Saturday, May 31, 2008

Roe IQ Test

The following is taken from a rather lengthy letter from FotF. Take a look and see much you know about abortion.

...Our staff recently joined with our great friends at the Alliance Defense Fund and Concerned Women for America to create a unique survey called the “Roe IQ Test,” which gauges each respondent’s knowledge and attitudes concerning these infamous 1973 Supreme Court decisions. It includes 12 questions, and I assure you that the answers to several of the questions are surprising. To be honest, when I first saw the test I wasn’t sure I would be able to answer each question correctly myself. I have included the full survey below, and I encourage you to take a few minutes to look it over and consider the questions. ...

The answers to the following questions are included in a separate key at the end of this letter. Please don’t look ahead — see how many of these questions you are able to answer off the top of your head, without doing any outside research.

Now, to the test:

Note: The U.S. Supreme Court’s control over abortion laws is significantly influenced by two 1973 decisions: Roe v. Wade (Roe) and Doe v. Bolton (Doe). To keep things simple, this I.Q test considers both rulings but refers to the better known of the two cases, Roe. So, Roe represents both Roe and Doe in the questions.

1) Which most accurately describes when a woman may have an abortion under Roe?
A. Anytime during the first three months (first trimester) of her pregnancy
B. Anytime during the first six months (second trimester) of her pregnancy
C. Anytime during her entire pregnancy
D. Anytime during the first three months, but can have an abortion later if the pregnancy resulted from rape or incest

2) Which best describes the limitations Roe places on why a woman may have an abortion?
A. No limitations
B. Only in case of rape, incest, or when the woman’s life is in danger
C. No limitations during the first three months of pregnancy, but only medically necessary abortions after that

3) True or False. Roe allowed late-term abortions.
A. True
B. False

4) True or False. If Roe were overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court, abortion would immediately become illegal in the United States.
A. True
B. False

5) According to the Centers for Disease Control, about how many abortions have been performed in the United States since the Roe decision in 1973?
A. Less than 10 million
B. 10-19 million
C. 20-29 million
D. 30-39 million
E. 40-49 million
F. 50-59 million
G. More than 60 million

6) At what age does Roe require minor girls to have parental notification before an abortion?
A. Parental notification is not required
B. Girls 18 and younger
C. Girls 16 and younger
D. Girls 13 and younger

7) True or False. Roe allowed sex-selection abortions — abortions performed because of the sex of the baby (For example: parents wanting a boy instead of a girl — and vice-versa).
A. True
B. False

8) What percentage of abortions are performed because of rape or incest?
A. More than 16 percent
B. 11-15 percent
C. 6-10 percent
D. 2-5 percent
E. Fewer than 1 percent

9) Which of our nation’s founding documents contains the phrase “right to an abortion”?
A. Declaration of Independence
B. U.S. Constitution
C. Bill of Rights
D. None of the Above
E. All of the Above

10) Which Supreme Court Justice said the following about Roe: “Roe v. Wade . . . ventured too far in the change it ordered and presented an inadequate justification for its action.”
A. Justice Samuel Alito
B. Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg
C. Justice Sandra Day O’Connor
D. Justice Antonin Scalia
E. Justice Clarence Thomas

11) Which country’s laws make it easiest to have an abortion?
A. Finland
B. Great Britain
C. Ireland
D. United States
E. Mexico

12) Under Roe, which of these are allowed to perform abortions?
A. Licensed physician
B. Nurse practitioner
C. Resident assistant
D. Registered nurse
E. All of the above

Are you confident in your answers to the preceding questions? Now take a look at the key included with this letter to find out how you scored. I missed one question when I first took the survey, giving me a score of 92 percent. Which answer did I get wrong? Question #10 tripped me up, as I did not even consider the possibility that an ultra-liberal justice, Ruth Bader Ginsberg, could have said anything negative about the Roe decision. But there you have it.

If your schedule permits, we would appreciate you logging onto our online version of the exam and transferring your original answers for official tabulation. This can be found at www.roeiqtest.com. Please note that the online survey includes an additional eight questions that don’t involve “right” or “wrong” answers, but are rather designed to identify certain demographical characteristics of each respondent. By answering Questions 13-20 on our Internet survey, you will help our research staff gain a clearer picture of the beliefs and backgrounds of the survey respondents. Rest assured that you will remain completely anonymous.

Another part of this letter talking about the long-term complications frequently associated with abortion can be found here.

ANSWERS: 1 [C] 2 [A] 3 [A] 4 [B] 5 [E] 6 [A] 7 [A] 8 [E] 9 [D] 10 [B] 11 [D] 12 [E]

Wednesday, May 28, 2008

Does Abortion Lead to Mental Illness?

From
March 16, 2008

Royal college warns abortions can lead to mental illness

Women may be at risk of mental health breakdowns if they have abortions, a medical royal college has warned. The Royal College of Psychiatrists says women should not be allowed to have an abortion until they are counselled on the possible risk to their mental health.

This overturns the consensus that has stood for decades that the risk to mental health of continuing with an unwanted pregnancy outweighs the risks of living with the possible regrets of having an abortion.

MPs will shortly vote on a proposal to reduce the upper time limit for abortions “for social reasons” from 24 weeks to 20 weeks, a move not backed by the government. A Sunday Times poll today shows 59% of women would support such a reduction, with only 28% backing the status quo. Taken together, just under half (48%) of men and women want a reduction to 20 weeks, while 35% want to retain 24 weeks.

Some MPs also want women to have a “cooling off” period in which they would be made aware of the possible consequences of the abortion, including the impact on their mental health, before they could go ahead.

More than 90% of the 200,000 terminations in Britain every year are believed to be carried out because doctors believe that continuing with the pregnancy would cause greater mental strain.

The Royal College of Psychiatrists recommends updating abortion information leaflets to include details of the risks of depression. “Consent cannot be informed without the provision of adequate and appropriate information,” it says.

Several studies, including research published in the Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry in 2006, concluded that abortion in young women might be associated with risks of mental health problems.

The controversy intensified earlier this year when an inquest in Cornwall heard that a talented artist hanged herself because she was overcome with grief after aborting her twins. Emma Beck, 30, left a note saying: “Living is hell for me. I should never have had an abortion. I see now I would have been a good mum. I want to be with my babies; they need me, no one else does.”

The college’s revised stance was welcomed by Nadine Dorries, a Conservative MP campaigning for a statutory cooling-off period: “For doctors to process a woman’s request for an abortion without providing the support, information and help women need at this time of crisis I regard almost as a form of abuse,” she said.

Dawn Primarolo, the health minister, will this week appeal to MPs to ignore attempts to reduce the time limit on abortion when new laws on fertility treatment and embryo research come before parliament.

Dr Peter Saunders, general secretary of the Christian Medical Fellowship, said: “How can a doctor now justify an abortion [on mental health grounds] if psychiatrists are questioning whether there is any clear evidence that continuing with the pregnancy leads to mental health problems.”

Royal College of Psychiatrists statement on abortion and mental health, 2008

The college's stance on the psychiatric factors in abortion, 1994


[source]

Sunday, May 25, 2008

D&E

WARNING: THIS POST CONTAINS SICKENING GRAPHIC IMAGES. YOUNG CHILDREN SHOULD NOT READ FURTHER.




Dilate and Evacuate, more commonly known as D&E, is an abortive process that takes place over two to three days. First, the cervix is numbed, and then dilators are inserted to open the uterus. Overnight, these expand.[1] When the dilators are removed the doctor has access into the uterus. S/he then proceeds tears the baby apart by using specialized forceps and the pieces of the child are removed from the womb one at the time. Larger babies’ heads must first often be crushed to fix through the cervix.

The doctor then scraps the wall of the uterus
trying to get out all of the remaining pieces from the womb. This is a very dangerous process as the uterus can be punctured, and a punctured uterus means hemorrhaging. After the doctor scraps the uterus, the baby must be reassembled to make sure all of the pieces are been removed from the uterus so infection does not set in.[2]

[1] Feminist Women’s Health Center

http://www.fwhc.org/abortion/ab-procedures.htm

(accessed 18 October 2007)



Thursday, May 22, 2008

How did Abortion become legalized?

In 1973, abortion was legalized in America; this decision was made off of lies and hypothetical situations.


Norma McCorvey (see picture), more commonly known as “Jane Roe,” lied about being raped, and, in fact, never had an abortion.[1] By the time abortion was legalized, her child that she was carrying when she started the lawsuit was 2 years old.[2] She now actively speaks out against this "procedure."


The Does’ case for the legalization of abortion was completely hypothetical, as Mrs. Doe was not pregnant or planning on becoming pregnant. Nevertheless, they presented a case for her need for an abortion if she ever became pregnant.[3]

This is the story of abortion's legal beginnings in America.


[1] WorldNet Daily

<http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=21598>

(accessed 26 October 2007)

[2]Cornell University Law School

<http://www.law.cornell.edu/supct/html/historics/USSC_CR_0410_0113_ZO.html>

(accessed 26 October 2007)

[3] Ibid.

Monday, May 19, 2008

Déjà Vu

I lived in Germany during the Nazi holocaust. I considered myself a Christian. I attended church since I was a small boy. We had heard the stories of what was happening to the Jews, but like most people today in this coutnry, we tried to distance ourselves from the reality of what was really taking place. What could anyone do to stop it?

A railroad track ran behind our small church, and each Sunday morning we would hear the whistle from a distance and then the clacking of the wheels moving over the track. We became disturbed when one Sunday we noticed cries coming from the train as it passed by. We grimly realized that the train was carrying Jews. They were like cattle in those cars!

Week after week that train whistle would blow. We would dread to hear the sound of those old wheels because we knew that the Jews would begin to cry out to us as they passed out church. It was so terribly disturbing! We could do nothing to help these poor miserable people, yet their screams tormented us. We knew exactly at what time that whistle would blow, and we decided the only way to keep from being so disturbed by the cries was to start singing our hymns. By the time that train came rumbling past the church yard, we were singing at the top of our voices. If some of the screams reached our ears, we'd just sing a little louder until we could hear them no more. Years have passed and no one talks about it much anymore, but I still hear that train whistle in my sleep. I can still hear them crying our for help. God forgive all of us who called ourselves Christians, yet did nothing to intervene.

Now, so many years later, I see it happening all over again in America. God forgive you as Americans for you have blocked our the screams of millions of your own children. The holocaust is here. the response is the same as it was in my country -- Silence!
The story of an elderly gentleman he told to Penny Lea, quoted in the brochure, "Sing a Little Louder," by Penny Lea.

Friday, May 16, 2008

Abortion Through Saline Injection

WARNING: GRAPHIC IMAGE AHEAD THAT YOUNG CHILDREN SHOULD NOT VIEW.



Saline Injection is done by inserting a long needle through the mother’s abdomen
and then injecting a solution of concentrated salt into the amniotic fluid. The baby dies through salt poisoning, dehydration, hemorrhages, failures of organs, and experiences convulsions. The child’s skin is chemically burned by the salt as well. It can take several hours for the baby to die in this manner. One to two days later the mother goes into labor and delivers her dead child.


Source: Tennessee Right to Life
http://www.tennesseerighttolife.org/human_life_issues/human_life_issues_abortion_methods.htm
(accessed 21 October 2007)

Tuesday, May 13, 2008

The Facts

WARNING: GRAPHIC IMAGES AHEAD. CHILDREN SHOULD NOT VIEW THESE.











Around 4,000 women have a particular “procedure” performed every day in America alone.

88% of abortions occur in the first trimester, before the thirteenth week. 1.3 million babies are aborted every year. [1] Almost 50,000,000 unborn babies have been killed since the legalization of abortion in 1973.[2] That is 8x the number of Jews killed in the Holocaust.[3] 60x the number of dead in the Rwanda genocide.[4] And it is 42x the number of men and women lost in the Civil, World, Korean, Vietnam, Gulf, and continuing war on terrorism combined.[5]
Life ends for an unborn child every 21 seconds.[6] That means that every ten minutes, 28 babies die of an abortion.[7] This is genocide.

_____

[1] Abort73
<http://www.abort73.com/HTML/I-G-2-testimony.html> (accessed 22 October 2007)

[2]Movement for a Better America <http://www.movementforabetteramerica.org/> (accessed 31 October 2007)

[3] 6,000,000 Jews were killed during the Holocaust.

Jewish Virtual Library <http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Holocaust/history.html> (accessed 27 October 2007)

[4] Rwanda genocide cost 800,000 lives.

United Human Rights Council <http://www.unitedhumanrights.org/Genocide/genocide_in_rwanda.htm> (accessed 22 October 2007)

[5] Civil War: 498,332 dead

World War 1: 116,708 dead

World War 2: 407,316 dead

Korean War: 54,246 dead

Vietnam War: 58,655 dead

Persian Gulf War: 372 dead

information from Pro-life flyer from the North Carolina Right to Life, Inc., published by Heritage House ’76, Inc. Flyer titled: “American War Casualties”

Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom: 3,386 dead

U.S. Department of Defense <http://www.defenselink.mil/speeches/speech.aspx?speechid=1189> (accessed 27 October 2007)

[6] 60 seconds in a minute, 24 hours a day: 60x24=1440 (minutes in a day).

4,000 unborn die a day: 1440x4000=0.36 (unborn die per minute)

60 seconds in a minute: 0.36x60=21.6 (seconds between the death of the unborn)

[7] 60 seconds in a minute; 10 minutes in the speech: 60x10=600 (seconds in 10 minutes)

21.6 (seconds between the death of the unborn)

600/21.6=27.8 (unborn babies that die in 10 minutes time)

Saturday, May 10, 2008

Long-Term Copmlications Associated with Induced Abortion

The American Association of Pro-Life Obstetricians and Gynecologists (AAPLOG) conducted an in-depth study in July 2007 titled “Long-Term Complications Associated with Induced Abortion.” It contains a wealth of extensive research demonstrating the devastating physical and emotional effects of abortion on women. Although there is solid research to verify their conclusions, not surprisingly, these findings have been almost completely ignored by the mainstream media and by left-leaning elements of the medical profession. In fact, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists has stated: “Long term risks sometimes attributed to surgical abortion include potential effects on reproductive function, cancer incidence, and psychological sequelae. However, the medical literature, when carefully evaluated, clearly indicates no significant negative impact on any of these factors with surgical abortion.”

AAPLOG’s research demonstrates how faulty this conclusion is. Their study opens with this telling statement: “We are aware of no studies that demonstrate a better mental or physical health outcome for aborted women, compared to those who choose to deliver. On the contrary, there is ample evidence that induced abortion in many cases is associated with significant degradation of emotional health, physical health and reproductive health.”

Specifically, AAPLOG’s study cites links between abortion and depression, substance abuse, suicide, placenta previa (a dangerous medical condition), breast cancer, premature birth, and low birth weight among post-abortion women.

Consider these examples from the report:

• A study in New Zealand found that at age 25, 42 percent of women in the study group who had had an abortion also experienced major depression at some stage during the past four years. This was nearly double the rate of those who had never been pregnant and 35 percent higher than those who had chosen to continue a pregnancy.

• Data from California shows that compared with women who had previously given birth, women who aborted were 929 percent more likely to use marijuana, 460 percent more likely to use other illicit drugs, and 122 percent more likely to use alcohol during their next pregnancy.

• A University of Minnesota study on teen suicide found that the rate of attempted suicide in the six months prior to the study increased tenfold for teens who had aborted during those previous six months.

• Researchers at South Glomorgan Health Authority in Great Britain found that after abortions, there were 8.9 suicide attempts per 1,000, compared with 1.9 suicide attempts per 1,000 among those who gave birth.

• Studies also show a link between abortion and placentia previa (a condition in which the placenta is implanted abnormally low in the uterine cavity) during subsequent pregnancies.

• Although controversial, research continues to suggest a link between abortion and the subsequent risk of developing breast cancer. More than 41 studies worldwide (including 16 conducted in America) have reported data on the risk of breast cancer among women with a history of induced abortion. A full 29 (70 percent) of these studies reported an increased risk, with 13 (or 81 percent) of the American studies reporting an increased risk.

• More than 50 studies have demonstrated a statistically significant increase in premature birth or low birth weight risk in women with prior induced abortions. Consider, for example, that in Ireland, where induced abortion is illegal, the prematurity rate in 2003 was 5.48 percent, less than half the U.S. rate of 12.3 percent.

These bullet points do not even begin to scratch the surface of the wide body of research demonstrating the links between abortion and physical and emotional difficulties for post-abortion women. Again, this information is widely ignored or discounted by liberal politicians, activists, and medical organizations. You would think that shocking statistics of this nature would make the front page of The New York Times and that groups such as the National Organization for Women (NOW) would be screaming in protest about the indignities and abuses that have been heaped upon women at the hands of the abortion industry. Instead, the facts are buried or ignored and we are told that the right to an abortion is the hallmark of female empowerment.

For the past 35 years the pro-life community has been emphasizing the fact that every abortion leaves “one dead and one wounded.” At the same time, pro-abortion forces have been proclaiming that “everybody wins” in the era of legalized abortion. Nothing could be further from the truth.

taken from:
Children are a Heritage from the Lord
by Dr. James C. Dobson

January 2008
This letter may be reproduced without change and in its entirety for noncommercial and nonpolitical purposes without prior permission from Focus on the Family.

source

Wednesday, May 7, 2008

Modern Day Racism

Racism Alive and Well at Planned Parenthood
A shocking set of recordings was released this week that could prove disastrous for Planned Parenthood's ties with the African-American community. Lila Rose, a pro-life student and reporter at UCLA, launched an undercover investigation aimed at exposing the racism of the nation's largest abortion merchant. With the help of an actor, she contacted Planned Parenthood clinics in seven states, inquiring if they would be willing to accept a donation earmarked for the abortion of black babies. The results were jaw-dropping.

Rose was appalled to discover that every last clinic agreed. Not one employee objected or questioned the request, even when the actor insisted that the purpose was to "lower the number of black people" in America. When the caller phoned an Ohio branch, he was told that Planned Parenthood "will accept the money for whatever reason." Read the outrageous transcript from the Idaho clinic, which is also available with Rose's other recordings in a montage at [I will post the video at the end of this article]

Actor: ...I really faced trouble with affirmative action, and I don't want my kids to be disadvantaged against black kids.

Planned Parenthood: Yes, absolutely.

Actor: And we don't, you know, we just think the less black kids out there the better.

Planned Parenthood: (Laughs) Understandable, understandable... This is the first time I've had a donor call and make this kind of request, so I'm excited and want to make sure I don't leave anything out.

Students at UCLA are so infuriated by the investigation that they are petitioning the university to cut all affiliation with Planned Parenthood. What few people realize is that the organization has a history of racism that has been ingrained since Planned Parenthood's earliest days, when founder Margaret Sanger advocated negative eugenics and spoke to a woman's branch of the KKK (Margaret Sanger, An Autobiography, 1938, p. 336-367). However, as is customary for Planned Parenthood, the organization has managed for decades to cover its tracks--and the facts. That task has just been made monumentally more difficult. Abortion has taken the innocent lives of over 14 million black children--a national tragedy that has begun uniting and mobilizing African-Americans across party, state, and financial lines.

Today, FRC [Family Research Council] hosted a press conference to kick off the National Black Pro-Life Gathering in Washington, D.C. which drew pastors, parents, leaders, and activists from across America to commemorate Black History Month by calling on abortion merchants like Planned Parenthood to stop preying on their community. As these abortion clinics continue to demonstrate that blood money is not colorblind, we call on Congress to de-fund and disavow Planned Parenthood. Taxpayers should not be forced to spend over $300 million on an organization whose scruples are for sale, even to those who seek racial genocide.

NOTE: there are a few sensual images that could have been left out of this video

Follow-up Article
No, Planned Parenthood, Virginia Isn't Santa Clause
Representatives for Planned Parenthood are scrambling to explain how seven of its branches were caught on tape agreeing to accept bigotry-inspired donations. When recordings of the undercover investigation were released this week, spokesmen from Idaho to Ohio desperately tried to explain away the incidents. Rebecca Poedy, the executive director of Planned Parenthood Idaho, where a vice president for development was caught exclaiming how "excited" she was to receive money from a donor who wanted to reduce the state's black population, says her employee was misunderstood. "We need to train our staff to handle calls from people that are coming with offensive agendas," Poedy told reporters. Unfortunately for Planned Parenthood, the tapes speak for themselves as to whose agenda is truly offensive. "Planned Parenthood firmly and unequivocally denounces racial bias in the delivery of health care... [T]his employee made a serious mistake." Apparently the mistake was not considered serious enough for the employee to be fired. In Ohio, where a clinic worker agreed to accept a donation from a man who said, "There's definitely way too many black people in [the state]," no disciplinary action was taken. Lila Rose, the UCLA student who organized the calls, believes Planned Parenthood's PR nightmare has just begun. Rose plans to release the audio from other clinic calls in the upcoming months to expose the organization's deep-rooted prejudice. As the evidence against Planned Parenthood continues to mount, so too does the reluctance of state lawmakers to fund the organization. For the first time in 10 years, the Virginia Senate voted yesterday to strip all funding for Planned Parenthood because it performs and promotes abortion. The amendment, offered by Sen. Ken Cuccinelli (R), withstood the Democrats' fiercest challenge. After hours of trying to dissuade Sen. Charles Colgan (D) from voting in favor of the amendment, Democrats finally succumbed to a 20-20 tie, in which Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling (R) cast the deciding vote to sever ties with Planned Parenthood. The bill now heads to Gov. Tim Kaine's (D) desk, where he should have ample reason--after this racial controversy--to distance Virginia from this squalor. Please, if you live in Virginia, contact Gov. Kaine by phone at (804) 786-2211 or through email at www.governor.virginia.gov/AboutTheGovernor/contactGovernor.cfm and encourage him to stop using taxpayer dollars to fund Virginia's abortion mills. If you live elsewhere, why not urge your state to do the same?

Additional Resources

Contact Gov. Kaine

both articles came from FRC's Tony Perkin's Washington Update, from Febuary 28 and 29, 2008, respectively.

Sunday, May 4, 2008

Vacuum Aspiration and IPAS Syringe

WARNING: GRAPHIC IMAGE IN THIS POST. YOUNG CHILDREN SHOULD NOT READ FURTHER.






Today, I'm going to talk about two abortive procedures done today. I will talk about other methods in other posts. The two I'm going to cover today are the Vacuum Aspiration and IPAS Syringe methods for performing abortions.

Vacuum Aspiration is done by numbing the cervix and inserting a soft, flexible tube into the uterus and sucking the baby from the womb.[1] The suction is very powerful as it must pull the baby and the placenta off of the uterus wall and then cut them into small enough pieces to pass through the tubing.[2]

The IPAS Syringe method is very similar to the Vacuum Aspiration, but instead of using a machine to create suction, a syringe is used.



Both of these procedures take about five minutes to complete and are used up to the 13th week (in the first trimester) of the pregnancy.


[1] Feminist Women’s Health Center
<
http://www.fwhc.org/abortion/ab-procedures.htm>
(accessed 18 October 2007)

Thursday, May 1, 2008

The Philosophy of the Unborn

Previously, I presented a scientific case for the humanity and the life of the unborn. Today, I'm going to show four non-essential differences between the unborn and us. There is an acronym for these non-essential differences: SLED.


  • Size.
Many say "the unborn is smaller than we are so we can kill it." Well, using that logic, next time someone larger than you comes along they have the right to kill you. Size does not equal value.



  • Level of Development.
Self-awareness does not make one human. A 14 year old is more self aware than a 4 year old, but not more valuable. A 4o year old, is not more valuable than that same 14 year old, even though he may be more self aware. In the same way a 4 week old from conception is still valuable even if not very self aware.


  • Environment.
Do you change in nature if you walk across the street? Go to another country? Visit outer space? Of course not! So why would 8 inches down a birth canal suddenly make one human? It doesn't. Where you are has no bearing on who you are.



  • Degree of dependency.
"Well, the unborn is dependent upon it's mother for nutrition." Well, so are minors dependent on their parents or guardians, and the elderly often dependent on their children. Or diabetics dependent on insulin. Dependency on someone or something does not make one less human or un-human.



The unborn are human. As humans their life needs to be respected. Abortion is not the way to go about "getting rid of your problem." There are many couples in the world who want to have children but are unable to. Adoption is a great way to give your child life, and save yourself a lot of heartache, while fulfilling the dream of someone else. You have a choice. Choose life.



_______________
For more information visit
Life Training Institute: prolifetraining.com
Stand to Reason: str.org

 
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