{"id":734,"date":"2022-12-01T14:56:32","date_gmt":"2022-12-01T19:56:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lifeeducationcouncil.com\/blog\/?p=734"},"modified":"2022-12-01T14:57:14","modified_gmt":"2022-12-01T19:57:14","slug":"734","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lifeeducationcouncil.com\/blog\/2022\/12\/01\/734\/","title":{"rendered":"Human Life Begins at&#8230; &#8211; December Newsletter"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><em>by Frank Tinari, Ph.D., Life Education Council Board of Trustees<\/em><\/p>\n<h2>Human Life Begins at&#8230;<\/h2>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h4>Life: &#8220;This is rudimentary biology&#8221;<\/h4>\n<ul>\n<li>\u00a0\u201cWith the fusion of the sperm and the egg, a new human life begins. This is rudimentary biology \u2014 it has been settled science since the early 19th century. (Dr. Michael R. Egnor, prof. of neurosurgery &amp; pediatrics, State Univ. of NY, Stony Brook, Evolution News, 2022)<\/li>\n<li>\u00a0\u201cAt fertilization, the human being emerges as a whole genetically distinct, individuated zygotic living human organism, a member of the species Homo sapiens, needing only the proper environment in order to grow and develop. The difference between the individual in its adult stage and in its zygotic stage is one of form, not nature.\u201d (American College of Pediatricians)<\/li>\n<li>\u00a0\u201cAlthough it is customary to divide human development into prenatal and postnatal periods, it is important to realize that birth is merely a dramatic event during development resulting in a change in environment.\u201d (The Developing Human: Clinically Oriented Embryology, 5th ed., Moore &amp; Persaud, 1993, Saunders, p. 1)<\/li>\n<li>\u00a0\u201cThe new cell is a new combination of genetic material, resulting in an individual different from either parent and from anyone else in the world.\u201d (Obstetric Nursing, 1980, p. 136, Sally B Olds)<\/li>\n<li>\u00a0\u201cAlthough life is a continuous process, fertilization is a critical landmark because, under ordinary circumstances, a new, genetically distinct human organism is thereby formed. &#8230; The combination of 23 chromosomes present in each pronucleus results in 46 chromosomes in the zygote.\u201d (Human Embryology &amp; Teratology, 2nd ed., 1996, pp. 8, 29, Ronan O\u2019Rahilly &amp; Fabiola Miller)<\/li>\n<li>\u00a0\u201cEach human begins life as a combination of two cells, a female ovum and a much smaller male sperm. This tiny unit, no bigger than a period on this page, contains all the information needed to enable it to grow into the complex structure of the human body. The mother has only to provide nutrition and protection.\u201d (Clark, J., ed., The Nervous System: Circuits of Communication in the Human Body, Torstar Books Inc., Toronto, 1985, p. 99) [excerpts from: 44 Quotes From Medical Textbooks Prove Human Life Begins at Conception, LifeNews.com, 11\/1\/22]<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<hr \/>\n<p>\u201cAside from just having a ministerial preference for the unborn, we also serve the poor, the imprisoned, the marginalized, the oppressed, the sick and the aged. Whatever we need to do to uphold the image and likeness of God in humanity is what we do.\u201d Deacon Kevin Cummings, Archdiocese of Kansas City, Kansas<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h4>Former Abortion Director is Now Pro-Life<\/h4>\n<p>Reflecting upon his time with MSI, an abortion mill, Kevin Duffy describes how he \u201calways knew that abortion involved taking a human life but I felt, at the time, confident in the belief that women would undergo abortions regardless, so it was better for these to take place in hygienic and safe conditions.\u201d But when MSI began to promote self-managed DIY drugs, Mr Duffy felt deep concerns regarding the safety and well being of women. \u201cIncreasing numbers of women are presenting with <strong>incomplete abortions<\/strong> at facilities after self- administering\u00a0<strong>abortion pills<\/strong> which they had bought in local drug shops.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Mr. Duffy left MSI in March 2019. In 2020, the announcement that women in the UK could get abortion drugs through the mail prompted him to conduct a project which exposed the lack of safeguards and recklessness of the UK\u2019s DIY home abortion scheme. 26 sets of calls were made, resulting in 26 packets of abortion drugs being sent out to women who essentially did not exist. Duffy said: \u201cTo think that after just two phone calls taking no more than an hour in total, a woman who doesn\u2019t exist, is not pregnant, is not registered at the recorded GP surgery, who misleads the service provider about her medical history and her gestational age, even changes her gestational age mid-process, is able to obtain the abortion pills, a service for which the abortion provider is paid by the government. And they called this a fantastic advance in women\u2019s healthcare.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWomen are not being well served and are missing out on essential clinical assessments. They are left to manage the expulsions on their own at home\u2014and <strong>with no\u00a0<\/strong><strong>follow-up care<\/strong> afterwards. This is a long, long way from the comprehensive, safe abortion care that the abortion industry claims to provide.\u201d Mr Duffy became the<br \/>\nExecutive Director of the largest UK pro-life group, saying: \u201cI decided to put my knowledge and experience at the service of the pro-life movement. I am certain that the<strong> false narratives<\/strong> of the abortion industry which claim to \u2018care about women\u2019 can be defeated and a culture of life which truly cares about the well-being of women and safeguarding of human rights can be restored, so that one-day abortion will be rendered unthinkable.\u201d [The<br \/>\nSociety for the Protection of Unborn Children, UK, 11\/25\/22]<\/p>\n<h4>Abortion Rate Drops 20% Since 2010<\/h4>\n<p>The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) released abortion data for the year 2020. Even though there was an overall reduction in the incidence of abortion, abortions increased in 29 of the 47 states that reported data. Of concern is the large increase in chemical abortions. From 2019 to 2020, the number of chemical abortions increased by 17.9%. Overall, the share of all abortions that were chemical abortions rose from 43.7% to 53.4% during that period. Under the current federal administration, the FDA allows women to get a chemical-abortion drug with no personal medical exam. The U.S. abortion rate fell by more than 20% since 2010. Overall, pro-lifers have succeeded in reducing the abortion rate by approximately 50% since 1980. The long-term decline in the U.S. abortion rate is very solid evidence of the positive impact of pro-life service, educational and legislative activities. [Michael New, Ph.D., LifeNews.com, 11\/28\/22]<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><em>The problem with \u201cthe wise and the learned\u201d is not that they\u2019re educated but that they are trying to govern and run their own lives on their own terms rather than living in obedience to God, with an attitude of receptivity like a child.<\/em><br \/>\nBishop Robert Barron, Daily Gospel Reflection, 11\/29\/2022<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h4>A French Pro-Marriage Campaign<\/h4>\n<p>The U.S. could learn from one French organization that promotes marriage. \u201cBased on the father\/mother\/child relationship, the family structure favors the renewal of ages and the stability of society,\u201d states the website of La Manif Pour Tous (Demonstration for<br \/>\nAll). It argues that children are not commodities to be traded and that mothers and fathers contribute to the public good by the raising of their children. \u201cThe family is the fundamental foundation of any society: the source of its human, cultural and economic wealth; an eminent place of solidarity, dignity, freedom and love.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Children are the future of a society. They are also society\u2019s most vulnerable members. La Manif argues: \u201cBecause it requires parents to provide for the moral &amp; material direction of the family as well as the education of the children and the preparation of their future, marriage also protects the fruit of their love.\u201d Civil marriage, then, protects the defenseless, whether spouse or child. [Fr. Patrick Briscoe, <em>Our Sunday Visitor<\/em>, 12\/4\/22]<\/p>\n<h4>A Woman&#8217;s Value<\/h4>\n<p>Drawing on her experience on America&#8217;s Next Top Model and her work as a fashion model, Leah Darrow exposes the lies we are told about our worth being tied to our appearance. She invites us to look again at the real meaning of beauty. In her book, The Other Side of Beauty: Embracing God&#8217;s Vision for Love and True Worth, she shows how we can reclaim true and lasting beauty&#8211;the kind that doesn&#8217;t depend on self-doubt, exploitation, or comparison&#8211;when we reflect God&#8217;s glory and embrace our value as he made us to be: strong, brave, and free. She says: \u201cOnly when we learn to see ourselves as God does can we leave behind our culture&#8217;s definitions and demands and find lasting joy.\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.leahdarrow.com\/home\">https:\/\/www.leahdarrow.com\/home<\/a>]<\/p>\n<h4>LGBTQ + CNM?<\/h4>\n<p>LGBT activists privately hope to break having only two partners in a marriage, \u201cto infect the straight world\u201d with polyamory, and to \u201cradically alter\u201d or<strong> abolish marriage<\/strong> altogether. The practice, and advocacy, of non- monogamous \u201cmarriage\u201d is one of the secrets buried in the LGBT movement\u2019s closet. Kimberly Rhoten of the Polyamory Legal Advocacy Coalition announced that non-monogamy is \u201cas large as the LGBTQ population in the United States.\u201d The LGBTQIA2S+ movement has announced the latest addition to its ever-growing acronym: CNM, which stands for Consensual Non-Monogamy, or open relationships of the variety common in the LGBT community.<\/p>\n<p>LGBT extremists view same-sex marriage &amp; polygamy as ways to redefine, and ultimately abolish, marriage. Activist Masha Gessen admitted that \u201cIt\u2019s a no-brainer that the institution of marriage should not exist.\u201d Similarly, LGBT activist and journalist Michelangelo Signorile encouraged the LGBT movement to <strong>undermine \u201csociety\u2019s moral codes\u201d<\/strong> and \u201cradically alter an archaic institution.\u201d Christians\u2019 argument that same-sex marriage will degrade the institution is coming to fruition.<\/p>\n<p>Experts have long known two things: monogamous couples report higher levels of sexual and relationship satisfaction, due precisely to their exclusivity. \u201cOn a scale from 1 to 10 rating <strong>how crucial fidelity is<\/strong> to a successful marriage, young women\u2019s average score was 9.8 and young men\u2019s average was 9.7,\u201d wrote Alan J. Hawkins of the National Marriage Project. Surveys consistently show that nine out of 10 Americans believe extramarital sexual relations are immoral. So how can social engineers break down widespread moral rejection of promiscuity? The same way they broke down public opposition to homo-sexuality: by declaring it is an inborn trait.<\/p>\n<p>A stream of propaganda defining sexual preference fetishes as immutable traits has changed American morality. In 1972, 74% said \u201csexual relations between two adults of the same sex\u201d is \u201calways wrong.\u201d In 2018, 58% said such relations were \u201cnot wrong at all.\u201d Similarly, the few Americans who view polygamy as \u201cmorally acceptable\u201d has nearly quadrupled since 2006.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe concept of sexual freedom is promotion of the acceptance of deviant sex\u201d said Peter LaBarbera, founder of Americans for Truth. Adopting an anything-goes sexual standard, and equating all relationships by labeling them \u201cmarriage,\u201d is the next step toward abolishing the institution altogether, as same-sex marriage and polygamy advocates admit. [Ben Johnson, Same-Sex Marriage Advocates: Polygamy Is Next, <em>The Washington Stand<\/em>, 11\/28\/22]<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><strong>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\u2019s issue in your<\/strong><br \/>\n<strong>inbox, email Frank Tinari, Ph.D. at tinarifr@shu.edu<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>by Frank Tinari, Ph.D., Life Education Council Board of Trustees Human Life Begins at&#8230; &nbsp; Life: &#8220;This is rudimentary biology&#8221; \u00a0\u201cWith the fusion of the sperm and the egg, a new human life begins. This is rudimentary biology \u2014 it has been settled science since the early 19th century. (Dr. Michael R. Egnor, prof. of&hellip;<\/p>\n<p><a class=\"more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/lifeeducationcouncil.com\/blog\/2022\/12\/01\/734\/\" title=\"Continue reading &lsquo;Human Life Begins at&#8230; &#8211; December Newsletter&rsquo;\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lifeeducationcouncil.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/734"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lifeeducationcouncil.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lifeeducationcouncil.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lifeeducationcouncil.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lifeeducationcouncil.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=734"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/lifeeducationcouncil.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/734\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":737,"href":"https:\/\/lifeeducationcouncil.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/734\/revisions\/737"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lifeeducationcouncil.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=734"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lifeeducationcouncil.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=734"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lifeeducationcouncil.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=734"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}