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PA Pro-Life Online News

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Pennsylvania Pro-Life Online News from the Pennsylvania Pro-Life Federation
December 1, 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:
Thanks to Those Who Signed Our Petition Against FOCA!
Promoting the March for Life
Election Doesn't Mean Efforts to Limit Abortions Are Dead
Assisted Suicide Expands
Hidden Casualties
PA College Refuses to Run Pro-Life Ad
Confessions of An Ex-Feminist
Why I'm Pro-Life
Pro-Life Heroes Receive $600,000 in Cash Prizes
Call for Entries
Chapter Information from Around the State--Attention Lancaster County!

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

Thanks to Those Who Signed Our Petition Against FOCA!
Thanks to all of you who have already signed our online petition against FOCA--the radical Freedom of Choice Act which would wipe out virtually all limits on abortion, including Pennsylvania's landmark Abortion Control Act. That would mean an end to parental consent, informed consent, 24-hour waiting periods for abortion, and the return of the heinous practice of partial-birth abortion. If you have not already done so, please visit http://www.paprolife.org/foca/foca4.htm and sign the petition against FOCA today. And be sure to share the link with your pro-life friends and family members so they can sign on, too!

Promoting the March for Life
Please encourage your pro-life friends and family members to attend the March for Life in Washington, D.C. January 22nd. We're hoping that the 2009 march will be the largest ever. The march is critically important because of the pro-abortion initiatives expected to be pushed by the Obama Administration. To find out more about the March for Life, visit www.marchforlife.org.

Election Doesn't Mean Efforts to Limit Abortions Are Dead
A noted legal expert says that the November election results do not mean that the pro-life movement is dead. Clark Forsythe, senior counsel for Americans United for Life, says the election of pro-abortion President-Elect Barack Obama does not mean that Americans are less pro-life than they were before. He says the top issue for voters this year was the economy. "I haven't seen any data which would indicate that Americans voted 'against pro-life' nationally," Forsythe said. You can find more of his remarks at http://www.lifenews.com/nat4591.html .

Assisted Suicide Expands
By Charlene Bashore, Esq., Legislative/Political Action Committee Director
(bashore@paprolife.org)

In addition to electing public officials on November 4, the state of Washington joined Oregon in becoming the second state to legalize physician-assisted suicide, or as its proponents prefer to describe it, "hastened death." The measure passed by a margin of 58% to 42%, with its proponents outspending the initiative's opponents approximately $5.5 million to $1.5 million. Over 60% of that $5.5 million war chest was from out-of-state donors. Rita Marker, an attorney and executive director of the International Task Force on Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide, describes the measure as "a Trojan Horse—a policy that enters a state's legal system as a gift of compassion but is full of deadly consequences. In Washington, as in Oregon, the crime of assisted suicide has been transformed into a medical treatment." Further troubling about the new Washington law is that it requires the physician to list the underlying terminal disease as the cause of death, not lethal drug overdose. "This adds a layer of unprecedented deception by forcing doctors to lie about the cause of death on the assisted-suicide patient's death certificate..." (See http://www.newswithviews.com/NWV-News/news109.htm)

Hidden Casualties
By Maria Vitale, Education Director
(vitale@paprolife.org)
When I go through the drive-thru to pick up my iced coffee in the mornings, every once in a while I'll find myself behind a vehicle that has a magnet on the back indicating that a spouse is serving in Iraq.
At that point, the reality of that war so far away comes into my consciousness again, and I say a prayer for the couple and for the protection of the soldier.
To those of us without a relative serving overseas, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan may fade in and out of our minds. TV news reports from the front lines bring the wars front-and-center but, as we resume our daily business, these distant conflicts may fade off our radar screens. I can go to the grocery store or to the mall and not give a passing thought to the fact that America is involved in two wars, until I see one of those car magnets again.
I think the same phenomenon can occur with abortion.
For families who have been touched by abortion, the pain of lost life is ever-present. Women 30 years after the tragedy talk about battling depression, addiction, and eating disorders because of unresolved grief. Post-abortive women can even suffer intrusive thoughts about the abortion and the remains of the baby they lost.
But if you've never experienced abortion, the whole issue remains largely hidden--that is, until you're stuck in traffic and you get behind a car that has a bumper sticker such as "Abortion stops a beating heart."
Having a pro-life magnet or sticker on your car may seem like a little, inconsequential act. But it can bring the hidden casualties of abortion into the light, forcing people to think about an issue they'd rather avoid.
So consider bringing the pro-life message to the bumper of your automobile. It just might save the life of the baby in the womb of the young driver in your rear-view mirror.

PA College Refuses to Run Pro-Life Ad
A group called the Human Life Alliance says officials at Pennsylvania's Allegheny College refused to run a pro-life advertising supplement in the student newspaper. The supplement, called "We Know Better Now," details information on pregnancy and the impact of abortion on students. A spokesman for Human Life Alliance called the college's refusal to run the ad censorship.

Confessions of an Ex-Feminist
In a National Catholic Register column entitled, "Confessions of an Ex-Feminist," writer Lorraine V. Murray writes poignantly of her experiences following her own abortion. You'll find the column on the Web at http://www.ncregister.com/site/article/16584/ .

Why I'm Pro-Life
Writer Christina Martin offers an interesting take on reasons to be pro-life in her blog "Confessions of a Hot Carmel Sundae." You'll find her Nov. 15th posting under "Why I'm Pro-Life" at http://carmelsundae.blogspot.com/2008/11/why-im-pro-life.html . Martin has some particularly interesting insights on coerced abortions.

Pro-Life Heroes Receive $600,000 in Cash Prizes
The Gerard Health Foundation has announced the winners of its Life Prizes award. The award, worth a shared $600,000, has been bestowed on six individuals or groups that have made "unsurpassed strides in preserving and upholding the sanctity of human life." The winners include the American Association of Pro-Life Obstetricians and Gynecologists; Richard Doerflinger, associate director of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops' Secretariat for Pro-Life Activities; Peggy Hartshorn of Heartbeat International; nurse and blogger Jill Stanek; college student Lila Rose who investigated Planned Parenthood; and long-time pro-life activist Kay James. The Executive Director of Life Prizes, Cathy Ruse, stated, "Our primary objective is to reward those who are preserving the culture of life through their charitable enterprises or through advocacy programs that defend and preserve the sanctity of human life. We also hope to encourage young people to embrace and create a culture of life for future generations to come." The awards will be distributed in Washington, D.C. in January.

Call for entries
The Pennsylvania Pro-Life Federation is encouraging students to enter the 2009 Pennsylvania Pro-Life Essay and Oratory Contests.
The deadline for essay entries is March 1. Students in grades 7-12 are eligible. Contestants must write a pro-life essay about abortion, infanticide, euthanasia, or stem cell research. Word limit is 500 for grades 7-9 and 750 for grades 10-12. Each essay should include a cover page with the student's name, address, phone number, grade, and name of school or indication that he or she is homeschooled. Essays can be e-mailed to lifelines@paprolife.org or mailed to the Pennsylvania Pro-Life Federation; 4800 Jonestown Rd., Suite 102; Harrisburg, PA; 17109.
The oratory contest is open to high school juniors and seniors. Students must prepare and deliver a five to seven minute pro-life talk on abortion, infanticide, euthanasia, or stem cell research. Students compete in a regional contest in March or April; the top two finishers in each regional contest then go on to the state contest in Harrisburg April 26th. Students interested in competing should e-mail lifelines@paprolife.org or call 717-541-0034 for more details.

Chapter Information from Around the State--Attention Lancaster County!

Lancaster County Chapter in 2009
We have received a number of inquiries from folks in Lancaster County who want to help organize a chapter of the Pennsylvania Pro-Life Federation in the county. If you live in Lancaster County and you want to be part of this new initiative, please e-mail your name, address, and phone number to Executive Director Michael Ciccocioppo at ciccocioppo@paprolife.org before the end of the year. You will then be notified of the next steps in forming a new chapter in the New Year.

Live in Southeast PA? Contact SE Regional Coordinator Heather Wilson to find out more about joining a chapter in Bucks, Montgomery, Chester, Delaware, or Philadelphia County. You can reach Heather by phone at 610-480-8743 or by e-mail at wilson@paprolife.org.

Live in the Southwest? If you'd like to become involved in a chapter, contact Southwest Regional Coordinator Bryce McMinn, who 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 twice-monthly publication of the Pennsylvania Pro-Life Federation; 4800 Jonestown Rd., Suite 102; Harrisburg, PA; 17109. To unsubscribe, send an e-mail to lifelines@paprolife.org.

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