file: /pub/resources/text/ProLife.News/1994: PLN-0401.TXT ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Life Communications - Volume 4, No. 1 January, 1994 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- This newsletter is intended to provide articles and news information to those interested in Pro-Life issues. All submissions should be sent to the editor, Steve or the assistant editor Sean ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1) FACE Flops [An excerpt from George Will's column in the December 9 _Boston Globe_ nicely summarizes the situation.] Congress' attempt to federalize the subject of abortion protests has resulted only in comic relief. The House and Senate drafted similar bills to impose severe penalties on antiabortion protesters, and only on them, not merely for acts of criminal violence but even for passively obstructing access to a clinic or for "interfering with" or "intimidating" anyone - however those terms might be construed. If right-to-lifers were to continue using some tactics made familiar by civil rights and antiwar protesters, they would be subject to a year in jail and $100,000 fines for a first offense. For a second, three years, $250,000. No other protest group - labor, environmental, feminist, animal rights -- would face similar penalties for similar acts. But a funny thing happened to the clinic access legislation on the way to an end-of-session White House signing ceremony. A few weeks ago, on a Tuesday, Republican Sen. Orrin Hatch of Utah inserted a small amendment extending to places of worship the same protections the bill extended to places of abortion. House supporters of the access bill had hoped to accept the Senate bill, thereby avoiding a time-consuming conference to iron out differences. But on Wednesday the gay rights lobby weighed in. It opposed Hatch's amendment, which would extend severe punishment to protests of the sort militant homosexuals direct against churches. So on Thursday the House passed a clinic access bill without a Hatch-type amendment, with the leadership using the House's restrictive rules to prevent a vote on such a provision. However, the leaders knew that if they tried to appoint conferees, a House majority would vote to instruct them to accept the Hatch amendment. Late Friday evening Ted Kennedy tried to bring up the House bill in the Senate. But he needed the unanimous consent of the Senate to do so, and he could not get it. Hence both bills died. That is all that prevented Congress from making, for the first time in 143 years, peaceful civil disobedience on behalf of a single cause a federal felony. It has not done that since 1850: the Fugitive Slave Law. [ George Will is a noted, conservative, Episcopalian columnist (and listed as an endorser of "The New Oxford Review" in its ads). As a syndicated columnist, he can be found in many newspapers around the country.] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2) Across the Pond: Scotland - Babies from the Unborn Dead Dr. Roger Gosden of Edinburgh University has transplanted ovaries from mouse fetuses into adult mouses; the transplanted ovaries then functioned correctly. Consequently, Dr. Gosden suggests using this technique to treat infertile women: by harvesting ovaries from aborted human fetuses. This suggestion has prompted a small uproar. British Health Secretary Virginia Bottomsley asserts that the British national health program will not pay for such work. In the US, no regulations prevent such experiments from taking place. Scientists from all over the US have weighed in. Boston University's George Annas does not object to using fetal tissue to treat diseases, but finds this genetic work "so grotesque as to be unbelievable...should we be creating children whose mother is a dead fetus?" Dr. Arthur Caplan of the University of Minnesota is concerned for children who "grow up knowing you were the product of a situation in which your mother was aborted... It seems to me that no one should be able to create a child from your eggs or your sperm without your consent." He feels this new technique "really does treat reproduction as a commodity." Dr. Robert Levine of Yale notes that using vulnerable populations for research is considered unethical. On the other side, Dr. David Meldrum (of the Center for for Advanced Reproduction Care) and Dr. Mark V. Sauer (USC) express concern about squelching new techniques before considering their possible benefits. Dr. John Fletcher of the University of Virginia sees a pro-choice issue: "Who hands out the privilege of parenthood? ...I prefer a more morally diverse approach to a statist approach, where the state decides everything." [ Based on several media reports, including "Fetal Ovary Transplant is Envisioned," in the 6 January 1994 _New York Times_ (national edition). Many thanks to reader Tom McGinnis.] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3a) On the International Front *Madrid, Spain*: Newspapers in December reported that the government is drafting a new law permitting abortion on demand in the first trimester... *Warsaw, Poland*: The Congress of Physicians revised their medical oath. The old version required doctors to pledge to serve life and health from the point of conception; the new version omits the last part... *Toronto, Canada*: The _Toronto Sun_ reports that the government of Ontario hired a private investigator to spy on a pro-life group... *Michalovce, Slovak Republic*: An international congress on Pro-Life issues took place on October 16-17, and included Dr. and Mrs. Jack Wilke. Slovak and Czech translations of their book "Abortion - Questions and Answers" were lanunched. *The Netherlands*: The TV Show "A Matter of Life and Death" apparently lets the studio audience vote on which of two real-life patients should receive life-saving medical treatment...The show is funded partly by the Ministry of Health, and is meant to stimulate debate on ways to control health spending. Fons Dekker of the Dutch Patient's Federation calls the show "improper and almost immoral." -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- 3b) On the National Front (US) *Pennsylvania*: Remember the Pennsylvania Abortion Follies? Sanity prevails: On Friday, January 14, the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals noted that the U.S. Supreme Court had already decided the issue, and lifted the last injunction against Pennsylvania's abortion law from (finally) taking effect. (The PA legislature passed laws in 1988 and 1989 requiring a 24 hour waiting period, and parental or court permission for minors; pro-abortion forces challenged the law; the U.S. Supreme Court upheld most of it in the 1992 "Planned Parenthood vs. Casey" decision; pro-abortion forces obtained an injunction preventing the law from taking effect -- by claiming it violated the "undue burden" test from PP vs. Casey, the same decision which upheld the law!) *Ohio*: The state now has an informed consent-plus-24 hour wait law. At the end of December, the Ohio Supreme Court refused to hear a challenge to this law; the ACLU is appealing... *Washington, DC* (1): The National Abortion Rights Action League announced it is changing its name to the National Abortion and Reproduction Rights Action League, to focus on pre-natal care [anyone else notice this irony?] and sexuality education. *Washington, DC* (2): The Clinton administration reportedly plans to _require_ states to pay for abortions for pregnancies resulting from rape or incest...and apparently the abortionist decides who qualifies. *Vermont*: Ron Comeau, who attempted suicide this past June while being held by the Bennington Police (he was found hanging in his cell) was taken to a hospital in a coma. Two months later (August) the hospital, with a court's permission, removed his respirator. Nevertheless, Comeau's condition improved. For more information, contact Marie Dietz of the Center for Pro-Life Studies at (802) 988-4041. *Wisconsin*: Pro-Abortion Governor Thompson's "health care plan" includes tax dollars to pay for abortions. Pro-Life Wisconsin, who opposes the plan, has issued an action plan for pro-life people in the state. For more information, contact Mary Matuska at (608) 873-1902. *Arizona*: Reversing course and defying a new federal regulation, state officials in Tucson now say they will not fund abortions for victims of incest and rape. State representatives say that Arizona will pay only for abortions necessary to save the life of the mother -- the only state-funded abortions allowed under Arizona law. This potential battle follows on the heels of recent federal legislation, wherein the Clinton Administration sought to fund abortions through Medicaid; the bill was amended (Hyde Amendment) to cover payment only for abortions in the cases of rape, incest or where the life of the mother is threatened. [ Sources include UPI reports from December and early January, as well as the _Fall '93 IRLF Newsletter_, Judie Brown's _Communique_ from 30 Dec. 93, and the 7 Jan 94 _Arizona Daily Star_ and _Pittsburgh Catholic_.] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4) Announcements: Sydney, Australia: 4th World Congress for Life will take place April 8-9, 1994. For more information contact the Australian Federation of Right to Life Associations, G.P.O. Box 3612, Sydney, N.S.W. 2001 AUSTRALIA. Tel:(61)(2) 299 8350 [ From the Fall '93 IRLF Newsletter, published four times a year. 30 Swiss Francs or $20 US per year, contact: IRLF, 44 Via Nicolo V, Rome 00165 ITALY. ] -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- Washington DC: Don't forget the March for Life in DC, on the 21st of January, and the ACL (American Collegians for Life) Convention January 21-23. -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- Western PA and Southern Midwest: Pitt Students for Life will be sponsoring a three-day regional Pro-Life rally, " A C.A.L.L. to Action" February 25-27. Speakers will include the Rev. Patrick Mahoney, and members of the CALL Team, as well as opportunities for activism (leafleting, picketing, etc.) as well as worship. Costs are minimal (if any). To register, or for more information call Pitt Students for Life at (412) 683-9129 or the CALL Network at (608) 256-CALL, or contact Jeff at . -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- Wisconsin and the Northern Midwest: The Wisconsin Collegians for Life will be meeting at St. Norbert's College February 25-27 in De Pere, Wisconsin (just south of Green Bay). The entire conference is open to the whole community, not just college students. The speakers will include Nellie Gray, Bishop Austin Vaughn, and a representative of Human Life International. The final costs are expected to range from $25 to $30. Free dorm-style housing will be available at no additional cost to those who register for the whole conference. Discounts are available for UW-Madison students, as well as for students who get a friend (who has not been involved in student pro-life organizations) to come. For more information, contact Becky Lindstedt at 608-255-2041, or email Allan Cargille at . -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- Massachusetts and the Northeast: The Mass. delegation to the March for Life in Wash. will meet at 9:30am, Friday, Jan 21, in room 50 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building. We will be addressed by a national pro-life leader and then lobby our legislators. After the speeches at the elipse, the Mass. delegation will meet on the corner of E and 15th streets to March to the Supreme Court. For more informnation, call Mass. Citizens for Life at (617) 242-4199. The College Coalition will sponsor a bus to the March for Life. Cost is $35.00. We will stop in Boston, Worcester, Springfield, and other locations as riders dictate. It's a red eye, leaving Thursday night and returning Saturday morning. Friday night we will spend some time at the American Collegians for Life convention, probably hearing Cardinal O'Connor's opening address. (For more information on any of these, call the Massachussetts Citizens for Life at (617) 242-4199.) Also coming up: the Ivy League Coalition for Life Convention is at Columbia on March 4th and 5th. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 5) Readers Responses The Brady Bill Analogy (v3n25): Uhhh, I'm not sure about the Brady Bill analogy. The right to bear arms, as provided for in the constitution, is a right upheld in light of the fact that it's a good idea to have a militia. I don't think that buying a pistol to carry around in your pocket has anything to do with militias! So, in context, it's not at all clear that the constitution is violated or even challenged by the Brady Bill.... If what I've heard (and what my own reading of the Const suggests) is true, viz., that the point of the right to bear arms is to permit militias, then the fact that we don't have militias any more only means that the right to bear arms that the constitution upholds has faded into irrelevancy. Of course this wouldn't mean that one _doesn't_ have such a right, only that it isn't guaranteed in the Const. Anyway, I've heard this militia thing enough to think that it's a red herring you'd do well to avoid. If you mention the right to bear arms in connection with abortion, you're liable to get side-tracked and not also get yourself painted as one of those crazy right-wingers who has a gun rack (of course that's unfair, but alas that never matters!). - Michael Gorman ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 6) Reader Questions: Looking for MA Rescuer Information Does anyone know what happened to Fr.Tom Carleton who was in Billerica (Mass) House of Correction for his pro-life activities? I've been writing him for a while and his Christmas card came back. Even if he's out, I'd like to send the card to him. Also, What happened to the older (70-80 year old) Jesuit priest who was also in jail in MA? Thanks, Daniel Lieuwen Good News! Fr. Carleton has been paroled. A few days after Christmas the Parole Board released him early. Under normal rules he would have had to serve more time to be eligible for parole but they gave him special consideration. Fr. Carleton has said he will blockade again if God gives him the strength. He did not say whether he would during the next 1 1/2 years when he is on pa role. If he had said so he would not have been paroled. I talked to Father today and he said I could pass on his home address: 139 Medford St., Arlington MA 02174 - Bruce Hall ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Quote of the Month: "Suppose, in the encounter between doctor and child [in an abortion], the child won half of the time, and killed the doctor in self-defense - something he would have every right to do. Very few doctors would perform abortions. They perform them now only because of their absolute power over a small, fragile, helpless victim." - Stephen D. Schwarz, "The Moral Question of Abortion" (Chicago: Loyola University Press, 1990) +-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+ | Credits: | | 1 - Many thanks to readers John Covert and Eric Ewanco. | |QOM- As quoted in "Politically Correct Death Answering Agruments For Abortion| | Rights" by Francis J. Beckwith. Many thanks to reader Steven Klepzig. | +-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+ Anyone desiring information on specific prolife groups, literature, tapes, or help with problems is encouraged to contact the editor.