BC Hospitals Refuse to Release Abortion Data

Two BC hospitals have refused to divulge information about abortions conducted at their facilities, following a freedom of information request from a major pro-life group.

“If abortion statistics are going to be hidden in British Columbia, they will be hidden everywhere,” said John Hof, head of Campaign Life Coalition (CLC) BC, which requested abortion information from Vancouver General Hospital and Kelowna General Hospital over a year ago. “What better way to win an argument – 'Oh, how can you prove that? There's no counting of those numbers'.”

CLC has fought for years to gain access to abortion statistics in British Columbia, following the enactment of Bill 21 in 2001, which amended the province's Freedom of Information Act to specifically exclude access to information about abortion.

NY Nurse Forced to Help with Abortion Files Another Suit against Hospital

Alliance Defense Fund attorneys filed a lawsuit Friday against Mt. Sinai Hospital in New York state court, on behalf of a nurse forced to participate in a late-term abortion procedure under threat of disciplinary action, including possible termination and loss of her license.

The state suit was filed in addition to pro-life nurse Cathy Cenzon-DeCarlo’s federal lawsuit, which is on appeal, because her rights of conscience are also protected by New York law.

“Pro-life nurses shouldn’t be forced to assist in abortions against their beliefs,” said ADF Legal Counsel Matt Bowman. “It is illegal, unethical, and a violation of Cathy’s rights of conscience as a devout Catholic to require her to participate in terminating the life of a 22-week pre-born child.

New Biblically Oriented English Translation of the Mass Approved!

New Biblically Oriented English Translation of the Mass Approved!: "Huge news for Catholics! The English translation of the Mass that you've known for the past forty years is now officially going to change! The translation approved by the primary English speaking national conferences of Catholic Bishops around the world has finally received the green light from Rome. The US Conference of Catholic Bishops was the last body to cast their ballot, voting in favor of the changes last year.

This is exciting news. The Washington Times reports:

The Vatican has approved and is ready to release a new English translation of the Mass and its associated prayers and texts.

Pope Benedict XVI spoke Wednesday at the Vatican to Vox Clara, a special committee of Catholic bishops and consultants from English-speaking countries convened to assist with the translation.

'I welcome the news that the English translation of the Roman Missal will soon be ready for publication, so that the texts you have worked so hard to prepare may be proclaimed in the liturgy that is celebrated across the anglophone world. Through these sacred texts and the actions that accompany them, Christ will be made present and active in the midst of his people,' Benedict told the assembly.

The Roman Missal is the official Latin texts for the Mass promulgated after the Second Vatican Council, commonly known as the Norvus Ordo or Paul VI Mass. The latest update was approved by Pope John Paul II in 2000 and the International Commission for English in the Liturgy (ICEL), consisting of bishops from all over the English-speaking world, has been working on the translation since.

The ICEL's work needs formal and final approval by the Vatican's Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, which Vox Clara has been aiding.

Italian Baby Aborted at 22 Weeks for Cleft Palate–Born Alive, Left to Die

Italian Baby Aborted at 22 Weeks for Cleft Palate–Born Alive, Left to Die: "

This is what Western Civilization is becoming. From the story:

A baby found alive nearly a day after a failed abortion in Italy had been rejected by his mother because he had a cleft lip and palate, according to reports. The 22-week infant was found breathing a day after the operation. He died one day later in intensive care at a hospital in the mother’s home town of Rossano, in southern Italy. The mother, pregnant for the first time, had opted for an abortion after prenatal scans revealed that the foetus had a cleft lip and palate, according to reports in the Italian media. The condition is treatable with surgery. The baby – weighing just 11oz – survived the procedure, carried out on Saturday in the Rossano Calabro hospital, but was left by doctors to die.

Culture of death, Wesley?  What culture of death?

"

Divided Supreme Court Sends “Mojave Desert” Cross Case Back to Lower Court

Divided Supreme Court Sends “Mojave Desert” Cross Case Back to Lower Court: "

Today, in a 5-4 vote, the Supreme Court reversed a lower court decision in Salazar v. Buono that would have required the government to remove a World War I memorial cross that has stood in the Mojave National Preserve for over 70 years, remanding the case to the district court to apply the correct constitutional standard.

The decision was so badly split that there was no one opinion on behalf of the Court. However, Justice Kennedy’s controlling plurality opinion rejected the argument that the cross is an unconstitutional government “endorsement” of religion, stating that “the Constitution does not oblige government to avoid any public acknowledgement of religion’s role in society.” Justice Kennedy also stated that the district court was wrong to strike down the federal statute transferring the land the cross stands on to the Veterans of Foreign Wars. His opinion was joined in full by Chief Justice Roberts, and in part by Justice Alito, who would not have remanded the case. Justices Scalia and Thomas would not have reached the merits at all, because they disagree that the plaintiff had standing to sue, though they would likely have reached a similar result on the merits. The dissenting Justices all agreed that the plaintiff had standing and would have upheld the lower court’s decision. On remand, the district court must reconcile these opinions and decide whether there is any reason for continuing the injunction it issued in 2002.

The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, a law firm specializing in church-state issues, filed a brief before the Supreme Court defending the constitutionality of the Cross. The Becket Fund’s brief argued that a lone cross standing on private land in the desert sends different messages to different people and thus should not be interpreted as government approval of a particular religion.

"

U.S. Bill Would Amend Health Care to Exclude Abortion Funding

Rep. Joe Pitts (R-PA) has introduced bipartisan legislation that aims to apply the Hyde amendment to the recently passed health care law.

Rep. Pitts' bill would amend the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act to prevent federal funding for abortion or abortion coverage through government exchanges, community health centers, or any other program funded or created by PPACA. Additionally, the bill protects the right of conscience for health care professionals and ensures that private insurance companies are not forced to cover abortion.

Baby Boy Survives for Two Days after Abortion

Baby Boy Survives for Two Days after Abortion: "This is a horrific story. I hope that the Catholic priest baptized the poor infant. May the child pray for us and for this depraved world.

From the Telegraph:

The 22-week infant died one day later in intensive care at a hospital in the mother's home town of Rossano in southern Italy.

The mother, pregnant for the first time, had opted for an abortion after prenatal scans suggested that her baby was disabled.

However, the infant survived the procedure, carried out on Saturday in the Rossano Calabro hospital, and was left by doctors to die.

He was discovered alive the following day – some 20 hours after the operation – by Father Antonio Martello, the hospital chaplain, who had gone to pray beside his body.

He found that the baby, wrapped in a sheet with his umbilical cord still attached, was moving and breathing.

The priest raised the alarm and doctors immediately arranged for the infant to be taken to a specialist neo-natal unit at the neighbouring Cosenza hospital, where he died on Monday morning.

Italian police are investigating the case for 'homicide' because infanticide is illegal in Italy.

The law means that doctors have had an obligation to try to preserve the life of the child once he had survived the abortion.

The Italian government is also considering an inquiry into the conduct of the hospital staff.

Story by Simon Caldwell @ Telegraph.

HT: Dr. Bill Tighe

"

Remembering Pope John Paul II

I loved Pope John Paul II. In fact, I'm not sure I'd be Catholic today without his writing, example, and leadership. No matter how his papacy is measured in the long run, to me he reigns supreme as a man who combined personal holiness with brilliance.

While his administrative failures related to the sex abuse scandals are being debated inside and outside the Church, I was touched by the inaugural speech of Franciscan University of Steubenville's "John Paul The Great" Fine Arts Lecture Series, given in March by Dr. Kazimierz Braun.

Why Abortion Does Not Solve Child Rape

Why Abortion Does Not Solve Child Rape: "

There is no tragedy that the abortion movement does not seek to turn to its own advantage.

Consider the case of a young girl in Quintana Roo, Mexico, who was raped by her supposed stepfather and impregnated at the tender age of 10. After the girl’s mother belatedly notified the authorities, she is now, at nearly 18 weeks of pregnancy, receiving proper medical care. The offending rapist has since been arrested.

We should all decry the horrific sexual abuse that led to this pregnancy. But the abortion movement, led by radical feminists, wants to go further. They claim that the girl should be given an abortion, even though the Mexican state in which she lives, Quintana Roo, forbids all abortions after 90 days gestation. The underlying problem here, they insist, is that Mexican girls are not properly informed of their “right” to an abortion in case of rape before 90 days gestation, and that they are not allowed to receive one after that point. According to them, Mexico’s abortion laws must be relaxed.

According to CNN, which in its story on this child rape only interviewed abortion advocates (See CNN s coverage of the story):

“This girl is much more than an isolated case,” said Adriana Ortiz-Ortega, a researcher at Mexico’s National Autonomous University who has written two books on abortion in Mexico, “and there is much more influence now from conservative groups that are trying to prevent the legalization of abortion.”…

"

Woman Impregnated by Rape at Age 12 Encourages Others to Choose Life

Woman Impregnated by Rape at Age 12 Encourages Others to Choose Life: "

“Don’t worry, you’re not going to have the baby…your womb is very young….you are very weak…it’s going to be a high risk pregnancy…your life is in danger….you should consider it…”

At the age of 12 years, after having been raped by a gang in her neighborhood, Lianna Rebolledo was told she was pregnant — and the doctors wanted her to have an abortion.

But Rebolledo, who is now 33 years old and works at a radio station in Los Angeles, says she never even considered the possibility, and she wants others in Mexico to know that she is very happy that she chose life for her child.

After she was raped, says Rebolledo, she wanted to die, and tried to commit suicide by taking an overdose of pills.  She was rushed to the hospital, where doctors pumped out her stomach and saved her life. They then informed her that she was pregnant.

She says that she never saw an ultrasound of her child, but that she was allowed to listen to the beating of her baby’s heart through a stethoscope. “When I heard the word ‘heart,’ believe me I immediately felt that I have something with me that is mine, that belongs to me, no one is going to be able to take it away from me, and I am no longer going to be alone,” she told the Mexican newspaper La Prensa in a recent interview.

“After I heard her heart, I knew that I had to advance so that baby would have everything she needed, so I worked and studied for a degree in communication, to give the best to my child, who was always telling me ‘thank you for not having given me (in adoption) mommy,’” she said in an interview with the newspaper Ovaciones.

“I continued to study.  It has been difficult but tell me: what is easy in life, right? And believe me that at the end of the day and after all these years, I see that it has been worth it.”

Rebolledo says that she would like to meet a ten year old girl from the state of Quintana Roo who is currently pregnant after being raped by her stepfather, to tell her her story.  Pro-abortion organizations in Mexico have sought to exploit the case to promote the legalization of abortion, and have tried to persuade the girl’s mother to consent to the procedure, despite the fact that doctors say an abortion would endanger her health at this stage in the pregnancy.

“At 12 years, I was raped, I became pregnant,” says Rebolledo. “I have a child who is almost 20 years old and the life of this little person has given me so much, because at the end of the day she ended up giving life to me, not I to her.”

"

Parents Must Stand against Explicit Sex Ed in Ontario Catholic Schools: Pro-Family Group

A prominent Catholic pro-life and pro-family organization is calling on parents and other concerned individuals to take action in the wake of an attempt by the Ontario Ministry of Education to force a new controversial elementary sex-ed curriculum on Catholic schools.

Campaign Life Catholic (CLC), which has been lobbying against the curriculum behind-the-scenes since the fall, says that parents cannot let up on the pressure against the curriculum despite the government's decision last week to shelve it for further consultation.

Book Shows Why Abortion for Young Rape Victim Is Likely to Harm, Not Help

Book Shows Why Abortion for Young Rape Victim Is Likely to Harm, Not Help: "Springfield, IL, April 28, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) - The news that an 11-year-old girl in Mexico who became pregnant through rape, allegedly by her stepfather, has decided to continue her pregnancy has caused a lot of controversy in recent days.

Some abortion advocates have argued that the girl in Mexico is too young to continue the pregnancy and should have an abortion, with some even suggesting that it be done despite her expressed wish to have the baby.

Such issues are also a focus during April, which is Sexual Assault Awareness month.

But a book about women who became pregnant through rape or incest - including young girls in situations similar to this - suggests that, rather than helping the girl recover, abortion is more likely to cause her further psychological harm
 
Some abortion advocates have argued that..."

Italian Government Investigates Baby Left to Die after Failed Abortion

Italian Government Investigates Baby Left to Die after Failed Abortion: "

The Italian government has announced that it will launch an investigation of a hospital where a premature baby born alive following an attempted abortion was left to die for hours, before receiving medical attention thanks to the intervention of a priest.

“If the reports are correct we are talking about a grave case of therapeutic abandonment of a very premature newborn, probably also with some form of disability: an act against the sense of human pity but also against all ethics of medical practice,” said Eugenia Roccella, the Italian Subsecretary of Health.

“The Ministry of Health will send its inspectors to Rossano Calabro hospital to see that the case is effectively addressed, and to verify that respect has been shown for law 194, which prohibits abortion when there is the possibility of an autonomous life for the fetus, and allows it only if the continuation of the pregnancy is dangerous to the life of the woman,” Roccella added.

The baby, who was at 22 weeks gestation, was aborted in a hospital in Rossano reportedly because he suffered from a deformity, although the mother has also claimed that the pregnancy posed a medical risk. After surviving the doctor’s attempt to kill him, the infant was given no medical treatment and was left to die.

According to reports in the Italian media, the situation was discovered by a priest, who had heard of the abortion and had come to pray for the soul of the infant.

However, he was shocked to find that the child was moving and breathing, wrapped in a sheet and lying unattended with his umbilical cord still attached.  He reported the situation to the doctors, who then placed the child in intensive care in a neighboring hospital.  However, he died only a few hours later.

In addition to the investigation by the national health ministry, local officials in Rossano are also reportedly investigating the case to determine if there was negligence on the part of doctors.

Many similar cases of children left to die after surviving abortions have been documented in the American media as well, prompting the passage of the federal Born-Alive Infants Protection Act, which was signed into law in 2002. Barack Obama, the current U.S. president, had infamously opposed a state version of the bill while serving as a senator in Illinois.

Related LifeSiteNews coverage:

How Babies Were Left to Die: Nurse Recounts Horrors of Infanticide Practice Barack Obama Protected

http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2008/aug/08081209.html

66 British Babies Survived Abortion – All Were Left to Die Without Medical Aid

http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2008/feb/08020408.html

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Two More Bishops Cut CCHD Collection

Two More Bishops Cut CCHD Collection: "By Patrick B. CraineWASHINGTON, D.C., April 27, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Two more U.S. bishops have discontinued their diocesan collection for the national fund of the U.S. Bishops' domestic anti-poverty arm, the Catholic Campaign for Human Development (CCHD), LifeSiteNews (LSN) has..."

Italian Government Investigates Baby Left to Die after Failed Abortion

Italian Government Investigates Baby Left to Die after Failed Abortion: "By Matthew Cullinan HoffmanROSSANO, Italy, April 27, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) - The Italian government has announced that it will launch an investigation of a hospital where a premature baby born alive following an attempted abortion was left to die for hours, before receiving medical attention..."

Law Firm Says Government Funded Abortion is a Human Right

Top Abortion Law Firm Says Government Funded Abortion is a Human Right: "

(NEW YORK – C-FAM)  A top abortion-rights law firm recently released its conclusion that the last decade of international legal trends indicate that abortion is not only an international human right, but that government funding is part of that right. They claim that the “vicious” health care debate in the United States over abortion funding shows that the U.S. is flouting international law.

In “Reproductive Rights at the Start of the 21st Century: Global Progress, Yet Backpedaling on Gains in U.S.,” the Center for Reproductive Rights (CRR) argues that “funding for abortion services has increasingly been recognized as a necessary tool for ensuring access to a fundamental human right.” 

"

Canon Law and Altar Girls

Canon Law and Altar Girls: "

Q: What does canon law say about altar girls?  How did we end up with altar girls after so many centuries without them? –Ginnie

A: The whole issue of permitting girls to serve at the altar has become so ideologically contentious, on both sides of the issue, that it may be difficult to imagine that the whole controversy actually began as simply a question of Latin grammar. While approved translations of the code exist in all the major modern languages, only the Latin text is regarded as the official one.

Canon 230, which ultimately gave us altar girls, is contained in the section of the code dealing with the obligations and duties of the lay faithful, and has three paragraphs. Each contains the Latin word laici, meaning “lay people.” In order to get a complete picture, let’s take a look at each paragraph in turn.

The first paragraph (c. 230.1) states that lay men whose age and talents meet the requirements prescribed by the Bishops’ Conference, can be given the stable ministry of lector and of acolyte (altar server), through the prescribed liturgical rite. Many Catholics in the US may not be familiar with this practice at all, so it merits some discussion.

We all know that lay people can be lectors, who read the readings and psalms at Mass. In many places, this task is performed simply by volunteers. Sometimes the priest who is about to celebrate a scheduled Mass may walk to the microphone a minute or two in advance, and ask if anyone is willing to read.

Similarly, we all are familiar with the notion of altar boys (who sometimes are adult men), who assist the priest during Mass, particularly at the offertory. After some training, and with some routine practice, boys as young as 8 or 10 years old serve in this capacity. Often a parish will put together a monthly schedule, listing which boys are expected to serve at each scheduled Mass.

But canon 230.1 does not pertain to either of these situations! What is it for, then?

This paragraph actually refers exclusively to the practice, which is not seen at all in many places, of officially conferring the ministry of lectors and altar servers on qualified men. Conferral of this ministry is historically tied to the “minor orders” which traditionally formed part of a seminarian’s training to become a priest. “Acolyte” and “lector” were actually orders, which preceded (among others) the orders of “sub-deacon,” “deacon,” and finally “priest.”

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Bishops Fight Back as Gay 'Marriage' Advances in Argentina

Catholic Bishops Fight Back as Gay 'Marriage' Advances in Argentina: "By Matthew Cullinan Hoffman, Latin America CorrespondentPILAR, Argentina, April 21, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) - The Catholic bishops of Argentina have issued a clear denunciation of homosexual unions as legislation advances in the national congress to institute gay "marriage."Meeting in the..."

Citizenship Proof of President

Arizona House Passes Amendment Requiring Citizenship Proof of President: "By Peter J. SmithPHOENIX, Arizona, April 21, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) - The Arizona House of Representatives has given preliminary approval to a measure that would require any presidential candidate to prove to the secretary of state that he is a 'natural born citizen.' The legislation is aimed at..."

Another Undercover Video Shows Kentucky Abortuary Failing to Report Child Sex Abuse

Another Undercover Video Shows Kentucky Abortuary Failing to Report Child Sex Abuse: "LOUISVILLE, Kentucky, April  21, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) - As part of the latest installation in a long stream of evidence against abortion centers nationwide, the student-led pro-life group Live Action released footage Wednesday of Kentucky's only abortion provider, EMW Women's Surgical..."