Serving Both Women and Babies — July 2023 Newsletter

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Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health 

is the 2022 Supreme Court case that reversed Roe v. Wade that had falsely asserted a constitutional right to abortion. On its June anniversary, Bishop Kevin Sweeney (Paterson, NJ, Diocese) wrote: “While the Dobbs decision was certainly welcome, it also teaches us that ‘changing laws’ is only part of building a Culture of Life in the midst of what sadly seems to be, more and more, a Culture of Death. We need to ask for the inspiration and gifts of the Holy Spirit, that the Lord might use us as instruments to touch and change people’s hearts so that all may see that life begins at the moment of conception. We need to truly ‘Walk with Moms in Need,’ offering to expectant moms & families all the love, support, and help that they may need to say ‘Yes’ to the gift of life.” [The Beacon, 6/22/23]

Since 2009, the Knights of Columbus have supplied more than 1,500 ultrasound machines to pregnancy centers.

Catholic School Has Student Arrested

That Canada is becoming less tolerant comes as no surprise, but even so a Catholic high school getting one of their 16-year-old students arrested is a bit of a shock, especially when the heart of the issue is his religious beliefs. Josh Alexander believes there are only two genders, that people can’t switch genders and that male students shouldn’t use girls’ washrooms. “I said there were only two genders and you were born either a male or a female and that got me into trouble.” Expressing those views in a classroom discussion on gender at St. Joseph’s Catholic High School (Ontario) got him suspended. When he showed up again for class, the school had police arrest him. It appears we are now so intolerant that we cannot stand people defending their religious beliefs in a classroom at a supposedly religious school. The problem may be that, instead of Christian principles, the area’s Catholic District School Board takes its guidance from the policies issued by the Ontario Human Rights (OHR) Commission and directive issues by the Ministry of Education. [Michael Higgins, nationalpost.com/opinion/2/8/23]

Stevie Wonder’s “Isn’t She Lovely”

The song is not about his romantic interest. “She” is the newly born daughter of the renowned blind composer and performer who issued the song in 1976:

We have been heaven-blessed.
I can’t believe what God has done.
Through us, He’s given life to one.
But isn’t she lovely? Made from love

The singer recognizes that couples partner with God in the creation of human life. He says that in a loving family, a child is created in an act of love. That child is a walking symbol of that act of love. A child is not conceived every time a couple comes together. But the creation of a child is God’s blessing of the conjugal act. [Bobby Neal Winters, Salvo #65, Summer 2023.]

Mama Bear Apologetics

Guide to Sexuality: Empowering Your Kids to Understand and Love Out God’s Design- Hillary Morgan Ferrer

This book for moms explains that Christians are increasingly urged to give lip service to the god of sex. From young ages, our children are being desensitized and groomed to pay homage. This excellent primer identifies the tactics being deployed against our children, and empowers them to know and embrace the beauty of God’s design for gender and sex.

The Sexual Revolution

Peter Elliott, retired bishop

The book explains how hook-up culture, same sex “marriage,” abortion, pedophilia, sex trafficking,
transgenderism and the porn industry all have their roots in the movement we’ve come to call the sexual revolution. Elliott explains that when someone says, “I’m gay,” a more truthful response would be, “No, you are a man.” “Why.” he suggests asking, “define yourself by one element in your life – that you happen to have same sex attraction?” People now identify themselves only by
their sexual orientation. Doing so creates an “identify game reinforced by ideological and political power.”

Honoring the Greatest Pro-Life Leaders

Legacy of Life, is a new, engaging, easy-to-read history of the pro-life movement in America. A team of authors assembled this work to inspire generations of new leaders in “the greatest human rights struggle in history.” Among the lives honored are Mother Teresa, Phyllis Schlafly, James Dobson, Francis Schaeffer, and 46 others. [LegacyofLifeBook.com]

Who Will Defend Unborn Babies?

  • The abortion giant Planned Parenthood kills nearly 60
    babies for every single individual prenatal service that it
    renders.
  • Its adoption referrals totaled 1,800 for the year, but it
    aborted over 370,000 babies.
  • It also dispensed 543,000 abortion pills, a number not
    counted in its abortion totals.
  • Though it is responsible for 40% of the 930,000
    abortions in America annually, it continues to claim it is
    “not really in the abortion business.”
  • Last year, it received $670.4 million in taxpayer funds.                                                 [American Center for Law & Justice, www.ACLJ.org]

Serving Women

In Sienna Women’s Health (Michigan), there’s the usual stuff of a modern-day pregnancy center such as a reception area with comfortable seating, a copy of What to Expect When You’re Expecting, & rooms for pregnancy tests, ultrasounds, and discussions of alternatives to abortion. “We define our success by being a safe space for women to consider their options and not to
give in to what the culture is telling them, that abortion solves problems,” says Yarimar Cherney, center operator.

Like many other such centers, it doubles as a thrift store that stocks clothes for newborns, toys for toddlers, and high chairs for hungry kids. Mothers can acquire them by enrolling in parental-education programs, earning points that function as currency. The most striking feature of these rooms may be the fresh scent of the most popular items, which are disposable diapers. Last year, the center gave away 39,000 to the moms of young children. Despite hundreds of attacks on such
centers over the past two years, they now number over 2,000 across the nation and continue to serve moms in need. [John J. Miller, National Review, 6/26/23]

When Does Human Life Begin?

We know that well over 80% of people think that it’s absolutely important to stop abortions that take place in the third trimester. And over 60% consistently say that abortion should be illegal in the second trimester. The reason is that it’s pretty obvious what you see when you look at an ultrasound–a baby that is fully human and fully alive. The reality is that every biology textbook posits that life begins at conception. As a scientific matter, we can establish that the same
baby that deserves protection during the second trimester equally deserves protection earlier. [Erin Hawley, senior counsel, Alliance Defending Freedom.]

Fighting Online Child Exploitation

The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops emphasized that the voices of Catholics are crucial in advocating for the protection of children and vulnerable individuals in legislation being proposed in Congress. The bishops’ letter highlighted their firsthand experience with the devastating impact of child exploitation and stressed the need for safeguards to shield children from internet pornography. The bishops urged lawmakers to consider three moral principles rooted in Catholic social teaching: respect for life and dignity, the importance of the family, & the necessity of community and participation. [Our Sunday Visitor, 6/25/23]

Google recently announced that it would automatically blur sexually explicit images in search results– a request that the National Center on Sexual Exploitation (NCOSE) has been making to Google since 2013. Children could easily stumble on sexually explicit images even by entering an innocent search term. In fact, research shows that most children are first exposed to pornography accidentally. Now there is one more level of protection. NCOSE is thrilled that Google has taken this positive step forward to help create a safer internet. [https://ncose.salsalabs.org/safe-internet-brochure _02022023_copy1]

Pregnancy is Not a Disease

Dr. Monique Wubbenhorst, renowned medical professor and senior research associate at the De Nicola Center for Ethics and Culture, Notre Dame Univ., and a former professor at Duke University School of Medicine, frequently testifies in Congress about the humanity of unborn babies and debunks false claims about abortion. In a recent hearing, she asked Senate lawmakers wanting to legalize abortion on demand: “If abortion is health care, what disease are you treating?”

She said the goal of an abortion is to kill a human being, which is not health care. Abortions do not treat or prevent diseases. “Abortion not only poses risks to the mother, it is always lethal to an embryo or fetus, an unborn child, a human being, a member of the human family, not a clump of cells or a potential child.”

Forced to Accept Contrary Views?

According to the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, there have been nearly 300 incidents of arson and vandalism perpetrated against American Catholic churches since May 2020. These attacks are unjust and have no place in civil society. Our civic officials must condemn them and work to protect our places of worship.

Not every assault on the free exercise of religion is so clear. Will Catholics be able to hold their views on marriage and family life in their workplace? Will we be forced to accept the redefinition of marriage and forced to promote actions or teaching contrary to the Catholic Faith? Religious exemptions, conscience protections and conflicts between religious beliefs and certain laws or policies require ongoing vigilance and dialogue.

Religious liberty is not merely an abstract concept but a cherished value that underpins the fabric of American society. The Catholic Church teaches that it is a fundamental right rooted in the inherent dignity of every person. Let us unite in defending religious liberty, for in doing so we strengthen the very foundations upon which our great nation was built. [editorial, Our Sunday Visitor, 7/2/23]

Save These Resources (voxvitae.org)

This free monthly newsletter is used by dozens of churches as a bulletin insert, and since 2013 has had over 30,000 readers. To receive each month’s issue in your inbox, email Frank Tinari, Ph.D. at tinarifr@shu.edu