AUL webcast tonight

From Americans United for Life:

Dear [redacted],

I am very pleased to announce that Dr. James Dobson has announced he will join me and other pro-life leaders at StopTheAbortionMandate.com this Thursday, July 23, at 9 p.m. Eastern for a critical webcast detailing the efforts to make taxpayer-funded abortions a part of government-run health care.

You may know Dr. Dobson as founder and chairman emeritus of Focus on the Family, a nonprofit that produces his internationally syndicated radio programs. His commentaries are heard by more than 220 million people daily.

Dr. Dobson is joining me and other pro-life leaders at the StopTheAbortionMandate.com webcast because he shares AUL’s alarm as abortion industry lobbyists and Washington bureaucrats undertake a massive effort to mandate taxpayer-funded abortions as part of their proposed trillion-dollar healthcare takeover.

With this power grab, the abortion industry and its political allies intend to:

Force taxpayers to fund a huge abortion-industry bailout -- something the majority of Americans oppose, and certainly cannot afford in these tough economic times

Mandate that virtually every American be forced into a health plan that includes abortion coverage

Require honorable medical providers to violate their consciences and perform abortions -- or risk losing their jobs

Impose one of the cornerstones of the "Freedom of Choice Act" (FOCA) by stealth

The New York Times just ran a prominent story confirming that an "administration official refused Sunday to rule out the possibility that federal tax money might be used to pay for abortions under proposed health care legislation."

This abortion mandate must be stopped.

Learn what's at stake -- and discover how YOU can help to stop the abortion mandate by joining the one-time-only live webcast event this Thursday, July 23, at 9 p.m. Eastern (6 p.m. Pacific, 7 p.m. Mountain, 8 p.m. Central.)

To register for the webcast, go to: StopTheAbortionMandate.com
The live event will be approximately 70 minutes long. There's no charge to participate. If you have access to the Internet -- even with a dial-up connection -- you can listen in on the live webcast audio and submit questions.

During this nationwide event, you will discover:

The shocking facts about the sweeping legislation that the political power brokers are trying to ram through before Congress goes on summer recess

The devastating implications of the proposed mandates -- facts the abortion industry doesn't want Americans to hear

Why respected leaders, national organizations, and pro-life people are joining together in record numbers to challenge this power grab

The exact action steps YOU can take to make a difference at this crucial moment

In addition to Dr. Dobson and myself, other nationally known leaders will participate in the StopTheAbortionMandate.com webcast, including:

David Bereit (moderator), 40 Days for Life

Tony Perkins, Family Research Council

Fr. Frank Pavone, Priests for Life

Melinda Delahoyde, Concerned Women for America

Congressman Chris Smith, U.S. House of Representatives

Kristan Hawkins, Students for Life of America

Day Gardner, Southern Baptist Convention Ethics and Religious Liberties Commission

Congressman Joe Pitts, U.S. House of Representatives

The announcement of this important webcast is being sent out to hundreds of thousands of pro-lifers across America, and there is limited space available for the live event, so I encourage you to register now. Reserve your place at StopTheAbortionMandate.com.

Charmaine Yoest, Ph.D.
President & CEO
Americans United for Life

P.S. -- Please register for the webinar and then spread the word to every pro-lifer you know across America so they can also participate in this urgent discussion! Forward this e-mail and encourage them to visit StopTheAbortionMandate.com.

"Imagine the Potential" #3

To commemorate the 40th anniversary of the Apollo 11 mission to the moon, CatholicVote.org has launched the third as in its "Imagine the Potential" series.



Let's see how much airplay this one gets. Recall the first in the series was the one rejected for airing during the Super Bowl.

Early childhood memories

The Washington Times reports that Dutch researchers have discovered evidence that babies in the womb have memories.

They weigh less than 3 pounds, usually, and are perhaps 15 inches long. But they can remember.

The unborn have memories, according to medical researchers who used sound and vibration stimulation, combined with sonography, to reveal that the human fetus displays short-term memory from at least 30 weeks gestation - or about two months before they are born...

Scientists from the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Maastricht University Medical Centre and the University Medical Centre St. Radboud, both in the Netherlands, based their findings on a study of 100 healthy pregnant women and their fetuses with the help of some gentle but precise sensory stimulation...

The baby's responses - primarily eye, mouth and body movements - were closely monitored over the weeks with ultrasound imaging to gauge "fetal learning" patterns. The researchers found that the babies acclimated themselves to the sounds and vibrations to the point that they no longer bothered to respond - a process known as "habituation."

"The stimulus is then accepted as 'safe' " by the babies, the study said.

The team also found that the tiny test subjects actually improved these skills as they grew older, with those who were 34- or 36-weeks old clearly showing that they had become familiar with the hum outside the womb.

"The fetus 'remembers' the stimulus and the number of stimuli needed for the fetus to habituate is then much smaller," the study said.

"It seems like every day we find out marvelous new things about the development of unborn children. We hope that this latest information helps people realize more clearly that the unborn are members of the human family with amazing capabilities and capacities like these built in from the moment of conception," said Randall K. O'Bannon, director of education and research for the National Right to Life Educational Trust Fund.

A call to NARAL Pro-Choice America for comment on the implications of the research were not returned...

Yes, I'm sure NARAL will have no comment about this, as will ABC, NBC, CBS, CNN, MSNBC, the NY Times, the Strib, etc. Move along, people, nothing to see here!

The pro-abortion side can pretend to deny evidence all they want. Eventually, it will be impossible to ignore any longer the ever-growing evidence that human life begins a whole lot sooner than they say it does.

Abortions down in Minnesota

I received the following from MCCL last week.

Dear Pro-Life Friend,
We received good news today!

This morning, the Minnesota Department of Health released its annual Abortion Report for 2008, and reported abortions in Minnesota dropped more than six percent. The report shows that there were 12,948 abortions reported in 2008, compared to 13,843 the previous year. The 2008 total is the lowest number on record since 1975. Find more information about the Abortion Report and read our in-depth analysis on MCCL’s Web site.

Or check out our YouTube video message.

The decline in abortions in 2008 reflects the success of our Positive Alternatives program, which helped more than 12,000 women in its first two years. Positive Alternatives is a government-funded grant program for pregnancy care centers that offer life-affirming support and services to pregnant women.

The program’s simple, effective approach is to provide real help to women considering abortion, so that they know they have life-affirming options. We want every pregnant woman to know that we will help them every step of the way, and that no one should ever force them to have an abortion.

Even though the number of abortions last year was the lowest in 33 years, Planned Parenthood managed to increase its abortions to a record 3,948. Planned Parenthood performed nearly 1,200 more abortions than the next largest provider.

Another problem area the report points out is that taxpayer funded abortions rose from 28.6% to 29.8% of all abortions performed. This is the highest percentage since the Minnesota Supreme Court’s 1995 Doe vs. Gomez decision requiring taxpayer funding of elective abortions.

As you can see, there is still much work to be done! I know you will agree that even one abortion is too many, and there were 12,948 last year in Minnesota alone. We have to do more, but we cannot do it without you.

With your help, we can educate even more Minnesotans across the state about the beauty and sanctity of the innocent unborn child in the womb. Your donation will literally save lives!

Sincerely,
Leo F. LaLonde
President

P.S. Time is critical! Your generous donation will continue to fund our life-saving programs around the state. I hope to hear from you soon.

MCCL and its Positive Alternatives program have done wonderful work to educate Minnesotans about the value of unborn human life. Please consider helping them with a donation today.

Do we need PETB?

We all got a good chuckle when PETA harrumphed at President Obama's swatting of a fly during a televised interview. The incident, however, prompted a more serious question of PETA. Would they give the same deference to an unborn child that they give to a fly?

Not necessarily.

In regards to abortion, PETA’s official statement reads:

PETA does not have a position on the abortion issue, because our focus as an organization is the alleviation of the suffering inflicted on nonhuman animals. There are people on both sides of the abortion issue in the animal rights movement, just as there are people on both sides of animal rights issues in the pro-life movement. And just as the pro-life movement has no official position on animal rights, neither does the animal rights movement have an official position on abortion.

Now let me understand this clearly. To PETA the life of a fly deserves to be respected and must be treated with dignity, but the life of an unborn child subject to abortion is apparently of no concern. One can be a member of PETA and support the killing of the unborn as long as that person supports the right to life of a fly.

Even if one believes that humans are no more than a higher evolved form of animal life they must surely oppose the killing of unborn children if they oppose the killing of flies. But this logic escapes PETA. Apparently, it is politically correct to PETA for people to have compassion for animals (even flies), but it is not politically correct to stand against the killing of unborn children...

I gather PETB, People for the Ethical Treatment of Babies, must be a separate organization.

A party?!

The Corner blog today pointed to an AlterNet story, "My First Abortion Party."

And yes, it's as bad as it sounds. I don't know what disturbs me the most. The gruesome setting,...

Ali and I arrived around 11, only half aware of the irony of being "late" to an abortion party. Walking in, we were bludgeoned with a blast of hot air, followed by the tangy stink of dance floor revelry. Someone had taken a red bed sheet and hung it below a light fixture to resemble a giant womb. Every so often, a dancer’s head or arm or dreadlock would brush against one of its smooth folds, creating a rippling effect. "Let’s Go Crazy" by Prince was playing...

the openly hostile environment toward the father of the child,...

I saw Maggie’s boyfriend, sitting near the kitchen, wearing rainbow suspenders and looking uncomfortably alone. As it turns out, he had been the object of a lot of vitriol from Maggie’s friends -- women who thought that he should not have had anything to do with the abortion. Both he and Maggie had been saddened about this reaction because they had made the decision together. When we talked, his sentences spilled out in quick little jumbles, like scattered puzzle pieces. His eyes stayed focused on a point behind me. He looked as if he’d like to be somewhere else.

Maggie, too, looked less than excited. A few days beforehand, one of her friends had asked her to have the abortion in Ohio. When Maggie insisted on bringing her boyfriend along, the friend told her not to bother coming. Maggie was being shown a great deal of respect, certainly. But she told me she couldn’t help but feel as though her pregnancy had been "hijacked" by women who felt like her inclusion of a man in the decision was weak or wrong...

or the complete absence of any recognition whatsoever, either by the "partygoers" or by the author in his narration, that what was being celebrated was the killing of an innocent human life.

Maggie just needed some money to solve a little problem -- no big deal, right?

More good poll news

Back in May, there were a series of national polls that showed for the first time in many years, a majority of Americans now consider themselves to be pro-Life.

Well, the good news continues, this time with an Ohio poll:

Columbus, OH (LifeNews.com) -- A new poll in Ohio shows a majority of the state's residents oppose abortion and say that abortion causes problems for women. Sponsored by Ohio Right to Life, the poll is a part of the new Ohio Cultural Index the group will maintain to show how Ohio residents view pro-life and governmental issues.

Wenzel Strategies conducted the statewide survey June 23-26, 2009 with 824 registered voters and it has a 3.4 percent margin of error.

A total of 60 percent of Ohio voters said they were opposed to abortion with 47.9 percent saying they strongly opposed abortion. Just 26.7 percent of those polled said they favor legal abortions.

The results were strong across the board regardless of party, location or socioeconomic status....

This is a particularly important result, because Ohio is often a key swing state in Presidential elections. In 2008, the Life issue took a back seat to the sagging economy in importance to voters, but these opinion trends may bode well for a hearty debate during the 2012 electoral cycle.