What's wrong with HB 3773? A LOT!!! (New Online Petitions added!)

[mannyamador]

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May 15 is International Day of Families
http://www.prolife.org.ph/article/articleview/633/1/91/

After marking May 14 with celebrations for Mother's Day, extending the festivity would be fitting as well because
May 15 has been designated the International Day of Families--and it's worldwide. The United Nations General
Assembly, through resolution 47/237 of September 20, 1993, proclaimed that May 15 of every year shall be
observed as the International Day of Families.

This annual observance reflects the importance which the international community attaches to families as basic
units of society as well as its concern regarding their situation around the world. The International Day of Families
provides an opportunity to promote awareness of issues relating to families as well as to promote appropriate action.

The international theme for 2006 is “Changing Families: Challenges and Opportunities," while those in charge of this
year's Philippine celebration at the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) are working around the
theme "Bida Ka, Pamilyang Pilipino: Pwersa sa Pagkakaisa."

Though the International Day of Families remains to be May 15, special activities are being drawn up to mark the
occasion, to be held later in the month so as to extend the celebration.

For more information, call the DSWD's Social Marketing Service at (02) 931-9143.

[mannyamador]

Church to train Pro-lifers
http://www.cbcponline.net/html/news1-may4.html

5 May 2006 -- "The faithful become a voice and conscience for a nation, society and family at risk only when
they themselves are guided by Him," Archbishop Paciano Aniceto, Chairman of the CBCP-Episcopal Commission
on Family and Life (ECFL) said.

With this, the ECFL and the Legal Office of the CBCP has organized "God is Love and Love is Life," a Pro-Life
Training Conference at the Ultra Stadium on June 10-12.

"Pope Benedict XVI declared in his inaugural message, 'My real program of governance is not to do my ideas,
but listen, together with the whole Church, to the word and the will of the Lord, to be guided by Him, so
that He Himself will lead the Church at this hour of our history,'" the ECFL said in a statement which enthused
them to hold the event.

Aniceto said the purpose of the event, in coordination with the Human Life International and Couples for
Christ, is to "nurture in the faithful a sense of mission and a commitment to stand for Christian values of life and
family."

"This very special conference brings to the Philippines resource persons who play an important role in integral
formation and in encouraging the prophetic witnessing so necessary in these times," he said.

Philippine society and the traditional Filipino family face unprecedented challenges which in their complexity and
depth defy purely human approaches.

"We the bishops, priests, religious and laity, together commit ourselves to implement the spirit and decrees of
the Second Plenary Council of the Philippines (PCP II) in order to inculcate Gospel values in our milieu," he added.

[mannyamador]

Colombian bishops weigh civil disobedience on abortion
http://www.cwnews.com/news/viewstory.cfm?recnum=44115

May. 12 (CNA/CWNews.com) - In response to a ruling by Colombia’s Constitutional Court making the country the first in
Latin America to legalize abortion, the country’s bishops said on May 11 that civil disobedience may be necessary to resist
the new immoral law.

The president of the bishops’ conference of Colombia, Archbishop Luis Augusto Castro, rejected the court’s decision to
legalize abortion in certain cases and said it was a crime against human life. “A door is being opened toward the elimination
of the innocent lives of so many children,” the archbishop said. “We continue to say that this is an act against the life of
the unborn and it is immoral.”

“We must have a two-fold perspective-- that is, to see the situation of the mother and help her in every way, but also
look after the child, because nobody else does,” Archbishop Castro added. “Nobody looks after the baby; there is no
consideration for a child that has been conceived, who tries to move forward in this world but has his possibilities cut off.”

The archbishop noted that in the case of conception through rape, “the child is innocent…the criminal should be punished
and put in jail for a long time, but the child should not have to pay for the sins of another. He is an innocent baby. In this
sense we defend the life of the baby as well.” Many women who have conceived through rape, he noted, “accept their
babies because they understand that the child is one thing, and the person responsible for the rape is another.”

The bishops rebuked the justices of the Constitutional Court for taking the easy way out and noted that “not everything
that is legal is moral.” They said Colombians should question the legitimacy of the ruling. “It is sad that the justices have
chosen the easy way, which is the path to crime,”said Bishop Hector Gutierrez Pabon of Engativa. “In the Catholic Church,
there is no such thing as a first, second, or third-class citizen and it should be this way also in society.”

“Many people will think that because it is legal it is okay. No! What is legal is not always morally licit,” he added.

[mannyamador]

Betrayal: Amnesty International may start promotong abortion!
Pro-lifers Galvanized by 'Right to Abortion' Move
By Patrick Goodenough
CNSNews.com International Editor
May 18, 2006

(CNSNews.com) - A major human rights organization's decision to consider dropping its neutral stance on abortion -- and to promote a "right" to abortion instead -- is making waves around the world.

Campaigners are urging pro-lifers who support the organization to make their views known.

Amnesty International's existing policy on "sexual and reproductive rights" is that it "takes no position on whether or not women have a right to choose to terminate unwanted pregnancies; there is no generally accepted right to abortion in international human rights law."

At an international council meeting in Mexico next year, Amnesty International will decide whether to abandon neutrality, declare abortion an international human right, and consequently start advocating for it.

Between now and then, national branches are consulting with members and discussing the proposal. Britain and New Zealand have both already decided to support it.

In Britain, a recent annual meeting of Amnesty International passed a motion supporting the decriminalization of abortion. "The full realization of human rights should be understood to mean that a woman's right to physical and mental integrity includes a right to (a) information on the risks of abortion (b) legal safe and accessible abortion should she choose to have an abortion," it said.

AI members at that same meeting also voted down two alternative motions -- one saying that the branch "should take no position on the issue of abortion," and the other saying "the AGM [annual general meeting] decides to maintain its current neutral policy on abortion ... in order to continue supporting the fundamental principal of the right to life of every human person."

The British and Irish pro-life group Precious Life accused the branch of hypocrisy, saying it had "turned its back on human rights, the very thing they have campaigned to protect for over forty years."

"Abortion can never be described as a 'right,' " the group said in a statement. "Abortion is a needless act of violence that kills babies and hurts women."

Precious Life is urging AI members to leave unless the group starts campaigning to protect the right to life of unborn children.

Another U.K. campaign group, United for Life, said it had written several letters to AI leading up to the AGM.

Among other points, United for Life's Chris Mason noted that AI was opposed to capital punishment. Yet, he said, in an abortion the unborn are also sentenced to "the death penalty simply because they exist or because they are disabled."

In New Zealand, Right to Life spokesman Ken Orr responded to his country's branch decision by saying it would be a tragedy if Amnesty at an international level adopted abortion as a "human right."

He noted that the group claimed to support the U.N. Convention on the Rights of the Child, which states "the child ... needs special safeguards and care, including appropriate legal protection, before as well as after birth."

In New York, Austin Ruse of the Catholic Family & Human Rights Institute argued this week that AI promoting abortion as an international human right "would be a disaster for the unborn."

"This kind of change will put the lives of unborn children into the hands of one of the most powerful groups in the world," he said. "They can throw the weight of the international legal community against the unborn.

"They will bring suits in the national courts and international courts. They will bring small countries before the United Nations and begin shaming campaigns in the New York Times, the London Times and elsewhere."

Christians in Canada, where the AI branch will hold its AGM next weekend, are also unhappy about the move.

Roman Catholic Bishop Fred Henry of Calgary told the Canadian prolife site LifeSiteNews.com that the proposal for AI to start advocating for abortion was "an ill-conceived and gross betrayal of their mission to campaign for human rights."

Henry said he personally planned to end financial contributions to AI.

The site also quoted an Evangelical Fellowship of Canada representative as saying the move could have an impact on evangelicals' support for AI.

In India, Archbishop Oswald Gracias of the Conference of Catholic Bishops said the "much respected" AI had long been "known for protecting human rights of all, more particularly of weaker sections of the society."

If it made the proposed change, he said, "it would mean that Amnesty International is bidding good-bye to human rights."

---
http://www.cnsnews.com/ViewForeignBu...20060518a.html

[mannyamador]

Abstinence Education Curbing AIDS in Zambia
Church Programs Effective, Says Official

KOENIGSTEIN, Germany, MAY 29, 2006 (Zenit.org).- The Church has helped
Zambia to turn the corner in the fight against HIV and it has done so by
upholding its traditional teachings, says a Ndola Diocese official.

"Meanwhile, the government has done too little, too late," said Father
Alick Mbanda, chancellor of the Zambian diocese, in an interview during a
recent visit to the headquarters of the charity Aid to the Church in
Need.

He explained how Catholic-run programs to combat HIV had been vital in
bringing about a long-awaited downturn in the number of people infected
with the virus.

HIV is at epidemic levels in Zambia, where an estimated 1.2 million
people are infected out of a population of 11 million.

Strategies

Father Mbanda described how the Church had tackled the crisis by
distributing anti-HIV medicine and had successfully taught abstinence by
integrating AIDS awareness into catechetical programs. With a community
of lay leaders, the Church has devised youth catechetical programs in
which the risk of HIV is spelled out, especially from casual ***.

Church leaders encourage people planning marriage to have HIV-related
tests first.

For victims of the virus, the bishops are devising plans for a "farm" --
a center providing accommodation, welfare support and medication.

"Of late, we have at last begun to see a bit of progress," said Father
Mbanda. "The numbers of people infected with HIV have not been going up
and, because of the campaign, the numbers are finally coming down."

The priest stressed the importance of the Zambian bishops' opposition to
contraception and insistence on abstinence.

"We have some NGOs saying that people should use condoms but the problem
with that is that condoms give people some leeway for casual ***," he
said. "In actual fact, it encourages the problem."

The priest also underlined the importance of faith in action: "We cannot
just preach about the Gospel and talk about the Mass without living it.
It becomes difficult to live the Gospel and to preach it if we don't
connect with the problems of our times."

[mannyamador]

World Bank Ignores Governments and Promotes 'Reproductive Health' in Millennium Development Goals
By Samantha Singson

(NEW YORK - C-FAM) The World Bank and other international institutions are promoting "reproductive health" as a part of the UN's Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) even though "reproductive health" was completely absent from the MDGs which were negotiated in 2000 by the largest gathering of heads of state in history. "Reproductive health" was also rejected as part of the Millennium Declaration, a five year review of the MDGs, negotiated last summer in New York even though the international community came under severe pressure by UN agencies and powerful NGOs to include it.

Though the controversial notion of "reproductive health" has twice been rejected by heads of state, the World Bank and other institutions continue to claim it is part of the Millennium Development Goals.

The Millennium Development Goals are a list of eight targets that government should strive for in decreasing poverty, increasing education and other largely non-controversial topics. Governments have decided to exclude "reproductive health" because of its controversial nature. The nature of the debate centers on its definition. Does it include access to abortion? Except for a convoluted definition at the Cairo Conference the UN General Assembly has never officially defined "reproductive heath" as including abortion, but UN agencies such as UNFPA, international treaty compliance committees and powerful non-government organizations consistently interpret the term as including abortion and use it to pressure governments to change their laws.

Recently, the World Bank announced that it has sponsored a global course to teach participants how to initiate health sector reforms in the area of "reproductive health." The seminar, entitled "Achieving the Millennium Development Goals: Poverty Reduction, Reproductive Health and the Health Sector Reform" was conducted in Ethiopia earlier this year and another session is scheduled to take place in Thailand in August. The seminar brochure boasts that the World Bank has 'a mandate to complement its lending programs with effective learning programs'.

The World Bank has been a long-time proponent of "reproductive health." The World Bank website claims, "Reproductive health is not merely the absence of disease or disability. It is a state of physical, mental, and social well-being in all matters related to the reproductive system and to its functions and processes. Reproductive health therefore implies that women and men have a right to a safe *** life, and to reproduce if and when they wish. This includes the right of men and women to be informed about and to have access to safe, effective, affordable, and acceptable methods of regulating childbearing."

Copyright 2006 - C-FAM (Catholic Family & Human Rights Institute). Permission granted for unlimited use. Credit required.

[lalakingbisdak]

Very informative. Please keep going... :mrgreen:

[mannyamador]

The Hell of Gates Shall Not Prevail
by Fr. Thomas Euteneuer
http://www.catholicexchange.com/vm/a...=1&aut_id=315\

In what seems like a well-scripted one-two punch of the culture of death, the world's two richest men have dazzled our fawning
media and society with their dangerous magic in the past several weeks.

The sequential announcement of the pending retirement of Bill Gates from Microsoft and the gift of some $40 billion from Warren
Buffett to the Gates' foundation ought to strike fear in the heart of every unborn baby in the world. This is truly an
unprecedented event: the world's second richest man giving the bulk of his immense fortune to the world's richest man for the
singular purpose of population control. Wow.

We ought not to forget who these two men are. It was Warren Buffett who funded the deadly abortion drug RU-486 and has sent
suction machines to the Third World to make sure that the poor would not proliferate in his eugenic vision of a white-dominated
world. He has an unfiltered bias toward population control and abortion.

Mr. Gates is hardly less of an anti-lifer though his philanthropy tends to be better-disguised. He dedicates millions to Planned
Parenthood and their abortion machine. He funds condom-distribution efforts, youth education and "reproductive
health" schemes all of which are disguised in compassionate terms as AIDS programs and women's rights initiatives. Needless to say,
chastity is not his main concern. He is still young and has made it clear that his second career will be expending these vast
resources in generous anti-life measures; he is a formidable force to reckon with.

There is nothing that fuels the anti-life movement more than money. It exists, perhaps symbolically so, on filthy lucre, and
with this one mammoth financial windfall I believe the abortion-promoting elite have pushed the already-imbalanced life
vs. death battle beyond the point of no return. With Buffett's billions Gates may be, in a strictly worldly sense, unstoppable.
The culture of life simply cannot compete with this kind of money.

And this is precisely the point where the pro-life movement has needed to be for a long time: the point where all strictly human
solutions are rendered impotent and we have no choice but to turn to an even greater power than the combined fortunes of the
world's two richest men. Simply put, they have money, we have God; which means we live in hope for the definitive solution to
this mess and they live in fear of a stock market crash. While we can never cease our human efforts to labor on behalf of
the poorest of the world's poor, the unborn, neither can we pretend that our best efforts towards a worldly solution to the
anti-life movement will be sufficient. Only God can win this fight, presuming our cooperation. He is not impressed by the
wealth of men; in fact, He scoffs at it. He is impressed, however, with humility, and wants us on our knees every spare
moment while we work for the unborn. Prayerful humility reminds us where our strength lies. It is not in money or in our efforts
or cleverness. It is in Him.

The prayers of the faithful will eventually undo the culture of death in much the same way that the prayers of the faithful
toppled the institutions of Communism. We must always, in all ways and at all times make it our priority to buffet the gates of
death with assiduous prayers for deliverance from this present darkness and trust that the hell of Gates shall not prevail.

Fr. Tom Euteneuer is president of Human Life International.

_________________________________________________
Alternative Information and Opinion at:

[mannyamador]

Grieving Over Contraception and Sterilization
Interview With Theresa Burke of Rachel's Vineyard

KING OF PRUSSIA, Pennsylvania, JULY 16, 2006 (Zenit.org).- Debates over the use of the "morning-after" pill have often focused on the physical
health of women.

Less discussed is the mental, emotional and spiritual health of women who use the drug, which can cause early abortions.

One specialist who does deal with the problem is psychologist Theresa Burke, the founder of Rachel's Vineyard Ministries. She reports that
many women suffer pain and regret from use of contraception and sterilization in her book "The Contraception of Grief: The Genesis of
Anguish Conceived by Abortifacients and Sterilization" (published by Priests for Life).

Burke shared with ZENIT some hidden effects of contraception and sterilization.

Q: What compelled you to write about grief associated with the use of abortifacients and sterilization? When did this trend first come to
your attention?

Burke: For the past 20 years, I have been involved in the study and treatment of pregnancy loss and unresolved grief.

I never expected the subject of contraception linked to deep and hidden emotional pain to repeatedly surface during our weekends for healing after
abortion.

Indeed, many abortions were associated with a failure in contraception. Any woman who leaves an abortion clinic is released with an arsenal
of birth control pills. The behavior that led to the pregnancy is never addressed, but she is armed with the resources to prevent another
pregnancy -- or so she thinks.

Besides these obvious reasons for grief, I was rather astounded that a growing number of women, including non-Catholics, were coming forward to
say that they were also experiencing profound feelings of grief and loss because of contraceptive use which resulted in spontaneous abortions.

The subject was also being brought up by those who came to assist on our retreats, and had a moment of powerful spiritual revelation regarding a
deep and unnamed grief they held buried within their soul.

I have encountered this unique grief on many different occasions. I'd have to say that among the many hidden sources of shame and grief in
the Church today, perhaps none go as unnoticed, unmentioned and ignored as the emotional pain from the use of contraception.

Subsequently, when the realization dawns that a child, or several children, have been lost through various methods of birth control, there
can be serious emotional consequences.

Initially, my focus was only abortion, not contraception. However, I saw our role as helping women face and grieve the reality hidden in their
hearts. If their soul was in pain, who was I to say that it was not real?

I gave them permission to speak the truth that was hidden and to grieve the pain that was surfacing. I also witnessed the liberation and freedom,
the openness to life, the joy and vitality that followed that experience.

Janet Morana, the associate director of Priests for Life, also encouraged me to write about this.

Janet felt that the pain she suffered from contraception was profound and she knew there were many others who also shared in this grief. She felt
that few in society recognized or validated this hurt and that like abortion, pregnancy loss from contraception, is also a forbidden grief.

When Rachel's Vineyard became a ministry of Priests for Life, it was one of the first new issues I began to investigate.


Q: Briefly, how do some forms of birth control act as abortifacients? Why do so few people know about these facts?

Burke: Some forms of birth control do more than just prevent pregnancy.

The birth control pill, the IUD, and other hormonal contraceptives such as the morning-after pill -- "emergency contraception" --
Depo-Provera and Norplant can sometimes cause an abortion of human life that has already been conceived.

Dr. Walter L. Larimore and Dr. Joseph B. Stanford point out that the principal mechanism of oral contraceptives is to inhibit ovulation, but
this mechanism does not always work.

They state, "When breakthrough ovulation occurs, then secondary mechanisms operate to prevent pregnancy. These secondary mechanisms may
occur either before or after fertilization.

"The principles of informed consent suggest that patients who may object to the destruction of their fertilized eggs should be made aware
of this information so that they can give fully informed consent for the use of oral contraceptives."

But most people never hear this fact. There is widespread ignorance on this subject and a lot of misinformation.

Although the Church holds the doctrinal truth in all its fullness, clergy rarely preach about it. The majority of Catholic couples practice some
form of birth control despite the Church's official pronouncements against the use of contraception in 1968.

A 1992 Gallup poll showed that 80% of U.S. Catholics disagreed with the statement "Using artificial means of birth control is wrong." A 1996 study
conducted by Father Thomas Sweetser for the Milwaukee-based Parish Evaluation Project found only 9% of Catholics considered birth control to
be immoral.

There is clearly a disconnection between Church teaching and practice. As a culture, many view what they do in the bedroom as a private affair with
no connection to practices of faith and morality.


Q: What have you seen to be the overall effects of contraception and sterilization on relationships and faith?

Burke: When God's presence and spirit are expelled from the sexual union, it invites a distortion of the gift. There is a separation between one's
theology and faith practices and the gift of sexuality.

This split may result in a loss of intimacy and trust. I believe this split is felt between an individual and their partner as well as between
the individual and God. The mystery is removed and the capacity to join with God as co-creators of life is ended.

The spark of the divine that we share with God in our capacity to give life is extinguished and the experience of marital intimacy can become
engulfed in darkness, rather than a divine miracle of grace, love, excitement and pleasure.


Q: What are some hidden effects of abortifacient contraceptives and sterilization?

Burke: With abortifacients, some women experience guilt, grief and anger that their wombs were made an unwelcome environment for the developing
child at its earliest time of life.

Many women, who realize they have spent years denying the gift of life because of their dependence on the chemical or surgical methods of
contraception, feel a genuine sense of loss and grief.

Surgical measures may give rise to an unexpected anger and sadness that may suddenly cause profound marital problems after tubes are tied and
vasectomies are performed. The procedure that a couple hoped would provide sexual freedom and enjoyment can frequently be experienced
as a loss of passion, alienation, mistrust and a profound sense of rejection.


Q: What usually causes people to realize that past use of contraceptive and surgical measures may be the source of grief or discord in their
lives?

Burke: I believe that for some it is a special grace -- a moment of illumination. It is an awareness that comes to them in prayer. I have
seen others who gain insight because they are specifically focused on healing the losses of the womb, which often happens at programs like
Rachel's Vineyard.

Others who are spending a fortune on fertility drugs and treatments may feel acute grief when they recall with bitterness and regret how they
spent years in their younger lives trying to prevent pregnancy. Still others may realize hidden feelings when they read a book about
natural family planning and learn the science behind contraception.

For some, it's when they learn about the "theology of the body" and they begin a process of conversion, recognizing how they were closed
off to the gift of life and saw children as a burden rather than a blessing. I know Christopher West's presentations have also opened this
door of reflection and feeling for many couples.


Q: What can be done to begin the healing of those afflicted with this grief?

Burke: Those who have been wounded by abortifacients can find healing and reconciliation. The truth about the dignity of the human person and the gift of sexuality
is a message of good news and liberation -- not one of condemnation and judgment.

We must convey the truth of Christ with love to the modern world. The more we have surrendered to the authority of God, the more we can be
instruments of his love and mercy, and a living witness to the Gospel of life.

For those seeking to reconcile theses wounds, Rachel's Vineyard is a good place to start. It provides a safe environment to search the fabric of our
lives, the innermost depths of the soul, and to acknowledge the pain that comes when the gift of our sexuality has not been revered as a sacred and
holy act.

Mourning and grieving are necessary milestones we travel so our lives may continue in the fullness that Christ calls us to. When this process of
recognizing sin and repentance has been completed, there is rebirth and resurrection.

Encountering Christ will expose the lie of contraception and bring upon us deep conviction and blessing to protect the dignity of human life.

[mannyamador]

FDA Prepares Sell-Out on MAP
By Joseph A. D'Agostino

After resisting for years feminists determined to make high-dosage
steroids available to women and girls without a prescription, it seems
that the Bush Administration is about to cave in to political pressure and
make the morning-after pill (MAP) accessible over the counter to those
over 18. Not only will this result in the deaths of more unborn children
since MAP often acts after conception, but it will seriously harm the
health of women and girls who will use the now-easy-to-get MAP repeatedly.
The FDA did not officially announce its decision this week, but
statements from it and Barr Laboratories, the makers of the "Plan B" brand
of MAP, clearly indicate the FDA's intention to allow OTC distribution of
MAP.

No one, pro-life or pro-abortion, pro-family or pro-contraception, should
favor this change. The FDA's own experts, when MAP was approved for
prescription-only sales, said that repeated use could have serious health
effects on women and girls. MAP should only be used very rarely, in an
emergency (thus the term "emergency contraception," even though the latter
word of that term is dishonest). By making MAP prescription-only, the FDA
required women and girls to go through a doctor and pharmacist who would
query their patient~Rs health history and steer them away from MAP if
medically indicated.

This safeguard will soon be gone. Anyone over 18 will be able to walk
into a grocery store or pharmacy and buy MAP any time he or she pleases,
no questions asked. Can anyone doubt that many young women will end up
using MAP over and over? The FDA's experts warned of serious health
consequences from such use, but could not provide solid examples since
there have been no studies of repeated MAP use. No one knows what the
repeated dosing with these powerful steroids might do to women's bodies.
Many women, particularly college co-eds, are likely about to find out.

If history is any guide, disastrous health effects won't make any
difference once MAP is distributed over the counter. After all, the
Clinton Administration rushed the prescription-only approval of the
abortion pill, RU-486, and with its fatal side effects, it has been
killing mothers at ten times the rate that surgical abortion does. Yet
feminists and other so-called women's advocates don't want RU-486's
approval revoked.

Bush~Rs nominee for FDA Commissioner, Acting Commissioner Dr. Andrew von
Eschenbach, recently announced the re-opening of the case for OTC MAP
after radically pro-abortion senators such as Hillary Clinton (D.-N.Y.)
put a hold on his nomination. The message from Clinton et al was clear:
Approve OTC MAP or no permanent appointment for you. It seems von
Eschenbach is complying.

The debate over OTC MAP continues to be surrounded by obvious lies. Once
is that MAP is contraception, not abortion. But scientists agree that MAP
often stops an already-conceived child from implanting, making it
something other than contraception -- and something that kills. Another
obvious lie: MAP is safe for the woman using it. Yes, the FDA's experts
concluded that MAP is safe, but no one has studied the effects of repeated
use, and the FDA's experts warned that repeated use could be seriously
harmful.

Yet another lie is that MAP will only be accessible to adult women over
the counter. Anyone possessing passing familiarity with American society
knows that young teenagers have easy access to cigarettes and alcohol,
which are supposed to be sold only to adults. Why should anyone think MAP
will be different?

Boston Globe columnist Ellen Goodman often provides an excellent summary
of all the lies of the left. In a typically dishonest column August 10,
she not only claimed that MAP is contraception that prevents abortion and
thus pro-lifers as well as pro-abortionists should favor it, but she
condemns "the truly bizarre idea offered by opponents such as the
Concerned Women for America, that a predator or rapist could 'buy the drug
in order to cover up his abuse.'" Goodman ridicules this very likely
proposition.

As we wrote just last week, many underage girls are having relations with
adult boyfriends. These men, guilty of statutory rape, often transport
their victims for abortions, which is one reason why the Child Custody
Protection Act is needed. Soon, MAP will be as near as the corner
drugstore, and who can doubt these men will buy it and pressure their
young teen girlfriends to take it repeatedly, whenever standard
"protection" was not used or failed? After all, these fellows haven't
exactly demonstrated their great concern for the well-being of the fair
***, have they?

And how old are these guys? Men 25 or older sire more children of
school-age California girls than do boys, according to congressional
testimony from Professor Teresa Stanton Collett of the University of St.
Thomas School of Law in Minnesota. Nationally, two-thirds of teen mothers
have boyfriends over 20. And among California girls 15 or younger who
give birth, the boyfriends are usually 6 to 7 years older. That's
right -- the father of a 15-year-old -- child is usually at least 21. Thanks
to Hillary Clinton and a craven FDA, he will soon be able to legally pick
up a package of MAP to go with the 12-pack he will use to get his teen
girlfriend drunk.

"Politicians are trying to push FDA approval through with strong-arm
tactics that have no place in evaluations of women's health and safety...,"
Christian Medical Association (CMA) Executive Director Dr. David
Stevens said today. "This move by the FDA appears to be based on
political expedience and ideology rather than science. It makes no
medical sense to offer over-the-counter access to a powerful hormonal drug
when lower doses of those hormones in contraceptives require a physician's
prescription."

There is still hope that von Eschenbach will make the right decision.

Joseph A. D'Agostino is Vice President for Communications at the
Population Research Institute.
_________________________________________________
Alternative Information and Opinion at:


[/quote]