Catholic Fire

Richard Doerflinger, Associate Director of Pro-Life Activities for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, discusses the U.S. bishops' position on abortion in the debate over health care reform. As I mentioned in my post on Friday , the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) launched a Web page promoting its support of “truly universal health policy with respect for human life and dignity.” The page, www.usccb.org/healthcare , includes letters from bishops to Congress, videos, facts and statistics, frequently asked questions, and links for contacting members of Congress. Click HERE to vist the USCCB site. ~ H/T: OSV

Read Not One Dime For Tax-Funded Abortion in Obama’s Health Care Plan for more information.

As Cardinals fans, my husband and I spent part of this past weekend watching the Royals - Cardinals game on TV. However, we didn't realize that a culture war was taking place behind the scenes. Via Creative Minority Report : The Royals were supposed to host "Right to Life" Night at the ballpark when Missouri Right to Life bought up 300 tickets to a game last week as a fundraiser. The Royals put up a link on their website to encourage people to buy tickets to "Right to life" night. And the link which read "come cheer on the Royals as they play the St. Louis Cardinals and support the Missouri Right to Life" was getting clicks and selling tickets but then...someone was offended! Someone from the office of some stupid state senator (Missouri State Senator Jolie Justus) called to complain. And the Royals buckled and removed the link from their website. Read the rest.

Jill Stanek: Breaking news: RNC releases mailer attacking Obama on Born Alive Sam Stein in the Huffington Post reported that the Republican National Committee has released a mailer in NC attacking Barack Obama on his opposition as state senator to the Born Alive Infants Protection Act. And it's perfect... Wow! It looks like they saved the best issue for last. Hit B.O. with your best shot! Fire Away, RNC! Read the entire story here at Jill's blog.

The ad explains Obamas opposition to protecting babies from denial of medical treatment or care if they survive an abortion and his opposition to bans on partial birth abortions. The ad calls on Obama to support such protections.

A conservative group that wants to run ads about Barack Obama's views on abortion will find out today whether it will be subjected to federal election restrictions on fundraising and advertising. U.S. District Judge James Spencer heard arguments yesterday from lawyers for the Federal Election Commission and a group called The Real Truth About Obama Incorporated in Richmond. The group, established by pro-life activists, is seeking a preliminary injunction that would free it from regulations governing political action committees. The group says it would engage in ``issue advocacy'' rather than directly promote the defeat or election of a candidate, and therefore is exempt from FEC restrictions. Spencer said after a nearly hourlong hearing that he would rule today. H/T: Pro-life News

FNC's Neil Cavuto interviewed Catholic Archbishop Chaput of Denver on August 28, 2008 about Nancy Pelosi's misrepresentation of Catholic teaching on abortion and Joe Biden's reception of Communion. Related Posts: Denver archbishop slams Pelosi on Church teachings and abortion "Ardent, Practising Catholic" Pelosi's Expert Comments on Human Life

In many Asian cultures, little girls are considered a burden rather than a blessing. This has led to all manner of atrocities like sex-selective abortion and even infanticide of infant girls in favor of boys. Steven W. Mosher talks about how this practice is coming to the United States, and how feminist groups are doing nothing about it. “Where are the feminists when you need them?” Mosher asks, alleging that American feminists’ dedication to permissive abortion laws makes them unwilling to oppose sex-selective abortion. “I challenge the National Organization of Women,” says Mosher, “and other feminist groups, to join us in the battle to ban this terrible form of sex discrimination that is killing so many unborn baby girls. Their continued silence only facilitates the killing.”

Act protects women from financial pressure to abort children with genetic disorders - In an important blow to the eugenics movement, President George Bush yesterday signed into law a bill preventing health insurance companies and employers from discriminating against born or unborn individuals on the basis of genetic information. "It protects our citizens from having genetic information misused, and this bill does so without undermining the basic premise of the insurance industry," said Bush of the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA). Proponents of the GINA have expressed fears that healthy individuals with genetic dispositions toward certain diseases could end up paying more for insurance. They also fear that employers would only hire or retain individuals without genetic dispositions towards disease in order to avoid future instances of an unhealthy workforce. The version of the GINA signed yesterday included important language protecting families from discrim...

Abortion will end. The premise of Priests for Life is that abortion will end through the Church, because Christ has conquered death, and it is He who works through each of us to bring this victory to every segment of our society. By the “Church,” I mean the entire Body of Christ. Pope John Paul II, in The Gospel of Life, told us, “No single person or group has a monopoly on the defense and promotion of life. These are everyone’s task and responsibility” (EV 91). He says this after asserting that the effort must be ecumenical and, in fact, must include the involvement of all people of good will. The United States Catholic Bishops have provided marvelous guidance on how the pro-life effort of the Catholic Church should be undertaken, and at the conclusion of their national Pastoral Plan for Pro-life Activities, they echo what John Paul II said in the quote above. They write, “We hold in high esteem all who proclaim and serve the Gospel of life. Through their peaceful activism, education,...

A home made pro-life music video with a song by Catholic seminarian Robert Galea. Visit http://www.thatsworship.com/ for more from Robert. It shows images of the baby in the mother's uterus.

The Federal Government gives at least $305 million annually to Planned Parenthood. This must end! Sign the online petition at www.StopPlannedParenthoodTaxFunding.com and contact state and federal elected officials to cut Planned Parenthood off from our wallets!” For more information on how to stop Planned Parenthood, go to For more information on how to stop Planned Parenthood, go to www.all.org/stopp/planopen.htm

If Saving Women is Really the Goal . . . by Mark Crutcher Now that the political season is back at our throats, we are again hearing the abortion lobby trot out its usual collection of distortions, half-truths and outright lies. Of course, one of their favorites is the old line that since women are going to have abortions regardless of what the law says, we have to protect them against dangerous back-alley abortions. This assumes that the legal abortions women are getting right now are safe, but we'll let that fairy tail slide for the moment. We'll also ignore the fact that, if abortion were outlawed today and illegal abortionists started springing up next week, every one of them would be someone who is pro-choice. In fact, every woman who was ever killed or maimed during an abortion was killed or maimed by someone who was pro-choice. That means the obvious solution to the back-alley abortion problem is for the pro-choice mob not to do them. But like I said, we'll ig...

Pharmacists must be allowed to refuse to supply drugs that cause abortion or euthanasia, Pope Benedict said today, calling on health professionals to be "conscientious objectors" against such practices. Pope Benedict XVI told a convention of Roman Catholic pharmacists this morning that part of their job is to protect human life from conception until natural death -- the Church teaching that rules out any deliberate termination of pregnancy or euthanasia. "It is not possible to anaesthetise the conscience, for example, when it comes to molecules whose aim is to stop an embryo implanting or to cut short someone's life," the Pope said. The so-called abortion pill, which is available in many European Union countries and has had regulatory approval in the United States since 2000, has not been authorized in Italy. The Vatican has criticized moves by some Italian politicians who favor the pill, which blocks the action of the hormone progesterone that is needed to sust...

Pro-life blogs has a great piece on getting to know Jill Stanek , which links to an interview by CitizenLink . I have written about Jill Stanek's influence in motivating me to become pro-active in the pro-life movement and would like to share that witness with you on this Respect Life Sunday, especially to those who are newcomers to my blog. Here it is in two parts: CONTRACEPTION/ABORTION: WHY IT IS MY ISSUE CONTRACEPTION / ABORTION: WHY IT IS MY ISSUE – PART II Warning: This is a very personal and intimate testimony. Have your klennex box handy. It also includes Jill's testimony of her nursing experiences at Christ Hospital in Oaklawn, IL, where she witnessed babies who were meant to be aborted being born alive and left to die, without medical care.

Kansas City, MO – A 20-year old McDonald’s employee attempted to flush her newborn baby down the toilet at the Kansas City restaurant where she worked after she unexpectedly gave birth to a 32-week baby boy on Monday. She told shocked co-workers that she had “flushed three times but that it would not go down.” [Read the entire story.]

A study conducted by a researcher at the University of Maryland shows that legalized abortion has led to higher rates of crime and increased murder rates. This occurred because a higher percentage of children grew up in single-parent homes during the years following Roe v. Wade. The findings have been published in the April 2007 issue of the academic journal Economic Inquiry and are part of a new book written by researcher John R. Lott. CLICK HERE to Read Entire Article www.lifenews.com

Whose fault is it when aborting women die? It depends, according to abortion proponents. If the abortion was illegal, we are. If the abortion was legal, she is. Cases in point, yesteryear's illegal abortion of Gerri Santoro and this year's legal abortion of Edrica Goode. You've likely seen the haunting, iconic photo of Gerri Santoro, dead, naked, knees to chest with bloody bottom in the air on a hotel room floor, the result of an illegal abortion in 1964 at age 27. How did Santoro get there? At six and a half months pregnant by a married man, Santoro apparently panicked when learning her own abusive husband, whom she had left but not divorced, was traveling from out-of-state to visit their two daughters. Santoro and her baby's father checked into a hotel, where he tried aborting her using a textbook and borrowed surgical instruments. When Santoro began hemorrhaging, he fled. [More] My Comments: These are both indeed very sad situations which could have been prevented. W...

Rudy had better take this as a warning from God.

Thank You Letter Sent, Calls for Letters of Support to Bishop CHELSEA, MI – Fidelis today praised Catholic Bishop Thomas J. Tobin of the Diocese of Providence, Rhode Island, for his public critique of Republican presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani over his position on abortion in his weekly column Without A Doubt that runs in The Rhode Island Catholic newspaper. In his column, Tobin described Giuliani’s position on abortion as “pathetic,” “confusing,” and “hypocritical.” Fidelis President Joseph Cella stated: “We are grateful for Bishop Tobin’s courage in condemning the incoherence of Rudy Giuliani’s support of abortion on demand. Bishop Tobin’s words serve as an authoritative and unambiguous reminder to Giuliani and all Catholic politicians of their moral obligations as Catholic public leaders to defend human life. His column also offers yet more support to the argument why faithful Catholics should reject Giuliani’s candidacy.” This week’s column entitled My R.S.V.P. to Rudy Giulian...