A short post this time around. With the passage of more state laws restoring or defending the traditional definition of marriage (particularly the high-profile Prop. 8 in CA), Christian leaders across the country have issued press releases proclaiming the good news. There is definitely reason to celebrate!

Still, there was a disconnect in the voting this election cycle. Voters defended marriage -- and by extension, the family -- but many pro-life measures were defeated, sometimes by the same voters. In CA, specifically, Prop. 8 gained much more support when proponents ran some ads informing voters of the homosexual agenda (more on that in an upcoming post) and how it was being foisted upon their children in the public schools. So it seems that voters' support of Prop. 8 was at least in part driven by defense of the family. But then some of the same voters turned around and voted against Prop. 4, a common-sense law ensuring parental notification when pregnant minors seek an abortion. Can a parent be more concerned about homosexual propaganda invading her child's mind than about a scalpel and vacuum invading her child's uterus*? I'm sure there are more eloquent ways to ask the question I just asked. But does my blunt presentation make me wrong necessarily?

How can Americans be pro-family but anti-baby? What are your thoughts? If anyone has read anything on this, I'd be interested to check it out.

*Dilation and curettage (D&C) is the abortion procedure I'm referring to here. Did you know that "curettage" actually means "scraping"? Do you think D&C would be acceptable to most Americans if it was referred to as "dilation and scraping"? I don't, either. It's interesting how powerful words can be, isn't it? (more on this in an upcoming post)

Janis Clarke sings a song for the unborn at the press conference in front of the Marriot in Baltimore, which was challenging Catholic Bishops regarding the Eucharist and pro-abortion candidates.

Eyeblast version

Youtube version

"5 Myths About an Election of Mythic Proportions"

1. "President-elect Barack Obama transformed the face of the electorate! A wave of black voters and young people was the key to Obama's victory."

"Or not. Exit polling suggests that there was no statistically significant increase in voting among either group. Black voters made up 11 percent of the electorate in 2004 and 13 percent in 2008, while young voters comprised 17 percent of all voters in 2004 and 18 percent four years later."

2. "The Republican Party suffered a death blow."

"Republicans will be back on their feet sooner than many people expect. First, much of the Republicans' permanent political class has concluded that electing Sen. John McCain as president would have amounted to applying a Band-Aid to a gaping wound... Ra's al Ghul, a villain in the movie "Batman Begins," advocates destroying the city of Gotham to rebuild it from the ground up. "It is beyond saving and must be allowed to die," -- a sentiment echoed by many Republicans these days, who argue that hitting rock bottom was the only way to allow new faces and ideas to emerge.

"Second, historical electoral patterns suggest that Republicans could pick up a passel of Senate and House seats in 2010 -- the first midterm election under President Obama."

3. "Now that they control the White House and Congress, Democrats will usher in a new progressive era."

"Not likely....[L]ook more closely, and you see a heavy influx of moderate to conservative members in the incoming freshman Democratic class, particularly in the House...The fact that roughly a third of the Democratic House majority sits in seats with Republican underpinnings (at least at the presidential level) is almost certain to keep a liberal dream agenda from moving through Congress. The first rule of politics is survival, and if these new arrivals to Washington want to stick around, they are likely to build centrist voting records between now and 2010."

4. "McCain made a huge mistake in picking Sarah Palin."

"[O]f the 60 percent of voters who told exit pollsters that McCain's choice of Palin was a "factor" in their final decision, the Arizona senator won 56 percent to 43 percent. For skittish conservatives looking for more evidence that McCain understood their needs and concerns, Palin did the trick. It's hard to imagine conservatives rallying to McCain -- even to the relatively limited extent that they did -- without Palin on the ticket. And without the base, McCain's loss could have been far worse."

5. "A Republican candidate could have won the presidency this year."

"Why not? Three words (and a middle initial): President George W. Bush."

Last year Leticia casually mentioned to an email correspondent that she wanted to get mothers of children with Down syndrome together to march together in the March for Life. This year it is going to happen - click here.

Note: Sarah Palin (and Trig) are invited.

It was the Sunday after the election, and everywhere I looked I could only see impending doom.

There is no way God would have allowed Barack Obama to become president were He not finally turning America over to judgment, to whatever great or lesser extent that will be.

I sat in my mother's church and was surprised to feel anger when the worship leader smiled and sang the same songs as ever, as if life hadn't drastically changed the week before, as if the Church itself wasn't indicted by Obama's election.

Then my eye caught....

Continue reading my column, "How I got my groove back," on WorldNetDaily.com.

What if abortion were viewed not as an evil (or immoral act) but instead as a challenge or a puzzle to be solved?  I suppose first one would have to assume that an unborn baby is not a child with intrinsic value and accept abortion as one of many possible "solutions". Then we could cooperate to reduce abortion through social policy the same way the government attempts to solve any number of other public woes through its organizational efficiency and highly compassionate programs.  Wait, is this still "pro-life"?  Well, the Wall Street Journal reports that some "pro-lifers" advocate this route:

After making significant gains during the Bush administration, the anti-abortion movement was dealt sharp setbacks in last week's election with the defeat of three state ballot measures restricting abortion.

Now, strategists are debating whether the way forward should be based on confrontation or cooperation with the incoming Democratic administration.

[snip]

President-elect Barack Obama and other Democrats have promised to work to make abortion rare, so long as it remains legal. "Maybe it's time to take them up on the offer" instead of "bashing our heads over and over again against the same wall," writes Paul Strand, a blogger for the Christian Broadcasting Network.

The Rev. Joel Hunter, an influential megachurch pastor in Florida, sees a new willingness among pro-life activists to cooperate with pro-choice forces in search of a middle ground. He traces that openness in part to the flourishing of crisis pregnancy centers. As volunteers meet women struggling with unplanned pregnancies, they begin to view abortion less as an absolute evil and more as a practical challenge: How do we get this single mother a job, or help that college student with child care so she doesn't feel as though abortion is her only option?

This certainly is an effective way to take the meaning out of the debate and solidify the holocaust of abortion as an American icon.   Let me give you another view posted by George Grant shortly after the election:

America has voted for change with the choice of the most extreme pro-abortion and pro-infanticide president in history--to go with solid pro-abortion and pro-infanticide majorities in both the House and the Senate. As Gradgrind asserted, "These are facts, facts, facts. Cold hard facts."

In light of these facts, "How should we then live?"

The answer is simple: we too must change. We must stand for the sanctity of life as never before, with more courage than ever before, with more compassion than ever before, with more commitment than ever before, with more grace than ever before, with more resolve than ever before, with more creativity than ever before, and with more wisdom than ever before.

 Please, spread the word.

"If I know anything about the character of God after forty years of study, I know that God hates abortion. And I could never vote for a candidate who supported abortion--even if I agreed with that candidate on every other policy position. If he supported abortion I would not vote for him and I urge you to do the same." --R.C Sproul as quoted by The Quick and the Dead

Update:  title modified to be more descriptive

Advocates of abortion want minors to have unlimited access to taxpayer funded abortions without parental involvement. And, there is a constant barrage of horribly graphic images via newspaper, internet, movies and video games. Yet, a truck showing graphic images of abortion to Phoenix High School Students has caused an uproar.

The trucks are driven courtesy of the Center for Bio-Ethical Reform and are part of a national campaign "exposing the evil of abortion."  The Center explains ...

Abortion will continue to be trivialized as "the lesser of two evils," or as "a necessary evil," so long as it is allowed to remain an invisible abstraction. Pictures make it impossible for anyone with a shred of intellectual honesty to maintain the pretense that "it's not a baby" and "abortion is not an act of violence."

Last week Washington state voters made it legal for doctors to help patients kill themselves and in doing so followed Oregon in becoming the second state to embrace physician-assisted suicide.

I was glad to see that the Washington State Medical Association opposed the initiative but am confused as to why the organizatoin plans to support the law.  It would see the same rational one uses to oppose the legalization of physician assisted suicide would be the reason a doctor, if given the choice, would resist the law.  Wesley Smith comments,

Medical professionals must resist turning killing (which means to end life) into a medical treatment. None can be forced (yet) to participate. Such modeling may save lives of people who, thanks to the continued professionals of non participating medical professionals, will never ask for assisted suicide. And it will give courage to others to resist the culture of death that this way comes.

Remarkably, proponents of the law seem to believe that the involvement of a primary care physician  enhances the rightness of suicide despite the Medical Association's opposition to the practice.  Oh, the irony...

Beyond the hype and well funded marketing that was used to motivate the law,  Wesley Smith explains the reason behind the rise in the euthanasia movement:

Think of it as a symptom rather than a cause. The euthanasia movement reflects a profound nihilism that has been spreading like a cancer throughout the West for the past hundred years.

The extent of our societal illness was described succinctly several years ago by the Canadian journalist Andrew Coyne. Writing in the wake of widespread public support for Robert Latimer, a Saskatchewan farmer who murdered his twelve-year-old daughter Tracy because she was disabled by cerebral palsy, Coyne wrote: "A society that believes in nothing can offer no argument even against death. A culture that has lost its faith in life cannot comprehend why it should be endured."

The respect for life includes abhorance of self-murder and necessarily seeks legal sanctions against those who participate in the act of assisted suicide.  The practice of helping patients kill themselves in Washington State, Oregon and beyond must be trumpted as objectionable, immoral and unacceptable.

This may be a bit controversial (at least for some):

The case has been made by a number of writers and ethicists, with quite a bit of persuasiveness, that it is no longer morally permissible to support the Democratic party. So many Democrats have come to that conclusion on their own, in fact, that I can't keep up on all the emails I get from people who have left the party over its radical, anti-life, anti-marriage, and anti-religious positions.

... Unless one is working to change this party into a pro-life party, it's very difficult, if not impossible to justify supporting it.

- Frank Pavone (read the rest here)

No argument from me...

Justice demands accountability the murder of an unborn child:

The man who authorities allege used a chain saw and assault rifle to shoot into his estranged wife's apartment, killing her boyfriend and the woman's unborn child, will be charged in the slaying of the 18-week-old fetus, the Clark County district attorney said today.

District Attorney David Roger said lawyers in his office reviewed the case and determined they will pursue an additional charge of "manslaughter, killing of an unborn quick child," against 25-year-old William John Keck.

You can get to know Barbara Curtis of MommyLife (one of our favorite bloggers) in a recent Washington Post article by Michael Alison Chandler that featured her family:

Jonny and Madeleine, the eighth and ninth children in the Curtis family, were born 54 weeks apart but grew up in many ways like twins. Best friends from the beginning, they learned to walk and sound out words together. But Madeleine's development soon outpaced her older brother's.

Looking ahead, Barbara and Tripp Curtis worried that Jonny, who has Down syndrome, would be alone as his siblings grew up and left home. And so they adopted Jesse, Daniel and, finally, Justin. All three have Down syndrome.

The same article provides an important look into the adoption of children with Down syndrome:

For many parents, a diagnosis of Down syndrome can be overwhelming as they face the likelihood that the child will struggle to live independently and require intensive medical, financial and social support. Most prenatal diagnoses of Down syndrome lead to abortion.

Yet almost 200 families are on a waiting list to adopt a child with Down syndrome in the United States. Others are seeking to adopt such children overseas. Many of those interested in adoption, such as the Curtises, have a child with the genetic condition; some are special-education teachers or motivated by religious beliefs or idealism.

[snip]

In 2005, Brian Skotko, a resident physician at Children's Hospital Boston, surveyed more than 1,000 mothers of children with Down syndrome. He found that information mothers got from doctors was often "incomplete, inaccurate or offensive," he said. "Rarely was the option of adoption mentioned" to those diagnosed prenatally, he said.

What a tremendous impact one family can make by loving their children and promoting adoption (by doing it!).

The transition advisers to President-elect Barack Obama have compiled a lengthy list of administrative actions and executive orders that could be issued to reverse White House policies on stem cell research, reproductive rights and other issues.

Here are an abbreviated version his plans:

Obama himself has signaled, for example, that he intends to reverse Bush's controversial limit on federal funding of embryonic stem cell research, a decision that scientists say has restrained research into some of the most promising avenues for defeating a wide array of diseases, such as Parkinson's.

[snip]

The new president is also expected to lift a so-called global gag rule barring international family planning groups that receive U.S. aid from counseling women about the availability of abortion, even in countries where the procedure is legal, said Cecile Richards, the president of Planned Parenthood Federation of America. When Bill Clinton took office in 1993, he rescinded the Reagan-era regulation, known as the Mexico City policy, but Bush reimposed it.

"We have been communicating with his transition staff" almost daily, Richards said. "We expect to see a real change."

Daily communication with the number one provider of abortion?  Is this hope and change?

Sadly, I expect this to be just the beginning of the anti-life actions taken by Barack Obama during his first week (if not day) in office.

Those, like Prof. Doug Kmiec (more here), who suggested pro-lifers ought to vote for Obama despite his radical support of abortion, are now reaping what they sowed.  Obama's assault on the unborn has begun...

Update:  Ed Morrissey - "These are the acts of a pro-abortion absolutist, and they presage the sponsorship of Planned Parenthood’s Freedom of Choice Act."

HT:  Len Munsil

We have developed a new approach to pro-life ministry. It's based on over 20 years experience of communicating with 'the man in the street' and 12 years pro-life campaigning and speaking. The public are very welcoming of this new approach and there are times when we can't keep up with the demand! Pro-lifers often tell us that they are amazed by seeing such positive reactions.

We'd like to share with you what we are doing, hoping that it will inspire you to do similar in your area. You are very welcome to come along and see us in action. Alternatively, take a look at our website at Created4Life.

Created4Life aims to...

• increase public awareness of the humanity and preciousness of the unborn baby
• encourage women (and men) to choose to keep their babies
• help those badly affected by a past abortion

What we do and how...

• We set up a small table in town centres with the following on display: Life-sized baby models, 7 to 40 weeks from conception Free Created4Life leaflets Free 10 week baby models and Precious Feet badges Beautiful images of developing pre-born babies
• We visit the same towns on a regular basis - every week if possible

This friendly approach leads to numerous discussions and contacts.

We provide the resources, training, help and advice to pro-life volunteers who want to set up and run this simple and effective ministry in town centres, schools, college campuses, local markets, conferences or fairs.

With the election complete, one would have thought the immature and ridiculous attacks on Sarah Palin based upon anonymous sources would have ended (more on the leakers here and here).  Surely when reporting outlandish claims Palin should be allowed to respond in context.  However, Newsweek drones on ... and one of many allegations states:

The day of the third debate, Palin refused to go onstage with New Hampshire GOP Sen. John Sununu and Jeb Bradley, a New Hampshire congressman running for the Senate, because they were pro-choice and because Bradley opposed drilling in Alaska. The McCain campaign ordered her onstage at the next campaign stop, but she refused to acknowledge the two Republican candidates standing behind her.

The Weekly Standard points out what should be obvious:

So according to the hatchet man/woman who talked to Newsweek, Palin is such an ideologue about drilling in ANWR that she won't stand next to Bradley, even though John McCain has the exact same position?

And, the Standard notes that John Sununu has a 100 percent pro-life rating from the National Right to Life Committee:

Glad to see that whoever leaked this story is too dumb to come up with a plausible smear. And kudos to Newsweek for dumping this whopper without bothering to check if Sununu is in fact pro-abortion.

Oh, and by the way, Jeb Bradley isn't running for U.S. Senate, as Newsweek reports. Perhaps they might want to check out Wikipedia before publishing the next batch of Palin smears.

Kathryn Jean Lopez adds,

A note for the record: I introduced Sununu at a Susan B. Anthony list event about a month ago -- they only support pro-life candidates.

Note that top McCain aides are now denying a number of the other unsubstantiated but reported claims.

Barack Obama promised the Planned Parenthood Action Fund that the first thing he will do as President was sign the radical "Freedom of Choice Act" (FOCA) into law. If passed, FOCA will eliminate every limitation on abortion nationwide.

Americans United for Life writes that thousands of people have already signed a petition that will be sent to congress upon the re-introduction of FOCA. If you haven't yet done so, please visit www.FightFOCA.com now and add your name to the growing list of people making their voice heard.

Elections have a way of revealing the priorities and worldview of society in an objective manner and Barack Obama's historic presidency no exception. As the most radical abortion proponent in American history, Obama's status as President Elect is a bitter pill to swallow and a dose or reality to the Christian Church. In her recent blistering Worldnetdaily column, Jill Stanek explains:

... this means we are fooling ourselves if we think the United States is still a Christian nation. Its people just elected a barbarian as president, authorized the killing of both its youngest and sickest, rejected scientific fact that human life begins at conception, blocked parental intervention of abortions of young girls, and voted down the wording of an abortion ban they said only two years ago they would support.

In our post-modern society it may be hard for some to understand why the election of a pro-abortion president reflects the religion of a nation because many reject the tie between fundamental beliefs and actions or attempt to segment the inner "personal sanctum" of the mind from political persona of a candidate.

Join us today for the The Monthly Call for Life at MonthlyCallForLife.com. Today is the first Saturday after the first Friday. Go to an abortion mill in your area and pray, stand with a sign, or whatever you want to peacefully do for a couple of hours. Click here if you want to print out flyers, Life Cards or the sign that we use.

No matter what, go to the abortion mill, even if all you do is stand there. Women drive by & see if there is a Pro-Life person standing there. If there is, some continue driving & don't come back.

Many of you said that it is difficult for you to participate in an outside event on Friday, so here is your chance! Go to MonthlyCallForLife.com & click on Calendar to find a picket or location to pray near you. If you want to start your own or are already picketing or praying at a location, email us at events@prolifeunity.com and we will post it on the calendar.

If you are in the Washington D.C. area you can join us in Falls Church, Virginia from 09:00 am to noon at 900 South Washington Street, or go to the many other abortion mills where people are praying. Click here to find other efforts in the D.C. area and around the country. Go to ProLifeUnity.com & click on Calendar for more information. Otherwise click here to go to 40daysforlife.com to participate in the 40 Days for Life project.

Go to ProLifeNews.tv for up to date news on our events & to send information & pictures about your events.

MonthlyCallForLife.com

United we stand - Divided they die - Pass it on

Will God change Barack Obama's heart? I certainly hope so and so does Franklin Graham, head of the Charlotte-based Billy Graham Evangelistic Association. Referencing abortion and gay marriage, Graham stated, "But he's our president-elect, and those positions that he holds that are contrary to Biblical teaching, I hope that God will change his heart. 

Interestingly, LifeNews suggests that Billy Graham won't advise Obama because of his "strong abortion position".  Frankly, I doubt that this is the case (it certainly would be the first!) and see little evidence of it in the Associated Press reports quoted by LifeNews.

It continues...

especially: "He added that Russia would jam U.S. radar."