Pro-life

Fr. Reese S.J. tries to sound reasonable about the destruction of human beings for research and offers some proposed restrictions.

1. Embryos for research cannot be bought and sold. Embryos should not be created for the sole purpose of research. They should only come from excess embryos produced at fertility clinics that are scheduled to be destroyed anyway.

2. Before using human embryonic stem cells, researchers should show that the research they are doing cannot be done with non-embryonic stem cells.

3. Research using embryonic stem cells should aim at advancing toward the goal of using only non-embryonic stem cells in regenerative medicine. In other words, once the process of developing adult stem cells for treatments has been shown to be safe and reliable, any research in embryonic stem cells should be able to move seamlessly into the use of adult stem cells leaving the ethical problems behind.

These rules will not satisfy those who find any use of embryos ethically objectionable, but it will indicate that the Obama administration is trying to find some middle ground that gives some respect to the many Americans who find such research repugnant. In short, if science shows a way out of this ethical dilemma, we should follow it.

The way he writes reminds me exactly of his time as America Magazine editor. Where both sides of “an issue” were presented where one side is the teaching of the Church. He writes like he has no dog in the fight, as a distant observer. That the discussion the murder of innocent human beings for the purpose of research is like discussion which type of soda you prefer. It is also rather silly to expect science to show us a way out of the “ethical dilemma.” We can’t just let innocents be murdered while scientists figure this out. Moral guidance needs to be given to those who get caught up in research and not the morality of what they are doing. For Fr. Reese I guess you can do evil for some good as long as you suggest some restrictions along the way.

It is rather silly for Fr. Reese to even suggest restrictions to President Obama who voted for infanticide rather than having even the remotest threat against Roe v. Wade.

Ed Peters weighs in about the Fallacy of the Mean and goes on to say:

Some Founding Fathers thought slavery should be protected throughout the country, others thought it should be made illegal everywhere. So they compromised, and made half the States slave, half free. We all know how that one turned out, don’t we?

I believe that no embryonic human being should be experimented upon, let alone killed. The Obama administration believes that they all can be treated so. Reese suggests we settle our differences by only experimenting on and killing “the extra ones”. How one squares Reese’s compromise with the absolute prohibition against deliberately taking an innocent human life (Evangelium vitae, 57) I have no idea.

And yes, I know they’re (almost certainly) “going to die anyway”, and not like you or I are “going to die anyway.” But that does not mean that these tiny people should die by my hand, or with my dollars.

As we look for a way out of Complication No. 658 that follows in the wake of separating sex from procreation, we’re going to need better options than ‘just-kill-some-of-them’.

Really quite a powerful ad from Preists for Life which I saw was even in rotation on the Drudge Report.

In other pro-life news

CHERRY HILL, New Jersey, March 7, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) – A lone sidewalk counselor at a Cherry Hill abortion center is suffering from horrifying injuries after a young man driving his pregnant wife to the abortuary reportedly struck the elderly counselor and ran him over. But the victim’s wife says that the event probably saved a life, as she believes she was able to persuade the man afterwards not to abort his child. [reference]

Both of these stories found via Big Blue Wave.

Archbishop Joseph F. Naumann writes a thoughtful column on the appointment of Gov. Sebeilus as Secretary of HHS. He goes through his concerns about her record and what this will mean for the country and for her soul. After he goes through the history he writes this:

I am also concerned personally for Governor Sebelius. Her appointment as Secretary for HHS places her in a position where she will have to make many decisions that will in all probability continue her personal involvement in promoting legalized abortion and her cooperation in this intrinsic evil.

I am also concerned that the appointment of Governor Sebelius places another Catholic supporting legalized abortion in a prominent national position. She joins Vice-President Joe Biden, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and unfortunately a host of Catholic Senators and members of the House of Representatives who support legalized abortion contrary to the clear and consistent teaching of their Church. It saddens me that so many Catholics, to gain political advancement, have chosen to compromise their Catholic faith by their failure to defend the most fundamental of all human rights – the right to life.

I am reminded of the powerful scene in A Man for All Seasons, the play about the heroic Catholic English Martyr, St. Thomas More. After Richard Rich has perjured himself in order to make it possible to convict Thomas More of treason, the Judge asks Thomas More if he has any questions for the witness. Thomas More notes that Richard Rich is wearing a chain of office and asks what it signifies. He is told that Richard Rich has been appointed Attorney General for Wales. Thomas More then paraphrases the Gospel saying to Richard Rich: “What does it profit a man to gain the whole world and lose his soul, but for Wales?”

We need to pray for all Catholics who serve in public life that they will have the courage and integrity to be true to the teachings and principles of our Faith no matter the political consequences.

Valerie Schmalz at OSV Daily Take also interviews the bishop about this.

Remember when candidate Obama talked his foreign policy, of talking to others, of not dictating things. Well it looks like he will treat the enemies of our country better than Catholics and those who are pro-life.

US President Barack Obama has picked Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius to be his health secretary to carry out his ambitious healthcare reform program, the White House said.

A senior administration official told AFP Saturday that Sebelius had accepted the offer to serve as secretary of health and human services, a position Obama had first offered to former Senate Democratic leader Tom Daschle, who withdrew over tax questions.

Obama will make the announcement Monday at the White House, the official said. [reference]

This a a slap in the face of all faithful Catholics. That a Catholic who has been told by her bishop not to present herself for Communion is the acceptable choice as Secretary of Health and Human Services. That a person with close ties to an abortionist “Killer” Tiller who makes other abortions seems like upstanding citizens. They knew all this and still went ahead. Surely he could have found someone without these problems – after all the Secretary of HHS does not have to be a pro-abortion Catholic – though it seems that way. This appointment means that he will dictate to us and will not consider what Catholics might think about this at all. If Catholics were a terrorist organization maybe he would treat us better. Of course we already knew how supportive of abortion he is. We suspected that all of his talk of being the president of the whole country was just empty rhetoric. No real surprises here. Though I wonder why I am so upset the total arrogance of this appointment? Well at least it is good news for Kansas, just bad news for the country.

Deacon Fournier notes:

It appears that the release of news was timed to occur on the same day that “Catholics United”, a group which works in concert with “Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good”, launched its new web site entitled “Catholics for Sebelius”. On that advocacy site this group stretches accuracy beyond anything they have done before. They argue that this Governor who has been told by her Bishop, Joseph Naumann, to refrain from presenting herself for Holy Communion until she takes “the necessary steps for amendment of her life which would include a public repudiation of her previous efforts and actions in support of laws and policies sanctioning abortion” is an acceptable choice for Catholics.

“Catholics for Sebelius”, I guess the Hell with obedience. Though at least Gov. Sebelius has the the sense not to present herself for Communion. These Democratic front groups pretending to be Catholic are a sickness of the type that so far only Bishop Chaput has denounced. But these groups have gotten more than their 30 pieces of silver from George Soros. John Podesta us to run the Soros-funded organization, Center for American Progress, and “admits that he works closely with Catholics in Alliance and Catholics United.” So again no surprise that President Obama’s Chief of Staff has close ties to this group and that there is coordination. So for the next four years we can expect plenty more insults and slaps to Catholics by the Obama administration.

President Obama is really working hard to ensure that he has the most militantly pro-abortion administration in history. Power Line notes

Early on, we were alarmed by President Obama’s selection of the radical Dawn Johnsen to head the Department of Justice’s Office of Legal Counsel. We have also wondered (based on the reporting of the Wasington Post’s Barton Gellman) about Johnsen’s candor.

Today Johnsen’s radicalism and her lack of candor were both on display before the Senate Judiciary Committee. The issue was Johnsen’s position on the relevance of the Thirteenth Amendment to the abortion issue.

Here is what Johnsen once wrote in a brief to the Supreme Court:

Statutes that curtail [a woman’s] abortion choice are disturbingly suggestive of involuntary servitude, prohibited by the Thirteenth Amendment, in that forced pregnancy requires a woman to provide continuous physical service to the fetus in order to further the state’s asserted interest.

Here is Johnsen’s testimony today about that brief:

I made no Thirteenth Amendment argument. I can state categorically I do not believe the Thirteenth Amendment is relevant at all.

Senator Specter, who is pro-abortion, told Johnsen that he did not understand her answer. He was being polite. Although Johnsen’s brief did not argue that restrictions on access to abortions violate the Thirteenth Amendment, it did argue by analogy from that amendment. It is therefore disingenuous for her to deny haveing made a Thirteenth Amendment argument.

Moreover, at the time she filed the brief in question (20 years ago) Johnsen certainly thought the Thirteenth Amendment was relevant; otherwise she would not have cited it. Perhaps she now “categoricaly” believes otherwise. If so, she should admit that she made a Thirteenth Amendment argument, say that she has changed her mind, and attempt to explain why.

Johnsen should also explain whether she stands by this appalling language that also appears in her brief:

The woman] is constantly aware for nine months that her body is not wholly her own: the state has conscripted her body for its own ends. Thus, abortion restrictions “reduce pregnant women to no more than fetal containers.

Johnsen’s appointment is consistent with the emerging (and entirely predictable) trend of the Obama administration — appoint non-radical liberals and a few centrists to cabinet leve positions, and then populate key sub-cabinet jobs with radicals

If she was being considered for a post in the Injustice Department she would be perfect. By the way don’t forget to get a card for Fetal Container Day. Mother is just so passe. If you are really brave and willing to risk death call a pregnant mother a “fetal container” to her face.

Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) — White House officials have acknowledged that abortion and the controversy surrounding embattled late-term abortion practitioner George Tiller are holding up President Barack Obama’s potential selection of Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius to become the next Health Secretary.

As LifeNews.com previously reported, White House aides told the New York Times last week that Obama had settled on naming the pro-abortion governor as his top health official.

Following the news, pro-life groups launched an all-out blitz to highlight Sebelius’ extreme pro-abortion views and her cozy relationship with Tiller, one of the few to do abortions so late in pregnancy.

Yesterday, a district court judge dismissed an effort by Tiller’s attorneys to throw out charges the state attorney general has filed against him for allegedly doing illegal abortions.

Now, White House officials tell CBN News that abortion and the Tiller-Sebelius connection are causing pause when considering Sebelius for the Cabinet post.

CBN News White House correspondent David Brody indicates that a senior Obama administration official confirmed that “concerns voiced by pro-life groups about potential HHS Secretary Nominee Kathleen Sebelius have come up in high level White House discussions but it has not disqualified her from the job. [reference]

It is interesting that she might be running into difficulties because of this considering that the the President’s voting record on abortion is even more extreme. President Obama’s actual voting record support infanticide to protect any imaginable infringement on abortion. I do wonder why Gov. Sebelius was even considered in the first place? Considering that Sen Dashle was the first appointment I wonder is there a pro-abortion Catholic Democrat quota for Secretary of Health and Human Services? I haven’t said anything before about the mention of Gov. Sevelius for this job. I had wondered if the Obama administration would be so stupid as to pick someone who has been told by her bishop not to go to Communion? Looks like they were, but are thinking twice now.

In other Killer Tiller news.

ichita, KS (LifeNews.com) — A decision by a local judge means Kansas-based late-term abortion practitioner George Tiller will stand trial for charges that he did illegal abortions. Tiller has been accused of violating state law requiring a second, independent, physician to sign off on his late-term abortions.

Tiller was slapped with 19 criminal charges for failing to follow the law and using a fellow abortion practitioner with whom he has a financial relationship to claim the abortions were medically necessary.

Sedgwick County District Court Judge Clark Owens released a decision Wednesday dismissing a request from Tiller attorneys that the evidence in the case be suppressed because of claims that it was improperly obtained.

Judge Owens addressed all the concerns Tiller’s attorneys brought up over six days of testimony, including claims that former Attorney General Phill Kline acted in a way that should allow the case to be dismissed.

Owens’ ruling exonerated Kline and allows the trial to move ahead.[reference]

Denver, Colo., Feb 20, 2009 / 06:39 am (CNA).- In a startling defense of legal abortion supporter Gov. Kathleen Sebelius, Catholics United has attacked Archbishop Joseph Naumann of Kansas City, accusing him being more interested in trying to score political points against the governor than in crafting effective abortion policy within the reality of politics.

The salvo from Catholics United comes as advisors to President Obama have told the press that he has decided on Sebelius as his next secretary of Health and Human Services nominee.

Kathleen Sebelius, who professes to be Catholic, has a problematic record on abortion.
Although Catholics United mentions the Kansas governor’s “tireless support for children’s health care and education, and her efforts to provide public financing for adoption and pregnancy support centers,” the group fails to mention her 30 years of simultaneously advocating to keep abortion legal.

In the Spring of 2008, Archbishop Naumann met with Gov. Sebelius to ensure that she understood the gravity of her position. After meeting with her, Archbishop Naumann asked her to stop receiving Communion.

As Archbishop Naumann explained to CNA, he requested that Gov. Sebelius stop receiving Communion because of her “30-year history of advocating and acting in support of legalized abortion.”

The Thursday statement by Catholics United, which is mostly dedicated to rebuffing the president of the Catholic League, Bill Donohue, marks the first time that the organization has targeted a specific Catholic bishop by name.

“Like Kansas City Archbishop Joseph Naumann – who often seems more interested in scoring political points against Gov. Sebelius than crafting effective abortion policy within the reality of politics – Mr. Donohue is doing a disservice to those Americans who will benefit from Gov. Sebelius’s leadership as Health and Human Services Secretary.” article

Catholics United is not a front group for the Democratic Party. They are a front group for Moloch.

Bishop Thomas J. Tobin conducts an imaginary interview with President Obama. Pretty awesome stuff. Thanks to the reader who sent this in.

Here is the latest attack on the unborn. The “Early Pregnancy Care” project.

The purpose of this experiment? “Demonstrate the role of advanced practice clinicians in expanding early pregnancy care.”

In the pilot project, approved in 2006 without legislative oversight, Planned Parenthood sites in three CA cities suspended state regulations to use Nurse Midwives, Nurse Practitioners and Physician Assistants to perform surgical abortions by suction aspiration.

… [T]the program sponsor at the University of CA admits that the goal of the pilot project is to expand abortion practice and access, “particularly in underserved areas.”…

As noted on Jill Stanek’s site “underserved” means “minorities.” Planned Parenthood’s “Negro Project” is more inclusive now by adding other minorities.

I imagine one of the reasons doing this is that for some odd reason doctors are not rushing to become abortionists. A couple of years ago PBS investigated what they saw as a problem the steady decline in the number of physicians and clinics performing abortions. So no doubt they will be trying to push this as something that can be done by someone other than a doctor. Yes the same people that freak if an ultrasound machine is not being operated by a doctor have not problem with this.

Once again the culture of death resorts to lying language to advance their agenda. Remember the cloning banning bill in Missouri that actually legalized it? It was fronted as a bill to ban cloning, but actually redefined cloning to not include “clone and kill.” Now we have pregnancy care to now mean performing an abortion. This is beyond Orwellian an just plain Molochina.

Carden at Jill Stanek blog

Sam Aanestad at American Thinker

Archbishop Buti Tlhagale, (pictured), the archbishop of Johannesburg, has denounced biological colonialism whereby “Harvesting ovarian human eggs in Africa will help meet the needs of embryonic stem cell research in industrialised countries” in his presidential address to the South African Catholic Bishops’ Conference who met last week. [Via John Smeaton]

Where the human embryos are gotten from is part of the ESCR story that is hardly mentioned. The South Korean scientist who published phony research on human cloning pressured women working for him to provide the eggs that he would fertilize and use for research. Also hardly mentioned is that the procedure to remove the eggs is not without danger for the women involved. So now we are using economic pressure to encourage women in Africa to donate their eggs. Who cares if they get Ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome? I guess this is the new slavery. Import human eggs from Africa, fertilize them, and then kill them for research. The whip of the slave master was kinder than the tools of the scientist. A slave could hope for freedom or escape, a human embryo is just slaughtered in the hope of a better life for somebody else.