The amount of money in the grant wasn't disclosed but the abortion business will use the funds to screen low-income women for breast and cervical cancer.

The money comes from an agency that is part of the Colorado Department of Public Health and that it runs through the Medicaid program -- meaning state and federal taxpayer dollars are involved.

McCorvey has sent a letter to each member of the Kansas House saying in part, "As the woman who helped make abortion 'legal' in America, I urge you to do everything in your power to stop one of the worst abortionists in America. George Tiller MUST be punished for the crimes he has committed-and you can help make that happen."

The provision, tacked onto a bill intended to tighten parental notification requirements for minors seeking abortions, would require a 24-hour waiting period between the time a woman discusses the procedure with her doctor and the time it's performed. It would not apply to women with medical emergencies.

The waiting period drew fire Tuesday from women's advocacy groups such as Planned Parenthood, which said it is "uncalled for" and has no place in a bill about parental notification.

"These women have thought through their decision before they walk through the clinic doors," said Staci Fox, who represented the Florida Association of Planned Parenthood Affiliates at Tuesday's council meeting. "It's inappropriate and uncalled for."

Rep. Anthony Traviesa, R-Tampa, who sponsored the bill (HB 1497), said he's been visited by women in his legislative district who say delay is needed to give them time to "digest" information about alternatives.

Traviesa said many of the women he's spoken with are going into the clinics under "very stressful" situations, and that he's heard from women whose boyfriends told them "not to come out" of the clinic until the procedure was complete.

"That is not an environment or a situation conducive to a health decision for a woman," Traviesa said. "This would prevent that from being able to occur."

But critics say the requirement could have life-threatening consequences, by creating "a barrier to earlier, therefore safer, abortion care." And women in rural areas would be forced to take time off from work and travel lengthy distances several times before the procedure could be performed.

"Mandatory delays impose additional burdens for a woman, especially if she lives in a rural area and has to travel a significant distance to reach a health-care provider," Nancy Keenan, president of NARAL Pro-Choice America said in statement Tuesday. "Politicians should not interfere in personal, private medical decisions that are between a woman and her doctor."

The question here is not whether black women have access to reproductive "choices', but rather why we are fooled into thinking that we have to make a choice at all. It's the pro-abortionists who are trying to suggest that we fix societal problems by reducing the number of black Americans through abortion.

It's all part of the big lie. The lie that says... if we allow our unborn children to be killed-- all of our problems will be fixed and everything will be okay. The truth is-- a poor mother having an abortion today will still be poor tomorrow. The only difference is that she will also be the poor mother of a dead baby.[..]

We must ask ourselves, why these abortion providers don't want to show women pictures of their unborn children while he or she is still living in the womb? The answer is--because they know that women will see the truth--that there is a living human being residing there.

If abortion is so good for women then why are millions of women still regarding abortion as a shameful secret? Why are so many women still mourning the deaths of their children? Why are so many women faced with all kinds of health problems after their abortion including a higher risk of breast cancer? Women are not told any of this! Neither are they told that they may have difficulty getting pregnant in the future.

Leading abortion advocates, including Sens. Ted Kennedy of Massachusetts and Barbara Boxer of California as well as Reps. Carolyn Maloney and Jarrold Nadler of New York, are joining with the Feminist Majority Foundation to reintroduce the Equal Rights Amendment today.

The ERA passed Congress in 1972 but lapsed in 1982 when it fell three states short of ratification.

The lawmakers will reintroduce the amendment on it and hold hearings in the House Judiciary Committee soon.

Without an amendment modifying the language of the ERA, pro-life groups say it will be used to promote abortion and require taxpayers to fund it.

Orthodox clergy from the town of Alapayevsk, Sverdlovsk Region (Urals), combat demographic crisis by setting a motherhood relief fund.

Women who reject abortion receive a monthly grant of 1,000 rubles from the parish treasury. The motherhood subsidy starts with pregnancy and continues until the baby grows one year old.

The idea belongs to the rector of a local church, Fr. Moisei. The money is drawn from people’s donations and the church building fund.

'From the viewpoint of religion, abortion is a grave crime. We combat this sin by preaching, but that's not enough. We should better understand the future mother's problems. All of them have something that drives them to ask for the horrible operation,' the priest said.

Little Marcela de Jesus Galante Ferreira has broken all the records of survival. The anencephaly she suffers should have caused her death hours or days after birth, but to the amazement of many, she is now four months old, becoming the new pro-life symbol in Brazil and the most uncomfortable celebrity for some pro-abortionists who have criticized doctors for helping the infant.

The case of Marcela de Jesus could not have been more opportune. She was born in November 20, 2006, amidst a passionate debate over the legalization of abortion in cases of anencephaly, a condition in which a baby is born without a large part of its brain and usually dies with hours.

According to the Brazilian daily Folha de Sao Paulo, the case of Marcela de Jesus was the symbol of a pro-life demonstration this past weekend, which was attended by popular Catholic priest Father Marcelo Rossi and by the outgoing Archbishop of Sao Paulo, Cardinal Claudio Hummes.

The event was organized by Catholics and Evangelicals in order to gain the attention of the Brazilian Congress, where a bill to legalize abortion is being considered.

Attorney Nadir Pazin of the State Committee for the Defense of Life said Marcela's case is emblematic because it contradicts all of the medical diagnoses that she would die shortly after birth. "It dealt a serious blow to the thesis of feminist groups who defend the legalization of abortion. She showed that what happens is what God wants and not science," she said.

"The first right of children is that of being born and educated in a welcoming and secure family environment where their physical, psychological and spiritual growth is guaranteed, their potential is developed and where the awareness of personal dignity becomes the base for relating to others and for confronting the future." The statement was made during a March 23 address by Archbishop Silvano M. Tomasi C.S., Holy See (Vatican) permanent observer to the United Nations at Geneva, who spoke during the 4th session of the Human Rights Council.

Archbishop Tomasi recalled that "the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child attributes to the child the fundamental rights of a person; it recognizes the child to have the same equality and dignity as any adult person."

"In many cases," he went on, "due to lack of will and of resources, good legal provisions and public policies are not implemented, with grave consequences for children. They often become the first victims of famines and wars."

"To many children the right to life is denied; prenatal selection eliminates both babies suspected of having disabilities and female children simply because of their sex, and thus denies the equal and intrinsic value of disabled persons and of girls for their families and for society."

State and society, said the permanent observer, must "concretely support and enable the family to carry out its task. ... The Catholic Church's over 300,000 social, caring and educational institutions work daily to ensure both a peace-oriented and creative education for children, and the development of their talents, and to provide the reintegration of abused and neglected children into their families, if possible, and into society."

"Children are both weakness and hope. To pursue the defence of their rights and the elimination of all forms of violence against them remains an institutional challenge for the international community. Success will be reached if priority is given to the natural role of the family and to the public culture that recognizes that children too are full human persons."

State Sen. Dan Patrick of Houston wants the state to pay $500 to women who give their babies up for adoption instead of aborting them, an idea some say borders on baby-selling.

"We want that lady to have an incentive that makes her stop and think about having an abortion and that gives her a reason to put her baby up for adoption," said Patrick, a radio broadcaster who champions conservative causes such as abortion and tightening the border.

The Republican lawmaker's Senate Bill 1567 was referred to the Senate Health and Human Services Committee Wednesday. No committee hearing has been scheduled for the bill, which has yet to draw any co-sponsors in the Senate or House.

"My goal is to save as many babies as we possibly can," said Patrick, who also has a bill to trigger an abortion ban in Texas should the U.S. Supreme Court ever reverse its landmark 1973 Roe vs. Wade decision that legalized abortion.

In a statement released on March 22, and approved by the administratative board of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), the bishops' doctrinal committee said that the works by Daniel Maguire "do not present Catholic teaching."

The doctrinal committee, chaired by Bishop William Lori of Bridgeport, Connecticut, addressed two pamphlets circulated last year by Maguire, covering the issues of contraception, abortion, and same-sex marriage. The USCCB concluded that Maguire's views on those topics, and his understanding of Church teaching authority, "cross the legitimate lines of theological reflection and simply enter into the area of false teaching."

In the pamphlets, Maguire had argued that "the Roman Catholic position on abortion is pluralistic," claiming that some Catholics have always endorsed the "pro-choice" stance. He writes that on abortion-- and on other issues such as contraception and same-sex marriage-- there are two opposing Catholic views. "Neither is official," he says, "and neither is more Catholic than the other."

The US bishops flatly reject that claim. "While there may be individuals who disagree with the teaching of the Church," the USCCB statement observes, "such divergent views cannot be considered authentic Catholic teaching or the basis for reliable guidance regarding faithful Catholic moral life." The bishops encourage reference to the Catechism of the Catholic Church for "correct and authentic teaching."

CFF's "Gala Concert for Adoption" is part of a national effort to raise greater awareness about the important "Safe Haven Laws" that have been enacted in 47 states during the month of April so that, as stated by Tim Jaccard, "not one single baby is ever thrown in the garbage pail again."

Senator Brownback, the Gala's keynote speaker, is an adoptive parent and a congressional leader who understands the importance of promoting adoption, family values and a Culture of Life in our nation and the world. Larry Kudlow, the benefit's emcee, is a renowned economist, host of CNBC's "Kudlow & Company" and a strong advocate of conservative values in the media.

The Children First Foundation's "Gala Concert for Adoption" will begin at 6:30 pm with a New York Philharmonic performance of the Shostakovitch Violin Concerto No. 1 followed by a Post-Concert Reception on the Grand Promenade at 8:00 p.m. CFF will honor Tim and Aedan Jaccard of the AMT Children of Hope "Safe Haven" Program and six Pregnancy Centers located in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut.

"The Gala's important goal," says Dr. Elizabeth Rex, CFF's President and Co-Founder, "is to help fund these outstanding organizations that generously provide desperate women with the financial and moral support they so often need in order to choose life and consider adoption for unwanted pregnancies or unwanted newborns."

"He told us, there was no amniotic fluid," says Taylor White. "And this was our first ultra sound of the pregnancy, this was our first time to even see...and there was no amniotic fluid, no kidneys of course because there was no amniotic fluid. We probably sat in the parking lot for maybe 30 minutes and just...dumb founded, and just awed and cried and just we didn't know what to do, we didn't know what to think."

"He told us then," says Jennifer White, "if I were you I would go home and pray, because it really doesn't look good."

The Whites had to another two weeks for final confirmation. 14 days later the news wasn't any better.

"I'm almost certain your baby has no chance of living," Taylor remembering what the specialist said. "In fact he used the word zilch, zilch chance. There is no amniotic fluid, there is not a genetic reason to explain this, it just happens. You can either terminate the pregnancy now or you can go through the pregnancy...and the baby will probably be still born or be born alive and die a couple of hours after being born."

"We decided," said Jennifer, "that we thought that was the best option, was to go ahead and induce early. I mean I would have a normal delivery you know and what understood the outcome would be the same, the baby was not going to make it either way. For me I could not imagine carry this baby for to full term."

That early delivery would have happened at Tyler's Trinity Mother Frances Hospital. But because it was so early in the pregnancy, the hospital's ethics committee said no.

That's when Jennifer said she became angry... At God.

"And I thought you are going to make me carry this baby I can't, I can't do this I just can't. And the whole weekend I was just so mad that I was going to have to do this. By the end of the weekend I thought there is nothing I can do. I trust that God knows what He is doing though I don't understand. I don't think He does things to harm us even though we can't understand why they have to happen. And I just thought, okay, if I'm gonna make it through this I have just go to trust that You have a plan and that You are going to be there for us and carry us through this," says Jennifer.

"By that point," remembers Taylor, "our prayer was more, initially, or first reaction was to pray to God to help us make it through it. To comfort us. Shortly after that our mind changed and we said God we know you have the power to change this, and we're putting this in Your hands.

Regular sonograms for the next six months still showed no amniotic fluid. An inducement was scheduled six weeks before the due date. One last sonogram indicated something had changed. The Whites headed straight to their specialist in Dallas.

"His face just dropped," remembers Taylor, "just with amazement said I can't explain it. There is no other explanation than God just performed a miracle. There is a normal amount of amniotic fluid at this point he saw possibly one kidney."

"Faced with this program of extermination, as pastors, but above all as human beings, we are obliged to raise our voice in support of the life of the most defenseless," the bishops said in a statement signed by the president of the conference, Bishop Carlos Aguiar Retes, and by conference secretary Bishop Jose Leopoldo Gonzalez Gonzalez.

The bishops emphasized that a new human life begins at conception and that science confirms that the new life has, from the first moment, its own unique genetic code and characteristics. "But even if there were some doubt as to whether the fruit of conception is already a human person," to risk a homicide of the unborn "is objectively a grave sin," they said.

The statement also alludes to the Mexican Constitution, which "established respect for life as the foundation of all other rights" and emphasizes that "the State has the duty to guarantee and support respect for the life of every human being."

Therefore, the bishops issued "an urgent call to legislators, scientists, and health care professionals, and all the people of Mexico to reaffirm their commitment to life," and they recalled that "the essential task of a just and inclusive society should be the protection of all human beings, from conception to natural death."

Those who "are responsible for creating more just laws" should contribute "decisively to promoting comprehensive recognition of human rights through the defense of life," the bishops added.

The state of Maine already gives over $1 million annually to Planned Parenthood of Northern New England, which does abortions in the northeastern state. But some state legislators say that's not enough and they want the legislature to approve a bill that would spend $283,000 to directly fund poor women's abortions.
Maine Democrat Senate President Betheda Edmonds is the main sponsor of the measure, LD 1309, which is slated for a public hearing later this spring.

The bill has the support of pro-abortion groups such as the Family Planning Association of Maine and the Maine Women's Lobby [..]

At its heart, abortion is one of the saddest things that can happen to a woman. At best, it is a failure; at worst, a murder. You can bet that post-abortive women are not celebrating these "heroes" on every anniversary of the day their baby was due to be born. No, because these women have a natural sense of loss, and an understanding of the moral weight of this issue. They are not the ones holding signs that say, "Abortive and proud of it."

The truth is, you can plaster "hero" all over the profession, but you cannot change its core. You can use pretty terms like "steadfast" and "dedicated" and "women's health" to try and hide the facts, but you cannot change the truth. You can try to cover your bases with words like "safe" and "legal" but you cannot ever erase the tiny chest with the broken ribs and the gaping, bleeding hole.

Emilio Gonzales is a sixteen month old infant at Brackenridge Children's Hospital in Austin, TX. He has been diagnosed with Leigh's disease. Leigh's disease is a genetic malady which is caused by a lack of functional mitochondrial complexes. There is NO DEFINITIVE TEST for Leigh's disease, and physicians usually diagnose it based on symptoms, alone. There are tests which can back up the diagnosis, but let me reiterate: there are no definitive tests for this disease.

A group that practices in-house at Brackenridge Children's Hospital, in Austin, TX, called The Pediatric Physicians Alliance of Central Texas, has decided that Emilio Gonzales should die. Although not all of the test results are in, and even if they were, they would not be a definitive diagnosis of Leigh's disease, Emilio Gonzales is set to have his respirator removed this Friday.

This disease is usually treated with thiamin, but these physicians decided to take him off of treatment. It was only when his lawyer, Jerri Ward, insisted that they put him back on the treatment that they did so. These children can live, and often do live, to be about six or seven years of age. This child is sixteen months old and these physicians have decided not to give him a chance at the rest of his life, despite his family's wishes to the contrary.

We have been in touch with the Bishop of the Austin Diocese--Bishop Aymond--who you would THINK would stick up for the life of this little child, but who instead supports killing little Emilio Gonzales. I guess if you're on Medicaid, your life just isn't as worthwhile as it would be if you had good insurance. Bishop Aymond's number is: 512-476-4888. Please call him and if you can't get him on the phone, leave a message, letting him know how you feel about the Catholic Church's approval of the murder of this small child. Keep in mind: This is a CATHOLIC-owned hospital! The head of the Catholic Conference of Bishops is Andrew Rivas. His phone number is: 512-339-9882; please call him and let him know how you feel about this issue.

Please, also get in touch with Brackenridge Children's Hospital, in Austin, TX. Their number is: 512-324-8000. Let them know how you feel about their murdering Emilio Gonzales. Maybe if they get enough calls through their switchboard, they might change their mind about killing this little boy.

You may also contact the physician's group (Pediatric Physicians Alliance of Central Texas) that is handling Emilio's treatment, composed of several doctors who have actively campaigned to have this child's treatment withdrawn at: 512-324-8009.

Kansas legislators have been debating a measure that would protect pregnant women and unborn children who become victims of violence. It charges criminals with two crimes instead of one when they kill and injure both mother and child. The legislation was introduced after the murder of 14-year-old Chelsea Brooks and her unborn baby Alexa. The Kansas House has already passed the law and now it heads to the state Senate. On Thursday, supporters and opponents testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee on the issue. "This is about my granddaughter Alexa. I can't say much because I never got to know her. I can't tell you what she was going to look like because she was killed before she was born," Terry Brooks told senators. Brooks' not only lost Alexa, she also lost her daughter Chelsea last summer. But in the eyes of the law, only Chelsea's death counts as murder. "Even though it's too late for her (Alexa), her life can count for future victims of violence. We need this law," Brooks said. Pro-life groups, including Kansans for Life, strongly support the legislation.

Sara Lawrence, the 22 year-old woman who became the island nation's beauty queen says she is pregnant and expecting a baby in September. She issued a statement saying she's keeping her baby instead of her crown.

"I relinquish my position as Miss Jamaica World 2006, having taken a deeply personal decision to face up to my responsibilities as one who expects to become a mother later this year," the Jamaica Gleaner reported.

"I believe that it is my moral obligation to do what I believe to be ethically correct and will follow what I believe to be right" Lawrence added.

The young woman told the newspaper her boyfriend supports her decision to keep the baby and not have an abortion. Though abortion advocates frequently say otherwise, she said she would have no problem continuing to pursue a career and raising her child at the same time.

"I will continue pursuing a career in medicine after the birth of my baby," Lawrence, who is 12 weeks pregnant, said.

I remember back in the 1950s when I was a young mother of four. I had gone to a restaurant with a friend. An older man and woman were at the next table. The woman accused, "You made me kill my baby." She kept saying this.

The man quietly countered, "That was 25 years ago."

But she didn't stop, and so we left.

Discarding a baby. Can that ever be forgotten?

I had seen firsthand the everlasting trauma of abortion and never forgot it.

The Press Office of the Bishops' Conference of Mexico issued a statement this week denouncing the "moral malice of procured abortion" and stating that "both abortion and infanticide are abominable crimes".

The statement comes as the Mexico City legislature is debating "an initiative 'that would allow abortion during the first 14 weeks of pregnancy' and would open the door for doctors in the public health care system to use the abortion pill RU-486 to 'interrupt' pregnancies.

The bishops made a "plea for the life of the most defenseless; life that should be absolutely respected and protected from the moment of conception. From the first moment of his existence, the human being should see his rights as a person recognized, including the inviolable right of all innocent beings to life."

"The inalienable right to life of all innocent human individuals constitutes a foundational element of civil society and its legislation," the statement continued. Such rights, it emphasized, "are not subordinate either to individuals or to parents, and neither are they a concession of society or the State. They belong to human nature and are inherent in the person."

"Since the first century, the Church has affirmed the moral malice of all procured abortion. This teaching has not changed; it remains invariable. Scientists and health care professionals, legislatures of the committees of Health and Education, and society in general, have the opportunity today to reaffirm a commitment to life," the press office said. Providing the greatest care for life from the moment of conception is "an essential task of a just and inclusive society," it stressed.

The whole abortion as genocide argument is disingenuous. If abortion really is genocide, then women seeking abortions are mass murderers. (Greg) Cunningham tries to dodge this by claiming that women are coerced into having abortions by men or by abortionists. "Just following orders" was not a valid defense at Nuremberg, and "just blame the abortionist" won't suffice if abortion truly is genocide.

We are not the least bit interested in participating in a law which is unfair," Bishop Dom Carlos Azevedo said, according to the news service. "Abortion disrespects the dignity of human life and the Episcopal Conference does not have to contribute to it."

Lusa reported that the bishop was pleased that pro-life advocates in parliament, who knew the abortion law would pass, at least won some concessions by requiring a three-day waiting period before an abortion can be done, with the hopes that some women would change their minds.

"Of course the Christians in parliament tried to make this law the least harmful they could," the bishop said.

He also urged health care workers to not get involved in the abortion industry the new law would create.

"We face women who have abortions with a look of mercy and forgiveness but our Christian conscience forces us not to collaborate with any attempt to the dignity of the human being," he told Lusa news agency.

In the 110+ page document on Holy Communion, called "Sacramentum Caritatis" or the Sacrament of Love, the Pope gives Catholic politicians a biblical warning against receiving Communion unworthily.

In a section on "Eucharistic consistency", the Pope says that politicians must adhere to "non negotiable" values "such as respect for human life, its defence from conception to natural death, the family built upon marriage between a man and a woman, the freedom to educate one's children and the promotion of the common good in all its forms." He added,"Consequently, Catholic politicians and legislators, conscious of their grave responsibility before society, must feel particularly bound, on the basis of a properly formed conscience, to introduce and support laws inspired by values grounded in human nature."

Thereafter, Pope Benedict drew a connection to reception of the Eucharist. "There is an objective connection here with the Eucharist," he said referencing the Biblical passage 1 Corinthians 11:27-29. That passage reads: "Therefore whosoever shall eat this bread, or drink the chalice of the Lord unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and of the blood of the Lord. But let a man prove himself: and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of the chalice. For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh judgment to himself, not discerning the body of the Lord."

Drawing on this dire warning from St. Paul, which was specifically referred to politicians by the Pope, many priests and bishops have seen it as an act of charity to deny pro-abortion politicians communion. For the action not only causes them to reflect seriously on their disconnection with the Church, it also saves them from committing a gravely sinful act which portends "judgement".

Speaking of the values of the protection of life and the traditional family, the Pope stated: "Bishops are bound to reaffirm constantly these values as part of their responsibility to the flock entrusted to them."

A history of abortion is associated with more frequent acts of physical aggression toward subsequent children, according to a new study published in the Internet Journal of Pediatrics and Neonatology.

The findings were drawn from an analysis of data on 237 low-income women in Baltimore who had physically mistreated or neglected at least one of their children or allowed someone else to do so. Researchers controlled for a history of miscarriage or stillbirth, as well as for family history, aggression by the woman's partner and other key factors. While all the women in the study had some connection with child maltreatment or neglect, the authors found that those who reported a history of abortion reported significantly more frequent acts of physical violence, such as slapping, hitting or beating, directed at their children.

Priscilla Coleman, a professor of human development and family studies at Bowling Green State University and lead author of the study, suggested that the link between abortion and child abuse may be influenced by a number of key factors, including unresolved grief, having felt pressured into an unwanted abortion, and disruption in maternal bonding with subsequently born children.

Unresolved grief issues, Coleman noted, "may negatively impact parental responsiveness to child needs, trigger anger, which is a common component of grief, and/or increase parental anxiety regarding child well-being." Some research indicates that grief may be more difficult to resolve if women undergo an unwanted abortion due to pressure from others. In one study, cited by Coleman, 64% of American women with a history of abortion reported feeling pressured to abort by others.

After giving birth to a premature baby on an East Oakland street, police say the mother ripped the umbilical cord and walked away Friday afternoon, leaving the newborn boy dead or dying in a puddle of blood.

The 4:39 p.m. incident in the 1400 block of 65th Avenue left witnesses and veteran investigators stunned.

"It's just crazy," said Oakland police Sgt. Tony Jones of the homicide detail. "Once she started spitting out the baby, you have some obligation to get it some type of medical attention. She didn't do that."

Jones said an autopsy will determine whether the child was stillborn or whether it died after being abandoned.

The mother was arrested, he said, but apparently gave a false name. She remains hospitalized at an undisclosed location and is under guard, police said.

Witnesses told police that the woman was walking on the street, stopped and pulled her pants to her ankles and gave birth on the street. "She dropped the baby, ripped the umbilical cord and kept walking," Jones said.

Caprile said the morning after pill that the government has begun distributing free of charge in the public heath care system "is abortifacient because it lessens notably the thickness of the internal part of the uterus, not allowing the embryo to become implanted between the 7th and 14th day after conception and eliminating it."

"The latest scientific advances in molecular biology prove that the penetration of the ovum by the sperm marks the beginning of human life," Caprile continued, "and therefore from that moment there is a unique and unrepeatable new individual who possesses all of the necessary information to develop his capacities."

"It is for this reason that it has the right to life mentioned in the Argentinean constitution, en in the Declaration of Human Rights and in the Rights of the Child. It should be treated with the dignity that it deservers as a person with a physical, biological and spiritual dimension and a sense of the transcendent," he added.

Auxiliary Bishop Andrew Yeom Soo-jung of Seoul issued a statement Feb. 27, saying the destruction of human embryos "kills human life, violates human dignity and goes against God who is the lord of life."

Bishop Yeom, who is president of Seoul Archdiocese's Committee for Life, stressed that this is the main reason the Catholic Church opposes "any research destroying human embryos including the research on somatic-cell-cloned embryos."

Under the bill, HB 2641, a pregnant teen would have to prove to a judge that she is "sufficiently mature" to comprehend the ramifications of having an abortion without her parents knowing.

Gov. Janet Napolitano, a pro-abortion Democrat, vetoed a similar bill last year, but legislators modified this year's measure. It now doesn't include a requirement that the teenager must consult with a doctor before the judge can issue the waiver.

Sponsor Steve Yarbrough, a Republican, says the bill improves current law and the House approved it 34-21 without any debate.

Doctors at the teaching hospital Careggi performed two ultrasounds on the boy and his mother and they said he had a defective esophagus. That's a disorder that surgery could have corrected after birth in some cases.

However, when they went to abort the baby boy, the discovered he was healthy and desperate tried to resuscitate him.

The baby, born at 22 weeks into pregnancy, weighed 500 grams (less than 18 ounces) at birth but physicians say that he had a brain hemorrhage during the abortion and they doubt he will survive.

According to The Australian newspaper, the boy was transferred to the city's children's hospital because Careggi didn't have room for follow-up care in the intensive care unit.

During the past two centuries, visionary women such as Susan B. Anthony, Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Alice Paul defined equality as a principle extended to all. They knew that when one group of people gets rights at the expense of another, there is nothing equal about it.

The foundation of feminism is built on the basic tenets of nonviolence, nondiscrimination and justice for all. Abortion is discrimination based on age, location and sometimes gender, disability or parentage. It is often the result of a more insidious form of discrimination: the lack of resources and support that pregnant women need and deserve.

Early American feminists did not work to replace a patriarchy with a matriarchy. Women have a right to be women in the workplace and in school.

Stanton is perhaps the best example of an important American thinker who refused to accept less than she and her children deserved. Stanton, the first champion of women's suffrage and a mother of seven, said, "When you consider that women have been treated as property, it is degrading to women that we should treat our children as property to be disposed of as we see fit."

When women think they have to lay their bodies down or swallow a bitter pill for an abortion in order to make their way in the world, that is not true equality. True feminists must say "no" to the status quo and aim for the best by advocating resources and support for women. They need to protect both mothers and children from violence. Women deserve better.

April Branum went to her local emergency room Monday night complaining of stomach pain and emerged with the biggest shock of her life. She was pregnant with a full-term fetus.

Doctors, who discovered the baby when they took X-rays of her abdominal area, immediately sent Branum to UCI Medical Center in Orange for prenatal testing.

The fetus's lungs were fully developed, the heartbeat was strong, and no defects were detected. The baby was ready to be delivered.

Archbishop Celestino Migliore said that the mistreatment of women and the relegation of women to a second class status in some parts of the world is only exacerbated by abortion.

He said abortion "is ironically employed by women against women" and said abortion is wrongly "often considered a tool of liberation."

Migliore said that the denigration of women also happens before birth through infanticide and sex-selection abortions.

"This appears to be due to the inferior status bestowed upon women in certain places and upon female infants in particular," he told the UN. "In some local traditions they are thought of as a financial burden and are thus eliminated even before birth."

"appears to be due to the inferior status bestowed upon women in certain places and upon female infants in particular," the Catholic official explained.

"Even those allowed to live are sometimes considered as if they were a piece of property best disposed of as soon as possible," Archbishop Migliore said.

On Thursday, February 15, at the age of 31, Jennifer Ann Carlisle gave up her life to cancer after refusing an abortion that doctors told her might have extended her life.

Jennifer had been diagnosed with ovarian cancer in 2005. At two months gestation, long before any chance of saving the child's life outside the womb, Jennifer was told that she would die from the soccer ball-sized tumour if she did not abort the baby.

"Even though the doctors did say it would extend her life to have the abortion, she and her husband made the decision to let God choose," said Carol Day, Jennifer's mother.

"They decided God would make that decision, not her," Jennifer's aunt, Jackie Murdock, told the Niles Daily Star. "She wouldn't decide somebody else's life."

Murdock recalled her niece saying, "Whether she lives or dies she will not abort her baby."

Gabriel Carlisle was born in January 2006 and Jennifer underwent aggressive chemotherapy but after a brief summer remission, her condition worsened. She attended church services Sunday February 11, and died the following week.

"I told her that I loved her," Joshua said, recalling when his wife died in his arms surrounded by family. "And I told her that she needed to go on, that God was calling her home." They had been married ten years.

"I held her and she took her last breath. There was a peace at that last minute that's just indescribable," Joshua told Nashville's TV News Channel 5.

The Carlisles' church and community are rallying to assist the family. A benefit auction and concert to help pay for medical expenses were held at Christ Community Church in Franklin Tennessee.

Joshua told local news media, "I'm hoping that we don't get any more doctor bills but they're still coming in."

"I guess she knew the secret of life and it is not in receiving but giving," Joshua said.

Ryan Ross, 23, accused Karesse Ebron of being pregnant with his child and asked her to have an abortion.

She declined, so Ross drove her to an isolated area across from a park to talk. When Ebron got out of the car, he hit her numerous times over the head with a baseball bat. He left her body nearby and covered it with leaves to cover up his tracks.

The bill sponsored by Senator Nancy Schaefer of Turnerville would mandate that ultrasounds be offered on women seeking abortions. The woman would then be given the chance to see the image. The bill is a top legislative priority for anti-abortion activists in Georgia this session. Schaefer said yesterday that she hopes that women viewing the images would decide against having an abortion.

The bill was watered down from an earlier version that would have mandated that the ultrasounds be performed, with an exception made for rape and incest victims. Shelley Senterfitt of the Georgia Network to End Sexual Assault said the new bill still required rape and incest victims to be offered a look at their ultrasound image, which she called "an unnecessary intrusion."

The bill passed the state Senate Committee on Health and Human Services 8-to-4.