"You don't have to be a priest to have a dynamic apostolate. Women are mothers, they are wives, they work in schools, hospitals, parliament, senate, politics, arts, mass media, science and technology. Mother Teresa of Calcutta did not need to be a priest in order to have an impact on the world."

- Vatican's Cardinal Francis Arinze

New research could allow states to regulate or ban first trimester abortions:

"After thirty years of experience with legal abortion in the United States, it is now clear that mortality risks associated with abortion significantly exceed those associated with childbirth, both in the short term (under one year) and in the longer term. While statistical association is not proof of causation, it is clear that abortion is, at the very least, a marker for elevated mortality rates.. It is therefore reasonable for legislators to conclude that abortion, at any stage of pregnancy, poses a significant risk to women's health... [and therefore] a ban on abortion, even in the first trimester, may now be allowed under the legal standards established in the Supreme Court's landmark 'Roe v Wade' decision."

Alaska governer signs into law bill making info on abortion and fetal development available on state website

Why, of course they would be unhappy. Because this would affect (their) business significantly.

Pro-life pharmacist under fire for refusing to fill a prescription for birth control pills, a decision he says is based on his beliefs opposing abortion.

I just had a yummy homemade cheesemelt and mayo chicken sandwich aka Ragtime Cafe's which Emily and I love to death (of course mine is not as glam as theirs but still, yummy). I missed dining out, and my long lunches and afternoon tea. But I get tired a lot these days, I don't know why. And when Theodore arrive at the weekend, we mostly dine in partly because I love his cooking, and also because it's difficult to do so with a baby.

Ivan called me this morning about a new case study he'd like me to work on. Frankly I don't know if I can find the time to do it. Of course the extra money would be nice, but this stupid job is taking out a big chunk of my time and I hate that. I miss spending time with Tyler, and I miss doing all the things I like to do. God, I wish I don't have to work.

And further to the snippets on the "I have an abortion" t-shirts, here's one by Mike Adams at Townhall: I had an abortion!

Nurse Brenda Pratt Shafer was "pro-choice" when her agency assigned her to work at an Ohio abortion clinic in 1993. What she saw shocked her to the core.

"I stood at the doctor's side and watched him perform a partial-birth abortion on a woman who was six months pregnant," Shafer testified in 1995. "The baby's heartbeat was clearly visible on the ultrasound screen. The doctor delivered the baby's body and arms, everything but his little head. The baby's body was moving. His little fingers were clasping together. He was kicking his feet. The doctor took a pair of scissors and inserted them into the back of the baby's head, and the baby's arms jerked out in a flinch, a startle reaction, like a baby does when he thinks that he might fall. Then the doctor opened the scissors up. Then he stuck the high-powered suction tube into the hole and sucked the baby's brains out. Now the baby was completely limp."

The nurse concluded, "I never went back to the clinic. But I am still haunted by the face of that little boy. It was the most perfect, angelic face I have ever seen."

Does John Edwards hear the voice of that baby, or thousands of others like him? Apparently not, since the first chance Edwards got to vote on the bill to ban partial-birth abortions in 1999, he voted against it.

In 1985 he stood before a jury and channeled the words of an unborn baby girl. Thirteen years later, he was elected to the U.S. Senate from North Carolina. Judging from his subsequent voting record, it seems that somewhere along the line, John Edwards lost his ability to hear the voices of unborn victims.


You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free

- John 8:32

Kerry's contortion on abortion

Lovely, isn't she? She was rescued after being strapped with explosives and thrown into a lake by her bastard owner.

The bastard ought to be shot.

Planned Parenthood affiliates are embarrassed by "I had an abortion" T-shirts and are distancing themselves from their parent organization.

"This is going beyond pro-choice. We're offending people," said Brian Lewis, director of public policy for Planned Parenthood Health Systems of North Carolina.

Tasteless if you ask me. I reckon pro-life groups aren't the only ones who are not amused. The t-shirt offer has sparked an outcry from women who have had abortions, who believe that the nation's largest abortion operation, is sending the wrong message to young women.

ACTION: You can send your complaints to store@ppfa.org.

Here's John Kerry's position on abortion. He's personally opposed to it, and as a matter of faith he believes that life begins at conception. But he's unwilling to impose that faith on women who may not share it. It should be a matter of individual conscience, he says.

Kerry illogical stand on abortion

Fascinating. I never knew that breast milk has so many usage.

Unborn get new surgery, deadly hernia corrected in womb

Now, that is great isn't it? With new breakthrough and more accurate diagnosis, surgeons can now treat fetal abnormalities in the womb. You know what that means, right?

If there's anything that we need here, it's this. Girls, women in crisis pregnancies need to know that help is there. Sadly, these information is often not readily available.

I was at the Women's and Children's hospital a couple of months ago for the baby handprints where I made my way to the ob/gyn centre, hoping to find materials and brochures on resources for (crisis pregnancies). There was none, to my disappointment, except for this little piece on the bulletin board with ONE miserable phone number. It is hard enough to be alone and pregnant, and not having any where or anyone to turn to, in my opinion, often leave one with (very little or) no choice.

This is sad, really:

"France's Health Ministry announced Friday that the government would increase payments for individual abortions by 29%. In addition, the measure signed by Health Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy allows for the abortion drug RU-486 to be doled out by family physicians rather than in hospitals only, thus making for home abortions with the deadly drug.

The action comes in response to lobbying by pro-abortion groups which complained that private abortuaries would close since abortion is not profitable enough."

Is that what it is about? Profits? Of course it's about money. It has always been about money. Women's rights? What women's rights? Is women's rights, is 'choice' in fashion? It has never been about women's best interests. Because abortion does not liberate women. The pro-abortion lobby continues to make money, while women (and unborn children) continues to be maimed or die. And now with RU486 at their fingertips, there's just no telling how many more women will die. Sad really.

There is a local coverage here and here, but they are only in french.

I guess it just gets too much.

So Tyler had his first taste at solids (or rather semi-solids) early this morning. The boy had mashed bananas as part of his breakfast and he seemed to like it. I bought some bottled baby food the other day and I'm really excited about it, but I guess this would really be the time to find out what he can or cannot take, or likes and dislikes, and I don't want to push it. It all started when I was eating chocolate cake last night and he was like looking at me wide-eyed and moving his mouth and licking his lips curiously. So I took some teeny weeny bit and put it in his mouth and he got all excited and started kicking and moving his hands. Lol.

Listen and learn, people.

Kerry: Pro-choice is not pro-abortion

Duh-uh.

Just who are these white guys in white, short sleeve shirts and sling bags who go around preaching about God? I was waiting for the bus downtown the yesterday when I saw these two guys approach people at the bus shelter. I overhead them talking, and then one of them kept looking at me. I gave the guy a don't-come-near-me-I'm-a-pagan look and thank the gods they stopped at a bunch of teenage boys behind me before walking off. I heard one of the boys muttered, 'Hell, why didn't the bus come just now?' And I am glad I glared at the guy. I believe in God, and I have great respect for every religion, I just don't appreciate people preaching like that.

I actually had the chance to have tea before picking up the flowers at the nursery for the engagement party (wish I could say it was mine), man, the jam doughnuts and cheese scones at the M&S cafe was out of this world. Em, if you are reading this -- I'm sure you will love them. They'd make really good bites for intimate tea parties, it would be really good if they do takeaways to begin with.

Indian mother left in coma after legal abortion

"A 'safe, legal' abortion has left an Indian mother comatose and partially paralyzed. The woman, 27-year-old Nehal Yagnik, who had previously given birth to a boy sought an abortion from Dr. Atul Patel when she found herself pregnant again. During the procedure there were complications either from internal blood clots or from improperly administered anaesthesia; the exact cause is in dispute.

Nehal went to the abortion facility in Ghatlodia, the Jyoti Maternity and Nursing Home and when she did not arrive home, her family went to find her. They were told that she was in serious condition and had been transferred to hospital. A staffer at the abortion facility told Nehal's father that there had been problems with the anaesthesia, but this was later denied by the doctors who said she was 'bleeding profusely' when she came in. When the abortion went wrong, Nehal was sent to Life Line Hospital's ICU.

Two months later she has been sent home and remains in a coma."

See, just because it's legal doesn't mean it's safe.

So Planned Parenthood now has a line of consumer products, coffee mugs, bumper stickers and t-shirts to spread their message and raise funds. The latest in their 'social fashion' line is a t-shirt for post-abortive women to "assert a powerful message in support of women's rights."  (Hmm) The shirt says simply, "I had an abortion."

Apparently the idea of an abortion pride fashion statement has intrigued at least one Canadian journalist. David Warren, a prominent columnist for the Ottawa Citizen responded by saying cheerily, "I think it's a great idea." "In fact, I think they should adopt a whole range of slogans. How about, 'I eat unborn babies for breakfast…Vote John Kerry.' Now those would really sell." 

 

Reality TV? I think this is more than a little disconcerting.

So apparently Kerry told newsman Peter Jennings in an interview with ABC News on Thursday that he thought the "fertilization process" is when a human being "is first formed and created."

"However, Kerry added, "Within weeks, you look and see the development of it, but that's not a person yet, and it's certainly not what somebody, in my judgment, ought to have the government of the United States intervening in."

"Senator Kerry now claims that he believes that 'a human being is first formed and created' at fertilization, but for 20 years he has consistently voted against any legal protection for those human beings," says Douglas Johnson, legislative director for the National Right to Life Committee. "

Duh Kerry.

Guess what? Planned Parenthood is opening a new abortion facility in Virginia, just one mile from a local high school. Unbelievable.

As his hand-eye coordination continues to improve, Tyler is able to raise his hand glancing between his hand and the object while reaching forward, and grasping it. Grabbing and grasping has become one of his favorite games, and we played using a variety of toys; blocks, plastic keys on a ring, and squeaky toys are among the favorites. He enjoys play that involves taking turns such as having a block thrown at him and then handing him one so he can do the same. He loves dropping things too, and watching us pick them up, an activity that he finds most amusing. For babies, every game is a learning experience, and he approaches it with an impressive sense of purpose. It is fascinating to watch him show outward signs of deep concentration, such as chewing his tongue or moving his mouth as he contemplates his next move. 

 

God's little miracle.

According to a recent statistics released by the Department of Health, the abortion rate in the UK has increased by 3.2% last year, from 175,900 in 2002 to 181,600 in 2003. Among women aged 15 to 44, there were 17.5 abortions per 1,000, with highest figures for women aged 20 to 24, at 31.3 abortions per 1,000 women. The largest jump of 5.4%, however, was realized in girls under the age of 16, where abortions were committed on 3.9 girls per thousand, as compared to 3.7 per thousand in 2002.

Canadian woman compensated $60,000 for botched abortion

Talk about strategic location:

"A Marie Stopes International Australia abortuary is objecting to a planned childcare centre being built next door -- officials are worried that the happy sounds of children playing will be upsetting to women who are about to kill their own unborn children."

I meant to post this yesterday, but I was rushing off to see my neurologist. Updates in Daisies I promise. Had a brief exhange with Dr Yeow on the subject of abortion. (On spontaneous abortion) ".. we're given a set of protocols... that we are supposed to save the mother first..". Bah, doctors.

I wonder how she's doing. Somehow I couldn't bring myself to call her. I don't know why. I guess I'm still mad at her. Mad that she'd make me go through something so bad. Norm have had two abortions. Two abortions she never spoke about. She should have known better to not let me go through with it. "I promise that everything will go away," she told me. And who can forget the it's-okay-to-abort-because-a-"fetus"(no,no,no-you-can't-call-it-a-baby. oh feck you) -doesn't-have-a-soul-until-180-days? So just because the baby "does not have a soul" makes it okay to kill him? The 500-bucks lie. Is that what my child's life is worth? 500 bucks? Maybe she should go work for Planned Parenthood.

Norm had a first trimester miscarriage a few months after that. She was expecting twins, and one of them didn't survive. When I found out, I just thought it is retribution. For asking me to kill my baby. A part of me is.. well.. glad (evil, I know). She was distraught and couldn't function for weeks, she said. What about the two abortions she had then? Are they deemed insigificant, unworthy of (her) grief because they were not as wanted then as the twins?

If it is not bad enough. I am disgusted.

The Iranian parliament approved a draft bill legalizing abortion Tuesday. The new legislation will allow the abortion of "deformed" babies, or if the pregnancy poses a potentially fatal health risk to the pregnant mother.

Just how "deformed" is "deformed"?

"When I found out about the triplets, I felt like: It's not the back of a pickup at 16, but now I'm going to have to move to Staten Island. I'll never leave my house because I'll have to care for these children. I'll have to start shopping only at Costco and buying big jars of mayonnaise."

Choosing death

Abortion on TV.

At twenty-seven weeks old, Tyler is a bundle of energy, waking at the crack of dawn to practice his new skills, ranging from quietly playing with the activity center in his cot to shrieking so exuberantly that it wakes the neighbors. Some days he wakes up several times a night, on other days he wiggles, roll over (oh yes, he can now roll over, bah!), and twist his body in his sleep, propelling himself all over his cot. Most of the time, he will play quietly until he tires and get back to sleep on his own. Sometimes he cries, refused to go to sleep and wants to play. It can be tiring some days, considering how I have to get up early for work.

One of the many skills he is perfecting is the ability to taste every object, large or small. This requires him to grasp items with one or two hands, maneuver them from one place (generally the floor) to another (his mouth), and hold them in place while he sucks or chews on them. It is hard not to panic to see him happily mouthing almost everything that he can get his hands on, but I try not to show my disapproval too vehemently and instead applaud his exploratory skills while replacing objectionable objects with toys designed for chewing. I personally find this more encouraging, for him at least, especially when I see him respond with sheer delight.

Really, if you ask me - I don't see what the deal is with that whole thing about the soap Nip/Tuck (or Extreme Makeover for that matter). Over here the show was so badly.. well.. nipped you can hardly see anything. Honestly, I kind of enjoy watching it (I'm especially fascinated with the latter). As a woman, I think there is absolutely nothing wrong with wanting to be beautiful. Every woman wants to be beautiful, feels beautiful. But not to the extend of rejecting imperfection.

For so many years, I bought women's magazines. I must've spent hundreds, maybe thousands of dollars on them. And after so long, I realized that I could no longer bring myself to read them. I stopped buying them years ago. Why would I need some superficial, shallow magazine to tell me I'm not good enough if I'm fat or I'm not perfect until I'm bloody stick thin or make me feel inadequate, or I need to feel liberated?

Sure, beauty brings confidence, but it doesn't necessarily bring happiness. I would love to have a boob job myself, not because I want to feel more beautiful or whatnot, but because I'm bloody vain.

Erica Fekkes grips her stethoscope and leans over her 15-inch patient.

Madison Rose Huffman, born nine weeks early, squirms as the cool metal touches her chest. Moments earlier, a red and blue blanket, no larger than a newspaper, had completely covered the 3.2-pound girl. Now, as the blanket inches away, an orange, black and green entanglement of tubes and wires comes into view.

"I'm sorry, little girl," Fekkes, 21, coos. "Oh, baby, I know, I'm sorry."

When Fekkes says she knows, she does -- firsthand.
Twenty-one years ago, Fekkes spent two months in the same place: Methodist Hospital's neonatal intensive care unit, a site for sick and premature newborns.

So apparently killing your babies is the 'in' thing.

I read with interest yesterday's article on how interest groups can now be registered on the fast track thanks to a recent amendment to the law. Sent light bulbs flashing in my head for a while, I was ecstatic, until I read the fine prints: but only if they are not pursuing civil and political rights or the governance of the country. That pretty much cover human, environmental and animal rights, doesn't it?

Now tell me THAT didn't suck.

To be able to take this to another level would be a dream come true. And 'choice' would've been an understatement.

Late childbirth reduces cancer risk

Malcolm Pike, a researcher at the University of Southern California and his colleagues reported in Wednesday's issue of the journal Fertility & Sterility that late pregnancy seems to reduce the risk of ovarian cancer. The researchers' statistical investigation found that women who had their last children after the age of 35 had a 58% lower risk of ovarian cancer compared with women who had never had a child. What is more, the researchers seem to have found that having many children reduces risk even more. Women who had four or more children had a 64% lower risk than women who had never given birth.

Bush administration continues to deny funding to United Nations arm over forced abortion

Congressman Chris Smith (R-Hamilton), Vice Chairman of the House Committee on International Relations and a leading human rights advocate in Congress commented on the decision stating, "The UNFPA continues to be guilty of shamelessly supporting and whitewashing terrible crimes against humanity, and the United States will have no part in subsidizing them. In refusing to fund the UNFPA, President Bush and our country have taken the side of the oppressed and have refused to cooperate with the oppressor. The United States will not fund the brutal and oppressive Chinese government's one-child-per-couple policy."

In some of the strongest criticism the UNFPA has received Congressman Smith said, "... It is long past time for the UNFPA to sever its ties with China's one-child-per-couple family planning program that relies on forced abortion, involuntary sterilization and heavy economic penalties on women to achieve its results."

Smith called on other countries to "look at the evidence and hold the UNFPA and the Chinese population control program accountable at The Hague for crimes against humanity." He explained, "The UNFPA has funded, provided crucial technical support and, most importantly, provided cover for massive crimes of forced abortion and involuntary sterilization. Tens of millions of children have been slaughtered - their mothers robbed of their children by the State. The UNFPA has aggressively defended this barbaric policy that makes brothers and sisters illegal, and makes women the pawns of the population control cadres."

My abortion : One woman's story

"After the abortion I did not return to or continue the life I had before. Instead, I developed phobias. I became afraid of heights. I couldn't walk up mountains. I couldn't ride as a passenger in a car. I became very scared of social situations. I spent a friend's birthday locked in the restaurant toilet. I cut myself off from everyone. I gave up my job and my further study. I stopped answering the phone. I stopped getting out of bed.

I wish I had known more before it was too late. I am not a Christian, or a 'Right-to-Lifer', but I do know that it was my baby that I killed."

(Thanks to Emily at After Abortion)

 

Here's one on the petition circulated by David Reardon of the Elliot Institute imploring Republican and Democratic leaders to recognize that abortion hurt women.
 

CBN News published this story on the 31st anniversary of Roe vs. Wade in January. I think we read about this from Ashli's sometime last month - an effort to stop and slow down construction for a Planned Parenthood facility in Austin, Texas. Here is an update, one man's story of his fight for life, his battle against abortion.  
 

Well, in case you haven't heard, John Kerry has put his name on a 'clone and kill' bill that allow scientists to clone unborn children only to be killed to obtain their stem cells for use in research.

Don't you just lurrrrve this guy?

 

Behold, this writer is only 16-years-old. I am in awe. Clearly, age is just a number.

The underground railroad of our times

So it does look like my much anticipated break is not going to happen after all (did I mentioned that Uncle Moses's boss offered me a job? And for some reason I can't seem to be "qualified" to make that decision MYSELF, to accept or not, that is, because according to my uncle, "you lack foresight, young lady". I look at him and went like, oh skrew you, arsehole. it's my fecking life. Bloody hell. But I'll bitch about that in Daisies). That's a shame because I'm really looking forward to spending some quality time with Tyler. But plans for Perth is still looking good, hopefully I'll be there when S delivers.

I'm leaving early today (God, the heart wants so much to be at the cathedral) and planning to do some shopping downtown before heading home. It's been raining a lot these past few days, a little too cold, I think Tyler Rayne could do with a couple more sweaters and for Smelly, a nice doggy mattress and mittens. Maybe I'll do a quick coffee with Sprouty too.

A special report on forced abortions

Annie discussed the impact of abortion and breast cancer in post-abortive women here, plus the story of her friend Charnette, who talks about her abortion and breast cancer.

"I laid on my back and I allowed a nameless, faceless person to take my child from me and ultimately my health."

Here's one reason to get preggers.

Of course, motherhood is the greatest thing EVER. (And I'm sure Big Momma would agree)

So Courtney Love was discharged from Bellevue Hospital monday. According to reports, neighbors said Love had spent the previous week roaming the streets of SoHo, asking strangers for cigarettes, peering suspiciously into parked cars and claiming she was being followed. That IS how 'disturbed' she is, I think she is clearly distressed about her recent loss (she had an abortion thursday). But of course as Emily wrote, she is often distressed, so one doesn't know how much of her current distress is because of this abortion.

The hidden wonder of new life and how they changes perceptions of early life - and of abortion:

"You see mothers carrying around a crumpled Polaroid picture of a 2-D image and sometimes you can barely see what it is, it's just a blur, but it's very precious to them. But the reaction of parents when they see the 4-D images is totally different. They are overwhelmed. Husbands kiss their wives' abdomens. They actually start talking to the baby for the first time. They can recognise the features, see who the baby looks like, but it's not just that, it's also the baby's behaviour: you see eyelids opening, opening its mouth, sucking its thumb, doing baby-like things."

And he who chose to miss out on this extraordinary journey is a fool.

Two new studies are providing further argument that embryonic stem cell research is unnecessary because adult stem cells are not only more ethical, but more effective as well. Researchers at the Tufts-New England Medical Center reported last week that that unborn children may be giving their mothers the gift of life.

Alice Paul, author of the original Equal Rights Amendment in 1923 said, "Abortion is the ultimate exploitation of women." Founding feminist Elizabeth Cady Stanton, in a letter to her friend Julia Ward Howe in 1873 wrote, "When we consider that women are treated as property, it is degrading to women that we should treat our children as property to be disposed of as we see fit."

Abortion has rendered many of us infertile. It has left us emotionally scarred and grieving. It has even left some of us dead, along with our pre-born children. 29 of 38 worldwide epidemiological studies show an increased risk of breast cancer after abortion (13 of 15 studies were done on American women), and women continue to die from legal abortion, including chemical abortifacients like RU486.

Abortion.. it robs us of our dignity, our health, and our children. It is no longer the ticket to women's freedom, and it never was.

People don't like to hear the truth, don't they? They only want to hear the feel-good stuff. No one cares, no one gives a damn, until it happen to them. And by then it's too late.

Life is not a walk in the park. And that is the sad truth. If you can't understand it now, then perhaps you never will. Some people live their whole life, got hit by the train, over and over and over again, and they still don't get it.

This two-year-old is the reason why the abortion law should change:

Heather was born 17 weeks early just after 23 weeks in the womb. Almost two years on, Heather, a happy, healthy child with red ribbons in her hair and pretty brown eyes, is living proof, says her mother Pearl, that the upper age limit for abortion, currently set at 24 weeks, should be lowered.

"It is these figures of thousands of abortions at 22 weeks that make you think something has to be done. When we brought her home, we thought we had achieved the impossible. But there are others. Not all of them will survive, but there's a real chance they can and that's the point. If a woman is considering an abortion at 23 weeks and is told the baby can't survive at that age, then, of course, she's going to have it aborted. But, if she's told that it might survive, then she's going to think again."

A federal judge in Missouri has overturned the state's ban on partial-birth abortions because it lacks an exception for cases to protect a woman's health. This, despite doctors saying that such abortions are never medically necessary.

So the parents arrived today. The house is a busy place, as is Tyler. Kate got me a gorgis mauve angora top and Tyler receives more toys, more surprises which made him coo in delight. He had his first taste of apple juice at breakfast this morning, it was nice to see him squirmed before breaking into one of those delightful, window rattling laugh. He likes it, oh yes he does. We're having another barbecue dinner tonight, Rob's making me his yummy garlic-honeyed wings and there's the fresh strawberry souffle screaming my name in the freezer. I'm hungry already.

"Today is my birthday and I had an abortion". God, I feel so sorry for her - this Love needs a lot of love.

God be with her.

I think this is an excellent article about talking with and telling your children about your abortion experience, which I find worth sharing. Excerpts:

"Trudy Johnson, have chosen to wait until their children were adults before telling them of a past abortion. Johnson shared her story of telling her two grown sons in an article she wrote for Focus Magazine last January. Although she struggled with fears about telling them, she wrote, the letter she received from one of her sons in response was "probably the most loving thing he has ever done for me."

"Dear Mom," her son wrote. "Thank you for being honest about this terrible thing. I know it must have been hard for you to share it with me, but honest, Mom, I hope you don't think I would hate you. I feel so sad for our family. When I read your words, it was like all the puzzle pieces of my life fell into place. I always felt our family had a 'missing piece'. Our home had an emptiness, an inexplicable sadness. Now I know why.""

Also, Mothers share own abortion stories with teens at right-to-life convention

(Thanks to Emily at After Abortion)

Why I march

Australian television to air Julia Black's My Foetus.

Rapper Joe Budden won't apologize for pro-violence Usher remix song:

"When you get somebody pregnant, you can make suggestions, but the bottom line is they (women) have the end say-so. As a guy, you wonder 'What can I do to take that power away?' As negative as it is, that's what comes to mind. That still doesn't make (violence against women) alright and I don't support that. In Hip-Hop, we talk about reality and what is the truth and that is the truth.

Like it or not, that's a guy's mind state. That's how it can be when you are put in a powerless situation."

Yeah. Bloody fecking right you are.

Tyler was a doll this morning. He wakes up, and he didn't cry and played quietly his cot. I managed to steal a couple more minutes before breakfast when Rob offered to help give him a bath. He laughs. He loves the water and he always enjoy bathtime.

Sometimes I think about it, if we had all been together. What it must be like. The gallery will be filled with happy pictures of Tyler and his father instead. Funny how the universe works. When I was young, I used to think that all children will have a mother and a father. And I was so naive.

Is there possibly anything more worthy of the risks than this?

I have this game play with Tyler in which I combine listening to musical sounds such as a ringing bell, piano, or chiming clock with trying to imitate them. I'd show him how to turn the bell or hit different keys to produce different tones. Some babies are acoustically sensitive, and can imitate sounds with nearly perfect pitch. This combination of sensitivity and tone production is the foundation of good musicianship, or so I've been told. Tyler's doing fine so far, well, he can imitate Barney - ho, ho, ho. Rob has gotten him started on the drums, it's crazy. There's no way my boy is gonna grow up to be some lame musician.

Pro-aborts pray to Blessed Mother for abortion.

I am beyond psyched.

Over in Chile, a federal court upholds stance that the morning-after pill remains banned as an illegal abortifacient.

Just a thought: The morning-after pill is still by and largely available here (although by prescription only). I don't know how that supposed to fit with the recent pro-baby measures, and how is this achievable with all the abortions. Hmph.

Please have a read at this post from After Abortion.

Don't just say you respect life, live it.

Members of the British Medical Association (BMA) adopted a proposal late last week that requires physicians to gives babies that survive botched abortions the same care as any other infant.

Approximately 1% of all abortions in the UK result in a baby born alive. Even abortions performed before 24 weeks have resulted in some live births. Yet such infants are often left to die without life support or comfort.

In a statement, the Society for the Protection of Unborn Children, a British pro-life group, said, "Surviving an abortion should not be seen as a mistake but as an opportunity. It should bring home in the first place that we should not be carrying out abortions in a civilized society."

Duh Arnie.

"I oppose abortion, personally. I don't like abortion. I believe life does begin at conception."

Uh-uh. Guess who said that?

British Journal of Cancer: Legal Abortions Are "Best Predictor of British Breast Cancer Trends"

Here are the findings.

Heartbreaking choices.

If this didn't make you jump.

A seminarian's perspective on the "March for Women's Lives"

"I was able to enter into a fairly civil conversation with a woman who wanted to know how I could possibly support an ideology that tells women what they can and cannot do with their own bodies. The fact that the woman's argument was driven by a conviction that the unborn child was simply part of her own body and not a separate human person at least exhibited some semblance of logic. However, once I convinced her that it is not logical to believe that simply because the child is still in the womb of its mother that it is not a human being, she proceeded to engage in an ad hominem attack (attacking the person rather than the argument). She questioned how I could possibly make any sort of argument since I was associated with a group that had committed so many immoral atrocities. She thought that since I was in a roman collar, I must be a child abuser. I responded saying that I had never done any of those things, and regardless of what I have done, it does not change the argument regarding abortion."

We went sailing today, and I got home sick, sick from the sun. I think I was sea-sick too, and I never was. Tyler was red by the time we got back to the marina, his procelain white cheeks flushed, but he looked like he was having fun, and I am glad. It was really warm, but he didn't cry. We were planning to go to dinner with some friends tonight, but I was in such a bad shape that we decided to head home instead. Tyler had a long nice bath in his tub; he likes playing in the water and refused to get out. Teddy said he will teach him how to swim, I'm sure he will love it. He had his night feed and fell asleep, exhausted, shortly after. Rob made us a gorgis leg of lamb and rosemary potatoes for dinner, it was lovely.

62 years. That is how long since the death of her baby, and she's still grieving. Grief. It eats through you like termites eat wood. There's this poem she wrote while in treatment for complicated grief, 62 years later. She wrote about her grief, her "missing piece". She's 83 years old..

Here's the first three and last lines of "My Missing Piece":

62 years I have been searching for my missing piece -
At 21 they told me it was for the best
I tried so hard to believe..

And so life went -
A creeping sadness I couldn't shake.
62 years I waited for someone to ask,
And to say "How hard for you."
Someone said it, and the missing piece has been found, reborn.
My baby, my child, my dreams
You were my first step into believing in the future
You were my child, my missing piece.
So many years I was isolated from you and myself -
Now my pain is clear
I still don't know WHY, but I know I have a right to grieve
And remember
And acknowledge what you mean and meant to me.
Strange, now at 83 I truly feel I can go on

I fell ill again last night, so all plans is off today. Rob took Tyler out to pick Teddy up from the airport, and let me rest for a wee bit. We're having a small barbeque tonight, but I guess I will stay in bed until then, and do a bit of research on this upcoming roundtable that Ivan wants me to host. It's been a while since I do this and I'm not sure if I'm up for it with Tyler and all the stuff I'm doing right now, not to mention that fact that I have been ill a lot these days. Some days I wish I could just curl up and do nothing at all.

YEAH!

A new research in the UK reveals that nearly half of pregnant teens opted for abortion. The reasons for a teenager choosing an abortion were based on personal circumstances, rather than moral views, the research found.

As a result, young women from socially deprived areas were more likely to become pregnant but less likely to have an abortion, while the reverse was true in more affluent areas.

"A lot of young women from poorer backgrounds believe that having a baby will make their lives better," said Dr Ellie Lee, co-author of the report. "Teenagers from less deprived backgrounds don't want to be teenage mums and see it as social death."

The figures were condemned as "tragic" by the Society for the Protection of the Unborn Child, which said the child should come first whatever the teenager's circumstances.

Teenage pregnancy rates in Britain remain among the highest in western Europe. In England, one in 10 babies is born to a teenage mother.

The Government aims to reduce teenage pregnancies by 50 per cent by 2010. Statistics show that teenage pregnancies rose from 38,439 in 2001, of which 46 per cent were aborted, to 39,286 in 2002. Of those, 16,707 ended in abortion.

Read also: Worrying look in the womb

Lovely day. It was raining, and nice and cold when I wake up this morning. Rob was already up, making breakfast at six thirty. We had scrambled eggs, and sausages and hash. He even made me corned beef sandwiches for lunch, that lovely, lovely man. Fed Tyler, played with him for a wee bit before heading out. He cries. Damn, I don't want to go to work. I wish I could just curl up in bed with the boy right now.

Eight more days to go, and I'll be able to do our morning walks again. And afternoon teas and lunches. God, I miss that.

Episiotomies (*shudders*): The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists has stated that the routine use of the episiotomy does not protect against pelvic relaxation or fetal intracranial bleeds, and points out that the procedure actually increases rates of perineal infection, blood loss, pain during healing, and injury to the anal sphincter. Body image and sexual function may also be negatively impacted.

"Abortion practitioner" dropped challenge in a surprise twist, PBA ban becomes law in Ohio.

Rob and Tyler made a surprise visit to the office last evening, with a picnic basket full of treats. The boy made quite an impression with his charming window rattling laugh (and he's cute, dammit, especially in that new froggie outfit Rob got him, who wouldn't be?), he simply loves the attention. We headed down to Changi beach and sat for hours under the stars, just watching the planes. It was lovely.