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Pro-Life Update November was a busy month, with the elections, a Supreme Court hearing of the Partial Birth Abortion Ban, and even more advances in adult stem cell therapy. The changes in the U.S. Congress can easily cause dismay for Pro-Lifers; however, we should still hope in the future of the Culture of Life. Americans have been becoming increasingly Pro-Life for years. The U.S. Supreme Court has become more Pro-Life and will reveal how they currently think about abortion when they rule on the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act. Also, scientists continue to make advances in adult stem cell therapy, while embryonic stem cell therapy is many years away from any cures. The Culture of Life will persevere, and we will work hard to ensure that it does. Please read this issue of the Pro-Life Update carefully to understand some of the challenges we now face and how you—an educated Pro-Lifer—can advance the Culture of Life. Please share this information with your family, friends, and church congregations. Make copies. Spread the news. Set-Backs in DC, but Culture of Life Continues to Grow The November elections unfortunately left both the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate in the hands of pro-aborts. As National Right to Life reported, Congressman Rahm Emanuel (who headed the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee) was careful to recruit candidates who appealed to the culturally-conservative areas of the South and Midwest. Many of the candidates’ real views are not even known. For example, Heath Schuler (a former University of Tennessee quarterback) defeated Pro-Life Rep. Charles Taylor (R-NC). Schuler campaigned as Pro-Life but refused to return a questionnaire to National Right to Life’s Political Action Committee. Only his voting record will now show how Pro-Life he is. Unfortunately, the Democratic leadership is so starkly pro-abortion that they exert great pressure on Democrats to vote with their party platform. What does this mean for the Pro-Life movement in America? This election was a set-back since we would have preferred to retain Pro-Life control in both chambers. Yet the Pro-Life movement has been growing so quickly. As Fr. Frank Pavone of Priests for Life explained, many trends continue to move in our direction:
These trends will continue, and as more Pro-Lifers educate their elected officials and monitor their votes on the Life Issues, those elected will hopefully vote appropriately. If these new representatives prove to be strongly or even moderately pro-abortion, then they will have a hard time garnering the support that they need to be re-elected in the future. In the mean time, we will continue to ensure that Pro-Life Issues are tackled in both Texas and Washington, D.C. We will also continue to provide educational materials so that the Pro-Life message will only add to the growing Culture of Life. Please pray for us as we continue our ministry. Partial-Birth Abortion Arguments Heard by U.S. Supreme Court On November 8, the U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments on the Congressional ban on partial-birth abortion. In 2003, Congress passed the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act, and President Bush signed it into law. However, the ban was challenged and consequently headed to the Supreme Court, because similar bills had previously been struck down in six federal courts as an impermissible restriction on the woman’s right to abortion. During the November 8 hearings, pro-abortion proponents were arguing that the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act could also affect other abortion procedures that are used earlier in pregnancy. However, the language of the bill clearly states that the prohibition only refers to the killing of a “partially delivered living fetus.” The pro-abortion advocates also argued that some as yet unknown number of women will suffer injury if the ban is sustained. However, no studies prove that this statement is true. Solicitor General Paul Clement stated in his briefs: With regard to safety in specific circumstances, the district court… found that ‘[in] no case… could Plaintiffs point to a specific patient or actual circumstance in which D&X [partial-birth abortion] was necessary to protect a woman’s health.’ Numerous experts, including several of the respondents’ own experts, testified that there was no particular circumstance in which partial-birth abortion was medically necessary. In 2000, the U.S. Supreme Court invalidated a similar partial-birth abortion law because that earlier ban encompassed other abortion methods and did not include an exception to preserve the woman’s life. Since that time, however, the composition of the court has changed. President Bush has appointed Chief Justice Roberts (who replaced Pro-Life Chief Justice William Rehnquist) and Justice Samuel Alito (who replaced swing-voter Justice Sandra Day O’Connor). Justice Anthony Kennedy, who is now considered the swing-voter since O’Connor's retirement, dissented strongly in the 2000 Nebraska case. Therefore, although we cannot predict how the justices will vote, the Pro-Life community is hopeful that the Supreme Court will uphold this important Pro-Life law. Adult Stem Cells May Cure Heart Attacks In England, an exciting new procedure will use stem cells from bone marrow to treat emergency heart attack patients. The research is being led by Professor John Martin, chair in cardiovascular sciences at the British Heart Foundation, and Dr. Anthony Mathur of Barts and the London National Health Service trust. After a patient has experienced a heart attack, the patient will receive angioplasty to open the damaged artery. Then, the doctors will obtain stem cells from the patient’s bone marrow in his or her hip and inject the stem cells into the damaged artery. The stem cells will help repair the damage to the heart. The trials will start after Christmas this year. The procedure will have very little likelihood of complications from rejection, since the stem cells are the patient's own. This new medical breakthrough is yet another example of how adult stem cells are saving and improving lives today; unlike embryonic stem cells, adult stem cells are both medically and morally sound. 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, Dr. Joseph M. Graham President |
