--------------------------------------------------------------------------- Life Communications - Volume 5, No. 6 May, 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) Another Commercial Use for Human Fetuses: Health Food For those of a utilitarian mind and a strong stomach, Shenzhen, PRC seems to be the place to go for an abortion. Shenzhen hospitals carried out 7,000 abortions last year, but that is not their only claim to infamy. Hong Kong women sometimes go there seeking cheap abortions, but some of the abortionists' renumeration comes from an unlikely source: the health-food industry. The bodies of the fetuses are eaten as a soup, together with pork and ginger. Reportedly, private clinics sell aborted fetuses for between $1.60 and $2.00. But at the publicly-minded state-run Shenzhen Health Centre for Women and Children, obtaining fetuses is free. "We are a state hospital and don't charge," commented a female doctor. A day after being asked, she handed the reporter a glass bottle filled with thumb-sized fetuses. The doctor was quoted as saying: "There are 10 fetuses here, all aborted this morning. You can take them. Normally we doctors take them home to eat -- all free. Since you don't look well, you can take them." From a western perspective, it is not hard to imagine what the reporter may have blanched at. Zou Qin, a doctor working at the Luo Hu clinic in Shenzhen, said the fetuses were "nutritious" and claimed to have eaten 100 herself in the past six months. She said the "best" were first-born males from young women. "We don't carry out abortions just to eat the fetuses," she remonstrated, but added that fetuses would be "wasted if not eaten." According to the Hong Kong _Eastern Express_, the story originated when journalists from its sister publication, _Eastweek_, had gone across the border from Hong Kong, to see if fetuses were being sold. The story ran in the 12 April edition of the _The Eastern Express_, and the 13th April edition of _The London Daily Telegraph_, and was reportedly carried by UPI, the _Japanese Economic Newswire_ and the _Agence French Press_. The report was ignored by the mainstream U.S. media. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2) American Shorts *Washington, DC* About ...FACE 11 April, 1995 marked the first time the Justice Department has brought a case under the 1994 Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act (FACE) challenging actions against a facility that does *not* perform abortions. Daniel Adam Mathison was indicted for allegedly calling the First Way office in Wenatchee, WA on Jan. 2 and threatening to kill workers at the counseling center, which opposes abortion and encourages pregnant women to consider other options. The grand jury alleged Mathison also violated federal law when he called the National Life Center hotline in Woodbury, N.J., on the same day and told an operator he had a gun and was going to shoot anti-abortion activists demonstrating outside abortion clinics. "In bringing these cases, we are concerned with conduct, not beliefs," assistant attorney general for civil rights Deval Patrick said in a statement. *Madison, WI* FACE Declared Unconstitutional On March 16, U.S. District Judge Rudolph T. Randa struck down parts of the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act of 1994 by declaring them unconstitutional. The decision came four days before six defendants were scheduled to be prosecuted under FACE for participating in a Sept. 29, 1994 pro-life "rescue" attempt. Robert Braun, one of the defendants, filed a "Motion for the Determination of Status," questioning the federal government's authority to enact FACE. Unlike many preceding challenges to the law, Braun did not argue protection under the First Amendment right to free speech. "I'm challenging the jurisdiction of the federal court not the first amendment," he stated. Randa agreed with the argument and dismissed the charges against the six defendants stating, "...this case is about that portion of FACE which prohibits the nonviolent physical obstruction of entrances to reproductive health services clinics. Because the regulation of this type of conduct through the use of the Commerce Clause power is unprecedented and would permit Congress to exceed the scope of its enumerated power, thereby upsetting the delicate federal balance embodied in the Tenth Amendment and elsewhere in the Constitution, and further because private action is unreachable under Section 5 of the Fourteenth Amendment, that portion of FACE is unconstitutional and void." *Jacksonville, FL* Student Paper Censors Pro-Life Ad Editors of _The Spinnaker_, the University of North Florida's official student newspaper, rejected a 12-page paid advertisement depicting an unborn child on the cover. Tom Kopacz, Editor-in-Chief of _The Spinnaker_, stated that the size of the type used to label the insert as advertisement was insufficient. He further objected to the cover picture, commenting that the side view of a 16-week gestation human fetus with hands held below the chin was in "poor taste," adding that he would not publish "blood and guts." The rejected photo is very similar in pose to that of a 12-week fetus included in the 1965 _LIFE Magazine_ Educational Reprint "Drama of Life Before Birth" which was characterized as "one of the most widely-acclaimed photo-essays ever to appear in LIFE magazine." Feminists for Life of University of North Florida sponsored the ad. No legal action has yet been initiated. *Boston, MA* Massachusetts Debates Legalization of Euthanasia "An Act to allow death with dignity," Bill No. 3173 - is currently before the joint Massachusetts house/senate judiciary committee for testimony concerning the legalization of physician-assisted suicide. Kelly Jefferson of Feminists for Life of Massachusetts had this to share with the committee: "I urge you to consider the complexity of this issue and recognize how very easily physician-assisted suicide can spin out of control. The authors of this bill apparently thought so, or they would not have included so many pages of so-called `safeguards'... once we step through the looking glass into that upside-down world of healers as killers, we will never again be able to contain the results." *Dallas, TX* Planned Parenthood Seizes Operation Rescue Office Officers seized furniture, computers and other office equipment from Operation Rescue's national headquarters under a court order obtained by Planned Parenthood (PP) of Houston and Southeast Texas. PP was awarded $1 million in punitive damages from Dallas-based Operation Rescue and Houston-based Rescue America over the anti-abortion groups' protests during the 1992 Republican National Convention. A jury found that they and two other groups conspired to hinder business at Planned Parenthood and nine other clinics during the GOP convention. OR has appealed the judgment, but Planned Parenthood can pursue the damages unless the anti-abortion group posts a $1 million bond. OR spokesman Blinn said his organization is unable to do so. "We will do everything possible to find and take their assets," said Planned Parenthood official Judy Reiner. "We've made that clear from the day we won." *Columbus, OH* Bill to Outlaw D&X Abortions Hits Floor On February 15, Rep. Jerome F. Luebbers (D, Cincinnati) introduced a bill (H.B. 135) in the Ohio House under which any physician who performed D&X (Dialation and Extraction) abortions could be imprisoned. Luebbers' bill would also let up to six people sue the physician for damages: the patient; the man who impregnated her; and the four prospective grandparents. Some tried to keep the bill from reaching a vote by languishing in committee, but since it enjoyed widespread support in the rest of the Ohio House (58 co-sponsors), a rare discharge petition was successfully executed to force the bill out of committee and onto the House floor. A vote was expected about April 18th. *Bakersfield, CA* Clinton Administration to Deport Chinese Refugees On April 14th, the Immigration and Naturalization Service moved 13 refugee women from a Louisiana prison to Bakersfield, CA to await deportation with other refugees. These women were refugees from the "Golden Venture," seeking asylum from the PRC forced abortion policies. Many of these refugees fled China to escape that nation's forced abortion policy [see v4n9]. More than 200 refugees were on the ship which went aground in June 1993. Within days, the Clinton Administration established a policy imprisoning the over 200 refugees until their appeals were exhausted. Their deportation is imminent, if it has not already been affected. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3) What Works: Feminism and Abortion ABORTION and FEMINISM (much info from a talk by Celeste Dixon, president of the Central Texas chapter of Feminists for Life): Feminists believe that oppression of any aspect of society encourages oppression of others - therefore, abortion makes oppression of women more acceptable, and vice versa. Also, many people believe that feminists are opposed to abortion ONLY because of the dangers it imposes on its victims. Although this is certainly a concern, the early feminists argued against abortion more frequently because of the injustices associated with it, not just because of its dangers. They argued for elimination of all abortion, not just "better" or safer methods. They always discussed the death of two individuals when abortion killed a mother, not just the death of the mother. A few feminist points to ponder: > o Feminists are opposed to having the value of women determined by their > "wantedness." In the past, women were only valuable if a man wanted > them. We should fight this, just as we should fight the determination > of the value of the unborn by his or her wantedness. All life has > inherent value, regardless of who does or does not want a certain life > as part of theirs. > o Past arguments to justify exploiting women are the same arguments > currently used to justify the killing of the preborn - the inhumanity > of the preborn child (compare with the view that women were less than > human); the "ownership" of the mother of her child (compare with the > view that men "owned" women); the right of the woman to control her > body, and therefore that of her child (compare with the right of the > man to control his body, and therefore that of his wife). > o Abortion robs society of the will to make much-needed changes in its > structure - to make society more "pregnant-friendly" with family leave > allowances, flexible working hours and locations, at-work child care. > o Abortion allows women to be viewed as "consumer items" for sex, which > can be "fixed" by abortion should they become "broken" by pregnancy. Abortion is not a "choice" most women would make in the best of circumstances. As it is, the "choice" is made as an act of desperation, usually under unfair pressure, without all the proper information. Were women facing a crisis pregnancy made to feel they had alternatives besides abortion, and were they informed of all the risks they were facing, and of the development of their child, they would probably not "choose" abortion at all. - Analisa Marie Norris --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4) New On-Line Resources *Recent additions to our archives:* "A Protective Ring or Violence?" Discusses the 'escalation' of violence at abortion clinics, as well as the parallels between the pro-life movement of the 1970s and 80s and the Civil Rights movement of the 1960s. Brings up several examples of when pro-lifers went out of their way to _prevent_ violence. [ Ask for "ProtectiveRing.lii" ] "An Effective Pro-Life Response to Violence" Describes the success of Right-To-Life of Michigan and their efforts to bypass the media bias and see that the pro-life response is strongly against violence. [ Ask for "ResponseToViolence.lii" ] "Hoechst's Connection to the Jewish Holocaust" Describes the historical relationship and modern parallels between Hoechst A.G. of Frankfurt, Germany and the I.G. Farben Company. Farben is infamous for manufacturing Zyklon B, the cyanide gas used in the Nazi death camps. [ Ask for "FarbenAndHoechst.lii" ] "Drug Induced Termination of Pregnancy with Mifepristone (RU 486) and Prostiglandin" An English translation of a German paper on Hoechst AG's position regarding the importation of RU486 into any country. It describes the mechanism by which RU486 works, some of the clinical experience, and then Hoechst's moral/ethical framework for the abortion debate. An eye-opener into the defense of abortion by those who profit from it. [ Ask for "HoechstSpeaks" ] "A Permanent Hyde?" Editorial discussing the political parallels between January, 1995 and January, 1981, and the climate and usefulness for passing a bill permanently banning the use of any tax money for abortion in any federal program. [ Ask for "PermanentHyde.lii" ] "Pro-life ad censored by University of North Florida Newspaper" Describes the rejection of a paid advertisement from the Univ. of North Florida paper, _the Spinnaker_. Includes a brief legal analysis of the relevant court cases involving censorship in college papers. [ Ask for "RejectedAd.sij" ] "FACE Declared Unconstitutional" Describes the recent U.S. District Court ruling that overturned FACE, declaring it unconstitutional under the 10th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Unlike many previous constitutional (and unsuccessful) challenges based on the 1st Amendment right to free speech, the defendants successfully argued that the Federal government lacks jurisdiction to enact FACE, and has stepped into a legislative realm which belongs to the states. [ Ask for "FACEUnconstitutional.tci" ] 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". --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 5) Announcements *PRO-LIFE AMERICA - National Pro-Life Television Series to Air May 1st* Fr. Frank Pavone, National Director of Priests for Life, will host a 13-week series of half-hour shows on abortion. The series, called "Defending Life," will appear on the Eternal Word Television Network (EWTN). "Defending Life" will start airing Monday, May 1st. It will air four times a week: Mondays at 1:30 a.m. (all times Eastern), Tuesdays at 1:30 p.m., Wednesdays at 11:00 p.m., and Thursdays at 6:00 a.m. Please spread the word and encourage all to watch. EWTN may be reached at 1-800-447-3986. Priests for Life may be reached at 914- 937-8243. WEWN may be reached at 205-672-7200. *Catholic Charities Sponsors 1-800 Pregnancy Helpline* Catholic Charities wishes to announce its 24-hour 1-800 line. Upon dialing 1-800-CARE-002, callers are electronically routed to their local Catholic Charities office, or if the call is coming in after hours, they are routed to a 24-hour operator. Catholic Charities sponsors crisis pregnancy counseling, social services, adoption referrals, and many other services designed to help the woman experiencing a crisis pregnancy choose life. Catholic Charities requests that this new resource line be given wide publicity. 1-800-CARE-002. *National Right to Life 23rd Annual Convention - June 29-July 1* Called "Alive and Growing," speakers at this year's Nashville, TN convention include Fred Barnes, Molly Kelly, Jean Garton, and a host of others. The dates are June 29, 30 and July 1. For more information, contact Jacki Ragan at: 202-626-8800, or: National Right to Life, 419 7th St. NW, Ste. 500, Washington, DC 20004. Tell them you saw this information on the internet. *Dialation and Extraction Information Available* A copy of the paper describing the D&X procedure which was presented at a National Abortion Federation convention is available from Massachusetts Citizens For Life (MCFL). This paper, authored by an abortionist, describes how, step by step, to perform the procedure, lists some of the complications, and prescribed medicines. For a copy, contact Bruce L. Hall, Mass. Citizens For Life (MCFL) 529 Main St., Ste. 206 Boston, MA 02129 Phone: 617-242-4199, FAX: 617-242-4965, EMAIL: --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 6) Help Wanted *ARE YOU ALIVE BECAUSE ABORTION WAS ILLEGAL?* If you were born before 1973 and know for a fact or strongly suspect that you would not be here if abortion had been as legal, available, and acceptable, as it is now, please tell us your story. How has it affected your feelings about abortion? The ProLife Association of Gays and Lesbians is seeking personal narrative essays documenting abortion survival for an anthology to be published and distributed nationwide. Please submit 5-10 page manuscripts, double spaced, along with a self-addressed stamped envelope, or inquire for writer's guidelines to: Post Office Box 2639, Quincy, Massachusetts 02169-2639. *SEEKING DATA ENTRY VOLUNTEERS* The Elliot Institute is looking for one or more volunteers to do data entry from over 700 surveys of women suffering from post-abortion trauma. Surveys and software will be mailed to volunteers. To volunteer, please contact: David Reardon, 217-546-9522. *RENOVATION HELP WANTED* Life Issues Inc. of Oklahoma is currently working on renovating a five-story coffee warehouse (c. 1918) to be a bookstore/coffee shop/CPC and possibly a home for unwed mothers. They are looking for volunteers to come work this spring and summer to help paint, scrape, pull nails, carpentry, electrical, plumbing, install fire sprinklers (a city requirement for code), etc. Started in 1989 as a resource center for pro-life information, Life Issues Inc. now have published a newspaper insert (12 page) in 35 newspapers statewide (Oklahoma) and reached 400,000 homes with the pro-life message. They also have a state fair booth and reach high-school students (35,000 so far) with literature. For information or to volunteer, contact Stan Engle at or Box 2222, OKC, OK 73101 or call 405-236-3316. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 7) Reader Questions Several months ago, I heard of a couple of articles about the March of Dimes support for amniocentesis for the purpose of choosing sex of the unborn baby. Does anyone know anything about that? These articles were in medical journals, which I have access to. - Jon --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 8) Reader Responses On Liberalism and Abortion [v5n5] (was: Abortion Information Bill Passes [v5n4]) Christopher Coope is quite right: "the link between being `conservative' and being opposed to abortion is an uncertain one." Internationally, opposition to legalized killing isn't necessarily a left/right issue. Here in the U.S., the distinction comes because: 1. In the U.S. eugenic (eliminate the inferior/unfit) thinking was heavily liberal/progressive, unlike countries such as Germany where support for eugenics came from both the left (eugenik) and right (rasen hygiene). The key driving force behind legalized abortion is a desire to eliminate socially troublesome groups. That is why pro-abortion groups fight informed consent laws so fiercely. It's the baby they want eliminated, not the woman empowered. 2. In the U.S. liberals and the Democratic party are closely related and historically the Democratic party has been the one willing and eager to defend vile agendas (i.e. slavery and segregation) if those agendas seem to bring in more votes than they cost. Liberal Democratic Presidents as recently as FDR and JFK (Truman was slightly better) did nothing to offend the party's racist Southern wing. E.g., when I was a kid, the logo of my state's Democratic party (Alabama) was a rooster crowing "White Supremacy for the Right." Replace "white" with "born" and you have today's party. 3. The high level of sexual promiscuity (in males, womanizing) among liberals. In other countries where the left or the equivalent of the Democratic party have less consistent a history of intolerance, promiscuity or cooperation with evil, different attitudes toward abortion will occur. Incidently, earlier in this century opposition to eugenics came almost exclusively from the Catholic church (aka "the Catholic hierarchy"), individual fundamentalists, and a few odd skeptics such as Clarence Darrow, who defended the pro-evolution teacher in the Scopes trial. When eugenics was discredited by Nazism, liberals and progressives quickly covered up their zeal for promoting it and have never given its much maligned opponents the credit they deserve. By the way, if anyone is planning to do a school paper on eugenics, Nazi population control or Margaret Sanger and Planned Parenthood, I'd be glad to help with advice. - Mike Perry --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 9) Reader Comments My wife and I run a computer company that deals in new and used Macintosh computers and accessories. We would be willing to supply a large amount of equipment at our cost to pro-life organizations. For individual sales, we'll also donate five percent of the purchase price to a pro-life organization of your choice. Interested parties should contact; > Buckey or Carolyn Turk > MacResource Computers & Service > 808 E. 23rd. St. > Bryan, Texas 77803-4005 > Voice: 1-409-775-7703 > Email: --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Quote of the Month: "Most of us first heard of this issue because of the actions of Dr. Jack Kevorkian. Initial news reports about his participation in suicides stunned many people... But few in the mainstream media noticed -- or reported -- a frightening pattern: all the people he was helping to kill were women. In fact, he helped kill more than a dozen women before `assisting' a man." - Kelly Jefferson, state coordinator of Feminists for Life of Massachusetts +-------------------------------------------------------------------------+ | Credits: | | 1 - This report largely taken from the 13 April edition of _The London | | Daily Telegraph_, page 14: "Chinese trade in human foetuses for | | consumption is uncovered," By Yojana Sharma in Hong Kong and Graham | | Hutchins in Beijing. Many thanks to readers Phil Sevilla and | | Christopher Coope. | | 2 - DC News from a 12 April Reuters article, many thanks to the pro-life| | infonet . Madison news care of Tim | | Ruchti and the April issue of _The Christian Interpreter_ P.O. Box | | 25318, Milwaukee, WI 53225, 414-255-0220. Jacksonville news care of| | reader Gordon Gibby and the May, 1995 edition of the _Spiritual | | Intervention Journal_ 3232 SW 35th Blvd Suite 324 Gainesville, FL | | 32608. Boston news courtesy of Bruce Hall of MCFL and PLAGAL. | | Dallas news quoted from a 19 April AP report, many thanks to reader | | Eric Ewanco. Dayton news via the 20 Feb. _Dayton Daily News_, many | | thanks to Jim Johnstone, Ohio Right to Life and the ProLife Infonet.| | 6 - Catholic Charities information care of the _Catholic Information | | Network_ 619-449-6030 14,400 BPS. Many thanks to reader Tim DeRyan. | +-------------------------------------------------------------------------+ Anyone desiring information on specific pro-life topics or other help is encouraged to contact the editor at . News bits and other contributions welcome. For those on the web, these issues are available in hypertext and postscript formats via our WWW home page: . ---------------------------------------------------- file: /pub/resources/text/ProLife.News: pln-0506.txt .