Tasty and High-Tech Contraceptives

ChelseaContraception, Family, SexLeave a Comment

Mmm Mmm Good! In an attempt to help reduce the level of birth control pill “failures,” one company has come up with a chewable, spearmint flavored pill to entice women to take the pills regularly. The idea is that if the pill is tasty and fun to take then women would be less likely to forget or skip doses, ensuring a higher rate of birth control efficiency. For a great satire on this see: New chewable birth control pill aims to combat preteen pregnancy.

Of course we can’t leave the men out of this contraception reformation. In Germany, sex educators are in the process of developing spray on condoms. Meant to go from liquid to rubber in seconds, I suppose there is some practical reason for this. If you figure that out please enlighten me. On second thought, just keep it to yourself, I’d rather not know.

All of this, though, fails to teach responsible and meaningful sexuality. Our sexuality, who we are as persons, is a supreme gift from God. And the marital embrace, within the bonds of holy Matrimony, is meant to be a mutual exchange of total self giving – a gift of self that holds nothing back, including fertility.

Brownback Videos

ChelseaEmbryonic Stem Cell Research, Family, Marriage, Politics, Pro Life, Right to Life, videoLeave a Comment

For those of you not familiar with Sen. Brownback, here are a couple of videos I found on You Tube. The first is of him at a pro-life banquet. The second is a piece of his debate on the ESC research bill a few months ago.

Jump Onboard the Brownback Bus Today!

ChelseaFamily, Politics, Pro LifeLeave a Comment

brownback.jpgSen. Sam Brownback, seen here with his adopted daughter, is really getting serious about his presidential bid and we should be to! He is a real family man and a solid pro-life candidate. His only drawback right now is that he doesn’t have the money or the name recognition as the other GOP frontrunners. So he needs our help starting now. The next year and a half are going to go by quickly. Click here to contribute or join a coalition. Let’s start speading the word!

“I am an economic, a fiscal, a social and a compassionate conservative,” he said.

“I’m the one that has been there, is there and will be there in the future,” he added, a subtle dig at his potential rivals who are trying to claim the conservative mantle.

Positioning himself as the traditional values candidate, Brownback said his campaign’s main focus would be “to save and improve lives, rebuild families and renew the culture” in the United States that supports the institution of family.

“We don’t have enough family formation taking place in this country,” the father of five said. “We know the best place to raise children is between a mom and a dad. It’s not the only place, and you can raise great kids in many different settings, and people do, and they struggle heroically to do it.”

Related:
Pro-Life Senator Sam Brownback Says He’ll Win GOP Presidential Primary
Brownback for President

Cord Blood Banking Becoming More Popular

ChelseaAdult Stem Cell Research, Umbilical Cord BloodLeave a Comment

Umbilical Cord Blood is loaded with stem cells and provides an ethically acceptable alternative to embryonic stem cell research. Cord blood banking is becoming increasingly more popular, too. According to the March of Dimes, cord blood is treating more than 45 disorders. The idea of UCB banking is to store the blood that is generally discarded after birth in case that child or a family member develops some form of blood disease in the future.

One of the drawbacks to umbilical cord banking is that it is rather expensive. If you find that you can’t afford to bank your own blood that doesn’t mean you have to let it go to waste. Cord blood banks also accept donations for use for research or transplantation. UCB stem cells have seen tremendous success recently. Scientists have grown liver cells, lung cells and even an artificial liver, using stem cells from umbilical cords. Unfortunately all of the hype over embryonic stem cell research has masked the amazing significance of these natural stem cells.

For more information on UCB research, successes, and banks visit:
A Parent’s Guide to Cord Blood Banks
National Marrow Donor Program
International Cord Blood Society
Cord Blood Registry
St. Louis Cord Blood Bank
The Coalition of Americans for Research Ethics
Or ask your local hospital/doctor

Unborn Child Pain Act Falls Short

ChelseaAbortion, Politics, Pro Life, Right to LifeLeave a Comment

Although a marjority of Representatives voted in favor of the bill the vote fell short of the two-thirds needed to pass under parlimentary procedure. While I’m glad that there was a majority in favor, I am pretty disappointed that this did not pass. We’re dismembering our children in the womb and we won’t inform the mother that this horrific procedure could be very painful, possibly sparing her the guilt that many post-abortive women feel later on. Here’s a great statement from the legislative director for National Right to Life:

“It is no small thing that 60 percent of the House endorsed requiring abortionists to inform women that late abortion may be very painful to the unborn child. The other 40 percent will have to explain why they favor anti-pain laws for animals used for research or food, but not for unborn humans.”

Unborn Child Pain Awareness

ChelseaAbortion, Politics, Pro Life, Right to LifeLeave a Comment

Legislative alert! The House of Representatives is supposed to vote on the Unborn Child Pain Awareness Act today. I’ve got C-Span on right now and they have just begun debate on the bill. This is not about the legality of abortion, but about informed consent on the part of the woman seeking an abortion. Opponents of the bill stress the fact that the “medical and scientific” community is not unified on this issue – as is the case with most pro-life issues. But the fact that there is even a remote possibility that a human child may experience pain while being dismembered or poisoned to death demands that women who are seeking late term abortions be informed of this . One of the most painful realizations for a woman who has had an abortion is the fact that she has caused the pain and suffering of her own child. We have laws protecting livestock from feeling pain at the moment of their death – it only makes sense to do the same for our unborn children.
BTW, the National Abortion Rights Action League does not oppose this legislation.

For more information see:
Pain of the Unborn
Silent No More Awareness Campaign

Someone I Could Vote For…Finally!

ChelseaPolitics, Pro Life, Right to LifeLeave a Comment

sam_brownback.jpgI have had about enough of this Giuliani, McCain business!! Sen. Sam Brownback has begun the process to become a Republican presidential candidate in 2008. He is pro-life and pro-family and makes that a priority in his decision making: “There is a real need in our country to rebuild the family and renew our culture and there is a need for genuine conservatism and real compassion in the national discussion.” He not only votes pro-life but he introduces his own pro-life legislation, most notably a bill that would ban all forms of human cloning. I like this man and I pray that conservatives will have the confidence and the courage to stand up for the values that this country was founded on and elect someone who reflects those values. If you can think of any other possible candidates please let me know!

For more information visit: Brownback for President and Senator Brownback’s voting record,

Embryonic Stem Cell Hype

ChelseaEmbryonic Stem Cell Research, Politics, Pro LifeLeave a Comment

In California they’re getting a “reality check” after the passage of Prop. 71, which owes its victory to proponents who, much like they did in MO, carted out sick babies and people in wheelchairs with doctors claiming that ESC research is their only hope for cures. The subheadline to a recent LA Times article says it all: “The research, stalled by legal challenges, offers no guarantees of cures, California institute scientists say as they outline more modest goals.” That research, as I have just said, is human ESC research, which requires the destruction of embryonic human life. In 2004 Californians voted to spend $3 billion to fund ESC research with the idea that this would give researchers the tools they needed to find cures for almost every disease known to man. Now researchers are saying:

“It is unlikely that [the California Institute of Regenerative Medicine] will be able to fully develop stem cell therapy for routine clinical use during the 10 years of the plan.”

Instead, the top goal is to establish, in principle, that a therapy developed from human embryonic stem cells can “restore function for at least one disease.”

This is not what Californians were promised. They were promised cures for Spinal Cord Injury, Parkinson’s Disease, Diabetes, Multiple Sclerosis – you name the disease and ESC research was the answer. Unfortunately science and medicine has become just another political machine. “[T]outing dramatic cures in exchange for research dollars has become “the American way” of doing medical research, said Robert Blendon, professor of health policy and management at the Harvard School of Public Health.” Meanwhile individuals who suffer terrible diseases and disabilities are being used and exploited and the lives of our embryonic brothers and sisters destroyed.

Uniting for Life

ChelseaPro Life, Right to LifeLeave a Comment

Pope Benedict XVI and Orthodox Patriarch Bartholomew I recently signed a joint declaration committing themselves to the defense of human life: “‘Catholics and Orthodox are called to work together,’ the joint declaration says, ‘to promote respect for the rights of every human being, created in the image and likeness of God.'”

*sigh* Nothing brings people together quite like the desire to promote and protect the sanctity of human life.

Speaking of bringing people together, it’s time to start thinking about the March for Life next month. There are now a few different options to commemorate the aniversary of Roe v. Wade. There is, of course the March for Life in Washington D.C. There is also a Walk for Life West Coast in San Francisco. And Operation Rescue is planning a 4-day event (Jan. 19-22) in Witchita KS, specifically focusing on George Tiller, the partial-birth abortionist. These are excellent opportunities for people of different faiths to unite and witness for life! Public witness is a tough but very uplifting experience. It is amazing to be a small part of thousands marching for such a beautiful cause, or just to be one of a handful praying quietly outside a clinic.

Michigan on the Right Track

ChelseaAdult Stem Cell ResearchLeave a Comment

The state of Michigan continues to do a good job of promoting ethical stem cell research. The state senate approved a set of bills designed to promote adult stem cell research. They also defeated an amendment that would lift the state ban on funding for embryonic stem cell research. Michigan, which bans cloning for any purpose, has a booming biotech industry, which is what happens when you put your money and efforts into research that actually produces tangible results. This is the example that other states should be following, instead of racing to see who can throw the most money into the hopes and dreams of ineffective and unethical research on human embryos.