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UNITED STATES

Pro-abortion violence
New evidence documents thousands of incidents

A new compilation of documentation on pro-abortion violence in Canada, the US, and Puerto Rico by the pro-life group Human Life International (HLI) reveals thousands of cases where pro-abortionists have attacked persons with guns, cars, acid, hypodermic syringes, and baseball bats, while other pro-abortion advocates applauded and supported some of these actions.

HLI’s researchers assembled the report Pro-Abortion Violence which documents over 55 murders committed by pro-abortionists and more than 2,000 incidents of other violence. The report found that pro-abortion violence exceeds “pro-life” violence by a ratio of 314 to 6.

Contrasting verifiable crimes by pro-abortion advocates against alleged crimes by “pro-life” advocates, the report finds that in the category of “deadly and extreme crimes against persons (murder, manslaughter, infanticide, attempted murder, kidnapping, torture, and rape)” there are 121 pro-abortion incidents versus 25 committed by supposedly “pro-life” persons. In the category of “less serious crimes against persons resulting in actual injury (assault, sex crimes, reckless endangerment, and violation of civil rights)” the ratio is 651-112.

A sampling of recent incidents of murder by pro-abortionists includes a 1993 attack in Huntsville, Alabama where pro-abortion activist Eileen Orstein Janezic murdered 51-year old pro-life activist minister and radio talk show host Jerry Simon. After shooting Simon through a window of his home, she held police at bay with a pistol for six hours while spouting quotes out of Anton LaVey’s “Satanic Bible.”

The report also smashes the myth painted in the media of the always heroic abortionist who is bent on service to women. It notes that Boston abortionist Kenneth Edelin aborted a living and viable baby boy, deliberately smothered him, was convicted of manslaughter but released on a technicality, and was later rewarded by being given the post of Chairman of the Board of the Planned Parenthood Federation of America (PPFA).

Orthodox-Catholic dialogue
Ends without closer ties

A commission of Catholic and Orthodox leaders met in July to discuss issues separating the Churches, but in the end they made it clear that much work remains to be done before unity becomes a reality.

The meeting of the Joint International Commission for Theological Dialogue was co-chaired by Cardinal Edward Idris Cassidy, president of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, and Orthodox Archbishop Stylianos of Australia. The commission’s official statement to end the meeting noted that the theme of the conference was the implications of “Uniatism,” or churches leaving Orthodoxy to join the Catholic Church.

The commission said uniatism was “a subject which has assumed particular importance since the changes which occurred in Central and Eastern Europe over the last ten years.” They also noted that “although reactions were generally positive,” the documents touching upon theological aspects and practical guidelines “were met with some reserve and even outright opposition, sometimes from each side.”

They added, “Since agreement was not reached on the basic theological concept of uniatism, it was decided not to have a common statement at this time.”

Uniatism is of particular concern in the former Soviet Union, and especially in Ukraine, where the Catholic Church has resumed prominence following the fall of Communism. Orthodox and Catholics have clashed over the return of property confiscated by the Soviets and Orthodox claims that Eastern-rite Catholics should be “returned” to the Orthodox fold.

Boy Scouts under attack
Policy on homosexuality under attack

The US House of Representatives has overwhelmingly voted down a proposal to revoke the Boy Scouts of America’s federal charter because of the organization’s policy that says homosexuality is unacceptable for volunteers.

The Boy Scouts received their federal charter in 1916, six years after it was founded. It is one of about 90 groups with such designation, an honorary title given to patriotic, charitable, and education organizations. The president of the United States is always the scouts’ honorary chairman.

The Supreme Court, in a 5-4 decision in June, upheld the Boy Scouts’ ban on homosexuals serving as troop leaders. That ruling may also give legal backing to the 6.2 million member organization’s ban on homosexual youths as members. The scouts must still contend with a presidential order issued in June that bans federal participation with groups that discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation, putting several scout programs—including the annual Jamboree held on federal land—in jeopardy.

Meanwhile, news reports that corporate sponsors had begun to pull financial support from the scouts were greatly exaggerated, according to the web site WorldNetDaily.

The news site said the reports, most originating with a New York Times article, have incorrect or misleading lists of corporations that have withdrawn their donations. The list of former donors had included Levi Strauss, Bank of America, Wells Fargo, First Interstate, Chase Manhattan, Textron, AMICA, and First Union.

According to WorldNetDaily, Bank of America, Wells Fargo, First Interstate, Chase Manhattan, AMICA, and First Union had considered dropping funding in the past, but have not done so. Textron had only made a one-time $3,000 donation to a local council in 1998, while Levi dropped funding of the Scouts in 1992 over the homosexual policy.

The Boy Scouts have also said that donations and membership have reached record levels in recent years. “All across the country, Scouting is prospering and growing,” said Robert M. Gates, president of the National Eagle Scout Association, in a recent letter to members. “Virtually every council has had healthy growth in both youth members and adult volunteers.” He also said that every council has reported improved financial support. BSA national spokesman Greg Shields added that enrollment is higher than at any time since the 1970s.

Law to protect infants
Bill would save survivors of botched abortions

The US Congress is considering a proposed law to be called the Born Alive Infants Protection Act, which defines a baby born alive at any stage of development as a person.

The bill, sponsored by Rep. Charles Canady, R-Florida, came in reaction to a recent US Supreme Court decision that overturned a Nebraska law banning partial-birth abortions. If the bill, HR 4292, becomes law, Canady said it would protect the victims of botched abortions. “If a child born alive after a botched abortion does not receive the protection of the law, what is to prevent an abortionist from simply delivering a child and killing it?” he asked.

Canady said the Supreme Court ruling extended the original Roe v. Wade decision allowing mothers to abort their children to include “the violent destruction of partially born children just inches from birth.” He worried that the court would extend along the line of logic to include babies who survive an abortion.

Last year in Cincinnati, a baby girl was accidentally born at 22 weeks after an abortionist performed the first step of a partial birth abortion, the dilation of the mother’s cervix. The child, dubbed “Baby Hope” by hospital technicians, lived for three hours outside the mother and without the aid of an incubator.

Canady said the bill “was designed to repudiate the pernicious and destructive ideas that have brought the live-birth principle into question, and to firmly establish that, for purposes of federal law, an infant who is completely expelled or extracted from his or her mother and who is alive is, indeed, a person under the law regardless of whether or not his or her lung development is believed to be, or is in fact, sufficient to permit long-term survival, and regardless of whether the baby survived an abortion.”

The House subcommittee on the Constitution also heard testimony from 23-year-old Gianna Jessen, afflicted with cerebral palsy after surviving an attempted abortion when her mother was 7-months pregnant. She recounted how she was delivered alive after the abortion was botched and said she is thankful for her cerebral palsy, because it “allows me to really depend on Jesus for everything.”

Jessen added, “When the freedoms of one group of helpless citizens are infringed upon, such as the unborn, the newborn, the disabled and so called ‘imperfect,’ what we do not realize is that our freedoms as a nation and individuals are in great peril.”

Prayer for unborn
Cardinal makes prayer at Democratic convention

To the dismay of his hosts, Cardinal Roger Mahony of Los Angeles made an explicit reference to abortion when he delivered the invocation at the start of the Democratic Party national convention on August 15.

Cardinal Mahony’s prayer called for God’s help to “keep us committed to protect the life and well-being of all people, but especially unborn children, the sick and the elderly, those on skid row and those on death row.”

The cardinal’s prayer contrasted sharply with the official platform of the Democratic Party, which calls for the preservation of unrestricted legal abortion. Some pro-life activists, pointing to that plank in the Democratic platform, had criticized Cardinal Mahony for agreeing to appear at the convention.

Stem-cell research allowed
Clinton approves use of cells from unborn

The Clinton administration, on August 23, announced it would use taxpayer dollars to fund research on human stem cells taken from embryonic unborn children, eliciting protests from pro-life groups. The National Institutes for Health (NIH) said it would employ strict guidelines to avoid violating a law banning the use of embryos in government-funded research. Under the rules, the unborn children, left over from in vitro fertilization procedures, would be killed by privately-funded researchers who would then pass on the cells to government scientists. Former Republican presidential candidate Gary Bauer called the plan an attempt to “side-step Congress’ opposition to this procedure.” He called on Congress to close this loophole before the final passage of budget bills in September. Other pro-life advocates criticized the new research guidelines as unnecessary. “These guidelines do not represent a step forward,” said Judie Brown of American Life League. “They are an attack against the humanity of the individual human person. Millions of human lives will be destroyed by this false science.” Stem cells are master cells in the human body, often found in developing unborn children but also found in adults, that can develop into virtually any cell in the body. Scientists claim research could lead to cures for Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s, diabetes, multiple sclerosis, spinal cord injuries, and a host of other ailments. President Bill Clinton urged the public to consider the “potentially staggering benefits” of stem-cell research and said the guidelines included “rigorous scientific standards” for researchers. “I think we cannot walk away from the potential to save lives and improve lives, to help people literally get up and walk, to do all kinds of things we could never have imagined, as long as we meet rigorous, ethical standards,” Clinton told reporters.