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PA Pro-Life News

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Pennsylvania Pro-Life Online News from the Pennsylvania Pro-Life Federation

January 15, 2008

A publication of the Pennsylvania Pro-Life Federation
4800 Jonestown Rd., Suite 102
Harrisburg, PA 17109
717-541-0034

If you have trouble accessing any of these stories, you can find them on our website at http://www.paprolife.org/resources/e_news.html.

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In this issue:

March for Life a Week Away
On the Air Marking Roe Anniversary
PA Primary Extremely Important
Sanctity of Life Bulletin Inserts Now Available
"Juno": The Right to Life Debate on the Silver Screen
Vogue Magazine Promotes Partial-Birth Abortions
Students: Enter Our Essay & Oratory Contests
Speakers Training Session Planned for Scranton
Help Us Spread the Pro-Life Word!
Chapter Information from Around the State!

Help us in our life-saving work! Quick, easy online donation now available. Donate by logging onto http://www.paprolife.org/donate.

March for Life a Week Away

The biggest pro-life event of the year is just a week away! A number of our chapter members are organizing bus trips to the March for Life in Washington, D.C. January 22nd. To find out more information about the march, visit www.marchforlife.org. If you're organizing a bus trip, be sure to let your local news media know about it so that your group can be featured in the newspaper and on television.

On the Air Marking Roe Anniversary

Next week will mark 35 years of legal abortion in our country. Staff of the Pennsylvania Pro-Life Federation will be on the air across the Commonwealth discussing this sad occasion. Here is some programming information so you can tune in, or listen on the Internet. more...

PA Primary Extremely Important
By Charlene Bashore, Esq., Legislative/Political Action Committee Director (bashore@paprolife.org)

This year's upcoming primary election on April 22 will be one of enormous importance. Not only will we be nominating a President, but also all nineteen members of the Pennsylvania Congressional Delegation. Furthermore, there are, to date, more than twenty members of the State House and Senate who have announced their retirements.

If it seems as if this is all occurring very quickly, you are correct! Because of the Presidential primary, Pennsylvania's primary is earlier than usual. This means that candidates may begin filing their nominating petitions January 22. Some other dates to keep in mind are March 24, the last day to register to vote before the primary and April 15, the last day to apply for a civilian absentee ballot.

Sanctity of Life Bulletin Inserts Now Available

In recognition of Sanctity of Life month, the Pennsylvania Pro-Life Federation is offering free church bulletin inserts. The inserts are available in full-size and half-size. Specialized African-American inserts are also available. If you'd like an insert to copy and distribute to your church congregation, please e-mail lifelines@paprolife.org.

"Juno": The Right to Life Debate on the Silver Screen

By Maria Vitale, Education Director (vitale@paprolife.org)

"Juno" reminds me of one of those breakthrough movies that help to define a generation.

The film tells the story of Juno, a young woman who unexpectedly becomes pregnant. While the dialogue is highly stylized, it carries the ring of truth, like the television show "My So-Called Life" did a number of years ago.

There is something so incredibly real about the character of Juno, you think you could run into her at the local convenience store.

I found one scene in the movie particularly poignant--when Juno's step-mother sees her ultrasound. There are smiles and tears and the humanity of the unborn child virtually leaps off the screen.

I read where "Juno" might be in the running for Best Picture at the Oscars. While the film might not be overtly pro-life in the mold of "Bella," it faithfully depicts the struggles that a pregnant teenager faces in today's culture.

And it shows how the development of an unborn child--most specifically, a detail as small as a baby's fingernails--can have an incredible impact on the mother who's carrying him.

Hollywood may not be pro-life, but "Juno" shows that pro-life arguments are making an impression on cineplex culture. Could a reversal of Roe be far behind?

Vogue Magazine Promotes Partial-Birth Abortions

Vogue Magazine has published an article promoting a New York woman's decision to have a partial-birth abortion, even though the procedure is never medically necessary. The magazine has published pro-abortion articles in the past, but this particular piece seems especially egregious, given the horrific procedure involved. For more on this story, along with what you can do to make your opinion known to Vogue editors, visit http://www.lifenews.com/nat3606.html.

Students: Enter Our Essay & Oratory Contests

If you're pro-life, why not put your feelings into words by entering our essay and/or oratory contest? The essay contest is open to students in grades 7-12. Students must write a pro-life essay on abortion, infanticide, or euthanasia. Word limit is 500 for grades 7-9 and 750 for grades 10-12. Winning essays will receive cash prizes and will appear in an upcoming issue of our quarterly newspaper, LifeLines. To enter, send your essay, along with a cover page with your name, address, phone number, name of school (or if homeschooled), and grade to the Pennsylvania Pro-Life Federation; 4800 Jonestown Rd., Suite 102; Harrisburg, PA; 17109. Or e-mail your entries to lifelines@paprolife.org. Deadline for entries is March 1st.

The oratory contest is open to high school juniors and seniors. Students should prepare a five to seven minute talk on abortion, infanticide, or euthanasia. Students must compete in a regional contest first. The top two finishers in each regional contest will then compete in the state contest in Harrisburg in April. The winner of the state contest will receive an all-expense-paid trip to the National Right to Life Convention in Washington, D.C. this summer, where he or she will compete in the national contest. To find out how you can enter a regional contest, contact Education Director Maria Vitale at vitale@paprolife.org or by calling 717-541-0034. We're looking forward to hearing your pro-life words of wisdom!

Speakers Training Session Planned for Scranton

Would you like to speak out on behalf of innocent human life? If you are a teacher, doctor, nurse, parent, or other dedicated pro-lifer, consider attending a pro-life speakers training session being held in Scranton by the Pennsylvania Pro-Life Federation. The event will take place March 29th at 10 a.m. at the PHL office in Scranton. Maria Vitale, Education Director for the Pennsylvania Pro-Life Federation, will be conducting the training. Maria has been giving pro-life talks for students and community groups for the past five years and previously worked as a reporter and producer for public radio and television. If you're interested in attending this free workshop, please contact Maria at vitale@paprolife.org or at 717-541-0034.

Help Us Spread the Pro-Life Word!

If you've been enjoying what you've been reading in the Pennsylvania Pro-Life Online News, please forward it to your friends and encourage them to sign up to receive our informative e-mail newsletter twice a month. It's more important than ever that those pro-lifers have up-to-date facts on the life issues, and the Pennsylvania Pro-Life Online News is a wonderful way to stay abreast of the latest pro-life information, both in the state and nationwide. Anyone interested in subscribing should send an e-mail to lifelines@paprolife.org with the word "subscribe" in the subject line.

Chapter Information from Around the State

Pro-Life of Mercer County will hold its annual breakfast January 19th at 9 a.m. at the Hickory VFW; 5550 E. State St.; Hermitage, PA; 16148. Keynote speaker will be Dr. John Crosby, chairperson of the Philosophy Department at Franciscan University of Steubenville. Tickets can be purchased at the door for $10 for adults and $5 for children under 12.

Erie People for Life will be holding a march and motorcade Jan. 19th at 11 a.m. The event starts in downtown Erie and concludes with a short memorial service. For more information, call 814-882-1333.

The Beaver County Chapter of Pennsylvanians for Human Life will hold its annual Respect Life Memorial Service on Saturday, January 19, 2007. The event, held in remembrance of the January 22, 1973 Roe vs. Wade decision that legalized abortion, will feature Dr. Patrick Lee, Professor of Bioethics and Director of the Institute of Bioethics at Franciscan University of Steubenville. Lee's books include Abortion and Unborn Human Life (Catholic University of America Press, 1996), and Body-Self Dualism in Contemporary Ethics and Politics (Cambridge University Press, 2007), with Robert P. George. His articles and review essays have appeared in American Journal of Jurisprudence, Bioethics, Faith and Philosophy, Philosophy, and other scholarly journals, as well as popular journals and online magazines.

The memorial service will begin at 6:00 p.m. at the gazebo in Irvine Park in the borough of Beaver across from the county courthouse, and continue at the First Presbyterian Church where Dr. Lee will speak, followed by refreshments. For more information, contact Deborah Sturm at 724-252-0414, or 740-282-5474.

Erie People for Life will be holding a breakfast Feb. 2nd at 9 a.m. at the Avalon Hotel in Erie. Keynote speaker is nationally-known pro-life activist Janet Folger. Price is $10, with a reduced price of $7.50 for children ages 3 to 10. For more information, call 814-882-1333.

Scranton Pennsylvanians for Human Life is holding its prayer breakfast Saturday, Jan. 26, at 9 a.m. at St. Mary's Center; 320 Mifflin Ave.; Scranton. Keynote speaker is bioethics expert Wesley J. Smith. For reservations, call Joseph Alinoski at 570-876-4087 or call the Scranton PHL office at 570-343-5099.

Live in Southeast PA? Contact SE Regional Coordinator Gail Kilby to find out more about joining a chapter in Bucks, Montgomery, Chester, Delaware, or Philadelphia County. You can reach Gail by e-mail at kilby@paprolife.org or you can call her at 215-884-5805.

Live in the Southwest? If you'd like to become involved in a chapter, contact Southwest Regional Coordinator Bryce McMinn, who recently set up a regional office in Washington County. Here's his contact information: Bryce C. McMinn, Southwest Regional Coordinator; Pennsylvania Pro-Life Federation; 74 Oak Spring Road, Suite 101; Washington, PA 15301; Work Phone: 724-228-1162; Cell Phone: 412-835-2812; E-Mail: mcminn@paprolife.org.

More Chapter Info:

The PA Pro-Life Online News is a publication of the Pennsylvania Pro-Life Federation; 4800 Jonestown Rd., Suite 102; Harrisburg, PA; 17109. It is never sent unsolicited. To unsubscribe, send an e-mail to lifelines@paprolife.org.

IN THIS ISSUE: