Protest terrible blasphemy to Our Lady of Fatima

My heart is sick to tell you, but...

...as Catholics, we must defend Our Lady's honor, especially when She is blasphemed, and shown half-naked!

According to press reports, homosexual groups in Spain published a calendar that has horrific, unspeakable blasphemies against Our Lady of Fatima and other Marian apparitions!

Besides a man that is practically naked alongside Our Lady, the calendar has "images that are based on famous works of sacred art, especially apparitions of the Virgin Mary, but interpreted by transsexuals.

"In the 'Secular Calendar,' each month is represented by a free interpretation of famous scenes of Catholic imagery, such as Our Lady of Fatima and the three shepherd children. But redecorated with homosexual esthetics."

"The scenes show saints dressed as drag queens, using crowns, necklaces, bracelets, and colored condoms with applicators and vibrators attached to the crowns."

Moreover, the homosexual group behind the calendar suggests December 25 be officially declared the Day of Democracy instead of Christmas. (BOL Noticias, online 10/19/09). http://noticias.bol.uol.com.br/internacional/2009/10/19/ult36u47296.jhtm
--- (Access with caution).

As Catholics, you and I cannot remain silent before such blasphemous insults to Our Lady and the Catholic faith! No matter where in the world it is.

So please send a protest message NOW via email to the Minister of Justice in Spain.

It's vital that you send your message right away. I don't believe the honor of Our Lady has ever been attacked like this before in history. Ever!

You and I, and tens of thousands of Americans MUST speak out against this and spread our just outrage to other countries too. And, with God's help, our prayers and protest may become so huge that the authorities in Spain will enforce the country's anti-blasphemy laws, and prohibit this blasphemous calendar.

How wonderful that would be!

For love of Our Blessed Mother, please pray this happens.

So please send your e-message today to the Minister of Justice of Spain.

And consider forwarding this posted message to all the Catholics you know.

And since the honor of Our Lady was insulted in the worst way ever, you and I MUST offer the most fervent and widespread act of reparation possible at this time.

To join our nationwide, even worldwide campaign of reparation, please go here to download and pray these acts of reparation to the Immaculate Heart of Mary and the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

Thank you for joining me in this fervent, filial and global act of reparation in face of such a vile, unspeakable blasphemy against our dearest and purest Mother.

Help Stop "Abortion Care"

The fight to remove the abortion mandate from the health care bill is becoming more intense by the hour. Pro-life Democrat Rep. Bart Stupak (D-Mich.) is making headlines with his announcement that 40 Democrats are prepared to block health care reform legislation from coming to the House Floor unless its abortion mandate is removed.

AUL Action is working against time to support the efforts of Stupak and other pro-lifers on the Hill, meeting with Congressmen to ensure they know what’s at stake if the health care reform bill is not amended to protect life.

Even as House members express determination to remove abortion from the House bill, in meetings AUL has learned that Speaker Pelosi and the Democratic leadership are working hard to convince pro-life members of Congress that the Capps Amendment “compromise” prevents abortion funding and coverage.

Please, call your Congressman and tell him/her that the Capps Amendment is not a compromise. The Stupak/Pitts language must be included in the House bill.

The word must get out: health care reform is simply unacceptable unless the final bill contains an explicit provision barring abortion funding and coverage.

Please visit the Team Life Action Center to find out how you can make a difference in your community! When you sign up to join Team Life, AUL will work with you, providing resources to help you educate your friends and family about how to stop your tax dollars from paying for abortion in health care reform.

The online ad "Don't Be Fooled: Abortion is in Health Care Reform” shows how abortion advocates are trying to use health care reform as a means of forcing Americans to pay for the destruction of unborn life. Please watch it on RealHealthCareRespectsLife.com and send it to your friends, your family—everyone you know who doesn’t want to see their tax dollars fund abortion-on-demand.

This health care reform debate is a critical time in the history of the pro-life movement, as the fates of millions of unborn lives hang in the balance.

Thank you for your support as we work together to protect and defend life!

Los Angeles Man Arrested in Death of His Unborn Child

The law never ceases to amaze me.

LOS ANGELES — Authorities say a 37-year-old Los Angeles man has been arrested on suspicion of murder for the death of an unborn child believed to be his.

Police said in a press release that Joshua Woodward was arrested Sunday in Los Angeles and is being held on $2 million bail in a county jail.

Police say the arrest came after an investigation on Monday revealed "suspicious circumstances of a miscarriage." Investigators estimate the fetus was in its 13th week.

Police released no information on the mother or the circumstances of the child's death.

The release says Woodward is believed to have ties to Miami and Chicago and detectives are also seeking information in those cities.

Investigators are set to present the case to prosecutors on Tuesday.

A deputy at the jail had no information on an attorney for Woodward.

International Call for the Rights and Dignity of the Human Person and the Family

Sign Petition HERE

We, the citizens of UN member states, in this year of the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, adopted and proclaimed by the UN General Assembly resolution 217 A (III) of 10 December 1948,

Recalling that:

The Universal Declaration is a common standard of achievement for all peoples and all Nations,

Bearing in mind that:

Human rights, dignity, freedom, equality, solidarity and justice constitute the spiritual and moral patrimony on which the union of Nations is based,

Stress that:

Proper consideration must be given to

1. The right to life of every human being, from conception to natural death, each child having the right to be conceived, born and educated within the family, based on marriage between a woman and a man, the family being the natural and fundamental group unit of society,

2. The right of every child to be educated by his or her parents, who have a prior and fundamental right to choose the kind of education that shall be given to their children.

Therefore, we call upon:

All governments to interpret the Universal Declaration of Human Rights properly such that:

Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person (Article 3)

Men and women of full age, without any limitation due to race, nationality or religion, have the right to marry and to found a family (Article 16).

The family is the natural and fundamental group unit of society and is entitled to protection by society and the State (Article 16).

Motherhood and childhood are entitled to special care and assistance (Article 25).

Parents have a prior right to choose the kind of education that shall be given to their children (Article 26).

I Am 71 Percent Project

What is I Am 71 Percent?

President Barack Obama has been quoted as saying that abortion funding is central to his health care reform agenda. But not so fast, Mr. President!

A recent Zogby poll has shown that 71% of Americans oppose taxpayer funded abortions.

Are you one of those Americans? If so, then join the virtual protest!

We plan make sure that President Obama and every member of Congress is sent a link to these photos so they can put faces on the 71% figure that represents the percentage of Americans opposed to tax-funding of abortion in health care legislation currently under consideration. We want them to look us in the eye and consider who they represent before they finalize plans to oppose our will on this critical moral issue.

Take a picture of yourself with the number 71 then click here (http://www.prolifeunity.com/index.php/iam71percent/comment/upload) to upload your photo and we will add you to the I Am 71 Gallery!

But this protest doesn't’t stop there. Click the “Do More” tab to make your voice heard so that not one dime will go to fund the killing of innocent children through abortion!

DID YOU KNOW?

Whenever public funds are used to pay for abortions, the abortion rate rises. That makes the issue of public abortion funding a critical life-and-death moral issue of great importance to the American people.

Pro Life Activist Gunned Down Outside Michigan High School

A well-known anti-abortion activist was shot multiple times and killed Friday morning in front of a Michigan high school, and another man was shot and killed just miles away in what police are investigating as related incidents.

Owosso police chief Michael Compeau said Jim Pouillon, 63, was outside the school Friday morning with a sign when a man drove by and shot him. No one else was injured.

Michigan State Police have taken a suspect into custody, the Flint Journal reported.

The school was placed on immediate lockdown, though no students were hurt or involved in the shooting, Ossowo Hish School officials told the paper.

When authorities were responding to the first shooting, officials received a report that another man had been shot and killed at a gravel pit business in Owosso. Shiawassee County Sheriff George Braidwood said Mike Fuoss was found dead in his office.

A 33-year-old Owosso man was later arrested in connection with the school shooting at about 8:15 a.m. at his home, according to Compeau. The chief said he then told police he was involved in the gravel-pit shooting.

School officials say the first shooting took place outside of school grounds around 7:30 a.m., when most students were already inside the building for classes. The school, located 20 miles west of Flint, was allowing students to leave with a parental escort, WLNS News reported.

Police barricaded a section of street in front of the high school, where a large sign bearing the image of a baby and the word "Life" was visible, according to the Flint Journal.

Religion Professor at Fredericton Catholic University Moonlighting as Abortion Clinic Escort

By Patrick B. Craine

FREDERICTON, New Brunswick, September 9, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) - A lecturer in religious studies at St. Thomas University (STU) in Fredericton, New Brunswick has begun volunteering as an escort at the city's Morgentaler abortion facility.

Dr. Christopher Levan, a minister in the United Church of Canada, serving at Wilmot United Church, holds a lectureship at STU. According to the university's course list, he will be teaching two sections of Introduction to Religious Studies in both the fall and winter semesters.

LifeSiteNews.com learned about Levan's activities with the Morgentaler facility after a woman who regularly stands in vigil at the Morgentaler facility sent around an e-mail claiming that she witnessed Dr. Levan acting as an escort. She said last Tuesday was the first time she had seen him, and that she discovered his identity because the director of the abortion center introduced him to the other escorts.

Dr. Levan told LifeSiteNews.com in an interview today that he has only done escorting once so far, but plans on continuing. He's doing it, he says, because he has a problem with the "harassment of women going into the abortion clinic," referring to activities of the regular pro-life protestors who stand outside.

"Not that they're in any way vindictive or mean," he said, "but their signs are sometimes. And these are women who have a legal right to this particular medical procedure and there is enough distress without having to run the gauntlet of [people] who want to change their mind."

"It's currently a legal medical procedure, is it not?" he asked. "And in a society that is pluralistic, that allows people to make those kind of choices, they're allowed to make that choice, aren't they?"

"So what I'm doing," he said, "is I'm making sure that the women who make that choice, who make it with, I assume, whatever sincerity they are capable of making it, are allowed to make that choice without the recrimination of those who have not been party to the difficulty they have gone through in making that decision."

Dr. Levan insisted that he personally disagrees with abortion. Commenting on the "I Regret My Abortion" pro-life sign carried by a woman outside the abortuary, he said, "I want to say to her 'I regret them too.' Absolutely. I'm not standing there because I agree with abortion, but people having made that choice deserve the dignity of being able to go and get the procedure without having to be guilted or in some way told that they are guilty of a heinous crime. Because they are not."

"Abortion is a regrettable, regrettable procedure that women are legally allowed to choose in this province," he emphasized.

Dr. Levan's view of abortion is completely in line with the position of the United Church, as he indicated to LSN. In 1980, the community promulgated their policy on abortion, which stated that "abortion is acceptable only when, after careful consideration, the medical, social, and/or economic situation makes it the most responsible alternative." In this and other policy statements on abortion, they have urged the government not to regulate abortion and to ensure access to it throughout the country.

St. Thomas University, however, is a Catholic university that continues to highlight its Catholic identity. In its mission statement, the university states, "We are a liberal arts institution whose roots are in the faith and tradition of the Roman Catholic Church." According to the teachings of the Catholic Church on the issue, abortion is a grave and intrinsic evil that results in the death of a unique human being endowed with the fundamental right to life. Catholics who in any way obtain or help a woman procure an abortion automatically incur the Church's most stringent punishment - excommunication.

Levan is a prolific writer, with books such as God Hates Religion, Sin Boldly, Living in the Maybe, and Knowing your Ethical Preferences. Besides his support for abortion, he has advocated openness to homosexuality, arguing, for example, in a 1995 article that homosexual practice is not condemned in Scripture.

Professors of religious studies at STU have something of a history of conflict with the Catholic Church. The former acting chair of the department and current professor, Dr. Alexandra Bain, has converted from Catholicism to Islam and gave a keynote address at the CWL's 2006 provincial convention after which she ridiculed the Trinity. Further, STU president Dr. Michael Higgins, who specializes in religious studies, and is a former president of St. Jerome's University at Waterloo, famously scolded Pope Benedict in 2006 for his comments on Islam at Regensburg, calling them "grossly stupid."

LSN left a message with the Bishop of Saint John, Most Reverend Robert Harris, who is also the chancellor of STU, but did not hear back by press time. A message left for STU's media director was also not returned in time.

Contact information for St. Thomas University:

Dr. Michael Higgins, President and Vice Chancellor
Mary Jones, Administrative Assistant
Email: mjones@stu.ca
Phone: 506-452-0537
Fax: 506-452-0633
Margaret Norrie McCain Hall Room 400

General Inquiries
St. Thomas University
51 Dineen Drive
Fredericton, NB
Canada, E3B 5G3
Phone: (506) 452-0640
Fax: (506) 450-9615

Abercrombie & Fitch pitches new trashy T-shirts to America's youth

Send an email to Abercrombie and Fitch. Ask them to pull their sexualized shirts.
Abercrombie & Fitch (A&F) continues its pattern of pushing pornographic-themed material into mainstream America. Abercrombie & Fitch (A&F) has just begun offering their "New College" line of T-shirts.

The first A&F t-shirt pictures a young girl opening her blouse - exposing herself. A&F titles the image: "Show the Twins".

The second picture is of a female running nude. A&F titles it: "Female streaking encouraged."

The next Abercrombie & Fitch T-shirt is entitled: "Female Students Wanted for Sexual Research"

Abercrombie & Fitch does not merely sell a popular line of clothing – they sell a lifestyle. And because A&F clothing is popular among teens and college kids, the influence of their sex-as-recreation lifestyle is widespread.

The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and Prevention reports that Sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) remain a major public health challenge in the United States. CDC estimates that approximately 19 million new infections occur each year— almost half of them among young people 15 to 24 years of age.

Family Attacked for Too Many Children: "Thrilled" to be Preparing for Baby Number 19

SPRINGDALE, Arkansas, September 2, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Michelle and Jim Bob Duggar told US news service MSNBC they are delighted to discover the impending arrival of their 19th child. Described by the Today program as "glowing," Michelle Duggar said, "I'm feeling sick and tired, which is a good way to be feeling about right now."

"I always tell myself that's a good way to be because that means good things are happening."

The baby is due to arrive around March 18, 2010.

The family stars in the reality TV show "18 Kids and Counting" airing on TLC. The family are members of the Quiverfull movement among US Protestants that rejects the modern anti-child philosophy and allows God to decide how large their families will be.

The news of Michelle's pregnancy, only eight months after the birth of their last child Jordyn-Grace, was followed by that of the family's eldest son, Josh, who announced that his new wife Anna is expecting their first child, who is due on October 18. "Children are a blessing and a gift if you raise them right, and I think my parents have definitely shown that," Josh Duggar said.

But not everyone is smiling. When the story was published on the website of the left-leaning Huffington Post, commenters did not hesitate to express their hostility to the Duggar's openness to life. 1081 commenters responded with nearly uniform outrage that the Duggars, who have no financial problems, live in a large house they built themselves and are not in debt, have the audacity to be happy with their large family.

"Nothing but pure selfishness," said one. "How about adopting a klan of white children who actually NEED homes?" followed another.

Commenters focused on the "threat" the Duggar children posed to the environment and accused the Duggar parents of using their older children as "unpaid servants and de facto parents" calling them "greedy and slothful." Some called the Duggars' religious beliefs a cult that "expounds the subjugation of women."

"You should pity these poor children with no childhood and no future, who pay everyday for their parents' desire to collect children the way the crazy lady down the street collects cats."

But one writer was more skeptical: "Funny how my fellow liberals preach tolerance and choice until they disagree with someone else's decisions."

The Duggars have produced a book about their experiences, including their decision to stop using artificial hormonal birth control, and have been featured on several US television documentaries. They have also appeared on numerous national and international TV shows including The Early Show, The Today Show, The View, Fox & Friends, Italian Public Television, the Korean Broadcasting System, Discovery Home & Health in the UK and Australia, Jimmy Kimmel Live, Fox News Network and CNN.

See a video of the Duggars here.

I need a favor!!! Please click the link below and "Become a Friend" on the top right of the page. You will just need to enter your name and email address, you can even opt out of getting emails from this organization. There is a contest to see what group can gain the most 'friends.' I would love to win! :)

http://kidsmartpushforpencils.org/keefegroup

KidSmart-Tools for Learning is helping provide essential school supplies to more then 90,000 kids in need across the St. Louis area.

Please also forward this to anyone who you think could help. Thanks!

Not feeling very good today...

If You Are Planned Parenthood, Crime Does Pay

Planned Parenthood (PP) released its annual report this week. It would appear that for Planned Parenthood, crime does pay -- as long as it is crime against humanity. Last year, while the rest of the nation was seeing a downward trend in relation to abortions, Planned Parenthood was perpetrating over 15,000 more abortions than the year before, for a grand total of 305,310 (while apparently offering no post-abortion counseling to the women who enter into PP's "clinics.") Added to this mayhem, Planned Parenthood distributed over 1.4 million "emergency contraceptive kits" containing the abortifacient called the "morning after pill." During this time the organization only did 4,912 adoption referrals. All this proved very profitable to Planned Parenthood as they posted a net profit of $1.014 BILLION. A clear 34 percent of that figure came from you - the U.S. taxpayer. Government grants to Planned Parenthood allowed the abortion industry to spend on a variety of things including contributing $10 million to elect President Obama and spending close to $1 million to lobby Congress for even more cash, claiming poverty in this time of economic crisis! This investment by Planned Parenthood has paid handsomely as increases in government funding have led to an increase in the number of abortions the group performs. Only when the abortion industry is completely separated from the government funding spigot will President Obama have any credibility when he says he wants to "reduce the number of abortions." Local governments like Orange County, California and Corpus Christi, Texas have realized this and defunded their local PP's - when will Congress?

Additional Resources
For more number crunching go to The Cloakroom

Pressure Mounts on Notre Dame to Pull the Plug on President Obama's Address

At Cross Purposes

Ten priests from the order that founded the University of Notre Dame are asking the school to reconsider its invitation to President Obama to speak at next month's commencement. The priests from the Congregation of the Holy Cross say the school is risking what they call its true soul, by giving an honorary doctorate to a person whose policies on abortion and stem cell research clash with those of the Catholic Church. The group says failure to rescind the invitation, "will damage the integrity of the institution."

And in an effort to strike at the school's funding, The American Life League is calling for Notre Dame to be removed from the official list of Catholic institutions. The pro-life group’s president, Judith Brown, says they interviewed students and, "found a tragic attitude at the university... apathy, if not hostility, toward the faith. The university is backing away from the Catholic Church."

Movie Review: Seven Pounds

Spoiler Alert! If you read this blog, you will find out what happens at the end of the movie. Also, if you read this blog, you will never want to see the movie. It was, in my opinion, morally appalling.

In the opening scene of the drama "Seven Pounds" (Columbia/Relativity), Will Smith calls 911 to report a suicide. Asked who the victim is, he answers: "I am." The remainder of the film, which sets out to confound the viewer at every turn, gradually explains how his character reached this desperate pass.

Although he's fond of flashing his credentials as an IRS agent, Ben Thomas' interaction with the taxpayers he visits seems to have as much to do with a hidden personal agenda as with the work of his office. Burdened by a terrible secret -- flashbacks hint at a horrific car crash -- he's out to discover a group of genuinely decent people to whom he can offer life-altering assistance, thus atoning for what he regards as a virtually unforgivable sin. Unfortunately, Ben is suffering from depression and is selfishly wrapped up in his own despair.

His carefully chosen beneficiaries include blind pianist Ezra (Woody Harrelson) and struggling Latina mother Connie (Elpidia Carrillo), who's being physically abused by her boyfriend. Ben's interest in the case of artistic printer and cardiac patient Emily Posa (Rosario Dawson) gradually flowers into romance, despite his initial efforts to remain aloof. After lying to Emily about who he is and claiming to fall in love with her, he kills himself so that she may have his heart for a transplant. Note: in real life, you cannot choose who will be the recipient of your organs should you choose to donate them.

Ben relies on the reluctant support of his best friend, Dan (Barry Pepper), who's concerned about the lengths to which Ben seems willing to go for his do-it-yourself redemption. And not without reason, since Ben's spirit of self-sacrifice, by which he would make himself into his own redeemer, extends to donating bone marrow without the benefit of an anesthetic.

Also worried about Ben's mysterious behavior is his younger brother (Michael Ealy), whom Ben assures of his love but consistently evades. We find out that Ben took over his brother's identity and lied to all of the people he meets, including Emily who he claims to have fallen in love with.

Contrary to the bedrock principal of Catholic moral theology that holds that even the noblest ends do not justify or excuse the use of wrongful means, "Seven Pounds" seems to endorse an obviously unwise and sinful choice driven by confused idealism. The message I received was that you can break any commandment if your intentions are well meaning and the desired outcome is good. Were it not for the humane character of the project as a whole, the script's muddled ethics could otherwise warrant an O classification for morally offensive by the USCCB Office for Film & Broadcasting, but they require careful interpretation by mature, religiously well-grounded viewers.

The film contains a suicide theme, nongraphic premarital sexual activity, a few sexual references, occasional crude and crass language, and a couple of uses of profanity. The USCCB Office for Film & Broadcasting classification is L -- limited adult audience, films whose problematic content many adults would find troubling. The Motion Picture Association of America rating is PG-13 -- parents strongly cautioned. Some material may be inappropriate for children under 13.

I think the movie deserves the Morally Offensive rating and should not be viewed by anyone with a conscience.

Planned Parenthood and STDs: It’s latest attempt to push its own name

All of us who have been fighting Planned Parenthood for quite some time have seen all sorts of different tactics that PP uses to bring in customers. It’s National Condom Day or “Proper Attire” condoms are just some examples. In PP’s eyes, why not take advantage of the STD crisis in our country, with every one in four teenage girl having an STD, and make up some phrase to get customers into its clinics – looking as if it really does care.

MTV and the Kaiser Family Foundation joined in on PP’s latest marketing push called “Get Yourself Tested” or GYT for short. Even calling it GYT is an attempt to be more teen savvy since many of our youth are on the internet instant messaging, and texting on their cell phones. Using acronyms is a form of communication that today’s youth are using. For example, “Talk to you later” is TTYL.

This latest scheme, Get Yourself Tested, is something PP hopes will encourage young people to talk about getting tested for STDs so frequently that it would be like getting an oil change for your car. Everyone needs to get it done, so when are you going in? Yet, we know this is another stunt to push its promiscuous propaganda, but do our teens realize what PP is doing to them? Brainwashing them to come into their clinics – supposedly to be tested for an STD, and at the same time give you condoms and sell you birth control; thus making more business and help spread STDs and thus creating more business.

Several reports have been seen across the country of different PP affiliates and clinics advertising this new marketing ploy. I must share the article with you from the Michigan Messenger that described this new initiative and yet came out and said that while PP clinics charge for STD testing, most Michigan Health Departments offer the testing free. Hmm. Interesting. Even some of the secular media sees PP’s ploy for bringing in the money.

I sympathize with the people in Africa who are suffering with AIDS, some think that condoms are the solution. However, last month Pope Benedict came out with a statement saying that distributing condoms only makes the problem worse. Edward C. Green, Harvard University's director of the AIDS Prevention Research Project stated that the pope is correct. Shocker.

The problem is that teens and young adults are using condoms and birth control thinking that these types of things actually can protect them from getting an STD! PP is teaching them that relying on contraception and abortion is safe. Unfortunately this is very scary when every one in four abortions occurs at PP facilities, and according to the Center of Disease Control, the cases of syphilis in the U.S. from 2001 to 2007 continue to increase.

We need to be educating our young people on chastity. We need to show them that PP’s tactics are NOT helping them. We need parents talking about it, grandparents talking about it. The youth of our country and world today face many pressures and PP is behind a lot of that. We must get this organization out of our schools and out of our kids’ lives! Take a stand and educate your community on the evils of PP.

Doctor Shocks Oprah with News of Ethical Stem-Cell Successes

Click HERE to view the video. It is great.

White House confirms it got 2 million red envelopes

The White House mail office has confirmed it received a "deluge" of as many as 2.25 million red envelopes symbolizing the empty promise of lives snuffed out in abortion in a massive campaign that was larger than most White House mailing movements in the last 35 years.

White House mail worker "Steve" has handled letters for 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. for more than three decades. Every single package and letter destined for the White House goes through his office.

Asked if he has seen a flood of red envelopes bound for the White House, Steve chuckled.

"Uh, yes," he said emphatically. "Believe me, they made it here."

Steve said while Obama has been occupied in Europe, his administration has noticed millions of red envelopes on behalf of aborted children.

"Quite frankly, there was definitely a deluge of mail coming through," he laughed. "I had to handle them all."

"I've been here 35 years, so I've seen presidents come and go," Steve told WND. "This campaign ranks up there with the big ones."

The Red Envelope Project is an idea sparked in the mind and prayers of a Massachusetts man, Christ Otto, who envisioned in January thousands of red envelopes sent to the White House, a visual expression of moral outrage over the president's position on abortion.

On the backs of the envelopes, senders wrote a message Otto composed: "This envelope represents one child who died in abortion. It is empty because that life was unable to offer anything to the world. Responsibility begins with conception."

The original project began small, but when Otto sent out an email to friends asking them to join him in the envelope effort, the symbolic gesture spread through the Internet like wildfire – eventually resulting in delivery of as many as 2.25 million red envelopes.

"Last Tuesday 2.25 million were sent all together," Otto told WND. "There were 1 million sent before that date. I keep getting e-mails, and I know that people are still sending them. This past weekend, there were at least 10,000 more sent just from churches announcing it on Sunday."

The Catholic News Agency reports that a consortium of 11 different student groups at the University of Notre Dame, in protest of the university's invitation of Barack Obama to speak at graduation, plan to hand deliver a surge of the red envelopes to the pro-abortion president when he arrives to give the commencement address in May.

Otto said he expected no response from the White House.

"On Thursday their goal is to remove the conscience clause on physicians," he said. "So, they don't want any press."

However, WND was successful in confirming that the red envelopes did arrive.

Asked if he hopes President Obama will be influenced by the campaign Otto said, "I really hope that he is seeing them. I know that somebody in Washington is seeing them, for whatever that's worth. I do hope that it changes the president's heart."

He continued, "I also know that there are many people in our government – in both political parties – who believe that life and freedom are controlled by the state. They want to control who lives and who dies. So, it's not just the president, but there are lots of people in Washington who need to know that this was an important thing and that they are out of step with the people."

The Red Envelope Project has been provided with letters to cease and desist because it allegedly infringes upon trademark and copyright of another organization, but Otto said the campaign will comply with copyright issues and continue its work once the legal matters have been resolved. Details of the new campaign have not been released.

Nonetheless, Otto said the Red Envelope campaign was a resounding success.

"It has made a difference, regardless of what happened in Washington," he said. "Just the numbers of children that have been involved are huge. It's gotten a lot of people talking about the value of life. To me, that's priceless."

Hundreds of babies saved from abortion in recent pro-life campaign

Washington D.C., Apr 7, 2009 / 05:16 am (CNA).- As the 40 Days for Life Campaign nears the completion of its spring session, its leaders claim to have helped saved nearly four hundred babies from abortion. Organizers are now judging the campaign’s effects and considering how to extend its success. The campaign encourages actions like 40 days of prayer and fasting for an end to abortion, vigils outside abortion clinics and extensive community outreach.

“It was an amazing 40 days," said spring campaign director Shawn Carney. "Courageous people stood and prayed in rain, cold weather and snowstorms. Abortion workers tried to smear this effort with accusations that 40 Days for Life volunteers' prayers 'intimidated' their clients. But none of this could dissuade peaceful, determined people who know their efforts touch hearts and impact communities."

According to the campaign, participants’ efforts helped save 389 babies from abortion. Activities reportedly were held in 135 cities in the U.S., Canada, Australia and Northern Ireland.

“There are undoubtedly others that we don't know about," said Carney. "We're aware that many appointments were canceled when several clinics closed unexpectedly on days when abortions are normally scheduled.”

The campaign joined forces with the Silent No More Awareness Campaign, in which men and women with abortion experiences came forward to pray at abortion clinics and to warn women about the physical, emotional and spiritual damage they risk by undergoing an abortion.

40 Days for Life reports that over its four campaigns 466 local efforts have taken place in 240 separate cities in all 50 states and seven other countries. The organization says that more than 200,000 individuals and more than 4,000 churches have participated. Additionally, at least 17 abortion clinic employees have quit their jobs.

Its next campaign is scheduled for the fall from September 23 to November 1. Its website is at www.40DaysForLife.com.

X-rated films exposed on campuses

Schools find redeeming value in pornography
Jennifer Harper

The ivy-covered halls are tinged with scarlet this semester. And maybe a little purple too.

Some of the most hoity-toity universities in the nation are offering students an unusual distraction from the stress of academic life. In recent weeks, "Pirates II: Stagnetti's Revenge" - an X-rated swashbuckler with hundreds of special effects - has been screened in campus theaters at the University of California at Los Angeles, Northwestern University, Carnegie Mellon University, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and Southern Connecticut University.

The University of California at Davis will show "Pirates" on Thursday evening, the University of Maryland at midnight Saturday.

"I'm always impressed by the open-minded attitude in our country's universities. Sex is a topic which should be discussed in the open. It is no longer taboo," said Ali Joone, who wrote and directed the film and serves as chief executive officer of Digital Playground, a California-based adult-film studio that has produced more than 300 titles.

The company is mainstreaming its racy fare, offering films to student activities offices around the country. Though policies vary, campus officials do not forbid pornographic materials to be screened for the most part, though some administrations stipulate that attendees must be older than 18.

"Numerous colleges published reviews and stories on 'Pirates,' sparking the healthy debate as to whether adult entertainment has a place in academic studies," Mr. Joone added.

"Parents don't shell out thousands of dollars for porn to be adopted into the official curriculum. Students can get that for free, with an Internet search," said Jason Mattera, spokesman for Young America's Foundation, a Virginia-based group that monitors the cultural and ideological bent of the nation's colleges and universities.

"Perhaps college officials should concentrate on beefing up their students' abysmal knowledge of American history, civics and free enterprise," Mr. Mattera added.

Most of the screenings for "Pirates" include educational frills of some sort.

When some 800 students settle in with their popcorn to view "Pirates" at UC Davis, they will also hear a lecture on pornography as a cultural institution - drawing on the fact that X-rated films such as "Deep Throat" began appearing in the lecture halls of American universities more than three decades ago.

The University of Maryland will offer "Pirates" at the Hoff Theater on campus, complete with an introduction by Planned Parenthood representatives.

"They're going to talk about safe sex. We think it's important to contextualize the film before we show it," theater manager Lisa Cunningham said.

Porn, however, does not create much of a fuss.

"Four years ago, we showed 'Deep Throat,' and nobody spoke up. No parents protested. Maybe they would have 30 years ago, but not any more. We also operate on our own income. We use no student activity fees to screen X-rated films," she said.

Parents appear to be worried about other things, perhaps.

Theater personnel will be on their toes, meanwhile.

"We're very good at manning the doors. Nobody under 18 can get in, and we require a state-issued ID. When we showed 'Deep Throat,' it sold out. But I'd be shocked if this one were to sell out. It's really more of a fun event, a chance to hang out before the stress of exams start," she added.

She compared the experience to attending the "Rocky Horror Picture Show," a 1975 British musical parody of the horror genre that has built a solid following of obsessed fans who know every lyric, and often attend dressed as their favorite character from the film.

NY City Council ok's bill to arrest any protesters at abortion clinics

Council Moves to Protect Access to Clinics

In an attempt to clear a path for patients at reproductive clinics, the City Council approved legislation strengthening the city's clinic access law, allowing police to arrest protesters who harass people seeking medical care.

The bill will ensure patients are not threatened, followed or harassed when attempting to enter a clinic, supporters said. On the other hand, critics argue by supposedly strengthening access to clinics, the legislation cripples protesters' First Amendment rights.

In addition to the clinic access bill, the council approved its operating budget for fiscal year 2010, which starts in July, and passed several resolutions urging the state to act on rent regulation.

Accessing Health Care
For patients looking for care at Dr. Emily's Women Health Center in the Bronx, the problems start when they get off the subway, say women's rights advocates. Patients are followed and greeted by supposedly inappropriate catcalls in an attempt to dissuade them from having an abortion. Sometimes, advocates said, protesters block the building's entrance so women looking to terminate their pregnancies don't have any other option but to turn around.

Just because there is a choice in New York City, doesn't mean that there is access, said city officials.

To provide that access, City Council approved legislation that would remove the need for intent to make an arrest, meaning a police officer could arrest protesters who they see harassing patients. Currently, said city officials, women seeking health care have to come forward for an arrest to be made. Many times, said Council Speaker Christine Quinn, women are too intimidated to come forward and identify harassers.

The legislation also would enable clinic workers to call and complain, which could lead to the arrest of protesters who block the clinic entrances or interfere with their operation.

The council voted to approve the bill (Intro 826-A) by a vote of 39 to 8. The mayor plans to sign the legislation, a spokesman said.

Any violation of the legislation would be a misdemeanor.

"The city's women throughout the five boroughs are vulnerable to harassment, intimidation and coercion when they try to access legal reproductive health care," said Quinn. "Harassment and intimidating women as they enter and exit a reproductive health clinic is a clear violation of both a woman's right to access care and a clinic's legal right to provide services."

Many council members equated the legislation to a practical defense of Roe vs. Wade -- or a women's right to choose. Supporters said if protestors are peaceful, then no violation would occur.

Those who voted against the bill said it would erode free speech and create more ambiguity in the law.

"I do not want to protect or enable people who break the law and harass women seeking services," said Councilmember James Oddo, a Republican from Staten Island. "But I also do not want to pass a bill that might have the unintended consequences of having a chilling effect on other constitutionally protected speech."

A Slimmer Budget
The City Council also unanimously approved a $50.5 million operating budget for fiscal year 2010, a reduction of $1.7 million from the previous year or about 3.3 percent.

The reduction will not lead to any layoffs and is on par with the reduction for the mayor's office. Quinn said the council would cut down on events and printing and reduce staff size through attrition.

The council cut its central staff budget. Individual members' budgets will not be affected.

Rent Control Resolutions
The council approved two resolutions urging the state legislature to repeal the state's Urstadt law (SLR 1) and to revise vacancy decontrol (SLR 2).

By repealing Urstadt, the city would have control over housing and rent policies, which it lost in the 1970s.

The council approved the Urstadt resolution by a vote of 43 to 4 and the vacancy decontrol resolution by a vote of 37 to 5 with 5 abstentions.

The council wants the state to repeal parts of vacancy decontrol to force thousands of formally regulated apartments back on the rent regulated rolls. Currently, any rent-regulated apartment is deregulated if its rent exceeds $2,000. Legislation in the state legislature would keep apartments under regulation until they reach a monthly rent of $5,000.

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Don't Forget!

Today is Red Envelope Day!

PLANNED PARENTHOOD HONORS SECRETARY OF STATE HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON FOR HER COMMITMENT TO WOMEN’S HEALTH CARE

Actor America Ferrera Co-Hosts Celebration

HOUSTON, TX — On March 27, 2009, Planned Parenthood Federation of America (PPFA) proudly honored reproductive health and rights advocates who have made significant contributions to the advancement of women’s health care through their work promoting prevention and family planning, and presented its highest honor, the PPFA Margaret Sanger Award, to U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton. Secretary Clinton received this award for her unwavering support of women’s health and rights throughout her public service career. Actor America Ferrera co-hosted the event with PPFA President Cecile Richards.
“It was a great privilege when I was told that I would receive this award,” said U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, in accepting the award. “It’s part of a movement which is about economic and political progress for all women and girls. It’s about making sure that every woman and girl everywhere has the opportunity she deserves to fulfill her potential, the potential as a mother, worker and human being. The overarching mission of the Planned Parenthood Federation of America, the cause of reproductive freedom that you continue to advance today is as relevant in our world now as it was 100 years ago. So, I thank you.”
“Throughout her public service career, as first lady of the United States, as a U.S. senator, and now as secretary of state, Hillary Clinton has blazed a path to make health care affordable and available to all Americans,” said Planned Parenthood Federation of America President Cecile Richards. “We are honored to work alongside such a champion of health care reform to meet the needs of women, men, and families across the country.”

The PPFA Maggie Award for Television was awarded to The CW program Privileged for the episode, “All About the Power Position,” which entertained and educated the public about safer sex and the HPV vaccine. Writer and producer Rina Mimoun and Privileged actor JoAnna Garcia accepted the award. The Maggie Award for Television recognizes exceptional contributions by the entertainment industry that enhance the public's understanding of reproductive rights and health care issues.

“The creators of Privileged seized an opportunity to educate young viewers about the emotional responsibilities that come with sexual relationships,” said Richards. “Planned Parenthood applauds Privileged for its socially responsible message.”

PPFA’s “Walk the Talk” Award recognized Audre and Bernard Rapoport of Waco, TX, for their tremendous generosity and decades-long commitment to supporting Planned Parenthood in Texas. A Corporate Leadership Award was presented to Weil, Gotshal & Manges, LLP, for contributing invaluable legal advice that led to significant changes in the PPFA bylaws and governance structure — and for providing critical and ongoing legal support to the PPFA PROPER ATTIRE® condom program. Lillian Tamayo, President and CEO of Planned Parenthood of South Florida and the Treasure Coast was honored with the Ruth Green Award, which is presented to a Planned Parenthood affiliate chief executive chosen by her or his peers for outstanding leadership with board volunteers in planning, public affairs, and fundraising.

The awards gala was the highlight of the 2009 Planned Parenthood National Conference.

Planned Parenthood offers free implantable birth control to Iowa women who have no insurance

Leave it to Planned Parenthood to take care of women when the economy gets bad.

Implantable birth control offered free to Iowa women

Free, implantable birth-control devices are being offered to women throughout Iowa, paid for through a multimillion-dollar project financed by an anonymous donor.

Women can choose intrauterine devices, known as IUDs, or Implanon, a matchstick-size hormone-releasing device that is put into the upper arm.

The devices can last several years. Unlike birth-control pills or patches, they don't require women to remember to take any action.

"You are much less likely to have an unintended pregnancy. That's the real upside," said Penny Dickey, Planned Parenthood of Greater Iowa's chief operating officer.

Planned Parenthood branches around Iowa expect to give away about 1,400 of the devices in the next year. The agencies will bill patients' insurance if they have coverage, but won't charge people who have no insurance, Dickey said. The offer, worth several hundred dollars, includes the cost of having a medical professional insert the device and remove it if a patient decides she wants to get pregnant.

Visiting Nurse Services in Des Moines is making a similar offer. Vice President Keri Lebeda Townsend said the agency has seen an increase in requests for help with birth control.

"Some women have been laid off or maybe they're working part time and they don't have insurance," Townsend said.

The offer, which started last year, is financed by an anonymous donation coordinated by the Iowa Initiative to Reduce Unintended Pregnancies, a group led by former Iowa First Lady Christie Vilsack. The group also finances other forms of birth control.

Like many things in medicine, the devices do have possible side effects, which can include cramping or other menstrual issues, and they offer no protection against sexually transmitted diseases.

Dickey, the Planned Parenthood leader, said her agency encourages women to use the implantable devices only if they want to put off pregnancy for several years. Although the effects of the devices are easily reversible, she said, the agency doesn't want to spend several hundred dollars on a long-term form of birth control if the patient plans to stop using it quickly.

Culture of Death Accomplishments

From attacking conscience protections, to funding abortion and unrestricted human embryo research, the President takes aim at pro-life protections.

After only 2 months in office, President Barack Obama is clearly the most pro-culture of death President in history. Here's why:

1. President Obama reversed the Mexico City Policy four days after taking office. Instead of restricting foreign aid to organizations who directly support abortion, American taxpayers will be funding abortions overseas, all while trying to make ends meet in the midst of a recession.

2. The new omnibus budget increases money spent on the abortion industry, including an increase of $7.5 million to $307.5 million for Title X Domestic Family Planning and a 19% increase of $88 million to $545 million for International Family Planning.

3. President Obama signed an executive order forcing American taxpayers to fund unrestricted embryonic stem cell research. As pointed in a column by Charles Krauthammer, President Obama “pointedly left open the creation of cloned -- and noncloned sperm-and-egg-derived -- human embryos solely for the purpose of dismemberment and use for parts.”

4. President Obama has started the proceedings to rescind the “conscience clause” regulations put in place by President Bush, which protects healthcare professionals and medical students who refuse to perform abortions for moral reasons. (To speak out, go to www.Freedom2Care.com)

5. President Obama nominated one of the most pro-abortion governors in the country, Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius, to be Secretary of HHS, which oversees millions spent on the abortion industry. Sebelius hosted infamous late-term abortionist Dr. George Tiller and his staff at the governor's mansion.

6. On March 17, 2009, for the first time in eight years, the Obama State Department released $50 million to the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), an organization linked to China's one-child policy and coerced abortions. Unsatisfied by the $50 million mark, House members, led by pro-abortion Rep. Louise Slaughter, are asking for even more money in the next budget Congress will consider.

7. Under Obama’s proposed healthcare plan, the same advocates that are pushing for taxpayer-funded abortions and wiping out parental consent laws, were front and center at the Healthcare Summit in Washington, DC to present their solutions.

Can Planned Parenthood get any more stupid?

Seriously folks, when fighting Planned Parenthood you will run into some things that really have you wondering, how stupid can PP get? With a desperate cry to get more people into its clinics, PP of South Texas is sponsoring a competition of who can make the most creative outfit…out of condoms. Can you say stupid? I’m sure plenty of other things come to mind, but with $336.7 million of your tax dollars, this ridiculous business must be shut down.

If you haven’t picked up on it yet, PP is trying to make condoms into some kind of fashion. With its most recent attempts of selling “Proper Attire” condoms with a new “collection” of condoms, PP is once again trying to desensitize the young people of our generation and lure them into its clinics.

The event in South Texas is titled Project Slicker 2009 and the condoms to create these costumes “will be provided free of charge to registered artists.”

This condom on the brain, baby-killing organization must be defeated. With all of its nonsense and medically inaccurate information, PP still claims to know it all. PP supposedly has “leaders” that offer a “robust vision and commonsense solutions designed to protect women’s health and safety and the basic human rights of us all.”

Give me a break.

Sign the petition to stop PP agenda: http://www.stopp.org/agenda/

Notre Dame ignores calls to rescind Obama invitation

SOUTH BEND, IN - The University of Notre Dame is sticking with its invitation to President Barack Obama to speak at its May 17 commencement despite criticism from some Roman Catholics that his views on abortion and stem-cell research run counter to Catholic teachings

The Cardinal Newman Society, an advocacy group for orthodoxy on Catholic college and university campuses, calls the invitation to Obama "a scandal and an outrage."

As of Monday evening, the society said more than 33,000 people had signed its online petition urging Notre Dame's president, the Rev. John Jenkins, to withdraw the invitation.

Jenkins issued a statement Monday saying the invitation does not mean that Notre Dame supports all of Obama's positions. In an e-mail to The Associated Press, Notre Dame spokesman Dennis Brown added, "I don't foresee a circumstance in which we would rescind the invitation."

African American Pastor Sent to Jail for Offering Abortion Alternatives on Public Sidewalk

OAKLAND, CA, March 23, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) - On Friday the Rev. Walter Hoye of Berkeley, California, was ordered to serve 30 days in county jail by Judge Stuart Hing of the Alameda Superior Court. Rev. Hoye had been found guilty on January 15, 2009, of unlawfully approaching two persons entering an abortion facility in Oakland. Judge Hing had also ordered him to stay one hundred yards away from the abortion facility for three years. However, Rev. Hoye refused this term of probation and would not agree to a stay-away order. Therefore, the judge denied the defense motion to stay the sentence pending appeal. Mr Hoye was taken into custody from the courtroom.

At a hearing on February 19, Judge Hing stated that he had not intended to impose any fine or jail time on Rev. Hoye if he would agree to stay away from the abortion facility. After Rev. Hoye refused to agree not to offer alternatives to abortion-minded women, Judge Hing imposed a 30-day sentence and $1130 fine.

Dozens in the African-American and pro-life communities from around the nation who came out in support of Rev. Hoye were outraged by the sentence.

"It is absolutely incredible that in America an individual can be sentenced to jail for engaging in peaceful free speech activity on a public sidewalk," remarked Allison Aranda, Staff Counsel for Life Legal Defense Foundation. "Rev. Hoye is being singled out for particularly harsh punishment because he refused to agree not to offer help to women considering abortion. Where is the justice in that?"

Fr. Frank Pavone, National Director of Priests for Life, today denounced the sentence leveled against the pastor.

Rev. Hoye, said Pavone, "has just begun serving a sentence which is blatantly unjust. Rev. Hoye did no violence, but rather attempted to stop violence by his prayerful presence at an abortion mill in Oakland.

"He was right to refuse to promise not to approach the abortion facility. By intervening for these children, he simply seeks to fulfill the command, 'Do to others what you would have them do to you.' No government can put a cap on peaceful efforts to save children from violence."

Rev. Hoye is an African-American pastor who says he feels a special calling to work for the end of what he calls the genocide by abortion taking place in the African-American community. As part of his efforts, he stands in front of an abortion facility in Oakland with leaflets offering abortion alternatives and a sign reading, "Jesus loves you and your baby. Let us help."

In response to Rev Hoye's efforts, the Oakland City Council passed an ordinance making it a crime to approach persons entering abortion centers to offer alternatives to abortion. Approaching women to encourage them to enter the clinic is permitted, according to City policy.

According to 2004 statistics from the National Center for Health Statistics, about 37 percent of pregnancies of black women end in abortion, compared with 12 percent for non-Hispanic white women and 19 percent for Hispanic women.

LLDF Legal Director Catherine Short and attorney Mike Millen, who also represented Rev. Hoye at trial, are currently challenging the constitutionality of the ordinance on Rev. Hoye's behalf in federal court. They say they are hopeful the ordinance will be struck down and Rev. Hoye vindicated.

See related LifeSiteNews.com coverage:

Pro-Life Pastor Faces 2 Years Jail and Fine for Peaceful Sidewalk Counseling

African American Pastor Sentenced to Jail for Counselling Women on Public Sidewalk

Dr. George Tiller faces 19 misdemeanor counts of violating the Kansas law governing late-term procedures.

Opening arguments got underway Monday in the criminal case against Dr. George Tiller, one of the only physicians in the country who provides late-term abortions. And by day's end, it was clear that the case could hinge on such nonmedical issues as who paid for copy paper and toner, the meaning of a hug and whether selling a beat-up sedan to a colleague can constitute proof of guilt.

Tiller, 67, faces 19 misdemeanor counts of breaking the Kansas law that governs how late-term abortions should be handled.

In cases where the fetus is deemed viable -- or able to survive outside the womb, around six months' gestation -- the state requires the approval of a second doctor who is not affiliated legally or financially with the first doctor before an abortion can be performed. The doctor must certify that the mother will suffer permanent and irreversible harm, which can include psychological harm, if she carries the baby to term. The state also requires that the second doctor be from Kansas, which considerably narrows the field since few doctors in the state perform abortions.

Prosecutors contend that Tiller's relationship with Dr. Ann Kristin Neuhaus of Lawrence, Kan. -- who signed off on 19 of his cases in 2003 -- violated the state's independent physician requirement. Neuhaus, who did not have her own clinic at the time and whose only source of income was Tiller, used his office but denied using his staff.

The defense has countered that Neuhaus saw patients at Tiller's office for security reasons -- protesters regularly harassed patients outside the clinic -- and because it was convenient for patients, many of whom were emotionally fragile teenagers.

One of the 19 patients in question was 10 years old. Many of Tiller's patients are women who discover late in their pregnancies that they are carrying severely impaired fetuses.

On Monday, antiabortion activists lined up before the courtroom opened in hopes of getting seats inside.

About 25 did, including Troy Newman of Operation Rescue and a handful of young adults he described as "survivors of the abortion holocaust" because they were born after 1973, the year the Supreme Court legalized abortion. Two people in apparel with antiabortion slogans were asked by sheriff's deputies in the courtroom to turn their sweat shirts inside out or cover up.

In his opening statement, Kansas Assistant Atty. Gen. Barry Disney told the jury that Tiller had recruited Neuhaus, hired his attorney to train her about legal requirements and scheduled his patients for her to see at his office. "They were so entwined that she, in essence, was an employee," Disney said. He implied that one way to tell their relationship crossed the line was the hug she gave Tiller when she saw him at the courthouse Monday.

Neuhaus -- who testified under a grant of immunity -- said she saw five or six of Tiller's patients a week, earning about $300 for each consultation.

During cross-examination, defense attorney Dan Monnat asked Neuhaus: "When you saw [Tiller] this morning and gave him a hug, did you mean to convey that you were legally or financially affiliated with him?"

"No," she replied.

Disney also implied that Tiller had given Neuhaus a special deal when he sold her a 1994 Toyota Camry in 2006 for $300. But Monnat produced an appraisal from a local dealership setting the value of the car at $300 and showed the jury a photo of what he mockingly called "this sleek car" -- which Neuhaus testified needed $3,000 worth of body work.

Neuhaus, the day's only witness, seemed at times flustered.

On some points, such as whether she had received legal advice from Tiller's lawyers, Neuhaus on Monday contradicted her earlier deposition. Tiller's attorneys had sent her a packet of information about the Kansas abortion law, she said Monday, but she did not recall meeting with them. In her deposition, she had said that she received the packet "after consulting with his attorneys."

Her deposition, she testified, may have been flawed because "it was a pretty hostile engagement." She later added, "I was being interrogated for four hours and was a little distraught."

Still, she testified, she maintained her independence from Tiller, going so far as to pay for the copy paper and toner that she used while seeing patients at his Wichita clinic, Women's Health Care Services.

When the prosecutor pressed her about whether she had paid rent to Tiller or paid for any of his staff, she said she had not, adding: "I didn't pay for the toilet paper or coffee" either.

Outside the Sedgwick County courthouse, a couple dozen antiabortion activists prayed. A truck with large panels showing aborted fetuses and slogans such as "Tiller the Killer" drove slowly around the block to mark the first time that Tiller, who has practiced in Kansas for more than three decades, has been charged with a crime.

If convicted, Tiller would face one year in prison and a fine of $2,500 for each count. The trial is expected to last at least through the week.

Catholic Notre Dame University to Give Obama Honorary Degree on May 17, Against USCCB Policy

NOTRE DAME, Indiana, March 20, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) - White House Secretary Robert Gibbs stated today that President Obama will give the commencement address at Notre Dame University this year. The school confirmed the announcement, stating on its website that Obama will also receive an honorary doctor of laws degree at the University's 164th University Commencement Ceremony at 2 p.m. May 17 in the Joyce Center on campus.

In 2004, the United States of Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) approved a policy statement called "Catholics in Political Life," which says, with reference to pro-abortion politicians, "They should not be given awards, honors or platforms which would suggest support for their actions."

President Obama has been called the "abortion president" by pro-life activists, and his appearance at the university would appear to violate the USCCB's policy against honoring pro-abortion politicians.

One alumnus from the university has already expressed his displeasure in an open letter sent today to the president of Notre Dame, Rev. John Jenkins.

William Newton, a D.C. area attorney, wrote, "As an alumnus of Notre Dame Law School, I am deeply offended that you would invite President Barack Obama to speak at Commencement this year."

Newton then lists the numerous pro-abortion decisions that Obama has made since assuming the office of the presidency. "This is the person that you feel is worthy to address the students and faculty of Notre Dame, in the shadow of Our Lady atop the Golden Dome, with the spires of the Basilica in the background?" writes Newton.

"Father Sorin must be wringing his hands in heaven, that his successor would approve this disgrace. Shame on Notre Dame for choosing to scandalize the faithful who continue to support the Catholic identity and mission of the University."

Conservative commentator Kathryn Jean Lopez said on The Corner that the arrangement was "shameful."

"Last week the president of the United States perpetrated an assault on human dignity. No statements or press releases will undo what Notre Dame's position in the eyes of the world is in response: 'Doesn't matter,'" wrote Lopez. "We've got THE ONE. So much for the One the school's namesake gave birth to."

"I've been optimistic that the radicalism of this administration on life could be a real catalyst for renewal in many churches. At Notre Dame, the administration there just made a choice. They took a giant step away from their identity as 'Catholic.' They [sic] rather be of this world than the one they supposedly exist to bring people toward."

Notre Dame is among the most prestigious Catholic universities in America. The school's Center for Ethics and Culture recently established a pro-life fund in an effort to bolster Notre Dame's pro-life identity.

Sign the Petition to Father Jenkins

To contact Notre Dame:
Phone: (574) 631-5000
email form: http://president.nd.edu/contact-us

Notre Dame Fellows:
Rev. E. William Beauchamp, C.S.C., President, U. of Portland
(503) 943-7101

Patrick F. McCartan, Senior partner, Jones Day
(216) 586-7272
Email: pmccartan@jonesday.com

William M. Goodyear, CEO, Navigant Consulting
main: (312) 583-5700

list of all Notre Dame Fellows: http://www.nd.edu/leadership/fellows/

To contact the USCCB:

Cardinal Francis George, President
Archdiocese of Chicago
phone: 312-751- 8200
email: mfox@archchicago.org

Most Rev. Robert J. McManus, Chairman, Committee on Education
Diocese of Worcester
phone: 508-791-7171
committee email: catholiceducation@usccb.org

To contact Notre Dame's bishop:
Bishop John D'Arcy, Fort Wayne-South Bend Diocese
Fort Wayne Chancery
phone: (260) 422-4611

Fishermen find infant girl in trash bag

Police are asking for the public's help in finding a mother after two fishermen make a disturbing discovery Sunday -- an infant girl in a trash bag at Lake Artemesia.
"When you see something like that it doesn't go easy on you," says Will Perdue, one of the fishermen who found the child as they fished at the 38-acre lake.

Will Perdue and Joseph Dean didn't know each other before Sunday. Perdue says they were "just trying to clean up trash" when they found the bag around 3 p.m.

"You don't do it that way -- by disposing a trash bag," Dean says. "Hospitals is where you take them."

Police hope someone comes forward to report a mother who may have been pregnant but no longer is, or someone who may know what happened. If you know anything that may be helpful to police, call 866-411-TIPS.

The tragedy has Prince George's County Police Cpl. Erica Johnson reminding people that "Maryland has what is known as the 'safe haven law.'" Under that law, a child up to 72 hours old can be left at a hospital, police station or fire department without any questions.

Dean wants to see the person responsible for dumping the baby brought to justice.

"If I was the person who that baby belonged to, I would give them the chair," he says.

Woman Accused Of Ending Daughter's Pregnancy, Dumping Baby In Trash

A South Florida mother says she ended her teenage daughter's pregnancy and dumped the infant's body in the garbage. Miramar Police Detective Yessenia Diaz says 39-year-old Tonuya Rainey admitted giving her daughter medication from a Miami clinic to end the pregnancy.

Rainey is not a nurse, but works in the medical field. The daughter told police she gave birth two weeks ago over a toilet. Rainey later said she placed the infant in a bag and dumped the body in the garbage. Rainey said the infant was born dead, but her daughter claimed she saw it breathing.

Rainey was arrested Friday and faces felony charges that include performing the termination of a pregnancy without a physician license, unlicensed practice of health care professional, child abuse and improper disposal of human remains.

Harvard AIDS Expert Says Pope is Correct on Condom Distribution Making AIDS Worse

March 19, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Edward C. Green, director of the AIDS Prevention Research Project at the Harvard Center for Population and Development Studies, has said that the evidence confirms that the Pope is correct in his assessment that condom distribution exacerbates the problem of AIDS.

"The pope is correct," Green told National Review Online Wednesday, "or put it a better way, the best evidence we have supports the pope's comments."

"There is," Green added, "a consistent association shown by our best studies, including the U.S.-funded 'Demographic Health Surveys,' between greater availability and use of condoms and higher (not lower) HIV-infection rates. This may be due in part to a phenomenon known as risk compensation, meaning that when one uses a risk-reduction 'technology' such as condoms, one often loses the benefit (reduction in risk) by 'compensating' or taking greater chances than one would take without the risk-reduction technology." ( see the full interview with Green here.

The Harvard AIDS Project's webpage on Green lists his book "Rethinking AIDS Prevention: Learning from Successes in Developing Countries". It is stated that Green reveals, "The largely medical solutions funded by major donors have had little impact in Africa, the continent hardest hit by AIDS. Instead, relatively simple, low-cost behavioral change programs--stressing increased monogamy and delayed sexual activity for young people--have made the greatest headway in fighting or preventing the disease's spread."

The full text of Pope Benedict XVI's exchange with the reporter, which has set off a firestorm around the world in the media, has been released by the Vatican press office.

The pope was asked, "Holy Father among the many evils that affect Africa there is also the particular problem of the spread of AIDS. The position of the Catholic Church for fighting this evil is frequently considered unrealistic and ineffective?"

Benedict XVI replied:

"I would say the opposite. I think that the reality that is most effective, the most present and the strongest in the fight against AIDS, is precisely that of the Catholic Church, with its programs and its diversity. I think of the Sant'Egidio Community, which does so much visibly and invisibly in the fight against AIDS ... and of all the sisters at the service of the sick.

"I would say that one cannot overcome this problem of AIDS only with money -- which is important, but if there is no soul, no people who know how to use it, (money) doesn't help.

"One cannot overcome the problem with the distribution of condoms. On the contrary, they increase the problem.

"The solution can only be a double one: first, a humanization of sexuality, that is, a spiritual human renewal that brings with it a new way of behaving with one another; second, a true friendship even and especially with those who suffer, and a willingness to make personal sacrifices and to be with the suffering. And these are factors that help and that result in real and visible progress.

"Therefore I would say this is our double strength -- to renew the human being from the inside, to give him spiritual human strength for proper behavior regarding one's own body and toward the other person, and the capacity to suffer with the suffering. ... I think this is the proper response and the church is doing this, and so it offers a great and important contribution. I thank all those who are doing this."

See Dr. Green's impressive credentials and list of publications.

U.S. Lawmakers Fight to Remove Law, Signed by Obama, against Federal Funding for Embryo Research

WASHINGTON, D.C., March 17, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) - While President Obama's executive order last week abolished former President George Bush's order forbidding taxpayer funds from being used for embryo-destructive research, the move did not address current U.S. law that bans federal funds from being used for the creation and destruction of embryos. Anti-life legislators are now working to repeal the pro-life law as the next logical step to completely free up funds for embryonic stem-cell research.

Just two days after signing the embryonic stem cell research executive order, Obama signed the annual omnibus appropriations bill, which since 1995 has included an amendment that forbids federal funds from facilitating the harm or destruction of life.

Known as the Dickey-Wicker amendment, the language states: "None of the funds made available in this Act may be used for the creation of a human embryo or embryos for research purposes, or research in which a human embryo or embryos are destroyed, discarded, or knowingly subjected to risk of injury or death."

Obama's executive order only states that embryonic stem cell research would be allowed "to the extent permitted by law."

Peter Breen, an attorney with the pro-life Thomas More Society, told LifeSiteNews.com (LSN) that the Dickey-Wicker law prohibits the president from authorizing funds for research that creates or destroys embryos. However, because of the executive order, funds can now go to research on stem cells taken from embryos already destroyed via private funding. The Bush executive order had restricted such research to the cell lines of embryos destroyed before August 2001.

A White House official recently confirmed to the Cybercast News Service (CNS) that the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the government's medical research arm, will be drafting guidelines to perform research in compliance with the Dickey-Wicker law.

But now that President Obama has lifted the Bush ban, legislators have set to work to abolish the Dickey-Wicker language from next year's appropriations bill, thereby completely freeing up federal funds for embryo research.

Reps. Diana DeGette, D-Colo., and Mike Castle, R-Del., are working to repeal the amendment.

"Dickey-Wicker is 13 years old now, and I think we need to review these policies," DeGette told the New York Times. The Times published an editorial Tuesday urging Congress to do away with the law.

Rep. Mike Castle, a Republican co-sponsor of Rep. DeGette's bill, said the law is "something we need to look at."

"That was passed in 1996, before we realized the full potential of embryonic stem cell research. Some researchers are telling us now that that needs to be reversed," he told the Congressional Quarterly on Monday.

But pro-life leaders are warning that removing the law would give free rein to scientists eager to create, manipulate, and destroy countless human lives.

On the same day that Obama signed his controversial executive order, Douglas Johnson of the National Right to Life Committee pointed out that Obama's order "sets the stage for an attack" on the Dickey-Wicker amendment, the removal of which would have dire consequences.

"Many researchers are already demanding federal support for research in which human embryos would be created for the specific purpose of research, through human cloning and other methods, and there was nothing in the President's remarks today to limit NIH to the use of so-called surplus embryos created in IVF clinics," said Johnson.

"Any member of Congress who votes for legislation to repeal this law is voting to allow federal funding of human embryo farms, created through the use of human cloning."

Rep. Christopher Smith (R-NJ) told the Times that he doubts the public would approve of discarding the law.

"I don't think it will fly because the movement in the country is in favor of life," said Smith. "For Congress to say that the new guinea pig will be human embryos, most Americans will find that highly offensive."