More fuzzy health care language from the administration

Harry Reid has the questionable language in his secret health care reform plan with the "public option opt out co-op." No one knows what is in the plan and apparently won't until the CBO scores the bill. The only real bill that exists presently is HR 3200 from the house of representatives and there are moderate democrats who are not happy with this. See this from Bart Stupak (D) Michigan......

Will The Real Barack Obama Please Stand Up?

The President addressed the 2009 graduating class of Notre Dame University amidst a swirl of controversy over the appropriateness of a blatantly pro-abortion President receiving an honorary degree and then addressing the graduating class. Demonstrators arrived on the campus and were summarily arrested for trespassing on the university grounds. Students and parents boycotted their graduation and attended prayer services held on the college grounds. Graduates used their mortar boards to voice support for the President or for the Pro-life cause.

Then the POTUS took the podium, and in his inimitable suave style, delivered a speech that served absolution to American Catholics who turned their backs on the sanctity of life when they voted for candidate Obama. Then he gave a shameless plug for his own book.





But contrast this speech with Candidate Obama who, less than one year ago, glibly and arrogantly proclaimed his support for the Pro-abortion cause in a speech to Planned Parenthood.




This is the same man who "doesn't want his daughters punished with a baby." This is the same man who during the campaign gave his "Just Words" speech in which he plagiarized Deval Patrick, but regardless of whose "words" they were, they underscored the use of words, the power of mere words, and ultimately we know that talk can be cheap.




So which "words" reflect the real position of Barack Obama?? He can talk the talk, but will he/ can he walk the walk? I am reminded of a Department Chairman in years past whose business style was to engage everyone in giving input about subjects, but then he did what he wanted to do. The only thing he gained was cover for him to hide behind when people challenged him on why he did things that no one wanted.


Can you name ONE thing that President Obama has done in the name of reducing abortion in this nation???

Answer: He took some incendiary language regarding abortion off of his website.

So, while we heard flowery prose on Sunday afternoon, actions speak louder than words and Mr. Obama's actions seem to relegate those "words" to just that...."just words".

Out of the Mouths of Babes

This young girl makes the case for Pro-Life positions better than almost any adult I have heard.






Thank you.

Point Counterpoint in Florida

In October, 2008, in Homestead, Florida the world's most premature baby celebrated her 2nd birthday. Amilia Taylor was born at 21 weeks of gestation and weighed only 10 ounces. She is truly a miracle, but in a clinic outside of Miami, Florida, at 23 weeks of gestation another baby was born alive after an abortion gone wrong and was quickly exsanguinated and tossed into the trash even as she struggled for breath. Sycloria Williams went to a Miami clinic for a midtrimester abortion and after having laminaria stents placed in the cervix to dilate it, was given prostaglandin to induce contractions and sent to a clinic to await the delivery. When she rapidly progressed to deliver her baby, there were no qualified medical personnel in attendance. Her baby was liveborn and began to struggle to breathe. An unqualified attendant cut the cord and placed the baby into a plastic bag with the placenta and disposed of the body in the trash. The decomposing remains were discovered one week later. At autopsy, there was air in the infant's lungs, verifying that the infant had been breathing prior to death. While this unfortunate situation is murder, it serves to underscore the problem of abortion in the 21st century and the schizophrenic moral dilemma that it sets up.

Back in the day of Roe v. Wade, neither of these babies would have survived even with the best of medical care. Today, one woman's abortion is another's beloved child. If we can make it possible for babies of 21 to 23 weeks of gestation to survive, how is it that we can also condone the abortion/murder of fetuses at these same gestational ages?

As non-medical a source as Wikipedia contains the following information about the lower limit of fetal viability:

Viability

Human fetus, age unknown

The lower limit of viability is approximately five months gestational age, and usually later.^[35] According to The Developing Human:

Viability is defined as the ability of fetuses to survive in the extrauterine environment... There is no sharp limit of development, age, or weight at which a fetus automatically becomes viable or beyond which survival is assured, but experience has shown that it is rare for a baby to survive whose weight is less than 500 gm or whose fertilization age is less than 22 weeks. Even fetuses born between 26 and 28 weeks have difficulty surviving, mainly because the respiratory system and the central nervous system are not completely differentiated... If given expert postnatal care, some fetuses weighing less than 500 gm may survive; they are referred to as extremely low birth weight or immature infants.... Prematurity is one of the most common causes of morbidity and prenatal death.^[36]

During the past several decades, neonatal care has improved with advances in medical science, and therefore the limit of viability has have moved earlier.^[37] As of 2006, the two youngest children to survive premature birth are thought to be James Elgin Gill (born on 20 May 1987 in Ottawa, Canada, at 21 weeks and 5 days gestational age),^[38][39] and Amillia Taylor (born on 24 October 2006 in Miami, Florida, at 21 weeks and 6 days gestational age).^[40][41] Both children were born just under 20 weeks from fertilization, or a few days past the midpoint of an average full-term pregnancy. Despite their premature births, both developed into healthy children.

President Obama has said that one of his Presidential goals will be to sign the Freedom of Choice Act (FOCA) which will effectively take away the restrictions to abortion in this country. Since he also was against the Born Alive Infant Protection Act, scenes such as those involving Sycloria Williams' baby will be allowed to play out again and again without apparent repercussions. He has surrounded himself with advisors of like mind and his judicial nominees stand in lock step with him in this area.

We have given away the moral compass of our country in slow sequential concessions and baby steps so that now we are standing on the precipice and have no where else to go except to jump off to our own certain destruction....and we did it all by ourselves.

Getting Down to the Real Business of Being President

Today is the 36th anniversary of Roe v. Wade. As the inaugural celebrants are leaving, many pro-life advocates will be traveling to Washington D.C. to voice their opposition to abortion. In the past 8 years, President Bush spoke with this gathering annually and supported their cause. This year, on the anniversary of Roe v. Wade, President Obama will "celebrate" this occasion on his second day in office by issuing an executive order reversing the "Mexico City Policy."

The Mexico City Policy forbids any non-governmental agency operating overseas that performs or promotes abortions from receiving any US foreign aid.

So one of his first official acts in the first 100 days is to be sure that your tax dollars go to promote global abortions--I wonder if any of his Kenyan relatives will be recipients???

The Handshake Before the Match

Today is like the handshake before the athletic competition. A new president has taken over the helm and, at least, for today there should be civility and respect for the office of the President of the United States. But tomorrow the gloves come off and it is up to all conservatives to stand up (if I may be so forward as to use a phrase from the Obama playbook) BOLDLY and defend the things that we hold precious.

One of the most important battles for social conservatives during this administration will be played out over the most vulnerable of citizens---the unborn. Planned Parenthood and FOCA loom large on the horizon. We have the most Pro-abortion President and Congress in the history of our country and there is much to be lost in the next few years unless we stand together with conviction against this rising tide.

We have spent so much time in the past 8 years being PC and we have precious little to show for it other than ground lost. PC is political and ideological impotence. It is gratifying to give credit to CatholicVote.org for this powerful pro-life advertisement that is being played on national television during the Inauguration coverage.




To all of you who support FOCA and the ability to make abortion easier to obtain than it already is--think of this--Barack Obama would not be President today if his mother had taken the walk down YOUR path!

What To Get For The Gal Who Has Everything?

It is the question raised every year when Christmas comes along. The usual lament is "I can't think of anything to give her! She has everything!!" Well, this year the Indiana Planned Parenthood has the answer.......drum roll....Planned Parenthood Gift Certificates in denominations of $25! And, are you ready for this.....they are redeemable for...... services or the recipient’s choice of birth control method!!! (Services include abortions and there are women who use abortion as their preferred method of birth control....trust me, I'm a gynecologist.) Oh, don't forget, shoppers, these great certificates can also be purchased ONLINE!

Can't you just see the scene on Christmas morning, opening the beautifully wrapped present that contains not diamonds, not Prada, not Gucci, not Chanel, not Tiffany, not Rolex, not even Timex......but Planned Parenthood! Is the sparkle in her eye a tear of joy or humiliation??? Can't you imagine the sigh of envy that goes through those gathered around when you open your gift and everyone yells, "Let's see." "What did you get?" "Hold it up so we can all see it!" This is like giving an adolescent her first bra, wrapped up for Christmas to be opened in public. Or giving Grandma a case of Depends....sure she needs it, but what were they thinking???

The male significant other proclaims proudly, "See honey, you don't have to be punished with a baby!" While his lucky lady gushes back, "Oh, Honey, you are just the best guy in the world and now I don't have to worry about replicating your blood line!"

Can't you imagine Planned Parenthood gift certificates stuffed into a stocking hung by the chimney with care? Won't that make him a knight in shining armor in your eyes?? Or if this is a gift from your in-laws, the chill cast on the rest of the festivities will make the heat generated from the hot mulled cider so much more appreciated.

Has our country really sunk to such a low point that we can actually say that in America, (or at least in Indiana), we celebrate the birth of the Babe of Bethlehem by giving the gift of Planned Parenthood services? God help us all.

WWJD

I admit that I hang out on Twitter. This afternoon, this question was posed for discussion:

Just wondering: Does it matter to Christians whether a candidate is pro-life or pro-abortion? Would Jesus care or make it an issue? Why?

But this question does not lend itself to an answer that can fit into 140 characters. And the discussion that followed often expanded outside of the 140 character box or required multiple boxes to get the point across. I have been pondering this question since it was posted.

I am an unapologetic Pro-life Christian. For me, the Pro-Life position is very important in my choice of political candidates. I want a candidate that will protect the innocents in our country and look on each and every life as an individual with worth. I want a candidate that will not withhold comfort measures to a fetus that has been born alive after a failed abortion. I want a candidate that will not condone the creation of life in order to destroy it for the cells that can be harvested. I want a candidate that will actively look for alternatives to embryonic stem cells.

Today, thanks to our wonderful American medical system, we now put the lower limit of fetal salvage at 24 weeks of gestation. 24 weeks is also the upper limit for legal termination in many states. What happens in 24 hours to make a fetus disposable and the next day worthy of all out efforts to salvage that same life?

In 1973 when Roe v. Wade was crafted our obstetric technology was rudimentary compared to that of today. Ultrasound was in its clinical infancy and the ability to do prenatal genetic testing was still on the drawing board. It can possibly be said that ignorance of the events in early pregnancy made it possible for legalization of abortion on demand to exist, but today, we need to re-evaluate the wisdom of this in light of existing technology that enables us to save babies born remote from term. I want a candidate who is willing to re-examine this topic in light of modern technology.

Even the argument for termination to protect the life of the mother has fallen by the wayside. Today there are almost no situations where the life and health of the mother will be improved or spared by termination of a pregnancy even in the scenario of cancer and chemotherapy. The process of emptying the uterus either by laboring or by opening the uterus to deliver the fetus is no different in an abortion than it is at term, so there is nothing to be gained by not allowing the fetus to reach maturity before delivery. Today there are alternatives to abortion that make it possible for these innocent lives to be spared.

Would Jesus care or make it an issue?? I believe that Jesus would also be unapologetic in His position for life. He demonstrated this by healing the dregs of society, making special time to minister to little children, rejoicing over the prodigal son who squandered his life and then came home and finally making the ultimate sacrifice of His own life to save mankind. As one who placed such value on even the lives of the most outcast, there is no doubt in my mind that Jesus would also stand firmly for the unborn. He would make this an issue just as forcefully as he drove the money lenders out of the temple. And yet, there would also be forgiveness for the repentant and mercy for those who truly were sorry for the choices that they made.

Our society has become numb to the Slaughter of the Innocents that takes place every day all over America as a reflection of how amoral America has become. It is time that we seek a real solution to the problem of abortion in America and give the unborn their voice.