The Year in Review - What "Change" Do You Want in 2012?

Ring in the New Year ...  and ring out the old.  Every year on December 31st, most people celebrate the end of one year, and look forward to the beginning of a new one with much excitement and anticipation. Resolutions are made, which may or may not be kept, in the hope that things will be better in the next year. Basically, with each new year, people look forward to "Change". Where have we heard that word before?

The first thing I would like to "Change" in the new year of 2012, is the guy who championed that word in the 1st place; successfully securing himself a place of power in history.  This was his promise: "Change you could believe in". This was the mantra, that many voters fell for.  So let's just take a look back at the past  year, and see what changed in 2011. 

In January of 2011, he re-nominates 4 pro-abortion judges, and selects pro-abortion William Daley as his Chief of Staff.  He also celebrated the 38th anniversary of Roe v Wade, and recommitted himself to the the right of unlimited abortion with these words, "Today marks the 38th anniversary of Roe v Wade, the Supreme Court decision that protects women's health and reproductive freedom, and affirms a fundamental principle; that government should not intrude on private family matters. I am committed to protecting this constitutional right, and on this anniversary, I hope that we will recommit ourselves more broadly to ensure that our daughters have the same rights, the same freedoms, and the same opportunity as our sons to fulfill their dreams."

In February of  2011, he rewarded the "Catholic" Health Association for being instrumental in the passage of Obamacare.   He then weakened the conscience protection for health care workers.

In March of 2011, the Obama Administration refused to investigate videos showing Planned Parenthood helping alleged sex-traffickers get abortions for young girls, and threatened to veto a bill defunding Planned Parenthood's abortion business. Michelle Obama hosted a party honoring Planned Parenthood's president Cecile Richards at the White House, for the 100th anniversary of International Women's Day.

In April of 2011, he refused Republican leadership's request to cut taxpayer funding to the Planned Parenthood abortion business. He castigated the Vatican over family planning and hosted an Easter breakfast for (pro-abortion) religious leaders. 

In May of 2011, he was busy meeting with abortion advocates.

In June of 2011, his administration denied Indiana's request to defund Planned Parenthood's abortion business and approved more taxpayer funded embryonic stem-cell research.

In July of 2011, a report showed the Obama policies resulted in 300 tax-funded abortions in Washington, DC. The Obama Administration demands that New Hampshire make taxpayers fund the Planned Parenthood abortion business.

In August of 2011, he forces insurance companies to pay for abortion drugs under his national health care plan.  He approves more taxpayer funded embryonic stem-cell research on August 19th.

In September of 2011, the Obama Administration was busy preparing to force all Catholic employers in the United States to cover contraception, including abortifacient drugs, without an adequate conscience clause.

In October of 2011, President Obama threatened to veto the Protect Life Act, which would prevent federal funding for abortion, including coverage programs created by Obama Care.  

In November of 2011, Mr. Change is busy preparing for his re-election campaign, by putting in place a (Catholic) Coalition to garner the Catholic vote.

In December of 2011, just in time for Christmas, more embryonic stem-cell funding was approved.  Remember folks, the funding we're talking about throughout this report, is (taxpayer) funding. That's you and me.  We are bank-rolling Mr Change's changes. 

These are just brief overviews of Mr. Change's "change to believe in", which he brought about over the past year of 2011.  President Obama is the most pro-abortion president we have had to date.  He is totally committed to abortion on demand, in all it's gory forms.  This is the real "Change" he was talking about, when he 1st came on the scene.

So, while you are searching for that much needed job, before you lose your house and home, your president is more concerned with promoting abortion, making you support it, financially as well as morally.  It is his religion .. the only "Change" he really believes in.  Question is, what do you believe in?   And what are you going to do about it?  What do you want to see "changed" in 2012?    









 

We at Lake County Right to Life want to wish all of you a Blessed and Holy Christmas Season.   The Christmas Story resounds with an affirmation of life, beginning with the Angel Gabriel's announcement of the Savior's birth to a simple little Jewish girl named Mary who lived in Nazareth. Her humble and obedient "yes" to God's invitation to become the Mother of God reflects our own "yes" to defend Life. As the story continues, Mary with child travels with haste to the hill country of Judea, where Elizabeth feels her unborn son, John the Baptist, leap for joy in her womb. Later, Joseph and Mary travel to Bethlehem, where the Son of God is born in a humble stable. Choirs of angel's announce his birth, by singing peace on earth to men of good will. Although this story is about the "Good News' of our salvation, there is a parallel to be considered.  For although we usually think of Christmas as a time of good cheer, we often forget that there is another part of the story that is equally important.  For shortly after the Savior's birth, Joseph and Mary are forced to flee Herod who seeks the death of the Christ child.  King Herod, in a savage frenzy to destroy the newborn Christ child, murders countless numbers of innocents.  Today, King Herod is alive and well and sitting in the White House, and he is still seeking the death of innocents.  Herod seeking the death of the child is just as much a part of the Christmas story as the joyful birth of the babe in the manger.  We are involved in this same parallel today. Today, the media shows our President lighting the national Christmas tree and smiling beside his beaming wife and children, but we cannot forget that he has been the most pro-abortion president in history.  We cannot forget that back in Springfield, President Obama was the only state senator to speak out against providing protection to babies surviving late-term abortions.  Our "King Herod" has not let up-his recent efforts have included a push for all of us to pay for chemical abortions.  His administration excludes organizations working to protect victims of human trafficking if they refuse to refer clients for abortions. So, as we reflect this year on these parallels of the Christmas Story, let us re-commit ourselves to the issue of life, not just as a mental assent or a part-time hobby, but as a divine call. This is a time when we are all being called to live the Christmas message in a much deeper way than we may have in the past. Lake County Right to Life wishes you and your loved ones a Holy and Blessed Christmas and a Happy New Year.

From Small Beginnings ...

Small Beginnings

We at Lake County Right to Life are delighted by the recently released statistics from the Illinois Dept. of Public Health, showing that the number of abortions performed on Lake County residents revealed a 5% decrease for 2010. These numbers reflect Lake County Right to Life's impact in Lake County.

We could not have accomplished this work without you. You are the reason for Lake County Right to Life's success - because you are Lake County Right to Life. You are the heart and soul of this organization, which would not exist without you.

With your help, Lake County Right to Life has made a huge impact for Life in Lake County, through advocacy, witness and education (AWE). Here are a few of the activities that we are engaged in throughout the year, which we could not accomplish without you. 

• First and foremost, through your generosity, Lake County Right to Life now has a fully functioning professional office and staff.
• With your help, Lake County Right to Life is able to use social media to reach out and educate our members, through our website, Constant Contact emails, Blog, Twitter and Facebook.
• Your support has also helped Lake County Right to Life present educational forums, which are held throughout the year. These educational forums help keep pro-lifers up to date on the ever changing face of the Life issue. These forums help influence the community.
• With your help, we make available up-to-date news regarding all that is transpiring in Washington, DC and Springfield on the Life issues.
• Our Candidate Forum and voter guide has helped you to vote for the candidates who support Life. This has resulted in the decreasing abortion statistics in Lake County.
• Other activities include an annual Signature Ad commemorating the Roe v Wade decision. Your public witness for Life, is reflected in supporting our parades, Life Chains and 40 Days for Life.

We are delighted that the abortion statistics in Lake County and Illinois have decreased. However, we cannot rest. The fight is not over, so we look forward to continuing to defend life together in the public arena.

A Battle Won - The War Continues

  

Abortion Numbers Drop in Illinois  

The 2010 abortion statistics for Illinois have been released, and the numbers are headed in the right direction. In 2010, 41,859 abortions were performed in Illinois. This is the lowest number since 1973.

The 2010 number represents a 9% decrease from the 46,077 Illinois abortions in 2009. Abortions fell for residents of most counties and for all age groups. In Lake County, there were 1,398 abortions in 2010, down from 1,474 in 2009. This represents a 5% decrease.

More to follow on this great news

Is The US Far Behind China in Organ Transplantion Methods? A Different Caliber of Bullet.

The US is not far from China's organ trafficking processes - that is - the process of harvesting human organs from a live patient. China has admitted to the harvesting of organs from condemned prisoners, which accounts for two-thirds of their transplants.  But these are simply not condemned prisoners who are non-voluntarily having their organs harvested immediately following their execution.

Investigative journalist Ethan Gutmann of the Weekly Standard interviewed several Uighur refugees, who had actually witnessed the process of prisoner organ transplantation. The Uighur ethnic minority lives in Xinjiang, the vast Western province of China. They are actually Turkic Muslims, a few of which have even joined terrorist groups. "When it comes to the first organ harvesting of political prisoners, Xinjiang was ground zero," says Gutmann.

What these Uigher refugees told Gutmann, is unbelievably horrific! First of all, the prisoners were not necessarily all condemned men, but simply political prisoners - some of whom were young men who had been arrested for merely participating in political demonstrations.

The process reported was as follows: prisoners are injected with an anticoagulant, after which they are dispatched with a bullet to the right side of the chest. This renders them unconscious while still remaining alive. The organs are then quickly removed, without anesthetic to ensure freshness; and immediately transplanted to patients, who appear to be mostly Communist Party officials. Some of approximately 65,000 prisoners had their hearts harvested, while they were still beating, even before the 20008 Olympics!

Getting back to the US.  The United Network for Organ Sharing is a non-profit organization that coordinates organ donation under a contract with the federal government, has proposed a change in the guidelines governing donation after cardiac death or DCD. These donations are increasing yearly.

When organ donation was first proposed, the only criteria was brain-death. Now, some years later, we've raised that bar by including people who are not brain-dead, but "may" die ... determined by who? 

In the new guidelines, the requirement that "before evaluating a patient whose heart is still beating, for organ donation based on donation by cardiac-death criteria, the hospital's primary healthcare team and the legal next of kin, must have decided to withdraw ventilator support, or other life sustaining treatment, and that decision must be documented in the patient's chart, has been stricken."
A new sentence has been added, "A patient with end-stage muscularskeletal disease, pulmonary disease or upper spinal cord injury, may also be a suitable donation by cardiac-death candidate.  What?  This means that ALS patients plus other neurological disorders could become candidates for organ donation based on donation by cardiac-death. So what's the big deal? If the heart stops, isn't the patient dead anyway?

Let's explain: In 1997, the National Academy of Sciences said, a donation by Cardiac death or DCD, was ethical, as long as "tight" rules were followed. The decision to withdraw care must be independent of the decision to donate organs; and before removing any organs, surgeons must wait at least 5 minutes after the heart stops, to make sure it doesn't start to beat again.

The new donation by cardiac-death criteria involves, surgeons taking organs within moments of respirators and other forms of life-support being cut off from patients, who still have brain activity.  In the relentless quest to get more organs, some hospitals began cutting the "waiting time" that the existing guidelines permitted.  Some of them only waiting 75 seconds before taking hearts from brain damaged newborn babies. The rule revision also renames the procedure again, calling it "Donation after circulatory death".  That terminology is more accurate because the heart may not necessarily be dead before death is declared ----  a different caliber of bullet to dispatch the patient.

Election vs Morals?

Government Makes Decision on Plan B

Today was the deadline for the FDA to respond to Teva Pharmaceuticals' request that the Plan B morning-after pill be made available for over-the-counter sale. Currently, women 17 and older can purchase the drug with proof of age.  It was expected that the FDA would approve Teva's request.

Lake County Right to Life, along with many other pro-life groups, opposed this move and urged the agency to reject it. This pill has numerous negatives besides causing abortions:

• Without a prescription, Plan B allows potential harm from unsupervised, high doses of hormones, while interfering with parents' ability to monitor their children.
• Plan B increases the risks of cervical cancer and blood clots.
• Plan B has an adverse effect on the immune system, which has been linked to an increased vulnerability to HIV infection.
• Without a prescription, Plan B sets up children for victimization by sexual predators.

Considering the aggressively pro-abortion stance of the Obama administration and recent anti-life decisions by HHS Secretary Katherine Sebelius, it came as a surprise today when Secretary Sebelius overrode the FDA and decided to keep the current regulation in place. Sebelius expressed her concern that very young girls couldn't properly understand how to use the drug without guidance from an adult. In a statement posted on the HHS website, she stated that Teva Pharmaceutical Industries had not presented enough evidence to show that younger girls would properly understand the label and use the pill appropriately without talking to a doctor first.

Secretary Sebelius also pointed out that the average U.S. girl reaches childbearing age at 12.4 years, but that 10 percent of girls are capable of becoming pregnant at 11.1 years. "It is common knowledge that there are significant cognitive and behavioral differences between older adolescent girls and the youngest girls of reproductive age," Sebelius said. "If the application were approved, the product would be available, without prescription, for all girls of reproductive age." You can read the entire statement here: Statement

  

Pro-abortion advocates called the decision "beyond stunning" and "an outrage." Kirsten Moore of the Reproductive Health Technologies Project said, "We are outraged that this administration has let politics trump science." To pro-lifers, this statement is surreal, as we have witnessed politics trumping science and ethics to advance the pro-abortion agenda for years.

We are pleased with Secretary Sebelius' decision. However, in light of this administration's consistently anti-life direction, we are realistic, not cynical, to agree with Kirsten Moore in wondering if the reason behind this announcement had more to do with product labeling or President Obama's re-election.

Sperm & Egg Donors - What Are You Really Selling?

Alana Stewart, is one of an estimated 30 - 60,000 children conceived each year in the United States through sperm donation, whose story will be featured in an upcoming documentary titled: "Anonymous Father's Day".

Alana knows the color of her father's eyes and hair, and that he has a college degree. She also knows his number ... 81 ...  the number assigned to him by the sperm bank, where he deposited his sperm for sale. Number 81 would never be there to raise Alana, watch her take her first steps, see her off to her first day of school, worry over her first date or when she got her driver's license. Number 81 would not be in the audience when she stepped up to receive her college diploma.  Number 81 would not walk her down the aisle if and when she ever got married.  Number 81 would not be there for Father's Day. He was an "Anonymous Father". 

Today, that estimated 30 - 60,000 children conceived through sperm donation have become adults, and are speaking out about what it is and has been like to be fathered by sperm donors.  Alana states: "The biological parent’s absence is impossible to ignore because their presence is impossible to ignore - when you’re living in a version of their body and thinking in a version of their brain,”  “I do very much feel separated from not only my father, but my entire paternal relatives." 

In science's quest to help parents who want a child, the child itself has unfortunately been left out of the consideration. Does the parent's need to have a child, supersede the child's need to have a father and mother? This also applies to same-sex couples who are able to appropriate a child for themselves via this route.  Do people have the right to overlook another, in seeking something for themselves?  This is what has been happening today, with sperm and also egg donation, where human DNA is a commodity for sale in the marketplace.  We once sold human beings in the slave markets in this country.  Now we sell our own family's genetic history in the marketplace.

Case in point.  My mother was a very creative and artistic person, now deceased, who passed her talents on down to myself, through the virtue of her DNA.  She never had to teach me how to paint and draw, or write stories; it was already encoded in my genetic makeup, which I inherited along with her strawberry blonde hair and blue eyes.  Then I grew up to marry and have 5 children of my own; none of which seemed to inherit these artistic abilities, passed to me from my mother.  A couple of my kids inherited my writing talents, but they could barely draw a stick person!  Then, twenty-six years later, my daughter gave birth to a little girl, who just so happened to be born exactly on my mother's birthday! 

Little Grace was born on my mother's birthday, with the same strawberry blonde hair and blue eyes, and lo and behold, a few years later began to exhibit tremendous artistic abilities, along with amazing creative writing skills!  Grace, now 12 years old, can paint, draw and create amazing sculptures from clay.  She has begun making her own little videos, in what is known as "Claymations",  little animated videos of her clay figures!  It is amazing!  She is looking forward to developing her talents, and her mother has already looked into a special high school which specializes in artistic children's needs, preparing them for college.

Now that I've bragged on my granddaughter enough, there is a point here to my boasting.  What if Grace had simply been an egg or sperm sold at a reproductive center?  All the genetic makeup which is the inheritance of our family, would be sold off with her, and she would never know from where she received these talents.  A little strawberry blonde, blue eyed prodigy of our family would be out there somewhere unknown to us, and we to her.   As I was a little sad to see that none of my own 5 children had not inherited the artistic abilities from myself and my mother, I would have never had the chance to see them realized in my little granddaughter. These precious gifts would have been sold off, like a mere commercial product. Though none of my 5 children had exhibited those artistic abilities, nevertheless they were still there in their DNA.  That DNA, which one of my 5 children would later pass on to her own little girl ... Grace.

Though each and every one of us is a one of a kind unique soul, created by God, never to be repeated, yet we are each and every one of us made up of a "shared genetic pattern" passed down through the generations of our families.  Our particular looks, character, mannerisms, gifts and talents, are all shared by each and every unique individual from each family.

Once again, taking a queue from my parent's generation ... they had another expression regarding a man's sperms.  They would call this, "the family jewels".  I used to wonder as a child what this odd expression meant.  Now I know.  Number 81 was not just selling a human seed to grow a baby for another.  He was selling off Uncle Henry's scintillating wit, Aunt Martha's beautiful smile, Grandma Pearl's red hair and blue eyes ... Grandpa's musical talents ... or Grandma's artistic gift.  All of these gifts and talents and everything that contributes to the whole of who we are, are held in the genetics of our father's sperm, and our mother's ovum.  What gifts and talents did number 81 sell off?

Now, when Alana Stewart has her own daughter one day, God willing, what will her little girl inherit from number 81?  And how will she know?

Gardasil victims speak out in videos

"I wanna be one less one less," the commercial chants, promoting the Gardasil vaccine purported to protect your child from certain HPV virus strains, that can cause cancer. The vaccine is now being suggested  for boys as well as girls, starting at ages 12 yrs. old.  Watch this crucial informative video to see what they are NOT telling you about the Gardasil vaccine, which may possibly be given to your child in a school based clinic, without your knowledge or consent. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0gCVCP8BFrU

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lCnmUp2sKiY

Socialism Coming to a School Near You - School Based Health Centers

Dr. Spock told parents how to raise their children, but, at least, he didn't take them away and do it for them. He was a pacifist who was opposed to spanking. Now following in the footsteps of the Nazis and Communists, your child will now be raised by those who consider themselves your "betters".  They will also not spank your children, but will choose any medical care they deem appropriate, including abortion, without your knowledge. How convenient is that?  You no longer have to raise your own children.  The state will do it for you, albeit with your tax dollars.  What a world.  Mrs. Doubtfire has become just one more casualty in the unemployment line, losing her job to the government. That government is coming to a school near you under the guise of a  School-Based Clinic -  in Round Lake no less.

The Round Lake School Board held an open meeting on November 28th to discuss plans for the implementation of a School-Based "Health Center" (note the change in language from clinic to health center).  Here's some of what we learned -  The government expert explained that parents would initially be required to sign a "consent" form for their child to receive treatment from the health center.  This parental consent would then be "on file"; after which there would be no further necessity to notify parents, and the child could come in for any medical treatment, with or without the parents knowledge or consent.  She further explained, that Illinois law regarding minors and the Right to Consent to Health Care, states that children from the age of 12 on up, may receive medical care without parental notification. So the parental consent form seems a mere formality, with no substance.  Once they've got your signature, they've got your kid; which under Illinois Law, they can treat with whatever medical treatment they deem fit.  Consider the myriad of medical situations - physical, psychological and even sexual reproductive matters.  All of these would be left to the discretion of your local socialist school based health center professionals, who I might add, won't even be doctors, but physician assistants.  

Parents were allowed to address the Elected school board members with their questions and concerns; one of which was understandably, whether or not their child could be taken for an abortion, without parental knowledge? The government official, very condescendingly, responded to such an ignorant parental fear by saying, "that "we" (your betters) would certainly encourage your child to "consult" with you their parents."  "However, if your child was "not comfortable" with consulting you, (inferring your child could not trust you), they could access needed treatment without consulting you." How benevolent of them!  If you daughter discovers she is pregnant, and is afraid to come to you as her cruel and judgmental parent, she will be able to turn to the loving arms of your local socialist school based health center physician assistant, who will compassionately refer her for an abortion!  You need never know about it.  Is ignorance truly bliss? 

Other parents also questioned the lack of funds for school expansion and programs. One parent questioned the rational of implementing a health center when the educational needs of the students were far from being met.  The father brought up the fact that the school could not even provide an adequate math class to meet his daughter's level, and the girl was forced to attend classes which were beneath her ability. This required the parents to supplement her education at home.  Another parental comment regarded the sports fields, which the school provided, compared them to cow pastures. These and other educational concerns of parents, questioned the source of monies needed to pay for a school based-clinic, when other "educational" needs were from being met.  The government "expert" once again, condescendingly answered these ignorant parental concerns regarding monies, claiming that all of the money would come from government grants.  Now, any government expert should know, whenever a school-based clinic is placed in a community, the government funds run out within the first year, necessitating the local taxpayer to begin picking up the tab.  Don't forget this is duplicate funding, because the taxpayer is already paying for the local health department.   

Over the past 40 years or so, we have witnessed a slow progression of parental rights being attacked.  Dr. Spock, styled himself as an expert in child-rearing, whose advice was religiously followed by many World War II generation parents. Advice on child-rearing is one thing. Today there are books and experts galore,  to choose from on the psychology of child-rearing.  The key word here is "choose".  It is one thing to seek advice.  It is quite another to have your choice completely taken away when it comes to the upbringing and formation, and even health care of your children.  And this parental takeover has not happened overnight! 

Back in the 1950's, popular television shows such as "Father's Knows Best", and Leave it to Beaver, depicted parents as the persons in possession of the wisdom and knowledge which could be sought out by their children.  As time went by, television shows, as well as movies, began depicting parents as foolish, conflicted imbeciles, who ultimately needed to be straightened out by some wise 7 yr. old guru.   As a girl of the "sixties", I recall the popular phrase, "don't trust anyone over 30".  Some very clever socialistic person obviously crafted this phrase as just one of the first of many steps in the takeover of parental authority over children.

Today, we have our local Socialist School system in place, which seeks more and more to take away parental authority and any choice, or even knowledge, regarding their child's formation.  Are we surprised at the widespread sexual abuse of our children, by those in power within our school systems, public and private?  Children have become commodities, mere objects.  A commodity is not looked upon as a person who is loved by someone, but a mere object to be used however one desires ... even if that desire is disordered. 

Hillary Clinton made the famous statement, "It takes a village to raise a child."  This was just another chink in the armor of the parent's role in choosing how to raise their own child.  Their child now belongs to a village ... or more aptly in today's vernacular ... the State ... and that state will now raise your child, and see to all his or her medical needs.  I don't want to even think of what all those needs the state might consider necessary.