Emily and I, and our babies had dinner by the waterfront earlier today. It was nice to be out again (and not running errands). It's been a while since Emily and I had been out together. I guess we have both been really occupied with the boys. I'm glad we had the chance to spend some time together. The last couple of weeks have been sheer madness. Kenneth, Em's son, has gotten so loquacious since, and Tyler Rayne, with his window-rattling squeals, seemed to be really enjoying his newfound company. It is delightful to watch the munchkins together.

Childbirth choices: Do mothers really have the rights to refuse?

The Laci Peterson story.

I hope that bloody bastard rot in hell.

I've got updates on Ian's* mom (who was diagnosed with a stage-4 stomach cancer) in Daisies, would love to print details here but I think I heard Tyler move (time for his night feed). A quick note to say that she is now in the intensive care, conscious, yes but need all the prayers that she can get. I will be at the hospital within the next day or so, and will have more by then. Until (then) lets keep Ian* and his family in our prayers.

Just so you'll know, this is the wiser-than-his-age, 19-year-old who made me put my faith and trust in God a year ago, when I was pregnant with Tyler. He said that I should not kill my baby and commit another sin - when (almost) all the other smartass(es) were telling me that I should abort my baby (hell, why should I kill my baby? Because some irresponsible prick thinks he's still a child himself, refused paternity and abandoned us?). Instead this boy told me, 'Believe, and everything will fall in place', those words I held on dearly, to this day. I guess I will always be grateful.

Hmm. So maybe somebody can give some bloody "useful" fathering tips to his best friend, eh?

Tyler IS a doll, and he's grinning from ear-to-ear as we speak (he laughs happily too when he sees me laughing my ass off). He's doing great, and growing really well - thank the Gods.

Young mothers: They chose the road less traveled, skipped college; dreams, change diapers and perceptions

I have a story I posted in Daisies about a couple who survived the birth of their baby diagnosed with hydrothorax. They were told that their baby would not survived birth and was advised to abort. Read their amazing testimony in Daisies (and because Daisies is only for an exclusive audience still, mail or tag me for the link to the article).

Convicted for drowning her newborn baby. Christ.

RU 486: Pro-life groups defends FDA petition to pull out drug from the market citing scientific concerns and evidence, while the agency reviews its safety.

The boy now has responsive periods of an hour or more at a time. He's applying the information he's absorbed over the past few months to his day-to-day activities, and has coordinated his perceptive and motor skills to the point where he can play alone for longer periods. Oh, he loves toys; and he's using them to learn about spatial relationships, color, texture, and cause and effect. But Tyler loves socializing even more - while he tires of toys, he never seems to get bored with human attention.

Well, what can I say? He's a PR person - just like his mommy :)

Bloody bastards:

Three teenage rising rugby league stars were jailed on Thursday for trying to kill an unborn baby.

Shaun Williams-Metcalf, 16, was sentenced to 18 months in prison after he took friends Geoffrey Ruaporo and Kyle Donovan to a park to kick his 15-year-old ex-girlfriend in the stomach in an effort to procure an abortion.

On August 8 last year, the defendants went to a park where Williams-Metcalf had arranged to meet his ex-girlfriend to discuss the pregnancy.

When she arrived, she was dragged from her car, punched in the head and kicked in the stomach.

Donovan tried to stop the attack before the trio then ran away.

Ruaporo was sentenced to 18 months' jail, while Donovan, who tried to stop the attack, received a prison term of 15 months. The victim, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, was 5 months pregnant when the boys attacked her. She now has a healthy 5-month-old baby girl.

Tips for those who are TTC..

A pro-life law firm has filed an amicus brief on behalf of 25 pro-life members of Congress in an effort to help the Bush administration defend the partial-birth abortion ban from pro-abortion lawsuits seeking to overturn the law.

"Partial-birth procedures represent the beachhead of abortion's assault on postnatal life, the bridge between abortion and infanticide," the brief states. "Absent strong legal barriers and vigorous societal condemnation, partial-birth procedures open the way to legal infanticide."

The brief represents the American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ) and pro-life lawmakers, and was filed today with the U.S. District Court of the Southern District of New York.

Fantasia wins - YEAH! And Washington Post has a bitchy article cheering her on and calls Diana the "unhappy-but-faking-it loser". *LOL*

Abortion advocates in response to FDA's petition against RU 486: "lacks scientific basis and must be denied"

Incredible. What about Holly Patterson's death? And 15-year-old Tamia Russell's? And the others?

The FDA has warned against the use of ultrasound for baby pictures, saying that it should only be used if it provides a medical benefit.

While the FDA is concerned about the damaging effects it may have on the mother or child, ultrasound technology has proven to be a technological marvel that help saved countless of unborn children from abortion. Research and testimonies have shown that women are far less likely to abort after seeing their developing babies. And this is something that I personally can testify to. Hmm. I think there is something about seeing your developing child that makes the experience more.. real..

This one's for Seamus and other concerned parents:

Every year, millions of children suffer from painful ear infections. Parents look to their child's doctor for help in easing the pain. The American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Academy of Family Physicians have released new guidelines to help parents and physicians decide on the best treatment for acute otitis media (AOM), or middle ear infection - Read on.

Woman declines gift from group that denies abortion-breast cancer link: Women's group cheers

Hmph. They are at it again: Abortion advocates want to weaken North Ireland's pro-life laws

Northern Ireland, which was excluded from the 1967 Abortion Act which declared abortion legal in the UK, only allows abortion to be performed when the mother's life is in danger or to prevent a serious threat to her physical or mental health.

WHO adopts global strategy to "promote abortion".

Baby boy born from sperm frozen 21 years ago.

A program to aid pregnant unwed mothers in Scotland reached a milestone recently, having aided 1,000 women in its seven-year existence.

The Cardinal Winning Pro-Life Initiative provides support for pregnant women, from providing lodging and financial support to advice on medical care and counseling, but it does not recommend abortion.

"Young women often feel that the only choice they have is to have an abortion when that is simply not the case," said Sister Roseann Reddy, the program's coordinator. "We have had young women who have come here quite minded to have abortions because they feel that there are no other options available to them. They say that their parents will kill them but I have not lost one person due to parental murder yet."

In Scotland, 7.4 per 1,000 girls aged 13 to 15 and 68.1 per 1,000 of 16-19 year olds became pregnant in 2002. Over 57 percent of the 13-15 year olds had abortions or miscarriages.

The wet dawn inks are doing their blue dissolve.
On their blotter of fog the trees
Seem a botanical drawing.
Memories growing, ring on ring,
A series of weddings.

Knowing neither abortions nor bitchery,
Truer than women,
They seed so effortlessly!
Tasting the winds, that are footless,
Waist-deep in history.

Full of wings, otherworldliness.
In this, they are Ledas.
O mother of leaves and sweetness
Who are these pietas?
The shadows of ringdoves chanting, but chasing nothing.

- Sylvia Plath, 'Winter Trees'

WHO admits that legal abortion aren't safe for women:

"Up to 20% of maternal deaths are due to abortion, even in those situations were abortion is legal there is a question whether 'safe' abortion is safe," said Dr. Gunta Lazdane, the European Regional Adviser to WHO on Reproductive Health and Research, according to the Friday Fax.

Lazdane's statement is contrary to the WHO's regular claim that legal abortion is safe, and only illegal abortions are unsafe -- a position that pro-life advocates have pointed out is not backed up by facts.

"The percentage of maternal deaths due to abortion in undeveloped countries is unclear, and often exaggerated. Where abortion has been legalized, however, we know as certainty that legalization has not made it safe. Instead, legalization has only served to expose a larger number of women to the physical and psychological complications associated with abortion," David Reardon, director of the Elliot Institute, said.

"In the most basic measure, that of mortality, we know that women who have legal abortions face elevated mortality rates compared women who have not been pregnant, women who carry to term, and women who miscarry," Reardon explained. "Abortion is inherently unsafe."

Teddy took us sailing this morning. We had a great time, but it was so warm today, Tyler was red as a lobster by the time we got back. He fell asleep shortly after his feeding. Tired and need sleep - badly.

The Ohio Senate has approved a bill designed to crack down on those who violate federal regulations when distributing the dangerous abortion drug RU-486. The measure, known as House Bill 126, passed the state Senate by a vote of 22-10.

The new fetal pain NRLC news legislation:

"I'm sure pro-abortion proponents will come out in strong opposition to this bill, which will go a long way in exposing their hypocrisy on the issue of women's rights," said Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council. "Women have the right to know what happens when they have an abortion, and they have a right to know the pain their unborn child will experience when it is being aborted. Anyone who would deny a woman such information is hardly a defender of women's rights."

Send e-mails to your lawmakers, urging them to cosponsor the Unborn Child Pain Awareness act. For those senators and representatives who are already listed as co-sponsors, you can send already-prepared e-mails thanking them for their support for this important new pro-life initiative.

Pro-life groups coalesce around new fetal pain legislation

Overheard on the local radio yesterday: We have one of the highest abortion rate. Horrifying. There will be an on-air discussion on this issue (which I will post once I have details on the coverage).

Meanwhile, some useful information on crisis pregnancy resources:

The Pregnancy Care Center of Morgan County serves women who are pregnant under difficult circumstances or who need post-abortion counseling and support. Free pregnancy tests and classes on parenting, adoption, abortion and child care. The center is at 701 Ind. 144, Mooresville. Information: (317) 834-9770. The center's Web site is www.pccmc.org.

In its effort to boost the local population...

How to have more babies: A practical guide

Hmph.

New bill to inform women of pain babies feel during abortion: This new bill would make certain that those (performing abortions)inform women of the pain unborn children experience during an abortion. Under the bill, women should be given the opportunity to allow her baby to have pain control drugs administered prior to the abortion.

Quicker results to pregnant women for Down Syndrome screening in Philadelphia.

"Doctors say the faster turnaround time should give anxious mothers-to-be peace of mind sooner, or allow them more time to decide whether to end the pregnancy."

End the pregnancy? Christ.

Children with Down's have proven themselves to be just as good if not better than normal children. Read Martha Beck's experience in Expecting Adam - you'd be surprised. Reading the book left me in awe of this very brave soul who have chosen the road less traveled and her determined child who continues to bring nothing but magic and wonders to his mother's life.

*Horrors* Mother receives dead and decomposing remains of her miscarried child in cardboard box.

"The mother went hysterical after she found out the unborn child came through the mail," Zed Kenequanash, Chief of North Caribou Lake First Nation said.

Tired. Tyler woke up in the wee hours this morning and refused to go to sleep after that. Spent the last couple hours playing with the boy before he finally gets tired and fell asleep. Phew.

"While I sipped my tea and listened to the rain spatter, the History Channel dug up a dead civilization and found a large sewer that held thousands of baby bones, victims of infantcide, a common practice of this ancient, forgotten society."

For someone who have had an abortion, Aunt Renee sure seemed rather calm and collected. Not that she never regretted her abortion, she just never talk about it. Certainly not like someone who is post-abortive. Then again, my aunt have always been good at keeping things to herself. I feel like I want to reach out and help her. I want to tell her that I understand what she is going through, that she can trust me. I want to tell her that it is okay to forgive herself.

Sometimes I feel the weight of the world on my shoulders. I couldn't turn away or shut my eyes, I just feel responsible.

I am currently working on a young man whose mom has been diagnosed with a stage-4 stomach cancer (and the cancer is spreading fast). She had a gastrectomy a couple of weeks ago, is in bad shape and is scheduled to undergo chemo next week (although I'm sending her to see my oncologist instead) - I'll write more about it in Daisies. Meanwhile, I'd like to ask everyone to keep this young man, his mom and family in your thoughts and prayers.

The UK secret abortion case: The boyfriend of the 14-year-old British girl who had a secret abortion has revealed that he wanted to keep the baby. The boy's mother told the BBC that the teenager, who is also 14, is extremely upset about the loss of his unborn child.

Good news, folks. New poll in South Dakota reveals that a majority favor making abortion illegal or restricting it to very limited circumstances. Poll also reveals that women are just as likely to take a pro-life stance opposing all or virtually all abortions than men.

Damage against women's rights my ass.

For Tulip wannabes:

Getting anal? Read this - study shows it increases anal cancer. Yikes.

By the way, Tyler turned over on his tummy this morning - on his own! Whee.

Ashli had this picture of little Mary at The S.I.C.L.E Cell. Heartbreaking.

I cry a lot these days. I cry when I hear babies get hurt, and I cry when I hear babies dying, when their mommies had to let them die, when their daddies refused them. I get so upset, and I feel... I feel so helpless.

Science reveals that unborn can dream, smell, hear, remember events and feel pain

"When asked by Zenit, "Does the fetus feel pain?" Bellieni replies: "Indeed."

He also describes the advanced development of a baby at an age legal to be killed by abortionists, "Today, we know that the fetus inside the maternal womb perceives scents and tastes, hears sounds, and remembers them after birth."

Bellieni illustrates that a "fetus, at 30 weeks of gestation, is able to dream. All these characteristics allow us to appreciate the human dimensions." "

Here's another article on the second UK girl who was counseled to have an abortion.

President Bush delivers powerful pro-life speech at Wisconsin's Concodia University. He urged graduates to help build a "culture of life" and warned them of the dangers of destroying human life to advance scientific research.
See full speech here.

Studies have found that cord blood can be used to successfully treat children with Hurler's syndrome, an often-fatal inherited disease caused by the accumulation of sugar-containing chemicals in the skull, face, brain and heart. The study finds that cord blood transplantation appears to be as effective as bone-marrow transplantation.

The wonders of ultrasound technology.

I wish I could've done it with Tyler's and have it all on CD-ROM or DVD, share it here. There is something about seeing your baby on the ultrasound machine - I know I will never forget the first time I looked at Tyler. It was magical. I wish Jay could have seen him then, as he could have seen him now.

Would I go to an ultrasound studio? Maybe I would - if it is done in accordance with the regulations and performed by a qualified sonographer.

Although crying has decreased dramatically by now, it is still his primary mode of communication. Tyler will cry when he's tired or lonely, when he wants attention or is ready for play. He'll sob poignantly when I leave him, but appears generally fine as soon as I'm out the door (the boy can be such a drama queen!). He'll wake up when he's hungry. If I pick him up before he starts wailing, he'll anticipate feeding and will wait a little longer before losing control. But like most babies his patience is limited, if he doesn't eat within the next few minutes, he'll quickly become agitated.

Sainthood for woman who died for unborn child.

House passes bill to stop fetal tissue sale after abortion.

3,500 at Ottawa's March for Life:

The first public Canadian demonstration of the Silent No More Awareness Campaign took place immediately after the march. Women from across Canada gave moving personal testimonies on how abortion negatively affected their lives emotionally, spiritually, and physically. Coordinator, Angelina Steenstra, said, "Would that one day we would gather together and stand up and speak the truth about what abortion really does to men and women, to families, to the children that die."

Annie's latest - coverage on the march - thanks to Emily at After Abortion for the link.

14 year-old Nottinghamshire schoolgirl Melissa Smith fell pregnant last month, and after talking to a school health worker, decided to have a termination. Her mother found out what was happening and the girl changed her mind, but by then, it was too late. The two pills that Melissa had taken as part of a chemical abortion has already starved her baby of oxygen. Mrs Smith who did not believe in abortion - but her daughter was talked into having one - said she felt like someone had punched her in the stomach.

The boyfriend's mother: "For six hours he watched her struggle to deliver his dead little girl. I'll never forget the look on his face."


I wish she had not taken the road less traveled. How would she feel 10 - 20 years down the road from now? No, she doesn't have to (wait that long), because she already regretted her abortion. I wish she had gone to her mother first. (I know I wouldn't turn my daughter away)

Read also: School backed in abortion row, says it stands by policy of confidential advice.

Second girl, 15, says she was offered abortion.

It's a beautiful day. The sun was shining, and the sky bright blue. A new life is born, as the angels sing. Somewhere, somewhere.

Sue gave birth to a healthy baby girl today, and she's so beautiful - more in Daisies.

Abortion, the family enhancer?

"For Sanger, the solution lies in the field of evolutionary biology. Like many contemporary thinkers, he seems to have had a bit of a eureka moment in exploring this trendy academic field, which holds that people are motivated, in pretty much everything they do, by the urge to reproduce. Sanger argues that abortion does serve this aim; although it's a little counterintuitive, he argues that terminating a pregnancy can serve the overall aim of procreation. We are all, he writes, reproductive strategists now; we all want to reproduce successfully, and abortion can help us get there by ensuring (1) that a woman doesn't have too many children too close together, which is unhealthy for her and for them; and (2) that she doesn't have to bear a child under adverse circumstances. Abortion, he contends, often happens when a woman has chosen the wrong partner or gotten pregnant at the wrong time. It lets her "get back in the game" and conceive under better conditions.

In short, Sanger is arguing, a little coldbloodedly, that sacrificing a potential child is sometimes necessary for children and families in general to flourish. Treading rather carefully, he concedes the antiabortion point that unborn life is life, but goes on to argue that this life can and does at times represent a threat to other lives, a challenge to the mother's health and to the existing family order.

"While abortion takes life, it enables life to reproduce itself successfully, not on nature's terms but on human terms," he writes. "The unborn child is not just an innocent life. While it is the epitome of human destiny and the greatest potential joy that humanity can create, it is also a liability, a threat, and a danger to the mother and to the other members of the family. In order to survive, humanity has necessarily taken pre-born life to preserve other life all throughout its evolutionary history.""

One thousand and one reasons why every moms-to-be and new mommies should breastfeed their baby.

This mother refused abortion and braved cancer to bear her fifth child. She died at 82:

In 1962, while two-months pregnant with her daughter Laverne, Jacobina Surian Adams was diagnosed with breast cancer and the doctors recommended an abortion. Jacobina refused and went on to give birth and defeat breast cancer.

Annette Adams gave a simple explanation for her mother's courage, "She just had faith."

I can't believe this. Grr.

Amazing though it may sound, but Tyler's senses have developed to almost adult levels by now. He can now see mommy from across the room, hear and respond to mommy from the next room, and turn in the direction of sounds that intrigues him, as well as tuning out the annoying ones. He could track movement, he has depth perception, and his color vision is maturing. It appears that he's able to distinguish between patterns and images of faces, responding with much more enthusiasm to the latter. From what I understand, he will concentrate on making sense of the stimuli he's receiving from now on, and communicate his feelings about them.

Ashli at The S.I.C.L.E Cell gave birth to beautiful baby Elise on Mothers' Day. Read about it as she recounts her experience of the birth of Elise.

Two child abuse cases in the local news today which is enough to disgust me. Why do they even bother to have children when all they do is hurt them, I wonder? Those poor, helpless children. I get mad just thinking about it. How could a parent - a mother - hurt a little child she carried for nine long months? How could a mother do that when what she should've done is protect her child? These bastards ought to be shot.

She refused to transport a woman to an abortion centre and aid her to have an abortion because of her pro-life religious beliefs and they fired her.

"Our client became an EMT (emergency medical technician) because she wanted to save lives, not take lives," The American Center for Law and Justice attorney Frances J. Manion said.

The Alaska State House has passed a bill to help women make more informed choices before obtaining an abortion. The bill, which passed 27-11 Saturday, will require abortion practitioners to refer women to a state website or otherwise inform a woman seeking an abortion of the risks and alternatives.

On Rosaries and Ovaries: "As the camera scanned the crowd, I was particularly struck by one woman's sign which read: "Keep your rosaries off my ovaries." Ah, how deeply sad, I thought, when the Catholic Church is the only reality on earth that takes the full truth about our ovaries seriously. "

Cleft palate abortion: Joanna Jepson, the Church of England curate who mounted a legal challenge to a late abortion of a fetus with a cleft lip and palate has agreed to a police request to postpone her High Court action. UK Police are opening a criminal investigation into the late term abortion (which occurred in 1991) performed at 28 weeks gestation upon the request of the parents who didn't want a child with a cleft lip and palate. (24 weeks gestation is the legal limit in the UK for abortion of children without "serious handicap").

The first Canadian March for Life will be held in Ottawa this Thursday. In a recent interview with LifeSite News, Angelina Steenstra, Co-ordinator of Silent No More Awareness Campaign said that one psychiatrist she talked to attributed 80% of the depression he treats in practice as abortion-related. The repercussions of abortion are multi-faceted: some women are left with infertility; the self-hatred that often results has a damaging effect on relationships; abortion also impacts women on a spiritual level, she added.

Standing united to stop abortion.

Tackling the issue of choice: How your faith community responded to the issue of abortion

Tyler is becoming quite the chatterbox now that he's able to vocalize in other ways besides crying. I could hear squeals, giggles, bubbling sounds - he's discovered that his newly mastered sounds are a great way to gain attention and approval. I think he likes listening to the sounds of his own voice and will repeat his favorite sounds over and over again even when no one's around. Dr Lee said that the best way to encourage communication is to speak with him often, which I do a lot by the way. He'd watch my face intently whenever I speak and respond by freezing to attention or kicking excitedly, smile and "talk" back. He seems especially delighted when I imitate the noises he made and will break into this window-rattling squeals of joy as if to tell me how thrilled he is that I understand him.

Aunt Renee told me today that she had an abortion a couple of years ago. I don't know what to say. She said that she had no choice (she had gotten married abroad, without the family's knowledge at the time - long story) because she's afraid that she'd bring "shame" to the family. Maybe I could understand it if she had told me before, but now after having a child of my own, I just couldn't. Why does everything have to be about the family? Why do we women always have to put our parents/families' so-called "best interests" before ours, why should we? What about us? What about what we want?

We were always led to believe that we had no choice. This whole stupid notion (that we'd shamed our parents, that we'd be ostracized, that we'd lose everything etc.) bloody sucks. It's a shame that we almost always have to consider abortion as the only way out. It's a shame that we had to kill our children so that we may live as we did, as we wish so that our parents/families don't have to live "in shame". We women deserve better than that. We deserve to be happy, we deserve the chance - the experience and joy at parenthood. We deserve to hold our babies in our arms - not see them in our sleep.

Aunt Renee said that she regretted her abortion. I don't think she ever really come to terms with her loss. Her child could've been about four or five years old by now. She said she sees him in her sleep, she saw his face - he looked just like his father.

Bloody bastards:

#1
A high school student has been charged with first-degree murder after police say he killed his unborn twin sons by beating his pregnant girlfriend.

Gerardo Flores, 18, was arrested Friday by Lufkin police after his 16-year-old girlfriend delivered twin boys stillborn at home and sought medical attention at an East Texas hospital, an arrest affidavit states. The teen was five months pregnant. According to court documents, the girl denied anyone had beaten her, but Flores admitted he "may have hit her in the face and in the stomach'' during a fight in their bedroom. After the fight she started bleeding and he allegedly ordered her to "clean herself up,'' the documents said. She gave birth to the boys (both stillborns) in the bathroom before an ambulance arrived.

#2
A man who stabbed his pregnant girlfriend will go to prison for performing an illegal abortion, even though the child survived. Sean Brown, 20, of Albany pleaded guilty Friday in Rensselaer County Court to one count each of abortion and assault. He will be sentenced June 2 to prison terms of 11 years for assault and one to three years for abortion, prosecutors said. Abortion is illegal in New York if it causes or intends to cause a miscarriage without the woman's consent, or if it is performed by someone other than a licensed physician.

Brown lunged at Cashawnda Rowlett in her darkened apartment and stabbed her 10 times in the fingers, thigh, hip and abdomen shortly after she told him she was two months pregnant, police said. The July 2003 attack left her permanently injured and disfigured.

Happy Mommies' Day, everyone..

This is it, this is where the journey begins - some wouldn't understand it, couldn't but this is the greatest thing ever, the greatest thing I've done in my entire life. My first ever. Who'd have thought?

The UK releases the latest abortion stats: 4.37 million babies were aborted since 1968.

Imagine that.

An Irish woman has died from complications arising from her in-vitro fertilization (IVF) treatment:

Jacqueline Rushton, a 32 year-old Dublin woman, died in January as the result of Adult Respiratory Distress Syndrome arising as a complication of Ovarian Hyperstimulation Syndrome (OHSS), which arose during IVF treatment at the HARI (Human Assisted Reproduction Ireland) unit of Dublin's Rotunda Hospital in December. Following an inquest, Rushton's death was ruled "medical misadventure" early this week.

Rushton isn't the first casualty of IVF - the CDC reported a death from intra-cranial hemorrhage (a type of stroke) in a woman following IVF-induced OHSS, in 1996. A Medline search revealed that a death also occurred in New Zealand in 1995 resulting from an OHSS-triggered blood clot to the brain. Two cases of non-fatal stroke were also reported, with both women left with paralysis, following IVF treatment. Two heart attacks are reported in the literature, as were 20 cases of thrombosis (a life-threatening blood clot) of the internal jugular vein in the Medline search results. The formation of blood clots is a major cause of strokes and heart attacks. One such blood clot resulted in the necessary amputation of a woman's forearm.

Hmph. Why are lesbians marching for abortion rights? LOL. Funny guy.

"So why was this mass of non-reproducing women screaming for abortion rights?

Maybe these women never learned about the birds and the bees. Or else a lot of lesbians are working side jobs to supplement their income, and are forgetting to use protection.

But the winner of the Most Tortured Logic Award went to Rep. Maxine Waters of California. She announced defiantly to the multitudes, "I have to march because my mother could not have an abortion."

Now hear this: Shocking forced abortion case at U.S Supreme court
Jane Roe II alleges that an abortionist at Aware Woman violated the federal Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) law when he had her restrained during an unsuccessful abortion, even though she loudly and repeatedly demanded that he stop the procedure and let her leave.

According to reports, the woman was pinned down for an abortion at the Aware Woman Center for Choice in Melbourne, Florida while she screamed 'Stop! Stop! Stop!'. The abortionist did finally stop once the baby was dead and he had perforated her uterus and pulled part of her intestines out.

Morning-after pill 'no go': The FDA has rejected over-the-counter sales of the emergency contraception citing concerns over young teenagers' use of the pill. In its letter to Barr Laboratories late yesterday, the FDA said that there was no evidence that teens younger than 16 could safely use the pills without a doctor's guidance, and thus it was rejecting the move until Barr could provide that evidence.

Wendy Wright, senior policy director for the pro-life group Concerned Women for America, said the FDA was "right to be cautious about having a potent drug that can harm women next to candy bars and toothpaste."

Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council, linked the Plan B issue to the larger abortion debate. The council "applauds the FDA for putting the safety of American women and girls above the wishes of the pro-abortion lobby, and we encourage them to hold their ground," he said in a statement.

"Women taking the birth control pill consult with their doctors once a year for medical checkups," Perkins said in a statement. The morning-after pill is 50 times stronger, and yet over-the-counter access would have allowed women and girls to take this dangerous drug without any medical oversight."

The Mrs Kerry story and the interview that will air on ABC's 20/20.

Reflections on Mother's Day

"As I read the front page of the morning paper, I was struck by just how thankful we should be that our mothers did give us birth, especially those of us who were born after 1973.

Above the fold of the paper, a color photo showed a sea of women, an estimated 500,000 to more than a million, some of them mothers with their daughters, crammed into the National Mall in Washington, D.C., for what, it seems, was euphemistically called "the March for Women's Lives."

They were there to lobby against what they see as "government backsliding on the issue of reproductive freedom for women in the United States and around the world," the accompanying story said; they were there to lobby for abortion rights. "My Body, My Choice" as many placards read.

But "my body, my choice," leaves out another body involved in a choice for abortion: the body of a dependent child. Call it an embryo. Call it a fetus. From conception, it's a human life. If its development is uninterrupted, a child is what it fully becomes.

Perhaps they are especially cognizant that, if their mothers, saying "my body, my choice," had chosen abortion, it would have cost them their lives.

It was my generation, in embracing the women's movement, that grievously denigrated motherhood. As young college students, we learned from Ms. Magazine and women's studies classes to more highly value our independence and our careers.

Students who yearned to be both a wife and a stay-at-home mother were chided: "Is that all you want to do with your life?" In that nascent march for women's lives, our mothers were portrayed to us as "nothing but" housewives and mothers.

Jacqueline Kennedy once said, "If you bungle raising your children, I don't think whatever else you do well matters very much.""

A state ban on the partial-birth abortion in Utah will be put on hold while a lawsuit filed by abortion advocates moves forward. U.S District Judge Paul Cassell signed an order Tuesday issuing a temporary restraining order sought by the abortion businesses. The move puts the ban on hold for at least 10 days.

Here's five reasons why abortion on demand is on the way out.

"Brandon's assertion that "morals and politics must stay separate" is very misguided. On the contrary, morals and politics should never be separated. Otherwise, we wind up with nothing but amoral politicians - and we already have far too many of those!

I strongly recommend that Catholics (and all other Christians, for that matter) read the 'Voter's Guide for Serious Catholics" at:
Voter's Guide for Serious Catholics"

Even the crime of rape doesn't justify morning-after pill, says Chilean Cardinal.

"The occurrence of a crime cannot justify the elimination of a life, says an archbishop in the wake of the Chilean Health Ministry's decision to distribute free the "morning-after" pill to rape victims.

The pill "is presented as a means to relieve the suffering and repair the injustice of which a dear or innocent person has been a victim, by an aggressor who invaded the victim's intimacy unjustly and violently," Cardinal Francisco Javier Errázuriz Ossa said in a letter circulated Sunday in all the churches of the capital."

The long-term emotional ramifications of induced abortion are greater than that for spontaneous miscarriage, study finds.

Parenting: Spare the rod, or spank "in moderation". Spanking may cause aggressive behavior.

Motherhood: It makes no economic sense. It won't help my career. It's enormously inefficient. But it's just the greatest thing in the world.

A happy ending: Couple's desire to adopt fulfilled by a mother who saw their story on television.

Planned Parenthood of Utah and Utah Women's Clinic seek to block enforcement of the partial-birth abortion ban. Senate Bill 69, modeled on federal legislation currently tied up in courts in Nebraska, California and New York, allows late-term abortions only to save the mother's life but not to preserve her health. The law would allow fathers and maternal grandparents to sue doctors who perform the abortions.

So some of you have been asking how the boy is doing (curiosity killed the cat, or did you not know that?) but thank you for asking anyway. Here's a quick look at what's happening with my little person:

Tyler seems to be gaining coordination, learning to control his muscles. He appears to move less, but his movements are more voluntary - newborn reflexes like the "Moro" (or startle) reflex are being replaced with voluntary actions - smaller and more controlled by now.

All in all, he's doing great. Did I mention that he is sixteen weeks old today? Oh yes he is, and getting bigger and taller (or should I say "longer"?) each day.

Utah hospitals grapple with new law prohibiting public funding for abortions. State lawmakers forced hospitals to change policies when they adopted a bill during the 2004 Legislature that will cut off state funding to any agency that performs abortions except in cases of rape, incest or "permanent, irreparable and grave damage to a major bodily function of the pregnant woman."

Scottish doctors sterilize up to 400 girls without parental notification

Listen up, mommies and moms-to-be: Research have shown that breast-feeding cuts infant death risk by 20% than those who are not.

The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends breastfeeding for at least one full year of life to help a baby develop and grow properly, and not to introduce juice, water and solid foods before the sixth month. Breastmilk provides antibodies against illness and allergies, so the less breastmilk a baby receives, the less protection he has. And of course now we know that it will also reduce SIDS by a whopping 20%.

A pro-life display featuring crosses has generated controversy on a university campus in Illinois. Students at Bradley University's Newman Catholic Center recently put up 4,400 crosses to raise awareness about the number of abortions performed daily. A student group called Voices for Choice protested the display, claiming it misrepresented the religious diversity on the Peoria campus, was offensive to non-Christians, and needed to be removed.

"Induced abortion, especially at a young age, increases a woman's risk for developing breast cancer. The breast cancer risks from abortion can have a cumulative effect if combined with other risk factors such as a family history of breast cancer, nulliparity (never giving birth), late menopause and early menarche.

This risk is especially high for teenagers who have an abortion in the late first or second trimester and for those women who have never had a child, since their breasts will never mature. A full-term pregnancy after an abortion helps the situation but does not remove the sharp increased threat of cancer.

You're responsible for women's death, Womens' group tells cancer establishment

Choices? Real choices go beyond abortion.

"First, let's be clear about one thing: No woman wants to have an abortion. That fact often gets lost in the inflammatory rhetoric on both sides of the debate.

Hundreds of thousands of abortion supporters marching last Sunday in Washington hoped their show of strength would convince the public that theirs is the mainstream view. They held signs saying "My body, my life, my choice" and "Stop the war on women," while dismissing graphic photos of aborted fetuses held by pro-lifers. "Lies, lies," marchers shouted.

That's no way to win the hearts of the majority of Americans, many of whom have serious reservations about abortion on demand. There's a good reason President Bush was able to push through Congress limits on late-term abortion and a law granting a fetus legal rights apart from the pregnant woman. It's no surprise that many states have passed waiting-period and underage notification laws. Politicians follow the will of the people. Heated rhetoric won't change that.

Instead of insisting on an absolute right to choose, let's spread the word to women, and girls, that there are choices beyond abortion, such as the Central Indiana Crisis Pregnancy Center, which offers information and one-on-one support. Let's have frequent conversations with young people about sexuality, giving them a firm foundation from which to make decisions. If we make this a priority, then women truly will have choices -- beyond abortion."

Finally, something positive from the media since the one sided coverage of the "March for Women's LIES". We can't stop it, the least we can do is to prevent it - by educating women and girls on the ill effects of abortion, by telling them that they do have other choices, that there are help, resources available, that they deserve better than abortion.

From The Washington Times: A march for a dying cause

Parental abortion lawsuit bill in Missouri to protect teenagers who are pressured into having abortions. The legislation would permit lawsuits against anyone who helps a minor obtain an abortion without parental consent. The bill could also make abortion centers more accountable to government officials. Under the legislation, the centers would be classified as "ambulatory surgical centers," making them subject to inspection by the state Department of Health and Senior Services.

Thanks to Emily at After Abortion for this story. Made me realized how fortunate most of us are. It's a harsh, cruel world out there, and here we are, safe and spoilt in our own little world. Not everyone is like us though, not everyone is as lucky as we are. Not every child is a wanted child, and that is the sad reality. To this mother (in the story), her child is a constant reminder of a violation that drove her to attempted suicide by drowning, yet at the same time a reminder that he is the only known relative she has left.

Uh-uh. Teresa Heinz Kerry: I planned to end pregnancy

Discuss disgust:

#1
"There was also a poster of an animated uterus with eyes and boxing gloves on each ovary, looking for a fight," the newspaper noted. A fight - for what? Anyway you define the terms of the abortion debate, this "animated uterus" was not fighting for life. Also at the march was a "spoken-word poet," who, according to The Post, "riffed on the Con-stitution, the coun-try, coun-ter-revolutions -except in each of those c-words," the newspaper urged, "please insert the naughty c-word. (The one we're not supposed to say in print.) Now," it continued, "you're speaking the language of the modern movement."

Ain't life - sorry, "women's lives" - grand? This psychotic "spoken-word poetry" must be what The Post had in mind when it described the rally as being "aggressive and even occasionally, almost delightfully, profane." Or maybe it was its observation that "every obscene gesture or slogan or T-shirt comes with Magic-Markered flowers or bubbly lettering." All of which is to say, how aggressively occasional. How profanely almost delightful.

From Uterus the Menace (described above), to the T-shirt emblazoned "Cute Guys for Women's Lives" - "and he was cute," gushed The Post - to a banner of marching medical students proclaiming "We are tomorrow's abortion providers," what is most striking about the ghoulish March for Women's Lives is not that it was a heavily attended rally in favor of abortion rights. Rather, it is its massive "blue"-state-style effort to take abortion from the pitiful shadows of human history to a place in the cultural sun where it is meant to exist as a sacred right of enlightened womanhood - something to celebrate. And this, The Post Style piece does with gusto, with its protest idyll of "happy, combative squeals," Powderpuff Girls, their "best boyfriends and husbands ever [with] perfect three-day stubble" and a Gloria Steinem who "practically glowed.""Full article here.

#2
"The problem I have with the coverage concerns journalistic consistency... each year, hundreds of thousands attend pro-life rallies in Washington, D.C. They gather on January 22nd for the annual commemoration of Roe vs. Wade, the U.S. Supreme Court case which legalized abortion in America in 1973. Yet, for the most part, mainstream media sources ignore the events without fail.

.. the media seems more than willing to inflate the numbers of those attending events which support liberal causes. On the other hand, estimated crowd sizes related to conservative events are often downplayed. The Tribune story stated 200 counter protesters lined the parade route on Sunday. In actuality, sources have told me at least 500 pro-life signs were handed out and there were hundreds more pro-life advocates who were not carrying signs." More here.

Take heed, parents..

"The aspiring parent provides the child with a model of perfectionism, one that may well create a great deal of stress, anxiety, indecision, and dissatisfaction in the child when she is making her own choices - even when those choices bring perfectly good results."

Florida House passes measure that would require parental notification when girls seek abortions.

Is it me or are they just sensitive?

(Read the letter from Gloria Feldt to Karen Hughes)

Further reads: Pro-Choice, Pro-Terrorist? asked Ellen Goodman.

Having a baby changes everything.

This is what you're missing, um, darling.. Truth? I feel sorry for you, because you'll never know what it's like. You'll never know what it feels like to wake up each morning and kiss your child, to love him, protect him and fight for him.

Pro-life T-shirt Day controversy (no, controversIES): In Spotsylvania, Virginia, a 12 year-old student at Battlefield Middle School was initially permitted to wear her shirt. She also distributed 40 pro-life shirts to friends. According to the Richmond Times-Dispatch newspaper, a principal later asked the students to remove the shirts when they caused a classroom of students to begin debating abortion. The shirts in question show a picture of a 4-month old developing unborn child and asks "Do you really believe this isn't a baby?"

Expose: Kansas Attorney General Kline showed pictures of the Affordable Medical and Surgical Services abortion center in Topeka, run by Krishna Rajanna. Although the abortion facility appears "clean and tidy" now, the Star reported, pictures taken last year reveal dirty carpets in the room where abortions were performed, rat poison and rat droppings in an adjacent room, and aborted babies and food kept in a fridge where medical supplies were stored.