Prenatal Testing and Abortion, a History

ChelseaFebruary 23, 2013Prenatal Genetic TestingLeave a Comment

Patheos Evangelical blogger Amy Julia Becker has a fascinating article at The New Atlantic on the history of prenatal testing and abortion.

The editors of the Atlantic have titled it Better Prenatal Testing Does Not Mean More Abortion, but the crux of her article is not so much whether better prenatal testing has lead to fewer abortions or not (a commentor suggests that her numbers, based on this study, are a little misleading — at least on an international level), but that parents are “asking the wrong questions about Down syndrome” (her original title for the article).

In a comment on her blog she writes:

My book, A Good and Perfect Gift, is all about misguided wants and unearthing assumptions that needed to be overturned. In this article, and with my original title for it (Asking the wrong questions about DS) I was trying to demonstrate how I thought I knew what I wanted (and what I “deserved” in a child). Then I was given Penny, and I have been delighted to find that in receiving her I was able to let go of many wants and my sense of entitlement while still receiving the joy of her presence in our lives.

I did express concern to my editor at the Atlantic about the title, and I asked Mark to offer his comment over there to make sure the numbers are clear. Still, in the US the data is different than Europe, and my hope is that telling the positive story about Down syndrome will help women make the choice to use prenatal testing simply to prepare to bring those children into the world.

Anyway, go read it.

Abortion is Not the Only Pro-Life Battle Before Us

ChelseaFebruary 21, 2013Abortion, Cloning, Embryonic Stem Cell Research, IVF, Pro Life, Reproductive Technology2 Comments

Students for Life of America president Kristan Hawkins writes at HLI’s Truth and Charity Forum:

I’m not saying to abandon the use of the term “pro-life” altogether, but we must realize that the term “pro-life” allows the person using it to give it their own definition.

For me and others I work with, it means that we are dedicated to abolishing all abortions in our lifetime. For others, it means that they are personally against abortion but wouldn’t stop a friend from having one. And for another group of people, it means being against abortion, euthanasia, the death penalty, unjust war, nuclear weapons, sex trafficking, and so on.

While the term “pro-life” can have many connotations with different meanings to different people, being anti-abortion very clearly states what we are against. There’s no confusion there.

In addition, it makes “abortion” the key issue and shoves the term back in the face of Planned Parenthood and the abortion industry.

Friends, for years, the mainstream media has attempted to turn “anti-abortion” into a pejorative term and in reaction, pro-lifers have chafed at the press refusing to call us by our preferred name.
…
Instead of shrinking from the “anti-abortion” classification, we should embrace it. We ARE anti-abortion. We are anti-abortion because it kills the most innocent and vulnerable among us; it degrades, deceives, and hurts women; it tears apart our families; and it has taken a third of this generation from us.
…
Don’t be afraid to call yourself anti-abortion or an abortion abolitionist, because that is who we are, and our ultimate goal is to abolish abortion in our lifetime.

This isn’t the first time I’ve seen a pro-lifer express frustration at the watering down of the term “pro-life” and encourage us to embrace and use the term “pro-abortion” instead. I have an idea for an article that significantly expands on my thoughts here in a less direct way, but, in the meantime, a few quick notes:

I agree that we should not shy away from the media’s label of us as  ”anti-abortion”. We do oppose abortion, after all. But if we are truly concerned about the value and dignity of every human life, especially at it’s most vulnerable stages, then simply being “anti-abortion” is not enough.   Not in today’s world.

Denise Hunnell said it well in her Forum article on Tuesday (which, it seems, Kristan was responding to), “The culture of death is a  multi-headed dragon that must be destroyed at its heart.” Obviously,  after 40 years and over 50 million murdered unborn children, abortion  remains our highest pro-life priority. It’s the one we’ve been fighting  the longest. But we have GOT to start making the many other threats to the dignity of the human person (ESCR, assisted reproductive technology,  human cloning, euthanasia/assisted suicide) an equal priority for our  movement before they get just as out of hand as abortion is today. In  fact, we already have an outrageously out of control, unregulated fertility industry  that, while it’s aim is to foster new life, has resulted in the loss of  millions upon millions of innocent human lives — and the numbers just  keep growing.

I’m not saying that Hawkins and other pro-lifers don’t care about these other issues at all, but, let’s face it, they’re not being fought with the same intensity as abortion is. No one’s holding vigil outside of fertility clinics, for example, praying for the conversion of IVF doctors and handing out “alternatives to IVF” literature to couples as they go in the building — even though multiple tiny human beings perish during every round of IVF. The fertility industry remains laughingly unregulated while we challenge the abortion industry with new restrictions every year. And there are, to my knowledge, precious little attempts to even try to restrict research that creates, manipulates and destroys nascent human life.

The bottom line is this: for our movement  as a whole, “pro-life” remains the only accurate label which we should  embrace and take back from those who would distort it and water it down.

I understand that it’s not easy keeping up with all the attacks on the dignity of the human person these days, but we cannot afford to let these other issues fall through the cracks. This ‘aint your momma’s pro-life movement, anymore. Or, it shouldn’t remain so. Pro-life 3.0 is upon us, whether we like it or not and it’s progressing fast — and largely under the radar.

All of this, of course, is to say nothing of the devastating end of life issues we face.

Giving the H

ChelseaFebruary 20, 2013Disabled1 Comment

This is a delightful story from my sisters’ high school alma mater about a young man with Down syndrome who is carrying on the tradition of a school legend:

Giving The H from Tom Martin on Vimeo.

I think my favorite part of this story is the very beginning:

By medical definition, Elijah Mayfield–compared to his peers–is alone.
…
The reason he attends Helias High School is because he wasn’t.

“St. Peter’s, the Catholic school uptown. He was the 21st person in this classroom. And as those kids matured, they came around full circle and just embraced him,” said Todd Mayfield, Elijah’s father. “We had always asked at St. Peter’s, okay, not being Catholic, what’s next? What happens after 8th grade? And from day one, they told us, you know, more than likely, the public schools is your best option, because Helias doesn’t have a program. This group of kids, they said ‘we’ll write letters to Helias.’ They felt very strongly and they wanted him to be with them.”

The medical community could learn a lot from these 8th graders. Children with Down syndrome should be embraced and we should fight for their inclusion in society, not try to snuff them out of existence. Parents who receive a prenatal diagnosis positive for Down syndrome should be told how much their unborn child will enrich their lives and the lives of those around them instead of perpetuating the myth that these children live lives of unspeakable suffering and are a drain on family life.

Cute Baby Vujicic Blogging

ChelseaFebruary 16, 2013Cute Baby Blogging, DisabledLeave a Comment

Congratulations, Nick and Kanae!

On Thursday, Nick Vujicic posted this picture onto his Facebook page with the following caption: “Thank you all so very much for all your love and prayers!! Kiyoshi James Vujicic – 8 Pounds 10 oz, 21 3/4 inches long. Mama Kanae doing excellent as well.”

Nick Vujicic, you will recall, was born without any arms or legs. He is now a world famous motivational speaker and the author of the books Life Without Limits, Unstoppable an the forthcoming Limitless.

And, yes, in case you were wondering, they conceived this child naturally. In this interview on Australia’s 60 minutes shortly after his marriage, Nick gets the inevitable “intimacy” question (which is one of the most common questions I get from my peers). To which his wife so perfectly responds, “He’s got everything he needs.” Heh. I might have to start using that response about myself.

Previously:
Winning the Hand You’re Dealt
No Arms, No Legs, No Problems: Congratulations, Nick Vujicic!!
Disabled People Are “Sexy,” Too!
Surprise! People W/ Disabilities Can Have Babies and Be Good Parents

My Fuzzy Valentine

ChelseaFebruary 14, 2013Love, Personal2 Comments

Here he is again.

This silly, stinky pup has been the one and only man in my life for the past thirteen years (God, give me a few more, at least!)…with one exception.

February 14, 2001: My Papal Valentine

What can I say? It was love at first sight. JP II, I love you!

Previous Valentine’s Day posts:
Valentine’s Day Advice for Singles
You Are Loved

Motivation for Your Fasting Fatigue

ChelseaFebruary 13, 2013Religion1 Comment

It’s late evening on Ash Wednesday. You’re tired and hungry and wondering why, exactly, you’re doing this again. I recently came across this helpful little nugget in one of my retreat journals that might give you some much needed motivation:

Here (hopefully) is a little more inspiration for those suffering from fasting fatigue on this Ash Wednesday evening.

In fasting…we have a negative, self-denial of a sense-desire, a concupiscible appetite. At the same time (if we do not want to look gloomy) there must be a positive affirmation, a positive interior movement towards reverence for the body, holiness, and love. The key for this is given in Luke 5:35 where Jesus tells us, “The days will come, when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast in those days.” Jesus connects the practice of fasting with love for the bridegroom. The desire for food becomes a desire for union with Christ–an attitude the Church has maintained from the earliest days. Indeed, the only current daily fast in the Roman Catholic Church is the fast before Holy Communion. We learn to relate the hunger pangs of empty stomachs with a preparation for Communion with Jesus Christ, the Divine Bridegroom. Fasting, like chastity, becomes a reverence for the Body. In short, given the motivation Jesus provides, in which fasting (like chastity) is an expression of longing and a preparation of the body for the Body of the Bridegroom, we might even say, “fasting is romantic.” In this light, we can better see how St. Benedict can encourage his monks “to love fasting” (and “to love chastity”) and we can see how Jesus can tell us not to look gloomy. Our growling stomachs are calling to us, “The Bridegroom is near! Let us go out to meet Him!”

From Fr. Boniface Hicks, OSB. Read the whole thing.

“The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in mercy” -Ps. 103:8. Wishing you all a grace-filled Lenten season!

40 Days for Life: Hope After 40 Years

ChelseaFebruary 13, 201340 Days for LifeLeave a Comment

It started with just one hour of prayer in College Station, TX not even ten years ago. Today, 40 Days for Life has grown to a bi-annual 40 day campaign of prayer, fasting, peaceful vigil and community outreach for more than half a million people in hundreds of cities across America and around the world.

Starting today through Sunday, March 24, 40 Days for Life campaigns will be held in 261 cities all across the United States and Canada, plus cities in England, Australia, Poland and Spain — and for the first time ever in Nigeria, South Africa, Wales and Russia. This will be their largest spring campaign ever.

How moving it is so moving to see such a peaceful, prayerful campaign spread so far and wide. And what a testament to how committed the pro-life faithful are to ending abortion and building a culture of life. The horror of abortion has been a legally accepted practice here in the United States for forty years. After so much time we could have easily given up hope of ever turning things around. Instead, the pro-life movement has grown significantly over the years and is stronger now more than ever before with more and more pro-lifers stepping out of their comfort zones and into the, sometimes very hostile, public eye to speak for those who have no voice.

Amazing things happen when we put our trust in God and step forward in faith. As a result of the 40 Days for Life campaign, 6,749 babies have been saved from abortion, thousands of women and men have been spared from lives of regret. 75 abortion workers have experienced conversions and left their jobs and 26 abortion centers have been closed down for good.

Every baby, every mother and father, every worker, every closure is an amazing story. This January forty of these stories were fully revealed to the public for the first time ever in the new book, 40 Days for Life: Discover What God Has Done … Imagine What He Can Do, written by David Bereit, national director for 40 Days for Life, and Shawn Carney, 40 Days for Life campaign director.

In this book, you will read dramatic, firsthand accounts of:

Hearts changed on the most controversial issue in our culture
Babies and mothers saved from abortion at the last possible second
Shocking secrets from inside the closed doors of the abortion industry
Abortion workers having conversions and quitting their jobs
Thriving abortion centers shutting down for good

Most importantly, you’ll discover exactly how you can change hearts and save lives from abortion right in your hometown.

This book has been enthusiastically endorsed by nearly every national pro-life leader. Here’s what just a few of them had to say about it:

“40 Days for Life is one of the most impressive initiatives launched since Roe v. Wade. The forty stories told here are America at its best.” -George Weigel, Biographer of Pope John Paul II

“These are incredibly beautiful stories – brief, crisply told, illuminating, heart-rending. Reading one a day does wonders for one’s sense of human beauty and God’s power.” -Michael Novak, Journalist, Author, Ambassador

“I have encouraged the work of 40 Days for Life from its inception. When God’s people show up at abortion centers, miracles happen, and this book is evidence of that fact!” -Fr. Frank Pavone, Priests for Life

In these next 40 days, I hope you will make some time to pick up this inspiring book and participate in this life changing, life saving event. Find the 40 Days for Life campaign nearest you to learn how you can help make a life-saving difference in your own community.

If nothing else, please click here for daily devotionals and pray and fast with us this Lent for an end to abortion and a greater respect for all human life. Don’t worry, prayer is the life-blood of this campaign, so, even if that’s all you can do, it’s no small thing!

Lenten Pro-life Prayer
(via Priests for Life)

Father of all mercy,
We thank you for this season of grace and light.
We know that sin has blinded us.
Draw us ever closer to you, in prayer and penance.

Since you, O God, are light itself,
Give all your people a clearer understanding
Of what is sin, and what is virtue.

Grant in particular that we may see, as never before,
The profound dignity of every human life,
Including the vulnerable unborn children.

Give us grace to defend
Our brothers and sisters in the womb
By our prayers, our words,
And our self-sacrificing actions.

We pray through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Geron’s Dfunct Stem Cell Program Given New Life

ChelseaFebruary 13, 2013Stem Cell ResearchLeave a Comment

It was a major pro-life victory. Nearly two years ago one of the largest biotech companies in the United States ended the first human trials for a treatment using cells derived from human embryos. Not only that, but they got out of the ESC research business entirely.

Unfortunately, now it seems Geron’s ESCR program has been given new life. Last month, former CEO Tom Okarma signed an agreement for BioTime of Alameda, California to take control of the program.

This announcement comes shortly after the United States Supreme Court refused to hear a case challenging the legality of Barack Obama’s expanded government support of human embryonic-stem-cell research. So, you can bet that whenever the trials resume here, your tax dollars will probably help fund them.

I don’t mean to sound cynical, but at some point, pro-lifers are going to have to stop hanging their hats on the fact that ESCR has not been “successful.” Whatever happens with this new venture, let’s remember that this is about ethics, not science.

Malala Yousufzai: Recovering Well, Nominated for Nobel Peace Prize

ChelseaFebruary 8, 2013Abortion, Women1 Comment

What happy news! 15-year-old Malala Yousufzai, the Pakistani schoolgirl who was shot in the head by the Taliban last October, has been discharged from a British hospital after undergoing a successful surgery to reconstruct her skull and help her to restore her hearing.

In even more happy news, Yousufzai has been formally nominated for the 2013 Nobel Peace Prize. Her name was put forward by members of the Norwegian parliament because of “her courageous commitment to the right of girls to education.”

On October 6, 2012, Yousufzai was shot in the head and neck in an assassination attempt by Taliban gunmen while returning home on a school bus. Her crime? Daring to suggest that women should be allowed to participate fully in society.

In a video statement released the day of her surgery, Yousufzai attributed her recovery to the many people who have been praying for her and said that God has given her a “new life.” “I want to serve the people. I want every girl, every child, to be educated,” she said. Which is why she has started the Malala Fund for the education and empowerment of girls in Pakistan and around the world.

American feminists take note: this is what a real “war on women” looks like. Not the supposed threat of limited access to abortion and birth control. In fact, our foremothers in the battle for women’s equality here in the United States — women like Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton — abhorred abortion. They considered it a sign (or a symptom, at least) of woman’s oppression and promoted education for women as a way to prevent abortion. In a sad, ironic twist of fate, however, while we now have more women in higher education than ever before, abortion, instead of being more rare, is celebrated as a “right” by modern feminists — often as a means of allowing them further their education.

Malala Yousufzai deserves the Nobel prize, or, at the very least, she’s more deserving of praise among American feminists than, say, the likes of Sandra Fluke — nominated as TIME‘s 2012 “Person of the Year” — who reduce women, once again, to nothing more than “lady parts.”

Lance Armstrong: Cheater or Pioneer?

ChelseaFebruary 7, 2013TranshumanismLeave a Comment

Heads up, party people! Rebecca Taylor and I will soon be recording another episode of BioTalk this weekend. This time we’ll be talking about transhumanism. We decided on this topic after coming across a recent Wired article suggesting that Lance Armstrong, who recently admitted to doping for much of his cycling career, should be “celebrated as a pioneer in human enhancement.” Andy Miah writes:

Why on earth should we make a fuss about doping technologies that make athletes perform better? This is the purpose of their activity. “But, it’s unfair!” I hear you cry. So, make it legal. Give everyone the same chance to use it and then let us focus on monitoring the risks. It will be easier, since the substances and techniques will be known — best practices for optimising doping will even be published….

Instead of a World Anti-Doping Agency to police the cheating athletes, we need a World Pro-Doping Agency to help invest more money into developing safer forms of enhancement. This agency would publish a list of permitted enhancements, rather banned ones. It would allow individuals who were not born with the physiological tendencies of the self-selecting elite athlete population to use technology to become competitive, not just in sport, but in any career where biology matters — and some would say that this is all of them.

Read the rest.

Rebecca has already responded to Miah’s piece in an article of her own. Consider it a little sneak peak at our next episode:

Unfortunately, the Wired tribute to Armstrong trots out the typical transhumanist claims that these kinds of enhancements will be available to everyone. As Miah urges, “Give everyone the same chance to use it and then let us focus on monitoring the risks.”

Except not “everyone” will have access. To lower classes in the developed countries or those in abject poverty in the third world, those augmentations for “everyone” will remain out of reach.

Miah also makes the well-worn fallacious argument that all of us are already “enhanced” because we have fluoridated water and get vaccinations. Since you are already “enhanced,” why not try this cognitive enhancing drug, or get yourself a cyber-brain in a fanny pack, or even chop off your perfectly good limb and replace it with a bionic one?

A lot of people fall for what I call the “transhumanist trap” because they cannot see that immunity and strong teeth are natural body responses to environmental stimuli. Natural is not what transhumanism is about. Transhumanists want to go beyond natural to things nature could never accomplish on her own.

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this: