What do you think children would say when asked about the reality of abortion? We asked, they responded.
Thanks to onlineforlife.org
EU Parliament to vote on the “right to abortion”
This campaign is a continuation of the campaign against the Tarabella report which was released last January 15, and managed to attract 60,413 signatures.
The European Parliament is about to vote on two reports that contain paragraphs that promote a so-called “right to abortion”. If these paragraphs are adopted, the European Parliament would both express support for abortion on behalf of the EU and overstep the competence of the EU, thereby treading on the principle of subsidiarity.
On 10 December 2013 the European Parliament rejected the so-called Estrela Report on “Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights” (SRHR). In its place, the Members of the European Parliament adopted a resolution that reaffirmed the principle of subsidiarity and clearly stated that “the formulation and implementation of policies on SRHR and on sexual education in schools is a competence of the Member States”.
The message is clear: the EU is not competent to decide on issues such as abortion or sexual education in schools. These are national competences and, by no means, issues to be decided on in Brussels.
Hundreds of thousands citizens opposed the Estrela Report in 2013! An important victory in favour of human dignity, subsidiarity and popular expression!
Important ground was won through this victory: thanks to the mobilisation of citizens across the European continent the European Parliament rejected a major attempt to promote a “right to abortion” at the EU level.
However, two reports are currently challenging the principle of subsidiarity as regards “SRHR” by pushing one of the Estrela report’s main points, namely a “right to abortion”.
The “Tarabella Report”: Mr Tarabella is the rapporteur of the annual European Parliament report on the equality between women and men in the European Union. A similar annual report was rejected in 2014, then known as the “Zuber report”. That report: “Maintains that women must have control over their sexual and reproductive health and rights, not least by having ready access to contraception and abortion” (paragraph 45).
Dr Deo Debattista – Pro-Life Practical Suggestions in Parliament
As an NGO committed to upholding and promoting life and human dignity, we welcome wholeheartedly the proposal made in Parliament for a pro-life clinic by the back bencher Dr. Deo Debattista on the 24th of February.
Anyone who loves peace and the common good cannot tolerate attacks and crimes against life. We, therefore endorse and support any programmes that safeguard life, especially when it is at its most vulnerable.
For his practical suggestion of providing assistance to expectant mothers in distress who consider abortion, Dr. Debattista deserves unreserved admiration and gets our full backing.
Dr. Miriam SCIBERRAS
Chairman Life Network
Polish bishops blast directive ordering all EU states to allow abortion-causing drugs
European Commission’s directive mandating that the ellaOne morning-after pill be made available over the counter in all EU member states cannot be followed in Poland because it violates the Criminal Code, Poland’s bishops have warned.
The statement prepared by the Polish Episcopate’s Bioethics Panel of Experts points out that there are “several fundamental distortions” about both the function of the drug and the legality of the EU directive.
The directive authorizes the prescription-free sale of ellaOne, a pill containing the drug ulipristal acetate. The pill is marketed as an emergency contraceptive, but can also act as an abortifacient. It currently requires a doctor’s prescription in Germany, Italy, Poland, Hungary, Croatia, and Greece.
The bishops’ statement explains that the drug has “a dual mechanism” in that it is “similar to the formulation used in medical abortion (mifepristone), which modifies the functions of the progesterone receptor … resulting in the expulsion of the human embryo from the mother and his death,” which is effectively an abortion rather than contraception.
“Secondly, of course, is a potential blocking of ovulation. Both mechanisms destroy the physiological processes that allow the proper maintenance of the pregnancy or its creation.”
“With regard to the legal aspect,” the bishops state, “it should be emphasized that the assertion of the existence of a Polish obligation [to follow this directive] is completely untrue.”
“It should also be noted that the use of the product, which results in the death of the embryo, can without doubt be considered illegal and punishable behavior in the light of the Polish Criminal Code, and unacceptable in the light of the principle of the protection of human dignity, a declaration of article 30 of the Constitution of the Republic of Poland, from which act no exceptions are allowed.”
Healing the Wounds of the Culture of Death
Every January our attention is turned in a particular way to the pro-life message. It is the time when we recall in a particular way the tragic anniversary of the 1973 Roe v. Wade and Doe v. Bolton Supreme Court decisions that legalized abortion throughout all nine months of pregnancy for virtually any reason. Contemplating this blight on the American soul can be pretty staggering.
Approximately 57 million abortions have occurred over the past 42 years, a number that is difficult to fathom. How can we picture these numbers? One way is to think of it as one-in-three. In speaking to high school students, for example, they are often impacted by the notion that for every three of them in the classroom, there is a missing person: one-third of their potential classmates that they will never get to know in this life.
It’s also been said that if we were to look out at our congregation on a Sunday morning, there might be, on average, one person in every pew who has somehow been affected by abortion – whether themselves directly, or a friend or loved one who has suffered so much pain.
Baby Screamed During Live-Birth Abortion, We Can’t Forget This Baby’s Cries
Members of Congress next week have an opportunity to right a travesty of injustice. Every day in the United States, babies are silently screaming in late-term abortions that deprive them of their right to life.
As Congressman Trent Franks told LifeNews.com recently, “More than 18,000 ‘very late term’ abortions are performed every year on perfectly healthy unborn babies in America. These are innocent and defenseless children who can not only feel pain, but who can survive outside of the womb in most cases, and who are torturously killed without even basic anesthesia.”
“Many of them cry and scream as they die, but because it is amniotic fluid going over their vocal cords instead of air, we don’t hear them,” he said.
Not all babies scream silently during abortions. The cries of some babies are hear loud and clear.
A former employee at the abortion clinic Kermit Gosnell ran in Philadelphia described how she heard a baby scream during a live-birth abortion. Abortion clinic employee Sherry West described an incident which “really freaked (her) out” and related to the jury how she heard a child scream who was born alive following an abortion.
West remembered how she referred to the dead children killed in these gruesome abortion procedures as “specimens” so she could avoid the mental trauma associated with knowing how they died. As local media reported:
Sherry West, of Bear, said she was loyal to Gosnell – who is now facing multiple counts of murder for allegedly killing children after they were delivered alive at his clinic – but said the incident “really freaked me out.”
When Assistant District Attorney Joanne Pescatore pressed the 53-year-old West for specifics about the incident, West struggled to answer, clearly uncomfortable with the memory.
“I can’t describe it. It sounded like a little alien,” West testified, telling a judge and Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas jury that the body of the child was about 18 to 24 inches long and was one of the largest babies she had seen delivered during abortion procedures at Gosnell’s clinic.
West said she saw the child, whose face and features were not yet completely formed, lying on a glass tray on a shelf and she told a co-worker to call Gosnell about it and fled the room.
Congress has an opportunity next week to hear the screams of aborted babies and take action. Republicans in the House of Representatives will hold a vote on the anniversary of Roe v. Wade late this month on a marquee bill to ban abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy because unborn children feel intense pain in abortions.
This Mother of Four Was Fired From a Catholic Hospital Because of Her Pro-Life Views
In July 2013, Montserrat Balselles was dismissed from her job at a Catholic hospital because she didn’t want to participate in abortions and openly expressed her pro-life views. The medical facility she worked at, Hospital de la Santa Creu, is located in Spain and hired Balselles as an X-ray technician.
At the time of her dismissal, Ballsells had worked at the hospital for five years and had good relationships with her coworkers. However, when she started shared her pro-life views they began making fun of her faith and convictions.
Ballsells said,” They always joked and taunted me. They laughed at the church and said really offensive things to annoy me.”
Balselles, who describes herself as a Catholic activist, said she couldn’t believe that after five years at the hospital she was facing discrimination because of her views on abortion. She also explained that before the incident she hadn’t received any complaints about her work because of her willingness to do everything. Unfortunately, because of the loss of employment, Balselles and her four children were forced to move out of their home and onto the streets.
Read more here…
Abortion battle at UN continues as assembly readies to negotiate new development agenda
NEW YORK — Activists and governments that promote abortion and sexual rights see a new global scheme on development as an opportunity to change national policies.
Discussions are ongoing at UN headquarters after member states reached a partial agreement in December on a new agenda to replace the Millennium Development Goals (MDG). Negotiations begin next month on the substance and format, but an agreement on how the negotiations will occur still remains elusive.
Abortion groups have failed to gain ground on new norms in the draft development agenda. Like previous UN agreements, the 17 goals and 169 targets that UN member states adopted last year, called the Sustainable Development Goals, do not recognize a right to abortion.
Thanks to http://www.lifesitenews.com
Midwives, Second-Class – Terminating Religious Freedom in the UK
The adage goes that when it comes to social issues, the United States is at best a decade or two behind Europe. With its cathedrals collecting cobwebs, its laws enshrining all sorts of alternative sexual practices, and its widespread disregard for the sanctity of life, this once-devout home of Christendom could very well be a picture of America’s future.
(Thanks to www.Breakpoint.org)
France Pushes Abortion Rights Beyond Its Borders – Malta mentioned
In an article by Julie Bhatia and Hajer Naili of WeNews, it was reported that a French delegation is pushing an abortion resolution which will have direct effect over Europe, under the premise of ‘France developing a profile as a European leader on abortion rights’.
Malta and Poland have been mentioned in the article as having the most restrictive laws in Europe together with Ireland and Andorra.
Please read more in this article: ‘France Pushes Abortion Rights Beyond Its Borders’ of WeNews.