After Christian parents and a pastor informed the Erie, IL school board of the underlying Gay Agenda incorporated into much of the latest anti-bullying campaign by educators nationwide, the school district decided to eliminate all books endorsed by the Gay Lesbian Straight Education Network (GLSEN) in favor of educational materials without sexualization overtones.
For background, read ACLU Threatens Schools: Must Teach Homosexuality and also read Minnesota School Succumbs to Gay Agenda Bullying as well as Tennessee Struggles for Freedom of Religion - Bullying
UPDATE 10/19/12: Parents Force Gay Agenda Backtrack by School Board
-- From "Book Ban Puts Erie In National Spotlight" by Marcia Lense, KWQC-TV6 6/7/12
Back in May, the Erie School Community District banned, 'The Family Book,' because of a page that says "some families have two moms or two dads". It was banned after parents complained to the school board.
Erie School District Superintendent Brad Cox says when the school board made its decision, there was a consensus in town to get rid of it.
"At our April board meeting, we had between 75 to 100 people show up, which is quite a few, and the vast majority who spoke at that board meeting spoke in opposition of the materials," Cox said.
He explained that the district used the book and lesson plans from the Gay-Lesbian-Straight Education Network to teach elementary students about diversity and tolerance. But when the complaints came in, a committee was formed to take a closer look at the materials.
The practice of banning books in schools is really nothing new. The Harry Potter books have been banned from some schools and the classic storybook, Grimm's Fairy Tales, is banned from elementary schools across the country.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Pastor Speaks Out: GLSEN Materials Sending Conflicting Message" by Concetta Callahan, CBS WHBF-TV4 (Quad Cities IL)
"[Dozens of parents] didn't want kids to hear one thing at home and then something totally different at school," said Aaron Sweeney, Assistant Pastor at Erie Christian Church.
"Parents felt like the topic of homosexuality should be talked about strictly at home. They were uncomfortable with that being told at school," said Sweeney.
[Supt.] Cox said teaching diversity, tolerance and anti–bullying to elementary students was always done before without using GLSEN materials.
"Alternative lifestyles, sexual preferences, sexual orientation—those things have never been a part of what we've taught at the elementary school. Those aren't age appropriate discussions and so they won't be moving forward either," said Cox.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
Also read Illinois Elementary School Defies Pro-Homosexual Political Correctness (opinion)
Wednesday, June 13, 2012
Tuesday, June 12, 2012
Religious Freedom Rally Ignored by Mainstream Media
While the media focus on "Occupy Wall Street" involving a few dozen ill-informed anarchists, these liberal "journalists" ignore thousands, across America, speaking against an intrusive federal government trampling on religious liberty.
A single exception: CBS News posted one story several days late, countering the rallies.
For background, read Bishops Throw Down Gauntlet: Obama War on Christianity and also read No Freedom of Religion for Chaplains, Say Obama & Dems
-- From "Nationwide rallies target birth control measure" posted at CBS News 6/11/12
Demonstrators gathered on Capitol Hill Friday afternoon decried the Obama administration's policy to require private health insurance plans to cover contraception as a violation of religious freedom.
The rally was affiliated with more than 100 other demonstrations under the same name taking place across the country. The issue has united multiple faiths, with evangelical, Orthodox Jewish, Roman Catholic and Mormon leaders recently forming networks in every state dedicated to promoting religious liberty, starting with their opposition to the mandate.
But Jennifer Miller, a vice president at Planned Parenthood in Trenton, said the rallies were being held by extremist groups that have a long history of attacking women's health.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "New Yorkers Join Religious Freedom Rally to Protest Obamacare" by Katherine Weber, Christian Post Reporter 6/8/12
Hundreds gathered in New York City's Financial District on Friday to attend the Stand Up for Religious Freedom rally, held in protest of President Barack Obama's Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare.
The protest, led by the Pro-Life Action League and Citizens for a Pro-Life Society, was held in 160 cities Friday, including Los Angeles, New York City, Washington, D.C., and Miami. Opponents of Obamacare say it violates the Constitution's First Amendment right of freedom of religion.
A similar nationwide anti-Obamacare rally was held in March and, according to event organizers, 63,000 people in about 130 cities turned out to express their discontent with the HHS mandate
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Big Government as the rival and enemy of religion" by Timothy P. Carney, Washington Examiner 6/11/12
On a few occasions, the crowd, just outside the Capitol, chanted in unison. But the words weren't the sort you'll hear at Sunday Mass.
"We will not comply! We will not comply!" they yelled. Some wore "Don't Tread on Me" shirts. One leader of this Rally for Religious Freedom on Friday lamented over the speakers, "In America, unfortunately, there's a rule against everything."
The cultural Left is turning the Catholic faithful into anti-authoritarians.
This is how the culture war generally plays out these days: The Left uses government to force religious people and cultural conservatives to violate their consciences, and then cries "theocracy" when conservatives object.
What should have been obvious is becoming clearer to religious conservatives: Government is always a rival, and often an enemy, of religion.
To read the entire opinion column above, CLICK HERE.
From "Hundreds rally for religious freedom [in Arkansas]" by John Lyon, Arkansas News Bureau 6/8/12
“Stand up for Religious Freedom” rallies were held in Little Rock and other cities across the country to protest an upcoming federal mandate that most businesses and institutions provide health insurance coverage for birth control. Religious hospitals are exempt from the mandate, but other institutions are not.
Speakers included Jerry Cox, president of the Christian conservative Family Council, who told the crowd that “there is a war on religious freedom.”
The Rev. Mark Evans, senior pastor at the Church at Rock Creek in Little Rock, said religious denominations are not the issue because any assault on religious liberty is wrong and should be opposed.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Religious Freedom Rally goes national" by Alyssa Fenske, WEAU-TV13 6/8/12
In La Crosse [Wisconsin] more than 100 people showed up to express their beliefs.
Democratic Party Chair Vicki Burke did comment on the rally saying;
“What they are upset with is just an individual part of Obama care. I think it’s fair and that insurance companies should be required to provide health care for women.”
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Religious Freedom Rally in Naples brings out thousands" by Julie Salomone, WFTX-TV4 (Fort Myers/Naples, FL) 6/8/12
"My message is we need to stick together as a country. We need to bring God back into our lives, period," said [Kathleen] Hehir.
We're trying to give the message that this is about religious freedom, not about abortion, not about contraceptives. It's about freedom, we want to practice our religion openly," said Jeff Vespo, St. Williams Knights of Columbus.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Dearborn, Heights residents among protesters at religious freedom rally" by Jameson Cook, The Press & Guide (Michigan) 6/11/12
More than 1,000 people at a rally in downtown Detroit on Friday amplified their opposition to the Obama administration’s contraception mandate, saying it attacks religious beliefs and encourages sexually promiscuity.
The heavy Catholic- and Christian-influenced Stand Up for Religious Freedom rally, one of 160 across the nation and nine in Michigan, was held to protest the Health and Human Services policy that forces even religious-based institutions such as hospitals and universities to provide birth-control coverage in health care plans.
Speakers and attendees said they worry the government could further encroach on religious freedom.
Speaker Stacy Swimp, president of the Frederick Douglas Society, said the mandate is part of “the nefarious agenda of Planned Parenthood.”
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Miami rally defends religious freedom from health insurance mandate" by Anna Edgerton, The Miami Herald 6/8/12
Nearly 400 people turned out for the rally that was part of the Stand Up for Religious Freedom movement, a loose coalition of religious and conservative entities that has organized simultaneous demonstrations in more than 160 U.S. cities.
With anti-abortion pamphlets doubling as fans in the South Florida sun, the crowd shouted “Christ is risen!” and “Viva Cristo el Rey!” as Miami Archbishop Thomas Wenski took the microphone. First in English and then briefly in Spanish, he defended the separation of church and state as a protection for religion and criticized this “unprecedented intrusion” on religious freedom.
Other Catholic, Protestant and Jewish speakers echoed his message and led the crowd in patriotic songs. There were no representatives from other religions, although organizers said that all were welcome.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Rally for ‘religious freedom’ protests ‘Obamacare’" by Rich Howells, Scranton, PA 6/10/12
Nearly 200 people gathered on the Linden Street side of Courthouse Square on June 8 at noon to join over 155 other cities across the country for a rally to “Stand Up for Religious Freedom.”
Coinciding with the 223rd anniversary of the day James Madison introduced the Bill of Rights to the First Congress, the rally’s main purpose is to protest the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, labeled “Obamacare” by critics, that will require all employer health care plans “to provide free contraceptives, sterilizations, and abortion-inducing drugs, regardless of any moral or religious objections,” according to literature by the Pro-Life Action League handed out at the rally by local organizer Mary Ann Haas of West Scranton.
“This is not a political rally. This is not a Catholic rally. This is not a contraception rally. This is for freedom of religion, that we can believe what we choose to believe. This doesn’t limit anyone. This doesn’t trample on anyone’s rights, and I think that the most perfect persons that I could think of are here today to express those feelings,” Haas emphasized.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Protesters seek to protect their religious freedom" by Ken Abramczyk, Observer Staff Writer (Michigan) 6/10/12
On Friday, hundreds of residents from western Wayne County . . . participated in a Stand Up for Religious Freedom prayer rally at the corner of Five Mile and Levan, across from St. Mary Mercy Hospital.
The Archdiocese of Detroit has scheduled a Mass at 4 p.m. Sunday, June 24, at the Cathedral of Most Blessed Sacrament in Detroit as part of Fortnight for Freedom, scheduled June 21 through July 4, by the U.S. Conference of Bishops.
Dr. Miguel Lis-Planells, a neurosurgeon at the Michigan Head and Spine Institute in Southfield and vice chair of neurosurgery at Sinai Grace Hospital, said the U.S. is “less tolerant of God” and that marriage and family “are under attack.”
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Protesters join national rally opposing federal health care mandate" by Mark Keierleber, Indiana Daily Student 6/10/12
More than 100 Stand Up for Religious Freedom Rally protesters gathered on the Monroe County Courthouse lawn Friday to express opposition to the United States Department of Health and Human Services’ mandate issued in January.
As speakers prayed into a microphone, the protesters bowed their heads in silence. From the elderly in wheelchairs to young children, attendees held cardboard signs that read, “your freedom is next,” “Stop Obama’s HHS mandate” and “stand up for your religious freedom.”
The Bloomington protest, which was organized by IU Jacobs School of Music student Martha Sliva, 18, was part of a nationwide movement. With the closest protest in Indianapolis, Sliva said she organized the event to inform the Bloomington and IU communities.
In more than 150 cities throughout the nation, more than 10,000 people rallied against the HHS mandate during the second Stand Up for Religious Freedom Rally. The first rally was in March.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Bachmann: 'Is Government God? ... That's Really the Issue at Hand'" by Elizabeth Harrington, CNSNews.com 6/8/12
“The people want to have their liberties back and they don’t like to see religious institutions, particularly the Catholic Church, have to be forced to deny their sincerely held faith and the doctrine of their faith in order to be in compliance with government because at that point who is God?” [Minnesota Congresswoman Michele] Bachmann said.
“That’s really the issue at hand and we cannot have this change that Barack Obama has put forward and that’s why you see the people here today who are working very hard to make sure they can hold on to their religious liberties,” Bachmann said.
“This is the line in the sand,” she said. “This is our fundamental right for religious liberty. It is why the Pilgrims came to this country, to have religious freedom. Barack Obama is taking away that basic right from the American people. So, of course, we’re going to stand."
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
Also read Obama, Dems Severely Lacking of Christian Support
(5/2/12) Fr. Andrew at 2012 Colorado Republican State Assembly and Convention (video below)
A single exception: CBS News posted one story several days late, countering the rallies.
For background, read Bishops Throw Down Gauntlet: Obama War on Christianity and also read No Freedom of Religion for Chaplains, Say Obama & Dems
-- From "Nationwide rallies target birth control measure" posted at CBS News 6/11/12
Demonstrators gathered on Capitol Hill Friday afternoon decried the Obama administration's policy to require private health insurance plans to cover contraception as a violation of religious freedom.
The rally was affiliated with more than 100 other demonstrations under the same name taking place across the country. The issue has united multiple faiths, with evangelical, Orthodox Jewish, Roman Catholic and Mormon leaders recently forming networks in every state dedicated to promoting religious liberty, starting with their opposition to the mandate.
But Jennifer Miller, a vice president at Planned Parenthood in Trenton, said the rallies were being held by extremist groups that have a long history of attacking women's health.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "New Yorkers Join Religious Freedom Rally to Protest Obamacare" by Katherine Weber, Christian Post Reporter 6/8/12
Hundreds gathered in New York City's Financial District on Friday to attend the Stand Up for Religious Freedom rally, held in protest of President Barack Obama's Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare.
The protest, led by the Pro-Life Action League and Citizens for a Pro-Life Society, was held in 160 cities Friday, including Los Angeles, New York City, Washington, D.C., and Miami. Opponents of Obamacare say it violates the Constitution's First Amendment right of freedom of religion.
A similar nationwide anti-Obamacare rally was held in March and, according to event organizers, 63,000 people in about 130 cities turned out to express their discontent with the HHS mandate
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Big Government as the rival and enemy of religion" by Timothy P. Carney, Washington Examiner 6/11/12
On a few occasions, the crowd, just outside the Capitol, chanted in unison. But the words weren't the sort you'll hear at Sunday Mass.
"We will not comply! We will not comply!" they yelled. Some wore "Don't Tread on Me" shirts. One leader of this Rally for Religious Freedom on Friday lamented over the speakers, "In America, unfortunately, there's a rule against everything."
The cultural Left is turning the Catholic faithful into anti-authoritarians.
This is how the culture war generally plays out these days: The Left uses government to force religious people and cultural conservatives to violate their consciences, and then cries "theocracy" when conservatives object.
What should have been obvious is becoming clearer to religious conservatives: Government is always a rival, and often an enemy, of religion.
To read the entire opinion column above, CLICK HERE.
From "Hundreds rally for religious freedom [in Arkansas]" by John Lyon, Arkansas News Bureau 6/8/12
“Stand up for Religious Freedom” rallies were held in Little Rock and other cities across the country to protest an upcoming federal mandate that most businesses and institutions provide health insurance coverage for birth control. Religious hospitals are exempt from the mandate, but other institutions are not.
Speakers included Jerry Cox, president of the Christian conservative Family Council, who told the crowd that “there is a war on religious freedom.”
The Rev. Mark Evans, senior pastor at the Church at Rock Creek in Little Rock, said religious denominations are not the issue because any assault on religious liberty is wrong and should be opposed.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Religious Freedom Rally goes national" by Alyssa Fenske, WEAU-TV13 6/8/12
In La Crosse [Wisconsin] more than 100 people showed up to express their beliefs.
Democratic Party Chair Vicki Burke did comment on the rally saying;
“What they are upset with is just an individual part of Obama care. I think it’s fair and that insurance companies should be required to provide health care for women.”
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Religious Freedom Rally in Naples brings out thousands" by Julie Salomone, WFTX-TV4 (Fort Myers/Naples, FL) 6/8/12
"My message is we need to stick together as a country. We need to bring God back into our lives, period," said [Kathleen] Hehir.
We're trying to give the message that this is about religious freedom, not about abortion, not about contraceptives. It's about freedom, we want to practice our religion openly," said Jeff Vespo, St. Williams Knights of Columbus.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Dearborn, Heights residents among protesters at religious freedom rally" by Jameson Cook, The Press & Guide (Michigan) 6/11/12
More than 1,000 people at a rally in downtown Detroit on Friday amplified their opposition to the Obama administration’s contraception mandate, saying it attacks religious beliefs and encourages sexually promiscuity.
The heavy Catholic- and Christian-influenced Stand Up for Religious Freedom rally, one of 160 across the nation and nine in Michigan, was held to protest the Health and Human Services policy that forces even religious-based institutions such as hospitals and universities to provide birth-control coverage in health care plans.
Speakers and attendees said they worry the government could further encroach on religious freedom.
Speaker Stacy Swimp, president of the Frederick Douglas Society, said the mandate is part of “the nefarious agenda of Planned Parenthood.”
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Miami rally defends religious freedom from health insurance mandate" by Anna Edgerton, The Miami Herald 6/8/12
Nearly 400 people turned out for the rally that was part of the Stand Up for Religious Freedom movement, a loose coalition of religious and conservative entities that has organized simultaneous demonstrations in more than 160 U.S. cities.
With anti-abortion pamphlets doubling as fans in the South Florida sun, the crowd shouted “Christ is risen!” and “Viva Cristo el Rey!” as Miami Archbishop Thomas Wenski took the microphone. First in English and then briefly in Spanish, he defended the separation of church and state as a protection for religion and criticized this “unprecedented intrusion” on religious freedom.
Other Catholic, Protestant and Jewish speakers echoed his message and led the crowd in patriotic songs. There were no representatives from other religions, although organizers said that all were welcome.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Rally for ‘religious freedom’ protests ‘Obamacare’" by Rich Howells, Scranton, PA 6/10/12
Nearly 200 people gathered on the Linden Street side of Courthouse Square on June 8 at noon to join over 155 other cities across the country for a rally to “Stand Up for Religious Freedom.”
Coinciding with the 223rd anniversary of the day James Madison introduced the Bill of Rights to the First Congress, the rally’s main purpose is to protest the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, labeled “Obamacare” by critics, that will require all employer health care plans “to provide free contraceptives, sterilizations, and abortion-inducing drugs, regardless of any moral or religious objections,” according to literature by the Pro-Life Action League handed out at the rally by local organizer Mary Ann Haas of West Scranton.
“This is not a political rally. This is not a Catholic rally. This is not a contraception rally. This is for freedom of religion, that we can believe what we choose to believe. This doesn’t limit anyone. This doesn’t trample on anyone’s rights, and I think that the most perfect persons that I could think of are here today to express those feelings,” Haas emphasized.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Protesters seek to protect their religious freedom" by Ken Abramczyk, Observer Staff Writer (Michigan) 6/10/12
On Friday, hundreds of residents from western Wayne County . . . participated in a Stand Up for Religious Freedom prayer rally at the corner of Five Mile and Levan, across from St. Mary Mercy Hospital.
The Archdiocese of Detroit has scheduled a Mass at 4 p.m. Sunday, June 24, at the Cathedral of Most Blessed Sacrament in Detroit as part of Fortnight for Freedom, scheduled June 21 through July 4, by the U.S. Conference of Bishops.
Dr. Miguel Lis-Planells, a neurosurgeon at the Michigan Head and Spine Institute in Southfield and vice chair of neurosurgery at Sinai Grace Hospital, said the U.S. is “less tolerant of God” and that marriage and family “are under attack.”
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Protesters join national rally opposing federal health care mandate" by Mark Keierleber, Indiana Daily Student 6/10/12
More than 100 Stand Up for Religious Freedom Rally protesters gathered on the Monroe County Courthouse lawn Friday to express opposition to the United States Department of Health and Human Services’ mandate issued in January.
As speakers prayed into a microphone, the protesters bowed their heads in silence. From the elderly in wheelchairs to young children, attendees held cardboard signs that read, “your freedom is next,” “Stop Obama’s HHS mandate” and “stand up for your religious freedom.”
The Bloomington protest, which was organized by IU Jacobs School of Music student Martha Sliva, 18, was part of a nationwide movement. With the closest protest in Indianapolis, Sliva said she organized the event to inform the Bloomington and IU communities.
In more than 150 cities throughout the nation, more than 10,000 people rallied against the HHS mandate during the second Stand Up for Religious Freedom Rally. The first rally was in March.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Bachmann: 'Is Government God? ... That's Really the Issue at Hand'" by Elizabeth Harrington, CNSNews.com 6/8/12
“The people want to have their liberties back and they don’t like to see religious institutions, particularly the Catholic Church, have to be forced to deny their sincerely held faith and the doctrine of their faith in order to be in compliance with government because at that point who is God?” [Minnesota Congresswoman Michele] Bachmann said.
“That’s really the issue at hand and we cannot have this change that Barack Obama has put forward and that’s why you see the people here today who are working very hard to make sure they can hold on to their religious liberties,” Bachmann said.
“This is the line in the sand,” she said. “This is our fundamental right for religious liberty. It is why the Pilgrims came to this country, to have religious freedom. Barack Obama is taking away that basic right from the American people. So, of course, we’re going to stand."
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
Also read Obama, Dems Severely Lacking of Christian Support
(5/2/12) Fr. Andrew at 2012 Colorado Republican State Assembly and Convention (video below)
Monday, June 11, 2012
Study: Gay Parenting Harms Kids - Media Frantic
After the release of a new study from the University of Texas showing significant detrimental effects to children raised by homosexuals, compared to traditional mother-father families, a stunned mainstream media initially ignored the news, but now has pounced in an effort to discredit the study.
UPDATE 8/30/12: University stands by study; no research misconduct
UPDATE 12/6/12: Study finds children of same sex couples lag in school
-- From "Study suggests risks from same-sex parenting" by Cheryl Wetzstein, The Washington Times 6/10/12
He found that, when compared with adults raised in married, mother-father families, adults raised by lesbian mothers had negative outcomes in 24 of 40 categories, while adults raised by gay fathers had negative outcomes in 19 categories.
The second study, also in Social Science Research, takes a critical look at the basis of an oft-cited American Psychological Association report on gay parenting.
The APA brief says, “Not a single study has found children of lesbian or gay parents to be disadvantaged in any significant respect relative to children of heterosexual parents.”
After looking at the 59 studies that undergird this assertion, however, “The jury is still out,” said Loren Marks, an associate professor at the School of Human Ecology at Louisiana State University. “The lack of high-quality data leaves the most significant questions [about gay parenting] unaddressed and unanswered.”
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Adult Children of Parents in Same-Sex Relationships Report Varied Outcomes" posted at University of Texas at Austin News 6/11/12
The findings, to be published in the July issue of Social Science Research, are particularly significant because they are based on the first large-scale, population-based survey of young adults that features a large number of cases in which survey respondents’ parents had been in same-sex relationships.
Controlling not only for socioeconomic status differences between families of origin, but also political-geographic distinctions, age, gender, race/ethnicity and the experience of having been bullied, Regnerus drew upon 40 social, emotional and relational variables, comparing outcomes of young adult children who had a parent in a same-sex romantic relationship with outcomes of young adult children from other (heterosexual) family-of-origin types, including stepfamilies, single-parent families and adoptive parents.
The study did not isolate the effect of having a parent who had a same-sex relationship from other effects such as marital disruptions that preceded or coincided with a parent’s same-sex relationship. Most of the young adults in the survey with gay or lesbian parents experienced divorce or other household disruption as children, and their outcomes were thus more similar to those of children from heterosexual stepfamilies and single-parent households.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Children of gay couples are disadvantaged — because of family instability" by Charles C. W. Cooke, National Review Online 6/11/12
“Fifteen years ago,” Regnerus explained at an event at the nonpartisan Institute for American Values, biological, heterosexual families were “reflexively regarded as the best environment for children.” This subsequently gave way to the notion that there were “no meaningful differences” in outcomes for children raised in non-traditional arrangements. Finally it was suggested that children “might actually be better off being raised by a gay couple.”
Although there is little hard evidence to support such a conclusion, advocates of same-sex marriage and gay adoption have declared the science to be settled. Most famous, perhaps, of such declarations is the 2010 paper by social scientists Judith Stacey and Timothy Biblarz, who contended that “based strictly on the published science, one could argue that two women parent better on average than a woman and a man, or at least than a woman and man with a traditional division of family labor.” This contention — that homosexual parenting is either neutral or better than traditional family structures — has found its way into our academic, legal, and cultural conversation and is rarely questioned. . . .
Regnerus’s study was designed to reexamine this question . . .
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Study: Kids of Parents in Same-sex Relationships Fare Worse as Adults" by Carrie Gann, ABC News Medical Unit 6/11/12
. . . The children of parents who at some point had a same-sex partner were more likely to be on welfare, have a history of depression, have less education and report a history of sexual abuse, the study found.
Critics call the study deeply flawed, saying the results don't accurately describe -- or even measure -- any children raised in stable households with two same-sex parents.
The study . . . was funded by the Witherspoon Institute and the Bradley Foundation, groups that are "commonly known for their support of conservative causes," though the organizations played no role in the design and analysis of the report, the study said.
"This study doesn't really have anything to do with same-sex families of today," said Dr. Jenna Saul, a Wisconsin-based child and adolescent psychiatrist.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Studies challenge widely held assumptions about same-sex parenting" by Lois M. Collins, Deseret News 6/9/12
A separate analysis in the same journal edition by Loren Marks, associate professor at Louisiana State University, more directly challenges previous same-sex parenting studies as inadequate, biased and unreliable. He lists seven concerns with the science, including the fact that "well-educated, relatively wealthy lesbian couples have been repeatedly compared to single-parent heterosexual families instead of two-parent marriage-based families." Single-parent families typically have poorer child outcomes across several measures, so it's easier to look better against them, he said.
Regnerus plans to make his data public. "In a piece like this that is overturning conventional wisdom, the onus is on me to be very up-front about how I reached my findings." He said he will post the research design, codebook and statistical analyses online Monday.
"I think what good research does is open the door to replication and explanation," said Cynthia Osborne, associate professor in the LBJ School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas at Austin, who wrote one of the commentaries for the journal. "We're going to need to see if what we're finding here in his study will be replicated through lots of robustness checks, looking from various angles, cutting the data in different ways and coming up with the same thing. That's the next step."
Researchers on both sides say more research is needed and it could be years before the impact of changing family structure on children is clear.
Both sides told the Deseret News they believe opposing researchers approach topics from . . . "a political perspective."
To read the entire extensive article above, CLICK HERE.
Also read Homosexual Judge Says Children Don't Need Parents
. . . the study’s findings “are consistent with a large body of research that suggests that children are most likely to thrive when they are raised by their own married parents. Such families provide a biological link between parents and children, and unparalleled levels of stability, both of which have a long reach in the benefits they afford to children.”For background, read Explaining Gay Agenda Effect on Children and also read Study: Lesbians Never Abuse Kids as well as White House Orders Redefinition of Family
-- Mark Regnerus, University of Texas sociology professor
UPDATE 8/30/12: University stands by study; no research misconduct
UPDATE 12/6/12: Study finds children of same sex couples lag in school
-- From "Study suggests risks from same-sex parenting" by Cheryl Wetzstein, The Washington Times 6/10/12
He found that, when compared with adults raised in married, mother-father families, adults raised by lesbian mothers had negative outcomes in 24 of 40 categories, while adults raised by gay fathers had negative outcomes in 19 categories.
The second study, also in Social Science Research, takes a critical look at the basis of an oft-cited American Psychological Association report on gay parenting.
The APA brief says, “Not a single study has found children of lesbian or gay parents to be disadvantaged in any significant respect relative to children of heterosexual parents.”
After looking at the 59 studies that undergird this assertion, however, “The jury is still out,” said Loren Marks, an associate professor at the School of Human Ecology at Louisiana State University. “The lack of high-quality data leaves the most significant questions [about gay parenting] unaddressed and unanswered.”
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Adult Children of Parents in Same-Sex Relationships Report Varied Outcomes" posted at University of Texas at Austin News 6/11/12
The findings, to be published in the July issue of Social Science Research, are particularly significant because they are based on the first large-scale, population-based survey of young adults that features a large number of cases in which survey respondents’ parents had been in same-sex relationships.
Controlling not only for socioeconomic status differences between families of origin, but also political-geographic distinctions, age, gender, race/ethnicity and the experience of having been bullied, Regnerus drew upon 40 social, emotional and relational variables, comparing outcomes of young adult children who had a parent in a same-sex romantic relationship with outcomes of young adult children from other (heterosexual) family-of-origin types, including stepfamilies, single-parent families and adoptive parents.
The study did not isolate the effect of having a parent who had a same-sex relationship from other effects such as marital disruptions that preceded or coincided with a parent’s same-sex relationship. Most of the young adults in the survey with gay or lesbian parents experienced divorce or other household disruption as children, and their outcomes were thus more similar to those of children from heterosexual stepfamilies and single-parent households.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Children of gay couples are disadvantaged — because of family instability" by Charles C. W. Cooke, National Review Online 6/11/12
“Fifteen years ago,” Regnerus explained at an event at the nonpartisan Institute for American Values, biological, heterosexual families were “reflexively regarded as the best environment for children.” This subsequently gave way to the notion that there were “no meaningful differences” in outcomes for children raised in non-traditional arrangements. Finally it was suggested that children “might actually be better off being raised by a gay couple.”
Although there is little hard evidence to support such a conclusion, advocates of same-sex marriage and gay adoption have declared the science to be settled. Most famous, perhaps, of such declarations is the 2010 paper by social scientists Judith Stacey and Timothy Biblarz, who contended that “based strictly on the published science, one could argue that two women parent better on average than a woman and a man, or at least than a woman and man with a traditional division of family labor.” This contention — that homosexual parenting is either neutral or better than traditional family structures — has found its way into our academic, legal, and cultural conversation and is rarely questioned. . . .
Regnerus’s study was designed to reexamine this question . . .
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Study: Kids of Parents in Same-sex Relationships Fare Worse as Adults" by Carrie Gann, ABC News Medical Unit 6/11/12
. . . The children of parents who at some point had a same-sex partner were more likely to be on welfare, have a history of depression, have less education and report a history of sexual abuse, the study found.
Critics call the study deeply flawed, saying the results don't accurately describe -- or even measure -- any children raised in stable households with two same-sex parents.
The study . . . was funded by the Witherspoon Institute and the Bradley Foundation, groups that are "commonly known for their support of conservative causes," though the organizations played no role in the design and analysis of the report, the study said.
"This study doesn't really have anything to do with same-sex families of today," said Dr. Jenna Saul, a Wisconsin-based child and adolescent psychiatrist.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Studies challenge widely held assumptions about same-sex parenting" by Lois M. Collins, Deseret News 6/9/12
A separate analysis in the same journal edition by Loren Marks, associate professor at Louisiana State University, more directly challenges previous same-sex parenting studies as inadequate, biased and unreliable. He lists seven concerns with the science, including the fact that "well-educated, relatively wealthy lesbian couples have been repeatedly compared to single-parent heterosexual families instead of two-parent marriage-based families." Single-parent families typically have poorer child outcomes across several measures, so it's easier to look better against them, he said.
Regnerus plans to make his data public. "In a piece like this that is overturning conventional wisdom, the onus is on me to be very up-front about how I reached my findings." He said he will post the research design, codebook and statistical analyses online Monday.
"I think what good research does is open the door to replication and explanation," said Cynthia Osborne, associate professor in the LBJ School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas at Austin, who wrote one of the commentaries for the journal. "We're going to need to see if what we're finding here in his study will be replicated through lots of robustness checks, looking from various angles, cutting the data in different ways and coming up with the same thing. That's the next step."
Researchers on both sides say more research is needed and it could be years before the impact of changing family structure on children is clear.
Both sides told the Deseret News they believe opposing researchers approach topics from . . . "a political perspective."
To read the entire extensive article above, CLICK HERE.
Also read Homosexual Judge Says Children Don't Need Parents
Sunday, June 10, 2012
School Bows to ACLU, Bans All Prayers at Events
After receiving a threat from the ACLU, representing a single student, the Franklin County (North Carolina) school board, in an "emergency meeting" voted unanimously to forbid prayer of any kind at the graduation ceremony, as well as all future events, thus violating the Supreme Court rulings in favor of student-led prayer at school events.
Nonetheless, graduation attendees gathered for prayer prior to the ceremony.
For background, read Prayer in America: Hidden Faith, or Public?
-- From "Prayer eliminated from Franklinton High graduation ceremony" by Chelsea Kellner, Staff Writer, News & Observer (McClatchy) 5/29/12
The board’s vote also bans prayer at future awards ceremonies, and vows to make policy changes to ensure that there is no prayer at other school-sponsored events.
Board member Bobbie Richardson made the motion to pass the changes, but said in the meeting that she did so “under duress.”
“I think this protects the rights of a few and impinges on the rights of the majority,” Richardson said. “There is no happy medium here.”
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Prayer banned at Franklin County graduation" by Joel Brown, WTVD-TV11 (ABC in Raleigh-Durham) 5/30/12
The ban on prayer comes after an unidentified, non-Christian, Franklinton High senior complained about a Christian-led prayer at an awards ceremony earlier this month. The student's parent complained to the American Civil Liberties Union which sparked Tuesday night's debate.
In the letter to board members, the ACLU warned it was unconstitutional to compel students to pray at government or school sponsored events.
One school board member told ABC11 that the prayer at graduation was deemed a clear violation of separation of church and state. The move has received criticism from students and alumni in the community.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Franklin Co parents & students hold vigil to protest loss of prayer at graduation" by Steve Sbraccia, NBC-17 6/8/12
Parents and graduating seniors from three county high schools were joined by many others for the prayer vigil on the steps of the Franklin County Courthouse in Louisburg.
“If we don’t stand up for what we believe now, we’re going to experience the same kind of persecution they have in China and everywhere else,” said Jeri Norton who disagrees with the ‘no prayer’ ruling.
For some students who supported the graduation prayer, the mood that now permeates their ceremony feels a bit like persecution.
“I’m glad we were able to come together like this,” said Louisburg High senior Mollie Murphy. “I think it makes us stronger.”
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
Nonetheless, graduation attendees gathered for prayer prior to the ceremony.
For background, read Prayer in America: Hidden Faith, or Public?
-- From "Prayer eliminated from Franklinton High graduation ceremony" by Chelsea Kellner, Staff Writer, News & Observer (McClatchy) 5/29/12
The board’s vote also bans prayer at future awards ceremonies, and vows to make policy changes to ensure that there is no prayer at other school-sponsored events.
Board member Bobbie Richardson made the motion to pass the changes, but said in the meeting that she did so “under duress.”
“I think this protects the rights of a few and impinges on the rights of the majority,” Richardson said. “There is no happy medium here.”
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Prayer banned at Franklin County graduation" by Joel Brown, WTVD-TV11 (ABC in Raleigh-Durham) 5/30/12
The ban on prayer comes after an unidentified, non-Christian, Franklinton High senior complained about a Christian-led prayer at an awards ceremony earlier this month. The student's parent complained to the American Civil Liberties Union which sparked Tuesday night's debate.
In the letter to board members, the ACLU warned it was unconstitutional to compel students to pray at government or school sponsored events.
One school board member told ABC11 that the prayer at graduation was deemed a clear violation of separation of church and state. The move has received criticism from students and alumni in the community.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Franklin Co parents & students hold vigil to protest loss of prayer at graduation" by Steve Sbraccia, NBC-17 6/8/12
Parents and graduating seniors from three county high schools were joined by many others for the prayer vigil on the steps of the Franklin County Courthouse in Louisburg.
“If we don’t stand up for what we believe now, we’re going to experience the same kind of persecution they have in China and everywhere else,” said Jeri Norton who disagrees with the ‘no prayer’ ruling.
For some students who supported the graduation prayer, the mood that now permeates their ceremony feels a bit like persecution.
“I’m glad we were able to come together like this,” said Louisburg High senior Mollie Murphy. “I think it makes us stronger.”
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
Saturday, June 09, 2012
Planned Parenthood Sets up Shop in Calif. School
Although Planned Parenthood, the nation's largest abortion mill, claims it's coincidental that a disproportionate number its facilities are located in minority neighborhoods, it has chosen the predominantly Latino Roosevelt High School of Boyle Heights (Los Angeles) for its first in-school facility.
-- From "Planned Parenthood Sets Up Shop At Roosevelt High To Reduce Teen Pregnancies" posted at CBS-TV2 (Los Angeles) 6/5/12
Students can visit the on-campus health clinic to get free birth control, pregnancy tests, counseling and screening for sexually transmitted diseases – the first program of its kind in the country, according to the Los Angeles Times.
Birth rates among teenagers are down throughout California and Los Angeles County, but certain areas within the county, like the heavily Latino and low-income neighborhood around Roosevelt High School, buck that trend.
Roosevelt High School started offering contraception and counseling in 1997, but in 2006, that support from a local hospital ended and the school could no longer provide free contraceptives.
Students are also trained as peer advocates to talk to their classmates about STDs and pregnancy prevention.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
Also read Sex Training by Kids is Planned Parenthood
From "Unusual partnership offers students birth control" by Anna Gorman, Los Angeles Times 6/5/12
Nurse practitioner Sherry Medrano, who runs the Roosevelt health clinic, said teenagers rarely go outside their comfort zone for family planning. By law, students can go to Medrano and her staff without the permission of their parents. "They feel much safer and much more comfortable coming to a school-based health clinic," she said.
The 16-year-old student said she felt relieved to know that she could visit the clinic without telling her mother. "Just knowing you can come somewhere to get birth control just feels good," she said. 'It's a relief."
Planned Parenthood's Los Angeles executive director, Sue Dunlap, said Latino families generally want access to information and care. "We really don't experience the traditional narrative of angry parents not wanting access to reproductive care in the schools," she said. "It's really the opposite."
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
Also read about the congressional investigation of Planned Parenthood for concealing statutory rape, fraud, and more.
From "Planned Parenthood Targets Teens at School-Based Clinic in L.A." by Steven Ertelt, LifeNews.com 6/5/12
. . . California is one of about 20 states that still do not have any type of parental involvement law on abortion.
Leading pro-life groups, like the American Center for Law and Justice, have been concerned about Planned Parenthood qualifying for Obamacare funds to operate more of these clinics preying on teenagers. As Matthew Clark has written:
“. . . California won’t allow Marines to recruit in schools, but they’ll allow this kind of thing. It’s dangerous because it tells children that promiscuous, dangerous sex is supported by their government and their political authorities.”For background, read School Sexualization Standards by NEA, Abortionists and also read Planned Parenthood's Sexual Assault on Kids as well as Planned Parenthood Teaches Sex Acts in Iowa School in addition, read New Hampshire Middle School Children Take Field Trip to Planned Parenthood
-- South Carolina Sen. Jim DeMint
-- From "Planned Parenthood Sets Up Shop At Roosevelt High To Reduce Teen Pregnancies" posted at CBS-TV2 (Los Angeles) 6/5/12
Students can visit the on-campus health clinic to get free birth control, pregnancy tests, counseling and screening for sexually transmitted diseases – the first program of its kind in the country, according to the Los Angeles Times.
Birth rates among teenagers are down throughout California and Los Angeles County, but certain areas within the county, like the heavily Latino and low-income neighborhood around Roosevelt High School, buck that trend.
Roosevelt High School started offering contraception and counseling in 1997, but in 2006, that support from a local hospital ended and the school could no longer provide free contraceptives.
Students are also trained as peer advocates to talk to their classmates about STDs and pregnancy prevention.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
Also read Sex Training by Kids is Planned Parenthood
From "Unusual partnership offers students birth control" by Anna Gorman, Los Angeles Times 6/5/12
Nurse practitioner Sherry Medrano, who runs the Roosevelt health clinic, said teenagers rarely go outside their comfort zone for family planning. By law, students can go to Medrano and her staff without the permission of their parents. "They feel much safer and much more comfortable coming to a school-based health clinic," she said.
The 16-year-old student said she felt relieved to know that she could visit the clinic without telling her mother. "Just knowing you can come somewhere to get birth control just feels good," she said. 'It's a relief."
Planned Parenthood's Los Angeles executive director, Sue Dunlap, said Latino families generally want access to information and care. "We really don't experience the traditional narrative of angry parents not wanting access to reproductive care in the schools," she said. "It's really the opposite."
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
Also read about the congressional investigation of Planned Parenthood for concealing statutory rape, fraud, and more.
From "Planned Parenthood Targets Teens at School-Based Clinic in L.A." by Steven Ertelt, LifeNews.com 6/5/12
. . . California is one of about 20 states that still do not have any type of parental involvement law on abortion.
Leading pro-life groups, like the American Center for Law and Justice, have been concerned about Planned Parenthood qualifying for Obamacare funds to operate more of these clinics preying on teenagers. As Matthew Clark has written:
This pro-abortion law also opens the door to Planned Parenthood-run clinics in public middle schools and high schools, and specifically provides federal tax dollars to establish these clinics. ObamaCare provides grants for establishing “School-based Health Centers,” which could be run by abortion organizations like Planned Parenthood. While the law prevents these clinics from being used to “provide” abortions, it encourages groups like Planned Parenthood to make abortion referrals. The law’s stated purpose for these clinics is to provide “counseling” and “referrals,” which could include abortions and abortion related services.To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
Thursday, June 07, 2012
Unlocking Fetal Genome Will Increase Abortion Rate
University of Washington scientists say they have mapped the entire genome of the fetus non-invasively using the pregnant woman's blood and the father's saliva. This ability will allow advanced detection of thousands of genetic traits, as well as potential diseases of the fetus, and thus entice mass killing of less-than-perfect unborn children.
For background, read Clinic Licensed to Weed Out Embryos for Cosmetic Defects and also read Boy Created Artificially to Cure Sister's Disease as well as Sex-selection Abortion Possible at 7 Weeks
UPDATE 6/10/12 (NBC video news report)
-- From "New test for genetic disorders in fetuses" by UPI 6/7/12
Jacob Kitzman and Matthew Snyder, working in the laboratory of Dr. Jay Shendure, an associate professor of genome sciences at the University of Washington, said fetal DNA appears in the mother's plasma a few weeks after conception, rises during gestation and vanishes after the baby is born.
The concentration varies among individuals, but about 10 percent of the cell-free DNA in a pregnant woman's blood plasma comes from the fetus, Kitzman said.
Technical advances and statistical modeling made analyzing genetic variations residing on the same chromosome and from these groupings possible. The researchers pick out the parts of the baby's genetic material inherited from each parent with more than 98 percent accuracy, the study said.
The findings were published in Science Translational Medicine
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "DNA Blueprint for Fetus Built Using Tests of Parents" by Andrew Pollack, New York Times 6/6/12
. . . But the ability to know so much about an unborn child is likely to raise serious ethical considerations as well. It could increase abortions for reasons that have little to do with medical issues and more to do with parental preferences for traits in children.
. . . the cost of DNA sequencing is falling at a blistering pace, and accuracy is improving as well. The researchers estimated that the procedure could be widely available in three to five years. Others said it would take somewhat longer.
Use of the approach could lead to an increase in abortions because some parents might terminate the pregnancy if the fetus was found to have a genetic disease. But it is also possible that parents may be tempted to terminate if the fetus lacked a favorable trait like athletic prowess.
Moreover, a full fetal genome sequence would turn up numerous mutations for which information is lacking as to whether they cause disease, posing a dilemma for expectant parents and their doctors.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Fetal Genome: DNA Sequencing From Mother's Blood, Father's Saliva Stirs Ethical Debate" by Kai Kupferschmidt, Science Now 6/7/12
Even though it should be possible to sequence a fetus's whole genome, [chemical pathologist Dennis] Lo says, it might be better to do it in a targeted fashion so that information doesn't overwhelm prospective parents. That might also avoid some difficult decisions, such as whether to abort a baby who has mutations that forecast a difficult future. For example, Lo says: "I don't think it would be ethical to use this to screen for late-onset diseases like Alzheimer's or cardiovascular diseases, for example."
But even if parents who learn a child will have a severe developmental disorder decide against an abortion, they—and their doctors—might be better prepared for a baby's needs. [Arthur Beaudet of the Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas] argues that while some cultures or religious groups might object to a fetus's whole genome being sequenced, it will ultimately become a normal part of prenatal care. Indeed, Lo says he is optimistic that in 5 years, the technical problems of the process will be solved. "That is why we need to have a debate about this now."
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Genetic Test on 3,500 Anomalies Could Lead to More Abortions" by Steven Ertelt, LifeNews.com 6/7/12
As some parents seek to give birth to only “perfect” children who are supposedly free from any physical or mental disabilities, such genetic testing proves to continue to be controversial. While it helps some parents know what to expect or how to help their children after birth, it lends to extremely high abortion rates of children with any hint of “something wrong.”
[Josephine Quintavalle, founder of the Pro-Life Alliance, said,] “One always hopes, vainly, that in utero testing will be for the benefit of the unborn child. But, whilst this new test may not itself be invasive, given our past track record, it is difficult to imagine that this new test will not lead to more abortions.”
Anthony Ozimic of SPUC echoed those worries, telling LifeNews in an email: “The science-fiction scenario of the film Gattaca, in which babies are graded at birth according to predictions of future health, is becoming fact. Society can reverse this nightmare scenario by resolving to put human beings above so-called scientific progress
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
For background, read Clinic Licensed to Weed Out Embryos for Cosmetic Defects and also read Boy Created Artificially to Cure Sister's Disease as well as Sex-selection Abortion Possible at 7 Weeks
UPDATE 6/10/12 (NBC video news report)
-- From "New test for genetic disorders in fetuses" by UPI 6/7/12
Jacob Kitzman and Matthew Snyder, working in the laboratory of Dr. Jay Shendure, an associate professor of genome sciences at the University of Washington, said fetal DNA appears in the mother's plasma a few weeks after conception, rises during gestation and vanishes after the baby is born.
The concentration varies among individuals, but about 10 percent of the cell-free DNA in a pregnant woman's blood plasma comes from the fetus, Kitzman said.
Technical advances and statistical modeling made analyzing genetic variations residing on the same chromosome and from these groupings possible. The researchers pick out the parts of the baby's genetic material inherited from each parent with more than 98 percent accuracy, the study said.
The findings were published in Science Translational Medicine
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "DNA Blueprint for Fetus Built Using Tests of Parents" by Andrew Pollack, New York Times 6/6/12
. . . But the ability to know so much about an unborn child is likely to raise serious ethical considerations as well. It could increase abortions for reasons that have little to do with medical issues and more to do with parental preferences for traits in children.
. . . the cost of DNA sequencing is falling at a blistering pace, and accuracy is improving as well. The researchers estimated that the procedure could be widely available in three to five years. Others said it would take somewhat longer.
Use of the approach could lead to an increase in abortions because some parents might terminate the pregnancy if the fetus was found to have a genetic disease. But it is also possible that parents may be tempted to terminate if the fetus lacked a favorable trait like athletic prowess.
Moreover, a full fetal genome sequence would turn up numerous mutations for which information is lacking as to whether they cause disease, posing a dilemma for expectant parents and their doctors.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Fetal Genome: DNA Sequencing From Mother's Blood, Father's Saliva Stirs Ethical Debate" by Kai Kupferschmidt, Science Now 6/7/12
Even though it should be possible to sequence a fetus's whole genome, [chemical pathologist Dennis] Lo says, it might be better to do it in a targeted fashion so that information doesn't overwhelm prospective parents. That might also avoid some difficult decisions, such as whether to abort a baby who has mutations that forecast a difficult future. For example, Lo says: "I don't think it would be ethical to use this to screen for late-onset diseases like Alzheimer's or cardiovascular diseases, for example."
But even if parents who learn a child will have a severe developmental disorder decide against an abortion, they—and their doctors—might be better prepared for a baby's needs. [Arthur Beaudet of the Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas] argues that while some cultures or religious groups might object to a fetus's whole genome being sequenced, it will ultimately become a normal part of prenatal care. Indeed, Lo says he is optimistic that in 5 years, the technical problems of the process will be solved. "That is why we need to have a debate about this now."
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Genetic Test on 3,500 Anomalies Could Lead to More Abortions" by Steven Ertelt, LifeNews.com 6/7/12
As some parents seek to give birth to only “perfect” children who are supposedly free from any physical or mental disabilities, such genetic testing proves to continue to be controversial. While it helps some parents know what to expect or how to help their children after birth, it lends to extremely high abortion rates of children with any hint of “something wrong.”
[Josephine Quintavalle, founder of the Pro-Life Alliance, said,] “One always hopes, vainly, that in utero testing will be for the benefit of the unborn child. But, whilst this new test may not itself be invasive, given our past track record, it is difficult to imagine that this new test will not lead to more abortions.”
Anthony Ozimic of SPUC echoed those worries, telling LifeNews in an email: “The science-fiction scenario of the film Gattaca, in which babies are graded at birth according to predictions of future health, is becoming fact. Society can reverse this nightmare scenario by resolving to put human beings above so-called scientific progress
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
Wednesday, June 06, 2012
Wisconsin Atheists Want Prayer Stopped in Tennessee
The Freedom From Religion Foundation of Madison, WI threatened the Hamilton County Commission if they continue to pray to Jesus, but commissioners say they won't stop praying. Local atheist Tommy Coleman complained to the Commission that "according to the establishment clause, [Christian prayer] is unconstitutional!"
For background, read Prayer Ban Increases Prayer at Hamilton School Football Game and also read Prayer in America: Hidden Faith, or Public?
UPDATE 7/12/12: Commissions' prayer compromise draws more atheist complaints (video)
UPDATE 6/26/12: Atheist residents sue Commission
-- From "Hamilton Co. Commissioners hear from residents opposed to prayer" by Jonquil Newland, WRCB-TV3 Reporter 6/6/12
Coleman asked the commission to replace its prayer with a moment of silence.
Commissioners also heard from those in favor of prayer.
. . . commissioners have already stated prayer will continue before meetings unless ordered otherwise by a court.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Resident plans to ask Hamilton County commissioners to stop prayer" by Ansley Haman, Chattanooga Times Free Press 6/6/12
[Also,] The American Civil Liberties Union sued the county on behalf of several residents in 2002 for posting the Ten Commandments in the county courthouse and two other buildings.
In May 2003, a federal judge ruled that displaying the plaques violated the constitutionally required separation of church and state and ordered the plaques' removal.
The judge ordered the county to pay attorney and court costs, and newspaper archives show legal bills totaled about $70,000.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
For background, read Prayer Ban Increases Prayer at Hamilton School Football Game and also read Prayer in America: Hidden Faith, or Public?
UPDATE 7/12/12: Commissions' prayer compromise draws more atheist complaints (video)
UPDATE 6/26/12: Atheist residents sue Commission
-- From "Hamilton Co. Commissioners hear from residents opposed to prayer" by Jonquil Newland, WRCB-TV3 Reporter 6/6/12
Coleman asked the commission to replace its prayer with a moment of silence.
Commissioners also heard from those in favor of prayer.
. . . commissioners have already stated prayer will continue before meetings unless ordered otherwise by a court.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Resident plans to ask Hamilton County commissioners to stop prayer" by Ansley Haman, Chattanooga Times Free Press 6/6/12
[Also,] The American Civil Liberties Union sued the county on behalf of several residents in 2002 for posting the Ten Commandments in the county courthouse and two other buildings.
In May 2003, a federal judge ruled that displaying the plaques violated the constitutionally required separation of church and state and ordered the plaques' removal.
The judge ordered the county to pay attorney and court costs, and newspaper archives show legal bills totaled about $70,000.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
Tuesday, June 05, 2012
Poll: 15% of Americans Believe Darwinian Evolution
A new Gallup poll finds that Biblical creation rather than evolution continues as the dominant belief -- ever since Columbus discovered the New World. More Americans (46%) are young-earth creationists, fewer (32%) hold a contorted belief that God is the author of evolution, and a scant 15% hold the atheistic view of evolution advocated by American public education.
For background, read Poll: Most Americans Believe Intelligent Design over Darwinism and also read Eons of Godless Human Evolution? NOT, Say 84% of Americans
UPDATE 12/31/13: Most Americans Reject Godless Theory of Evolution
-- From "Survey: Nearly half of Americans subscribe to creationist view of human origins" by Dan Merica, CNN 6/2/12
Forty-six percent of Americans believe that God created humans in their present form at one point within the past 10,000 years, according to a survey released by Gallup on Friday.
That number has remained unchanged for the past 30 years, since 1982, when Gallup first asked the question on creationism versus evolution.
. . . a belief in creationism is bucking the majority opinion in the scientific community - that humans evolved over millions of years.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "46% Americans Believe In Creationism According To Latest Gallup Poll" by Jahnabi Barooah, Huffington Post 6/5/12
The following question was asked to determine Americans' views on origin of human beings:
From "Nearly Half of Americans Believe God Created Humans, Survey Finds" By Anugrah Kumar, Christian Post Contributor 6/2/12
The survey also found that the more religious the American, the more likely he or she is to choose the creationist viewpoint. Two-thirds of Americans who attend religious services weekly choose the creationist alternative, compared with 25 percent of those who say they seldom or never attend church, the survey found.
The survey results also showed that nearly 60 percent of Republicans identify as creationists, while 39 percent of independents and 41 percent of Democrats hold the same beliefs.
Gallup further found that Americans with postgraduate education are most likely of all the educational groups to believe in the secular evolution view. The creationist viewpoint "wins" among Americans with less than a postgraduate education . . .
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
Also read Scientific Teaching vs. Darwinism: States' Legislation
For background, read Poll: Most Americans Believe Intelligent Design over Darwinism and also read Eons of Godless Human Evolution? NOT, Say 84% of Americans
UPDATE 12/31/13: Most Americans Reject Godless Theory of Evolution
-- From "Survey: Nearly half of Americans subscribe to creationist view of human origins" by Dan Merica, CNN 6/2/12
Forty-six percent of Americans believe that God created humans in their present form at one point within the past 10,000 years, according to a survey released by Gallup on Friday.
That number has remained unchanged for the past 30 years, since 1982, when Gallup first asked the question on creationism versus evolution.
. . . a belief in creationism is bucking the majority opinion in the scientific community - that humans evolved over millions of years.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "46% Americans Believe In Creationism According To Latest Gallup Poll" by Jahnabi Barooah, Huffington Post 6/5/12
The following question was asked to determine Americans' views on origin of human beings:
Which of the following statements comes closest to your views on the origin and development of human beings?To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
1) Human beings have developed over millions of years from less advanced forms of life, but God guided this process,
2) Human beings have developed over millions of years from less advanced forms of life, but God had no part in this process,
3) God created human beings pretty much in their present form at one time within the last 10,000 years or so.
From "Nearly Half of Americans Believe God Created Humans, Survey Finds" By Anugrah Kumar, Christian Post Contributor 6/2/12
The survey also found that the more religious the American, the more likely he or she is to choose the creationist viewpoint. Two-thirds of Americans who attend religious services weekly choose the creationist alternative, compared with 25 percent of those who say they seldom or never attend church, the survey found.
The survey results also showed that nearly 60 percent of Republicans identify as creationists, while 39 percent of independents and 41 percent of Democrats hold the same beliefs.
Gallup further found that Americans with postgraduate education are most likely of all the educational groups to believe in the secular evolution view. The creationist viewpoint "wins" among Americans with less than a postgraduate education . . .
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
Also read Scientific Teaching vs. Darwinism: States' Legislation
Monday, June 04, 2012
Media Admit Propaganda Overstating Gay Population
For decades, the liberal media have drowned out the truth espoused by knowledgeable Christians who demonstrate that the fraction of the American population claiming to be homosexual is tiny.
Will suppression of the truth continue?
For background, read American Homosexual Population is Tiny: Study and also read Same-sex Household Count Tiny: U.S. Census as well as Gay Agenda: TV's Disproportionate Attention
UPDATE 7/15/14: Federal government survey finds only 1.6% are homosexual
-- From "Americans Have No Idea How Few Gay People There Are" by Garance Franke-Ruta, The Atlantic 5/31/12
Surveys show a shockingly high fraction think a quarter of the country is gay or lesbian, when the reality is that it's probably less than 2 percent.
Contemporary research in a less homophobic environment has counterintuitively resulted in lower estimates rather than higher ones.
In surveys conducted in 2002 and 2011, pollsters at Gallup found that members of the American public massively overestimated how many people are gay or lesbian. In 2002, a quarter of those surveyed guessed upwards of a quarter of Americans were gay or lesbian (or "homosexual," the third option given). By 2011, that misperception had only grown, with more than a third of those surveyed now guessing that more than 25 percent of Americans are gay or lesbian. Women and young adults were most likely to provide high estimates, approximating that 30 percent of the population is gay. Overall, "U.S. adults, on average, estimate that 25 percent of Americans are gay or lesbian," Gallup found. Only 4 percent of all those surveyed in 2011 and about 8 percent of those surveyed in 2002 correctly guessed that fewer than 5 percent of Americans identify as gay or lesbian.
These numbers are significant because identity -- and not behavior -- is the central determinant of whether or not someone will seek a same-sex marriage.
To read the entire article, CLICK HERE.
Will suppression of the truth continue?
For background, read American Homosexual Population is Tiny: Study and also read Same-sex Household Count Tiny: U.S. Census as well as Gay Agenda: TV's Disproportionate Attention
UPDATE 7/15/14: Federal government survey finds only 1.6% are homosexual
-- From "Americans Have No Idea How Few Gay People There Are" by Garance Franke-Ruta, The Atlantic 5/31/12
Surveys show a shockingly high fraction think a quarter of the country is gay or lesbian, when the reality is that it's probably less than 2 percent.
Contemporary research in a less homophobic environment has counterintuitively resulted in lower estimates rather than higher ones.
In surveys conducted in 2002 and 2011, pollsters at Gallup found that members of the American public massively overestimated how many people are gay or lesbian. In 2002, a quarter of those surveyed guessed upwards of a quarter of Americans were gay or lesbian (or "homosexual," the third option given). By 2011, that misperception had only grown, with more than a third of those surveyed now guessing that more than 25 percent of Americans are gay or lesbian. Women and young adults were most likely to provide high estimates, approximating that 30 percent of the population is gay. Overall, "U.S. adults, on average, estimate that 25 percent of Americans are gay or lesbian," Gallup found. Only 4 percent of all those surveyed in 2011 and about 8 percent of those surveyed in 2002 correctly guessed that fewer than 5 percent of Americans identify as gay or lesbian.
These numbers are significant because identity -- and not behavior -- is the central determinant of whether or not someone will seek a same-sex marriage.
To read the entire article, CLICK HERE.
Obama, Dems Severely Lacking of Christian Support
Although Barack Obama was elected president with little help from church-goers, liberals say Christian support for the Democrat party is waning further, especially among Catholic voters and potentially even among the black community of believers, while a new Pew Research study shows America is still solidly Christian.
UPDATE 8/1/12: Black Pastors Line up to Oppose Obama
UPDATE 10/11/12: Pornography Industry Backs Obama by 5-to-1 Margin over Romney
UPDATE 10/27/12: Non-religious less likely to show up to vote than Christians
UPDATE 9/6/12: Christians OK with Romney, Non-religious Prefer Obama
-- From "Losing faith in Democrats' religious outreach" by Rachel Zoll, Associated Press Religion Writer 6/3/12
. . . some religious leaders and scholars who backed Obama in 2008 are skeptical. They say the Democrats have, through neglect and lack of focus, squandered the substantial gains they made with religious moderates and worry it will hurt Obama in a tight race against Republican Mitt Romney.
. . . as evidence of their concerns, critics point to the public debate that followed Obama's endorsement of gay marriage, a decision the president said was based in part on his Christian faith.
In 2008, the Obama campaign sought ways to cooperate with religious moderates and conservatives and make them feel more welcome among Democrats. Many political veterans dismissed the idea as quixotic. For the past decade or so, exit polls have found that the more often a voter attends church, the more likely he was to back a conservative candidate, earning the GOP the nickname "God's Own Party."
But from 2008 to 2010, when control of Congress was at stake, the DNC cut its faith outreach staffing from more than six people to one part-timer, according to The Washington Post.
Some Democrats see no problem with consigning faith outreach to the sidelines. They argue that attempts to please moderate and conservative religious groups have kept Obama from fully enacting some policies important to party members.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Catholic voters key to presidential win" by Salena Zito, Pittsburgh Tribune-Review 6/3/12
Worry about eroding religious freedom could sway Roman Catholic voters further away from President Obama, and the Catholic voting bloc typically predicts the winner in presidential elections, experts say.
"Religious liberty is becoming a major campaign issue as many Catholics, along with other Americans, are realizing that religious freedom and conscience protection can no longer be taken for granted," said Mary Ann Glendon, a Harvard law professor and a former U.S. ambassador to the Holy See.
In April, a Pew Research Center survey found Obama's approval among Catholics dropped 8 percentage points since March, down from 45 percent, as support for Romney rose 6 points to 57 percent.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "'Heart-Broken' Black Pastors Want to Meet Obama Over Gay Marriage" by Anugrah Kumar, Christian Post Contributor 6/2/12
"We pray for the President ... President Obama is the fulfillment of our dreams for our sons -- and he has broken our hearts by using his power and position to endorse as a civil right something that is simply wrong," the Rev. William Owens, founder and president of the Coalition of African American Pastors (CAAP), wrote in a letter to [Attorney General Eric] Holder late Thursday.
"I would pray you have enough residual respect for this group of clergy, to agree to meet with us and other national leaders to discuss our concerns over your and President Obama's endorsement of gay marriage as a civil right," Owens said in the letter, signed by numerous black pastors. "Some things are bigger than the next election."
Referring to a May 17 press conference against Obama's support for gay marriage in Memphis, Tenn., the CAAP president quoted civil rights activist Elder Morris as saying, "We marched so we wouldn't have to sit in the back of the bus, so our children could go to the same schools, so we could go to the zoo every day." Owens then wrote, "That's what it looks and feels like when genuine civil rights are violated. I can promise you personally, as an organizer of the civil rights movement in Nashville, I did not march one inch, one foot, one yard for same-sex marriage."
The coalition's letter also refers to the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., who laid down the markers for how one can distinguish a genuinely unjust law, a law that violates civil rights: "How does one determine whether a law is just or unjust? A just law is a manmade code that squares with the moral law or the law of God. An unjust law is a code that is out of harmony with the moral law. To put it in the terms of St. Thomas Aquinas: An unjust law is a human law that is not rooted in eternal law and natural law."
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Partisan Polarization Surges in Bush, Obama Years" posted at Pew Research Center for the People & the Press 6/4/12
About three-quarters of the public (76%) say prayer is an important part of their daily life, while an identical percentage agrees that “we will all be called before God at the Judgment Day to answer for our sins.” And eight-in-ten say they never doubt the existence of God.
The partisan gap over the three religious values questions, while substantial, has not increased much in recent years. Currently, 81% of Republicans agree with all three religious values statements, compared with 62% of Democrats and 61% of independents. In the 2007 study, there was a similar gap. In the first political values survey in 1987, however, there were only modest differences in the percentages of Republicans (71%), Democrats (69%) and independents (64%) who agreed with all of these statements.
The gap between Republicans and Democrats increases dramatically when only white non-Hispanics are considered. African Americans, who make up about a quarter of all Democrats, are more likely than whites to hold more traditional religious values (82% of non-Hispanic blacks agree with all three statements vs. 65% of whites.)
There are widening ideological differences among Democrats over the statement “I never doubt the existence of God.” The percentage of liberal Democrats who agree with that statement has fallen by 13 points since 2007, from 73% to 60%. In the first political values survey, 84% of liberal Democrats said they never doubted God’s existence. By contrast, conservative and moderate Democrats continue to overwhelmingly say they never doubt God’s existence (91% in 1987, 86% today).
Since 1987, there have been declines in the percentages of independents and Democrats who say they have “old-fashioned” family values. But Republicans’ views are largely unchanged.
To read the entire Pew Research study, CLICK HERE.
Also read Obama Declares He's Christian, Again as well as President Obama Reads Easter Message Speech
"I think there is a viable religious left who can be persuaded [to support Obama] by a carefully articulated religious argument, but no one is making it. I get frustrated when I talk to evangelical friends or students and they ask, 'How can you be a Christian and a Democrat?'"For background, read Bishops Throw Down Gauntlet: Obama War on Christianity and also read Obama's Base Support is the Unchurched (barely) as well as 'Traditional Black Churches' Criticized as Homophobic by Obama in addition read Obama Defeats Marriage, Again - Congress Responds and take note that Most Americans Oppose Obama's War on Christianity
-- Valerie Cooper, Professor of Religious Studies, University of Virginia
UPDATE 8/1/12: Black Pastors Line up to Oppose Obama
UPDATE 10/11/12: Pornography Industry Backs Obama by 5-to-1 Margin over Romney
UPDATE 10/27/12: Non-religious less likely to show up to vote than Christians
UPDATE 9/6/12: Christians OK with Romney, Non-religious Prefer Obama
-- From "Losing faith in Democrats' religious outreach" by Rachel Zoll, Associated Press Religion Writer 6/3/12
. . . some religious leaders and scholars who backed Obama in 2008 are skeptical. They say the Democrats have, through neglect and lack of focus, squandered the substantial gains they made with religious moderates and worry it will hurt Obama in a tight race against Republican Mitt Romney.
. . . as evidence of their concerns, critics point to the public debate that followed Obama's endorsement of gay marriage, a decision the president said was based in part on his Christian faith.
In 2008, the Obama campaign sought ways to cooperate with religious moderates and conservatives and make them feel more welcome among Democrats. Many political veterans dismissed the idea as quixotic. For the past decade or so, exit polls have found that the more often a voter attends church, the more likely he was to back a conservative candidate, earning the GOP the nickname "God's Own Party."
But from 2008 to 2010, when control of Congress was at stake, the DNC cut its faith outreach staffing from more than six people to one part-timer, according to The Washington Post.
Some Democrats see no problem with consigning faith outreach to the sidelines. They argue that attempts to please moderate and conservative religious groups have kept Obama from fully enacting some policies important to party members.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Catholic voters key to presidential win" by Salena Zito, Pittsburgh Tribune-Review 6/3/12
Worry about eroding religious freedom could sway Roman Catholic voters further away from President Obama, and the Catholic voting bloc typically predicts the winner in presidential elections, experts say.
"Religious liberty is becoming a major campaign issue as many Catholics, along with other Americans, are realizing that religious freedom and conscience protection can no longer be taken for granted," said Mary Ann Glendon, a Harvard law professor and a former U.S. ambassador to the Holy See.
In April, a Pew Research Center survey found Obama's approval among Catholics dropped 8 percentage points since March, down from 45 percent, as support for Romney rose 6 points to 57 percent.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "'Heart-Broken' Black Pastors Want to Meet Obama Over Gay Marriage" by Anugrah Kumar, Christian Post Contributor 6/2/12
"We pray for the President ... President Obama is the fulfillment of our dreams for our sons -- and he has broken our hearts by using his power and position to endorse as a civil right something that is simply wrong," the Rev. William Owens, founder and president of the Coalition of African American Pastors (CAAP), wrote in a letter to [Attorney General Eric] Holder late Thursday.
"I would pray you have enough residual respect for this group of clergy, to agree to meet with us and other national leaders to discuss our concerns over your and President Obama's endorsement of gay marriage as a civil right," Owens said in the letter, signed by numerous black pastors. "Some things are bigger than the next election."
Referring to a May 17 press conference against Obama's support for gay marriage in Memphis, Tenn., the CAAP president quoted civil rights activist Elder Morris as saying, "We marched so we wouldn't have to sit in the back of the bus, so our children could go to the same schools, so we could go to the zoo every day." Owens then wrote, "That's what it looks and feels like when genuine civil rights are violated. I can promise you personally, as an organizer of the civil rights movement in Nashville, I did not march one inch, one foot, one yard for same-sex marriage."
The coalition's letter also refers to the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., who laid down the markers for how one can distinguish a genuinely unjust law, a law that violates civil rights: "How does one determine whether a law is just or unjust? A just law is a manmade code that squares with the moral law or the law of God. An unjust law is a code that is out of harmony with the moral law. To put it in the terms of St. Thomas Aquinas: An unjust law is a human law that is not rooted in eternal law and natural law."
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Partisan Polarization Surges in Bush, Obama Years" posted at Pew Research Center for the People & the Press 6/4/12
About three-quarters of the public (76%) say prayer is an important part of their daily life, while an identical percentage agrees that “we will all be called before God at the Judgment Day to answer for our sins.” And eight-in-ten say they never doubt the existence of God.
The partisan gap over the three religious values questions, while substantial, has not increased much in recent years. Currently, 81% of Republicans agree with all three religious values statements, compared with 62% of Democrats and 61% of independents. In the 2007 study, there was a similar gap. In the first political values survey in 1987, however, there were only modest differences in the percentages of Republicans (71%), Democrats (69%) and independents (64%) who agreed with all of these statements.
The gap between Republicans and Democrats increases dramatically when only white non-Hispanics are considered. African Americans, who make up about a quarter of all Democrats, are more likely than whites to hold more traditional religious values (82% of non-Hispanic blacks agree with all three statements vs. 65% of whites.)
There are widening ideological differences among Democrats over the statement “I never doubt the existence of God.” The percentage of liberal Democrats who agree with that statement has fallen by 13 points since 2007, from 73% to 60%. In the first political values survey, 84% of liberal Democrats said they never doubted God’s existence. By contrast, conservative and moderate Democrats continue to overwhelmingly say they never doubt God’s existence (91% in 1987, 86% today).
Since 1987, there have been declines in the percentages of independents and Democrats who say they have “old-fashioned” family values. But Republicans’ views are largely unchanged.
To read the entire Pew Research study, CLICK HERE.
Also read Obama Declares He's Christian, Again as well as President Obama Reads Easter Message Speech
Sunday, June 03, 2012
Louisiana: Restricting Abortion After 20 Weeks
The Louisiana legislature has nearly unanimously passed a bill, SB 766, to outlaw abortion beyond 20 weeks after fertilization, except to save the life of the mother. Abortionists violating this law could be jailed for up to two years.
-- From "Louisiana House approves bill banning abortions after 20 weeks" by Kathy Finn, Reuters 6/1/12
The measure, which Hoffman referred to as the "pain bill," is based on controversial research that a fetus can feel pain by that stage of development.
He later told Reuters that by some estimates, about 150 abortions are performed in Louisiana each year on fetuses that would fit the 20-week restriction.
Georgia a month ago became the seventh state to ban most or all abortions after 20 weeks. Alabama, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Nebraska and North Carolina also have such restrictions.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "La. abortion bills near final legislative passage" by Shelia V. Kumar, The Associated Press 5/31/12
Julie Mickelberry, a spokeswoman for Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast, said the proposal would restrict doctors' abilities to provide medical care in the best interest of their patients.
Another [bill] by Sen. Sharon Weston Broome, D-Baton Rouge, would rewrite ultrasound requirements for an abortion and require doctors to give women the choice to listen to the fetal heartbeat before having the procedure.
Broome's bill would require the ultrasound 24 hours before the abortion, instead of [the current requirement of] two hours.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Changes to abortion restrictions near final passage in Legislature" by Bill Barrow, The Times-Picayune 5/31/12
Broome's bill requires the abortion provider to make the screen visible to the woman and to give an oral explanation. On the latter requirement, a woman could opt out only by affirming in writing that she is the victim of a rape or incest. The bill includes passages stating that a woman would not be required to look at ultrasound images, but the cumulative effect of the measure as written puts the burden on the woman to turn away.
Further, the bill would require the fetal heartbeat, if one is present, to be audible, unless a woman opts out by initialing the following statement: "I have the option to listen to the heartbeat of the unborn child that is required to be made audible unless I declined by initialing here."
Planned Parenthood also opposes Broome's bill, calling it an insult to women and their doctors.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
“Louisiana ranks as the No. 1 pro-life state in America.”For background, read Pro-life Legislation Floods America and also read Pro-life Legislation in Louisiana
-- State Rep. Frank Hoffmann (R-West Monroe)
-- From "Louisiana House approves bill banning abortions after 20 weeks" by Kathy Finn, Reuters 6/1/12
The measure, which Hoffman referred to as the "pain bill," is based on controversial research that a fetus can feel pain by that stage of development.
He later told Reuters that by some estimates, about 150 abortions are performed in Louisiana each year on fetuses that would fit the 20-week restriction.
Georgia a month ago became the seventh state to ban most or all abortions after 20 weeks. Alabama, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Nebraska and North Carolina also have such restrictions.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "La. abortion bills near final legislative passage" by Shelia V. Kumar, The Associated Press 5/31/12
Julie Mickelberry, a spokeswoman for Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast, said the proposal would restrict doctors' abilities to provide medical care in the best interest of their patients.
Another [bill] by Sen. Sharon Weston Broome, D-Baton Rouge, would rewrite ultrasound requirements for an abortion and require doctors to give women the choice to listen to the fetal heartbeat before having the procedure.
Broome's bill would require the ultrasound 24 hours before the abortion, instead of [the current requirement of] two hours.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Changes to abortion restrictions near final passage in Legislature" by Bill Barrow, The Times-Picayune 5/31/12
Broome's bill requires the abortion provider to make the screen visible to the woman and to give an oral explanation. On the latter requirement, a woman could opt out only by affirming in writing that she is the victim of a rape or incest. The bill includes passages stating that a woman would not be required to look at ultrasound images, but the cumulative effect of the measure as written puts the burden on the woman to turn away.
Further, the bill would require the fetal heartbeat, if one is present, to be audible, unless a woman opts out by initialing the following statement: "I have the option to listen to the heartbeat of the unborn child that is required to be made audible unless I declined by initialing here."
Planned Parenthood also opposes Broome's bill, calling it an insult to women and their doctors.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
Saturday, June 02, 2012
Prayer Ruled Unconstitutional by Vermont Judge
With the ruling from Vermont Superior Court Judge Martin Maley, saying that prayer at the Franklin Town Meeting violates the state constitution, other small God-fearing towns' right to pray is equally in peril, absent the Vermont Supreme Court.
For background, read ACLU Unable to Stop Prayer in Vermont, For Now and also read Prayer in America: Hidden Faith, or Public?
-- From "Court Rules Against Prayer At Franklin Town Meeting" posted at Vermont Public Radio 6/1/12
Marilyn Hackett of Franklin [backed in the lawsuit by the ACLU] said her belief that the Christian prayer read at the beginning of town meeting violated her constitutional right not to attend religious worship.
For years, the town moderator has invited a local pastor to read a prayer addressed to the Trinity that followed the Christian doctrine that God is three divine persons - the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.
The town had said Hackett does not have to be present for the prayer to participate in the town meeting.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Judge bars Vt. town from prayer at town meeting" by The Associated Press 6/2/12
"The Court concludes that Ms. Hackett was compelled to attend religious worship," [Judge Maley] said in his decision . . . [however] "Plaintiff was never denied access or entry to town meeting — she attended every meeting since 2000," he said.
Hackett, a para-educator, tutor and summer school instructor at the Richford school, has objected to the prayers each year since 2004. In 2007, she interrupted the meeting and pleaded with the voters to stop the prayers but they overrode her request with a vote, according to her complaint.
Two years later, the town moderator agreed to forgo the prayer after she spoke to him but when a community member asked for the prayer, the moderator called for a vote by a show of hands, the complaint said. Hackett was the only one who voted against it.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Vt. judge rules against Town Meeting prayer" by Howard Weiss-Tisman, Brattleboro Reformer Staff 6/2/12
Now Vermont towns, like Brattleboro, that lead off their town meetings with a prayer, will be waiting to see if the decision is appealed and if the Supreme Court is willing to take up the issue.
Longtime Brattleboro Moderator Tim O’Connor points out that Brattleboro residents have been starting their annual town meeting with a prayer since 1753.
"Until there is a final ruling by the Supreme Court I think there is a place for it," said O’Connor. "’In God we trust.’ That’s what the Pledge of Allegiance says. Anyone who doesn’t want to participate doesn’t have to come in until after it has been said."
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
For background, read ACLU Unable to Stop Prayer in Vermont, For Now and also read Prayer in America: Hidden Faith, or Public?
-- From "Court Rules Against Prayer At Franklin Town Meeting" posted at Vermont Public Radio 6/1/12
Marilyn Hackett of Franklin [backed in the lawsuit by the ACLU] said her belief that the Christian prayer read at the beginning of town meeting violated her constitutional right not to attend religious worship.
For years, the town moderator has invited a local pastor to read a prayer addressed to the Trinity that followed the Christian doctrine that God is three divine persons - the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.
The town had said Hackett does not have to be present for the prayer to participate in the town meeting.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Judge bars Vt. town from prayer at town meeting" by The Associated Press 6/2/12
"The Court concludes that Ms. Hackett was compelled to attend religious worship," [Judge Maley] said in his decision . . . [however] "Plaintiff was never denied access or entry to town meeting — she attended every meeting since 2000," he said.
Hackett, a para-educator, tutor and summer school instructor at the Richford school, has objected to the prayers each year since 2004. In 2007, she interrupted the meeting and pleaded with the voters to stop the prayers but they overrode her request with a vote, according to her complaint.
Two years later, the town moderator agreed to forgo the prayer after she spoke to him but when a community member asked for the prayer, the moderator called for a vote by a show of hands, the complaint said. Hackett was the only one who voted against it.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Vt. judge rules against Town Meeting prayer" by Howard Weiss-Tisman, Brattleboro Reformer Staff 6/2/12
Now Vermont towns, like Brattleboro, that lead off their town meetings with a prayer, will be waiting to see if the decision is appealed and if the Supreme Court is willing to take up the issue.
Longtime Brattleboro Moderator Tim O’Connor points out that Brattleboro residents have been starting their annual town meeting with a prayer since 1753.
"Until there is a final ruling by the Supreme Court I think there is a place for it," said O’Connor. "’In God we trust.’ That’s what the Pledge of Allegiance says. Anyone who doesn’t want to participate doesn’t have to come in until after it has been said."
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
Thursday, May 31, 2012
'Higher Education' Indoctrinates Pro-abortion: Poll
The latest Gallup poll of American opinion concerning abortion finds a direct correlation between the number of years spent in college and the likelihood of a young adult favoring abortion over a pro-life belief.
Not surprisingly, the poll also shows that the vast majority of the nonreligious and Democrats are pro-abortion.
For background, read Poll: Most Americans Pro-life; Liberals Desperate and also read Poll: Pro-life America Becomes More So as well as Pro-life Trends Continue in American Opinion
UPDATE 4/18/14: University of Chicago Teaches Students How to Get Abortion
UPDATE 9/2/13: Christian Pro-life Free Speech Censored at Ohio College
-- From "More Time In School, More Likely ‘Pro-Choice,’ Says Gallup Poll" by Terence P. Jeffrey, CNSNews.com 5/30/12
Nonetheless, a majority of American college graduates who did not attend graduate school, as well as a majority of those who have no better than a high school diploma, say they are pro-life.
Only 33 percent of Americans with a high school degree or less said they were “pro-choice." Meanwhile, 41 percent of those who had done “some college,” 45 percent of those who graduated from college but did not attend graduate school, and 58 percent of those who did attend graduate school described themselves as pro-choice.
On the other side of the ledger, 53 percent of those with a high school degree or less said they were “pro-life;” as did 49 percent of those who did “some college” and 53 percent of those who had earned a college degree but did not go to graduate school.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Gallup: Nonreligious Are Least 'Pro-Life'" by Napp Nazworth, Christian Post Reporter 5/30/12
Only 19 percent of those with no religious attachment identified themselves as "pro-life" in the May 3-6 poll of 1,024 adults. Sixty-eight percent called themselves "pro-choice." This represents the largest propensity toward the pro-choice position on abortion of any major demographic group.
The 49 percentage point margin between pro-life and pro-choice positions among the nonreligious is much larger the 16 percentage point margin among Catholics (54 percent pro-life, 38 percent pro-choice) and the 24 percentage point margin among Protestants and other Christians (57 percent pro-life, 33 percent pro-choice).
Gallup also found that men are more pro-life than women, nonwhites are more pro-life than whites, those 55 and older are more pro-life than 18- to 54-year-olds, Southerners are more pro-life than non-Southerners, and those who make less than $75,000 per year are more pro-life than upper-income Americans.
Besides self-proclaimed Democrats and the nonreligious, the only other major subgroup to show a majority identifying as pro-choice are those with a postgraduate education.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
Also read the full Gallup Poll
Not surprisingly, the poll also shows that the vast majority of the nonreligious and Democrats are pro-abortion.
For background, read Poll: Most Americans Pro-life; Liberals Desperate and also read Poll: Pro-life America Becomes More So as well as Pro-life Trends Continue in American Opinion
UPDATE 4/18/14: University of Chicago Teaches Students How to Get Abortion
UPDATE 9/2/13: Christian Pro-life Free Speech Censored at Ohio College
-- From "More Time In School, More Likely ‘Pro-Choice,’ Says Gallup Poll" by Terence P. Jeffrey, CNSNews.com 5/30/12
Nonetheless, a majority of American college graduates who did not attend graduate school, as well as a majority of those who have no better than a high school diploma, say they are pro-life.
Only 33 percent of Americans with a high school degree or less said they were “pro-choice." Meanwhile, 41 percent of those who had done “some college,” 45 percent of those who graduated from college but did not attend graduate school, and 58 percent of those who did attend graduate school described themselves as pro-choice.
On the other side of the ledger, 53 percent of those with a high school degree or less said they were “pro-life;” as did 49 percent of those who did “some college” and 53 percent of those who had earned a college degree but did not go to graduate school.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Gallup: Nonreligious Are Least 'Pro-Life'" by Napp Nazworth, Christian Post Reporter 5/30/12
Only 19 percent of those with no religious attachment identified themselves as "pro-life" in the May 3-6 poll of 1,024 adults. Sixty-eight percent called themselves "pro-choice." This represents the largest propensity toward the pro-choice position on abortion of any major demographic group.
The 49 percentage point margin between pro-life and pro-choice positions among the nonreligious is much larger the 16 percentage point margin among Catholics (54 percent pro-life, 38 percent pro-choice) and the 24 percentage point margin among Protestants and other Christians (57 percent pro-life, 33 percent pro-choice).
Gallup also found that men are more pro-life than women, nonwhites are more pro-life than whites, those 55 and older are more pro-life than 18- to 54-year-olds, Southerners are more pro-life than non-Southerners, and those who make less than $75,000 per year are more pro-life than upper-income Americans.
Besides self-proclaimed Democrats and the nonreligious, the only other major subgroup to show a majority identifying as pro-choice are those with a postgraduate education.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
Also read the full Gallup Poll
Wednesday, May 30, 2012
Targeting Unborn Girls OK with Planned Parenthood
After undercover sting videos exposed callous Planned Parenthood counselors advising pregnant women how to kill their baby girls in favor of baby boys, this nation's largest abortion mill issued a statement that indeed they will NOT dissuade sex-selection abortions (except in the four states that have outlawed such gendercide) -- thus providing services they consider “high quality, confidential, nonjudgmental care to all who come into” their facility.
Meanwhile, Congress will now consider H.R. 3541, the Prenatal Nondiscrimination Act (PRENDA), to fight against the abortionists' war on women -- a bill that is strongly opposed by pro-abortion organizations.
For background, read Worldwide Abortion: The War on Girls and also read Sex-selection Abortion Possible at 7 Weeks as well as Arizona Abortion Ban for Race/Gender Selection in addition, read Sex-selection Abortion Outlawed in Oklahoma
UPDATE 5/31/12: As House Democrats defeat bill to save little girls . . .
the White House says motivations to kill the unborn must be private
-- From "South Austin clinic at center of sex-selective abortion controversy" by Jazmine Ulloa, American-Stateman Staff 5/29/12
Live Action, which describes itself on its website as "a youth led movement dedicated to building a culture of life and ending abortion," said the video is the first in a series dubbed "Gendercide: Sex-Selection in America," which activists said is dedicated to exposing how abortion clinics across the country facilitate sex-selective abortion. The group sent actresses posing as patients to clinics across the country as part of what it called a national investigation.
Planned Parenthood said the activists are engaged in an ongoing hoax campaign that is promoting false claims about the group. The staff member seen in the footage had been in the entry-level position for about six months, did not follow protocol and was fired within days of the interaction on April 11, said Sarah Wheat, interim co-CEO of Planned Parenthood of the Texas Capital Region. All staff members at the clinic on East Ben White Boulevard were "immediately scheduled for retraining in managing unusual patient encounters."
[Planned Parenthood] said in a statement ". . . [we] do not believe that curtailing access to abortion services is a legitimate means of addressing sex selection . . ."
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Planned Parenthood Sting Caught On Video, Released By Anti-Abortion Activists" by Laura Bassett, Huffington Post 5/29/12
The staffer answers all of the [Live Action] woman’s questions honestly and makes it clear that Planned Parenthood will not deny the woman an abortion despite her reasons for wanting to have one. At the end, she directs the woman to an ob-gyn for an ultrasound and says, "Good luck, and I hope you do get your boy."
Live Action interprets this exchange as Planned Parenthood's “encouraging” the woman to have a late-term sex-selective abortion. “Planned Parenthood and their ruthless abortion-first mentality is the real ‘war on women,'” said Lila Rose, founder and president of Live Action, in a statement. “Sex-selective abortion is gender discrimination with lethal consequences for little girls.”
Sex-selective abortions are the latest target of anti-abortion activists whose goal is to make abortions illegal across the United States. Lawmakers at the state and federal level have also latched onto the issue by introducing legislation that criminalizes doctors who perform abortions because of the race or gender of the fetus. Opponents of such laws say they force doctors into the inappropriate position of investigating a woman's personal motivations for seeking an abortion. The House of Representatives will debate Rep. Trent Franks’ (R-Ariz.) Prenatal Nondiscrimination Act on Wednesday, which would ban sex-selective abortions in the United States.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Republicans Leap on New Abortion Issue This Week" by Meghan McCarthy, National Journal 5/29/12
Republicans are trying to claim victory in the public relations war for women this week, holding a vote [today or] Thursday on a bill that prohibits women from getting abortions based on the sex of the fetus.
Unlike other abortion votes in the House, this bill is heading to the floor under suspension of the rules. It’s a procedural maneuver typically reserved for less-controversial bills and requiring two-thirds of House members present and voting to pass. Somewhere around 287 members will have to vote “aye” in order for the bill to pass (depending how many members show up), meaning approximately 45 Democrats will have to sign on with Republicans. In other words, it’s a higher bar to passing the bill.
Abortion rights groups are opposing the legislation, but a bit more quietly than on other abortion votes. A fact sheet from the National Women’s Law Center says it strongly opposes the legislation, calling it an “unconstitutional burden on a fundamental right.” A bloc of Democratic women is also speaking out in opposition. “House Republicans will hit a new low tomorrow when they bring up for a vote legislation that severely interferes with the doctor-patient relationship, criminalizing doctor’s conversations with the women they care for, while forcing women to endure interrogations regarding their medical care,” Rep. Diana DeGette, D-Colo., said in an e-mail.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "U.S. abortion foes see ally in Chinese activist" by Sandhya Somashekhar, The Washington Post 5/29/12
Conservatives are seizing on the high-profile story of Chen Guangcheng, the blind Chinese activist who recently arrived in the United States, hoping that the spotlight on his human-rights work will bolster their efforts to curb abortions domestically and in China.
Anti-abortion groups, including National Right to Life and the Susan B. Anthony List, are highlighting Chen's work exposing forced abortions and sterilizations in China in hopes it will help them in passing U.S. legislation banning abortions performed because of a child's gender. Chen's plight also has led congressional Republicans to plan hearings this summer on the one-child policy.
. . . Romney has not let up in his criticism. In particular, he has accused the Obama administration of having a permissive attitude toward [China's] one-child rule.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
Also read Feminists Fight Ban on Female-targeted Abortion as well as Obama Makes New Promise to Fund Killing Babies
Meanwhile, Congress will now consider H.R. 3541, the Prenatal Nondiscrimination Act (PRENDA), to fight against the abortionists' war on women -- a bill that is strongly opposed by pro-abortion organizations.
For background, read Worldwide Abortion: The War on Girls and also read Sex-selection Abortion Possible at 7 Weeks as well as Arizona Abortion Ban for Race/Gender Selection in addition, read Sex-selection Abortion Outlawed in Oklahoma
UPDATE 5/31/12: As House Democrats defeat bill to save little girls . . .
the White House says motivations to kill the unborn must be private
-- From "South Austin clinic at center of sex-selective abortion controversy" by Jazmine Ulloa, American-Stateman Staff 5/29/12
Live Action, which describes itself on its website as "a youth led movement dedicated to building a culture of life and ending abortion," said the video is the first in a series dubbed "Gendercide: Sex-Selection in America," which activists said is dedicated to exposing how abortion clinics across the country facilitate sex-selective abortion. The group sent actresses posing as patients to clinics across the country as part of what it called a national investigation.
Planned Parenthood said the activists are engaged in an ongoing hoax campaign that is promoting false claims about the group. The staff member seen in the footage had been in the entry-level position for about six months, did not follow protocol and was fired within days of the interaction on April 11, said Sarah Wheat, interim co-CEO of Planned Parenthood of the Texas Capital Region. All staff members at the clinic on East Ben White Boulevard were "immediately scheduled for retraining in managing unusual patient encounters."
[Planned Parenthood] said in a statement ". . . [we] do not believe that curtailing access to abortion services is a legitimate means of addressing sex selection . . ."
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Planned Parenthood Sting Caught On Video, Released By Anti-Abortion Activists" by Laura Bassett, Huffington Post 5/29/12
The staffer answers all of the [Live Action] woman’s questions honestly and makes it clear that Planned Parenthood will not deny the woman an abortion despite her reasons for wanting to have one. At the end, she directs the woman to an ob-gyn for an ultrasound and says, "Good luck, and I hope you do get your boy."
Live Action interprets this exchange as Planned Parenthood's “encouraging” the woman to have a late-term sex-selective abortion. “Planned Parenthood and their ruthless abortion-first mentality is the real ‘war on women,'” said Lila Rose, founder and president of Live Action, in a statement. “Sex-selective abortion is gender discrimination with lethal consequences for little girls.”
Sex-selective abortions are the latest target of anti-abortion activists whose goal is to make abortions illegal across the United States. Lawmakers at the state and federal level have also latched onto the issue by introducing legislation that criminalizes doctors who perform abortions because of the race or gender of the fetus. Opponents of such laws say they force doctors into the inappropriate position of investigating a woman's personal motivations for seeking an abortion. The House of Representatives will debate Rep. Trent Franks’ (R-Ariz.) Prenatal Nondiscrimination Act on Wednesday, which would ban sex-selective abortions in the United States.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Republicans Leap on New Abortion Issue This Week" by Meghan McCarthy, National Journal 5/29/12
Republicans are trying to claim victory in the public relations war for women this week, holding a vote [today or] Thursday on a bill that prohibits women from getting abortions based on the sex of the fetus.
Unlike other abortion votes in the House, this bill is heading to the floor under suspension of the rules. It’s a procedural maneuver typically reserved for less-controversial bills and requiring two-thirds of House members present and voting to pass. Somewhere around 287 members will have to vote “aye” in order for the bill to pass (depending how many members show up), meaning approximately 45 Democrats will have to sign on with Republicans. In other words, it’s a higher bar to passing the bill.
Abortion rights groups are opposing the legislation, but a bit more quietly than on other abortion votes. A fact sheet from the National Women’s Law Center says it strongly opposes the legislation, calling it an “unconstitutional burden on a fundamental right.” A bloc of Democratic women is also speaking out in opposition. “House Republicans will hit a new low tomorrow when they bring up for a vote legislation that severely interferes with the doctor-patient relationship, criminalizing doctor’s conversations with the women they care for, while forcing women to endure interrogations regarding their medical care,” Rep. Diana DeGette, D-Colo., said in an e-mail.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "U.S. abortion foes see ally in Chinese activist" by Sandhya Somashekhar, The Washington Post 5/29/12
Conservatives are seizing on the high-profile story of Chen Guangcheng, the blind Chinese activist who recently arrived in the United States, hoping that the spotlight on his human-rights work will bolster their efforts to curb abortions domestically and in China.
Anti-abortion groups, including National Right to Life and the Susan B. Anthony List, are highlighting Chen's work exposing forced abortions and sterilizations in China in hopes it will help them in passing U.S. legislation banning abortions performed because of a child's gender. Chen's plight also has led congressional Republicans to plan hearings this summer on the one-child policy.
. . . Romney has not let up in his criticism. In particular, he has accused the Obama administration of having a permissive attitude toward [China's] one-child rule.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
Also read Feminists Fight Ban on Female-targeted Abortion as well as Obama Makes New Promise to Fund Killing Babies
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