--------------------------------------------------------------------------- Life Communications - Volume 5, No. 4 March, 1995 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- This newsletter is intended to provide articles and news information to those interested in Pro-Life issues. All submissions should be sent to the editor, Steve . --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1) Irish Abortion Information Bill Passed Entitled the "Regulation of Information (Services Outside State for Termination of Pregnancies) Bill 1995," this bill was called for by the 1992 abortion referendum. Supported by the ruling coalition comprised of the Fine Gael (conservative), Labour, and the Radical Democratic Left parties, after several weeks of debate it passed by a vote of 85 to 67, with 14 abstentions. The bill is presently being debated in the Seanad (Irish Senate) and is expected to be passed without difficulty. The goal of the bill is: > a) to ensure that those advising pregnant woman provide information on > the full range of options without promoting abortion; > b) to prevent abortion referrals (they are now illegal); > c) to ensure that published information about abortion is accurate; and > d) to prohibit the distribution of abortion information "in a manner > which will be offensive to some." In essence, the bill allows extra-territorial (mostly English) abortionists to advertise their services in the Irish media provided they do not explicitly promote abortion, and permits doctors and clinics to provide the names and addresses of legal abortionists in other countries. (The bill does not specifically state that this information can be supplied but it does not outlaw it.) The government accepted an opposition amendment confirming that doctors can refuse to advise women about abortion. BACKGROUND: At the end of February, Irish Minister for Health Michael Noonan published the proposed abortion legislation, allowing for the provision of information about abortion services outside the Republic of Ireland. Noonan's announcement led to several weeks of protest and bitter debate. To set the debate in context, the key extracts from the Irish Constitution are: Article 40.3.3, passed in 1982, which reads, "The State acknowledging the right to life of the unborn and, with due regard to the equal right to life of the mother, guarantees in its laws to respect, and, as far as practicable, by its laws to defend and vindicate that right." Following the Supreme Court ruling on the "X" case, three amendments were passed in 1992. Sixty-five percent of the electorate voted against ending the constitutional ban on abortion; however, a two-thirds majority passed the amendment at the center of the current controversy. This amendment states: "Subsection 3 of this section shall not limit freedom to obtain or make available, in the State, subject to such conditions as may be laid down by law, information relating to services lawfully available in another state." Those conditions are the subject of the Abortion Information Bill. BITTER ABORTION DEBATE: The main point picked up by the media was the decision to prevent doctors and others "from referring women to pregnancy termination services." Fianna Fail's (the main opposition party)spokeswoman on health, Maire Geoghegan-Quinn, best described the situation when she said in the Dail (Irish parliament), "If you describe yourself as pro-choice the people who hold the opposing view see you as wicked, as criminal, as sinful, and as anti-human. If you describe yourself as pro-life the people who hold the opposing view see you as anti-woman, anti-civil rights, anti-liberty. There are very few issues that so polarize people, very few that so completely stop us listening to each other, very few that allow us to make such damning judgments about each other." Oddly enough, much of the publicity was reserved for the stance taken by the Fianna Fail party, and for a strongly worded statement by Justice Rory O'Hanlon, a senior judge in the Irish High Court. The official Fianna Fail stance was to put off the day when the government would need to make a decision, arguing that the bill should be held back until the courts rule on an application by the pro-abortion Well Woman Centre for permission to continue supplying the names and addresses of abortion clinics to its clients. For its opposition, Fianna Fail received a great deal of criticism from the pro-choice lobby. Senior High-Court Justice Rory O'Hanlon issued a detailed statement denouncing the bill in the strongest terms. The judge argued that the legislation is unconstitutional as it is against the law of God, and it is written in the constitution that God's law is supreme. To have kept silent, Justice O'Hanlon said, would have been the same as a judge in Germany, in the 1930s and 1940s, failing to speak out "when the Jewish holocaust was being planned and put into effect." Backbench Labour TDs were the most vocal critics and called for Justice O'Hanlon's resignation. Family Solidarity, the Pro-Life Campaign, Youth Defence and the Knights of Columbanus were all critical, arguing that allowing doctors and counselors to provide the names, addresses and telephone numbers of abortionists was tantamount to promoting abortion. Opposed were the Irish Family Planning Association, the Council for the Status of Woman, the Irish Council for Civil Liberties, the Union of Students of Ireland and the Women's Coalition who argued that the legislation was too restrictive in that preventing doctors from making direct contact with an abortion clinic on behalf of a patient was an interference with the doctor/patient relationship. A number of doctors claimed that they have already been making appointments for patients in British abortion clinics and vowed to continue the practice. Pro-abortion TD Dr. James McDaid argued their case, saying it would be unethical to discuss an unwanted pregnancy with a patient and, if she insisted on an abortion, to then say "I am sorry, I can no longer help you, but there is a boat at Dun Laoghaire." Two other Fianna Fail doctors, Drs. Rory O'Hanlon and Tom Moffatt, stated emphatically that they did not wish to be associated with abortion under any circumstances. The Bishop of Cloyne, Dr. John Magee, formally criticised the proposed legislation, stating that "all who procure abortions or assist in the procuring of abortions are guilty of grave sin," calling for prayers for "our legislators," "expectant mothers" and "for mothers who have lost their child through procured abortion." The Archbishop of Dublin, Dr. Desmond Connell, expressed "most profound concern" over legislation that makes it legal for a doctor to "knowingly assist a woman to obtain an abortion." He closed by acknowledging the "distress, anxiety and real fear" experienced by some women "faced with a heart-braking pregnancy" and highlighted the existence of the Catholic agency, CURA, and the interdenominational agency, LIFE, both of which attempt to help such women. Later, the Irish Bishops' Conference issued a 22-point statement opposing the measure. The _Financial Times_ recorded that "In Ireland, no political party wants to be remembered as the party which introduced abortion." For good or ill, it seems that Fine Gael has earned that distinction. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2) American Shorts *Chicago IL* After much pressure, the Chicago-based Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) relented slightly on its position requiring abortion training for all OB programs in the US: Individual students are permitted to exercise their conscience and refrain from participation. Institutions, however, must still contract out for their students' abortion training if they are to remain accredited. *Washington DC* The US House recently approved legislation overturning the Clinton Executive Order that forces states to pay for abortions due to rape and incest despite state law/constitutions forbidding the practice. Oklahoma representative Ernest Istook (R) argued that the Clinton administration had misread a 1993 law that added rape and incest as exceptions to the 18-year-old Hyde Amendment, which prohibits the use of federal funds to pay for abortions. A number of states fought the executive order, despite the fact that several district court decisions upheld the Clinton interpretation. Last year, the Clinton administration notified states that they must begin paying for abortions for poor women in cases of rape and incest, threatening the loss of billions of dollars in Medicaid funding if they did not comply. *Richmond VA* A recent Virginia RTL newsletter reports that "a school teacher and a member of the National Education Association" (which lobbies Congress to support pro-abortion programs) "has a right to refuse to pay union dues under the 'Fair Share Law,' if the NEA advocates something one does not believe in." More information is available from Pennsylvania Pro-Life Federation, 1356 N. Washington Avenue, Scranton, PA 18505. *Boulder CO* On February 3rd, the Colorado Senate paid tribute to Dr. Warren Hern for celebrating the 20th anniversary of his abortion practice in Boulder, Colorado. Hern is one of three doctors nationwide who provides the "service of late-term abortions." Hern was applauded for his years of "personal sacrifice and courage for upholding his beliefs." Sen. Dorothy Rupert, D-Boulder, initiated the tribute. In the last 20 years, Hern's clinic has been responsible for the deaths of (reportedly) 30,000 babies, including over 10,000 late-term babies. As one writer put it, "Baby Choice, slaughtered at the altar of convenience, has given the ultimate sacrifice to our narcissistic, schizophrenic society." *Washington DC* Texas Republican Tom DeLay (the Majority Whip) has proposed a $25 million cut from this year's family planning (abortion) budget in a bill which will come to the House floor this week. The bill also includes a provision allowing states to deny Medicaid funding for abortions in rape or incest cases. Pro-abortion Republicans are making threats to stop other GOP legislation if these proposals go through. Americans are encouraged to contact their representatives to encourage passage of these bills, and to dissuade Congress from further use of tax dollors to support abortion. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3) What Works: Use the FAX! Current wisdom has it that politicians faithfully read newspaper letters-to-the-editor, which offer a convenient indicator as to which way the wind is blowing across the political landscape. The labor to write, condense and edit issues into a brief paragraph or two, however, is enormous, and can get depressing when after so much work, the letter isn't published. Solution? Send more letters - and faster! Much more exposure for a single letter can be obtained by sending your letters to several newspapers. Experience shows that the probability of a well-written letter being published is really a game of numbers. Multiple letters, though, can get expensive: printing and mailing costs add up quickly. This is where suitable technology comes to the rescue: The FAX modem and support software combine to make a most efficient tool for multiple submissions. Key Point: Newspapers are adamant that a FAXed letter-to-the-editor possess an actual signature. This can be accomplished by FAXing your own signature to your computer, saving it as a .pcx file, then inserting it into the letter as a drawing. If you are going to the trouble of making one submission, try many! My experience is that _multiple submissions work_! Whether mailed or FAXed, we should all consider making multiple submissions as the defense of life deserves the widest possible audience. - Dan Weise [ This was condensed from a more in-depth and how-to article. For more details on how to use the FAX for Life effectively, please get resource file "UsingTheFAX" (details in the_New On-Line Resources_ column. Ed.] --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4) Announcements *Spring '95 College Pro-Life Conference - March 31st-April 2nd, 1995* Sponsored by the Intercollegiate Federation for Life at Penn State University in State College, PA. Conference speakers will include Peg Luksik, who recently took 13 percent of the vote in the 1994 PA governor's race. Call April Steppe 814-862-2249, Rebecca Ball 412-834-2200 x1412 or Tim Burns 412-532-2011 for more information. *Join the MTV Campaign* - American Family Association Law Center, in Tupelo, MS, is sponsoring a project (with our local affiliates around the country) opposing the messages of MTV. For additional information, please contact Buddy Smith at <74562.3526@compuserve.com> or 1-800-326-4543, and request a copy of a video dealing with the subject. The AFA Law Center is one of the most active Christian legal groups in the pro-life arena, defending the free speech rights of pro-lifers across the nation. *African-American LEARN Journal* - The Life Education and Resource Network (LEARN) has published a journal of their 1994 conference, including essays, advertisements and fact sheets. Copies are $10.00. Write to LEARN, P.O. Box 1949, South Road Branch, Poughkeepsie, NY 12601 or call 914-454-5080. *Women, Power, Life: The Future is Ours Conference - March 25th* in Purchase, NY. Sponsored by Good Counsel Homes, speakers will include Joanne Angelo, PhD, and Fredrica Matthews-Green. Contact Good Counsel, Inc., Attn: Tina Cinque, 22 Linden Ave., Spring Valley, NY 10977; 203-532-0049. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 6) New On-Line Resources *Recent additions to our archives:* "The FAX: An Effective Pro-Life Tool" If you write letters-to-the-editor, get the most exposure by sending letters to lots of newspapers. The writer's experience shows that the probability of the letter being published is a game of numbers, and that FAX software is one of the most efficient tools for winning at this game. [ Ask for "UsingTheFAX" ] "1995 US Print and Airwave Media FAX Numbers" A very long listing of FAX numbers and some contact information for large and small newspapers, radio and television stations across the U.S. A more complete listing would be hard to come by! [ Ask for "MediaFAXNos.95" ] "1995 Working Directory of Catholic Media" A very complete listing of the contact information for Catholic radio, TV, and various publishing houses throughout the United States. Includes FAX and email information where available. [ Ask for "CatholicMedia.95" ] "1995 Washington DC Press Directory" A useful listing of the addresses, phone numbers and FAX numbers for the Washington DC offices of national and international press organizations. [ Ask for "DCMediaAddresses.95 ] "Pre-Roe (Illegal) Abortions" A collection of quotes and citations documenting the falsehood of pro-abortion claims that illegal abortion in the U.S. was claiming 5-10,000 women a year before the legalization of abortion. [ Ask for "PreRoeAbortions" ] "The Choice for Silence" A rousing call from GOP presidential hopeful Alan Keyes, for the Republican Party to stand on principle, arguing against pulling the pro-life plank from the Republican party platform. Transcribed by hand from the 22 February 1995 edition of _Focus on the Family_. [ Ask for "AlanKeyes.fof" ] "US Congress Phone and FAX Numbers - 1995" Public Washington, DC phone and FAX numbers for members of the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives, as of March, 1995. [ Ask for "95CongressPhoneFAX" ] "104th Congress Email Addresses" A Summary of the US Senate and House of Representatives' email addresses. Very useful. Includes a summary organized by state, and the government (alphabetical) listings that include each member's Washington, DC snailmail address. [ Ask for "95CongressEmail" ] To request any of the above items, please send a list of items by title to the editor, eg.: "Please send v4n17, SciForLife.Jan94, WhyChristians". To obtain the current list of available resources, please ask for "v5Topics". These and other on-Line resources are also available via the World Wide Web at URL "http://www.pitt.edu/ ~stfst/pln/AboutPLN.html", or via anonymous from or in the directory "users/s/t/stfst/pln". --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 8) Reader Responses: Shifting the Argument - What is Abortion The January, 1995 issue of _Christianity Today_ (Jan 9, 1995) has a wonderful cover story of women who have had abortions and wish to tell their story. The most powerful part is the descriptions of the methods of abortion. Many credit the end of the Vietnam war with the anti-war movement use of TV and media to let people see what war looked like, and if we can shift the argument away from the notions of "choice" to "what is abortion," it would convince many, I would think. - Bill Eberwein -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- Foster Nomination [v5n3] The thing that seems most wrong about the Foster nomination is the continual comment that yes he performed some, but abortions are LEGAL, safe and rare. I would guess that if there were a simple poll (probably already has been one) asking: "Do you think abortion is WRONG?", the majority would say "Yes." So legality is not the issue, but rather if we think it is right or wrong. I think when the word LEGAL is waved at us, we should always remind the waver about the Supreme Court ruling (later overruled) that blacks are not human, i.e., the _Dred Scott_ case: Just because blacks were not considered legally human, did not make enslaving them right. - Bob Funderlic -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- Depo-Provera - Not Abortifacient? At the risk of causing offense or casting doubt upon my pro-life credentials, I have to question your editorial policy of condemning progestin-based birth-control methods, particularly Depo-Provera and, more recently, Norplant. In both cases you have said that these methods are abortifacient, although your statements were even stronger in the case of Depo-Provera. (For the record, my understanding from a doctor is that the two are virtually identical in their effects; the only difference is method of administration.) What you must distinguish between is a) a drug's having the _potential_ to prevent implantation and b) the drug's increasing the overall likelihood of non-implantation. In the case of Depo-Provera, you stated _simply_ that it was an abortifacient method of birth-control, implying clearly that non-implantation was its main, intended means of preventing birth. But this is false. Both of these progestin-based methods act by bringing the entire female reproductive system to a halt. This means that their primary means of birth-control is that they prevent ovulation. In the very unlikely event that ovulation should occur, fertilization is still highly improbable, because the drug acts to thicken the cervical mucus, which prevents sperm from entering the uterus. As one effect (which could be deemed a side effect, since nothing extra is added to the drug preparation to cause this effect deliberately) of progestin, the lining of the uterus is inhospitable to implantation of a fertilized egg. This means that it is true that, in the _very_ unlikely event of fertilization, the egg would probably not implant. Pro-lifers are understandably and rightly angered when they see companies which produce these forms of birth-control speaking misleadingly of "prevention of pregnancy," including in that phrase prevention of implantation. Also, it is obvious from the material put out by these companies that _they_ have no moral concerns about non-implantation, and in fact deem it a plus that, among other things, their products could have an anti-implantation effect. However, we must still be careful and wise enough to consider what the _actual_ effects of the drug are. If one is not deliberately increasing the chance that a new zygote will fail to implant, then there is not a moral problem with using such a method of birth-control. And, since progestin decreases the likelihood that a zygote will exist in the first place -- decreases it drastically -- it is at least plausible that the risk of non-implantation is equal to or less than that when no birth-control is used. - Lydia McGrew [Editor's Response: Thank you for the correction: Depo-Provera and Norplant are not _just_ abortifacient forms of birth control, as is the IUD. However, it is also true that DP and Norplant _deliberately_ increase the chance that a new zygote will fail to implant. I _think_ you are making two distinctions: First, that the drug is not abortifacient nearly all of the time, and second, that the intent of the drug therapy is not to abort any child conceived, but rather prevent their conception - therefore we should not consider them abortifacient. First, it is impossible to prove (and unreasonable to expect) that DP or Norplant prevents fertilization for every pregnancy that its use prevents. This means that however you look at it, the drugs clearly have an abortifacient mode, and whether this mode is responsible for .1% or 10% of the pregnancies prevented, the drug can legitimately be classified as an abortifacient drug. For a more detailed discussion on the abortifacient effects of hormonal contraceptives, let me recommend the resource file "Pill+IUD". While the intent of DP and Norplant use is not abortifacient, that does not prevent it from _being_ abortifacient. Here's an analogy: The intent of a minefield with big posted signs and marked off with barbed wire (i.e., the old Berlin Wall) is not to kill people - it is to prevent them from going somewhere. However, if someone happens to go over the fence and past the signs, despite the intent not to kill, the results are usually deadly to the wanderer. The fact that very few ever make it past the signs or over the fence does not reduce the deadliness of the minefield, nor lessen the moral stricture on its use, as I'm sure those in the former DDR would agree. The same is true for the child conceived while on DP or Norplant use: very few make it, but those that do have a grim future. And it is not unreasonable to label drugs that give zygotes such grim futures 'abortifacient'. Ed.] --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Quote of the Month: "Those who claim a right to provide information about abortion clinics may well be doing so because they see the anguish of a mother who is contemplating an abortion. They recognize that she is faced with an agonizing choice; they are moved by her deep distress. They may regret the decision that she is taking and may wish that she might have decided otherwise. But they choose to facilitate her in carrying out her decision. No motive of compassion for the mother, no reluctance or regret, however genuine, can justify or excuse the participation in the destruction of a human life". -- Irish Bishops' Conference statement opposing legislation permitting the dissemination of abortion information in Ireland. Issued 7 March, 1995, the legislation passed two days later, 85-67. +-------------------------------------------------------------------------+ | Credits: | | 1 - Sources include the March 8, 1995 _The Financial Times_, the _CRNET | | Newswire_ for March 3, 1995, and the Feb. 27, March 6th, and 13th | | editions of _The Irish Emigrant_ (No.s 421-423). To subscribe to | | _The Irish Emigrant_ email . For info on | | _CRNET Newswire_, call 703-791-2576 (voice) or 1-703-791-4336 | | (Modem:8N1, speeds to 14,400 bps). | | 2 - DC news from March 3 AP articles, thanks to Steve Ertelt and the | | CLRC-mailing list . NEA news from the Feb.| | 1995 issue of UFL _PRO VITA_, newsletter of University Faculty for | | Life, 120 New North Building, Georgetown University, Washington, DC,| | 20007. Many thanks to reader Marty Helgessen. Boulder news from a | | Joann Bruso editorial in the March, 1995 edition of the _Colorado | | Christian News_. Many thanks to Landon Cox and the prolife InfoNet | | mailing list . | | 4 - African-American and Women, Power, Life Announcements care of v5 #4 | | of ALL's _Communique_, American Life League, Stafford VA 22555. | |QOM- Quoted from _The Irish Emigrant_ 13 March, 1995 (Issue No. 423). | +-------------------------------------------------------------------------+ Anyone desiring information on specific prolife groups, literature, help with problems or submissions is encouraged to contact the editor at: . For those on the web, there is a preliminary WWW page at . ---------------------------------------------------- file: /pub/resources/text/ProLife.News: pln-0504.txt .