilly, President of The Cardinal Newman Society (CNS), in response to the news of the award.  “There is no legitimate moral or academic purpose to publicly honoring an individual who advances her career by ridiculing the pro-life movement and slinging mud at the spiritual leader of her own Church.”

CNS argues that the honor violates a clear directive of the American Catholic bishops in 2004: “The Catholic community and Catholic institutions should not honor those who act in defiance of our fundamental moral principles.  They should not be given awards, honors or platforms which would suggest support for their actions.”

The Cardinal Newman Society faxed a letter to Dr. Marie Angelella George, President of Cabrini College, last Friday, January 30, urging her to rescind the award offer to Roberts.  As of today there has been no response.

Source: http://www.cardinalnewmansociety.org

To contact the college:

Dr Marie George
President
610 King of Prussia Rd.
Radnor, PA
19087-3698
Phone: (610) 902-8200
E-mail:

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Boston Cardinal O’Malley’s Message to President Obama: “Life is the Most Important Value We Have to Defend”

By John-Henry Westen

WASHINGTON, DC, February 3, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Boston Cardinal Sean O’Malley says that if he could only tell President Obama one thing, it would be that “life is the most important value we have to defend.” The Boston church leader made that remark to LifeSiteNews.com as he was leaving the vigil Mass for the March for Life in Washington DC two weeks ago.

But following Obama’s opening of US funding to groups performing and promoting abortion internationally, the Cardinal was even more explicit.  Writing on his blog Saturday, the Archbishop said: “Also this week, as we feared, the President has chosen to reverse the Mexico City policy which prohibited U.S. government money from being used in programs which provide or promote abortions overseas. We can only speculate on what the implications of that decision are going to be.”

“When we see the numbers of abortions being performed in the developing world — many of which are directed at girls in the womb — it is very disturbing to think that our country is going to be promoting this kind of assault on human life and dignity throughout the world,” he added. “Abortion is a great evil and anytime restrictions to abortion are lifted it is a tragedy.”

Reflecting on the March for Life itself the Cardinal, who walked along the route with the hundreds of thousands of pro-lifers, said, “The March for Life was a great success. The numbers of people who participated — particularly the number of young people — and the enthusiasm of the people for the cause was very encouraging. However, it is disturbing to see that the secular press, for the most part, chose to ignore a gathering of this proportion.”

Cardinal O’Malley’s blog is online here:
http://www.cardinalseansblog.org/

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Lesbian Couple Who Forced Homosexual "Marriage" On Massachusetts Have Filed For Divorce

By Thaddeus M. Baklinski

BOSTON, February 3, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Julie and Hillary Goodridge, the lesbian couple who led the fight for same-sex “marriage” in Massachusetts in 2003, filed for divorce in Suffolk Probate and Family Court last Thursday, the Boston Herald reported yesterday.

The two lesbians, who share custody of their 12-year-old daughter Annie, "married" on May 17, 2004, the first day same-sex “marriages” became legal under a Massachusetts court ruling.

It was reported that the couple broke up two years after their ground-breaking "wedding."

Kris Mineau, president of the Massachusetts Family Institute, a pro-family public policy organization founded on Judeo-Christian values, commented on the development: “Divorce is a very painful issue, but I also can’t help but reflect on the pain this couple has caused the commonwealth (of Massachusetts) and the nation to redefine marriage. And now they’re getting divorced? It doesn’t make a lot of sense,” Mineau said.

“Obviously, they don’t hold the institution in very high esteem.”

See previous LifeSiteNews.com coverage:

Massachusetts Court Orders State to Allow Homosexual 'Marriage'
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2003/nov/03111801.html

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