file: /pub/resources/text/ProLife.News/1993: PLN-0309.TXT ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Life Communications - Volume 3, No. 9 April, 1993 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- This Pro-Life Newsletter is intended to provide articles and news information to those interested in Pro-Life Issues. All submissions should be sent to the editor, Steve (frezza@ee.pitt.edu). ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1) Military Doctors in Europe Unwilling to Abort Two days after taking office, President Clinton reversed the 1988 ban that prohibited American military hospitals abroad from providing abortion services to military personnel and their dependents. Clinton's efforts at expanding the military community's access to abortion seems to have left the medical practitioners out of the picture: Military doctors and other medical personnel at American facilities in Europe are refusing to perform abortions. Military doctors, nurses, and anesthesiologists are refusing to assist in abortions on moral and religious grounds. As a result, the Pentagon has been unable to comply with Clinton's order. Two months after the ban was lifted, Col. Ogden DeWitt commented, "As of today, we have no takers." Col. DeWitt is the assistant chief of staff for the Army's clinical services in Europe. None of 44 obstetricians and/or gynecologists in the European theater are willing to perform abortions. This means that female soldiers and military dependents seeking to abort their children will have to rely upon the local clinics in their host countries to do so. Col. Barry Thompson, command surgeon for the U.S. Air Force in Europe said that all 10 obstetricians under his command expressed an "unwillingness on a personal or moral basis" to perform abortions. Similar refusals have been reported at American installations in Asia. The Pentagon's response to Clinton's abortion initiative has once again prompted charges of insubordination. Avid abortion proponent Pat Schroeder (D-Colo) commented "I find it hard to believe that every single person working overseas has a personal conscientious objection to providing abortions. I think this is just one more time they're trying to jerk Clinton around." Pentagon officials said that efforts to implement Clinton's order are still under way. But officials at the Pentagon noted that surveys have found wide opposition; they also said that military doctors have never been forced to perform operations or procedures to which they are opposed. Experts said the military doctors' unwillingness to perform abortions reflects a trend that is widespread in the civilian medical community as well. There is a growing civilian trendthat with declining interest, fewer medical schools are teaching doctors how to perform abortions. Abortion advocates say these explanations do not justify delays in setting up a system to make abortions available to the military community abroad, and have difficulty comprehending why the military cannot find doctors to perform abortions. "Respect for individuals' moral or religious objections" is important, said Elizabeth Symonds, a Washington attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union who specialized in reproductive rights issues. "Nonetheless, the military can still accommodate those objections and ... provide the services needed. I fail to understand why they can't accommodate both." - Will Bralick Note the comments from Patsy Schroeder and the ACLU spokeswoman: They can't imagine why a doctor would not want to kill babies for a living. WB ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2) Florida Heating Up Judge Robert McGregor on April 8th issued a 13-page ruling barring protesters from calling, chanting, singing or making any other noise that a patient could hear during the hours an abortion clinic is performing abortions. The ruling prohibits protesters from displaying pictures of aborted children and from approaching cars to hand out literature during those same hours. The ruling forces abortion protesters to remain at all times across the street from the Aware Women Center for Choice clinics and at least one block from the homes of clinic workers. Abortion proponents in Florida have made noises about expanding this to a state-wide ban. McGregor's ruling is expected to be appealed. The next day, Reverend Keith Tucci commented, "This is the most ridiculous order, the most incredible attack on the First Amendment I have every heard of anywhere." Tucci is the executive director of Operation Rescue. So far, 51 abortion protestors have been arrested on the public sidewalk in front of the Melbourne clinic in question. None were trespassing or blockading the entrance. Attorney Christopher Weiss who is handling the appeal commented, "They were standing in a public right of way on a public sidewalk. If you were pro-life yent to jail and if you were pro-abortion you had the right to be there." Other groups have filed suit against the order, including Liberty Counsel, a religious civil liberties group. Evidently the ACLU plans to file a 'friend of the court' brief in support of the appeals as McGreggors ruling has gone "overboard" in limiting free speech. Clinic owner Patricia Windle's comments were that she is not surprised by the first-amendment lawsuits because, "The anti[abortionist]s have hid behind the First Amendment throughout this terrorism." ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3) New Resources: "To Protect the Reproductive Rights of Women" - THE Freedom Of Choice Act, (FOCA - S. 25) as presented to the Senate in 1991. This radical bill would make abortion legal in every state throughout pregnancy. States would not be permitted to legislate any restrictions on abortion except those restrictions that prove to be 'medically necessary'. Includes a short commentary, as well as related articles from back issues of the ProLife News. [Ask for "MADact"] "Thinking Ethically about Technology" by John Hass. A Primer in ethics from a renowned philosopher; discusses many recent technological advances, and excplains why most modern people are ineffective at being able to discuss their moral value. Excellent reading for those interested in getting a better grasp on ethics and morals. [Ask for "JohnHass"] "Condom Failure for Protection from Sexual Transmission of the HIV: A Review of the Medical Literature" by David Collart, Ph.D. An extremely well-documented presentation of the medical evidence that shows that condom use is statistically ineffective in preventing HIV transfer during sexual contact. Very useful for convincing one abstinence is the only effective means to prevent the transmission of the HIV. [Ask for "HIV+Condoms"] The dissent of Supreme Court Justice Anthony Scalia in the 'PP vs. Casey' (1992) decision. This is a complete copy of the dissent, including footnotes. To quote the introduction: "The States may, if they wish, permit abortion-on-demand, but the Constitution does not require them to do so. The permissibility of abortion, and the limitations upon it, are to be resolved like most important questions in our democracy: by citizens trying to persuade one another and then voting." [Ask for "ScaliaDissent"] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4) Reader Questions My friend Diane is getting us bumper stickers that say "One in five babies dies of Choice". She would like to know the stats on how many women in ten have abortions. Any idea? - Elizabeth Stevens [ Here is an incomplete answer to your question: Here is a partial one, as published in "Catholic World Report," April 1993 p.40 (An article on population control) These are statistics for the United States, women of ages 15-19 (hence why i term the answer partial) From the trends, there is no reason to believe that the 1993 statistics are significantly different from those of 1988 (last figures shown). I would suggest investigating the sources. Information for your state should be available through the health-services branch of your state government. year Fed $ Births Abortions Pregnancies Births Abortions spent 15-19 15-19 per 1000 per 1000 per 1000 1970 -- 644,708 -- 68.32 68.32 -- 1971 80,000 628,000 -- 64.66 64.66 -- 1972 99,420 616,280 191,000 81.22 62.01 19.22 1973 137,280 604,096 231,890 82.61 59.69 22.91 1974 142,780 595,466 279,700 85.36 58.08 27.28 1975 148,220 582,238 325,780 87.77 65.28 31.49 1976 157,140 558,744 362,680 88.26 53.52 34.74 1977 184,620 559,154 397,720 91.87 53.69 38.19 1978 217,771 543,407 418,790 92.82 52.42 40.40 1979 233,301 549,472 444,600 94.7 52.3 42.4 1980 298,572 552,161 444,800 95.7 53.0 42.7 1981 327,977 527,392 433,000 96.0 52.7 43.3 1982 326,000 513,758 430,000 97.2 52.9 44.3 1987 335,977 -- -- -- -- -- 1988 -- 478,353 392,720 97.6 53.6 44.0 1990 364,093 -- -- -- -- -- Note: the Federal Expenditure is $ (in thousands) spent on Family Planning. Sources: Figures for the 1970-78 from Susan Roylance's testimony before the US Senate Committee on Labor and Human Resources, March 31 1981, based on data from National Center for Health Statistics, US Dept. of Health and Human Services, US Bereau of the Census, and the Alan Guttmacher Institute; Figures for 1987-90 from US Public Heath Service and the Alan Guttmacher Institute. The figures for Family Planning expenditures are estimates of certain categories of spending only. While they appear to be internally consistent, they are substantially smaller than other estimates of the same kind of spending. Analysis: In 1988, for women aged 15-19 roughly 4 of 9 babies were aborted. The ratio is roughly the same now; I would guess that the ratio is slightly lower for women of ages 20-25, and much lower for women who are older, so the overall average might be 1-5, but i'd bet it is higher. Remember that these statistics do not include babies killed illegally, nor babies killed with abortifacients , nor women who give birth without medical assistance, nor spontaneous abortions, but these factors will roughly balance themselves out. 2-7 is my guess, maybe 1-4. ] -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- Fetal Tissue Uses: One of my friends asked if, now that fetal tissue research, etc., was ok, if they would get collagen from aborted fetuses now, instead of animals. (It's a protein found in skin used in handcreams, etc.) Do you know? They said they heard it would be. - Lynn Firestine [ There have been those companies that already use collagen from aborted humans. There are also some companies that (so far) have refused to use collagen from human sources, and only use animal collagen. Check the labels; if it states "animal collagen" then it is animal (and not possibly human) collagen. From what i remember, collagen has been 'harvested' from the dead long before Mr. Clinton lifted the ban on fetal tissue use for research; the availability may pick up, as i am sure there are people waiting for the opportunity to market dead baby parts, and collagen is just one of them. The sick part about fetal tissue research is that the researchers do not want parts from dead babies - they want them from live ones. ] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 5) Reader Responses: Re: Lukewarm Pro-life response to the Pensacola murder According to the current issue of the National Right to Life News, the media simply ignored the mainstream pro-life groups (e.g. NRLC) who issued statements condemning the murder of David Gunn in no uncertain terms. A NRLC speaker was supposed to be on a news show (Nightline) but the network cancelled, saying that they wanted someone more fringe. Anybody who wants exact details, references, etc., can email me at V070Q5UG@ubvms.cc.buffalo.edu - Anne-Marie Gorman [ Anne-Marie sent this information, if anyone wants a copy - Ed.] -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- Mike's [v3n7] article reminds me that pro-lifers have to work a lot harder than pro-choicers to preserve credibility within our respective camps. Pro-lifers have to satisfy a higher moral standard, and Mike makes some good observations and criticisms of where some in our camp seem "too wrapped up in what they are doing..." to care that the Pensacola abortionist was murdered just as brutally as abortion kills a baby. I can't believe any of us condone the killing, and I can't believe any of us desire to pursue vindictive acts of hatred on anyone. There are plenty of us who are angry about abortion. I am one of the angriest pro-lifers you will ever meet, but I am a gentle man, a Christian. If you challenge me, I will aggressively argue against the evil of abortion. I have a picture of a fetus on my bulletin board at work, reminding me, and anyone who cares to look, that the pre-born is a human being. I might even risk going overboard (like bring an aborted fetus in a jar) just to get people to wake up. Last Fall many people who supposedly oppose abortion (personally) voted for our current president, so I don't think the message is getting out loudly enough. Mike's article angers me because he suggests that those of us in the fight are somehow barking up the wrong tree. By and large we are not. If ever I am given the option to abdicate my pro-life stand because it has become popularly associated with the likes of the murderer who took the Pensacola practitioner's life, I will not. - Greg Wadlinger [ More on this topic in the next issue - Ed.] -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- Re: "Hard" cases If "what if the mother can't afford to raise the child?" is a hard case, then there are no easy cases. If that sounds harsh, remember that abortion on the grounds of poverty means killing someone to save money. This is not to say, of course, that having and rearing a child is cheap. However, there are countless programs, both governmental and private, to help poor mothers through pregnancy and beyond. Many of these are run by pro-lifers; the pro-choice slogan that "they only care about children before they're born" is utterly false. This help can take many forms: direct financial aid, help in securing governmental assistance, free medical care, babysitting, donations of food, clothing, housing, toys, etc., friendship, child-care advice, assistance with finding employment or job training or schooling for the mother, tutoring for her children, .... There are also programs to help address the underlying causes of unplanned pregnancy, to help the woman develop more confidence and, in general, to gain control over her life. Unfortunately, the existence of such programs doesn't get as much publicity as it should, but there is probably a lot more help available than most women with unplanned preganancies realize. Second, if a woman really does not want to have a child, there is the now unfashionable route of releasing him/her for adoption. Anyone who reads the classified ads in college newspapers knows that there are many couples eager to adopt. The pregnant woman, of course, will have to undergo whatever difficulties pregnancy carries for her. But these can be mitigated with help, as above, and surely it is a small price to pay for the life of a child and the happiness of the adoptive parents. - Anne-Marie Gorman ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Quote of the Month: "The issue of abortion is not a battle between contradictory sympathies for mother and child, though some would like to obscre things by making it appear so. The issue of abortion is really about disposable lives. It is about children thrown away to provide an illusion of escape for troubled women, and women thrown away to disguise the erosion of society. All of this is done under the rhetoric of dignity and freedom." - Jeff Ostrander, founding director of the Pregnancy Resource Center in Grand Rapids, MI. +-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+ | Credits: | | 1 - Based on an LA Times article dated 29 March 1993 by Melissa Healy and | | Tamara Jones (Times staff writers). | | 3 - Many thanks to reader Chris Bord, who provided a copy of S. 25, and to | | Bob Tatz for the ethics and condom research articles. | +-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+ Anyone desiring information on specific prolife groups, literature, tapes, or help with problems is encouraged to contact the editor.