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Pro-Life Update Spring is a time of hope and possibilities, and the Pro-Life movement
has been blessed to see our hard work garner positive results. A recent
Zogby poll questioned over 30,000 Americans (with a 0.6% margin of error)
and found more and more Americans rejecting abortion and supporting
Pro-Life legislation. Support for one particular piece of Pro-Life legislation—the
Unborn Child Pain Awareness Act—was recently buttressed by a new
study that has proved that babies as young as 25 weeks gestation can
truly feel pain. Other legislation that would provide more financial
support to the promotion and implementation of umbilical cord blood
donation has been signed into law—hopefully thwarting the unnecessary
evil of embryonic stem cell research. Zogby Poll Shows More Support for Life • Is a woman’s right to choose “guaranteed by the
Constitution?” Clearly, the American public is split as to whether abortion is protected under the Constitution. Most people agree that human life should be protected before birth in at least some instances, as when a pregnant woman is murdered (as with Laci Peterson). Almost all Americans agree that abortion should not be allowed for gender selection. (Although this is currently legal, Americans are rightly disgusted.) Finally, one of the most interesting questions reveals that, by a two to one margin, the American public recognizes that abortion does end a human life. Why then is abortion still supported by so many? How can knowingly taking an innocent human life be acceptable? One explanation could be that so few Americans recognize that Roe v. Wade actually allows abortion for any reason (or for no reason). Polls have shown significant shifts away from the culture of death, and we will work hard to ensure that this trend continues by our educational efforts. Premature Babies Feel “True”
Pain This study measured blood levels and oxygenation in the brain before, during, and after nurses performed blood tests on these young babies using a heel lance. The measurements showed “surges of blood and oxygen in the somatosensory cortex, the part of the brain that processes sensations from the body’s surface and is known to be linked to feelings of pain in adults.” This study is especially important in the debate over fetal pain. According to Dr. Paul Ranalli, a neurologist at the University of Toronto, there is no developmental difference between an unborn baby at 24 weeks and a premature baby born at the same age. “The only difference is that the newborn takes in air through his or her lungs rather than through an umbilical cord.” Recognizing how this information affects children in utero, National Right to Life and Texas Right to Life have been working to pass the federal Unborn Child Pain Awareness Act, which would require that abortion providers give women seeking abortions after 20 weeks post-fertilization (or 22 weeks gestation) certain basic information on the substantial evidence that their unborn children may experience pain during the abortion and offer the women anesthesia for the baby or other methods to reduce or eliminate such pain. Donating
Umbilical Cord Blood On December 20, 2005, President Bush signed the Stem Cell Therapeutic & Research Act, which allocates $79 million to obtain 150,000 more units of cord blood. Cord blood collection will be combined with the National Bone Marrow Donor Registry to create the C.W. Bill Young Cell Transplantation Program—a single source through which doctors can locate appropriate matches for treatment. The act will also promote public awareness of donation and seek to collect units from different ethnic groups so that more patients will find a match. Unfortunately, many states still do not offer donation facilities. Only some facilities, such as Cryobanks International in Florida (800-869-8608), will allow potential donors to donate cord blood from other states. Texas has two donation facilities: one in Houston and one in San Antonio. In Houston, the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center has started a program with Women’s Hospital of Houston. For more information about donating at Women’s Hospital, call (713) 563-8000. In San Antonio, the South Texas Blood and Tissue Center currently accepts donations from San Antonio hospitals. They also will begin collecting from other hospitals across Texas very shortly. For more information from the South Texas Blood and Tissue Center, call (800) 292-5534 (option 8). To find out which other states provide donation facilities, log onto www.CordBloodDonor.org. For more information on umbilical cord blood, please visit www.TexasRightToLife.com. The Pro-Life movement still has much work to ensure that all people throughout the world are welcomed into Life and respected. If you would like any additional information on the topics discussed above, please send me a note or log onto www.TexasRightToLife.com. If you ever have questions about any Pro-Life issues, please be sure to let me know. Yours for Life,
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