Abortion in the News, Christmas edition

At this time of year, when we celebrate the most Holy of births, the most precious of babes, our beloved Savior, it is hard to face the harsh reality of millions of precious children of God killed by abortion. The fact that we don't want to think about it does not change reality. Sadly it continues.. and it continues to be heralded by those who have no respect for God or life...and yet there are victories in this issue. Although our country chose a leader who will make abortion more common and widely available, there are positive stories also.


Christmas Caroling at Abortion Facilities
CHICAGO, December 19, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) - In a move which could be replicated in major cities across North America, the Pro-Life Action League will hold its sixth annual "Empty Manger" Christmas Caroling Day on Saturday, December 20. Two caroling tours will take place, one visiting four Chicago abortion facilities and one visiting four in DuPage County.

"The Christmas story is a story of hope and joy brought into the world by a newborn baby," said League communications director Eric Scheidler. "We want abortion-bound mothers in Chicago and the western suburbs to know that their unborn babies are a gift, too."

The League has saved babies from abortion in past years when their mothers heard the caroling.

"One mother told our counselor that hearing 'Silent Night' made her think about how Mary said yes to God - and then she couldn't go through with the abortion," said Scheidler.

Illinois Supreme Court Decision Supports Conscience Rights of Pharmacists

CHICAGO, Illinois, December 19, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Yesterday the Illinois Supreme Court ruled in Morr-Fitz v. Blagojevich that individual pharmacists and pharmacy owners do have legal standing to challenge a rule requiring them to dispense Plan B, which abortion activists call “emergency contraception,” regardless of their religious, moral, or conscientious beliefs.

The rule was originally forced upon the pharmacists and pharmacies by a 2005 emergency order of Governor Rod Blagojevich, who stated in no uncertain terms that pharmacists should either dispense the controversial drug or leave the profession. Two lower courts had previously ruled that the plaintiff-pharmacists and pharmacies did not have legal standing to challenge the rule.

In a 2006 State of the State address, Blagojevich expressed his intention to veto any bills that attempted to restore physicians’ conscience rights. "Now, I understand that several bills have been introduced that would overturn my executive order to protect women's reproductive freedoms,” he said. “So let me make something else very clear -- if any of those bills reach my desk, they are dead on arrival."

Also in 2006 he boasted to the Windy City Times about his record of denying pharmacists their conscience rights. “Think about what we’ve been able to do since I’ve been governor,” he said. “The reproductive freedoms of women are more protected in Illinois than any state in America. That’s in [stark] contrast to the advances and assaults coming from the Bush administration of Washington. We passed a law under my leadership to make insurance companies fill female contraceptives. Illinois had never done that before and we passed that law.”

Dr. Charmaine Yoest, Americans United for Life (AUL) President and CEO, responded to the Supreme Court decision, stating, “This is a huge victory for the freedom of conscience of all healthcare providers. Pharmacists now have proper recourse against a discriminatory law that would force them to check their constitutional rights at the workplace door.”

Mailee Smith, AUL Staff Counsel, noted, “Finally, an Illinois court got it right. If pharmacists and pharmacy owners don’t have standing to challenge a rule that unfairly targets them, who does? People should have legal recourse when the state attempts to circumvent and even eliminate their constitutional rights.”

Adult Stem Cell Research
If you want to read about the wonders of adult stem cells... so that you can be emboldened in the fight against the embryonic stem cell research, and to simply praise God in the wonder of His creation... go to Adult Stem Cell Victories.

March for Life
And I want to take this opportunity to remind you that just around the corner is the 2009 March for Life in Washington DC, on Jan. 22. Find out all about it on their website, and if possible join in. The innocent babies can not speak on their behalf, but we can.

Remember
Stand for Life has created a list of ways to remember those whose lives were cut short this Christmas. The call of this article is This Christmas REMEMBER the Aborted.

O Holy Night- A Pro-Life Christmas