Environmental impact of childbirth

HealthNewsDigest.com: Researchers from the University of Pittsburgh and Magee-Womens Hospital have collaborated to improve sustainable childbirth procedures, both through vaginal delivery and birth by cesarean section. The study, published online in Science of the Total Environment, is the first of its kind to examine infant birth using Life Cycle Assessment, a technique that assesses the environmental impacts associated with all stages of a product’s or procedure’s life.

Editor: I think this falls under the category "Now I've Seen Everything."

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Planned Parenthood flap taking huge toll on local Komen chapter

Planned Parenthood flap taking huge toll on local Komen chapter - Seattle News - MyNorthwest.com: Participants and donations are off sharply for Susan G. Komen chapters nationwide including Seattle because of the backlash over cutting funds to Planned Parenthood.

Editor: I don't understand how they're so sure it was the initial decision (to cut PP) and not the subsequent one (to reinstate PP) that caused the backlash. If they're supporting PP and their funding falls off, then that would indicate to me people wised up. They're saying, in effect, that their former donors are now acting petty and not principled.

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New company seeks to run Birmingham abortion clinic

New company seeks to run Birmingham abortion clinic | al.com: A new Birmingham company has filed an application with the state to keep open the New Woman All Women Health Care clinic, a Southside abortion clinic scheduled to be closed next month. Several anti-abortion organizations have objected, arguing that the new business has ties to the clinic's current management and should be barred from taking over.

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Bayer Yasmin Lawsuit Settlements Climb to $142 Million

Bayer Yasmin Lawsuit Settlements Climb to $142 Million - Businessweek: Bayer AG said settlements of U.S. lawsuits claiming that its Yasmin line of birth-control pills caused blood clots in women have increased to $142 million.

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Mobile Pregnancy Center Fleet Growing at Rapid Pace

Life Affirming Mobile Pregnancy Center Fleet Growing at a Rapid Pace - Christian Newswire: ICU Mobile (www.icumobile.org), the pioneer and leader of mobile pregnancy center ministry, continues to grow its global fleet of life saving mobile pregnancy center vehicles. Founded in 2003, ICU Mobile provides a turnkey mobile solution for crisis pregnancy centers and life affirming ministries enabling them to go to, rather than wait for, women facing an unplanned pregnancy. ICU Mobile will deploy 12 more Mobile pregnancy centers before the end of the year.

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‘Bowling for abortion’ raises $400,000

‘Bowling for abortion’ raises $400,000 | LifeSiteNews.com: The National Abortion Access Bowl-a-Thon describes itself as “a nationwide series of local events that allow community members to . . . raise money to help women and girls pay for abortions they couldn’t otherwise afford.” In addition offering partial funding for abortions, the proceeds “buy bus or plane tickets, and even offer a place to stay for those who have to travel for an abortion.” As of this writing, the group says it has raised more than $401,000.

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Looking for ultrasound statistics?

Email me and I'll send you a Word doc with some information that I recently pulled together.

The DeMoss Company Builds Abortion Clinic In Fort Worth Texas

The DeMoss Company Builds Abortion Clinic In Fort Worth Texas - YouTube: Activists ask contractor to stop building Planned Parenthood's mega-clinic.

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Seven Ways To Pray for Your Prayer Life

Seven Ways To Pray for Your Prayer Life | Challies Dot Com: Add these to your prayer list as you consider your own prayer life or another person’s.

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Planned Parenthood funds at risk in Arizona

Planned Parenthood funds at risk in Arizona: Arizona is on the verge of joining eight other states that have banned the use of public dollars for Planned Parenthood. The Senate on Tuesday approved a bill that would bar the state or any local government from using public money to support an organization that includes abortions among its services. Although House Bill 2800 does not mention Planned Parenthood by name, it's clear the organization is the target.

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Faces of the American Holocaust

California Catholic Daily - Faces of the American Holocaust: Philip Darney, M.D. 69, considered to be one of the early pioneers of abortion and population control, is the director of the University of California San Francisco - Bixby Center for Global Reproductive Health. The center is the sponsor for the controversial project, HWPP #171, to train nurses, physician assistants, and midwives to be abortionists in California.

Related: Planned Parenthood backs bill to allow nurses,midwives, and physician assistants perform abortions

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Birth control or abortifacient? ACOG president plays with words

Letter: Anti-abortion take on birth control misleading – USATODAY.com: In his attempt to clear up a misuse of terminology, James N. Martin Jr., president; American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, made the case that many pro-lifers have been making for years: "All contraceptives, including these FDA-approved methods, prevent ovulation, fertilization and/or implantation." But he also muddied the water by explaining, "Norplant, Depo Provera and the intrauterine device do not function as abortifacients. . . . The definition of contraception is to prevent pregnancy, which occurs at implantation. RU-486 is not considered birth control. This is a medication used to cause an abortion once pregnancy has begun."

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Spiritual Discernment in the Decision-Making Process

Centerboard: Spiritual Discernment in the Decision-Making Process: The job of the board of directors is to make decisions on behalf of the organization. Some decisions will be simple or routine; others — such as initiating new programs, cutting programs or staff, changing a name, and so forth — will have a lasting impact. How should a board make those decisions?

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What Donors Are Looking For In Your Nonprofit

Here-4-You Consulting » What Donors Are Looking For In Your Nonprofit: It has become so competitive, that organizations that have the strategic plan, that have measured outcomes, and that show the board is involved will have a much better chance of securing a donation. Donors today see themselves as investors and they are investing NOT in improving your organization but in improving people’s lives.

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Motivation for undiluted abstinence ed

Motivation for undiluted abstinence ed. (OneNewsNow.com): After researching federal spending reports, Valerie Huber of the National Abstinence Education Association has found a stunning 1:24 disparity between Sexual Risk Avoidance (SRA) abstinence education and Sexual Risk Reduction (SRR) contraceptive-centered programs. The results of various divisions' reports were compiled primarily by using spending formulas provided by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services in 2008.

"It means that for every dollar that they have available to provide abstinence education, there are essentially 24 more dollars being spent to give a counter message," she explains. "So, the impact [of abstinence education] is greatly diluted." Nonetheless, Huber is encouraged because with the Abstinence Education Reallocation Act, she senses a window of opportunity on Capitol Hill will correct this.

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Attitudes toward adoption: It's immoral?

In the Guttmacher Institute's "Reasons U.S. Women Have Abortions: Quantitative and Qualitative Perspectives" (Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health, 2005) I came across this little disturbing nugget:

While fewer than 1% of women in the quantitative survey volunteered that they would not consider or did not favor having a baby and giving it up for adoption, more than one-third of interview respondents said they had considered adoption and concluded that it was a morally unconscionable option because giving one's child away is wrong.

We have our work cut out for us.

Cookies for Life

Cookies for Life: 10-Year-Old Leaves Girl Scouts, Sells Cookies to Save Babies: A heroic 10-year-old girl was once a loyal Girl Scout cookie-seller in Boise, Idaho. That changed one day after a family meeting with her parents, John and Mary Swanke. The meeting was called to discuss information the Swankes discovered about the Girl Scouts Organization’s connection with Planned Parenthood. The connection, though denied by some, has stirred up frustration with people across the nation.

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Gaping holes in Canada’s new abortion data

Gaping holes in Canada’s new abortion data create abortion-decrease mirage | LifeSiteNews.com: On April 17, the Canadian Institute for Health Information released data on induced abortions committed in Canada for 2010 that appear to show a significant drop in abortions from the 2009 report. The 2010 report, however, has gaping holes in the data, with no abortion data at all for the province of Quebec, making it impossible to draw any meaningful conclusions about abortion trends.

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Man sentenced to life in prison for beating his pregnant wife to death

Baldwin Park man sentenced to life in prison for beating his pregnant wife to death in 2008 - SGVTribune.com: When Carlos Luis found out his wife was pregnant, he began urging her to get an abortion, despite her desire to keep the baby.

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Planned Parenthood’s Comparision Omits the “A” Word

Planned Parenthood’s Comparision Omits the “A” Word | NRL News Today: Saying that a pro-life politician wants to take away cancer screenings for women is like antebellum Southern defenders of slavery claiming that abolitionists wanted to ban farming. Besides being untrue, one has nothing to do with the other and is a desperate attempt to focus on something other than the evil at hand.

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Spin: NARAL dubs parental consent abortion bill the ‘Arrest Grandma’ act

Spin: NARAL dubs parental consent abortion bill the ‘Arrest Grandma’ act | LifeSiteNews.com: In an email Tuesday, NARAL leader Nancy Keenan urged supporters to urge House leaders to vote against the “arrest grandma” act, and questioned, “Shouldn’t a teen in this situation get all the family and community support that she needs – especially if she chooses abortion? Isn’t this what ‘family values’ is all about?”

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Live Action neither confirms nor denies new sting operation

Planned Parenthood in red alert over undercover sex-selection abortion exposé | LifeSiteNews.com: Live Action President Lila Rose said the group’s policy is not to comment on an investigation “until its conclusion and public release.”

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‘October Baby’ Film Makes a Dent at the Box Office

‘October Baby’ Film Makes a Dent at the Box Office - NYTimes.com: As mass entertainment goes, the abortion debate does not typically count as good Saturday-night date movie fare; the subject rarely makes it to the mainstream multiplex. But at a time when the issue is once again causing agitation in political circles, a small film, “October Baby,” about a woman who learns she is, as the movie puts it, a “survivor of a failed abortion,” is making a dent at theaters across the country.

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Medical Students for Life Spring Tour - LiveStream!

Dr. John Bruchalski, M.D. (aka Dr. B) has been on a 27-Stop Spring 2012 National Medical Students for Life Tour to speak to pro-life and pro-choice medical students about his experiences as a former abortion provider and discussing conscience protections, health care reform, and patient-center medicine for medical students and physicians.

This Thursday, watch his presentation live while he presents on, “The Struggle Making Abortion – Safe, Legal, & Rare: A bioethics & clinical discussion on the barriers to access, health care reform, and evidence based medicine.”

Log on here at 6:15pm CT/7:15pm ET, this Thursday, April 26th. If you are not able to watch the Livestream, please come back here to watch the presentation.

Brigham Locked Out of Allentown Mill, Ordered Out of Pennsylvania

Brigham Locked Out of Allentown Mill, Ordered Out of Pennsylvania :Operation Rescue: Two abortion clinics with connections to the notorious abortionist Steven Chase Brigham have been ordered closed by the Pennsylvania Department of Health.

Allentown Women’s Services was forced to close when it lost its lease at 2200 Hamilton St., Suite 200, in Allentown. The Pennsylvania Department of Health revoked its license on April 10, 2012, citing “infrastructure failure” after landlord David A. Klein Real Estate terminated the lease, changed the door locks, and stripped the clinic name off all the building’s signage. Local pro-life activists report that Brigham’s office and medical equipment is still inside the locked office and no known effort has been made to remove it.

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Why Children Matter, a free ebook by Johann Christoph Arnold

Why Children Matter, a free ebook or paperback by Johann Christoph Arnold: In a world that is increasingly hostile to children, it is vitally important to give each one the childhood they deserve. In his latest book, pastor Johann Christoph Arnold offers an approach to parenting that is grounded in faith and old-fashioned in the best sense. It won't be easy, but parents can still welcome children, raise them the right way, and prepare them to stand their ground in these challenging times.

Arnold doesn't mince words, but he shows genuine concern for the plight of parents faced with difficult parenting decisions. As the fabric of family and society is torn apart, this book offers concrete advice for parents who want to pass on to their children the values their parents gave them.

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When Work Works - Flex-Time Toolkit

When Work Works - Flexibility Toolkit - Main: An effective flexible work practice, policy or program requires the shared responsibility of the employee, his or her direct supervisor and the organization as a whole—its leadership and culture. These step-by-step guides on workplace flexibility outline the roles and responsibilities for each of these parties and provide useful tips that will help employees, supervisors and companies assess and implement effective flexible work options.

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Fundraising Appeals Speech – Nonprofit Board Members Can Be Ready Anywhere, Anytime

IdeaEncore: Do you need your board members to be ready to promote your organization and ask for money - anytime, anywhere? Do you need help making verbal appeals? Use this simple format (template) to educate yourself and your board members so they will ask for donations in a way that's appropriate and comfortable for them.

Planned Parenthood Worried It's The Target Of New Undercover Sting

Planned Parenthood Worried It's The Target Of New Undercover Sting: A string of suspicious incidents at Planned Parenthood clinics across the country has given the organization reason to believe that anti-abortion activists are targeting it in a new organized sting operation.

According to Planned Parenthood spokesperson Chloe Cooney, clinics in at least 11 states have reported two dozen or more "hoax visits" over the past several weeks, in which a woman walks into a clinic, claims to be pregnant and asks a particular pattern of provocative questions about sex-selective abortions, such as how soon she can find out the gender of the fetus, by what means and whether she can schedule an abortion if she's having a girl.

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April is National Volunteer Month: Celebrate!

Michael Haberman: National Volunteer Month: Celebrating the "New" Volunteerism: According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, more than 64 million people volunteered at least once between September 2010 and September 2011. The Corporation for National and Community Service says it's collectively dedicated 8.1 billion hours to a wide variety of organizations. That donated time and expertise is valued at $173 billion. Talk about economic impact!

What are you doing to celebrate your volunteers?

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AZ senate skips vote on Planned Parenthood funding

Senate skips vote on Planned Parenthood funding | Arizona Capitol Times: The Arizona Senate on Thursday skipped a scheduled to vote on a bill to bar Planned Parenthood from receiving public funding through the state for non-abortion health services. Senate approval would complete legislative action on the bill already approved by the House.

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NH senate panel endorses forcing Planned Parenthood out of performing abortions

Senate panel endorses forcing Planned Parenthood out of performing abortions - NashuaTelegraph.com: A state Senate panel has endorsed Republican plans forcing Planned Parenthood of Northern New England out of the “direct or indirect” abortion business and outlawing so-called partial birth abortions. But the anti-abortion plans of House Republican leaders took some hits Thursday with committee recommendations to kill both a 24-hour waiting period for women seeking abortions and a ban on abortions after 20 weeks. The only bill that all five members of the Senate Health and Human Services Committee agreed upon was to instruct a legislative study committee to gather better statistics on how many abortions are done in New Hampshire.

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Minnesota Man Charged with beating girlfriend in attempt to kill unborn child

Minnesota Man Charged with beating girlfriend in attempt to kill unborn child | NRL News Today: Kenneth L. Turner “assaulted his ex-girlfriend at a home for three hours, at one point ordering her to lie on her back and stomping on her stomach with both feet, the charge said,” reported David Chanen, of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune. “He told her she didn’t deserve the baby and that he was going to kill it, the complaint said.” The unidentified woman is two months pregnant and while she had vaginal bleeding and significant pain in her uterus, it is unclear whether the baby suffered any permanent injuries. Turner was charged with felony first-degree attempted murder of an unborn child and felony domestic assault.

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Evidence Suggests Pregnancies Can Survive Maternal Cancer Treatment

Evidence Suggests Pregnancies Can Survive Maternal Cancer Treatment : OBGYN News: "This is practice-changing information," Dr. Frédéric Amant, primary author on the European paper, said in an interview. "Until now, physicians were reluctant to administer chemotherapy and usually opted for termination, or at least for a delay in treatment or premature delivery in order to get treatment going," he said.

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Pregnancy and NSAIDs

Pregnancy and NSAIDs : OBGYN News: Although NSAIDs are typically contraindicated late in pregnancy, first trimester use has not consistently been associated with increased risks for congenital anomalies in human studies. Animal studies have suggested, in particular, that nonselective NSAIDs such as aspirin, ibuprofen, and naproxen might be associated with increased risks for midline defects, diaphragmatic hernia, and ventricular septal defects. These animal studies have suggested a stronger association with aspirin and weaker effects with nonaspirin NSAIDs (Birth Defects Res. B Dev. Reprod. Toxicol. 2003;68:5-26).

A recent report from the National Birth Defects Prevention Study – an ongoing, large, U.S. multisite, case-control study of major congenital anomalies and maternal exposures – has suggested that specific NSAIDs might be associated with small to moderate increases in risk for several specific congenital anomalies.

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Ohio Republicans Move to Cut Funds to Planned Parenthood, Riling Democrats

Daily Beast: The amendment, added to a midterm budget bill on Tuesday, doesn’t specifically name Planned Parenthood, but it restructures federal funding in a way that would make Planned Parenthood and other nonprofit, specialized family-planning centers the lowest priority for funds. The state health department would instead give top priority to “community-health clinics and similar health facilities operated by state, county, or local government entities,” according to the bill. “To the extent funds are available after the department determines that all eligible public entities have been funded ... the department may award funds to nonpublic entities.”

Abortion clinics feel grip of new, tighter regulations

Abortion clinics feel grip of new, tighter regulations - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review: Regulations lawmakers introduced in the wake of the investigation into the squalid Philadelphia clinic where two women died brought increased inspections. Some believe they may lead to standards so stringent that some clinics will have to close. A Downtown clinic and another in Allentown closed after the registered physicians on staff quit -- the Abortion Control Act of 1982 requires clinics to have them -- leaving the state with 18 free-standing abortion providers.

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Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin Says it will stop providing RU 486

NRLC: According to Friday’s State Journal newspaper, Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin will announce plans to stop performing RU486 abortions. The decision comes days after the state passed Act 217, the “Coercive and Web Cam Abortion Prevention Act” and which goes into effect today. The law does not ban the use of RU486. It says that if abortionists are going to employ this dangerous abortion technique, they must be in the same room as the mother.

RU486 abortions account for 26% of abortions in Wisconsin. Planned Parenthood CEO Teri Huyck characterized the law as “vague” and “problematic. It’s very difficult for a physician to know when he or she is in compliance with the law.”

Of course the law is not at all vague, which is why Planned Parenthood, at least for now, is saying it will not be performing chemically-induced abortions. The law takes into account three realities the abortion industry side-steps: (1) at least 14 women in the U.S. alone who’ve taken RU486 have died, and hundreds more have been injured; (2) by not having the abortionist onsite (so-called “web cam abortions”), an already dangerous abortion technique becomes even more threatening to women; and (3) women ARE coerced into having abortions.

Related: Similar bill offered in Texas

Minnesota House approves licensing of abortion facilities

Minnesota House approves licensing of abortion facilities | NRL News Today: Legislation to require licensure of abortion facilities was approved by the Minnesota House today on a bipartisan 80-47 vote. The vote on the measure seeking women’s safety followed its approval by the Senate on Apr. 18. I now heads to Gov. Dayton for a signature.

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Troubled Virginia Abortion Clinic Closed Saturday After Botched Abortion Exposed

Troubled Virginia Abortion Clinic Closed Saturday After Botched Abortion Exposed :Operation Rescue: Just days after Operation Rescue released a video containing a disturbing call to 911 and filed complaints with the Health Department and Virginia Board of Physicians, local activists report that Nova Women’s Healthcare was unexpectedly closed on Saturday.

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Susan G. Komen foundation teams up with Uzbek dictator's daughter

Susan G. Komen foundation teams up with Uzbek dictator's daughter | FP Passport: Komen is partnering with Fund Forum, a charity run by Gulnara Karimova, the socialite, part-time pop star daughter of Uzbek President Islam Karimov, to sponsor a series of charity runs in Uzbekistan. In addition to her dad's atrocious and well-publicized human rights record, Gulnara herself has been implicated in a range of illegal business practices, including essentially taking over rival companies at gunpoint. Then there are disturbing reports of widespread forced sterilizations of women in Uzbek hospitals and evidence that's it's being encouraged by the authorities.

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Urgent Action Needed Today to Ensure Alabama Abortion Mill Closes as Ordered

Urgent Action Needed Today to Ensure Alabama Abortion Mill Closes as Ordered :Operation Rescue: The closure agreement gave New Women All Women’s owner Diane Derzis the opportunity to transfer ownership of the abortion business to another person. Derzis has a reputation of being a tough and devious woman. OR found out that arrangements had been made to transfer ownership even before Derzis signed the closure agreement with the Department of Public Health.

We have every reason to believe that this is a bogus “in-name-only” switch designed to deceive the authorities and the public. An inspection is scheduled for TODAY that could clear the way for approval of this dubious new ownership situation.

This is the same tactic that the notorious New Jersey abortionist Steven Chase Brigham used to keep his two Pennsylvania abortion clinics running in Allentown and Pittsburgh. Authorities in Pennsylvania saw through this scam and just yesterday ordered his Pittsburgh mill to close — Allentown was ordered closed last week – all because pro-life supporters kept the heat on the authorities and would not let the matter rest. Learn how you can help.

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Elizabeth Smart To Co-Headline Anti-Abortion Group’s Dinner

Elizabeth Smart To Co-Headline Anti-Abortion Group’s Dinner - The Daily Beast: The online news service saw fit to say, "her days of being wholly inoffensive may be numbered. Smart, a devout Mormon, is joining Governor Chris Christie as a featured speaker at the New Jersey Right to Life’s annual banquet next week—which seems to prominently place her on one side of the nation’s ongoing culture war."

Editor: It seems appropriate to couch this non-committal speaking commitment that way, since she takes the following stance:

“Because I speak to a certain group, it doesn’t mean I endorse or support their agenda or positions, nor am I amenable to tailoring my remarks as such,” said Smart in a statement through her spokesman, Chris Thomas, noting that she has spoken to numerous groups “representing various interests and different religions. Elizabeth views this event as a forum for her to speak about child advocacy.”

So why have a non-committal speaker speak for you? The Daily Beast notes, "For NJRTL, she’ll address top donors and supporters at a fundraiser at the East Brunswick Hilton. A dinner ticket costs $120 for NJRTL members, and $150 for nonmembers, and a VIP reception complete with a photo line for the celebrity speakers costs $300." It's all about the money. So, let's not get all excited about another celebrity joining our side.

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Not Quite a Teen, Yet Sold for Sex

Not Quite a Teen, Yet Sold for Sex - NYTimes.com: If you think sex trafficking only happens in faraway places like Nepal or Thailand, then you should listen to an expert on American sex trafficking I interviewed the other day. But, first, wish her happy birthday. She turns 16 years old on Thursday.

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Troubled Virginia Abortion Clinic Puts Bleeding Botched Abortion Patient in Hospital

Troubled Virginia Abortion Clinic Puts Bleeding Botched Abortion Patient in Hospital :Operation Rescue: A 35-year old diabetic patient suffering from heavy bleeding after an abortion at Nova Women’s Healthcare was rushed to the hospital on March 3, 2012, according to recently obtained 911 records. Nova Women’s Healthcare has a long history of abortion injuries and standard of care violations, including the death of a patient in 2002. Its owner, Mi Yong Kim, continues to operate the abortion clinic even though she was forced to surrender her medical license in 2007.

Pro-life activists were at the scene and videotaped the ambulance and fire units that responded to the 911 call and later sought the 911 records through an open records act request.

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Teleseminar: Strategic Marketing for Your Nonprofit: Applying For-Profit Marketing Techniques to Non-Profit Organizations

Teleseminars Sponsored by NonProfit Direct: The NonProfit National Resource Directory: With changing demographics and increased diversity in the marketplace, non-profits must become more effective marketers, recognizing they are “competing” for the attention and support of members and supporters – similar to how businesses compete for customers. This program will help you rethink how you view your “customer” and “product” to find new ways to grow and re-energize your organization. By following a disciplined approach  to strategic marketing you can make a world of difference for your organization.

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7 Questions to Measure Your Board’s Engagement Level

Governance of Christ-centered Organizations: 7 Questions to Measure Your Board’s Engagement Level: Of the four phases of board member recruitment (cultivation, recruitment, orientation and engagement), the most critical is engagement. You’re just going through the motions if you stop at phase three. So how effective is your board at engaging both new and current board members in their governance roles of fostering kingdom advancement—to the glory of God? Here are seven questions for measuring your board’s level of engagement.

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The Essentials of the Online Marketing in 2012 - Free Kit

The Essentials of the Online Marketing in 2012 - Free Kit, Free TradePub Kit: Download this kit to learn everything you need to know about online marketing in 2012. The Essentials of Online Marketing in 2012, brings together the latest in information, coverage of important developments, and expert commentary to help with your online marketing related decisions.

Related: 
Social Media Cheat Sheet 2012

Defining and Protecting Your Brand’s Image  

The 9 Lives of a Social Media CXO 

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Planned Parenthood illegally distributing abortion pill

Planned Parenthood illegally distributing abortion pill, legal group says | LifeSiteNews.com: Planned Parenthood of Northern New England lost its contract with the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services in July. But the Alliance Defense Fund says this did not end the group’s distribution of abortion-inducing drugs. They “must obey state laws that say only licensed pharmacists may distribute prescription drugs when a clinic is not under contract with the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services,” said ADF attorney Michael Tierney.

Related: 
Texas seeks extension for women's health plan
Texas Planned Parenthood branches will vote on merger 

Planned Parenthood spends big in Pennsylvania special election 

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What about rape?

Feminists for Life of America - Pro Woman Pro Life: What if it was your daughter who was raped? Out of our desire to save someone from suffering, it is normal to wish we could erase a painful memory such as rape. Unfortunately, the hard truth is that as much as we want to, we can't.

Abortion doesn't erase a memory. Abortion is a second act of violence against a woman who is raped. Abortion is worse than rape. Both victims—the woman and her child—deserve our unconditional support.

Related: Rape survivor speaks to men

Texas Fully Funds Women's Health Program Without Planned Parenthood

Texas Fully Funds Women's Health Program Without Planned Parenthood | LifeNews.com: Abortion advocates complained the state of Texas would leave women high and dry without access to a women’s health program now that the state has decided to revoke taxpayer funding for the Planned Parenthood abortion business. Despite prohibiting it from participating in the legitimate medical program, Texas officials have found a way to fully fund the program to provide women with non-abortion reproductive health care at hundreds of other locations across the state.

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Thirty-One Gifts, marketed with scripture, helps fund Planned Parenthood

Thirty-One Gifts, marketed with scripture, helps fund Planned Parenthood | Bound4LIFE: Thirty-One Gifts is a company based on principles from Proverbs 31 and is much lauded by ladies  across the nation as being a “Christian” organization because of this. Many of its consultants are Christian women, even ministry leaders. On the outside it looks like a worthy place to build a business with biblical values; however, it’s funding arm, Thirty-One Gives is giving money to abortion providers.

Among its contributions to Planned Parenthood affiliated organizations are the YWCA, consistently on the Life Dynamics Planned Parenthood funding list, Girl Scouts, which has close ties to Planned Parenthood and some very explicit sexual teaching, and the Women’s Fund of Central Ohio which not only funds Girl Scouts but also brags about its Planned Parenthood funding.

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Immigrants using sex-selective abortion?

Toronto Sun: A new study of Ontario births shows women born in India are more likely to have a boy as their third child, lending credibility to the theory that sex-selection abortion is common among immigrant communities. The Canadian Medical Association study found that the third-child births of Indian-born women were at a ratio of 136 boys to 100 girls, compared to 105 boys to 100 girls for Canadian-born women, which is close to the worldwide average.

The theory is that in cultures in which boys are preferred, parents who already have girls will abort subsequent female babies until they can conceive a son. The authors point to previous research that shows a sharp increase in the male-to-female ratio among second children in India when the first is a girl, but no similar spike for girls when the first born is a boy.

The study comes on the heels of a controversial Canadian Medical Association Journal editorial calling on doctors to hide a fetus' sex from parents for the first 30 weeks of pregnancy, after which abortion becomes very difficult to access in Canada. "Canada has a unique opportunity to address this problem. It's a major form of discrimination against women. If Canada cannot do something to address this problem, what hope do India and China have?" said Dr. Rajendra Kale.

The suggestion sparked a vocal backlash from abortion rights activists and gynaecologists. "People have the right to knowledge and they should be treated like responsible adults, and can decide for themselves what to do with information like that," Joyce Arthur, executive director of the Abortion Rights Coalition of Canada said at the time. "We're pro-choice not because we love abortion, but because women have the right to decide what's best for their own lives for their own reasons, and we don't have to agree with those reasons." She acknowledged that "nobody likes sex-selective abortion," but said that's not a good enough reason to ban it, instead suggesting education and outreach.

Abortion facility licensing bill approved in final MN House hearing

Abortion facility licensing bill approved in final House hearing | NRL News Today: H.F. 2340 (S.F. 1921) would require Minnesota facilities that perform 10 or more abortions per month to be licensed. The legislation would apply licensing requirements of outpatient surgical centers to abortion providers, which are unlicensed and uninspected. The bill also authorizes the state commissioner of health to perform inspections of abortion facilities, with no prior notice required.

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'I had an abortion' shirts spark controversy at UNCW

'I had an abortion' shirts spark controversy at UNCW | WWAY NewsChannel 3 | Wilmington NC News: Those who support selling the shirts say they are simply trying to destigmatize the word abortion in hopes people realize that it is OK to talk about it.

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6 Unbiblical Methods for Change

6 Unbiblical Methods for Change | Counseling One Another: Many professing Christians seek change in their lives using methods which are contrary to Scripture. As a result, they don’t experience the change which God seeks to produce in his people. In the very helpful booklet, HELP! Want to Change, a primer on progressive sanctification, pastor and biblical counselor Jim Newheiser mentions six common, but ineffective, methods for lasting personal transformation.

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British Group Fears Clinic Inspections Will Scare New Abortionists Away

British Group Fears Clinic Inspections Will Scare New Abortionists Away: The Guardian recently reported that the people over at the British Pregnancy Advisory Service (BPAS) are a bit anxious. They are the leading provider of abortions in the U.K. and fear that the new wave of anti-abortion laws and protests will frighten young doctors away from becoming abortionists, and especially late-term abortionists. They blame the laws and protests on the politicization of abortion and, according to The Guardian, the real threat – the Care Quality Commission (CQC).

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Ohio House Advances Legislation to Defund Planned Parenthood

Ohio RTL: Today, the Ohio House of Representatives adopted an amendment to cut funding from abortion providers such as Planned Parenthood. This new legislative approach will ensure that tax dollars allocated to health programs for uninsured and underinsured women will continue. The initiative promotes women's health by restructuring how our tax dollars are distributed, giving priority to those health centers where a majority of Ohio women receive care.

Baby killer gets contraceptive injections

Baby killer gets contraceptive injections | NATIONAL News: A New Zealand woman convicted of infanticide for killing her baby girl soon after birth will have contraceptive injections and must tell her probation officer if she becomes pregnant again. The woman was originally charged with murder but the charge was changed to infanticide following psychiatric reports. Infanticide is a charge that carries a presumption of the woman being so disturbed by childbirth she cannot be held fully responsible for her actions.

The 29-year-old mother, appearing in the Christchurch High Court today, was sentenced to two years intensive supervision, though was likely to remain under mental health care in Hillmorton Hospital "for the foreseeable future." The woman had previously been convicted of concealing another baby's birth by hiding the body in a shed in Waltham in 2009. Now she has been sentenced for suffocating her newborn daughter and keeping the baby's body in a wardrobe for six weeks in 2010.

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“I Wish He’d Never Been Born”: The Misguided View of Abortion

“I Wish He’d Never Been Born”: The Misguided View of Abortion | LifeNews.com: What measure of suffering could ever warrant a babies death? What messages are we believing and communicating when we agree with aborting the weak? What is our definition of love, and how does that include suffering? How do disabled children bring beauty into our lives? What do we think of the children who were given a wrong prognosis or the ones who overcame negative ones?

Read this article for stories of children who overcame disabilities, and of the beauty their loved ones found in their lives.

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10 Tips to Improve Your Website Easily and Inexpensively

10 Tips to Improve Your Website Easily and Inexpensively Nonprofit | Marketing / Branding - Internet Marketing | How to / Guide | IdeaEncore Network: When you’re asked to improve your organization’s website the task can be daunting – especially when the challenge to make it better doesn’t come with sufficient resources to do the job well. Here's a list of 10 simple improvements you can make and free tools you can use right away.

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Financial Sustainability at Your Organization

Use these resources that your colleagues have shared on IdeaEncore to help explore how to create a financially sustainable organization - one that is able to weather any economic climate.

The Sustainability Formula - in-depth strategies and advice for sustainability and a list of 10 key recommendations for sustainability.

Earned Income: A Critical Resource for Sustainable Nonprofit Health Organizations - information on earned income initiatives helpful to all types of nonprofits.

The Road Less Traveled: Funders' Advice on the Path to Nonprofit Sustainability - a survey of funders' efforts to support nonprofit sustainability, including advice that funders offered from their own experiences as paths to greater nonprofit strength.

FIO Partners Perspective: The Question of Sustainability: A Challenge for the Decision Makers - how funders can support sustainability in their grantee organizations.

Planning: Why, What, and How - the importance of planning for financial stability and attracting donors.

Having an Abortion in 1978

Having an Abortion When No One Called Me a Slut - NYTimes.com: "Two years later, I’m driving upstate by myself. I look down and think that if I hadn’t had the abortion, there would be a baby seat next to me with a small child in it, resting comfortably, knowing it would always be safe because I was in charge. It might be a girl — I would have liked to have a daughter in the family mix.

"But I’m not grieving over the absence; I don’t have and never have had a single qualm about not bringing that child into the world. I know many women who have grieved greatly over the children they decided not to have, and I am thankful to have been spared that agonizing sadness of guilt and regret. I also know many women who, like me, have felt only gratitude and relief at having been able to take control over their lives safely and legally."

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Morning-after pill to be delivered by courier to your desk

Morning-after pill to be delivered by courier to your desk - Health - News - Evening Standard: A new “pill-by-bike” service is being launched in London that means women don’t need to see their GP. Instead, they just fill out an online form that is assessed by a doctor and within two hours the pill is delivered. The service costs £20. Critics say this speedy “contraception-by-courier” service will encourage underage sex by making the morning-after pill easier to obtain.

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The Downside of Cohabiting Before Marriage

The Downside of Cohabiting Before Marriage - NYTimes.com: Couples who cohabit before marriage (and especially before an engagement or an otherwise clear commitment) tend to be less satisfied with their marriages — and more likely to divorce — than couples who do not. These negative outcomes are called the cohabitation effect.

. . . [R]esearchers call [it] “sliding, not deciding.” Moving from dating to sleeping over to sleeping over a lot to cohabitation can be a gradual slope, one not marked by rings or ceremonies or sometimes even a conversation. Couples bypass talking about why they want to live together and what it will mean.

. . . Women are more likely to view cohabitation as a step toward marriage, while men are more likely to see it as a way to test a relationship or postpone commitment, and this gender asymmetry is associated with negative interactions and lower levels of commitment even after the relationship progresses to marriage. One thing men and women do agree on, however, is that their standards for a live-in partner are lower than they are for a spouse.

Founding relationships on convenience or ambiguity can interfere with the process of claiming the people we love. A life built on top of “maybe you’ll do” simply may not feel as dedicated as a life built on top of the “we do” of commitment or marriage.

. . . [T]he most recent research suggests that serial cohabitators, couples with differing levels of commitment and those who use cohabitation as a test are most at risk for poor relationship quality and eventual relationship dissolution. . . . [F]ar from safeguarding against divorce and unhappiness, moving in with someone can increase your chances of making a mistake — or of spending too much time on a mistake.
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Bayer Said to Pay $110 Million in Yaz Birth-Control Cases

Bayer Said to Pay $110 Million in Yaz Birth-Control Cases - Bloomberg: Officials of Bayer, based in Leverkusen, Germany, agreed to pay an average of about $220,000 a case to resolve the claims that its Yasmin and Yaz contraceptives caused sometimes fatal clots that can lead to heart attacks and strokes.

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Laughing at abortion?

Laughing at abortion? | LifeSiteNews.com: Abortionists find humor in jokes made at the expense of defenseless babies.

Editor: More evidence of depraved minds.

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Wantedness and coercion

"Key Factors in Understanding Women’s Mental Health After Abortion," by Martha Shuping, M.D., Association for Interdisciplinary Research in Values and Social Change Research Bulletin, Vol. 23, No. 2, Fall 2011

Post-abortion suffering

A psychiatrist looks at the effects of abortion - downloadable brochure from FRC

Coercion in the abortion industry

The Elliot Institute News, Vol. 11, No. 2: This special issue of the Elliot Institute News looks at coercive counseling practices in the abortion industry -- in the words of former workers, industry insiders and women who've been there.

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Abortion, Not Conscience Protections, Is Killing Women

Abortion, Not Conscience Protections, Is Killing Women | After Abortion: The U.S. record-based study, published in the Southern Medical Journal, found that compared to women who gave birth, women who had abortions had a 62 percent higher risk of death from all causes for at least eight years after their pregnancies. Deaths from suicides and accidents were most prominent, with deaths from suicides being 2.5 times higher. Projected on the national population, this effect may contribute to 2,000 – 5,000 more deaths among women each year.

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The Truth About “Back Alley” Abortions

The Truth About “Back Alley” Abortions | After Abortion: Abortion advocates claim that any effort to regulate the abortion industry will lead to the closing of clinics and a rise in dangerous “back alley” abortions. But these claims are based on myths. The truth is that legal abortion has increased, rather than prevented, the pain, suffering and exploitation of women.

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Gov Signs Arizona’s "Extreme" New Abortion Law

Daily Beast: Life starts earliest in Arizona, which now defines gestational age as beginning on the first day of a woman’s last period, rather than at fertilization. In practice, that means the state has banned abortions after about 18 weeks (20 weeks from the last menstruation) except in the case of medical emergencies. While that provision has been much discussed, abortions after that point account for only about 1 percent of the procedures currently performed.

The stipulation likely to be most widely felt is what experts are calling an effective shutdown of medication abortions. These nonsurgical abortions are usually performed within the first nine weeks of pregnancy, and account for between 17 and 20 percent of all abortions, according to the Guttmacher Institute, a reproductive-rights advocacy group. While women often take the pills at clinics and in their homes, the bill now mandates that a medical provider must have hospital privileges within 30 miles of where the procedure takes place. Many times clinics or homes are not within 30 miles of hospitals, and the distance prevents providers from other cities or even states from caring for women, says Elizabeth Nash of the Guttmacher Institute. Another factor that could contribute to what Nash called a "shutdown" of medication abortions is that the law requires abortion pills to be administered using outdated protocols, confusing providers and obscuring proper use of the drugs.

Komen grants flowing to Planned Parenthood

WaPo: Grants from the Susan G. Komen Foundation for the Cure are flowing to Planned Parenthood, as the women’s health organizations seek to rebuild their relationship after the controversy in February over the breast cancer charity’s unsuccessful attempt to defund Planned Parenthood.

At least 17 Planned Parenthood affiliates will be funded this year, about the same number that received grants in 2011, according to a tally provided by Komen. The total amount of the grants, which are for breast-cancer screening and other breast-health services, is still being worked out. Most recipients this year also received funds last year.

A half-dozen applications were turned down, mostly because the local Komen affiliates lacked funds, executives said. It is not unusual for there to be more applicants than available funds, although in some locations the controversy has hurt donations.

“The single most dangerous place for a Latina in the United States is in her mother’s womb”

“The single most dangerous place for a Latina in the United States is in her mother’s womb” | NRL News Today: Abortion rates for Hispanic women are at unprecedented highs, and the disproportion in abortion rates between Latinas and non-Hispanic women continues to grow.

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Does Cohabitation Harm Your Chances of Getting Married?

Does Cohabitation Harm Your Chances of Getting Married? - By Glenn T. Stanton - The Home Front - National Review Online: Many news sources over the past week would have us believe, as the Christian Science Monitor reported, “Cohabitation before marriage? It’s no greater divorce risk.” Perhaps you’ve seen such headlines and wondered if it’s true. In a word, “no.”

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The Anatomy of Holiness

Kevin DeYoung: What exactly does it mean to be holy? What does it look like? When I lose track of what holiness is actually about, I try to scan down the body from head to toe and remember what God desires from me. And just as importantly, I need to remember who Christ is and is making me to become.

Chinese Women Suffer Mental Health Risks From Abortion Despite Abortion Culture

Friday Fax: Chinese Women Suffer Mental Health Risks From Abortion Despite Abortion Culture: The study also finds that mental health problems in the first term of pregnancy following an induced abortion may have detrimental effects on the fetus. Dr Priscilla Coleman argues: “All the major body structures are formed during the 1st trimester and stress hormones may potentially harm the developing fetus.”

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When The Going Gets Tough, Be A Fact-Finder

STAND FOR LIFE: Greg Koukl: When The Going Gets Tough, Be A Fact-Finder: Here's some excellent advice when confronted by others in a discussion. This method is very pertinent when one is interacting about the abortion issue. If you get in a difficult situation and don't know how to respond, just follow Greg Koukl's suggestions.

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WEBINAR: How To Get An 'A' in Nonprofit Board Fundraising

Teleseminars Sponsored by NonProfit Direct: The NonProfit National Resource Directory: Thursday, April 19, 2012, Noon (EASTERN). How Would You Grade Your Board on its Fundraising Success? The greatest opportunity for improvement for non-profit boards is in fundraising. A recent survey of nearly 1,000 non-profit CEO’s and 800 board members found that only 16% of respondents gave their board an A or B in fundraising, while 84% graded their performance as a C or below.

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A Stunning Pro-Life Victory

Eagle Forum Blog: A Stunning Pro-Life Victory: In the biggest legal victory for life in a half-century, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit upheld a new Texas law requiring abortion clinics to allow patients to see their sonograms before deciding whether or not to have an abortion. Most women reportedly decide against having an abortion once they see a sonogram of their unborn child. Abortion Clinics say they already take sonograms prior to abortion. Because they do the sonogram anyway, why not show it to the woman?

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Pattern of Abortion Complications at Haskell Clinics Prompts Complaint

Pattern of Abortion Complications at Haskell Clinics Prompts Complaint :Operation Rescue: A complaint has been filed with the State Medical Board of Ohio against late-term abortionist Martin Haskell alleging violations of the standards of patient care after an abortion patient was hospitalized last month. The complaint asks that the Board conduct a thorough review and take whatever steps are necessary to protect the public.

Editor: Why doesn't NARAL get after abortion clinics like this? Instead they pick on PCCs who never once have been implicated in the death or maiming of any woman.

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Abstinence Still Pulling Its Wait

A new report from the National Center for Health Statistics shows that the country is finally seeing the fruit of President Bush's emphasis on "save" sex. According to the report, the teen birth rate in the U.S. dropped to historic lows between 2007 and 2010 for every age and ethnic group. Although the U.S. still has the highest teen birth rate of all industrialized countries, 16 states watched as teen birth rates fell by at least 20%, and 47 experienced an overall decline. The only states that didn't witness any improvements were Montana, North Dakota, and West Virginia. 

Researchers give most of the credit to young people, who seem to be delaying sex and using contraception. But taken together with another recently published report from the Centers for Disease Control, abstinence seems to have been the major factor. Unfortunately, when liberals took over Congress and the White House, they not only zeroed out abstinence education, but they made teaching it a disqualifying factor for federal grants. FRC Washington Update, April 11, 2012

The abortion-breast cancer link: Those stubborn facts again! Part 2

The abortion-breast cancer link (ABC link): Those stubborn facts again! Part Two | NRL News Today: Scientists have long understood that the risk of breast cancer is reduced when a woman completes a full-term pregnancy. This “protective effect of childbearing” is lost with an abortion. The “independent risk” of abortion -- that women who choose abortion are more likely to get breast cancer -- is what has been the center of the controversy raging in the public square. Hence, it has been the main area in which scientific evidence has been systematically covered up for some 40 years now. This cover-up is the subject of our inquiry in the present essay.

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FDA Warns of Clot Risk with Yaz, Other OCs

Medical News:%20FDA Warns of Clot Risk with Yaz, Other OCs - in Public Health & Policy, FDA General from MedPage Today: Labels for oral contraceptives that contain drospirenone will now note that studies have shown as much as a threefold increase in risk of blood clots compared with other birth control pills, the FDA said. The label changes apply to nine brand-name contraceptives -- Beyaz, Gianvi, Loryna, Ocella, Safyral, Syeda, Yasmin, Yaz, and Zarah -- and two generic formulations, all of which include 3 mg of drospirenone.

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Planned Parenthood bypassing parents and school boards by texting kids

STOPP - Stop Planned Parenthood - Planned Parenthood bypassing parents and school boards by texting kids: Cecile Richards says teens are looking for information that they don’t want to seek from their parents. To that end, she claims that Planned Parenthood employees have communicated via texting with over 65,000 young people over the past year. PP is exploiting the opportunity to reach children under their parents’ radar by using social media like Facebook, Twitter, and Tumblr. Via advertising and media outlets such as MTV, teens are made aware of the availability of texting Planned Parenthood. In fact, in answer to a question about what area she would like the most to expand, Richards very quickly pegged text and chat areas.

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Super Bowl Evangelism

Super Bowl Evangelism | Christianity Today | A Magazine of Evangelical Conviction: Jesus did not tell us to market our neighbors, but to love them. That means refusing to treat them as potential customers or clients who need to be talked into something. What made us think non-Christians would enjoy that type of relationship with us in the first place? Instead, we are called to love, to take the initiative to get to know others, to not hold their sins against them, to be generous with our time and goods, to be faithful and kind, and so forth.

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Planned Parenthood Moves to Dismiss 58 Criminal Charges

Planned Parenthood Moves to Dismiss 58 Criminal Charges With Dubious Arguments :Operation Rescue: Planned Parenthood is accused of failing to determine viability for at least 26 abortions in 2003. While they determined gestational age, they failed to apply more than a blanket designation of non-viability to babies 24 weeks and under. Kansas law at that time mandated a determination of viability at 22 weeks or later. Planned Parenthood is asking the court to prohibit testimony about post abortion fetal weights that could prove the babies were well beyond viability.

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The "Yes!" that changed everything

LifeSiteNews: It was 1980. The pregnancy test read positive. Andrea now faced the sobering reality of being unmarried and with child. Uncertain of her future and devoid of support, she made the abortion appointment. 

After spilling out her circumstances, she was assured by the counselor that “you are making the best choice.” The soothing words in Andrea’s ears wrestled against the unpleasant knot growing in her stomach.

In a hallway near the waiting room. Andrea covered her face with her hands; the tears trickled down her cheeks. As she wept, an elderly African-American janitor walked toward her, dragging a mop and pail. She came close, lifted Andrea’s chin, and looked straight into her eyes. “Do you want to have this baby?” she calmly asked. At peace in the presence of this kind stranger, Andrea released a “YES.” “Then God will give you the strength,” the woman said. “Put on your clothes and leave.”

. . . That was thirty years ago. My mother’s brave “YES” saved my life. I had an appointment to die, but God canceled it. I received the priceless gift of life instead – a gift I am forever grateful for.

New Zealand agency fails to report hundreds of post-abortion hospitalizations

New Zealand agency fails to report hundreds of post-abortion hospitalizations | LifeSiteNews.com: A total of 877 women were admitted to hospital in New Zealand between 2009 and 2011 for treatment of post-abortion complications, reveal government documents obtained by Right to Life New Zealand. The total number of bed-days for the women involved totalled 1047. There were a total of 52,120 abortions reported to the Abortion Supervisory Committee in 2009 to 2011. The hospital admittance rate for women being treated for complications arising from abortions was 1.68 percent. But this important information is not included in the Committee’s annual report to Parliament.

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Why sidewalk counsel?

‘God bless all three of you’: The day ‘me and my baby’ were saved from abortion | LifeSiteNews.com: One day Mareza Landeros’s life was thrown upside down: she discovered she was carrying her boyfriend’s baby. She and her boyfriend made a trip to Affiliated Medical Services  in Milwaukee to determine the stage of the pregnancy and to schedule an abortion. “We didn’t think anything of abortion. We were just getting rid of something that was a burden,” said Mareza in a video posted on YouTube by Pro-Life Wisconsin. “I’m not a bad person”, she continued, “but I went out there because I was scared and because I was not informed.” Watch how sidewalk counselors intervened.

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Allentown abortion clinic closed

Allentown abortion clinic closed - mcall.com: A clinic that provided abortions in Allentown for 20 years has shut down operations, but that doesn't mean it's out of business. Allentown Medical Services, which last year changed ownership from controversial abortion provider Dr. Steven C. Brigham, last week lost its registration to operate and its lease for its clinic at 2200 Hamilton St. The business was able to re-register with the state Department of Health late last week under the name Rose Health Services, which took over ownership from Brigham last year. It is not clear, however, where Allentown Medical Services will operate.

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Idaho Woman Arrested For Abortion Is Uneasy Case For Both Sides

Idaho Woman Arrested For Abortion Is Uneasy Case For Both Sides · OPB News: An Idaho woman arrested for inducing her own abortion is taking her case to federal court. Jennie Linn McCormack was charged last year under an obscure Idaho law for ending her pregnancy with RU-486. She joins an increasing number of women who get the so-called abortion pill off the internet. McCormack’s attorney says he’s willing to take the challenge all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court. Meanwhile, neither pro-choice nor pro-life groups are paying attention to the case.

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More inspections = fewer unsafe abortuaries

More inspections = fewer unsafe abortuaries (OneNewsNow.com): "[B]ecause of state law, none of the Planned Parenthood abortion clinics in Illinois are required to undergo inspections at all."

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NARAL to “educate” company whose subsidiary is distributing “October Baby"

NARAL to “educate” company whose subsidiary is distributing “October Baby” | NRL News Today: “October Baby” is making the Abortion Industry quake with fear. So, what do you do if you have zero tolerance for anything or anybody that might make women think about having an abortion? Or help them to care for their baby if they choose life? Resort to coercion, of course, under the pretense of furthering “truth.”

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Plunging birthrate of U.S. teens 'amazing'

Plunging birthrate of U.S. teens 'amazing' - Washington Times: In 16 states, teen birthrates tumbled by at least 20 percent in recent years, the federal government said in a report. Large declines such as these helped push the nation’s teen birthrate to a new low in 2010. It’s a “pretty amazing” set of trends, said Brady E. Hamilton, senior researcher and co-author of the report from the National Center for Health Statistics, which provided state data and other details about the 2010 teen birthrates.

These data show “a truly extraordinary American success story,” said Bill Albert, chief program officer for the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy. “You couple these impressive declines with the better than 40 percent decline in teen pregnancy … and it really is quite remarkable progress.” He attributes the decline to a shift in teen behavior. “More teens are delaying sexual activity, which is a good and responsible thing to do. And those teenagers who are having sex are using contraception better.”

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Engaging the next generation of supporters

Engaging the next generation of nonprofit donors, volunteers and leaders can be a crucial component for the longevity of your organization and your organization's mission. These resources, shared by your nonprofit colleagues on IdeaEncore, can give you strategies for engaging NGen (next generation) or younger supporters.

These free resources can help you learn how to attract and retain millennial donors:

• Motivating Each Generation to Buy . . . Into Your Mission
• Millennial Donors: A Study of Millennial Giving and Engagement Habits
• The Fire-Belly, Mountain-Climbing, Social Media-Using Next Generation Donor

These resources offer information and advice on engaging young adults as volunteers:

• The Youth Volunteer Audit: Best Practices for Engaging Youth Volunteers ($12)
• Innovations in International Youth Volunteering (Free)

These resources can help your organization guide the next generation into leadership roles in your organization:

• Preparing the Path to Leadership ($10)
• Ready to Lead? The Next Generation Speaks Out (Free)
• Young Nonprofit Professionals Network (YNPN)  
• Independent Sector's NGen program 

Professional Grant Writers Directory

Professional Grant Writers Directory | GrantWritingOnlineCourse.com: Need a grant writer? Find a professional grant writer above to meet your specific needs. Grant writers have specialties and grant proposals they are more accustomed to writing.

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Push to “defund” Planned Parenthood in Iowa

Push to “defund” Planned Parenthood in Iowa: Chuck Hurley — of the Christian conservative group known as “The Family Leader” — says under current state policy Planned Parenthood does not get state money for abortions, but it does get at least $6 million in state tax dollars as reimbursement for providing birth control and reproductive health exams to poor women. “This amendment would move that money away from people like Planned Parenthood and to comprehensive, full-service health care providers,” Hurley says. “It would not cut any funds. It would redirect them to those that can provide more and better services to needy women.”

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US charity to fund abortion training for British medical students

US charity to fund abortion training for British medical students | World news | The Guardian: Medical Students for Choice (MSFC), which was founded in 1993 following the murder of an abortion doctor, will provide grants for up to 15 British and Irish trainees to take up intensive fortnight-long placements at British Pregnancy Advisory Service (BPAS) clinics. Campaigners are concerned that an absence of termination training in medical schools – coupled with what they see as a political hostility – will lead to a shortage of practitioners that could jeopardize women's access to services in the future.

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Closure of Shoddy Alabama Abortion Clinic Shifts Focus to Sister Clinic in Mississippi

Closure of Shoddy Alabama Abortion Clinic Shifts Focus to Sister Clinic in Mississippi :Operation Rescue: The scheduled closure of New Woman All Women in Birmingham, Alabama, is now focusing the spotlight on its sister clinic, Jackson Women’s Health Organization, the last remaining abortion clinic in Mississippi. Both are owned by abortion profiteer Diane Derzis, who currently owns clinics in Alabama, Mississippi, Georgia, and Tennessee in spite of having no formal medical training. Derzis-run abortion clinics have long and sordid histories of botched abortions, health code citations, and violations of the standard of care that have landed women in the hospital.

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UK Health Minister misleads public over fetal pain

Health Minister misleads public over fetal pain | NRL News Today: Martin Ward Platt, of the Newcastle Neonatal Service, who actually supports the current abortion law, argues that the Royal College of Ob/Gyns report is a political rather than a scientific document which aims to shore up the pre-existing position of the RCOG rather than taking a dispassionate view of the scientific evidence.

He argues, contrary to the RCOG, that over the last 20 or more years, researchers have accumulated good observational, experimental and pathophysiological reasons to consider that babies at gestations below 24 weeks do feel pain, that they benefit from analgesia, and that pain experiences in early life cast neurophysiological and behavioural shadows far down childhood.

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Right to Life of New Zealand Questions Abortion Supervisory Committee

Right to Life of New Zealand Questions Abortion Supervisory Committee on hospital admittance figures for post-abortive women | NRL News Today: A total of 877 women were admitted to hospital in New Zealand between 2009 and 2011 for the treatment of complications following abortions. The total number of bed-days totalled 1047. These important statistics reveal that abortions not only kill an unborn child but can result in damage to a woman’s health.

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Father of American Abortion Pill Victim Shares Observations on Australian RU486 Death

Father of American Abortion Pill Victim Shares Observations on Australian RU486 Death | NRL News Today: Though this fact is still not widely publicized, Monty Patterson relates that the FDA “has already concluded that serious or fatal infection involving the bloodstream after medical abortion may be possibly related to the use of mifepristone and misoprostol.”

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Bill Baird: Pioneer says birth control battle had a cost

Newsday: Decades of activism for birth control and abortion rights cost him a marriage, and the trust of most of his children, Baird said. It also left him with barely enough income to get by. The lecturer who once netted $3,000 a speech said he poured the money into court cases, and running clinics that gave abortions to poor women.

. . . Baird also claims some feminists and pro-abortion rights forces have tried to discredit him or downplay his contributions. "There were very few men who came out and championed the women's movement," Joyce Berkman, a history professor at University of Massachusetts Amherst, said last week. "And to have him champion their sexuality was suspicious."

Related:

Bill Baird: A Genius at Getting Free Publicity (NRLC commentary)

Abortion-Rights' Scorned Prophet; Hated by Both Sides, Bill Baird Raises Hackles, Not Funds (1993 NYTimes article)

9 World-Tilting Truths

9 World-Tilting Truths – Trevin Wax:

#5. We Mustn’t Reason from “Is” to “Should”
The world defines “healthy” as “normal.” It defines “normal” by statistics, polls, and studies of what people do. “Is” equals “should.” But the Bible teaches that the world is marred by sin. Normal human behavior is broken human behavior, abnormal behavior, when judged by the standards of God’s original intent and stated norms. God’s unchanging, transcendent moral and spiritual absolutes shatter the world’s echo chamber of self-serving back-patting.

#6. We Must Reason from “Designed,” “Commanded,” and “Re-Created” to “Intended”
The world has no “should” against which to measure itself. Its horizon is low and shifting: itself. It has no clue what a human being should be. But the truth is God created man for a high and distinctive purpose, in which His own Person and Word are central. This truth calls us to be made what we should be by the sovereign grace of God in Jesus Christ.

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A Serious Misrepresentation of the Relative Safety of Induced Abortion Compared to Childbirth

A Serious Misrepresentation of the Relative Safety of Induced Abortion Compared to Childbirth Published in a Leading Medical Journal | Wecare: Download PDF here

What if you are the author of a major article in a peer reviewed journal that disagreed with the contention that abortion is safer than childbirth, and you write a letter of objection to the editor of "Obstetrics and Gynecology?' Does your letter get printed? Of course not. There isn't room. See below: The letter is from Dr. David Reardon.

Dear Editor,

The comparison of abortion and childbirth mortality rates conducted by Raymond and Grimes(1) uses an "apples versus oranges" comparison which has long been discredited.(2)(3) Indeed, the CDC acknowledges its abortion associated death totals are not only incomplete but are also "conceptually different" than maternal mortality rates.(4)

Fortunately, several high quality record linkage studies, which apply a consistent and uniform standard for identifying and comparing deaths associated with different pregnancy outcomes,(2) have been conducted both in the United States(5) and in a series of studies in Finland.(3)

These studies have consistently shown higher rates of death associated with abortion compared to (a) childbirth, (b) miscarriage, and (c) not being pregnant. While a large portion of increased mortality risk is attributable to elevated rates of suicide and deaths attributed to accidents, abortion is also associated with significantly higher mortality rates for death from natural causes.(2)(5)

That these record linkage studies were completely omitted from this purported "review"(1) is inexcusably dishonest. This "apples versus oranges" retread appears to be nothing more than a publicity stunt designed to generate misleading headlines about abortion being "safer" than childbirth.

David C. Reardon, Ph.D.

(1) Raymond, Elizabeth G.; Grimes, David A. The Comparative Safety of Legal Induced Abortion and Childbirth in the United States. Obstetrics & Gynecology. 119(2, Part 1):215-219, February 2012.
(2) Reardon DC, Strahan TW, Thorp JM, Shuping MW. Deaths associated with abortion compared to childbirth: a review of new and old data and the medical and legal implications. The Journal of Contemporary Health Law & Policy 2004; 20(2):279〓327.
(3) Gissler M, Berg C, Bouvier〓Colle MH, Buekens P. Methods for identifying pregnancy-associated deaths: population-based data from Finland 1987-2000. Paediatr Perinat Epidemiol. 2004 Nov;18(6):448〓55.
(4) Elliot Institute. New Study Finds Women Are Three Times More Likely To Die After An Abortion: CDC Admits Its Abortion and Childbirth Mortality Statistics Are Not Comparable. Sept 9, 2005 Afterabortion.org http://afterabortion.org/?p=2493 Accessed, February 8, 2012.
(5) Reardon DC, Ney PG , Scheuren FJ, Cougle JR, Coleman, PK, Strahan T. "Deaths associated with pregnancy outcome: a record linkage study of low income women." Southern Medical Journal, August 2002, 95(8):834-841.

The basic answer he received from the Green Journal was:"Your Letter to the Editor has been evaluated. We regret to inform you that we were not able to accept it for publication. It was declined on the basis of priority. Other letters were received on this manuscript and we only have limited space. Unfortunately, we can only publish a fraction of the letters received." To which Dr. Reardon replied:

I understand the limitation of space. Can you assure me that the other, better written, letters address this review's failure to identify and discuss the six to eight record based studies out of Finland and the United States which demonstrate that abortion is associated with an elevated risk of maternal deaths compared to delivery? 

Or is my letter being rejected to cover up the failure of your journal and peer reviewers to hold this "review" accountable for suppressing evidence which runs counter to "abortion is safe" mantra?

I am especially amazed that the record based studies of STAKES, the statistical analysis unit of Finland's National Research and Development Center for Welfare and Health, are being systematically ignored even though their findings have been confirmed in an American population in our own study."

Dr. David Reardon

Note: Dr. Reardon's letter was not printed in the March "letters" in OB & GYN. No letters referable to the Raymod/Grimes article were printed. Still possible to get in the April edition. We'll watch with you.

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