Inside Scene: Body Tour

StandUpGirl.com offers an in-body tour of the first 9 months of development. Discover your body and your baby.

A forced abortion, or life-saving medical decision?

When 20-year-old Caitlin Bruce opens her wallet, she sees a picture of a child she aborted. "I can get teary eyed sometimes, but it is something I'd rather remember than forget," says Bruce as she describes what happened at Flint’s Feminine Health Care Clinic. She says Dr. Abraham A. Hodari forced on her an abortion she decided she did not want after seeing the ultrasound image of her unborn baby.

“He was inserting the speculum, and I told him I’m nervous. I just told him stop please,” she says. “I'm really nervous and I don't want to do this anymore.”

“When she said stop, it was too late,” Dr. Hodari told NBC25 on the phone while on a trip in Italy. He admits he had an assistant then hold his patient down. Not all doctors agree with Dr. Hodari’s actions. Connect MidMichigan

Virtuous Leadership and a Linear Service Model

A new blog series attempts to explore the connection between an effective linear service model and personal executive maturity relative to five key Biblical virtues (wisdom, empathy, courage, temperance, and justice) in a pregnancy resource center. True stories are used along with ideas for applying that virtue in the daily grind of leadership. CompassCare

Woman Dies at Marie Stopes Clinic as British Abortion Ads Run

As the Marie Stopes International abortion business begins running abortion ads on television in England tonight, news surfaces that a woman in India died from a botched legal abortion at an MSI abortion center. She is one of several women to have died recently in India from failed abortions. The woman went to a Marie Stopes center for an abortion of her 10-week-old unborn child and died at the facility Sunday night. Her family members told the newspaper they blame the "shoddy" practices and abortion practitioner at the Marie Stopes abortion business. Police have detained the owner of the abortion center for an investigation. LifeNews

Has one in three women really had an abortion?

We were having a water-cooler moment. A group of women and a couple of men were chatting about the news that the first television advert for abortion services will be shown this Monday night. “Did you know that one in three women will have an abortion in their lifetime?” said one man. Did we? There were ten women hanging around. Three of us? The water-cooler moment suddenly got chillier. We looked at our shoes, said nothing.

The one in three statistic cited by Marie Stopes comes from a Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists paper, which in turn cites a pamphlet written more than 15 years ago by the Birth Control Trust, an organisation that soon after folded and left no trace of the pamphlet. The Royal College said that the statistic wasn’t theirs, and the Department of Health said simply that “we’re not able to comment on the likelihood that the one-in-three figure is accurate.”

In America, the one-in-three figure is also commonly used, and there the statistic trail is more robust: the work was done by the Guttmacher Institute, a research organisation into sexual health. They take abortion statistics for all ages of women in any given year and extrapolate to get to the one in three — they admit that it is a rough and ready estimate but are pretty confident it is “approximate.” Times Online

Why do mothers judge one another and their parenting?

Although mothers can provide one another with invaluable advice and understanding, they also can be quick to cut one another down, making devoted mothers feel inadequate. Though women might shrug off criticism about other aspects of their lives, many say they feel crushed when someone picks apart their parenting — the job they care about most. Often, the best thing that a friend can offer another mom is to listen. Because criticism often comes from all sides, getting support from other mothers can be vital. USA Today

Obama's Women-Centered Programs: Are They Really Good for Women?

Video from Family Research Council.

OK gov vetoes abortion survey bill

Oklahoma Gov. Brad Henry has vetoed a controversial abortion bill that would have required women seeking the procedure to report extensive personal information about themselves. The Statistical Abortion Reporting Act would have required women to provide extensive information that would be complied into a report which would appear on a state-run web site without identifying the women. Supporters say the information is necessary to determine why abortions are sought and how to prevent them. Information that a woman would have had to give include marital status, age, race, education, number of live births, number of miscarriages, number of induced abortions, type of abortion and reasons for the abortion.

Tony Lauinger, Oklahomans for Life chairman, disputed the governor's interpretation of the bill, saying, “No woman is being asked to publicly reveal any information. No identification of a patient is on the individual abortion form. And no forms are posted on a website. Further, patients may decline to state a reason to the abortion provider for the abortion.” Tulsa World
Breaking news 5/25/10: OK legislature overrides veto

Termination rates after prenatal diagnosis of Down syndrome, spina bifida, anencephaly, and Turner and Klinefelter syndromes: a systematic literature

Here's where we get that 90% statistic for abortions of Down Syndrome babies: Prenatal Diagnosis, 1999; see also Brit J Ob Gyn, 2008

Planned Parenthood Telemed Abortion Scheme Going Nationwide

Planned Parenthood president Cecile Richards delivered the keynote speech at the 30 year anniversary celebration of Planned Parenthood in Cedar Rapids. There, she shared with her fellow abortion activists more details about the telemed abortion scheme it has set up in Iowa.
Operation Rescue, one of the pro-life groups exposing the practice, said Richards revealed that the "telemed abortion" scheme is part of PPFA's Strategic Plan for 2015 for every PP in the country.

At least a dozen small PP offices in Iowa are administering the dangerous abortion drug without the mother seeing a doctor in person. Instead, practitioner Susan Haskell of Planned Parenthood of the Heartland briefly addresses abortion patients from a teleconferencing hook up from her office in Des Moines. After explaining the medical abortion process, a button is pushed and an electronic drawer opens that contains the drugs. LifeNews

Women Who Refuse Abortions Often Face Violence

A new report, Forced Abortion in America, is drawing attention to attacks on pregnant women and girls in order to prevent them from continuing their pregnancies. It notes how research suggests most abortions are likely unwanted or coerced, with one survey of women who had abortions finding that 64 percent said they felt pressured by others to abort. The consequences for those who refuse abortion can be dangerous and even deadly, according to the report, which details cases of women and girls facing violent attacks or murder for resisting abortion.

"Our files contain hundreds of stories from women and girls who were attacked or killed with the intent of getting rid of the pregnancy," said Elliot Institute spokesperson Amy Sobie. "The information is out there, but many people aren't aware of what might be going on in their own communities." People might not immediately connect this with abortion because in many cases the woman or girl never makes it to an abortion center -- she's attacked or killed before she even gets there. LifeNews

Lengthy Direct Mail Copy: To Be or Not to Be?

You can’t get verbose in a tweet, a text or even an e-mail. Is there another safe haven for direct mail wordsmiths? Is the lengthy, well-written direct mail letter alive and well? The Big Fat Marketing Blog

How Tweet It Is! Mastering Social Media for Fundraising Success

Social media, online fundraising, going to the dentist — these are all things that tend to scare traditional fundraisers, regardless of age. It’s often believed that older professionals are reluctant to embrace new technology. But that shouldn’t be the case. This new medium is cost-effective and environmentally responsible. It gives nonprofits nontraditional ways to acquire, profile, and cultivate donors and new constituents. Fundraising Success

Louisiana Senate Overwhelmingly Advances Ultrasound Mandate

Senators in Louisiana overwhelmingly approved legislation on Tuesday that seeks to expand the requirements of informed consent by mandating abortionists perform an ultrasound on a mother seeking an abortion. The bill is similar to one that was recently passed in Oklahoma, requiring abortionists to perform an ultrasound on a woman at least two hours before she undergoes the induced abortion of her child, and before she is put under any kind of anesthesia. This was a weakened version of the original bill developed by pro-life groups, which would have required abortionists to put the ultrasound screen in view of the woman, describe the ultrasound, and then hand her a copy of the ultrasound in a sealed envelope. LifeSiteNews

Editor: There's also probably no requirement that the equipment be up-to-date, or that the abortionist explain what the woman's seeing.

More abortion workers quit

Abby Johnson is just one of 35 abortion workers who have quit their jobs at 40 Days for Life locations. Mike Stack, 40 Days for Life leader in Southfield, Michigan, reports: "A week or so ago we got word that the office manager at the Womancare Abortion facility where we have been holding the Southfield 40 Days for Life vigils quit her job." Prayer warriors helped her find another position. Another 40 Days for Life coordinators in a location that must remain anonymous for now reports, "I just got word from an anonymous doctor friend of mine that an old school buddy of his quit the abortion clinic in our town, due to the peaceful 'local uprising over the past year' that made him feel 'bad' about what he was doing!" LifeSiteNews

Do Abortions Cause Postpartum Depression?

Ask Dr. Michael Thase, Everyday Health

Q: Can women undergo symptoms of postpartum depression after having an abortion?

A: The end of a pregnancy, whether natural or induced, is associated with a large reduction in the female reproductive hormones estrogen and progesterone, which in turn may predispose some women to worsening depression. And for some women, abortion can also be associated with additional emotional turmoil related to feelings of guilt and grief, which could lead to depression.

UK: Outrage at first abortion TV ads

The UK's first TV advert for abortion has sparked outrage from pro-life groups. The 30-second Are You Late? commercials, featuring a student, a mum and a twenty-something, are due on Channel 4 from Monday. Sexual health advice group Marie Stopes funded the night-time TV campaign after relaxed legislation last year and said it would "empower women to make informed decisions." But the Society for the Protection of Unborn Children, said: "We are looking at its legality." Mirror

Linear Service Model vs Global Service Model

What is the difference anyway? The Linear Service Model (LSM) approach to serving women that focuses on solving the common problem of unplanned pregnancy each woman faces by taking each woman through a consistent, chronological, scripted, step-by-step decision-making process in an effort to answer the right questions in the right order. . . . An LSM standardizes services to women and ensures that those services are provided the same way with each and every patient for the purposes of accountability (which safeguards the organization from attack), and for measurability (which allows for targeted changes to keep the organization on the cutting edge of service). This LSM can also accurately be termed the “Problem-focused Model” as it allows the organization to be an expert at solving a particular problem without having to be an expert at the individual circumstances of each patient/client. This is a more Biblical approach because it is the approach that God in Christ took by solving each person’s sin problem through solving the issue of sin itself on the cross.

Global Service Model (GSM): An approach to serving women that focuses on developing a relationship with each individual client using several different types of services in an effort to provide a place of “unconditional positive regard” an idea first developed by Carl Rogers. This model places the client in the driver’s seat by providing her with a menu board of services from which she can choose, also based on one of Carl Rogers’ ideas known as “Client-centered Therapy.” Each client is served differently at the discretion of client advocate or counselor. . . . The GSM is based on an unbiblical, modified, secular humanistic counseling model and is difficult to improve primarily because there is no way of accurately assessing the overall performance of the organization when each patient is served in a differently. Another term that could be used for the GSM is a “Client-centered Model.”

Read more and comment on the Effective PRC blog (or here).

Understanding the Nonprofit Persona, and Why It Matters

A nonprofit’s persona is a reflection of its public identity and how its essential core values and ethos are perceived by donors, employees, volunteers, and others. Consequently, in the world of charitable, religious and educational nonprofits, an organization’s persona is vital to its success. Likewise, a nonprofit’s persona has multiple legal ramifications that can contribute markedly to whether it thrives, withers, or merely hobbles. ECFA

Ten easy ways to make email more efficient

When you read and react to email as it arrives you could be losing time better spent on more important tasks. Start thinking about email strategically instead of responding instantly to every message. Here are ten ideas from Xerox that can help make email a more productive tool.

Pregnancy after breast cancer: A comprehensive review

Pregnancy after breast cancer treatment has become an important issue since many young breast cancer patients have not completed their family. Generally, these patients should not be discouraged to become pregnant when they want to, since published data suggest no adverse effect of pregnancy on survival. As fertility may be impaired by chemotherapy, different fertility preserving strategies have been developed. Births seem to sustain no adverse effects, while breastfeeding appears to be feasible and safe. Abstract: J. Surg. Oncol. 2010; 101:534-542.

Email for the PDF file, with "Pregnancy After Breast Cancer" in the subject line.

Planned Parenthood rallies to veto pre-abortion ultrasound bill in FL

Pressure is intensifying on Florida Gov. Charlie Crist to either sign or veto a controversial 11th-hour bill passed by the Legislature that opponents argue makes it more difficult for women seeking abortions. Last Thursday, Planned Parenthood launched a statewide campaign opposing the bill with rallies in four Florida cities. The provision would require women to undergo an ultrasound of the fetus at their own expense before an abortion could be performed. They also would need to listen to a doctor describe the development of the fetus. Orlando Sentinel

Maryland PCC sues county for rights infringement

Alliance Defense Fund attorneys filed suit Wednesday against Montgomery County on behalf of a Silver Spring pregnancy resource center. The lawsuit says it is wrong to make “limited-service pregnancy centers” and individuals who have a “primary purpose” of offering information about pregnancy face steep fines if they don't post signs saying the county believes women should consult someone else.

"There is no abortion exception to the First Amendment,” said Mark Rienzi, lead counsel for Centro Tepeyac Women’s Center. “The government cannot create special speech rules just because people want to talk about pregnancy choices. And it certainly cannot target pro-life speakers for special sign requirements and fines while leaving speech by abortion clinics entirely unregulated. This new regulation violates every core principle of free speech law.” LifeNews

Swedish Abortions Decline in 2009

The number of abortions in Sweden has declined for the first time in many years, according to new numbers from the National Board of Health and Welfare. Some 37,524 abortions were done last year, which is a decrease of about two percent from the 38,053 abortions in 2008. "Since 2004, the number of abortions have increased each year, but last year, the trend reversed," statistician Tsegalem Muzullo said. "Even teenage abortions fell sharply." LifeNews

The Supreme Court's coming moment-of-truth on abortion

The court’s continuous quest to redefine life in the face of evolving modern science has shown how futile a task it has become. Litigation over whether life begins at the third trimester, viability, or when an unborn child can feel pain has shown that the Constitution's due process guarantee of life has two originally understood but now mutually exclusive principles – life and abortion. Faced with this reality, the court must now choose the due process clause’s primary guarantee of life over its secondary understanding of abortion and thereby hold that all abortions, with one exception, are unconstitutional. Christian Science Monitor

One-stop source for Kagan info

Americans United for Life has compiled a comprehensive resource on Supreme Court Justice nominee Elena Kagan.

New Video Promotes Abortion Whistleblowers Reward Program

Operation Rescue has released a short new video designed to promote the Abortion Whistleblowers Program, which is offering a $10,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of abortionists who are breaking the law. The fast-paced video, which runs for 2 minutes, 47 seconds, details how heroic whistleblowers have come forward to help convict abortionists, revoke their medical licenses, and close their abortion clinics for good.

Gossip defined

We know gossip doesn’t please the Lord, but what is it exactly? According to Scripture we gossip whenever we:

•Tell a secret (Proverbs 11:13)
•Talk too much about others (Proverbs 16:28)
•Use our words to add fuel to a fight (Proverbs 26:20)
•Discuss topics we shouldn’t (1 Timothy 5:13)
•We are also gossiping any time our words cause division (Proverbs 16:28)

--Lies Young Women Believe blog

Gallup: Pro-Life the "New Normal" in U.S.

In the latest Gallup survey, 47 percent of Americans identified as pro-life, while 45 percent said they were pro-choice. Last May, the divide was 51 percent to 42 percent in favor of pro-life. "While the two-percentage-point gap in current abortion views is not significant, it represents the third consecutive time Gallup has found more Americans taking the pro-life than pro-choice position on this measure since May 2009, suggesting a real change in public opinion," noted Gallup's Lydia Saad on Friday. "By contrast, in nearly all readings on this question since 1995, and each survey from 2003 to 2008, more Americans called themselves pro-choice than pro-life." LifeSiteNews

Executive stress management

Jim Harden, of the CompassCare blog, asks, "What 50 things will you choose not to do in order to do the other 150 things that seem more important. Should you take that phone call? Should you answer that email? Should work from home, or go in early, or stay late, or etc. . . . What do you do to cope? . . . Can I get an 'Amen' or am I the only one? What do you do?" Well, what do you do?

Prenatal and Postpartum Depression in Fathers and Its Association With Maternal Depression

It is well established that maternal prenatal and postpartum depression is prevalent and has negative personal, family, and child developmental outcomes. Paternal depression during this period may have similar characteristics, but data are based on an emerging and currently inconsistent literature. Prenatal and postpartum depression was evident in about 10% of men in the reviewed studies and was relatively higher in the 3- to 6-month postpartum period. Paternal depression also showed a moderate positive correlation with maternal depression. JAMA

Death of Palestinian woman fetal filicide

The confessed motive behind the slaying of a Nablus woman was the fact that the 27-year-old was carrying a female fetus, and not a male. The woman was found dead in her home, and was later revealed to have been three months pregnant. She was already the mother to three boys and a girl. Officers explained that they arrested the woman's husband following the discovery of defensive scratch wounds on his body, matching evidence of blood found under the young mother's nails. Ma'an News

Editor: LifeSiteNews noted it was DNA evidence that led to the arrest, and also that it's the father's genetic material that determines a child's sex.

'Why I'll never take the Pill again'

Now I am off the Pill, in retrospect I can see that each of the four kinds of Pill I’d used had negatively affected my wellbeing. All contain the synthetic oestrogen ethinyl estradiol plus one of a variety of synthetic progesterones. All can have negative repercussions on mood as they stop ovulation, flatten natural hormone fluctuations to create a very low unchanging level, produce a deficiency in B vitamins and meddle with the workings of the pituitary gland.

The Pill enacts a very crude, wide-reaching impact on the body. The reproductive system is shut down. When we talk about the Pill preventing pregnancy, we should also mention it does this with a whole-body effect. The monthly hormone cycle is integral to many of the body’s central functions, including the metabolic, immune and endocrine systems.

There’s research that reveals the health benefits of continuous ovulation, showing consequentially the dangers of cycle suppression. Yet the Pill is prescribed and taken without care. This drug accounts for close to half of the $16bn women’s healthcare market and 96 per cent of birth control education for doctors in US medical schools focuses on it.

At a time when we are more concerned about what we eat, wear and use to clean the toilet than ever, we are celebrating millions of otherwise-healthy women taking a powerful medication every day, for years. James Balog is right: these women are not sick, they’re fertile and for just a few days a month. The Pill is on so high a pedestal that alternatives are undermined in comparison. Pill-mania has eroded the fundamentals of reproductive rights – choice, freedom and education. The Independent

Aborted baby cries before cremation

An aborted baby declared dead by doctors in south China's Guangdong Province cried before he was due to be cremated, but died hours later as doctors refused to treat him. Shanghai Daily

British Asians aborting girls under pressure from family

British Indian women are going abroad to abort their baby girls because of pressure on them to have boys, a journalist has warned. Kishwar Desai pointed to statistics from the University of Oxford which estimate almost 100 baby girls are “disappearing” from British Indian families every year. Lady Desai, who was born in Ambala, Northern India, said that while her own parents were “delighted” at her birth, other relatives were “horrified” at the birth of a girl. Christian Institute

New Study Affirms Link Between Abortion and Subsequent Mental Health Problems

A study published in the Canadian Journal of Psychiatry examined a nationally representative sample of more than 3,000 women in the United States. Researchers found that, after controlling for age, marital status, race, education, household income and any violence, women in the study who underwent an abortion had a 98 percent increased risk for any mental health disorders compared to women who did not have an abortion. Those problems include increases in suicidal thoughts and substance abuse. Elliot Institute

Hillary Clinton's abortion grenade

The culture war is breaking out in American foreign policy. And the main Last month, during a political controversy in Canada on the issue, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton spoke at a news conference in Quebec. "If we're talking about maternal health, you cannot have maternal health without reproductive health. And reproductive health includes contraception and family planning and access to legal, safe abortion." The Toronto Star described this as a "grenade in the lap of her shell-shocked Canadian hosts." Washington Post

Blood Money: The Business of Abortion

Blood Money is a documentary film that exposes the truth behind the Abortion Industry from the pro-life perspective. This film will examine the history of abortion in America, from the inception of Planned Parenthood and the profitability of abortion clinics, to Roe v. Wade, to the denial of when life begins, to the fight to save the lives of innocent babies, and the devastating effects it has had on the women that have had them.

My Visit to Planned Parenthood's New Mega-Center

A couple of weeks ago, I saw Planned Parenthood's massive new 42,000 square foot clinic and office building in Portland, Oregon, for myself. It was big, clean, new, with lots of bricks, lots of steel, lots of window space. Some of the building was supposed to be devoted to "retail space," but there were no obvious tenants other than Planned Parenthood.

A factsheet put out by Planned Parenthood tells me that the new $12.5 million facility has ten examination rooms and four counseling rooms. That indicates capacity for a large number of customers, a great many abortions. A spokesperson says that they are not doing surgical abortions at this time. They are doing chemical abortions with RU 486, though.

It typifies what Planned Parenthood is doing in many places across the country right now. Scores of clinics are closing, and many local and regional affiliates are merging. But at the same time, many of these affiliates are opening shiny new mega-centers, clinics of 10,000 square feet or more, capable of processing large numbers of abortions. They also typically have a large amount of office space for affiliate operations and activities. Consistent with those aims, the new clinic in Portland is said to have room dedicated not only to medical and administrative purposes, but space available for candidate forums and phone banks as well. LifeNews

Heartbeat Conference Will Equip and Assist PCCs

“Better together” is the message of the 2010 Heartbeat International Conference, designed for ministry leaders, staff, board members, and volunteers of life-affirming pregnancy help centers, medical clinics, maternity homes and nonprofit adoption agencies, as well as medical, counseling, social work, and education professionals. The 39th Heartbeat International Annual Conference, scheduled for May 18-20, 2010 in Orlando, Florida is attracting nearly 700 pregnancy support providers from 17 countries. Heartbeat will provide 72 educational workshops in 12 different tracks including a “Center Defense” track developed to address the attacks by elected officials and to expose the propaganda tactics used by abortion dealers to thwart the good work of pregnancy help centers. LifeNews

Singer regrets her abortion

On the May 9 episode of the VH1 reality show, What Chilli Wants, TLC hip hop girl group member Rozonda "Chilli" Thomas opened up about her abortion. She described aborting at age 20, about 1991, for sadly common reasons, because she "didn't have the support" and "was so scared." This was also at the beginning of her musical career, she said, and she didn't know how she could do both it and motherhood. The abortion turned out to be "one of the biggest mistakes," because she "didn't want to do that. . . . It messed me up . . . it broke my spirit." Chilli felt she lost her "strong self," and that she "gave in, broke to what someone else wanted." Obviously, she felt pressured to abort. She began to break down, to cry "because I wasn't a mommy" - almost every day for almost 9 years. Jill Stanek blog

PRC connection to Extreme Home Makeover Sunday night

Denise Miller of the PRC of Panama City, FL, says: "Please watch this Sunday night after church, EXTREME HOME MAKEOVER. The family is the daughter and son-in-law of one of our volunteers at the PRC. The story of this family alone are so heart wrenching but because the love the Lord so much one miracle after another takes place. Jeremy has ALS and they have a son with spina bifida. This will be one you must see. God will be Glorified! Sun 7pm."

Paid association made easy

PCCs can now pay their Partners in Ministry association fees online. Just go to the Online Store and click PCC Association under 'Categories.' Select the fee level appropriate for your center (single, 1 or 2 satellites, 3 or more satellites) and download the appropriate form (established center, new center, or renewal of association. You can return the form automatically, too -- whether you opt to be a paid associate or not!

Remember, paid association brings you discounts at the store and for events such as The Summit. Questions? Email Sue Ellen.

"Not Enough Abortions in the Movies"

Stephen Farber, a film critic for The Hollywood Reporter, says, "However you feel about the subject, the invisibility of abortion on mainstream movie screens during the last 20 years has almost certainly had an impact on public attitudes," he writes. "Last year, for the first time since 1995, a majority of Americans described themselves in a Gallup poll as 'pro-life' rather than 'pro-choice.'" NRLC

Narrative vs. Mission

A non-profit organization must have a clearly articulated mission statement and then work to assure that the daily operations of that organization are actually serving that mission. This may seem like common sense, but it is very easy for a charity or a ministry to stop serving their mission and begin serving a narrative. Associations and relationships grow and become important and without even noticing it happened an organization is more concerned about what they and their friends believe about the world than what they are supposed to be doing. What else explains why charitable organizations that exist to fight breast cancer would have no reaction to information that certain controllable behaviors have an impact on a woman's breast cancer risks? LTI blog

Breast Cancer Chemo Does Not Harm Fetus

Women who are diagnosed with breast cancer while pregnant can be treated with standard chemotherapy regimens after the 12th gestational week without endangering the health of the fetus. Fetal outcomes were not significantly different when 121 newborns of women who were treated with chemotherapy were compared with 36 newborns of women who did not receive chemotherapy in pregnancy. Ob/Gyn News

Help wanted: Director of Events and Community Relations

Alternatives Pregnancy Care Center is searching for a Director of Events and Community Relations. This position will plan and coordinate our fundraising efforts and other events and requires recruitment and coordination of event volunteers. A Bachelor's Degree in marketing,
management, business or equivalent work experience is desired. The candidate must be a self-starter, capable of multi-tasking with minimum assistance, must be detail oriented and proficient in Microsoft Office and Publisher.

The position will initially be between 25 and 30 hours per week and may grow into a full time position in the future. The candidate must regularly attend a bible-based church and support Alternatives mission statement. This position will require some weekend time to set up displays and meet with supporters at various churches in Southwest Michigan. Compensation is based upon skills and experience.

Please email resume and cover letter to David Bos, Executive Director at Alternatives Pregnancy Care Center, 4200 W. Michigan Ave. Ste #100, Kalamazoo, MI 49006; Ph. (269) 345-1740.

New UK government conservative but not pro-life

The Society for the Protection of Unborn Children says the change of government means a renewed threat of imposing pro-abortion sex education on schools. John Smeaton, SPUC director, said, "David Cameron has made clear that faith schools should not be free to teach that abortion is wrong." He also notes that Andrew Lansley, expected to be named health secretary, has made clear his support for easier access to abortion. And David Laws, expected to be named education secretary, tabled amendments which would have further eroded parents’ rights regarding sex education. LifeNews

Unborn Baby Murder Hearing

A woman claims her former boyfriend admitted to causing her to have a miscarriage. 39-year-old Orbin Tercero of Bath, PA, is charged with first degree murder of an unborn child. Police say Tercero used a pill to force his former girlfriend to miscarry at her home. Both are employed as pharmacists. The woman said Tercero wanted her to have an abortion. He was engaged to another woman at the time. WBNG

Death of pro-life movement revisited

Editor: The pro-life movement never should have relied on changes in law, but should have always focused on changing hearts and minds -- as is BFL's focus.

Obama’s election means the pro-life movement can no longer rely on changing law — though that fight should not be abandoned — but must redouble efforts to change hearts and minds. Pro-lifers must devote more resources at worthy causes like placing ultrasound machines into crisis pregnancy centers. That window into the womb has proven the single most effective instrument in convincing young women not to proceed with abortion. LifeNews

From ATC's archives: Eliminating "global male hatred" at the center

Men have a strong influence on abortion decisions. . . . An unresolved anger issue against men [on the part of PCC advocates] is sometimes called "global male hatred." . . . This anger also may quickly be unleashed against any available man—including other men in the waiting room who are trying to be supportive. A simple look of disrespect can send a man running out the door. Men need to experience the same welcoming spirit that our female clients receive. They deserve our initial respect as well. ATC

New health-care law raises concerns about respecting providers' consciences

Deep within the massive health-care overhaul legislation, a few little-noticed provisions have quietly reignited one of the bitterest debates in medicine: how to balance the right of doctors, nurses and other workers to refuse to provide services on moral or religious grounds with the right of patients to get care.

Advocates for protecting health workers argue the new law leaves vulnerable those with qualms about abortion, morning-after pills, stem cell research and therapies, assisted suicide and a host of other services. Proponents of patients' rights, meanwhile, contend that, if anything, the legislation favors those who oppose some end-of-life therapies and the termination of pregnancies and creates new obstacles for dying patients and women seeking abortions.

Both sides acknowledge that the scope of any new conflicts that might arise under the legislation will become clear only as the implications of the overhaul unfold. But both agree that clashes are probably inevitable. Washington Post

Congressional Probe Sought on Obama Backing Kenya's Pro-Abortion Constitution

Did the Obama administration spend taxpayer dollars illegally promoting the pro-abortion draft constitution that would have Kenya join the ranks of those nations that allow virtually unlimited abortions? That's what three members of Congress want to know, and they are seeking a federal investigation to find out. LifeNews

Raquel Welch speaks up for fidelity

Raquel Welch warns the Pill has led teens to believe there are no consequences to sex and blames the Pill for decline of marriage. She cautioned against plummeting moral standards and, as a four-time married actress, is well aware of the irony of her comments. Still, "if an aging sex symbol like me starts waving the red flag of caution over how low moral standards have plummeted, you know it’s gotta be pretty bad.” Christian Institute

Prayer request from a director

Lisa J. Stiefken, Executive Director of the San Bernardino Pregnancy Resource Center had a second key staff person resign yesterday. Pray for her, as she reports being "personally and professionally spent."

Reaction to Kagan nomination

• Pro-life groups react to Kagan
• Pro-abortion groups favor Kagan
• Republicans, Pro-Life Groups Want Full Hearings on Elena Kagan Nomination
• First Republican Opposes Elena Kagan, Democrats Promise Vote by August

Plenty of chances and dangers in the new UK parliament

Last week’s UK general election presents both dangers and opportunities for the pro-life movement. Several anti-life MPs lost their seats and several pro-life candidates were elected. Mr Smeaton said that the most immediate concern for SPUC in this new Parliament is to protect children from the pro-abortion ideology which lies behind plans to make sex and relationships education compulsory in England from the age of five.

Obama to Pick Pro-Abort Elena Kagan for Supreme Court

Top White House aides expect President Obama to select Solicitor General Elena Kagan on Monday as the Supreme Court justice to replace retiring Justice John Paul Stevens. Kagan is known for strongly favoring taxpayer funded abortion, and is a critic of the 1991 Supreme Court decision Rust v. Sullivan, which upheld federal regulations prohibiting Title X family planning fund recipients from counseling on or referring for abortion. Americans United for Life also reports that Kagan once suggested that faith-based groups operating pregnancy care centers should not counsel pregnant youths, for fear that they would include their religious beliefs in the counseling process. LifeSiteNews, FRC, WSJ

Syphilis and Social Upheaval in China

Syphilis, a sexually transmitted infection (STI) that was nearly eliminated from China 50 years ago, is now the most commonly reported communicable disease in Shanghai, China's largest city. No other country has seen such a precipitous increase in reported syphilis cases in the penicillin era. In 2008, an average of more than 1 baby per hour was born with congenital syphilis in China, for a total of 9480 cases; the rate had increased by a factor of 12 during the previous 5 years. A disease with social roots, syphilis has become a major scourge lurking in the shadows of a country that has rapidly ascended to the status of a global economic powerhouse.

Although syphilis infection may be asymptomatic and difficult to diagnose without widespread screening, the public health impact of the disease is all too clear. People with syphilis have an increased risk of acquiring and transmitting human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection; more than half of pregnant women with syphilis have a spontaneous abortion or stillbirth; and babies with congenital syphilis may have serious, irreversible sequelae with rates of death in infancy of more than 50%.

The recent expansion of the Chinese syphilis epidemic holds important lessons about social and environmental influences on sexual health, and these lessons have corollaries for other countries and cultures. But in China, the breadth and depth of social change during the past two decades have far exceeded the incremental urbanization and development seen in other low- and middle-income countries. Just as past major social upheavals, including world wars, have been associated with an increased rate of STIs, contemporary social factors have an effect on both the spread and control of syphilis. NEJM

Impact of Health Care Reform for Nonprofits

"Live" 60-minute Webinar with Audience Q&A

For nonprofits in general, join us Thursday, May 27

1:00pm ET / 12:00pm CT / 11:00am MT / 10:00am PT

Listen in to a power-packed "live" webinar discussion by leading experts and learn about:

• Changes in coverage, taxes, etc.
• Reporting requirements
• New terms such as "minimum essential coverage"
• Impact on employers with less than 50 employees
• Differences for insurers
• And much more!

Cost: No cost to ECFA members. Only $39 for nonmembers. Register now!

Can't attend the “live” session? No problem! A recording will be available through the ECFA website after the webinar ($5 for ECFA members, $39 for nonmembers)

Documentary 'Babies' touches hearts

Babies, whose trailer has been causing outbreaks of goo-goo nirvana since last fall, opens Friday. The unique documentary follows a quartet of infants — three girls and a boy in San Francisco, Tokyo, Namibia and Mongolia— from birth to their first steps. With no narration and minimal dialogue, it offers a rare, unfiltered cinematic experience. USA Today

Madison Surgery Center Drops Late-Term Abortion Services

A Madison clinic that endured protests and controversy for plans to provide late-term abortions has scuttled those efforts, according to a letter from the state attorney general's office to an Eau Claire attorney. In February 2009, the board of the Madison Surgery Center voted unanimously to create the clinic, but the group Pro-Life Wisconsin continued the fight to stop the procedures from starting. Channel3000

Planned Parenthood Thinks Moms Want More Abortions for Mother's Day

Victims of abortion can't buy their mothers a gift for Mother's Day this weekend. But Planned Parenthood thinks moms want donations made to the abortion business in their names by those lucky enough to not have been aborted themselves. LifeNews

'Telemed' Abortions Under Investigation in Iowa

The Iowa Medical Board is now investigating the "care and treatment" practices of abortionist Susan Haskell and Planned Parenthood of the Heartland, who have been accused of conducting medical abortions without a physician present. The investigation, which Operation Rescue said it was notified of in writing, is in response to complaints filed by OR concerning "Telemed" abortions.

"Telemed" is short for telemedicine, a practice in which the patient consults with a physician over the Internet via Skype or other teleconferencing hook-up. OR investigators found that a dozen small Planned Parenthood offices in Iowa were administering RU486 without the patient ever having been personally examined by a physician. Instead, an abortionist briefly addresses abortion patients from a teleconferencing hook-up from her office in Des Moines. After explaining the medical abortion process, a button is pushed and an electronic drawer opens that contains the drugs. LifeSiteNews

Is context irrelevant?

When verses can have different meanings for different people based on Holy Spirit “promptings,” it begins to undermine the truth of the “faith, which was once for all delivered to the saints” (Jude 3). There are as many “truths” as there are readers. STR

Hormonal Birth Control Increases Dysfunction

Taking hormonal birth control can relieve worries about getting pregnant, but it also increases the risk of developing low sex drive and other forms of female sexual dysfunction. This finding held true for women who took either oral or non-oral types of hormonal birth control, according to a new German study. EmaxHealth

Study Shows Women Getting Abortion Don't Use Private Insurance

A new study from the Guttmacher Institute shows most women pay for abortions out of pocket, with insurance companies picking up the costs of just 12 percent. Some 57 percent of women paid for their abortions, 13 percent received help from a nonprofit pro-abortion group that pays for poor women's abortions, and 20 percent got their abortions covered under Medicaid, as some states allow state tax dollars to pay for abortions. The survey found one-third of women uninsured, one-third were on Medicaid, and one-third had private insurance coverage. Of the women who did have private insurance at the time of their abortion, 63% still paid for their abortions out of pocket. LifeNews

NAACP Opposes Bill to Stop Race-Based Abortions

Why would a bill that criminalizes abortion motivated by race not have the support of the NAACP? The Georgia Senate passed a bill that would make it a crime to abort a child because of its race or gender. It had the endorsement of Georgia’s NAACP, along with the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and over 100 local, mostly black, pastors. After the bill moved to the House for passage, suddenly Edward DuBose, president of the Georgia NAACP, had a change of heart. In a statement withdrawing NAACP’s support for the bill, DuBose claimed they didn't “fully understand” it. LifeNews

Did DHS pressure teen to get abortion?

A Pennsylvania Department of Human Services caseworker pressured a pregnant Mayfair teenager to undergo a late-term abortion by threatening to take away either her toddler or her unborn baby if she had the child, according to the teen's foster mother. The alleged strong-arm tactic happened one day after DHS learned of the pregnancy, when the girl was about 22 weeks pregnant, according to her foster mother and the girl's social worker, Marisol Rivera. Rivera said she was fired after she initially refused to accompany the teen for the abortion. "They hired me to work in child protection, not to kill children." Daily News

Man sentenced to five years for unlawful termination of ex-girlfriends pregnancy

Jared Ahlstrom was sentenced to five years in jail for unlawful termination of a pregnancy. He had confessed to twice secretly giving his girlfriend Misoprostol obtained in Mexico. She lost their baby at 16 weeks gestation. Colorado law classifies an abortion without a mother’s consent as a class 4 felony and it carries no mandatory sentencing. Dan Rubinstein, chief deputy district attorney, said, “It's offensive to me and to my office that doing this is only a class four felony.” The judge says Ahlstrom could only serve half his 5 year sentence if he behaves well. NBC11News

Women should be informed before they abort

When Bill Clinton said in 1992 that he wanted to make abortion safe, legal and rare, many Americans applauded. But how does one get to "rare" in a sexualized world where choice is a sacrament? The only plausible answer is through education, but of what should that education consist?

My own view, both pro-life and pro-choice, has been that abortion truthfully presented would eliminate itself or vastly reduce its numbers. Once a pregnancy is viewed as a human life in formation, rather than a "blob of cells," it is less easy to terminate the contents of one's vessel.

An unwanted pregnancy isn't any less inconvenient, but humanizing a fetus confounds the simplicity of choice. Alternatively, dehumanizing as a means of justifying an action from which we prefer to avert our eyes is a well-traveled road that history does not view charitably. Kathleen Parker

Dutch Pro-Lifers Erect Display with 30,000 Unborn Baby Models

On the occasion of the 29th anniversary of the decriminalization of abortion in the Netherlands, the Dutch Pro-Life organization Cry for Life laid down 30,000 models of a 10-week-old unborn child. In the Netherlands, which is well known for its liberal views, each year the lives of approximately 30,000 unborn are terminated in the womb and discarded as medical waste.

The display was erected in the Square next to the government buildings in centre of The Hague, the Netherlands, on Wednesday, April 28. On that date in 1981, the Dutch Senate approved the Pregnancy Termination Bill, by the narrowest possible margin of thirty-eight votes in favor to thirty-seven against. The bill had been adopted earlier by the House of Representatives. LifeSiteNews

Study links abortion and addiction

Women who have had an abortion are nearly four times as likely to have problems with drugs and alcohol as women who have not, according to a study conducted by University of Manitoba researchers. The authors of the study caution though, that their research shows only that abortions and substance use disorders are linked; they have not established any causal relationship. The study did not demonstrate whether women who have abortions are more prone to develop substance abuse problems or whether women with such problems are more likely to have abortions. Toronto Sun

What is success?

• A girl walks into our Center instead of walking into an abortion Center. SUCCESS!


• A girl opens up and talks about her life when she doesn’t trust anyone else. SUCCESS!


• A girl chooses life for her baby rather than abortion. SUCCESS!


• A girl receives Christ as her Savior or rededicates her life to the Lord. SUCCESS!


• A girl gets married rather than just “living together.” SUCCESS!


• A girl turns her life around and begins attend church. SUCCESS!


• A girl begins witnessing to others about the miracles in her life. SUCCESS!


• A girl comes back later to volunteer, to “give back.” SUCCESS!


• A girl leads others to the Lord. SUCCESS!


• A girl comes in and we never see her again, but we faithfully pray for her. SUCCESS!


• A volunteer shows up by faith each week no matter what the outcome of that appointment. SUCCESS!

From the April newsletter of PRC East in Baytown, TX

My Mother's Abortion Improved All of Our Lives

The author pleads for a recognition of the time "lost" or expended in raising a child. I plead for a recognition of the reality of a life lost. Women's Enews