Rachael's Reflections

21 Easy Things You Can Do to Be a Catalyst for Life...Revised

Wed, 15 Jul 2009 23:36:25 GMT

Are you new to the pro-life movement and aren't sure what you can do to help or looking for some new ideas?
Here are over 30 easy things you can do to continue to be a catalyst for life...

1) Be sure to share a pro-life message through blogging. Some great examples of well-written pro-life blogs include: Jill Stanek, The Dawn Patrol, and JivinJehoshaphat to name a few. If you're new to blogging, Blogging Basics 101 can help you get started.

2) If you've had an abortion, share your abortion story (your experience, feelings, how your abortion affected you, and how you found healing or closure) with others and learn how to become involved in the Post-Abortion movement. The negative effects of abortion on women are often downplayed and/or not discussed in dialogues about abortion.  Women who've had an abortion, especially when they experience feelings of grief or loss after their abortion, often face stigma and shame from both sides of the abortion debate. In sharing your experience, you can help remove the stigma and shame as well as show other hurting men and women that they're not alone in their feelings/experience, as well as present dialogue and opportunity to help others find healing/closure.

3) Host a baby shower or place a collection crib at your church/non-profit for a mom in need.

4) Volunteer your time with, support, and spread the word about The Nurturing Network. "The objective of the Nurturing Network is not a political one, but a most practical one: to ensure that every woman knows that the resources she needs in order to continue her pregnancy are available by calling the Network's toll free number: 1-800-TNN-4MOM. Volunteer members form an extensive employment, medical, educational, counseling and residential network which enables a mother to continue the life of her unborn child without sacrificing her own hopes and dreams. Services include medical assistance, financial assistance, nurturing homes, educational programs, employment & adoption counseling, preparation for parenthood. Staffed during normal business hours, specializing in help for college and professional women.

5) Support your local pregnancy resource center! You can do this a few ways 1)Volunteer your time at a pregnancy resource center. (What is a Pregnancy Resource Center). 2) Donate new and gently-used items to your local pregnancy resource center's Earn While You Learn Program. Through this program, women participate in parenting and life skills courses which empower them to become more independent and break the cycle of poverty, poor parenting, neglect, and abuse while earning vouchers for supplemental maternity and baby items. Or 3) Support your local pregnancy resource centers by participating in the Purple Envelope Project. Place 1 dollar inside a purple envelope and a supportive note and send it to Care Net and/or Heartbeat Int. Their addresses can be found at the blog above.

6) Become a peer counselor and support advocate for teens at your high school. Be a non-judgemental and safe person for other teens to approach with their questions and issues. Be prepared to direct them to community resources as needed, but most of all, just be a listening ear and supportive.

7)  Participate in activities which support single and teen moms who choose life, for example: create a single moms support group in your community, start a home daycare or create a daycare co-op for parenting teen and college students, provide rides to doctor's appointments, WIC appointments, job interviews, etc.

8) Become a visible volunteer in your community. Being prolife encompasses more than just activism on behalf of the unborn and their mothers, it also means caring for the disadvantaged in our communities and our enviroment. Some ideas include volunteering at your local soup kitchen, food pantry, or homeless shelter, becoming a Big Brother/Big Sister to an at-risk child, becoming a foster parent to an at-risk child, volunteering at the local animal shelter, or organizing a trash pickup day along a highway or in your neighborhood.

9) Reach out to change the hearts and minds of abortion providers and clinic staff on National Abortion Provider Appreciation Day, March 10th. See this blog entry for ideas.

10) Be a peaceful presence at an abortion clinic: silently praying or sidewalk counseling. This is an opportunity to minister to abortion-minded women as well as those undecided and to abortion clinic staff. Remember: Love and kindness wins hearts better than condemnation and hate.

11) Get involved with your local pro-life organization. There are many pro-life organizations and many different approaches. Be sure you are aware of and agree with their mission statement and activities. You can find listings of groups here and here. If one doesn’t exist in your community, consider starting one.

12) Get involved with your college's pro-life organization, Students for Life (national organization), or Feminists for Life's college outreach. If there's not pro-life group at your school, considering starting one. Be sure to check with your student affairs or activities department for the guidelines and rules.

13) Host an informational pro-life booth at your employer's or college's health or activities fair. Be sure follow guidelines and get written permission. Heritage House76 is a great source for pro-life literature and materials.

14) Attend the annual March for Life and other pro-life marches and peaceful protests. Also present a pro-life presence for life at state houses and government buildings on the anniversary or Roe v. Wade and when laws pertitant to pro-lifelife issues are being debated/passed. Also you can participate in a Life Chain or speak out at Silent No More events. Remember, no matter how heated it gets, not to engage in screaming, name-calling, obscenities, or threatening gestures.

15) Don't forget to speak out on other issues important to supporting women and their children, including, advocating for male responsibility in sex and reproduction, prevention of unplanned pregnancies through acess to better and more reliable contraception and education, paid maternity and family leave and better living wages, support services for pregnant and parenting women at educational institutions, affordable and quality prenatal and children's health care/day care, and safe drinking water and food sources for pregnant and breastfeeding women and their children.

16) Thank local businesses as well as large corporations for standing up for life. Send out “thank you” notes/emails to organizations which support local PRCs, boycotted pro-choice projects, and who have donated time and money to the pro-life movement.

17) Read and support pro-life publications. There are a myriad of movies with a pro-life theme, books and blogs out there. Check out my sidebar for my favorite sites and my Amazon book list for a pro-life tool box of books!

18) Share a pro-life message with those in your community by  wearing a shirt, bracelet, necklace, lapel pin, button, etc. Don’t have any of this stuff? Make something! With that said, don't forget National Pro-Life T-Shirt Week!

19)Find out how your money is being spent. Don’t support pro-choice companies or organizations unless it is unavoidable. A boycott list of companies/organizations which support pro-choice causes can be found here.

20) Write to and call your senators and congressmen and urge them to vote pro-life. Sometimes, we have to remind them why the pro-life issue are important! Click here to locate your Congressperson. Click here to locate your Senator.

21) VOTE! This is the most effect way to have an impact on support for pro-life measures. Research the candidates voting background and stances on the issues. Vote for representatives and leaders who have a pro-life voting record, but also have beliefs consistant with your other views

Most importantly, please share these ideas with others.

The Real Story on Late-Term Abortions: Myths and Facts

Thu, 04 Jun 2009 15:24:15 GMT

In the wake of late term abortion provider, George Tiller's Death, many pro-choicers have been harping on how much of a hero he was and the services he provided were medically necessary for severe fetal deformaties and grave threat to the health or life of the pregnant woman.

Myth:
Late term abortions are rarely preformed.

Fact:
4% of abortions are late term, broken down as 3% are preformed at 16-20 weeks and 1% are preformed at 21 weeks or later (source), which translates to 4% of 1.3 million abortions preformed annually or 52,000 late term abortions each year. Because there is no regular reporting system implemented in place and we are relying on the clinics providing the information on a volunteer basis, we cannot get an accurate prediction of how many late term abortions are actually taking place.

Myth:
Late term abortion providers are rare and difficult to find.

Fact:
Going to the Abortion Clinics Online listing of late term abortion providers brings up a listing of 49 abortion providers which advertise for preforming elective abortions up to 20 to 25 weeks LMP with 4 abortion providers advertising abortions greater than 24 weeks for fetal or maternal indications.

Myth:
Late-term abortions are only preformed for severe fetal deformaties and grave threat to the health or life of the pregnant woman, medically necessary reasons. From Planned Parenthood's Q&A on Abortion:
"There are a variety of health conditions in which abortion may become critical to protect a woman's life. There is, for example, a form of pregnancy-related high blood pressure that can be life threatening. The medical term for it is preeclampsia. It occurs in seven percent of pregnant women. If it is untreated or doesn't respond to treatment, it can lead to convulsions, failure of various organ systems, coma, or death. Abortion may be the only way to save the woman's life. Certain other conditions, such as severe diabetes, heart disease, or trauma from car accidents, may also require abortion to save a woman's life. Termination of pregnancy is also essential to save the life of a woman with an ectopic (tubal) pregnancy."

Fact:
Abortion is no longer indicated for many of the above suggested conditions....

According to Emedicine, Medscape's Continually Updated Clinical Reference:
"A pregnancy complicated by mild preeclampsia at or beyond 37 weeks should be delivered. Prior to 37 weeks, expectant management is appropriate. When severe preeclampsia is diagnosed after 34 weeks' gestation, delivery is most appropriate. In addition, because delivery is always appropriate for the mother, some authorities consider delivery as the definitive treatment regardless of gestational age. However, delivery may not be optimal for a fetus that is extremely premature. Therefore, in a carefully chosen population, expectant management may benefit the fetus without greatly compromising maternal health. In most cases, patients should be hospitalized and monitored carefully for the development of worsening preeclampsia or complications of preeclampsia." (source).

If a patient presents with severe preeclampsia before 34 weeks' gestation, but appears stable and fetal condition is reassuring, expectant management may be considered provided they meet the strict criteria..This type of management should be considered only in a tertiary center. In addition, because delivery is always appropriate for the mother, some authorities consider delivery as the definitive treatment regardless of gestational age. However, delivery may not be optimal for a fetus that is extremely premature. Therefore, in a carefully chosen population, expectant management may benefit the fetus without greatly compromising maternal health. Preeclampsia resolves after delivery. However, patients may still have elevated blood pressure postpartum. Liver function tests and platelet counts must be performed to document decreasing values prior to hospital discharge. In addition, one third of seizures occur in the postpartum period, most within 24 hours of delivery, and almost all within 48 hours. Therefore, magnesium sulfate seizure prophylaxis is continued for 24 hours postpartum. (source).

For eclampsia, the standard medical protocol is to prioritize stabilizing the patient, followed by emergency delivery via either vaginal birth or c-section. (source)

In both conditions, theraputic abortion with fetal demise is not medically indicated in medical literature. What life-threatening pregnancy conditions warrant terminating the pregnancy in an outpatient ambulatory surgical clinic over a 3 day period vs. close monitering and a swift induction and birth (c-section or vaginal) in a hospital setting where advanced life support is available if needed? And if all these abortion providers were doing was inducing labor (supposedly for the mother's health),why in the world would they need to end a much wanted pregnancy first? Why not expectant management in a hospital setting and/or an emergency delivery to protect the mother's health and give her the ability to carry the wanted pregnancy to term, in addition to careful post-partum monitering and care?

American Heart Association: Sex, Pregnancy, and Birth Control
"Many women with congenital heart disease can have a successful pregnancy....In many cases, women will be advised to have their pregnancy monitored by a high-risk obstetrician, often along with with a cardiologist familiar with their condition. Usually, babies can be delivered vaginally. A Caesarean section isn't necessary unless problems develop during birth."

Diabetes and Pregnancy (from the American Diabetes Association)
"Health care providers no longer discourage women with diabetes from becoming pregnant. We now know that the key to a healthy pregnancy for a woman with diabetes is keeping blood glucose (sugar) in the target range -- both before she is pregnant and during her pregnancy. To do this, you need a diabetes treatment plan that keeps meals, exercise, and insulin in balance. This plan will change as you change with pregnancy. You will also need to check your blood glucose often and keep a record of your results. With your blood glucose in the target range and good medical care, your chances of a trouble-free pregnancy and a healthy baby are almost as good as they are for a woman without diabetes."

Study Finds Abortion Not Needed When Pregnant Women Face Cancer Treatment
Dr. Beth Beadle, who works at the prestigious medical center and is the lead author of the study, told AP that both mother and baby can be cared for during treatment.
Ruth O'Regan, an associate professor at Emory University's Winship Cancer Institute in Atlanta, also told AP that cancer doctors can treat both mother and child without the need for an abortion.

Breast Cancer is Treatable During Pregnancy (PDF)
by Eileen Ellig
"For decades, the consensus among physicians was that any cancer puts a mother and fetus in competition for survival, says Carter’s physician Richard Theriault, D.O., professor in M. D. Anderson’s Department of Breast Medical Oncology. “The idea was if you terminated the pregnancy, the outcome would be better because you would eliminate the big hormone surge that occurs during this time,” Theriault says. High levels of estrogen produced during pregnancy were thought to cause the tumor or feed its growth. Ironically, the majority of pregnant women who Theriault and Hahn see have estrogen-receptor negative tumors. This contradicts earlier theories that pregnancy-associated breast cancer was driven by this hormone. Although pregnant and non-pregnant patients do just as well after the same treatment, resistance to aggressively treating pregnant women still exists, Hahn says. “Unfortunately, many patients are advised to end their pregnancies.”

The REAL Reason the pro-choice side advocates to keep late-term abortions legal...

While there are the occasional rare case of maternal indication or poor prenatal diagnosis, overwhelming evidence points to the vast majority of late-term abortions are preformed for purely elective, socio-economic reasons:

According to AGI, abortions for indication of fetal abnormaility only consists of 2% of all late term abortions, other reasons given include:
Woman did not realize she was pregnant 71%
Difficulty making arrangements for abortion 48%
Afraid to tell parents or partner 33%
Needed time to make decision 24%
Hoped relationship would change 8%
Pressure not to have abortion 8%
Something changed during pregnancy 6%
Didn’t know timing was important 6%
Didn’t know she could get an abortion 5%
Other 11%

Source:
Alan Guttmacher Institute: An Overview of Abortion in the United States
Reasons for Abortions After 16 Weeks Since Last Menstrual Period.

Of the 30 original criminal complaints filed against Tiller, which is available as a PDF here, based on a review of patient records, the compelling medical reasons given in Tiller's records for these third-trimester abortions were:
Anxiety Disorder Not Otherwise Specified or Adjustment Disorder With Mixed Anxiety and Depressed Mood: 1
Major Depressive Disorder, Single Episode: 9
Fetus "non-viable" but with no record of how non-viability was determined: 2
Acute Stress Disorder: 2
Anxiety Disorder Not Otherwise Specified: 1
No medical basis documented: 14

Christina at Real Choice has documented cases of late-term abortions which were elective and fatal or near fatal to the woman.

The most famous denunciation of the claim was by Ron Fitzsimmons, head of the National Coalition of Abortion Providers. Said Fitzsimmons:

"When you're a doctor who does these abortions and the leaders of your movement appear before Congress and go on network news and say these procedures are done in only the most tragic of circumstances, how do you think it makes you feel? You know they're primarily done on healthy women and healthy fetuses, and it makes you feel like a dirty little abortionist with a dirty little secret."
Source: American Medical News, Abortion rights leader urges end to "half truths"

In the middle of 1998, the state of Kansas instituted a mandatory reporting policy that required Tiller to submit information about the abortions that he performs. The Kansas Department of Health and Environmental Statistics has recently published this information: http://www.kdhe.state.ks.us/hci/absumm.html.

Myth:
Third-trimester abortions are illegal for any reason other than severe fetal deformity and grave threat to the health or life of the pregnant woman.

Fact:
Supreme Court Ruling, Doe V Bolton, which came shortly after Roe v. Wade, allows abortion at any time during pregnancy for "health" of mother, in which "health" is broadly and loosely defined.

'...a woman has a constitutional right to abortion from six months to birth, if her doctor "in his best clinical judgment," in light of the patient's age, "physical, emotional, psychological [and] familial" circumstances, finds it "necessary for her physical or mental health."
http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/scripts/getcase.pl?court=US&vol=410&invol=179

Are Late-Term Abortions Safe for the Woman?

"Frequency of complications depends on gestational age (GA) at time of abortion and method of abortion. Complication rates according to GA at time of abortion are as follows: Second trimester - Up to 50%, possibly higher."

"Mortality and morbidity depend on gestational age (GA) at time of abortion. In the US, mortality rates per 100,000 abortions are as follows: (3) 16-20 weeks, 14; and (4) more than 21 weeks, 18."

EMedicine/Medscape: Abortion, Complications
Author: Slava V Gaufberg, MD, Assistant Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School

Also, here are some testimonies and late-term abortion experiences of medical malpractice and neglect at Tiller's Women's Health Care Services:

Luhra Tivis
Luhra Tivis used to work at Tiller's clinic. She testified at the "Meet The Abortion Providers" conference about what it was like to work for him

LaDonna's Story
was rushed by her local doctor into aborting, and later reflected, "I am no longer grateful for Dr tiller 'helping me' he didn't help me at all. I wish now I would of had the courage to deliver my little girl and let her get even just one breath of air before she passed...

Michelle Armesto's Story
Michelle Armesto spoke out last month about an abortion performed on her at 24 weeks, under duress, by Shelley Sella at Tiller's facility in 2003. Mrs. Armesto, (maiden name Berge), came forward in 2007, and testified before a joint legislative committee that she was given an abortion at WHCS against her will on May 13, 2003, in her 24th week of pregnancy. Mrs. Armesto discovered only after receiving her medical records years later that abortionist Shelley Sella had made a determination that her baby was non-viable. [View the document.] Mrs. Armesto testified that she was in good health with an uncomplicated pregnancy and had no reason to believe that her baby was not viable.

Patient S.
A complaint has been filed with the Kansas State Board of Healing Arts
Patient S. suffered life-threatening abortion complications at Tiller’s abortion clinic, including a high fever and respiratory and cardiac arrest during the abortion.

There have been 8 emergency ambulance runs of abortion patients with life-threatening complications from Tiller's clinic between 2000 and 2009:
Tiller Abortion Patient Transported to Hospital, “No Lights, No Sirens”
March 12, 2009
Ambulance Transports Yet Another Tiller Abortion Patient To Hospital
October 29, 2008
Ambulance Transports Another Injured Woman From Tiller’s Abortion Clinic
October 1, 2008

Janice's Abortion Story (scroll down)

"Cathy's" Abortion Story
A patient accuses Tiller of mistreating her and botching her abortion.

"Dolores" Abortion Story
A patient accuses Tiller of having a severe lack of respect for choice.

Christin Gilbert: "Health" Abortion Proves Fatal
Died after third trimester abortion at Tiller's late term clinic

Sarah Brown
Sarah was born with birth defects after a failed late-term abortion attempt at Tiller's clinic and lived until the age of five

Basic Care Bags for the Homeless

Tue, 19 May 2009 15:17:55 GMT

I was inspired by a suggestion Keep Calm and Carry On made of creating basic care bags to distribute to the indigent homeless individuals you come across at street corners and traffic lights. Well I'd like to follow her example and take it one step further, and start a non-profit organization for this purpose. We will be filling gently used backpacks with items and distributing them to the indigent homeless of greater Indiana. The basic care bags will contain travel/sample-size hygiene items, seasonal care items (i.e. sunscreen, hats, and gloves), clothing items, simple non-perishable food items, as well as a small card with the phone numbers and addresses of local social service organizations.

We need your help and your donations! We are in need of unopened travel-size and sample-size hygiene items: shampoo/conditioners, body soap, lotion, toothpaste, toothbrush, sunscreen, hair brushes and combs, antiperspirant/deodorant (solid only), wet wipes, tissues, as well as simple non-perishable food items (i.e. trail mixes, dried fruit, Carnation Instant Breakfast packets, etc), old backpacks, and seasonal items and clothing such as: solid water bottles, socks, hats, scarves, mittens, light-jackets, and umbrellas. We CANNOT accept hygiene items containing alcohol, alcoholic beverages, medications, razors, cigarettes, lighters, knives, guns, or any other weapons for liability reasons.

If you'd be interested in helping out with this program or donating items, please leave a comment below with your e-mail address and I will contact you.

UPDATE: We now have a group on Facebook: Helping Hands for the Homeless

Sexting: What You Need to Know Before Hitting 'Send'

Fri, 01 May 2009 18:27:43 GMT

Sexting, or sex texting, is a new trend among teens and young adults in which individuals sends sexually explicit, usually nude or semi-nude pictures of themselves to other teens and young adults. However fun or cool this practice sounds, it isn't without risks or consequencies. Be smart and consider the following before taking that picture or hitting "send":

Keep in mind that you loose control over who sees it once you hit 'send' and it goes to another person's phone. Regardless of what a person tells you they intend to do with the picture, once it's on their phone, they could save or distribute copies without your knowledge or permission.
Once you hit 'send' and it's in cyberspace, you can't take it back. Much like wildfire and rumors, sexually explicit pictures tend to spread quickly. Once you hit 'send' and it goes to another person's phone, the image could be saved and/or distrubuted through a variety of means, including on the internet. Once it's reached the internet, it's all but almost impossible to track down and remove all the copies of such images and they may circulate around the internet for years.
Your pictures may get into the wrong hands and go from cool and sexy to embarasssing. The images could be received by and used in a malicious or otherwise a threatening way by someone with a grudge or who otherwise dislikes you.
If you're under 18, it could land you in serious legal hot water. Possesion of sexually explicit images of any person under 18 is illegal and could result in charges ranging from misdemeanor to felony and probation, heavy fines, or even jail time, depending on how the images were used and the jurisdiction. Also, if you were caught during school hours, you could lose your scholarship, the abiity to participate in extra-circicular activities, or even face suspension or expulsion.

What to Expect When You're Expecting in College

Fri, 24 Apr 2009 00:00:51 GMT

The following is a documentary exploring the real basis of pregnancy in a college setting, created by St. Loius University student, going by the monniker, PrettyInPink. Beginning with portraying herself as an 8 month pregnant college student, she explores others reactions to pregnant and parenting college students. Also she interviews parenting college students, explores the options available to pregnant and parenting college students, and explores the relationship of these elements with the Saint Louis University administration and stated values. Her reason behind this documentary?

I came up with the idea to do a movie about pregnancy when I was in need of a quick Halloween costume and sacrificed my scarf collection temporarily to fashion a quick belly with duct tape and a large t-shirt.

I thought some of the reactions to me were a bit interesting - I'm sure a few people were wondering whether it was a costume or not - so I thought it would be interesting to do a larger belly for a longer period of time.

The topic evolved into exploring the real basis of pregnancy in a college setting on St. Louis University's campus, which has unique qualities that are worth investigating. [Editor's Note - SLU is a Catholic university.]...

Specifically, it is interesting to see how the values of charity and chastity intertwine during these situations and how the structure of the university addresses them.

This is not a "pro-choice" or "pro-life" issue, although the discussion of pregnancy in the educational system may cause these kind of political issues to rise to the surface.

Women today faced with pregnancies legally have several options in front of them. But are they truly able to make these decisions freely? Or are they pressured by family, community, financial, or educational circumstances to make a choice they are not fully comfortable with? My motivation is to help women make these choices freely, and academia and communities need to be able to make accommodations freely available to women who need them.

In the first video, we are introduced briefly to SLU and 3 lovely students who have had children: Dana, Cassi, and Alex. Each has a story to tell and her own experiencesabout being a student and a mother on SLU's campus. Here we get a glimpse of what SLU is doing right and a few things that SLU might need to work on.

What to Expect When You're Expecting in College: Part 1 of 5

In Part 2, we learn more from the girls about the "lowest lows and highest highs," and about the accommodations they received. She asked different people in the St. Louis University community if they know what resources are available on campus and/or where to get it, and get some interesting answers. Then we are introduced to the 1st of 2 big pregnancy centers close by that cater to the students - Planned Parenthood. The representative explains PP's programs, agenda, and what happens when students or women come in the door with a positive pregnancy test.

What to Expect When You're Expecting in College: Part 2 of 5

In Part 3, she finishes looking into pregnancy options with ThriVe St. Louis, a pro-life pregnancy care center near the St. Louis University campus - what it offers and how it helps women. Then we are introduced to her project. She quickly outlines her experience of portraying myself as 8 months pregnant for 2 weeks on campus. Then the SLU community tells us what they thought about her "pregnancy."

What to Expect When You're Expecting in College: Part 3 of 5

In Part 4, she approaches the issues of the frequency of pregnancy on college campus, social reactions, and stigma towards pregnant college students. She interviews students, asking them how frequently they see pregnant college students and what their reactions were. Also, she interviews members of the faculty about their approach to pregnant students.

What to Expect When You're Expecting in College: Part 4 of 5

Summary of Part 5 Coming...

What to Expect When You're Expecting in College: Part 5 of 5

Fair, Balanced, Unbiased Reporter Seeks Negative Experiences with Crisis Pregnancy Centers UPDATE

Wed, 15 Apr 2009 15:29:56 GMT

Back in February of 2006, I discovered and disclosed Marie Claire magazine reporter Siobhan O'Connor requesting negative experiences with Crisis Pregnancy Centers for a biased article she was writing. In response, I encouraged others to take action and share their own experiences with CPCs, while also writing this article bebunking pro-choice myths about CPCs. Other blogs picked up my article and the positive response was overwhelming. As a result the article was never published in Marie Claire magazine. Now an update. I recently discovered Ms. O'Connor went on to write and publish a negative article on CPCs May 2007 in Good Magazine, entitled, "Playing Doctor: The pro-life movement's new plan for family planning" Reader responses at the article have been mixed, but please be sure to share your own experience with a crisis preganancy center, whether you were a client or a volunteer, with others at this article and in your community. Also, you can support your local CPC through volunteering your time or donating.

Related:
Myths and Facts About Pregnancy Resource Centers
A comprehensive and investigative report looking at the accusations leveled against CPCs by pro-choice organizations, using facts and documentation in response.

Fake Story About a Fake Clinic?
A Planned Parenthood sent out an action alert mass e-mail to drum up support for a bill targeting allegedly deceptive advertising by crisis pregnancy centers, using a questionable ancedote about a CPC in Indiana. The ancedote in question is explored more in depth with some investigative reporting.

New Website Offers Incredible Array of Images & Movies of the Developing Human

Fri, 03 Apr 2009 14:12:11 GMT

The Endowment for Human Development is a website showing the developing unborn in astonishing detail, using scientific images and details. And one gallery of movies provides subtitles in over 90 languages. This is a great pro-life resource. Pass it on.

Other Great Scientific Prenatal Development Sites Include:

Multi-dimensional Human Embryo
http://embryo.soad.umich.edu/

University of New South Wales Embryology Website
http://embryology.med.unsw.edu.au/

The Visible Embryo
http://www.visembryo.com/baby/pregnancytimeline.html

H/T to Suzanne at Big Blue Wave

A Story of Hope....

Wed, 01 Apr 2009 13:31:20 GMT

The Story of Faith Hope

A diagnosis of anencephaly has not stopped this young single mom from embracing every day, every moment, of her child's life. A chance at life and joy, even if brief, which would of been taken from this mother and child, had she had an abortion. And a wonderful story of hope and encouragement for other mothers experiencing this devastating diagnosis.

H/T Christina at Real Choice

If you're facing a poor prenatal diagnosis, please check out Be Not Afraid where you'll find other mothers stories and hope.

Teen with Autism Tasered into Unconsciousness

Sat, 28 Feb 2009 16:59:32 GMT

Suit: Autistic boy was Tased
February 20, 2009
Carmel Clay school called police during outburst, parents say
By Vic Ryckaert
vic.ryckaert@indystar.com

A middle-school student with autism was Tased twice by a Carmel police officer, according to a lawsuit filed by the boy's parents against the Police Department, one of its officers and a local school district.
According to the suit, the electrical bursts temporarily knocked the 90-pound boy unconscious during a confrontation at Creekside Middle School. The boy, who was 14 at the time, was taken to a local hospital before being released to his mother.
The suit, filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Indianapolis, seeks damages for medical expenses, pain, suffering and mental anguish. The defendants are the Carmel Police Department, officer Matthew Kinkade and Carmel Clay Schools.
Carmel Clay Superintendent Barbara Underwood declined to comment, citing the pending lawsuit. Efforts to contact Kinkade and a spokesman for the Carmel Police Department were not successful Thursday.
According to the lawsuit:
On March 11, the boy, who is not named in the complaint, was dropped off at Creekside by his mother, Dianne Bell, who called to tell school officials her son was going to be late.
At the end of the day, the boy was told he was going to receive detention. At that point, the boy, who is described as having "affective disorder and has been diagnosed with autism, manic-depressive disorder and bipolar disorder," became "frustrated and began to act out."
"During this outburst he is saying outrageous things," said the Bells' attorney, Ronald Frazier, noting that the boy threatened to call members of his gang to retaliate against the teachers.
"They know there is no gang there," Frazier said. "They know he has no way of acting on what he is saying. They are taking these idle threats and calling police."
The Bells contend the school district failed to follow the guidelines they had set up to deal with the boy's outbursts -- techniques the family says would have given the boy a chance to cool off.
"When a child like (the Bells' son) starts to have emotional problems, the (individual procedure) is supposed to be followed," Frazier said. "It has specific steps that are to be taken in order to keep the child from melting totally down."
Instead, school officials dialed 911.
Officer Kinkade arrived, according to the complaint, and reacted to the boy's outbursts by grabbing him and forcing him to a bench in the school lobby.
When the physical force failed to control the 5-foot boy, Kinkade drew his Taser and shocked the boy two times until he lost consciousness, according to the complaint.
"Officer Kinkade used unreasonable and excessive force by failing to follow policies and procedures that were in place for dealing with autistic children," the suit alleges.
Frazier contends in the suit that although school officials say they advised police about the boy's condition, the Police Department says that's not so.
The Police Department has an autism response team, but it was not dispatched. Kinkade is not a member of that team, according to the suit.
"Autistic children have a great difficulty interpreting what others are thinking or feeling because they don't understand social cues," Frazier said. "(The Bell child) gets confronted with violence, with Tasers, and he is flipping out because of his sensory overload."
The suit contends Carmel police were "grossly negligent in the training of Matthew Kinkade," who joined the department in January 2006.
Noblesville Police Department Lt. Bruce Barnes, an instructor in the use of Tasers, said officers are trained to use the devices when lesser-force options are not available.
"You can use the Taser anytime anybody is punching, kicking or threatening to punch or kick," Barnes said. "We can use it when we tell someone to do something, they refuse, lesser-force options are not available and they are a credible threat to you."
Barnes declined to comment on whether the boy could have posed a credible threat to a police officer, saying he did not know the full circumstances of the incident.
Sheila Wolfe, director of the Indianapolis-based Autism Education and Training Center, said the reaction of school officials and the police officer agitated the boy.
"You need to step away and leave them alone so that they can decompress," said Wolfe, who has an autistic son in middle school in Carmel Clay. "I have a hard time believing that a trained officer would Taser a child with a disability if they fully understood the situation they were walking into.
"I know from experience that the people in Carmel (Clay schools) know better. As a school system, they have the expertise and they have the people available that know better. I'm surprised."

When I saw this, I thought to myself, "Oh no, not in Indy..." Indiana is one of 6 or 7 states which requires autism-recognition instruction for law enforcement and emergency response individuals. Earlier this year the HAMILTON-BOONE-MADISON SPECIAL SERVICES COOPERATIVE provided training to over two hundred police officers in Hamilton County, Arcadia, Carmel and Fishers to inform police officers of the common characteristics of individuals across the autism spectrum, and strategies to help when interacting with these individuals. From working in special education, I can tell you, this child would of had a behavior plan, which likely would of included a de-escalation plan. I would question if the plan was followed by the faculty at the school. Also, there are restrictive physical interventions which are taught in most institutions and schools for these types of situations and could have been applied in this situation to keep this student and staff safe. Also, I question why wasn't the police department's autism response team wasn't dispatched and did the school inform the police department that the child has autism, so the responding police officer could adjust his approach appropriately, to meet the child's communicative and physiological needs associated with his disability.

No Longer a Quiet Safe Haven

Wed, 25 Feb 2009 16:48:17 GMT

Unfortuantly public libraries have become less and less of a quiet place to study or read books and more of a busy, bustling, and often loud technology cafe, teen hang out, and a preschool all under one roof. While most of these are welcome changes, it appears the common curtesy of maintaining a quiet enviroment for those who may be studying or reading has faded with the times. As a patron and a former library staff, it has become increasingly frustrating for me because our local public libraries are becoming ridiciously loud due to the part of inconsiderate and outright rude patrons and even staff! Also, it has been my experience that librarians and staff are increasingly becoming more hesitant to ask a patron to take steps towards remedying the noise they are causing for fear of *gasp* offending the patron. Sure, nobody likes a grumpy librarian, but no one likes a headache, either! So in closing I ask of this:

1) Please set your cellphone ringers to silent or vibrate mode.

2) Please take your cellphone calls in and make haste to the foyer/entrance or a designated area of the library.

3) Parents, please teach your children and reinforce library manners, starting at a young age, i.e. to use an indoor voice; walk, not run in the library; and to not climb library furniture or bookcases like they are a junglegym.) And if your child is being disruptive (yelling/screaming, crying, temper tantrumming), please remove them to the foyer/entrance or your vehicle.

4) Parents, the library staff are not your babysitters, nor do they get paid to be your sitter, if your child is under the age of 12, please have a designated guardian stay in the library with them (this could be an older sibling, a neighbor, an after school sitter, a grandparent, or an aunt or uncle) and have a designated pick-up time so the library staff does not get stuck babysitting your child after the library closes.

5) Please do not hold conversations by yelling accross the room, instead walk over to the person. You will not only save others a headache, but your message will be much clearier as well.

6) Library staff, you have been just as culpable: Please moniter the volume level of your conversations, with patrons and other staff.

7) Library staff, please don't allow teens to gather around computer stations, as their excitement over their friend's updated Myspace page, the newest video game, or the latest school gossip may become disruptive for their neighbor at the next computer station over.

In taking these steps, we will be working towards creating a quiet enviroment, which is more conductive to learning, as well as considerate to others.

Fun Videos

Sun, 15 Feb 2009 23:52:24 GMT

My husband sent me links to these funny videos he found on you tube, last week. They are of course Star Wars related.

Star Wars Imperial March - Death Metal Version

I'm not into Death Metal, but this is some awesome stuff!

Talent Night

A little fun with popular music and Star Wars action figures

Talent Night 2

More fun with popular music and Star Wars action figures. After watching this, I recommend checking out the other similiar videos this person made, including "We Will Rock You", "Bicycle", and "Yellow Submarine." Lots of laughs!

For more fun, I recommend these funny non-Star Wars videos as well.

David After the Dentist
A funny video of a little boy coming out of anesthesia after having a tooth extracted

Smart Cheetah
A nature documentary gone wrong...

Scary Snake...Just Watch

Wed, 21 Jan 2009 21:02:14 GMT

Recently, while checking my blog statistics, I found a second visitor hit from Ashtabula, Ohio which is cool! We have a summer cabin, at a campground in Ashtabula, which has been in my family for 4 generations. We have many summer traditions and good memories up there.

Free Pro-Life Handbook

Tue, 20 Jan 2009 20:02:40 GMT

To anyone who is interested:

The Pro-Life Action League is giving out a pro-life handbook to anyone who requests it, for free!

The book is called "Sharing the Pro-Life Message" and it's packed with information about abortion, life in the womb, responding to pro-choice arguments and more.

You can order your free copy at the link below:
Free Pro-life Handbook

H/T Bethany at Precious Infants

Inexpensive and Practical Charity

Tue, 20 Jan 2009 18:06:42 GMT

Blogger Keep Calm and Carry On has a series of great ideas for being charitable and helping others, which are both inexpensive and practical. I wish I would of thought of this! I recommend checking out their whole series of blog posts on this topic:

Charity, Cheaply: Part 1
Care Packages for Soldiers Across Seas

Charity, Cheaply: Part 2
Donating Blood, Plasma, and Bone Marrow Can Save a Life

Charity, Cheaply: Part 3
Comfort and Joy: writing letters and creating care packages for children with a terminal illness

Charity, Cheaply: Part 4
Toiletry Kits for the Homeless: practical uses for hygiene item samples we tend to accumulate and a great way to serve those less fortunate.

Charity, Cheaply: Part 5
Time and Service: Sometimes, the most needed gift is the gift of time and service for friends, neighbors, and in the community.

A Family in Need of Help...Not Just an Abortion

Sun, 18 Jan 2009 01:47:49 GMT

Dawn Eden alerts us to a story featured by abortion provider "Nell" at the abortionclinicdays blog, discussing an African-American woman with the name of DaShay, a hysteric mother who called to inquire about getting Plan B for her mentally disabled 17-year-old daughter, Alia. In the discussion with abortion provider "Nell" DaShay comes to the realization that her daughter is 9 weeks pregnant and insists her daughter has an abortion.

The story is a that of single mother living at poverty level and end the end of her rope, caring for her mentally disabled daughter and for her daughters son as well. And now the daughter is pregnant again. Because of the nature of her disability, this raises the question of whether or not the sex is consensual and whether or not she is the victim of statuatory rape. Also, there is the issue of the financial and living situation in which she and her mother are living in.

Nell describes what happened after DaShay, who was "pretty angry, cursing her daughter up and down for having sex," put her daughter on the phone:

Alia answered my questions slowly, but kept confirming that she did not want to be pregnant. Even though she was 17, she sounded younger. Mom was in the background shouting lots of questions, so I asked to speak to DaShay again. "Look--my daughter has one baby and I got her baby. I adopted him because she can't care for him. She's got a disability, she can't care for herself, she can't learn, she was in special classes but went and dropped out. I been laid off. We only get a little bit of money for her disability. She can't have another baby! We are on welfare--do you hear me? WEL...FARE. WELFARE! Understand? We got nothing. Now what's this gonna cost? Thirty? Fifty dollars for the pills?"Because of where she lived, DaShay's welfare would not cover the cost of an abortion. "Actually, it's going to be closer to $350," I explained again why it was different than needing Plan B. She started screaming at her daughter, "$350? What am I supposed to do! Where we gonna get money? Where'd that little boy go who said he's gonna help you?"

The abortion provider Nell seems short-sighted, focusing on raising the funds to end the girl's pregnancy, but does not seemed concerned of the living situation of Alia and her mother, nor of Alia's disabilities:

When DaShay calmed down again, we went over her finances. She was right--they were just barely surviving. I don't know how she was making it work. We went through the steps to get her some emergency help from the National Abortion Foundation, but still weren't able to get the whole cost covered. We made a plan where she would try to come up with a portion and I would start calling around to some other emergency abortion funds to find part of it. We scheduled Alia's appointment for two weeks in the future, to give each of us a chance to try to come up with some more money. I'm still waiting for phone calls back from the emergency funds and I don't know what's going to happen.

Following readers concern for Alia, the abortion provider, Nell, added a postscript to the entry:

Because several readers have been distressed at the possibility that Alia may have been sexually abused or that she did not have the intellectual capacity to understand what was happening for her. I'm glad that our readers are concerned for her welfare. No woman should be forced or coerced into having an abortion, continuing a pregnancy or giving a child up for adoption. It is very important that women with special needs get extra time and care to ensure that they make decisions that they are comfortable with. For an example of how a counselor can work with a minor to ensure that she is not being abused, that she understands the medical care she will recieve and that her medical team and family come together to help support her, please see this entry that Lou wrote a few weeks ago.

Ok, so they talk about how wrong coercion is and blah, blah, blah, but do they actually take the time to sit down and talk with the women and actively listen to what the woman really is saying? Eventhough she may be saying yes, she is crying, and her abusive boyfriend or parent is waiting for her out in the waiting room or the car. And I wonder, with how hysterical and demanding the mother in this situation is being, if the daughter is under pressure or being coerced to have the abortion? And what, I wonder, is Nell and Lou's idea of counseling for Alia? Having her hysterical mother sit with her and hold her hand while they describe her pregnancy and the abortion procedure in run-of-the-mill medical descriptions and pro-choice euphemisms which she may or may not understand? Will the abortion providers refer the family for community and support services or do their services only extend to the abortion?

Following Nell's post, abortionclinicdays posted a follow-up telling readers how they could finance Alia's abortion:

One organization that helps women nationally is WRRAP. They are wonderful, just wonderful. I could tell you so many stories of women they have helped! Pregnant women who have lost their jobs, women who are homeless, women whose personal finances are committed to their children. Even working women sometimes earn too little to be able to pay for an abortion and still pay their rent. WRRAP's staff is volunteer so whatever you donate goes right to the clinics for a specific woman whose situation we present to them. Whenever WRRAP has money, they immediately spread it around! And I have never seen such an increase in requests! These days, with so many women losing their jobs, losing hours at work, losing their homes, the requests are greater than ever. As a result, WRRAP is always short of funds. Any amount you care to send will be so appreciated, is so needed!

It's not amazing the number of individuals who are so quick to jump in and offer financial donations for the abortion, but I wonder if the same individuals would also be willing to jump to the aid and support of women who chose to carry to term, to assist a single mother afford daycare while she works, to help a poor family who is struggling make rent, to open their home to a young mother and her child, or be willing to drive a woman to well-care doctors appointments, etc.

What will become of Alia, her son, and her mother after the abortion? And why is the PREGNANCY the only thing the mother and the abortion clinic staff care about? This family needs help on so many levels and Christina from Real Choice addresses these issues:

1. They need to consider whether or not Alia's sex was consensual and whether or not it is statuatory rape, due to her age and disabilities.

2. The girl has special needs that obviously aren't being met. How is an abortion going to fix that?

3. Her mother is obviously past the end of her rope, totally decompensating, stressed out to where she can't cope any more. That girl needs to be out of that situation and her mother needs intervention to get her life on a decent track.

All an abortion will accomplish is ending the life of Alia's unborn baby and a bunch of elitists patting themselves on the back for what? For “helping “ another woman by providing her an abortion, even while this girl and her family remain in a miserable situation.

Take Action:

- Pray for DaShay and Alia, that they have a change of heart and for their home situation.

- Learn about your local pregnancy resource centers, non-profit organizations, and assistance programs so that you may be able to refer those in need.

- Donate to your local pregnancy resource center's Earn While You Learn Program. Through this program, women participate in parenting and life skills (finances, budgeting, time management, etc) courses which empower them to become more independent and break the cycle of poor parenting, neglect, and abuse while earning vouchers for supplemental baby hygiene items, furniture, maternity and infant/toddler clothing, car seats, infant bedding, etc, with diapers and formula given out on an emergency basis.

When Does a New Human Life Begin?

Sun, 11 Jan 2009 19:05:27 GMT

This is a hotly debated question among those in the abortion debate. Many on the pro-choice side argue that a new human life doesn't begin until viability, quickening, or until birth. Also many people say that this is a philosophical or religious question..But what is the right answer?
It's not clear, so let us turn to science and medical embryology for answers:

First, Let's Look at Newer Embryology Textbooks:

"Human development begins at fertilization, the process during which a male gamete or sperm (spermatozoo developmentn) unites with a female gamete or oocyte (ovum) to form a single cell called a zygote. This highly specialized, totipotent cell marked the beginning of each of us as a unique individual."
"A zygote is the beginning of a new human being (i.e., an embryo)."

Keith L. Moore, The Developing Human: Clinically Oriented Embryology, 7th edition. Philadelphia, PA: Saunders, 2003. pp. 16, 2.

"Development begins with fertilization, the process by which the male gamete, the sperm, and the femal gamete, the oocyte, unite to give rise to a zygote."

T.W. Sadler, Langman's Medical Embryology, 10th edition. Philadelphia, PA: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, 2006. p. 11.

"[The zygote], formed by the union of an oocyte and a sperm, is the beginning of a new human being."

Keith L. Moore, Before We Are Born: Essentials of Embryology, 7th edition. Philadelphia, PA: Saunders, 2008. p. 2.

"Although life is a continuous process, fertilization (which, incidentally, is not a 'moment') is a critical landmark because, under ordinary circumstances, a new genetically distinct human organism is formed when the chromosomes of the male and female pronuclei blend in the oocyte."

Ronan O'Rahilly and Fabiola Müller, Human Embryology and Teratology, 3rd edition. New York: Wiley-Liss, 2001. p. 8.

"Human embryos begin development following the fusion of definitive male and female gametes during fertilization... This moment of zygote formation may be taken as the beginning or zero time point of embryonic development."

William J. Larsen, Essentials of Human Embryology. New York: Churchill Livingstone, 1998. pp. 1, 14.

"It is the penetration of the ovum by a spermatozoan and resultant mingling of the nuclear material each brings to the union that constitues the culmination of the process of fertilization and marks the initiation of the life of a new individual."

Now Let's Look at Older Embryology Textbooks:

Clark Edward Corliss, Patten's Human Embryology: Elements of Clinical Development. New York: McGraw Hill, 1976. p. 30.

"The term conception refers to the union of the male and female pronuclear elements of procreation from which a new living being develops."

"The zygote thus formed represents the beginning of a new life."

J.P. Greenhill and E.A. Friedman, Biological Principles and Modern Practice of Obstetrics. Philadelphia: W.B. Saunders, 1974. pp. 17, 23.

"Every time a sperm cell and ovum unite a new being is created which is alive and will continue to live unless its death is brought about by some specific condition."

E.L. Potter and J.M. Craig, Pathology of the Fetus and the Infant, 3rd edition. Chicago: Year Book Medical Publishers, 1975. p. vii.

"Every baby begins life within the tiny globe of the mother's egg... It is beautifully translucent and fragile and it encompasses the vital links in which life is carried from one generation to the next. Within this tiny sphere great events take place. When one of the father's sperm cells, like the ones gathered here around the egg, succeeds in penetrating the egg and becomes united with it, a new life can begin." - 13

Geraldine Lux Flanagan, Beginning Life. New York: DK, 1996. p. 13.

"Biologically speaking, human development begins at fertilization."

And What Educational Videos Have to Say:

The Biology of Prenatal Develpment, National Geographic Video, 2006.

"The two cells gradually and gracefully become one. This is the moment of conception, when an individual's unique set of DNA is created, a human signature that never existed before and will never be repeated."

In the Womb, National Geographic Video, 2005.

Science tells us an individual human life begins at conception. There has even been acknowledgement from the pro-choice side that life begins at conception.

Quotes compiled and documentation completed by Abort73, if in doubt you can borrow the above textbooks from your local public or university library and verify the above quotes yourself.

What the Pro-Choice Side Has to Say:

"I think we have deluded ourselves into believing that people don't know that abortion is killing. So any pretense that abortion is not killing is a signal of our ambivalence, a signal that we cannot say yes, it kills a fetus..."
Faye Wattleton. former president of Planned Parenthood, as quoted in Salon Magazine, June 27, 1997

"Clinging to a rhetoric about abortion in which there is no life and no death, we entangle our beliefs in a series of self-delusions, fibs and evasions. And we risk becoming precisely what our critics charge us with being: callous, selfish and casually destructive men and women who share a cheapened view of human life...we need to contextualize the fight to defend abortion rights within a moral framework that admits that the death of a fetus is a real death."
Naomi Wolf, prominent feminist author and abortion supporter, as quoted in Our Bodies, Our Souls, The New Republic, 1995).

"In the top drawer of my desk, I keep [a picture of my son]. This picture was taken on September 7, 1993, 24 weeks before he was born. The sonogram image is murky, but it reveals clear enough a small head tilted back slightly, and an arm raised up and bent, with the hand pointing back toward the face and the thumb extended out toward the mouth. There is no doubt in my mind that this picture, too, shows [my son] at a very early stage in his physical development. And there is no question that the position I defend in this book entails that it would have been morally permissible to end his life at this point."
David Noonin, in his book, A Defense of Abortion, p. xiv

Quotes Compiled by Sarah Terzo at Abortion Clinic Quotes

Some Other Interesting Views on the Unborn and Pro-choice Arguments:

The pro-choice side often compares the similiarities of developing human to other mammals or amphibians, pointing out gills along the neck and the tail of the developing human.

What are mistaken for gills are actually known as the pharyngeal arches. By the end of week 4, 6 pairs of pharyngeal arches are present, although only 3 are visible. (The word pharyngeal stems from the word pharynx, which refers to the area in the back of the throat.) These arches have been thought to resemble a fish's gills; however, it should be noted that they do not function as gills. Pharyngeal arches, on the other hand, are tissue folds which will develop into head and neck structures. The 1st arch will develop into parts of the upper and lower jaw, the ear, the mouth, the teeth, and the nose. The 2nd arch will help to form the tongue, the neck, the tonsils, and the ear. The 3rd arch will help to form the tongue, the parathyroid gland, the thymus gland, and the neck. The 4th, 5th, and 6th arches will all work together to form parts of the larynx, commonly referred to as the "voicebox," and the trachea, as well as contributing to the parathyroid and thymus glands.

Also, what is believed to be a tail is not a tail at all, but is the continuation of the spinal cord, caused by the spine growing in length faster than the rest of the trunk

Sources:
Visible Embryo
http://www.visembryo.com/baby/

University of New South Wales Embryology Website
http://embryology.med.unsw.edu.au

Question Reply: Infection Following an Abortion

Mon, 15 Dec 2008 17:17:26 GMT

This is in response to a visitor who came to Christina's blog searching, "I've got an infection from abortion. Can I die?" Things have turned into a heated debate over there, so I figure I'd post my reply here.

I strongly recommend going to see a doctor and get checked out, if you haven't already. If you don't feel comfortable returning to the same clinic, you can seek the follow-up care through your community's public health clinic, your regular gynecologist, or your primary care provider. The health care provider will probably preform an ultrasound and pelvic exam to ensure your abortion is complete and draw some blood because your white blood cell count can tell them whether your body is reacting to an infection. You may then receive a week or two supply of antibiotics. Sometimes the cause of infection is an incomplete abortion and a woman will need to have a repeat vacuum aspiration to remove remains of the pregnancy. However, if you're experiencing any of the following symptoms, please don't wait until your 2 week follow-up, as these could be signs of a potentially serious complication:

Fever (more than 100.4°F) and chills.
Severe persistent pain or cramps not relieved by pain relivers (ibuprofen or naproxen), rest, or a heating pad.

Vomiting for more than four to six hours and you are not able to keep anything down
Prolonged or heavy bleeding, soaking through more than 4-5 pads per hour or more than 12 pads in 24 hours.
An unpleasant, foul-smelling, and/or abnormal cottage-cheese-like or foamy green, yellow, or grey discharge from your vagina

The sooner you start treatment, the better the outcome.

Sources:
E-Medicine Health: Elective Abortion Follow-Up, an article by Suzanne R Trupin, MD
http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/252560-followup

E-Medicine: Abortion Complications, an article by Slava V Gaufberg, MD, FACEP
Aftercare and clinical indications of complications to look out for following an induced abortion. A non-political professional medical website.
http://www.emedicine.com/emerg/topic4.htm

Abortion and Subsequent Mental Health

Mon, 08 Dec 2008 18:32:18 GMT

In August, the American Psychological Association released a news report, which concludes abortion causes no mental health problems despite recent research proving otherwise (see documentation below). While the American Psychological Assocation refutes the fact that PASS exists, I believe that PASS exists and it can affect women in many ways, I want it to be recognised so that women can get the treatment, help and support that they deserve. Refuting the previously released report of the APA, a new study shows a direct link between abortion and subsequent mental health problems, .

Abortion was found to be related to an increased risk for a variety of mental health problems (panic attacks, panic disorder, agoraphobia, PTSD, bipolar disorder, major depression with and without hierarchy), and substance abuse disorders after statistical controls were instituted for a wide range of personal, situational, and demographic variables," they wrote."Calculation of population attributable risks indicated that abortion was implicated in between 4.3% and 16.6% of the incidence of these disorders," they concluded.

Dr. Priscilla Coleman, a professor of Human Development and Family Studies at Bowling Green State University, led the research team that conducted the study.

Together with Catherine Coyle of Edgewood College, researcher Martha Shuping and psychologist Dr. Vincent Rue, they published their results online today at the Journal of Psychiatric Research, a well-established and respected journal.

The researchers found women who had abortions, compared with those who didn't had a 120% risk for alcohol abuse, with or without dependence, a 145% increased risk of alcohol dependence, 79% increased risk of drug abuse with or without dependence and a 126% increase in the risk of drug dependence.
For mood disorders, the experience of an abortion increased risk of developing bipolar disorder by 167%, major depression without hierarchy by 45% and major depression with hierarchy by 48%.
For anxiety disorders, there was a 111% increased risk for panic disorders, 44% increased risk for panic attacks, 59% increased risk for PTSD, 95% increased risk for agoraphobia with or without panic disorder and a 93% increased risk for agoraphobia without panic disorder.

There was no mental health outcome showing abortion to have decreased the risk or a high risk for women who did not have an abortion.

The following are additional studies, from within the last 10 years, which have found a connection between abortion and subsequent mental health issues.

The Norwegian study, conducted by Dr. Willy Pedersen, was recently published in the Scandinavian Journal of Public Health.
The authors make the link clear in the conclusion of the abstract: "Young adult women who undergo induced abortion may be at increased risk for subsequent depression."
The Norwegian researchers studied 5,768 women between the ages of 15 and 27 years and asked then questions concerning abortion and childbirth as well as family relationships and a number of individual characteristics, such as schooling and occupational history and conduct problems.
The results showed, "Young women who reported having had an abortion in their twenties were more likely to score above the cut-off point for depression."

A study earlier this month in the British Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology found 30 percent of women who purchase the abortion drug mifepristone on the Internet experience depression and negative feelings accompanying the abortion.
The most prominent study of abortion's link to mental health issues comes from New Zealand.

The New Zealand study found that having an abortion as a young woman raises the risk of developing mental health problems such as depression and anxiety.
Some 42 percent of the women who had abortions had experienced major depression within the last four years. That's almost double the rate of women who never became pregnant. The risk of anxiety disorders also doubled.
According to the study, women who have abortions were twice as likely to drink alcohol at dangerous levels and three times as likely to be addicted to illegal drugs.
David Fergusson, an abortion advocate who led the study, said the results show access to legal abortions is not necessarily good for women. He also said the study confirms abortions cause women mental health issues -- rather than alleviating them as abortion advocates claim.

"Abortion and Depression: A population-based longitudinal study of young women."
Willy Pedersen
Scandinavian Journal of Public Health, 2008
The "Young in Norway" longitudinal study, which surveyed students in Norway four times from 1992 through 2005.
There was no correlation between teenage abortion and subsequent depression, after controlling for such factors as family stability and socioeconomic status. Women who had abortions in their 20s did have increased rates of depression.

"Resolution of Unwanted Pregnancy During Adolescence Through Abortion Versus Childbirth: Individual and Family Predictors and Psychological Consequences"
Priscilla K. Coleman
Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 2006
National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, which interviewed thousands of U.S. middle- and high-school students in 1995 and again in 1996.
Adolescents who had abortions were significantly more likely than those who gave birth to seek psychological counseling, have trouble sleeping and report frequent marijuana use.
The study relied on the adolescents to self-report their pregnancy history and only 65 reported an abortion. It was not possible to control for all factors. For instance, perhaps adolescents involved in abusive relationships were more likely to seek abortions; if so, it could be the fear of violence, not the abortion, that caused insomnia and drug use.

"Abortion in Young Women and Subsequent Mental Health"
David M. Fergusson, L. John Horwood, and Elizabeth M. Ridder
Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 2006
A health and development study that followed more than 1,200 New Zealand children from birth to age 25.
Adolescents and young women who had abortions were more likely to suffer from depression, thoughts of suicide, drug addiction and overall mental health problems than peers who had children or who never got pregnant. This result remained statistically significant even after controlling for factors such as education, family stability, self-esteem, smoking habits and prior history of depression.

"Depression and Unwanted First Pregnancy: Longitudinal Cohort Study"
Sarah Schmiege and Nancy Felipe Russo
British Medical Journal, 2005
A national study of U.S. youth, who were first interviewed in 1979 and followed through 1992. This research looked at more than 1,000 women who reported their first pregnancy was unwanted.
Women who aborted had no higher risk of depression than women who delivered. Over the years, those who aborted ended up with higher incomes and education levels than those who delivered – achievements that can lower the risk of depression.

Medical Science Monitor, 2003: This study examined National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (NLSY) data, specifically the records of 1,884 women with a first pregnancy. It also considered if there were any previous psychological problems.

The study found that, at an average of 8 years after the first pregnancies, women who chose abortions were 8% more likely to score in the "high-risk" range for clinical depression than women who gave birth. This was after controlling for age, race, marital status, divorce history, education, income, and previous psychological state. [NLSY is an ongoing nationwide interview-based study conducted by the Center for Human Resource Research at Ohio State University and funded by the U.S. Department of Labor. [9(4): CR105-112].] full text] [This and the later-discussed NLSY results have been adjusted to reflect questions already raised and addressed about this research, as discussed here and here.]

Canadian Medical Association Journal (CMAJ), May 13, 2003: Another study found that
"Psychiatric admissions were more common among women at anytime between 90 days to 4 years after an…abortion, than among those who carried a pregnancy to term." The risk was “significantly higher.” They reviewed the California Medicaid records of 56,741 women aged 13–49 years at the time of either abortion or childbirth, and only included women with no previous psychiatric admissions or pregnancy events during the year before.

American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, 2002: This study found that women with a prior history of abortion are twice as likely to use alcohol, five times more likely to use illicit drugs, and ten times more likely to use marijuana during the first pregnancy they actually carry to term, compared to other women delivering their first pregnancies. ["History of induced abortion in relation to substance use during pregnancies carried to term." December 2002; 187(5).]

British Medical Journal, Dec. 2001: An earlier look at that NLSY data found that, an average of eight years after abortion, married women were 37% more likely to be at high risk of clinical depression, compared to similar women who carried their unintended first pregnancies to term. However, women having abortions instead of carrying to term in their first marriages were 50% more likely to be in that “high risk range” than those in second or later marriages. [324: 151-152] [This and the above-mentioned NLSY results have been adjusted to reflect the questions already raised about this data, as discussed here and here.]

American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 2002: A comparison of outpatient mental health claims over 5 years, including records of 173,000 California women, found that women were 63% more likely to receive mental care within 90 days of an abortion, than after giving birth. Also, significantly higher rates of later mental health treatment persisted over the entire four years of data examined. Abortion was most strongly associated with later treatments for neurotic depression, bipolar disorder, adjustment reactions, and schizophrenic disorders." [culled from data about state-funded abortions vs. deliveries; Vol. 72, No. 1, 141-152]

"Psychological Responses of Women after First-Trimester Abortion"
Brenda Major, Catherine Cozzarelli, M. Lynne Cooper, Josephine Zubek, Caroline Richards, Michael Wilhite, Richard H. Gramzow
Archives of General Psychiatry, 2000
Series of interviews with nearly 450 women seeking first-trimester abortions for unintended pregnancy. They were interviewed one hour before the abortion and one hour, one month and two years after.
Indications of depression increased over time. At the two-year mark, 20% of women had experienced an episode of clinical depression. But many of them had a history of depression before their abortion. At the last interview, 72% of women said they were satisfied with their decision. But 19% said they would not have the abortion if they could go back; another 12% were undecided.

While the studies are conflicting and scientists continue to debate, we need to turn to the women making the decision and listen to their needs. These women are speaking and there is strong demand for adequate post-abortion counseling. According to Vicki Thorn, founder of the Catholic-based post-abortion healing program, Project Rachel, "The national office receives 300-400 phone calls and about 200 e-mails each month." (source, 2002). The PASS Site, a well-known neutral peer support sight has 12 pages (with an estimated 217 stories) and 6,005 more active members on the message board community of men and women who are working through post-abortion issues. In 2002, the pro-choice post-abortion hotline, "Exhale" was established and currently receives more than 500 calls a month (source). In addition, a number of independent, peer support post-abortion message boards have appeared over the last several years, for example, the message board at Safe Have Ministries and the "Post Abortion Healing Support" board at Voy Forums.

In addition, Naomi'st true story reveals the barriors of stigma and political rhetoric women face when seeking post-abortion counseling:

"I think it is also crucial for women to be warned that post abortion depression is not just a myth promoted by anti-abortionists. I had been reassured that I would not have emotional problems after the abortion. I heard that the only opposition to abortion was religious; since I was an atheist, I should never have a problem with it.

When post abortion trauma hit me a full decade after the abortion I was not prepared and absolutely stunned at its force. I was devastated, depressed, suicidal, angry and ashamed for a full six months. I had nightmares, couldn't cope with going out in public, and hated myself and everyone involved with the abortion. Anything I thought I could not have acquired or achieved if I had allowed my child to be born, I wanted to destroy: my marriage, my career, my home, my car; I even had to put my wedding pictures away for a while because I felt like tearing them all up.

Trustingly, I turned to pro-choice groups for help with my trauma. Even though I was still pro-choice and an atheist, I was laughed at and argued with. I was told that if I was having any regrets it was because I was not psychologically normal before the abortion! I was told it was just post-abortion hormones (the abortion had taken place ten years earlier!). In tears I called several pro-choice organizations and clinics, honestly seeking help. I was told that there was no such thing as post abortion regrets, I was called a liar, I was told there was no help available for me at all. The only "nice" response I got was a lady who said "I'm sorry" and then hung up. The last abortion clinic receptionist I talked to got furious and accused me of being an anti-abortionist pretending to have post abortion depression and threatened to report me to the police for "harassing" the clinic!

I was devastated. If I had a gun and did not have two small children to care for I know I would have ended it all right then. I didn't know who to turn to. I had not even told my husband yet what was upsetting me.

Luckily, I called a pro-life center and they referred me to post-abortion therapy (even though I told them I was pro-choice). I chose non-religious post-abortion therapy and eventually healed. But for a while my husband and some relatives were angry with me for admitting I never wanted the abortion. Cruelly, they subjected me to the very same comments and pressure which caused me to submit to the abortion in the first place ("reassuring" me that it was what I "had" to do) while insisting that it was all my idea and they never pressured me at all!

I strongly urge women to speak up and be honest - no matter who it pisses off! No more pretending that it's what we want or all our idea. It's bad enough others (who supposedly "love" us) impose their wishes on us without us also being expected to act like it's what we alone "chose."

Naomi
July 1998
Feminist Women's Health Clinic: Naomi's Story

In closing, please consider the following section of a letter submitted by Celia Ryan, a social worker and specialized grief counselor, in response to the Canadian Medical Association May 13 (2006) article relating abortion to increased risks of psychiatric hospitalization...

"I am not a researcher, and the hurting men and women who come to my office for counseling, or to my groups, are not interested in statistics or expectable outcomes. They are interested in having a language, structure and a framework for their abortion experience and an opportunity to use that information in a helfpul and healing way. They are grateful and relieved to finally be able to name and explore an issue that society says does not exist. They are no longer disenfranchised from their appropriate grief."

These women exist, we can't ignore their presence or needs for support/counseling as well.

Help TX pregnancy care center win $25k

Thu, 20 Nov 2008 20:45:37 GMT

CareNet Pregnancy Center of Central TX is in the running for a $25,000 office makeover from Perry Office Supply.

CareNet is currently in 1st place. Voting ends Sunday. CareNet would use the makeover proceeds for a new office it is opening across the street from the Waco Planned Parenthood abortion mill. Great news.

Wherever we are in the U.S., we can vote.

1. Go to www.perryop.com.

2. Click on "See the finalists and vote now."

3. Click on "Go Vote" and then vote for CareNet.

Very easy. Please vote. $25k would go a long way toward meeting the needs of this PCC.

Go to Jill's site (link below) for the winner.

H/T to Jill Stanek

Update:

The Pregnancy Center won! Followed by the Waco Humane Society.

Update #2: See Before and After Pictures!

Let's Rock the Vote!

Tue, 04 Nov 2008 21:53:30 GMT

Ok, folks, it's time to rock the vote and make your voice heard! Let's get out there to our local polling stations and vote! And after you're done, you can get freebies from several food retailers, including Starbucks, Chik-fil-A, and Ben & Jerry's, but also you can get a free flu vaccine through the Vote & Vax project.

Ignorance and Stigma is Still Well and Alive, Redux

Fri, 26 Sep 2008 20:59:56 GMT

Back in this May entry, I shared my own experience with an unenlightened individual, which made it clear that many with developmental disabilities still face the challange of ignorance and bigotry among the general public. However, unfortuantly his view and atitude towards the developmental disabled is not abnormal. Below, I've compiled various articles, quotes, and stories sharing the challenges individuals with these disabilities and their family members face.

Down Syndrome Families Brought Into Sharp Focus
"Many parents also talk about how the phone never rings with invitations for a play date for their children or an offer to help carpool. Sometimes, they find themselves answering people who suggest that their child should never have been born.

That happened to Tia Marsili, 49, of Vienna while driving from her hometown in western Pennsylvania to Virginia Beach with her sister. The trip lasted six hours and was not without some fussing from Marsili's daughters, Sheridan and Skye. Both girls have Down syndrome. Sheridan's condition had come as a surprise after birth, but Marsili knew from prenatal testing that Skye would have Down syndrome.

"My sister looked at me and said, 'Why didn't you abort her?' " Marsili recalled. "I said, 'What? Because we love her, and she's my baby, and we love her!' 'But you knew,' my sister said. . . . It was pretty shocking. Even people that close to me."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/09/13/AR2008091301034.html

Down Syndrome Support Groups Rise to Counter Physicians’ Poor Diagnostic Practices
Thursday, October 16, 2008
By Penny Starr, Senior Staff Writer

(CNSNews.com) – Women diagnosed as carrying a Down syndrome baby often receive poor, misleading, and discouraging counsel from their doctors – the most frequent comments being an apology offered with the option of aborting their baby.

That inadequate and incomplete counsel has prompted Down syndrome support groups to spring to life across the nation.

“It’s so misleading,” Mia Willson, whose daughter Mylie, 7 months, has Down syndrome, told CNSNews.com. “The truth is, some Down syndrome children are born with medical conditions, but with the advances in technology, most can be easily treated.”

Children with Down syndrome, caused by an extra chromosome, have varying degrees of mental retardation and often have heart problems. Since the advent of pre-natal testing in the mid-1970s, the number of babies diagnosed with Down syndrome and then aborted is nine out of ten. Prior to that time, nearly all such babies were born.

The Willson family, from left, Mia, Mylie, Tyson and Tyler.Dr. Brian Skotko, a pediatrician at Boston Children’s Hospital, conducted a survey of more than 1,000 women who had a Down syndrome child in 2005, 12.5 percent of which were mothers who had received a pre-natal diagnosis.

Those 141 women reported “incomplete, inaccurate or offensive” information about Down syndrome at the time of diagnosis. They also said they weren’t connected to resources that could help them understand their child’s condition.

“There is one thing that the mothers spoke very clearly on in my research -- was the connection with other parents made a big difference,” Skotko, who has a sister with Down syndrome and serves on several boards of Down syndrome advocacy groups, told CNSNews.com.

Skotko’s own research and a 2006 survey of 1,105 junior fellows and fellows for the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecologists show that doctors are not trained to share positive information about children with Down syndrome at the time of diagnosis. In the ACOG study, 45 percent of respondents rated their residency training regarding pre-natal diagnosis as “barely adequate” or “non-existence.”

“Doctors aren’t necessarily trained or know the answer to, for example, what is it like to raise a child with Down syndrome? Will my child go to prom one day? What affect will this have on my other children and my marriage?” Shotko said.

As reported by CNSNews.com in an earlier story, a study of 499 primary care physicians revealed that only 4 percent encouraged their patients to continue their pregnancy.

Willson recalls when her daughter was in the intensive care unit for a heart condition diagnosed shortly after birth. The nurse on duty had a son with Down syndrome.

“She said, ‘Oh, I’m so excited for you. This child is going to melt your heart,’” Willson recalled. “I couldn’t understand why she was so positive when the doctors had been so solemn and even negative. They said, ‘I’m sorry, I’m so sorry.’ There’s nothing to be sorry about.”

These kind of negative experiences have led Wilson and other parents across the country to launch grassroots groups that offer both pre- and post-natal support, and connect parents with the kind of support and resources they need to raise a special needs child.

In Willson’s case, she agreed to pre-natal screenings, which did not show an increased risk of having a baby with Down syndrome. So Willson did not opt for diagnostic tests.

After Mylie’s birth, Willson and her husband, Tyler, learned their daughter had the genetic condition and some medical complications. Post-natal tests determined she had two holes in her heart and a thyroid condition. She was also extremely sensitive to gluten. But Willson said the holes closed on their own and medication and the proper diet have helped her daughter thrive.

Willson, 32, helped start The Real Face of Down Syndrome with JaimieWeitzman, whom she met through programs in place at the California hospital where their children were born that connects parents with other parents who have children with the condition.

“I called her and it was so wonderful to talk to someone my age that had a new daughter with Down syndrome,” Willson said.

Since connecting through a support group for parents of Down syndrome, the Willson and Weitzman kids have become friends, from left, Mylie and Tyson Willson and Julie, Sarah and Hannah Weitzman.“It’s amazing all the negative things people hear,” Weitzman, whose Down syndrome daughter Hannah just turned one, told CNSNews.com. “We’re not experiencing those negative things. Yes, this family has been changed forever, but I mean forever in a positive way.”

Willson and Weitzman also were inspired to start their effort after hearing statistics that show as many as nine out of 10 women who are diagnosed pre-natally with carrying a child with Down Syndrome choose to have an abortion.

“We were just devastated when we found out how high the percentage was,” Willson said. “We didn’t think it is fair that these children don’t have a chance just because they have an extra chromosome. We wanted to get the message out about these children.”

“These children have souls,” Willson said. “They are like any other child.”

Willson and Weitzman, 31, have created a brochure with family photographs and the contact information for resources to help parents who have received a Down syndrome diagnosis or have a newborn with the condition. They are putting them, with the help of their pediatrician, in hospitals, doctors’ offices and other places where “children of child-bearing age” might pick one up.

Lucy Talbot is the president of Families Exploring Down Syndrome, a non-profit organization founded in 1989 “by a group of parents who felt the need to share a common bond with families in the area who were experiencing the same feelings, heartaches, and joys.”

The organization has adopted and implemented the National Down Syndrome Society’s Changing Lives program, which puts parent volunteers and their children with Down syndrome into medical settings to demonstrate to health professionals the true nature of these children and the importance of giving pre- or post-natally diagnosed parents complete and accurate information.

Today, the Michigan-based organization has more than 200 active family members, including Talbot, who adopted her daughter Megan, who has Down syndrome, after a doctor told Megan’s birth parents that they didn’t have to raise the child.

“Instead of giving (the parents) hope or connecting them with someone who knows about Down syndrome,” Talbot said, the doctor said to give the child away. Megan ended up with Talbot as a foster child and was eventually adopted.

Talbot’s organization also supports new parents of Down syndrome children by providing them with “new parent packages,” which includes resources, information and lots of photos.

“They need to see these children,” says Talbot, whose daughter Megan, now 19, is graduating from high school, has a part-time job at Macy’s and went to the prom with a good friend.

Willson and Weitzman agree that including photographs on their brochure was essential.

“We want people to see that we are still a family, we are happy,” Willson said.
“We are a joyful family,” Weitzman said.

That’s also true for Kadi Coe, who knew before her daughter Ayla, now 10 months, was born that she had Down syndrome. Coe, 30, was screened for the genetic disorder, which showed she was at high risk for having a child with Down syndrome. Diagnostic tests confirmed that fact.

“I was devastated,” Coe told CNSNews.com. “It was something that I’d never even thought of. You don’t think something like this will happen to you. I thought my world had ended.”

Coe admits, even though she and her husband consider themselves pro-life, that they thought about abortion.

“I heavily thought about terminating,” Coe said. “It was an agonizing decision, but I thought I would grieve for her for the rest of my life.”

Coe was also helped by Amanda Clarke, who also was pre-natally diagnosed with carrying a child with Down syndrome and had joined Families Exploring Down Syndrome.

“It was amazing,” Coe said of talking with Amanda. “I thought, ‘Oh my gosh, you understand how I’m feeling.’ (The support group) was the only thing that kept me going.”

And even if Coe describes the day Ayla was born as “the scariest thing in my life,” that fear quickly changed to joy when she saw her daughter for the first time.

“My worries washed away,” Coe said. “I can’t imagine my life without her.”

Coe, who has an older daughter, added that she is grateful on a daily basis that she didn’t choose abortion.

“Not a day goes by that I’m glad I didn’t do that to her,” Coe said. “I still cry thinking that I almost did that.”

For Weitzman, having a child with Down syndrome proved almost prophetic.

As a sixth-grader, Weitzman said she was drawn to volunteer in the classroom where children with Down syndrome were taught at her school. Her mother also worked as a volunteer with Down syndrome children.

“I always had this sense that I knew I would have a child with Down syndrome,” Weitzman, who has two other daughters, said. “I feel like the Lord was preparing me.”
She said she declined to have any of the pre-natal tests offered by her doctor during both pregnancies.

And now that Hannah has celebrated her first birthday, Weitzman says not only has her birth brought the family closer together, but she said her older girls will also be blessed by their special sibling.

“I think they will learn to love in a broader way,” Weitzman said. “I think they will grow up to be better people.”

"Respecting choice" and "Nobody is for abortion"
A collection of comments from the general public regarding Palin's son Trig and those with Down Syndrome:

"This baby should have never been allowed to live a life of suffering. Gov. Palin should have aborted the pregnancy and saved this person a life of difficulty."

"Howard [Stern] thought that Sarah Palin should have not delivered the child that was going to be born with a reduced resources, and he went on and on about it." (NB: Stern hates Bristol's baby, too: “Any self respecting mother would have taken her daughter to an abortion clinic and had that blood clot removed”)

"Sarah Palin’s judgment is despicalble. She knowingly whelped a Mongoloid child earlier this year, probably to pander to the Right to Life Nutbags."

"No one has the right to bring a defective child into the world it is a form of self-love and shows no love for the child." (Scroll down)

"She should have aborted the Downs child…. no, giving him life was not the best thing." (Comment #387)

"I disagree with condemning the baby to a second-class life full of discomfort. I think it's more cruel to bring a baby into this world that you know will suffer and that cannot be cured. .... The issue is KNOWING that the baby will have Down syndrome and still being callous enough to bring it into the world." (Answer 2)

"She shouldn't have gotten pregnant. It was selfishness. And she should have aborted the fetus."

"It's obvious this comment came from some ignorant poor THING with self-esteem issues and the mental capacity of Palin's poor THING of a son that she should have aborted as soon as she knew he would never be a productive member of society!" (#33)

"We don't even have the funds to properly education normal children. Now we want to add more funding for Special Needs children whom, in many cases, have a birth defect their parents knowingly acknowledged prior to their birth, yet chose to have that baby anyway? I say let the parents of these children fund their education. Don't force your choice on the rest of us."

"Listen. This is a defective unit. Humanity is much better off without it. It would be a drain on the system, and who the fuck really cares anyway? It would just be laughed at. It's better off dead."

"I thought an unaborted mongoloid baby was the symbol of the Republican Party."

"I’ll tell you what is TRULY reprehensible...(2.) Bringing a retarded child into the world knowing that it will never be able to take care of itself or have a normal life just to validate your nutty God-botherer credentials to teh other nutty God-botherers."

"Tests can be done to see whether you’re carrying an embryo that is affected, and you can abort said embryo and become pregnant with a normal child, should you so choose (abnormal, in this case, is not meant to imply any kind of judgement, but rather describes an aberration from the norm - as in the chromosomes did not seperate properly)."

H/T to Christina at Real Choice

What Can I Do?
These are some suggestions for the general public for understanding and respecting the differences and similiarities in those with disabilities.

- I encourage those who aren't familiar with developmental disabilities to learn, learn, learn! This can be via books at your local library, advocacy organizations, publications from websites, etc.

- Listen to the stories of parents who'd received an adverse prental diagnosis: Be Not Afraid: Stories

- When you see someone with a disability out and about, please don't gawk, stare, or just plain give dirty looks. We're trying to normalize life for these individuals, not make it more difficult!

- Although someoneone with a disabilitiy may appear different from the outside; remember, we're all alike in some way or another and they are human beings just like you and me, with feelings and emotions, favorite foods, music styles, sports, hobbies, and activities they enjoy, etc.

- Remember, many individuals are handiCAPPABLE, meaning they strive to be independent and many are capable in different areas. With this said, don't offer help to someone unless they ask you or they clearly imply they need your help (i.e. feeding themselves, reaching on shelves, picking up an item, opening doors, etc).

Resources:

National Down Syndrome Society, http://www.ndss.org, (800) 221-4602.

Association for Children with Down Syndrome, http://www.acds.org, (516) 933-4700

Families Exploring Down Syndrome, http://www.familiesexploringdownsyndrome.org, (586) 997-7607

Autism Society, http://www.autism-society.org, 1.800.3AUTISM (1.800.328.8476)

CPC Destroyed in Arson Fire

Wed, 24 Sep 2008 14:04:08 GMT

Pregnancy Alternatives Center, a CPC located in Lebanon, Oregon faced total loss due to an arson fire.

Catholic Sentinel
Torched Pregnancy Aid Center Scrapping to Get Back to Serve

LEBANON — ...Tracy and volunteers have made themselves forgive whoever ruined their building, which was in the process of being renovated and expanded. Otherwise, they say, they’d be paralyzed by bitterness.
Tracy does not want girls to be scared off by the fire or the resulting talk about the struggle between pro-life and pro-choice forces. That’s why the attack is so painful — the center aims to be a place of welcome and service, not a political agent.
“The center really showers God’s love on these girls,” says a shocked Chris Barreto, a member of St. Edward’s who volunteers. “This came as a surprise out of the blue.”
The FBI is offering a $5,000 reward for information that leads to a conviction in the arson.
“We’re looking at whether the arsonists believed that the clinic provided abortion services, which it did not,” FBI spokeswoman Beth Anne Steele told Oregon Public Broadcasting. “We’re looking at the possibility that they believed the clinic counseled against abortions, which it did. And we’re looking at any reason that we may not have come up with yet.”
Letter-writers to the Albany Democrat Herald newsaper said that the intentional fire should be labeled a hate crime.
In the past few years, advocates of abortion rights have criticized pro-life pregnancy centers and made legislative attacks via bills that would regulate what the centers can say and do.
The center does tell women about the medical and mental health risks thought to be associated with an abortion such as the link between abortion and breast cancer, and mental health problems like depression.
The center had been on the same location for 19 years with no incident. This spring, it expanded to include a clinic with pregnancy tests and ultrasounds given by volunteer physicians and nurses.
Volunteers offer confidential counseling, emergency housing, prenatal vitamins and nutrition guidance and pre-natal care and education. After the baby comes, the center provides ongoing counseling, life skills classes, baby clothing and gear, car seats, fathers’ counseling and adoption information.
Last year, the clinic had 1,200 visits by clients.
The fire wrought heavy damage to the attic and roof of the building, in the downtown area of this small town, 20 miles east of Oregon State University. No one was injured in the early-morning blaze.
Leaders say the clinic will be rebuilt. There is insurance, but it is questionable whether it will cover all the need, including replacement of heating and ventilation systems. The center gets no government funding.
Classes and housing efforts will continue, but clinic operations are suspended while Tracy searches for someone who will offer a temporary location. The center has about 50 volunteers from local churches, about six of them from St. Edward’s.
Attacks on pro-life pregnancy aid centers are common, though few are as destructive as the event in Lebanon.
Bomb threats were called in to a California pregnancy center and others were vandalized in 1999. A Canadian center in Winnipeg was covered with graffiti in 2001. In 2004, two Maryland pregnancy centers were vandalized, with smashed windows and computers. In 2005, on the anniversary of Roe v. Wade, another Maryland center was hit with smashed windows and graffiti that said “Choice” and “Womyn Haters.” When a ban on abortions was debated in South Dakota in 2006, vandals hit the homes of pregnancy center heads with eggs, threatening phone calls and the bodies of decomposing animals.
Terry Weaver, executive director of Birthright, recalls bomb threats at the organization’s Atlanta house. She hears about vandalism regularly from Birthright houses around the country — splattered paint, shot-out windows, dog feces in mailboxes. Sometimes, pro-choice zealots call the Birthright hotline to heckle the organization.
“It happens from coast to coast,” Weaver says.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Albany Democrat Herald
Pregnancy Center Will Have to Be Torn Down
LEBANON — The building which housed the Pregnancy Alternatives Center will have to be torn down, Executive Director Debbie Tracy said Thursday.

The Sept. 10 arson fire that burned much of the building’s interior has left the structure virtually unusable.

The FBI announced Thursday a $5,000 reward for any information leading to the arrest of those responsible for the fire.

Tracy said workers have spent the last week salvaging what they could from the charred remains, but not much is usable.

Insurance agents inspected the building and called it a total loss, she said.

No date is set for the demolition.

Tracy said she is working on alternate plans for the center and hopes to have something concrete in the coming weeks.

The center has hired a web designer to update the center’s website, www.possiblypregnant.org/lebanon, with new information or anything the center needs from volunteers.

The FBI is asking anyone with information to call its Eugene bureau at (541) 343-5222 during normal business hours, its Portland bureau at (503) 224-4181 any time, or the Lebanon Police Department at 258-4319.

The FBI says it is investigating the fire jointly with the Lebanon Police Department and has authority to do so under the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act.

Investigators do not know the motive behind the fire. They are looking at all possibilities, including whether the arsonists set the fire because they falsely believed the clinic provides abortion services; or because they knew the clinic counsels against abortions; or some other as yet undetermined reason.

The nonprofit center had been at the location for 19 years, providing free services to help women through unplanned pregnancies without getting an abortion.

Could you imagine the public outcry had the arson fire been in an abortion facility instead of one that offers women abortion alternatives and real hope and help?

All the major media outlets would be featuring major articles featuring quotes from abortion rights activists, pointing fingers and blaming prolifers and the blogsphere would be afire in outrage. There would have been cries of outrage along with speculation and finger-pointing and cries that we need more "protection" for those who preform abortions.

But it was a CPC. A place that enables women to choose to carry to term and make healthy choices. Although pro-life in idealogy, they're not politically active, however being pro-life makes the fire a non-story. Sadly I would not be surprised if pro-choicers are secretly smiling at the thought of one less CPC...

H/T to Christina at Real Choice

More Pro-Choice Move to Shut Down CPCs

Fri, 29 Aug 2008 15:35:31 GMT

*Sighs* A week ago I ran into the website of a non-profit organization dedicated to shutting down CPCs. I don't wish to share their name as I don't encourage visiting their site. However, I'm sure if you looked hard enough, you could find the site via Google.

Welcome to [name removed-ed.]! Whether you're searching information about deceptive CPCs or have just stumbled onto our site while looking for information regarding your reproductive options, you've come to the right place.

Crisis Pregnancy Centers (CPCs) are fake clinics that use deceptive tactics to lure vulnerable women into their doors. Once inside, women are subjected to an array of false and misleading information regarding their reproductive options. CPCs are not medical clinics, but instead an appendage of the anti-choice camp whose mission is to enact control over a woman's body and limit her decisions. Many staff no medical professionals at all. With over 4000 CPCs operational in the U.S., it's likely tens of thousands of women have, through no fault of their own, fallen victim to one of the most dangerous threats to reproductive freedom today.

In the interest of providing an differing view (and refuting many pro-choice misconceptions, I might add), I wrote the webmaster via their contact page . It was just a simple, curt e-mail showing interest in their site and offered a link to my own article on crisis pregnancy centers, Myths and Facts About Pregnancy Resource Centers .
Later on that afternoon, I received an anonymous website hit to the article. That was August 29th. Then on September 3rd, much to my surprise, I received a website hit from the I.P. address of the Feminist Majority Foundation. It looks like I might be grabbing someone's attention. Good!

Just Stopping In...

Sun, 22 Jun 2008 03:50:37 GMT

Sorry I haven't been around more, earlier this month, my husband and I moved out of our apartment into the rental house earlier this month (yea, we're out of the apartment!) It's taken while, but we're settled in. We don't have internet access (or cable) at home, but I just got a card at the local library and can use their computers. However, their internet is slow and they're only open a few days a week, so it'll be a while before I can get back into the swing of things. Right now I'm on my lap top at a friend's apartment, but it's getting late and we're getting ready to leave. I'll post more later.