file: /pub/resources/text/ProLife.News/1993: PLN-0320.TXT
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Life Communications - Volume 3, No. 20 September, 1993
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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 <frezza@ee.pitt.edu> or the assistant editor Sean <sean.smith@cs.cmu.edu>
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1) Fetal Surgery in California
On 9 September, doctors at the UC San Francisco Medical Center temporarily
removed the daughter of Susan Ferrans from her womb for corrective surgery.
The yet-unborn girl had a congenital diaphragmatic hernia -- a condition where
a hole in the diaphragm fails to close and the stomach, intestines and other
organs squeeze into the chest cavity. As a result, the lungs fail to develop
and the baby is born usually unable to breath. The attending physician
commented that this defect occurs typically once in about every 2,000 births,
and that these children have a 1-in-4 chance of surviving without surgery.
After birth, these children need major surgery and usually encounter problems
with lung development for the rest of their life.
The child's father, John Dirian, commented on seeing her on an ultrasound
monitor: "We're terrified, but in our minds there was no choice to be made
where the operation was concerned. ... We knew we had to do everything possible
to have her here with us."
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2) Home Abortions in The Media
The June, 1993 issue of _Self_ contains the article "At home abortion," by Rana
Dogar, discussing the controversy over home abortions--"menstrual extraction."
According to the article, the procedure is being done in small "self-help"
groups. Dogar points out the concern that this procedure causes in the minds of
medically trained pro-abortionists, such as David Grimes, MD of the Univ. of
California, San Francisco, and Michael Policar MD, vice president for medical
affairs at Planned Parenthood Federation of America.
The feminist movement has been hesitant to adopt the technique. At the 1971
NOW conference in Santa Monica, CA, Carol Downer, an early proponent of the
techniqu e, was refused convention space, so she held demonstrations in her
hotel room and later went on a 23-city tour that raised awareness of the
procedure.
Although interest in home abortions then declined following _Roe v.
Wade_, the article said that following George Bush's election in 1988, interest
skyrocketed, with 1,000 copies of a video showing how to do the procedure being
sold by Downer. She and Rebecca Chalker have recently written _A Woman's Book
of Choices_, which "contains a detailed description of the
procedure, including strict safety guidelines." A spokeswoman for the
National Abortion Federation stated, "Focusing on [mentrual extraction] is like
saying 'We'll go back to the old ways .'"
- Gordon Gibby
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3) Abortion Choice - Your Baby or Your Job
A lawsuit filed in July in Pittsburgh provides pokes yet another hole in the
myth that our society is pro-"choice."
Monica Hall, 32, claims that the McDonald's restaurant in Wilkinsburg PA fired
her from her job as assistant manager because she was pregnant. Allegedly, the
personnel supervisor asserted that "no one at McDonald's is happy about your
pregnancy" and suggested an abortion.
Hired in December 1990 as a manager trainee, evidently Hall was given awards
and commendations until May 1991 when she told her boss she was pregnant. Her
suit claims that she subsequently received poor grades on performance
evaluations and that the managers contrived to create disciplinary problems for
her, including money shortages. She claims that her managers refused to provide
maternity uniforms and to reduce her working hours, which her doctor had
recommended. She was fired in October, 1991, for what the company said was
"security violations."
- Sean Smith
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4) Do Americans Really Support Roe v Wade?
It appears that many Americans are confused about _Roe v. Wade_. The _Roe_
decision legalizes abortion on demand nation- wide, for any reason, throughout
most of pregnancy.
An April 24th, 1989 article in _Newsweek_ states: "A _Newsweek_ poll found that
half of the respondents believe the court should uphold _Roe_, while 39 percent
say it should be overturned." However, the same _Newsweek_ poll shows that a
majority of Americans do not support what _Roe v. Wade_ actually does.
Should abortions be legal or not legal in each of the
following circumstances:
LEGAL ILLEGAL
Woman's life endangered 89% 8%
Rape or incest 81% 16%
Woman's health would be impaired 75% 17%
Chance baby will be born deformed 57% 31%
Mother unmarried 37% 56%
Can't afford child 35% 59%
Parents don't want a child 30% 66%
Parents want different sex 15% 80%
Note that a majority believes that abortion should be *illegal* in cases where
the mother is unmarried, or where the parents can't afford the child, don't
want a child, or want a different sex. The vast majority of abortions
currently performed under the protection of _Roe_ fall into these latter
categories.
Why do 50% of Americans nevertheless believe _Roe_ should not be overturned? I
suspect that the ones who believe _Roe_ should stand, but do not believe in
abortion on demand, are confused by the emotionalism of the issue, and by the
rhetoric of the pro- choice movement. They do not realize that _Roe_ doesn't
reflect their actual views on abortion.
The pro-'choice' forces have effectively used the relatively rare situations of
pregnancy due to rape, and pregnancy which endangers the life or health of the
mother, (which most Americans think should be legal) to get people to support
legal abortion for any reason whatsoever (which most Americans disagree with).
If the Supreme Court weakens or overturns _Roe v. Wade_, it will be reflecting
the view of a majority of Americans.
- Lee Woofenden
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5) Assistance to Pregnant Women Most Useful Tactic
For those involved with Crisis Pregnancy Centers (CPCs) and other means to
support pregnant women, a Journalism Professor at the University of Texas wants
to applaud your efforts.
According to _The Wanderer_ for February 11, 1993, Dr. Marvin Olasky,
Associate Professor of Journalism at the University of Texas and the author of
_Abortion Rites: A History of Abortion in America_, has discovered during the
course of his research that abortion has been a problem in America since its
settlement.
By providing alternatives to abortion and helping troubled mothers, a strong
pro-life movement in the 19th century reduced the number of abortions by half
in the fifty years preceding 1910. The movement was made up of groups opposed
to prostitution, licentiousness, and other vices. They opposed abortions
primarily by providing unwed mothers with affordable shelter. Dr. Olasky
believes that pro-life tactics today should mirror those of the 19th century.
Anti-abortion laws did make a difference, but not a major difference; too much
emphasis is placed on legal and legislative battles. We have tended at times,
he said, to rush into the political agenda and fail to pay enough attention to
abstinence, adoption and assistance. Abstinence education is a ``real, solid
proposal that is politically and practically viable. ``Pro-life groups cannot
rely on marriage as the only solution to early pregnancies, but adoption must
be promoted more insistently.''
Finally, Dr Olasky recommended assistance to pregnant women as the most useful
pro-life tactic. ``Make carrying the child to birth not only the right thing
to do, but also the very possible and practical thing to do. We have to be
able to teach. We have to show women and men that it is practical to keep the
child.''
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6) Resources Added
"Analysis: Freedom of Speech and High School Newspapers" by Gordon L. Gibby of
Life Action Advocates. This is an in-depth look to the constitutionality of
different forms of censorship in high-school newspapers, specifically with
regard to publishing the Pro-Life message. Very informative and easy to read.
Ask for File: ["FreedomOfSpeech" ]
"Pastoral Message on Abortion" issued by the Administrative Committee of the
National Conference of Catholic Bishops. Text of the U.S. Catholic bishops'
statement on the 1973 _Roe v. Wade_ decision, which legalized abortion on
demand in the United States. [Ask for "PastoralOnAbortion" ]
"Instruction on Respect for Human Life in its Origin and on The Dignity of
Procreation" issued by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith of the
Catholic Church. This teaching concerns biomedical techniques which make it
possible to intervene in the initial phase of the life of a human being and in
the very processes of procreation and their conformity with the principles of
Catholic morality. [Ask for "RespectForLife" ]
To get a list of special-topic papers and current back issues of the ProLife
News, send mail to the editor and ask for "v3Topics".
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7) Reader Responses
v3n18, v3n19: HIV+ Children
Its a tragedy that many think that if the mother tests positive for HIV, that
the child will get it. I found out about a Catholic woman (after the fact) who
had an abortion for this reason. The father died of AIDS sometime later, but
the abortion was an act of panic. Mike [v3n18] is right that this is
symptomatic of larger trends in our society - 40% of all children now are born
out of wedlock, and a similar number are without fathers. probably the same
40% of course.
Personally, I blame modern men for most of our society's problems. by not
being responsible fathers and husbands, women and children are left without
necessary support, emotional and otherwise. Fathers of America - Arise!
God Bless, - Mark Clemens
-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
v3n19: Q: Islam/Judaism and Abortion:
Alas, these are both rather factioned religous organizations. This is similar
to asking "Are Protestants pro-life?" Well, the answer is both yes and no.
There are some sects of Juddaism that are Pro-Life -- most noteably the
Orothodox Jews. Unfortuately, not all Jewish sects are pro-life. Some of the
less traditional sects even support it.
Similar to Juddaism, Islam has traditionally been pro-life. There are a few
sects (especially Muslems in the US and Western Europe) that are pro-choice,
but the majority of Muslems would be considered by Americans to be pro-life.
I hope this helps. -Bob Kuszewski
-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
v3n19: Q: Islam and abortion:
Islam opposes abortion. Note also that abortion is illegal throughout
the Muslim world.
- Ed Gehringer
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8) Reader Questions
Does anyone have any information on the (current/recent) rates of abortion
in The Netherlands and the United Kingdom? I found the abortion rates for the
whole world in the UN Demographic Yearbook, 1990.
- Dean Schulze
-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
I am a pre-Med student and am interested in finding a medical school which
_in no way_ supports abortion.
Does anyone have a list of which Medical Schools:
1) REQUIRE abortion as a learned procedure? (some do)
2) Offer it as an "elective"? (*many* don't even offer it)
- Jason Highsmith, Cornell Univ.
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Quote of the Month:
"We want to escape pain, discomfort, suffering, inconvenience. We escape
into television, we escape to drugs, we escape on vacation. Why not
escape into sleep, or into death? It's really reflecting a turmoil in
our society, a loneliness, alienation in our culture which people just
can't face hardships head on. It's tough, and our society doesn't
ascribe positive value to suffering."
- Joni Eareckson Tada
As a teen, Joni Eareckson Tada lost the use of her
arms and legs in a diving accident. She went on to
become an accomplished artist, writer, recording
artist, broadcaster, and advocate for those with
disabilities of all kinds.
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| Credits: |
| 1 - from a 9/9/92 Detroit Free Press article, many thanks to reader Bob Tatz|
| 2 - Reprinted by permission of LifeAction Advocates, Inc., Gainesville, FL" |
| 5 - from the Australian_Catholic, the voice of Catholic Orthodoxy_, Sept. |
| edition, and is here posted with the Editors permission. Many thanks to |
| reader Simon Sheilds. |
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Anyone desiring information on specific prolife groups, literature, tapes, or
help with problems is encouraged to contact the editor. <frezza@ee.pitt.edu>